US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Northern Tanzania
Well planned itinerary with enough time to spend on the game drives and relaxing at the wonderful lodges. Highlight of the trip was the lions in the trees in Serengeti. I can recommend to other travellers.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Honeymoon of a lifetime thanks to Claws!
My wife Ashley and I set off on the safari tour of a lifetime for our honeymoon. We were picked up at our first hotel in the morning and met our driver for the safari, James. He picked us up in a Toyota Land Cruiser, it was clean and he came packing a refrigerated cooler full of water for our use whenever we needed it. We set off for Lake Manyara and he stopped along the way to buy us some red bananas, out of his own money, for us to try. We got into the park pretty early and, just like a normal person would on day 1 of their first safari, we wanted to stop for every animal. Every animal we saw, James explained any information we had about it, we were amazed that he knew so much. He had a big packed lunch for us to eat at the special look off picnic area. We are not big bird people but he still had info about each as we sat and ate lunch. We set a goal at lunch to see some elephants, after lunch we drove to find them. He spotted tracks off the path and said “they are close”. He saw them through the bushes and we waited for a bit. They then started walking directly towards us and right beside the vehicle allowing for some amazing pictures and even better memories.
At Ngorongoro Crater, We left our lodge to see that the vehicle had been cleaned inside and out and fridge re-packed. On the way into the crater James explained about his life, family, education and his job. I honestly will remember this probably as much as I do the safari. We saw so many animals here and also saw one of our biggest highlights, a pride of lions taking turns feeding on a very recently killed buffalo. James explained how they would have taken it down and how they decide who eats first and when. We completed the big 5 in the Crater on this day to our delight.
We headed to the Serengeti for our first of 2 days. We wish we could have spent 2 weeks here but honestly, James showed us all we needed to see in 2 days. We had very good positioning for cheetahs, leopards, hippos, elephants, giraffes, hyenas, male and female lions. We also had many great views of the Great Migration. Many times James would suggest areas to visit but he kept saying “its your safari, we will stop whenever you want”. Each morning we had a clean vehicle to get into as it was very muddy and there was a lot of dust each day.
I highly recommend Claws of Africa and James for your trip in Tanzania ☺
BR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kiliholidays is very reliable. Emanuel knows a lot about animals.He was always on time.
Very good hotels.The Safari experience in Tanzânia was unforgettable.Very good car.I would rather not have slept in Arusha.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Smoot experience, great itinerary
Carmen was super patient and communicative with us in setting up the trip- she helped us book a self drive tour around the country. I need to emphasize the patient part because I asked a lot of questions and had a lot of specific needs and was slightly indecisive. She worked super close with me and and took it all in stride. Our experience was amazing from day one, the lodging that was recommended was just what we were looking for, Carlo did the meet and greet and he was pleasant and funny and full of good tips as well. The only issue we had was a slight problem with the rental car mid trip and Namibia Tour's and Safari handled it quickly so we weren't too stressed out. We would definitely book with them again. Thanks!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great service, good detail
Joseph was super patient and communicative with us in setting up the trip. I need to emphasize the patient part because I asked a lot of questions and had a lot of specific needs I wanted! He took it all in stride. He also gave some advice about what things to consider and was spot on. Our experience was amazing- transfer were smooth, timely. We had them book an airport pick up, sunset cruise, overnight Hwange adventure, and then transport to our next destination. The only thing that didn't go quite as planned was the night drive- but I do not think this was the company's fault. There was some equipment issues perhaps from the contracted driver that took us. I recommend to ask about that if you are interested b/c it wasn't the best. The contracted day safari guide- Desire was so great as well- hopefully they will keep using him. Our transfer driver Mango was also excellent. All of them were great to talk to and very friendly and funny. Would book with them again in a heartbeat. Thank you!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well planned seemless travel
Hi- Anton was super patient and communicative with us in setting up the trip. I need to emphasize the patient part because I asked a lot of questions and had a lot of specific needs I wanted me. He took it all in stride. Our experience was amazing from day one, transfers were seemless, the lodging that was recommended was just what we were looking for. We would definitely book with them again. Thanks!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Steve w/Aberdare paid attention to detail along w/ our fabulous guide Dedan Juma.
Steve at Aberdare was very nice to work with. He understood what we wanted for this safari, the types of places we wanted to stay and helped us, along w/ Dedan, put together a wonderful itinerary and booked everything including our in-country flights and transfers to the camps and hotels.
Steve was easy to communicate with. During the initial consultation and bookings, when we wanted to change anything he took care of it. He helped us work our itinerary so that we could fit everything in that we wanted to do. Even when a couple of us wanted to fly instead of drive with the others on one leg of the journey he made those arrangements and even met us and took us to the airfield while the rest of the party drove on. There are many behind the scenes details that he took care of. And he is very nice and personable!
Steve also has a very experienced, knowledgeable, well respected (at the camps) and caring guide in Dedan! We couldn't ask for better.
This was our 4th trip and it worked out great!
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Most Misrepresented Unorganized Tour Ever Experienced
The tour "12 Days Best of Kenya and Tanzania" was without a doubt the most MISREPRESENTED and POORLY ORGANIZED tour I have EVER experienced. Our transfers were all late and we constantly had to pry the itinerary information from our guides - especially in Tanzania. Once off the paved roads, the roughest roads, travelled at break-neck speeds to get to the next park on time, left us with headaches and feeling like we had concussions. The Accommodations posted were NOT where we stayed. Our $400 per day got us backpacker, communal, horrible campsites/campgrounds (NOT CAMPS as they advertised), sleeping on the ground with a 1 inch ripped foam pad, sleeping bags that were so over-laundered the fill was lumpy (mine was pink with fun-fur around the top), NO pillows, NO towels provided and NO notice given that they would NOT be provided (at Ngorongoro Crater in in Serengeti Park). Further we were required to leave one of our duffel bags behind at the first camp, as we were told there was no room for our luggage - also were never informed there were space restrictions. Our itineraries were always changing and our last transfer information - back to Nairobi - was not received until 10pm at night. After spending an hour at a repair shop to fix the safari truck and told the Tour Rep would come to the hotel with our transfer information - he refused to attend the hotel and texted our transfer information at 10 pm.
After many persistent complaints made with the booking company -TourRadar - where WE provided internet research with photos, to provide proof of East Africa Safari Bookers' - and their counterpart in Tanzanias' MISREPRESENTATION and fly-by-night operation', we were given a partial refund.
We do see that their descriptions have now changed for this tour to indicate 'basic' accommodations, but let me inform anyone who is considering booking this tour - your accommodation in Amboseli - while being a cute camp at the base of Kilimanjero - the floors in the cabins are so slanted you will roll across your bed, The 'campsite' in Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti is backpacker/ communal where all the camp staff make so much noise you will not sleep before 11 pm and then will be jarred awake at about 4:30 am. Your tent could be set as far as 100 yards/meters from the washroom buildings - so be sure to say your prayers if you need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. This tour is rated for AGES 2 to 85. I would love to see a 2 year old or 85 year old survive these accommodations.
The only good part of this trip were the animals we were able to see, though our tour guide/driver in Tanzania did little to position the vehicle for good photos - we had to keep asking to move ahead of back.
Please see the photos posted on the TourRadar review platform to see for yourself what we paid for and WHAT WE GOT!!!!
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great trip to Tanzania !
We spent 5 awesome days with Endrick, we could not imagine getting such a nice tour guide for our first safari. We saw a lot of animals, we had time to take the best pictures with the right angle. Amazing experience, thank you very much :)
BR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
One of the best experience on my life!!
We had one of the best experience on our lives!!
We did a 9 days trip, 2 friends and me. Mukisa Safaris picked us up at the Entebbe Intl Airport and we spent one night in the city.
We were presented to the staff, Jowana (the guide), Solomon (the driver) and Richard (the owner). They were very friendly on the welcome at the disembark.
The next day, we started our journey to a lifetime experience. First we headed to Murchisan National Park where we saw a lot of animals (those savana typical ones). The first night was on a nice lodge, but we suffered a lot with the hot weather! Be prepared if you chose a midrange package, because there is no air conditioning in the lodges!!
Then we moved to Kibale Forest National Park, where we did a chimp tracking. That was amazing, cause we could see chimpanzees walking on the ground. The Kibale Forest Camp is so cool, with tents in the middle of the trees!!!
The next stop was the Queen Elizabeth National Park where we had a incredible experience, viewing cats from so close (we saw lions and leopards). The Lodge was the Pumba Safari Cottages, with an excellent service and very friendly staff, besides the wonderful views from the terrace.
The last stop was the highlight of the trip, where we went to the Mutanda Lake area and stayed at the Mutanda Lanke Resort, a high level lodge. The gorilla tracking was done on the Bwind Impenetrable Forest National Park. We could see a large gorilla family with a short walk from the base.
The trip ended in Kigali, with a visit to the Genocide Memorial and a city tour.
I don't have words to explain the quality of the service pressed by Mukisa Safaris and all it's staff. They were very professional since the first emails exchanged with Richard months in advance, until the last minute of the trip, always concerned about the tours, the lodges and everything else. But we really had a great connection with two people who stayed all these days with us: Jowana and Solomon. Our guide Jowana she is the best guide in Uganda, for sure!! She is one of the very few female guides in the country, so everyone knows her!! She has open doors everywhere she goes, and she gets great deals and special services during the trip! She was AMAZING. Always happy, with a great smile on her face. Very experienced on explaining about the places visited, we could learn a lot about this wonderful country that is Uganda! About Solomon, he is the best drive on the country! Considering there are many tough places we drove by, with hard roads, swamps and other challenges, he was perfect. Very communicative and with a great mood, he was essential to the success of our trip!
So, the company is REALLY RECOMMENDED!!! You can be sure you will have the best experience ever!!