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35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Above and beyond customer satisfaction, highly recommend. You can never go wrong with them.
My son and myself had traveled back home from abroad and was looking to do couple of safaris.
We ended up choosing twinkle star tours, little did we know it will be an experience of a life time. James the director, was charming and affable. I Love how you can turn even the most simple situation into something fun.” . He came out efficiently, broad minded and artistic. Better than a triple-scoop ice cream cone…with sprinkles.” Nakuru being our place of choice, we wanted to do a whole day tour at lake Nakuru. He made all the necessary arrangements. The whole time keeping intouch.
Micheal our driver/tour guide was remarkable. This dude was Amiable and knowledgeable of all kinds of animals, and where to look for them. From morning till evening he kept us entertained. We could not have asked for anything better.
Thank-you James for making our time at Lake Nakuru, memorable and Amazing. We appreciate you. Will sure come back for more. Next time we visit. Cheers.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Highly recommended tour and reliable tour operator
I booked a nine day safari with Amazing Memories Safaris with a goal of seeing the great migration, and many different parks throughout Kenya. Our trip was a major success. Anne (my contact at the company) was excellent at making a custom itinerary. She always responded to my questions right away, and provided detailed information. I am a pescatarian (dietary requirement), and that was well received and handled by all of our safari locations. Eliud was an incredible guide. He provided lots of helpful information about the animals and Kenya. We told him we loved birds, so he made sure to point cool ones out to us and teach us the names. If he didn't know the name of one, he would look it up for us. He is very knowledgable and answered our incessant questions. Eliud is funny too - our group really bonded with him. We hope to stay in touch!
Our favorite stop was Amboseli and Masai Mara, but we also enjoyed that Samburu had a "special 5" - 5 unique animals only found in that particular park. Looking back, I wish we visited less parks and spent less time in each location. We were at a new park almost every day, and the drives in between were around 6 hours. The drives did fly by - I am very grateful we paid extra for a more comfortable SUV. That upgrade was well worth it. I was shocked by how few mosquitoes there were too. I worried a lot before the trip about about getting bug bites and I came home with zero. (There are less bugs in dry season, but we still took precautions.)
The only things I didn't like about the trip: I had wanted to visit Ol Pejeta Conservancy, but by the time we booked, the lodge there was full. Anne emailed us to ask if we approved of a different lodge and we said yes, but I didn't realize that because of the lodge change, we would no longer be visiting the Ol Pejeta Park. I wish that alteration was made clearer. I should have paid more attention to the revised itinerary because we were disappointed to have missed that park. We also opted to add on Masai Village - I loved the village itself where a local villager showed us how people in his village live, but I regret looking at the jewelry at the end of the tour. Our village guide made my group feel bullied into buying jewelry from each of the twenty vendors which left us with a very sour taste.
Everywhere you go in Kenya there are people banging on your windows trying to sell you jewelry, it's exhausting. But at the village, our guide said that he wouldn't harass us into making purchases so we agreed to take a look at the jewelry. While he showed us around, he made forceful comments like "This vendor is my wife. You need to buy from her. Why aren't you supporting my family?" when we decided not to purchase from every person.
All in all, we loved our trip and loved the tour company!
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kili Slope Tours were very accommodating, flexible, and answered all questions directly and honestly
Kili Slope Tours and Safaris Ltd efficiently organised for me good, budget level accommodation in Arusha, a one day Safari trip to Tarangire, an 8 day climb of Mt Kilimanjaro via the Lemosho route, and a 3 day safari to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, as well as travel to Dar es Salaam and suitable accommodation there. They also gave good advice re my visiting a particular school in Arusha, banking and other general tips for my time around town. David Maro, his son, staff and tour guides were all very friendly, knowledgeable and supportive in ensuring that my trip ran as smoothly and enjoyably for me as possible. They even managed to patiently encourage 70 year old me to the top of Kili - a feat in itself. I highly recommend Kili Slope Tours and Safaris Ltd if you're looking to effectively plan a climb or safari based out of Arusha in Tanzania. Jeff Ellis, South Australia.
US
Knowledgeable and courteous
The tour guide was very patient with us as we probed him to get more details about the art pieces. He took the time to share information beyond more than just the name of the artist but background information, the stories and inspirations associated with many of the artwork. He spent much more than the scheduled amount of time to help indulge in the experience.
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50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
WanderingThru always adds that Personal Touch
We Recently returned from our 2nd Adventure with WanderingThru. I can not say enough good things about this company. They are always so personable and willing to answer any questions you might have, going above and beyond helping you plan that perfect Safari. Their private guided safaris are above all others, providing an experienced personal guide, sharing their knowledge and love of the African Bush. Should you choose not to have a private guided Safari, they can book you with any Safari Lodge or accommodation of your choice, or give you numerous options to choose from. They always add that Personal Touch not found with many companies.
On this most recent Safari with WanderingThru, we saw 10 different Leopards, 2 Lions prides, African Wild Dogs ( on 3 separate occasions) and even a Pangolin!!!
Look no further, this is the company you should book with, I promise you will not be disappointed.
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great wildlife and nice landscape
We loved to travel by local bus in Tanzania! We met nice people, the country has amazing beaches, beautiful landscape and a great wildlife. We recommand the agency "beach and wilderness" where we booked our safari. The service was great and everything worked well.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lovely people, tasty food, great safari experience.
We, two adults (49y, 43y) and two children (12y, 9y), had a great time in Mombasa (Bamburi beach) and a 4 day safari (Tsavo East, Tsavo West, Amboseli and Mzima Springs). In total we stayed 13 nights.
The beach is beautiful, however the beach boys are annoying, you really do not feel comfortable to try a walk at the beach.
The hotel had great swimming pool and entertainment during the whole day, with all-inclusive you really have excellent food, drinks and service.
The 4 day safari was for sure a highlight: it is a long drive during the first and last day, but it is worth. Safari means that you need to wake up earlier every day as during the morning is the best time to see the animals. Late in the afternoon as well. Amboseli has lot of people doing safari, but you see a lot of animals and birds. Mzima springs is unique, it is a place to visit if you want to see a lot of hippos. Tsavo West and Tsavo East are very different, the first you might not see as many animals as in Tsavo East, however only in Tsavo West you might see the Rhino.
At the end we saw all Big 5.
Tips: do not buy souvenir at the Curios during the safari, it is way too expensive. All items are not priced, thus it is a matter of price negotiation. If you still want to buy something, ask for the price and offer maximum 1/3 of the asked price.
Please make sure to have the local currency with you (Kenia Schilling), the locals prefers the Schilling when you give small amount of money to them. Coins (Euro, Dollar, etc) are really not welcome.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A fantastic way to experience a magnificent country.
Could not recommend Kilimanjaro Adventure Safari Club more. Kelly was a terrific guide - knowledgeable, personable, professional, and fun. Everything about this tour was perfect. We saw an abundance of animals in their natural setting, gorgeous landscapes, and stayed in camps that were both luxurious and authentic. And it is good to know we booked a local company that takes good care of its employees. Would give 10 stars if it was an option.
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50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Decent game drive experience
The trip was good. I was picked up on time from my hotel - real early 5:30am or so. The van made couple of other spots on the way to pick up customers. We reached the reserve around 9 and were transferred to a nice open jeep for morning drive. We saw a few elephants, giraffe and lots of gazelles. We came back for lunch (which was covered). The lunch location has viewpoint where we saw more antelopes and a rhino. After lunch we went for evening drive and saw a few more elephants and giraffes. But no big cats. We arrived back after 6pm. Being close to airport - we were the last drop off point.
Overall a decent experience. But we did Masai Mara afterwards - so this wasn't the highlight of our trip.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Compass Odyssey is extraordinarily responsive and efficient; I recommend it without hesitation.
I used Compass Odyssey to book a father–daughter trip to southern Africa — South Africa, Victoria Falls, and Chobe N.P. in Botswana. I am 71 years old, and in all my years of travel throughout the world, I have *never* encountered anyone as conscientious and responsive as Compass' owner, Darren Humphrys. He provided detailed answers to all of our questions; he carefully constructed our trip and then eagerly and efficiently addressed all of our requests for additions or changes. He was extremely knowledgeable about each aspect of our trip, from the pros and cons of various types of accommodations, to options for side excursions at Vic Falls, to the latest Covid requirements in each of the four countries we visited, to the best flight arrangements to get to each of our destinations. He provided us with expert guides in Cape Town and Vic Falls and advised us about how to get the most value throughout our trip. Best of all, once our trip began, he followed us each step of the way, staying in contact at each of our destinations and stepping in if an issue arose that could benefit from his assistance. I have *no* complaints or regrets about any aspect of the trip that Darren planned; all of it was wonderful! I highly recommend Compass Odyssey to anyone considering a trip to southern Africa.