IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Safari Migration with Safari Crew Tanzania: 5 stars are not enough!
My wife and I have been back for less than a month from a magnificent 8-day safari in Northern Tanzania perfectly organized by Safari Crew Tanzania. All excellent, not a smear, everything carefully planned in detail, all above our expectations.
- Itinerary, well structured and fluid: 1 night in Arusha, 1 Ngorongoro, 5 nights in the Serengeti, of which 2 in the center and 3 in the north, where we could watch the migration (thrilling show, which alone is worth the trip) then flight from Kogatende (Northern Serengeti) to Zanzibar. No intermediate nights to waste time (like, I have seen, some operators propose, to give the impression of a longer program at reasonable costs), a new emotion every day.
- Guide, Gerald, from the perfect Italian, very good, able to see beyond human possibilities, able to always stop the machine in an ideal position for photos, an expert on animals and their habits, but also on history and culture of Tanzania. Also nice and friendly, he never offered to stop... Read more at shops or flea markets, we had to insist on doing some shopping (an unusual feature all over the world, where guides, you know, usually take commissions from stores ).
- Formidable, comfortable off-road vehicle, in perfect condition, at the height of every situation, huge, a Toyota Land Cruiser beast step along with the roof that lifts, always very clean every morning (despite the evening, given the conditions of the slopes, were to say slightly dusty).
- Lodges and tented camps always wonderful, comfortable: above all the tented fields have surprised us for the comfort, the cleanliness, the service and above all the locations and the charm. Of the two categories of accommodations proposed by Safari Crew we had chosen the less expensive one, which turned out to be perfect, better than we could have expected (sometimes the photos on the internet don't render). The choice of Zanzibar also fits perfectly: here Rocco, after hearing that we do not like villages and big hotels, suggested Villa Kiva, in Matemwe, an area far from mass tourism, a small hotel of only 30 rooms managed to perfection. by a couple of Italian / Polish boys.
Everywhere we ate very well. Lunch boxes for lunch are a little monotonous, but there is little to do there.
We decided to extend the program by adding several nights to the Serengeti and this proved to be a good choice, because in this way you avoid having to make your way every day to move from one park to another, you can enjoy the safari without having to do the baggage and you have the opportunity to go out at dawn with the packed breakfast, return around 11 am, have lunch at the camp, rest in the central hours of the day and succeed between 15 and 19, also avoiding lunch boxes.
Exceptional quality / price ratio: we had requested other quotes, even from another couple of Italian-run agencies, some cheaper but certainly more "insipid". Safari Crew is not the most economical agency, but, from the first approach, it has shown great competence, professionalism, ability to advise us, flexibility in complying with our requests, to interpret them, to translate them effectively demonstrating such competence and passion, which I have not encountered in dialogue with other agencies.
The advice I give to everyone and to avoid too compressed programs, avoid running, don't ask for a park a day, take the necessary time, every day is a day well spent, especially in the Serengeti, while in Ngorongoro one day is fine too, the crater is small.
In short, for an impeccable safari there is only to contact Safari Crew Tanzania and rely on their experience. Special thanks to Rocco, Gerald and the whole Crew. We really hope to come back soon. It is a journey that will always remain in our hearts.
JP
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
They are the one who you need. Communication, hospitality was excellent!!
We went to the 6 days Kenya group tour (Masai Mara, Nakuru and Amboseli).
Both the communication before the tour between SILAS and the safari experience led by our driver STANLEY was amazing.
If you are looking for a budget tour, they are the one who you should choose. Price is good, the safari experience is amazing and the staff are professional.
SILAS who seems to be the representative of the company responded our inquiries really quickly via WhatsApp. If you send him a message in a Nairobi working hours, you will most likely get a reply in a few minutes. His company is young, but he seems to have adequate experience in this industry. He picked up us at Nairobi Airport and sent us to our hotel on the first day. He sent us a driver the next morning, and the driver took us to a meeting point where we met our driver and our fellow travellers. SILAS was there too. We met him again on the last day of the visit when he took us to the airport.
STANLEY,... Read more who was our driver was a real professional. He woke up very early every day to inspect the safari environment, communicate with other guides and get information and to clean the van. It seemed that he was really wanting us to satisfy. He used radio as other guides and guides cooperate to find big animals, like lions and cheetas. We could see all of the BIG FIVES. We could also see two cheetahs eating an antelope which was really amazing. He was knowledgeable about the animals and explained to us how to distinguish them. He has good eyes and could find the animals from far where we could barely see even when we were told it was there.
Suggestion for the budget tour.
- Accommodations were okay. But don't expect a clean place like a hotel. It is a tent with a bed where you sleep and a hot shower is not that hot. Bugs may come in. It may black-out at midnight. I enjoyed it.
- On a budget tour, we will move by a van (e.g. Nissan URVAN). Sometimes more than 7 hours. Seats were okay but not comfortable like sedan cars. If you don't want to do this, you need to fly with a Cessna from Wilson Airport to the Park.
- Food was okay. But not what you expect in your country.
- Flying into the clean hotels/lodges near the Park may triple the price.
- You can't choose who you will be with on a group tour. We were really lucky to have great people with us. We talked over a beer every day after dinner.
- No place to wash your clothes. I washed my clothes on the first day but it didn't dry.
- I bought a Safaricom SIM card at the airport. We got an internet connection at the campsite with this SIM. No WiFi at the campsite.
- Don't forget to tip the driver.
Bring:
- Portable charger for the phone
- Fleece or a windbreaker. It is quite cold, especially in the rainy seasons.
- Flip flops. Something you can wear at the accommodations.
- If you want to take a close photo, lense no less than 200mm. Sometimes 300mm is not even enough.
- Shampoo and body shower. There is none in the accommodations.
- A compact hairdryer. It is quite cold in the evenings and you might want to dry your hair. You also might want to dry your shoes, especially in the rainy seasons.
- Tissues and wet wipes.
- Binoculars (at least 10*30)
- If you have enough space, I would bring an extra pair of shoes.
All in all, the safari experience provided by Apodiformes Adventure, SILAS and STANLEY was really amazing. I will recommend them to my friends.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
excellent had an amazing experience
This company is so well organize efficient and there are very polite.i appreciate their organization
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect organisation
I first met Noel, who runs Fur Tours and Trek, in 2018 and had a great experience visiting the Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro parks with my wife in a tour mainly organised by him. He's always helpful and professional and I highly recommend Fur Tours for a great experience.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing tour
No words can describe how amazing this tour . I managed to see all my favorite animals especially all the big five. In addition, I took a selfie with a lion.
The special part of this tour is our guide “Albert” who managed to show us all the animals: lions , Rhinos ( white and black), giraffes, elephants, zebras, chita, and many many other amazing animals.
I recommend this four days tour to everyone love Animals and safaris
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
This is a once in a lifetime experience for me and they did not dissapoint!
I loved every bit of the safari! From the locals, the cuisine, the scenery and of course the variety of animals is an awesome gift from Kenya. The service was very great and the guides were very knowledgeable. Ask for Ben or Raymond for guides because they really know what they're doing. Also, if you want full excursion experience, rent the jeep with 4×4. This safari exceeded my expectations and if I am ever to do one in Kenya again, I will through Karibu. Thanks for everything!
FI
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
My best birthday
I had already made up my mind to have my 70th birthday in safari in Africa. I wanted to see all those animals so right place would be Serengeti in Tazania. We had a big party of nine and chose Tanzania Roadside Expeditions. We very a bit anxious about the safari but that turned out to be vain. Already in the Arusha airport we had a very good reception and we found out that we had made the right choice about the safari company. We had two cars and excellent drivers to both. Edwin drove our car and besides all the driving and animal lookout he knows the birds very fine. Justin was driving the other car and he was also very good. Paul is running the company and he was very effective with us. He even arranged two birthday parties fo me, so the first one was during the breakfast and the other in the evening during the dinner. He really made the day unforgettable. All the accomodations was very good from Arusha to Segentegi and we saw lots of animals. We were even lucky to see the big migration. So I can recommed the Tanzania Roadside Expeditons. We had a wonderful experience with them.
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beyond expectations - Franco our guide, the accommodations, food, abundance of wildlife we saw
An African Safari is one of the most memorable and lifetime adventures - and I am so glad we did this with Spirit of Kenya (having asked for quotes and comparisons from about a dozen travel companies).
Of course, when you book with travel companies, there is a lot of gloss and fancy language on brochures and websites, and you are very happy if they deliver 8 out of 10. But here I would say - it was 10 out of 10, as every promise they made was kept, and even exceeded.
The booking process with Vanessa was a most pleasant and thorough experience. Right from guiding us on choice of National Parks (because there are so many to choose from and the permutations confuse you) to designing an itinerary which lets us have the most packed adventure covering the maximum length and breadth of numerous National Parks, to suggesting the places of staying at each Park, and my smallest of queries - like where to buy SIM or where to get Macadamia nuts, Vanessa was of utmost politeness and... Read more patience in answering everything. She was extremely gracious and polite, and whatever time of day I wrote - I got a reply promptly or the next early morning. Sales Managers stop acting pleasant once the money is in, but not the case with Vanessa - she really is your personal curator for the trip. I can say she treated us like 'friends and family' in giving us everything for the trip and helping us plan it.
The places chosen to stay were terrific - the Camps / Lodges are right in there in the most pristine and central regions of the National Parks, and very-well maintained and full of the most delicious (we are vegetarians and got ample options) food and terrific hospitality. Great choices made by Spirit of Kenya.
We covered Masai Mara (stay at Ilkeliani Camp) - Lake Nakuru (Flamingo Hill Tented Camp) - Amboseli (Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge).
Franco Sego - our guide for the whole trip was extremely affable and a pleasure to be with. Very diligent and committed to his job. The best guide and friend we could have had. Very knowledgeable and skilled in knowing the movements of animals. I can give some examples - While we started Masai Mara at 7 am, and he said he will bring us back around 4 pm .. he brought us back around 6.30 pm in the day .. taking all those extra hours out of his own rest time .. just because he realizes that while he sees wild animals everyday on the job, but for us probably it is the only chance in our lifetime we will get to see them - and he puts his heart and soul in getting us a good and close view of every animal he can find hidden somewhere. Two hours in finding a hidden leopard, where other Jeeps gave up and went away. Letting us catch a Cheetah in the hunt while nobody else bothered to go that far and wait that long, because other Jeeps saw the chances as slim of finding that, while Franco thought it would be heart-throbbing for us if we could get to witness that rare spectacle. Another example - While we had seen over 20 lions and lionesses over 6 times in the day at Mara, late in the evening at 6 pm, he traveled 5 kms extra to one side of the park near our camp, and showed us another pride of lions. He said he had heard a roar of lions the previous night somewhere near the camp and wanted us to find them. That's the kind of stupendous commitment he has to the job. From all the guides I saw across in other jeeps, and other Safari vans of different operators - I can say Spirit of Kenya does hire the best and motivates them well - the guide was classy, well educated, extremely neat and polished in his appearance (more as a sophisticated naturalist I would say), communicates very well with his English and mannerisms. I think it's fair to say Franco is the reason we will do another trip with Spirit of Kenya to Tanzania or Uganda or Namibia in the next 2-3 years. The safari vehicle throughout the trip (Nissan 4x4) was a thoroughly competitive SUV for any kind of terrain and supremely comfortable with an excellent viewtop. Everyday Franco would clean the car thoroughly from inside to make it look new. This was our home for most of the waking hours of the day, and completely satisfied with it.
Although the cost seemed quite high at the beginning (as is for all African safaris), and we begin to think the costing is exorbitantly exploitative and travel company is making a ridiculous amount of profit - after having done the trip, we would say it is well worth it. We didn't spend a single penny from when we were picked up from Airport, covered the entire trip and were dropped back at Airport. Everything included - which covers some 800 plus kms of distance between the 3 National Parks, the distance covered in the park itself - which would be almost 70-100 kms in a day, the entry cost of National Parks, the cost of guide staying at same places as we do, the full board - every kind of breakfast lunch dinner tea coffee evening snacks you can gorge on is covered, the back office operations, vehicle maintenance cost - you realize at the end of it, that whatever you paid had been ploughed back into the various nitty gritties of managing your experience and comfort and well-being for those 5-6 days, and you feel satisfied that you have paid a very reasonable price. It's an honest pricing by Sprit of Kenya and the trip well worth it.
BE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A wonderful expercience with an amazing guide and friend
We went for both a 4 days tour in Etosha and a 3 days tour in Sossusvlei with Wild Cherry Adventures.
What a great experience we had! Not only because of the stunning landscapes, amazing animals and very good facilities provided, but mainly because of our exceptional guide John!
We got heaps of information, great food (that man can cook!) and lots of fun, all thanks to him! Even though we had some rain, the experience was still great! All comfort was perfectly provided as well.
Don’t doubt to experience this adventure and go for it with Wild Cherry Adventures. You will not regret it!
Han & Liesbeth (Belgium)
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Welcoming friendly with attention to detail and cheaper
Mwajaba was excellent in communicating , explaining details and keeping one up to date. She added little things like wake up call, welcome back message etc. Dula was a safe and trustworthy driver .. important as was travelling alone in dark. Mikumi safari ...was excellent Lots of safari time for game viewing. .lots of animals including lion and elephant. Saw more giraffe than impala . Rooms even had a c ...a luxury for safari. So impressed that then used them for airport drop offs too. Would highly recommend
