FR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Moonstroll went above and beyond to create our perfect family safari experience.
This is a small local company that managed to combine being very professional with great communication from Monametsi, with a very personal and customised approach.
We were a group of two families travelling together with teenage kids and we all had a wonderful, authentic bush experience. We were looked after by an amazing team who setup the very comfortable tents and cooked fabulous meals over a campfire. ( Somewhow Gothata managed to cook fresh bread each day and even managed to whip up a chocolate cake for my daughter's birthday!)
We had Ben as our guide who was incredibly knowledgeable about everything from birds and insects to the big five. He had great tracking skills and managed to find everything from a huge pack of lions and hyena fighting over a kill to a wild dog den with puppies, cheetah, leopard etc.
He also went above and beyond to adapt to our needs, including finding medication for one of our party and collecting one of our party a day late after her flights were delayed from Europe.
I highly recommend this company if you want to experience camping in the wilds of Botswana.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Responsive, excellent attention to detail, flexible and accommodating, friendly
This was an unforgettable excellent experience! From the get go Lennox was very flexible and accommodating with our booking and answering the myriad of first-timer questions I had - not only for food restriction, but also with the needs of members of different ages in our group (children and elderly). He and his team went out of their way in organizing a birthday celebration for my wife in the middle of the trip, with almost no co-ordination required at our end.
Jimmy (our guide) was extremely flexible, seamlessly adapting the schedule and making sure we were well fed and had ample opportunity to view all kinds of wildlife (animals and birds) in the parks. He is an excellent driver, knowledgeable, and a master in positioning the vehicle such that we could almost touch the lions and elephant families at Maasai Mara and Amboseli.
Everything was perfectly co-ordinated, he had no complaints if we were late with our shopping - the schedule was automatically adjusted with a smile and a “it’s ok!!” Vegetarian food was always ensured (upon request at booking of course). Jimmy is extremely affable with and excellent network amongst his fellow tour guides - this meant excellent co-ordination between the guides to make sure no one, including us, missed an animal sighting. Each day, we were blown away by how much Jimmy got us to see (we counted 13 animal species and 8 bird species on our second day), how much knowledge he shared about their life span, how they survive, what they eat, where they are found, and looking up more details in his guide book when requested.
Your experience will be beyond your expectations! Axis is great value for money!! Strongly recommended!
CR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
They really care about us!
With great compromise and interest, they planned every detail of my journey. They offered me an excellent relation between price and services. During my 10 days trip, I felt confortable, safe and specially cared by the staff of Hodari. Believe me… they did everything to make my trip possible… in fact they did miracles!!
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outstanding company!!
It was a Fantastic Safari, visited on August 5, 2022.
We had a 12 Days/11 Nights Safari with Bluerange Connect Limited. We visited Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha, Amboseli, Tsavo West and East. Our guide Emmanuel Muniafu was amazing! His knowledge, eye sight, instinct, driving abilities was outstanding!! We couldn’t asked for anyone better. We got to see more animals up close then we could ever imagine! We saw the Big 5 or 10 and many other types of animals, many times over! It was truly a trip of a lifetime!! Bluerange Connect hit it out of the park!!!
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Totally recommended
It has been a very pleasant, fun and enriching experience. We did a private safari in Spanish and in a van, perhaps the latter is what we will change in the future, because the SUVs moved like fish in water, those roads for the vans are horrible.
For the rest, we were great, very comfortable with the guide Oscar and with our driver Simón, they made us spend 3 very entertaining days.
Totally recommended!!
(automatic translation from Spanish)
NL
Fantastic tour and very kind guide.
I had a safari with my family. Sudi is a safe driver and an excellent guide. Very helpfull and friendly. He shared lots of information about the animals also about the country. We had interesting and fun conversations, a great time together. Moreover, cook Charles served us with some great fresh meals along the whole trip. I really recommand Sudi Dendea!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outstanding
A safari in Tanzania is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so you want to make sure you do it properly. Fortunately our tour with Shiri was perfect, including the lodgings as well as our guide Lau who was very experienced, knowledgeable and friendly and made sure we saw lots of animals. The hospitality from Linus - the owner - was exceptional and he was always available over WhatsApp to answer any questions very promptly. It can be overwhelming with hundreds of tour companies to choose from but I would 100% recommend Shiri!
NO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great wildlife, but disappointing tour operator
We did a small safari tour over 3 days, where we slept in tents. Our experience was very two sided.
Pros:
1-The animals and nature we got to see was incredible. We saw almost all the animals we were hoping for.
2-The cook was amazing, considering his working conditions in public camping sites. Every single meal was really tasty, and had a good variety. He was always polite and explained in detail which food he served.
3-The tents were as expected for two adults in terms of size and weather resistance, but the campsite toilets and showers were dirty and lacking toilet paper. There were also too many tourists per toilet.
4-We have beverages in the jeep (water and soda) every day.
5-Two person per row in the jeep allowed everyone to have their own window.
6-The cars used for transport to and from the airport were in good condition
Cons:
1-The lodge where we stayed before and after the safari was very low-budget. The shower had only cold or burning hot water, and the water pressure was way too low. No hand towels were provided, and we had to ask for a second shower towel both stays. The breakfast was decent and the staff was polite. The room had poor sound isolation, so we were kept awake by other guests.
2-Our guide/driver (James or Jimmy) was often driving very erratically, so that it was often difficult for us to take good videos or photos of the animals. Sometimes he wouldn't stop when all of us saw animals we wanted to photograph.He was often giving information while we took pictures, but he kept demanding our response whenever we were busy with experiencing the wildlife. The way he approached different tourist in the jeep seemed unprofessional to us. When the tour was over, he didn't even bother helping with our bags, or even say goodbye. This was after we had paid the tip that was suggested by Hillary.
3-The driver should have a microphone, because it is almost impossible to hear his voice while the engine is running, especially if you are sitting in the back of the jeep.
4-Our contact at the lodge (Mr. Ally or Ali) gave us a very unenthusiastic introduction to our tour, where he said that we "must" pay a tip of 15 USD per day per person, even though Hillary's email said it was a recommendation. Only after we said this, he changed his choice of words. After the safari was over we met him again. Then he asked "give us a 5-star review on Tripadvisor, both of you today". We told him we would review the experience from home, but he kept asking to do it immediately. The only purpose was to keep Surikata Safari on top of the list at Tripadvisor, rather than honest feedback. Future tourists should keep this in mind when you read all the 5-star reviews. We had some extra time on our last day in Arusha where we said we wanted to relax. Instead he kept pushing for us to pay for more tours. The transport to the airport was 45 - 60 minutes delayed.
Overall what we suggest especially to couples is that to choose a mid-range (more luxurious) option compared to the one with tents. Then you might not be annoyed by some of the things we have listed.
IE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic "bucket list" experience
"Bucket list" experience you should do more than once. This was the holiday of lifetime. We saw all the "Big 5" including an elephant with twins, three rhinos in the Serengeti (I'm told this is very unusual), cheetahs hunting using our vehicle for cover and monkeys who stole part of our lunch. The accommodation was very good and our guide (Gasper) superb. Highly recommended. Our family of 5 including 3 teenagers will definitely be on safari again.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful and professional
We booked our trip with African Paradise Safaris because their itinerary was the closest to what we wanted. We were extremely pleased with the experience. John Peter, who managed the booking, was very responsive and flexible when we suggested changes to itineraries. He was very patient with all of the questions we had. Our driver John was great - we spent 14 days total with him and I don’t think we got tired of each other! He’s an excellent driver and also a lot of fun - we had lots of smiles and laughs. Highly recommend APS for booking a safari!