US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Discover Africa provided an outstanding, once-in-a-lifetime trip!
Our trip included 3 sibling and our partners; we visited four camps in Kenya and Tanzania – Elewana Tortilis Camp near Amboseli NP, Elewana Sand River Maasai Mara Camp, Aurari Camp North Serengeti, Acacia Farm Lodge in Karatu near Ngorongoro Crater.
Discover Africa’s Megan Warrington created an outstanding itinerary! Megan was very quick to respond to our emails and texts; every moment of our travels was perfectly arranged and professionally handled. I can't imagine any operator providing a better, bespoke experience.
Each camp selected by Megan was unique and wonderful. Graham and Candy Smith, the managers at Tortilis, were a fountain of information and fascinating stories. We were fortunate to have spectacular views of Kilimanjaro for 2 of our 3 days. Sand River was magical in its own way with animals wandering past mornings and evenings across the river and elephants enjoying the camp’s lush greenery at night (until the staff chased them away!). Aurari, with only 4 tents and our group the only occupants, was simply amazing with our own chef, hostess and 3 additional staff to take care of us. Every night a fire with sundowners was ready when we returned from our game drive. The view over the Serengeti and the Mara Triangle was spectacular. Acacia is a town lodge with a country feel – beautiful, comfortable cabins and outstanding staff. Every location had superb food with offerings ranging from a single meal to menu selection or buffet – we could have stayed a month at any of the camps.
Safaris were led by outstanding, highly experienced guides – all had at least 15 years’ experience and, judging from the conversations with other guides we passed on game drives, highly regarded by their peers. We had outstanding luck with our animal sightings and we credit our guides for many of them - Juma in Ambroseli, Charles in Masai Mara, Joe in Serengeti, and Charmy in Ngorongoro area. Since we were traveling late October, we were successful seeing the many baby animals we hoped for – a few hours’ old baby elephant still learning to suckle, 16 lion cubs in one pride and 6 in another, giraffe calves, warthog piglets, jackal pups, ostrich chicks – the list goes on. In Amboseli a herd of elephant passed within a yard of our perfectly positioned Land Cruiser; in Maasai Mara the Sand River pride walked up from their sleeping place on the river sand at dusk right past our Cruiser – kudos to our guide Charles for putting us in the perfect position. The Serengeti offered up a wildebeest crossing - our guide Joe had us perfectly positioned – with the added excitement of a croc grabbing one unfortunate animal (it got away!).
Our animal sightings also included many lions (including a couple on ‘honeymoon’!), cheetahs, leopards, crocodiles, hippopotamus, zebra, giraffe, wildebeest to name a few and many different birds.
The Serengeti balloon safari was one of the highlights of our trip; Serengeti Balloon Safaris provided a fabulous dawn safari across the Mara River and the Serengeti. Our pilot, Jason Adams, learned the trade from his father and was superb as was the support team. There were 3 people in the basket that were afraid of heights, but on the balloon there wasn’t even a hint of discomfort. Yes, it’s expensive…but it’s worth it!
Hopefully we’ll have a chance to visit Africa again – such a magical place – and our first call will be to Discover Africa.
AT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The offer for the tour didn't fit with the real tour.
We, my husband and I , booked a 3 day lasting Safari tour including a sight seeing tour in Kigali and entering the park and check in at the Lodge in the Akagera National Park on the first day.
On the second day we made a Safari tour in the Akagera National Park.
BUT on the third day a Safari experienced person of our group ordered an additional guide in advance who was specialized on birds. We weren't asked nor informed of this special bird tour on the third day of our Safari tour. The tour partially was very detailed discussing about the shape of the wings or colour of the bird legs.
We think being not informed of this special bird tour in advance is not a client friendly policy. We even still don't know if we had and how much we had to pay for the additional guide / additional programme we didn't order.
Btw Jimmy, our main guide did a great job.
FR
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Listening, competent, we benefited from an excellent organization for an excellent safari
Listening to our needs, the program was perfect, the hotels well chosen and well placed, the catering satisfying and plentiful.
Joel knows his country well, the parks and the wildlife he introduced us to.
Traveling with children, he adapted and we enjoyed this safari with great pleasure, but also the discovery of the village with simplicity and without superfluous folklore.
(automatic translation from French)
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Made me feel home away home. Thanks Epic.
I was safe in your hands and made sure that I received what I paid for.
Keep it up.
Thanks for being transparent and committed to us.
US
Friendly and informative
I had a great time. Everyone was so kind and informative. Definitely worth the cost and everything was delivered as promised.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
PERFECT experience!
Polecat Safaris is an incredible service - from the moment I contacted them for a last minute safari (about 3-4 days in advance), Johnny was hospitable, courteous, answered all my questions in a timely manner and extremely informative about what to expect, made accommodations regarding food sensitivities, preferences, etc. James made sure to meet my group before and after safari which left a very good impression. Both Johnny and James are extremely friendly and were the #1 reason I chose to go with this company. Our guide, Aron, was hands-down the best guide I've ever had on safari (this is my fourth). His love for the animals is contagious, and his skill in spotting is MINDBLOWING (he was able to spot a lion hiding under a bush at least half a mile away, I still don't understand how he saw her!). Aron made the safari experience that much more beautiful and magical. I would recommend this company to anyone!
KW
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Professional!
We just came back from our first trip to Kenya, that included a 6D/5N safari with Wasili Kenya Safaris, visiting Amboseli, Lake Naivasha & Hells Gate, and Masai Mara. My review will not include listing of all the animals we saw as there were plentiful so just say we were NOT disappointed. The focus will be on how impressed we were on the company service. We did the Economy option and still the service and accommodation level was very high. We booked the trip directly at the company and Julian was very helpful the whole way in the administration process. The payment through Pesapal that I was not familiar with worked fine. We were informed 2 days in advance of who to pick us up at the airport and the driver was waiting for us at arrival. We had chosen to get a nights sleep in a hotel before starting the safari, so the next morning we were picked up at the agreed time by Peter our guide for the safari. He was just an amazing guide. Knowledgeable, good humor, and listening to our wishes and did everything to make sure we kept the schedule. Some roads in Kenya is really poor and with a lot of heavy traffic making it a challenge to get from park to park, but Peter handled that to perfection and we were feeling very secure all the way. On our way back the owner even called to hear if we had a good trip. After the safari we had 3 nights at a hotel in Nairobi and the company still offered transport to the airport! Just good service! Again we were even informed of the driver who would pick us up and he was there at the promised time. So everything described at the company web, was as promised. We can highly recommend Wasili Kenya Safaris. Thanks!!!!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Magical safari!
My husband and I took the 7 day tour with Safari Northern Tour and the experience is absolutely magical. The guide Nixon was patient and knowledgeable and has lots of experience in the area.
Everything was safe, well prepared, but at the same time, surprising. I will not spoil the details and let you explore you own experience with Safari Northern Tour!
Highly recommended!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Top Notch safari
We are a family with a 10yo girl. After careful comparison, we decided to book a 4 days/3 nights safari tour with Safari Northern Tour including Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro parks.
The company arranged hotels for us before and after the safari in Arusha which was really helpful. We got picked up from Kilimanjaro airport when we arrived and sent to the hotel directly. The driver even agreed to take us for a tour in Arusha because we wanted to buy some souvenirs. We didn’t need to worry about transportation etc at all in Arusha.
Our Safari guide/driver Deo was very experienced after working as a safari guide for 15 years. He could answer all our questions about animals and got the amazing ability in spotting and recognizing animals. Once in Serengeti, he spotted a cheetah from an unbelievably far distance. He stopped the car for us to take photos whenever we asked him, without any complaints. He knew the best place to stop to have a good angle for pictures. We had lunch in the picnic areas in the parks every day and the food prepared was always delicious. He asked us at the start of the tour what we would like to see the most and then would particular look for those animals for us. In the last day of our tour, the car broke down but Deo and the company immediately arranged a private car to send us back to Arusha and then next day to the airport.
Thanks a million to everyone in Safari Northern Tour for giving us an unforgettable experience
FR
Very good organisation
Communication simple with the office
Smooth trip, very well organised
Choice of quality hotels with friendly and competent staff
Very good choice of guides for Kilimanjaro and the safari