20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Addo Elephant National Park by Anna Mahon Oneill
I prebooked alot of my SA trip and felt Addo was the hardest place to book. Their accommodation is booked separately from the game drives and restaurant bookings so nothing seems straight forward, linked or easy. It took a total of over 20 emails to book anything, information on the website is wrong, email addresses on the website bounce back - i honestly don't know how they're so busy. I was expecting great things since it is the second biggest park in SA, both of the Addo accommodation we stayed in were lovely (better than expected) altho the plunge pool at our nyathi rest camp booking was very dirty so I sadly didn't use it at all. We did two guided game drives that did end up enabling us to see animals we hadn't seen at other reserves but the park is so big and the bush so dense that its hard to actually see anything unless you happen to be lucky and find the animal crossing the road. We didn't do a self drive, drive which we regret but as we stayed in the Nyathi rest camp it ment we were locked out of the park and made us feel like we couldn't explore as much as we would have wanted. The reception is a frustrating place were staff definitely take their time processing things. Paying for game drives is unorganised and could definitely be dealt with better. All in all i'm glad i got to see some animals as if i hadnt it would have been a waste. I'm not sure i would recommend Addo - maybe if your in the area or driving passed and have a few hours or a day to kill then definitely go but if pre booking i hope its a better experience than i had.
DK
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Lise Pedersen
We simply did not see very much game here! Rain and cloudy weather!
DK
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Arusha National Park by Lise Pedersen
More people than animals!
NO
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Average
To be honest, I was not particularly impressed with our visit to Isalo. The area we visited was relatively crowded, not particularly rich in wildlife (although our guide was good did what he could). However, it is worth to keep in mind that most of what you see is not to be found outside Madagascar. It made me sad to realise that the beautiful Verraux's Sifaka we found was the last remaining of its kind in the area. Although with quite some effort we were lucky to find interesting wildlife (Ring-tailed Lemurs, Chameleons a few snakes and some birds), we met quite a few that were not so lucky. Weather was fine, and as we started early it wasn't too hot and we 'missed' most of the crowds. Scenery is great, but it is hard to be very impressed by the waterfalls and pools. One point of advice; if you have a sensitive stomack, don't bother going for the served lunch in the park. You will waste time there, it is crowded and noisy. Rather bring some fruite and spend the time searching.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Queen Elizabeth National Park by Kyle
Had a major highway running along the park. Not a large variety of wildlife in our area. Was underwhelming again.
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Masai Mara National Reserve by Nicholas You
Too many vehicles chasing the same animals - almost quasi chaos
FI
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Chobe National Park by Markus
After Moremi and Savuti Chobe (east side) felt a bit like a zoo with More tourists than animals. Still lots to see especially elephants and baboons.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari to Masai Mara
We used this company for our safari to Masai Mara in December. It was great that they organized everything, but it was expensive for 3 nights. Once we got to the hotel, we couldn’t figure out why it was so expensive because our camp wasn’t too great. The safari was amazing though, the guide and driver were amazing and made our trip, but they were more affiliated with the hotel rather than this company. We were told there would be WiFi, but there wasn’t. Only a few hours of electricity each day. Carol was great, and I asked her to reschedule my trip many times, but I think the company is charging too much. If you use credit card you also have to pay a large fee. We had a lot of fun though. You need to have a positive attitude though, like expect to get stuck in water. We stayed 3 nights at the same place which was great because we got to do more, and weren’t so exhausted moving around. We also flew on a small plane which was interesting but I’m happy we didn’t drive that far. We saw the buses that people who drove in had, they didn’t look as great as our land cruiser, more like a van.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Louise ****
When you go to the serengetti nothing compares to this. Its quite a small park with limited wildlife
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Most of safari was fantastic, but disappointined with Galloping Safari Owner, Walter Tenga.
Our family safari in Ngorogoro and Serengheti with my two young adult children ( 18 and 21) was an incredible experience. Weather, variety and quantity of game viewed, Four Seasons Serengheti Lodge, Balloon ride and our safari tour guide, Kennedy, were all outstanding and lived up to all our expecations and more! I am, however, quite disappointed in Walter Tenga, the owner of Galloping Safaris. Our hotel the first night in Arusha was changed (downgraded) from the hotel documented on our itinerary, without any advance notice of the change. Mr. Tenga described the change as a "mistake". The hotel we stayed at was nice, but not nearly as nice the one stated on our itinerary. During our return from Serengheti to Arusha on the last day, we ran into a problem with our flight. We wer e told a flat tire on our small aircraft would result in over a two hour delay of our flight. I attempted to contact Galloping Safari Tour owner, Walter Tenga, for help. I called his office and cell phone multiple times, but he never answered and I was not able to leave a message. As a result of our delay, we missed a farewell luncheon at beautiful hotel on our last day and shopping time. No alternate lunches were provided, although I had already paid for these meals in our tour package. I contacted Mr. Tenga and requested a refund for our meals, but my request was ignored. Very disappointing. Last but not least, our Galloping Safari driver who took us back to the Killimanjaro airport seemed to misunderstand our flight information. Once I reviewed our departure time with him, he drove at a dangerously high speed to get us there on time. He was stopped by the police because he was driving so fast. When we entered the airport, my kids and I were met by security personnel because of our very late arrival to board our plane. All this made for a very stressful ending to an otherwise wonderful trip.