SE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic safari to a competitive price and with flexible team
The short version: We had a fantastic time, and we both agree it's the best safari we have been on in terms of animal encounters, camps, and nature!
The long version: After some offers from different operators, we finally went for Twinkle Star, since the package offered was most in line with what we were looking for, and that to a competitive price and nice and attentive service. James at Twinkle Star was fast and good in his communication over mail upon setting the itinerary. We asked for loads of different extra options and modifications and ended up getting about 5 different itineraries from James who patiently replied to all our different requests. In the end, we changed one camp and added one extra night at Pumzika in Serengeti, on top of the original itinerary.
In the end, we stayed one night in Lake Manyara NP at Tortillis Camp, 2 nights at Pumzika in Serengeti and one night at Tortillis in Ngoronogoro. The Tortillis camps were absolutely wonderful in every sense (and identical)! Pumzika was nice too with lovely interior design, but more basic (shower water only on request, without mosquito net and the need to ask the staff to help chase away two spiders from the tent, but hey, it's a tent in the grasslands, so it's still fantastic!).
Our driver Eremes was great at finding animals! He really seemed engaged in finding us different animals, and did manage to bring us close to the big 5 many times over (except from rhino that we only saw once :-) ). He knew a lot, although we had to ask questions for him to explain about the different things we saw - we would have loved for him to tell us more facts spontaneously, as we sometimes didn't know what to ask... He was young and quite a daredevil, in a good way - he went mud-racing to take us to the more inaccessible parts of Serengeti, where we got to see a leopard from 5 m, a cheetha with cubs, etc. Not a drive for the faint-hearted or those who fear mud, but super fun otherwise (and I think he adjusted the speed to fit our personalities)!
We loved the combination of the different parks with their different flora and fauna. We are really glad we added one extra night in Serengeti so that we had the time to get deeper into the huge park, which otherwise would have been impossible to manage time-wise because of the risk of getting stuck in the mud (which many other cars did - Eremes though was a splendid driver).
Some general advice:
- If you don't love animals and animal spotting the way we do, 5 days in a car on bumpy roads may be too long. We wouldn't have wanted to change a thing, though!
- it rained every night, so the roads were suuuuper muddy. Also, the grass was high at this time of year, so animals were quite hard to spot (that's one of the reasons you need an experienced guide)
- It's good to be aware of the long distances: a lot of the time was spent in transfer (most of the time in beautiful nature although few animals).
- Although Tortillis Ngorongoro was heaven on earth, it's good to be aware of that the fact that it's located about 90 min from the gate to the crater.
- For Lake Manyara, make sure to book a camp inside the park. Most seem to be located outside.
So to the few and small downsides:
- the communication ended after the itinerary was set and the bank transfer was made. We got a bit nervous as we didn't hear anything as the trip came closer, but after sending a WhatsApp message to check if everything was in order two days before the safari, we got confirmation immediately. As one is used to get automated email reminders about almost everything nowadays, it would have been nice to get a confirming mail a few days before the start.
- After reading reviews about Twinkle Star, we were prepared on getting another tour operator to actually carry out the safari - something that wasn't communicated until the actual pick up. It would have been nice to get the notification about the affiliate operator in Tanzania before the pick-up, as to avoid the confusion at the parking lot when we in vain searched for a Twinkle Star driver. Apparently, our guide Eremes was booked only the day before.
- We had some minor issues as the first camp didn't book us a double but a twin room (but quickly changed to another room), I sometimes didn't get a vegetarian lunch box.
Finally:
Should we recomend it? YES!
What would we do differently next time, now that we've been there? Stay at Tortillis in Serengeti, too, because Tortillis was heaven!
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
07days exciting safari experience in the jungle
The best tour company with the best tour packages at an affordable budget... I experienced the best safari from this tour company, they got the best customer services one would wish to get
I highly recommend landrail safaris ltd
IT
Safari adventure is a guarantee to visit Tanzania! Staff attentive to customer needs, well organized
Good service, excellent organization, wonderful safari!
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amboseli with a great organization
I and a friend decided to do a short safari (as we did not have much time).We were recommended by a friend and decided on Sino Africa Safaris. We went to Amboseli National Park on a 2 day, 1 night trip. From the beginning Fredrick was great at communicating through email and had everything setup quickly for us. The price was reasonable and the experience was amazing! Our guide, George Mbugua, picked us up from our hotel in Nairobi and dropped us back off at the Airbnb we would be staying at the end of the trip. George was a great guide, very informative and with his expertise we were able to see many animals! We were even lucky enough to see Mount Kilimanjaro on the second day since the skies were clear! If you are looking for an affordable and fantastic experience, I highly recommend this organization！
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Best choice for a safari in Tanzania
Me and my family have already done some safaris in the past in South Africa and in Kenya but they had nothing to do with this one in Tanzania!
The amount of animals we saw is insane and the landscape is unique. The places where we stayed were amazing and beyond our expectations especially the quality of food, our guide, besides being a great driver(trust me it is fundamental), knew everything about all the parks, the animals and the local culture he was also really friendly and prepared.
The staff of SafariAvventura and the staff of the places where we stayed were really friendly, well prepared and always ready to assist us when needed.
I absolutely recommend SafariAvventura if u are planning a safari in Tanzania.
We still nowadays have a beutiful set of memories and moments printed in our minds.
Thank you SafariAvventura.
DE
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A wonderfully organised safari and holiday, it was just perfect
I would like to thank especially Carol at Tekko Tours for helping to plan the perfect 8 day safari, the suggested tented camps and lodges were excellent and also the 5 days at the beach in the Baobab Hotel were perfect. We also had a fantastic driver and Tour Guide in Jackson, who really did his utmost to give us the true safari experience. We were lucky to see the 'big five' and many other animals as well.
For my grandson, it was his first trip to Africa, and myself it was a trip that we will never forget and I hope that we can do this again in the future.
Once again thanks to Carol and Jackson the true safari experience, absolutely perfect
IL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A once in a lifetime trip! Amzing views and animals- william our tourguide knows everything around!
The communication between the family and the touragent and the tourguide was excellent! They took care of all of our needs and wishes. We had the best facilities and service. We had the greatest time! It’s a unique trip and gosheni safaris made it perfect.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Safari experience with a highly professional team
The booking process was easy and Mr. Le was very responsive. We booked luxury accommodation and stayed in Ziwani Temted Camp in Tsavo West, Ol Tukai in Ambroseli and Satao Camp in Tsavo East. The lodges were as different as the parks and very good.
Ali, our guide and driver was exceptional. Extremely punctual and knowledgeable, with a heart of gold for all creatures large and small. We saw a lot of animals (elephants, giraffes, zebras, lions, cheetahs, hippos, crocs, etc).
We had a large Toyota Land Cruiser Jeep to ourselves, making it easy to store our luggage for the duration of the trip.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable experience killing the Kili
In August 2019 my husband and I spent our honeymoon climbing up the Kilimanjaro. Our guide was Thomas and he made it an unforgettable experience.
The most important thing - we always felt save with him. He tested our O2-saturation levels and pulse every evening and made sure we were medically well. When my knee was letting me down he kinda carried me half way down the mountain.
This safety was paired with a very light way of being a nice company at the way up to the top. Him and the crew always kept motivating with singing tanzanian songs and teaching the cool swahili stuff "Poa kichizi kama ndizi ndani ya friji" :)
But on the other hand he made sure to have a great couple-time including taking a lot of photos at the stunning sceneries on the way up to the top.
So all in all it was an unforgettable experience! Thanks again to Thomas and the team for making our honeymoon this special!!
Dimi&Norah
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
What a fantastic experience
From start to finish our experience with Sino Africa Safaris was spot on. Vincent helped us plan the safari tailored to our needs and availability and our tour guide Bernard was incredibly knowledgeable and easy to get along with. If travelling with 4+ people I would highly recommend the private 4X4 tour as you get a more personal experience. Planning on coming back again next year for a longer safari!