NO
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect trip with Tanzania Explorer
We connected to Tanzania Explorer at a travel fair in the Oslo area and asked for an offer for a trip to Tanzania with a special request for visiting all seven world heritage sites. We are experienced travellers and no fan of group travels. Tanzania Explorers specializes in tailor-made trips with a personalized service – perfect for us. The itinerary was great from the first draft. Good insight, local knowledge and the thoughts behind the itinerary matched our own preferences. And the service was really something. We even had a home visit by Sondre. He is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic and has a burning passion for Tanzania.
The execution was perfect. Our two guides were “solid” and trustworthy, Sam in the south and Joshua in the north. They are both great travel companions! In the south we went to Kilwa Kisiwani and Selous Game Reserve. Both places with fantastic accommodations with a personal service – great finds.
In the north we did the whole tourist circuit with some add-on, although it didn’t feel like it. The choice of accommodation and knowledge of the guide, we experienced some great safari moments without the big crowd.
We ended our trip In Stonetown at magical Emerson Spice. Great seafood tasting menu on the roof at sunset, thinking back on 20 memorable days. We had great expectations, and they were all fulfilled.
We highly recommend the team of Tanzania Explorer.
Randi and Svein
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent 5-day tour. An experience we will never forget.
We selected a 5-day tour from Dar-Es-Salaam, to include a spell in Selous and then in Mikumi; returning to Dar on day 5 after a visit to a local Massai village.
Everything went smoothly from start to finish. My initial enquiries by email and WhatsApp were answered quickly by Donatus. Our arrangements were confirmed to our complete satisfaction. Donatus was very helpful and relaxed about all my questions.
We were collected punctually from our hotel in Dar, having paid the outstanding balance for our tour and set off for Selous. The drive is quite long and quite bumpy, but that is no different to what we had expected. The first Camp of our stay was Ngalawa (located a little way outside the Selous Nature Reserve. The camp itself was fairly simple and rustic, as we had expected, but the staff were charming and welcoming. Food was fine, including the packed lunches. Our only comment would be that water pressure is not great, so showering is an interesting activity. The river trip to see hippos was very good. Then the following day the full day drive in Selous was excellent. Our driver/guide for the whole 5 days was Julius, and he was really experienced and helpful. He tried really hard to ensure we saw the things that mattered to us and was always ready with an answer when we had any questions. Selous is a very large and un-commercialised wilderness. It is everything that we would have hoped for.
Be prepared for the trip from Selous to Mikumi to take a long time on day three. Half the distance is on rough bumpy roads, but you can make good speeds. The other half is in the main Highway, but ironically progress can be painfully slow due to traffic congestion. Our serving camp was Camp Bastion a little outside of the Mikumi National Park. It is a bigger, busier and more up-market camp than Ngalawa has been, but you might find yourself missing the simple, quiet charm of Ngalawa!
Mikumi NP is much smaller than Selous and also busier. You will see a greater concentration of wildlife, but there are more vehicles and the routes within the park are more mapped out. Swings and roundabouts I suppose! There is a visit to the local Massai village on the morning of day 5, then after breakfast you begin the long drive back to Dar.
Overall we really enjoyed our tour. We enjoyed smooth communication with Donatus (including one time when we needed to get an issue resolved). Our guide, Julius, was great. We saw most of the wildlife that we had hoped and were able to get up close and personal with a lot of those animals. This tour is in the southern circuit, which means you won’t see any Rhino. You might not see a Leopard (we didn’t) and you won’t see a Cheetah. However you will probably see pretty much everything else that you could want. During our time in Tanzania and in Zanzibar we met many other people who had been in Safari - almost all the others had toured the much busier northern circuit. Some of them had seen a Rhino, but they acknowledged that it had been from a very great distance and had appeared as nothing more than a speck in the distance. They might have seen a leopard or a cheetah, but I feel that our tour in the much less commercialise south perhaps allowed us to have a more unspoiled and authentic Safari experience. We are very glad we chose the tour that we did. I would have no hesitation in recommending this tour for a good and reliable safari experience on a sensible budget.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very professional.
Great agency. We worked with Natasha to set up a honeymoon safari tour around Botswana at very short notice. She set up a wonderful agenda with stops in Setari, Linyanti and Khwai. The lodges, guides and transfers were all perfect. Very good experience.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic Honeymoon Safari Experience!!
Fantastic Safari experience. Beyond our expectations! We did the 5 day mid range Safari with one night luxury Kilimamoja Lodge. Our guide Immanuel was great. Very knowledgeable, professional and a great driver. He had a great eye for all the animals. We saw all the big five, lions, rhino, buffalo, leopard and elephants and many more. Each park was special in its own way. Tarangire was great for the elephants, ngorongoro for its variety and Serengeti for the big cats. The accomodations were very clean, comfortable and spacious. Our luxury accomodation, Kilimamoja Lodge was something else! Two showers in the room, one outdoor shower and a bath! Phenomenal view of the Rift Valley! And the staff was extremely attentive.
We highly recommend Lion Kind Adventures. A very professional company. Ask for Immanuel as your tour guide! He did a great job with us.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Jockey Tours and our guide, James, showed us a great time and took care of all of our needs
Stress-free and beautiful 4-day Safari. Our guide, James, was with us from Nairobi to Maasai Mara to Nakura, and back again. He and Jockey Tours took care of all of it. Transport, accomodation, meals, water and of course guiding us around the parks to visit all the animals. Your safari can't guarantee you everything, but we saw it all except the elusive Jaguar (the cheetah was a treat). Any time we needed to stop on the long drives, or wanted to wait longer in hopes of seeing an animal, James was on it. The sunset spot on the first night gave me pictures you can't imagine! Thanks!
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Seka, where is our money?
We made a kili tour and a safari in 2020. We had to pay another amount that we could started our safari. They had no money, even though we paid in advance.
Seka owes us more than $3000! Since 2 years! He always promised that we will get our money back.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Best safari I’ve ever been on
We had the pleasure of spending a couple of days with Iddy and his team on a camping safari to Tarangire Nationalpark, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti Nationalpark and Lake Manyara Nationalpark. The service, food as well as tents and knowledge of the team were superb. And we felt like we really got to know the real Tanzania. Iddy even organized a barbecue for our last day which we enjoyed so much. Thanks for everything- we will come back for sure!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lion King Adventures - Top of the Pecking Order!
We are completely new to the whole Safari experience, having talked about it for years. Our honeymoon was the perfect excuse to indulge. A little research online yielded that Kenya / Tanzania were both good options for September when we wanted to go away, and provided the opportunity to witness the great migration and crossing of the Mara river. We read that Tanzania may be a little quieter than Kenya, and saw the opportunity to visit the Serengeti, so we contacted a number of companies to enquire about options.
Lion King provided us with a selection of options for different tours of different lengths, which was very helpful in understanding the expected cost for the experience. They were vey helpful in customising our trip to add a walk in the foothills of Kilimanjaro and then onto Zanzibar for some R&R. They were also sympathetic to keeping within our budget, in stark contrast to some other providers who charged significantly more. Massive thanks to Pendo for answering all our questions kindly as we tweaked the programme before booking to include a walk in the foothills of Kilimanjaro and a few days in Zanzibar after Safari.
We paid by credit card and incurred a small fee for additional payment security. If we booked again I would probably make a direct transfer having been before.
Prior to arrival, we received a final more detailed agenda, allaying any fears about collection from the airport, transport etc. This all went very smoothly. Recommend applying for VISA online to skip the queue for forms on arrival at Kili airport.
After a day to rest at the lodges we were collected by our guide Yusuph who confirmed the agenda and we set off in our Toyota Land Cruiser. The vehicle was comfortable, well equipped (fridge, some drinks etc.) Note that all vehicles seen on safari were land cruisers of the same variety. We noted Yusuph was also well equipped with tools for maintenance - a critical safety requirement we noted some other providers didn’t have as the odd spanner was lent along the way to others.
Our Safari included Tarangire, Central Serengeti, Northern Serengeti, NGoroGoro crater and Lake Manyara areas. We were very fortunate and saw the big 5. Highlights included a lion stalking prey, a cheetah at full speed chasing Zebra, monkeys playing… It was the experience of a lifetime, and we are incredibly thankful to the team for making it happen, and especially to Yusuph for sharing his knowledge about all things safari including game, birds, flora and forna and also answering our questions along the way about life in Tanzania and teaching us a little Swahili along the way. We made a good little team working together to spot animals which made the whole experience even more rewarding.
Accommodation throughout included a mix of lodges, including 2 tented lodges which were the highlight for us. Having no idea what to expect, each ‘tent’ is generously proportioned with a king size bed, normal toilet and hot shower. At night the team escort you back to the tents after dark with communication via 2 way radio, ensuring you are kept safe from the animals that roam after dark. We heard wilderbeast, hyena, and lions nearby in the night to name a few.
The food in these tented lodges was excellent and we were also provided with a substantial lunch every day which was eaten in dedicated picnic areas throughout each of the parks along with a glass of wine. Note that these parks also have toilet facilities at regular intervals throughout.
So, if you are on the fence about safari - book it now with Lion King! Our conclusion is that spending 25% more with other providers would’ve still landed us in a land cruiser in this beautiful part of the world.
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Professional, helpful and dedicated to providing a wonderful tailor-made safari experience.
The whole trip, from start to finish was absolutely wonderful – probably the best safari we have experienced – and we have untaken many safaris over the years. The attention to detail was apparent – from planning the itinerary to the preparation of the Zimbabwe Family Getaway brochure, through to Victoria Falls and the final night in Travellers Guest House. The accommodation, facilities and personnel at every place we stayed could not have been bettered – Amalinda Lodge and Verney’s Camp being the standout destinations. The entire trip was stress free and indicative of the level of planning provided. We have been telling all our friends about our excellent, value for money, safari and have passed on your details. Thank you again, we had a really great time, as did the whole family - a super family bonding experience.
BE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Jadoresafaris is perfection!!!
Perfect service, always available to answer all your questions,and everything is perfectly arranged !!Jadoresafaris is absolutely TOP!!!
