35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
One of the finest
Extreme professionalism, good service and we were updated at every stage. I will continue using fine bush tours for their reliability and value for money.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Decent safari, could've been better
Communication before the safari was clear and quick, but not everything was up to our standards. For starters, make sure you read the bill carefully. We almost overpaid until we pointed out that our deposit counted towards the total sum. Furthermore, our guide didn't have any binoculars or a cooler for us to cool some drinks in during our safari. The animals stay quite far from the road in Amboseli so binoculars are a must, and we felt our experience suffered because of it. On the plus side, our guide was knowledgeable about the animals and spotted some hard-to-see ones, including a well-camouflaged small owl in the middle of the day.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent expirence from start to finsh.
The Beach & Safari Holiday Zanzibar package was perfect for us, the timing between each destination was just right, and P&W customer service was amazing – not only they were able to accommodate extra nights for our cancelled & delayed flights, but they also arranged a cake for my wife’s birthday in between our Safari extrusions.
Our trip started from arriving in Stone City where a driver with our name picked us up and took to the Shaba Boutique Hotel. We stayed there for 2 days (just 1.5 days if counting early departure and recovery time from our flights) but it was enough to take a walking tour of the city to see Slave market among other interesting points, visit Freddie Mercury Museum, and eat at local restaurants (highly recommend Cape Town Fish Market). We did use a 3rd party website to book the walking tour so I can’t comment on the in-house extrusion services. The flight to Arusha for Safari was early in the morning but our driver already was waiting for us with our plane tickets to take us to the airport.
Safari 1st day:
When we arrived in Arusha, Ed our tour guide and driver was already waiting. He took us to Tarangire park for our 1st Safari drive. The drive from the airport was pretty long, about 2 hours or so but was well worth it. Tarangire park was amazing, we got to see all of the animals in that park including a sleeping leopard. The park drive was about 4 hours or so and then another 1.5 hours to get to our accommodations in Lake Manyara.
Safari 2nd day:
This was a “slow day” – it only included a visit to Maasai Boma village that lasted about 2hrs. You can book another day trip or just relax at the campsite. We wish we knew this early as by the time we wanted to book an excursion later that day it was tool late for any tours that would interest us.
We enjoyed the camp site – we stayed in a tent with full bathroom/shower. They also have a bar, pool and restaurant but the most amazing view is the animals walking all over the place, zebras and baboons were everywhere you looked, including running on our tents in the morning. The restaurant offered good dinner options, but breakfast could be a bit better – it was the same thing without a choice every morning. The lunch boxes were ok but it did seem that the main food consisted of left overs from the last night’s dinner. The staff was nice and accommodating.
Safari 3rd day
Ngorongoro Crater Safari Drive - about 2hrs drive from the camp site, we spent about 5-6 hours at the park which was even better than Tarangire in my view. We also got lucky and saw all the animals the park has to offer including lions, hyenas and rhinos.
Safari 4th Day:
Lake Manyara drive – which is the same park the camp site is located. It is a very small park with not a lot of tourists but we also got lucky and saw a bunch of lions, families of elephants among the usual zebras and baboons. The drive was fairly short about 2.5hrs as our flight to Zanzibar was in the early afternoon.
Zanzibar Reef and Beach Resort:
We stayed at the villa right at the beach with ocean view and private hammock and beach chairs. The place is very well kept and has the “paradise” vibe. Every night they had some form of entertainment and during the day you could either stay at the pool or book an excursion to explore the island. Breakfast and Dinner options were good, but the snack bar could have a better variety of snacks since the restaurant is only open during specific time frames for dinner and breakfast.
The beach is pretty non existing especially during low tides. The Jetty Bar can somewhat compensate with their beach chairs and places to relax but if you are the type to just lay in the sand by the ocean, this might not be the place for you.
We did end up going to Paje Beach which is a short taxi ride - the beach there is amazing and there are plenty of restaurants along the way - highly recommend Mr. Kahawa Restaurant and Bar for a refreshing drink and great food.
Overall, a picture-perfect paradise resort with great customer service. It appears to tend to customers 40 years or older (or at least that was the crowd when we were there) where you can relax but also gives you some options if you want to be a bit more active. If you are used to Mexico or Caribbean All-inclusive experiences, it is a very similar experience.
All in all - we were very happy with Paradise & Wilderness as our travel booking company, they took good care of us, everything was arranged as promised including all the transfers, and the customer service was simply amazing. I highly recommend them for your Tanzania travels.
Additional information for first time travelers to Tanzania:
US Dollar and credit cards are also accepted in most of the touristy places, but Tanzanians are good negotiators, and you will end up paying way more in US Dollars vs local Tanzanian Schillings currency. You can get shillings from an ATM and use that to negotiate prices – you need to negotiate prices everywhere including taxi before you get in the car – for example, our first offer for a taxi from Reef and Beach to Paja was $20 and we negotiated to 20,000 shillings which was about $8 ad the end. Gift and souvenir shows are the same way - you are better off paying in Shillings and you should be able to negotiate to at least 50-70% off the initial price (we learned towards the end of our trip that starting at 25% of initial given price gives us the best outcomes, and if you start to walk away, you will get that price)
Maasai people – you will see them at the Beach and obviously in the Maasai Villages, they will try to sell you something and be prepare to either spend 15-30 minutes every time they start conversation with you or just say no thank you and keep walking. They are also great negotiators and the above applies.
The tour drivers & guides – they are 3rd party contractors(and there is yet another company that owns the car itself) that every company uses, they just put the sign of whichever operator you buy the trip from on their cars. Our guide Ed was great, his English was very good, and he was very accommodating and knowledgeable.
Airports – you have to scan you baggage when entering and leaving the airport but we had a feeling no one was paying attention to any of the scanners, at one point the guard was just sleeping when we put our bag on the belt and picked it after the x-ray machine. The service is very very slow – see below. Do get a visa ahead of time online - it will save you a lot of time.
Pole Pole (slowly, slowly) – I might be a bit biased since we have lived in a fast paced area for the last 20 years but be prepare to wait everywhere especially at the airports – to give you an idea – there were two people in front of us for the passport control and still took almost 2 hours to get thru it. Restaurants, stores etc outside the resorts are similar too.
Generally, we felt very safe when exploring Zanzibar and Stone Town on our own, and the people are very nice. Zanzibar is Muslim Island but the tourists are free to drink alcohol and dress however they want.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Victor was an amazing guide who knew where we needed to go to see the most beautiful sights.
Everything went exactly as planned and we felt so very well cared for.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Helpful, friendly and accommodating
We found Kilimanjaro adventure Safari club on Safari bookings with good reviews. We contacted them and they answered all our questions. They were very accommodating and even helped organise a cake for my nephew’s birthday. Very good value safari package for money and it was perfect for our budget.
The accommodations chosen were outstanding.
Alex our guide was great and patient with my niece and nephew (6&8) they had loads of questions which he kindly answered. Looked for the lions and hippos so they can see all the animals they wanted to.
US
Experience level: first safari
Amazing Victoria Falls tour and Safari Experience at Hwange National Park
We enjoyed our 4 day excursion to Victoria Falls and Safari at Hwange National Park. Our Cultural Vibes' tour guide was knowledgeable and personable. We appreciated the special effort to meet our needs such as vegetarian meals and customizing the tour package. The package included transportation to and from the airport, transportation to and from Victoria Falls and Hwange National Park, lodging, meals, and private guided tour of Victoria Falls and Safari drives. We plan to reserve another trip with Cultural Vibes and would recommend them to other tourists looking for excellent service and breathtaking experiences.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Safari Experience All-Around
We traveled to South Africa in October '22, and immensely joined our time with the Wild Planet Safari crew. This trip was years in the making (we were meant to go in 2020), and Thale was beyond helpful in making it happen for us in 2022!
Our guide, Chris, was attentive, friendly, had a great sense of humor, and was incredibly knowledgeable! Chris could spot any animal, no matter the size, or time of day! We were so thankful to see so many beautiful animals - whether it was countless lions, giraffes, (baby) elephants, leopards, birds, or more. Every sighting is truly a privilege!
The vibe with the entire Wild Planet Safari crew felt very familial. We enjoyed a few family-style meals together with other safari goers, and the cooking felt even more special, being in the great outdoors. Every day, we loved the full safari experience starting before sunrise until sunset (with delicious meals in between).
Expect an unforgettable experience with lasting friendships thanks to the entire crew. I have a feeling we'll talk about this trip forever!
I'd highly recommend Wild Planet Safari, and would return to do another safari in a heartbeat!
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
What a beautifully amazing and heart-lifting country to visit
South Africa was a life long wait to visit, but absolutely worth the wait. This country challenges your political and social beliefs in a good way; we spent our days divided between Durban and Johannesburg. A safari is on everyone's wish list and ours did NOT disappoint at all, while we didn't complete the check off of all the big 5, we managed 3 and heaps of them, plus many others as well. A visit to Soweto is probably even better, (if that's possible) than a safari and visiting the Apartheid, Mandela and Hector Petersen Museums was truely inspiring and educational and brought many memories of some of these events. WOW what a country.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Uganda is an underrated destination, would deserve better publicity
We have been fortunate enough to book 2 safari experiences, one going through the Ziwa Rhinos sanctuary and Murchison Falls National Park, where we've been able to see very closely all big five, another going to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest where we have been able to observe a Gorillas family.
There are no words to describe how blessed we've been.
The 2 safari tour operators we used (East African Jungle Safaris & Speke Uganda Holidays) were fantastic : very responsive and professional, the drive guides were both very knowledgeable and friendly.
The local population (in Kampala as well as in other locations) is very welcoming.
We highly recommend Uganda as a destination, both cultural and for its wildlfe.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It's a country which has honest people and a beautiful environment
People in Tanzania are good and they treat visitors like their king's.they have a wonderful culture and they know how to cook delicious meal, and they are surrounded with a good environment