PL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Reliable and well organized operator
Together with my boyfriend we've booked 10 days budget safari in Kenia and Tansania for September/October 2022. Our main contact from Drones Safaris side was Lizzy - she was always helpful and replied really fast whenever we had some questions.
Regarding safari itself:
On Kenya side our guide was Anthony and we were traveling with a safari van. Anthony is a really good guide, he knows National Parks well so we were able to see a lot of animals. He is also an awesome driver. We always felt safe with him + he was very flexible whenever we needed extra stop at the ATM or shop.
The border crossing could be more organized - we were kinda left alone after formalities and had to wait 3h for the shuttle bus to departure. We heard from other travelers that they had a similar experience, so maybe that's just how an Afrikan Bordecrossing looks like.
In Tansania we traveled with 4x4 Land cruiser and a different driver - William. In general we liked the Tansania part aswell, but we preferred Kenia. In Tansania was a smaller variety of animals (but it also depends on the season you are coming).
The accommodations in Kenya and Tansania were:
Miti Mingi Eco Camp, City Max Hotel, Kimana Camp Site, Ambassador Hotel, Simba Camp and Serengeti Camp. Hotels are always better as there is warm water guaranteed while in other locations that was not always the case. You should bear in mind, it's a budget safari so do not expect anything exclusive, but all the locations were fine.
In general: We would recommend anyone to book a safari with Drones Africa Safaris. We had an amazing time and felt taken care of from the arrival to departure (they even picked us up from the airport and dropped off after safari). It was an unforgettable adventure! Thank you Drones Africa Safaris for making it happen.
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Perfectly organised and unforgettable experience
From start to finish everything has been amazing. Ines planned out an amazing trip for me to Nyerere, Ruaha and Mafia Island, was very accommodating to my specific wishes and was always quick to answer my questions. The trip itself was amazing, the lodges, the parks (and wildlife) and the relaxed atmosphere at Mafia really made this a standout trip in all of my Africa travels. Can highly recommend Indigo Safaris and Ines in particular.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari experience exceeded all my expectations
My wife and I had an amazing Safari adventure in Tanzania with Skyview Safaris. It really exceeded all of my expectations. We saw so many animals, and our guide Waldon was so knowledgeable about all of them. The chefs prepared breakfast, lunch and dinner each day and it was all so tasty, and plenty of it. Vegetarian friendly options too. And finally, a word about the communication and hospitality from Skyview. They not only took care of every last detail (hotels and transfers and smoothing out all the hiccups), but they we so communicative about every step of the way. Really gave us peace of mind. Would gladly recommend them to anyone and everyone who is looking for a safari.
PT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great 5 day tour
Fantastic tour which exceeded my expectations. We went on the 5 day tour of Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Nashiva and Hells Gate NP. Our tour guide was Raheem, who besides being an excellent person is a amazing tour guide, he always found the best places to find all the wildlife. He his very experienced and knows a lot about the animals.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic safari
Really pleased with the service provided by Kiliholidays.
We originally booked the trip for 2021 but had to rearrange because of Covid and Mack was responsive and made the process easy.
The safari was incredible and exceeded my expectations. Edward, the guide, was very friendly with a great sense of humour and made the 4 days a pleasure. He was very knowledgeable about the area and the animals and always willing to answer our questions. He also had an excellent eye for spotting animals no matter how far away or hidden they were which was really impressive. You're in good hands if you have Edward as your guide!
Two of the campsites were basic but had everything you needed and the other one was a bit more luxurious with a real bed in the tent. Daniel was a brilliant cook who provided delicious and plentiful meals every day. Highly recommended!
Overall, I would definitely recommend Edward and Daniel for the perfect camping safari trip.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outstanding safari
The booking process was very smooth and easy. Alex provided all the requested information in a timely manner and provided excellent customer service. The safari itself is extremely well organised and accommodations are cozy and clean. Our guide, Raheem, was knowledgeable, professional and fun and made sure that we saw all of the big 5 and many more animals. I would highly recommend booking with Lenchada Safaris.
CH
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good travel agency, with quality services and good prices
I find my trip throw the Internet and find this agency. I got in contact with Justin very quickly and he was very responsive to all my questions.
We did 3 days, a village tour with a local guide who was very interesting, than a boat tour with lovely guides and captain, full game drive in Nyerere National park and a walking bush tour. We felt looked after from start to finish. The Africa safari camp acommodation was really nice, authentic and the staff very friendly and informative. The sunset and the boat tour was beautiful, we were taken to really nice spots.
Our game driver the next day Fidelis took us to see a lot of animals and also got up very close to them. He took routes that no other cars were at and wanted us to have the best experience. Our guide and his colleague even built a "bridge" so that our car could pass in a place normally inaccessible and we could admire the lions from very close (2 to 3 m.). We also saw the elephant from very very close ! It was just magical, he gave us this tour with so much passion and desire to show us everything.
The next day the walking bush tour was lead by a very special man. Simba is a very special person. He knows his subject perfectly. He is in symbiosis with nature and respects it enormously. He makes us know his little secrets and bewitches us. The bush walk was very exciting and we laughed a lot.
And finally if you have the chance to fly with Auric Air, then your safari will end in beauty in a small plane with 12 seats and a dream landscape.
I would definately recommend Shammah wonder safari
Asanti Sana
PS : don't forget to take some cash with you, because the drinks at the lodge are paid in cash. We didn't have any and fortunately they accept all known currencies.
AT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best compan and Safari Guide
Everything went perfect from pickup at the airport until drop of on the last day! This company is great!
Vicent is simply the best Guide you can have! He was very kind, had a lot of knowledge and showed us everything we wanted to see.
If we make a safari again we will again book with this company and hopefully with Vicent!
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent service
When booking with a safari company based in Africa, a natural concern is that is it a professionally managed operation. Peter at Gosheni certainly was helpful and professional promptly responding to questions, changes, additions etc to a programme.
On arrival at Arusha their headquarters was a large compound with offices, a garden area to deal with de-parting guests, a large parking area for their vehicles. All very professional. Our 4x4 was Toyota Land Cruiser, as are most, comfortable 6 seats for us two, fridge and of course the pop up roof for game viewing.
And very importantly your guide. Ours was Roderick. He has driven the Serengeti for 12 years. He knew every likely spot, and the better times of day to improve chances at different places. His many years experience and knowledge shone through, he always seemed to pre-empt what game might do and get us in the perfect position. His English was superb and most importantly when spending 8 days in a vehicle with someone he was great company. He was a fine friend with whom we could share a joke with. I would thoroughly recommend him to use for any future clients. Guides vary greatly, we have had not so great in the past and know the difference. And the widlife, simply outstanding. From leopard and many prides of lion in Central Serengeti, lion with cubs numerous times, to the Mara migration crossing which was so spectacular. And two complete crossings, one lasting 20 minutes of mayhem with thousands of wildebesst, unbelievable.
And then after the return flight from North Serengeti to Arusha the driver was there waiting for us. On the journey I mentioned that Precision Air had cancelled our 13.30 flight tomorrow and moved it to 15.30, much later than we would like and I would have to contact them to see if there was an early flight. Immediately Jesse the driver said " I will contact the office, we will help". He took photos of my documents and texted them to the office. A while later the office replied, maybe 09.05 flight is that OK? Later they confirmed they had contacted Precision Air, all was changed. This was my booking, not part of our itinerary , but nevertheless your staff were prepared to assist and find solutions.
I wish more companies in the UK behaved in such a helpful way
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Super all-round support, great hotels, unimaginably great German-speaking guide
We were picked up as arranged at the airport and driven to a great hotel, where we could first relax. We had 5 national parks ahead of us and so this day in the hotel did really good. On the same day, a lady from Tanzania Specialist came by and brought us all the documents (itinerary, hotel list, info about Zanzibar flight...) and got us in the mood for the trip.
The next day we were picked up on time from our hotel and off we went with our guide and driver Matteo across the national parks. I don't want to start raving about the country, because I'm not supposed to rate Tanzania itself here, but thanks to the great organization and our guide, who showed us a lot of his country, I would give the country itself 5 stars. But back to Tanzania Specialist. The guide was not only great because he spoke German - which made a lot of things easier for us - but he was always on time, the car always clean inside (which is a miracle with the dust!), he told us a lot about the country and the people and he made us aware of animals that we would never have seen ourselves. Still today I am amazed that on the one tree was actually a leopard - I didn't even see it at first when Matteo told us where it was, so well camouflaged it was. Thanks to our guide we had the most crazy experiences and saw a lot. With enormous patience and good exchange with other guides he always brought us to new animals (serval cat, hornbill, cliff slate...) or plants (wild mangos, gardenia bush, tamarind tree...) and explained them to us. We could not have asked for a better guide.
The hotels were sensational as well. We have traveled a lot in different countries, but we have never had such fantastic hotels. Again and again we had pictures of them in our status, and also friends and acquaintances were amazed e.g. about the "tents" in the Serengeti, which I would have imagined somehow simpler. The hotel of Tanzania Specialist - Best View - itself was with the pool of course one of the highlights, but also with two drops of bitterness: The guide was not allowed to spend the night there, because there are still! no accommodations for the guides. This meant for the guide after each tour - we were there for three days - to drive up a dog-awful road (downer 2!) to the hotel (20 minutes), drop us off, then drive back down to the village, look for accommodation there and then drive up the road again the next morning. I really hope something changes soon that drivers can stay there too (like most other accommodations). Also absolutely crazy awesome was Lion's Paw Camp on the Ngorongo Crater rim as well. But as I said, the other hotels were hardly worse, just different.
On the last Tanzania day we were again welcomed at the airport by the lady from Tanzania Specialist, she took great care of the check-in and luggage check-in. The flight to Zanzibar went smoothly and in Zanzibar the driver was already waiting to take us to our dream hotel - the Blue Moon. This was also arranged and booked by Tanzania Specialist, just like the guided tour of Stonetown/spice farm (Stonetown could have been left out, there are more interesting locations) and the drive back to the airport. Conclusion: with Tanzania Specialist even babies could go on a world tour, everything works perfectly and you have great all-round care from leaving the arrival airport to entering the departure airport! There is really nothing to complain about.