MX
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Guide!
I did a 4-day camping safari with Kiliholidays and it was great! As you evaluate providers, I would suggest you focus on reviews that specifically mention the guide, because a good guide is key to a positive experience. Other details - car, food, lodging - tend to be similar across providers. The guide drives, follows the schedule, chats with others to find animal sightings, knows the facts and anecdotes about the places and things you'll see, and brings a certain cohesion to a group of strangers who are traveling with you. Edward did all of that expertly and it made a difference. I also appreciated Mack's great customer service before my arrival - I felt taken care of throughout. Stay at the Venice Hotel pre-departure - it's a good value. I highly recommend this entire experience!
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Professional tour company in Rwanda
Everything about the 5-day gorilla trekking and Akagera National Park tour was exceptional! Patrick was the best tour guide I’ve ever seen. His stories and his knowledge of the gorillas,Culture and wildlife safari at Akagera is something I will never forget. He took care of everything for us - accommodations, meals, transport, etc. All we had to do was just show up and enjoy the amazing experiences that awaited us.
I highly recommend booking your trip with this agency and requesting Patrick as your tour guide!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Accommodating
Megan Warrington and Discover Africa made our 5 country African vacation a trip of a lifetime. She planned the perfect vacation for us. The pace was perfect, the sequence of countries was perfect, and the accommodations were truly amazing. She knew exactly what we wanted and needed along the way. I would have never been able to put together such an amazing adventure. Discover Africa was there for us every step of the way. They made our connecting flights seamless, getting us through airports and border crossings quickly and easily. They saved us so much time and energy, making the difficult things seem easy. With Covid changing everyone’s travel plans, our trip was 2 years in the planning yet Megan was very understanding and patient with us. We changed dates and itineraries 2 or 3 times trying to make the trip possible and Megan just adjusted everything along the way so that our dream trip became a reality. I just want to say thank you to Megan and Discover Africa for letting us experience your beautiful continent.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful safari trip + perfect holiday, with every detail taken care of by SoT
We travelled as a family of four (grown-up children), following a personalised 6-day itinerary that covered Tarangire, Ngorongoro and Serengeti. All of us absolutely enjoyed the trip! We cannot find fault with our experience, from airport pickup on day 1 to the drop off at Seronera airstrip on the last day. We really appreciated how well planned the trip was, and are glad to have chosen Soul of Tanzania as our tour operator. Despite the relatively short trip (effectively only five days, the last day being a travel day), we didn’t feel rushed and felt we were able to enjoy each location fully, thanks to Martha's expert planning and the hard work of our guide, George. We really benefitted from the unlimited mileage and the flexibility afforded by the fully private tour, with George taking into account our opinions as to when we’d like to start each day, what we’d like to see on the day, etc. Moreover, George and the team took care of every detail of our trip, which allowed us to be completely hands-off and do nothing but relaxing and having a good time. The same perfection goes for the many small details on the road, e.g., slowing down upon pits to reduce impact, patiently answering our most random questions, dealing with check-in and bags at the airstrip.
With accommodation and food, everything met and often went beyond our expectation. In particular, it was good to have experienced both tented lodges (highly recommend Nimali in both Tarangire and Serengeti) and a more traditional resort hotel (Melia). The food was always of high standards, both in terms of the selection and quality, and always served attentively, both when at the dining table and when out in the fields (shoutout to George again). The lunches were always hot, well prepared and the portions more than generous (including wine). As a vegetarian myself, my dietary need was always well catered for.
In short, a big thank you to SoT's best team who brought us this incredible experience! Glad we chose the company, and would highly recommend if you're looking to book an unforgettable, hassle-free safari holiday.
BG
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great company for safari
We asked for specific safari oriented program and got it. Total of 10 days (9 nights) at Amboseli, Naivasha, Nakuru and Masai Mara. We were on safari every day and managed to see and photograph all animals that we wanted. Very correct company. They did everything as promised. Recommended.
LU
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unstructured, unorganized and not carefully listing to the clients demand.
Overall it has been a nice trip and our guide and driver made a good job so that we improved the rating from 2 to 3 stars. The reasons why we don't rate this 4 to 5 stars are the following:
- We booked the safari in a different order and after we completed the trip, I have to recommend everyone to start with Amboseli first, second Lake Naivasha (or even better Lake Nakuru) and finish with Masai Mara as the Masai Mara is mind blowing and the other 2 are "only" good. So finally it felt from starting at the top, in the middle it was kind of useless and the end it was a bit better than expected but again, nothing to compare with Masai Mara.
- Our main goal of the trip was to see the GNUs crossing at the Mara River, but we have there only been for 15 minutes because it was raining. So this was really bad organised.
- We had to pay another fee which taken from the Bank of the operator even though I could evidence that I have paid the full amount Inch the local fees of my Bank.
So overall, I can't recommend Mwema.
PK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
They are best in town. They make sure to cater all your needs and very helpful in every possible way
I went for Safari with Karibu in September 2022. It was very nice experience from the start they were amazing and made sure everyone have best experience. They cater all the needs and advise the best what to do and what not to do. The camps and ride was very comfortable and all things were available that was promised. I highly recommended everyone to go with Karibu for wonderful safari experience.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Scammy! Avoid!
If it wasn't for the avant practices, this would have been a good safari. I paid to upgrade, and was still dumped at a hotel that was equal to a half a star, in a neighborhood that was scary, even for a wild traveler as myself. When I brought this to Stephan's attention, he pretended that he was shocked, when I was there when he gave the driver the command to dump me there. He dodged the rest of my emails.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very well organised, great accommodation, animals and birds and more galore
Husband and I were on our Silver Anniversary trip of a lifetime and the Safari experience did not disappoint. One night in a beautiful Lodge at Tremisana followed by our favourite Marc's Treehouse for the following nights as part of a 6 day Safari. Food was excellent and varied and gave a flavour of African Cooking. Mama D's corn fritters were so so delicious.
Our Treehouse had so much wildlife around it, it was a thrill to listen at night and morning and go quietly out to see what we had outside next!!
Only downside was the height of the Jeeps to get into - a more infirm person would have struggled and a mobile stepping aid would have made such a difference to the struggle especially when you are height challenged.
The trackers/guides/drivers were all good at their job and very informative but some were definitely better than others, allowing more time to take photos and actually listening to your requests. Victor and Smiley were excellent.
We made friends with so many people of all nationalities as the atmosphere lended itself to chat and mixing with others. All in all FAB.
JP
Not a bad option if he is paying a guide and others satisfactory salaries. At least I would repeat!
Four of us went on an 8-day tour with 4 people to 4 people, for a total of 8 people (the number of people supporting you has to do with the amount of tips you pay). (The number of support people has to do with the amount of tips paid. Also, the psychological hurdle of sending SWIFT money to a tour company for the first time may be high. The excitement of the tour depends on the skill of the guide and the food depends on the seasoning of the cook, and we were very fortunate with our guide and cook. We were very lucky with our guide and cook, and of course with the tour company. It gets cold at night, so a warm jacket and warm pants are a must. I would also recommend having a large battery and a battery operated battery for emergencies.