CH
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent high-quality services from A to Z
We experienced an unforgettable, impressive 5-day safari tour in September that could not have been better. We were more than satisfied with the top services from Leisure Escape Safaris from A to Z. In particular, Esther and Duncan impressed us with their professionalism, their extremely friendly manner, their pronounced customer centricity, their high degree of flexibility and their friendly, trusting manner. With Esther, we put together a great itinerary tailored to our wishes. Esther responded to our requests and queries very quickly and competently. Duncan was the best driver and tour guide we could have wished for. He was very professional and reliable and fulfilled all our individual wishes. His knowledge of the wildlife and the places we were able to see thanks to him was exceptional. Esther and Duncan, thank you very much for making this unforgettable safari tour possible for us. Leisure Escape Safaris is highly recommended and exemplary in every respect. We would love to do it again with this company!
Marcel, Anja & Noel
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect 7-day journey up Kilimanjaro via the Lemosho route with Samora Explorers
My mother and I did a 7 day trek up Mt Kilimanjaro via the Lemosho route, and when we got down to the gate on our last day, I wanted to turn around and go right back up. It was an amazing trip, and the Samora team was fabulous. The other people in our group cancelled at the last minute so it was only the two of us, and the guides and porters made us feel like royalty. Seeing groups with other companies, I was so grateful that our guides, Gadiel and Felix, were so patient and relaxed with us, and the porters were all so kind and happy. It felt like a great group of friends. Gadiel and Felix shared a lot of knowledge with us about the mountain, the plants and animals, and the people who make these treks possible. They were conscientious about our health and safety and made sure to check in constantly about how we were handling the altitude. We both felt a little rough at different points, and they took care of us and made sure we got to the summit healthy and happy. We were blown away at the fresh meals prepared by the chef, Elibariki, and had more than we could possibly eat. They were all flexible and patient with us, and treated my mother so sweet. My only regret was that we could not stay longer!
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Viva safaris was above our expectations!
Me and my two sisters did the 5-Day Tremisana Safari with Viva Safari. It was our first safari and the experience was above our expectations!!!
The private game drives in the balule reserve were awesome and felt more adventurous, and we did get to see the most popular animals in the reserve (Lion, elephant, zebra, rhino, hippo, leopard, giraffe, etc.. ) .
Then for two days that we went to the kruger national park, we saw a greater quantity and a diversity of animals. Kruger did felt less private (more cars at each sightseeing). But we did enjoy being able to do both the private and kruger game drive.
All the guides that we had with viva safari were incredible (especially KG, Rocky, Smiley). They were all great to be around, friendly, very resourceful and interesting. The bush walk was a great experience too.
The staff at the Tremisana lodge were amazing. The food was excellent and there was always plenty of food (way too much actually).
Patricia really helped us with the booking and to prepare for the safari. The communication was always on point. The pick up from the Johannesburg airport and return was well organized. We did enjoy the panorama route (Blyde canyon) on our way back.
And don't forget to bring some warm clothes if you go in September, it is cold in the early morning and when the sun sets. So make sure to check the weather and bring a warmer coat (advice from a canadian used to cold weather).
Thank you Viva Safari for that wonderful experience!! I will be back one day!!
Very Poor Service For Amount Paid
The below is my opinion based on my experience with Go2Africa.
Go2Africa was reasonably good at selling the trip to us - good communication and pitching of experiences. That said, I agree with reviewer Anna who mentioned that they withhold information unless you ask them specifically (and in writing) - items such as the specific location of a lodge, whether you need vaccinations, where your pickup will be from (inside airport or after baggage claim).
Once they took our money is where we felt they really fell short of what we feel we paid for. In my opinion, this was made even worse by a lack of care when we reached out to them - both during the trip and afterwards.
A number of issues were encountered, including:
- Hotels forgot to put enough towels for all of our party - we emailed Go2Africa the first time this happened but it kept happening
- We'd booked and paid for a private vehicle for certain safaris but a lodge we stayed at did not know this - we had to awkwardly "fight for it" after our arrival - we feel Go2Africa should have been "on top" of what we had paid for and ensured this didn't happen
- One of our airport pickups was late, and we were left waiting for 15+ minutes outside of the airport
- One of our lodges was over 50 minutes away from the "prime" safari grounds - this was something they never told us when we were booking
- We were told that Go2Africa is a co-owner, co-investor and/or shareholder in another tour operator, called Asilia, they used this provider for parts of our trip (many Asilia cars advertise Go2Africa on their signage). The Asilia representative in one city offered to us, free of charge, a city tour at our next destination. When we arrived in this next city the Asilia team on site had no idea of this offer and, after loading our luggage into their car started awkwardly asking us for money for the tour. This made us very uncomfortable and when we later commented to Go2Africa, all they said was that they would "investigate" - our experience and time was still spoiled
- Go2Africa claimed to have reserved a restaurant for us but when we arrived we found out that the restaurant was closed on the day they said they'd confirmed the reservation for - this cost us valuable time on our tour (they later said their subcontractor should have reconfirmed this when we pushed them for accountability on it)
- They refused to provide any compensation for the issues we encountered and instead were, in my opinion, very defensive about everything that happened (they chose to blame their subcontractors rather than own the issues we encountered)
I personally would not use Go2Africa again, I feel that we paid for a premium experience and service, only to be treated quite poorly once we had paid them. Having awkward moments in foreign countries with tour operators was frustrating.... When paying for a trip, I believe you're paying for an experience. You have limited time during your travel and want to make the most of it. Go2Africa was very unsympathetic to this. I recommend looking at other options before considering Go2Africa.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful trip of a lifetime
Amazing experience in Tanzania!!! Highly recommend Safarisolestours, it provided us the customized-agenda and warmly service! Their guides are really experienced，our guide Abdul let us see many animals in Tanzania, worth the trip! Really like him！Also thanks for Raphael and George's patient response and planning. The accommodations and meals are also really nice. We will definately come back to Africa for another trip！
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
professionalism and kindness
It was great having Kennedy as a guide and a privilege as the company is very young. He is very knowledgeable. I was alone with him. I live in Kenya. Choosing the right guide in Masai Mara is very important as there are many fake guides who are just drivers who rely on the walkie talkie or other means of communication to find the big cats. Once you are there, there are very often too many cars and you do not feel the bush vibe. Quantity is often there at the expense of quality! I would rather see less animals with less cars.
I managed to see lions, cheetahs and one leopard in four game drives. We were twice among the very first cars to observe them. So, the quality was there.
If you want exclusiveness however, Kennedy will take you to the Mara Triangle which is a conservancy with a restriction on the number of cars. The quality of the sightings is unparalleled and within the Masai Mara game reserve. It is so beautiful and peaceful! We even managed to see black rhinos there! There were more elephants than in the Masai Mara game reserve.
We also saw one crossing but we did not stay long as I did not like the number of cars and Kennedy could not do anything against it! Still, it was very impressive!
I thoroughly recommend Kennedy as a guide and I wish you all the best for the company!
NO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good
We booked a 7 days safari with native Afrika voyages in the beginning of september. We chose a mid-range accommodation pack, and it was a private tour just for our group of 4 people.
It was a fantastic experience, i have no words. Our guide Cyrus was a man with knowledge about animals and different areas, and had great humor. He had an eye for hidden animals. Cyrus was as interested as us to find cool animals, such as different cat species. We were lucky and saw all the cat species several times!
We went to samburu national reservation, Oi pejeta Conservancy, Lake Naivasha and Masaai mara national reserve. Our favorite places was with out a doubt Samburu and Masaai mara. We would not use a day at Oi pejeta, its a closed in area with animals. Not like the reserves. Lake naivasha was OK, this is more a place for bird enthusiast. We would rather have one day extra in samburu and Masaai mara than Oi pejeta and lake naivasha.
Our accommodations were good in samburu, Oi pejeta and Masaai mara. But it was really bad in Lake Naivasha. The hotel was not mid range. It smelled like poo in some of the rooms. In the bathroom, the tiles were broken, the toilet was broken and it did not have a seat. The bathroom has rat poo several places. It was not mid range as we had payed for. I sent a complaint to David. We god a discount when visiting the Masaai people. The hotel name was fish eagle inn, i wouldnt recommend you to stay there if you pay for midrange.
The food was good, a variety of different cultural kitchens.
I would recommend native afrikan voyages, and i would travel with them again!
Again, thank you Cyrus for being an awesome guide!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Spirit of Kenya was always reliable and organized during our entire safari.
My mom and I had a phenomenal 9-day safari! It was our first time visiting the African continent and Kenya was a great way to start.
Filipa our journey designer helped us the entire time and answered the many questions we had. She provided a very detailed itinerary for each location (Tsavo West, Amboselli, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru and Maasai Mara) with price breakdowns and drive times.
Once we arrived in Nairobi, everything was taken care of by Ras, our guide, who was amazing! He was on time, made us feel safe the entire journey and took some amazing pictures. Ras would explain every location we were visiting and of the animals (which were many). We were lucky enough to see the Big 5 and much more! At Maasai Mara we even visited a very friendly Maasai village!
We still have a lot to see in Kenya, but that gives an excuse to come back! We will definitely be booking with Spirit of Kenya in the future.
CO
under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was absolutely amazing.
Axis Africa expedition and safaris was incredible especially with a big group of people. They were so nice and caring to all of the members of your party. Loved it so much!
CO
under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
very efficient and good service
the expedition and expirience as a whole was great, our driver kevin made sure that everything was always in order and was always really nice and helpful.