65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent service, wonderful trip
I contacted Malagasya Travel along with a few other operators in November to arrange a three week tour for the following March. Riantsoa from Malagasya Travel quickly arranged a detailed itinerary covering everything I was looking for, patiently answered all my questions and provided useful hints and tips to make the most of my visit. Malagasya Travel were definitely the most responsive of the operators I contacted, their overall price was clearly broken down and there were no hidden extras. Once we'd agreed the itinerary they needed a 20% deposit with the balance on arrival, and the only glitches in the booking process were at my end. I had no idea that Mastercard wasn't widely accepted in Madagascar so had to get myself a Visa card, and it was more difficult than I'd expected to find an operator who could wire the deposit, in euros from the UK, to their local bank.
On arrival my driver, Romy, met me at the hectic airport as arranged, and dealt with all the driving and administration on the tour. We spent the first day on a trip westwards to Ankafobe to a small forest where I saw my first lemurs, and the next few days travelling eastwards, staying at the Palmarium Hotel on the east coast for three nights, to see a lot of lemurs close up and a great nighttime trip to see some aye-ayes. And then we headed south, covering a lot of ground and different types of scenery, ending up at a beach resort in Ifaty.
The roads are pretty bad in Madagascar, with more potholes than I've ever seen, but Romy's driving was confident and unfazed by the sometimes very challenging conditions. We had a lot of ground to cover, but almost every day there was at least one stop at something interesting to see, ranging from national parks (with guides arranged), to Madagascar's most important aluminium foundry (which has to be seen to be believed!), to wonderful little craft workshops. The hotels were all good quality, in come cases luxurious, and often close to tourist attractions with excursions laid on.
Everything originally promised was delivered and overall I was very impressed. My only regret was that three weeks wasn't enough time to see all the island - it really is huge, but I had no time to see the north. Next time - and I will go again with Malagasya Travel.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Courteous, true to description as everything was as promised
Arthur was thorough throughout the 3 days. Each day was packed with activities and fun filled trips, including many options to other activities. He attended to two people as much as he would to a head of elephants! Thank you Arthur for the memorable time. We enjoyed every part of our time with you.
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Friendly chap with good knowledge of German language
Hassan took us for a day trip to the Arusha National Park.
He was in time picking us directly from the lodge, his German is excellent, he is very friendly and showed us all the interesting things of the park.
He also managed a game walk of an hour walking through the landscape meeting buffaloes very close. We also visited the farm of Hatari.
Hassans wife had cooked a delicious picknick for us with pilaw and chicken.
The price of the tour was okay and we enjoyed the trip very much.
We can recommend him in every case and will travel with him at our next stay in Tanzania.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Knowlegable,Very Professional,Time Keeper,Convinient & Very Affordable
We chose Awuor Escapades for safari, because they offered most suitable custom safari for me, my husband and our 4 year old son, moreover, their prices were 30% lower for the same itinerary compared to the other big tour operators.
We were really happy about our guide and driver John. We thought he was a newbie (looking very young ;) ), but we found out that he was an experienced guide working in the business for 7 years!
John is a really good driver (we felt very safe) and he is an adventure seeker, due to his effort and persistence, we managed to encounter a male lion in one meter distance protecting his resting lioness. What a memory!! And I am not talking about his effort during all the trip to meet all big 5!
He was also very patient with our toddler, who used to get bored during long trips.
Thanks for great experience!
Much recommended!
DE
Well maintained car with professional guide
Was a breathtaking adventurous and a memorable trip with our amazing guide JONATHAN who made sure that we were always there at the right time and the right place to see the BIG 5 and so much more of the wildlife possible. He drove us through the most amazing scenery and obstacles with bravery calmness and always a smile on his face.Was a memorable trip.thanks to Jonathan and the team.definitely worth recommending this team.Thank you
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fabulous experience with both a great guide and cook and all the animals you could wish for!
Super nice experience. We booked a private tour (3 of us) for 5 full safari days - adventure tour.
We have been to Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngororo and have seen all big 5 and many more animals.
The guide and cook were extremely friendly and provided us the perfect experience! Would definitely recommend Suricata - everything was perfectly organised.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Safari experience
We did a 5 day safari visiting Ngorongoro crater, Tarangire and Serengeti National Park. It was absolutely incredible and everything was great. Ezekiel was the perfect guide, extremely knowledgeable, he spotted so many animals from far away and drove very safely and carefully. Tito prepared delicious meals and we felt taken care of very well throughout the whole time. They were both also a very pleasant company and fun to be with! I can absolutely recommend Suricata Safaris and would do a trip with them again anytime!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Friendly and extremely helpful
It was my first time in SA and i wanted to experience the bush following a family wedding. I was really nervous as i am not really a traveller and was doing this part of the trip alone. When i found Rochelle at Safarilife, she put me at ease answering my billions of questions as i needed every detail before committing to the booking. Rochelle and Safarilife put the itinerary together for me so i knew what was going on and where i was going and I had the best weekend ever at the lodge.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Kruger Safari Co. and Wayne in particular was just the very best choice I could have made!
Since my very first inquiry about the safari tour, Wayne was very communicative and accommodating to every one of our requests. He would reply to my e-mails within the hour, always answering to all my questions. It made me feel very well taken care of since the beginning.
The tour itself also went exactly as described. All parties, be it transfer to the park, the people that worked at the lodge, the safaris and the panorama tour, were all very professional and very friendly. We felt very welcomed and safe. And throughout the whole time, Wayne was there, on the other side of my e-mail or WhatsApp, keeping an eye on us, making sure that we were having a good time.
I couldn't be happier with my choice. I can only recommend The Kruger Safari Co. and if I'm ever back in South Africa, Wayne will be the first person I'll contact.
Thanks a lot Wayne! we had an amazing time in Kruger and all thanks to you.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Philipo at Kimgoni Safaris heard what we wanted and organised the perfect safari for us.
Kimgoni.
What a special trip. We feel so fortunate to have booked our safari with Philippo and Kimgoni.
Holidays like this take months/years to plan. They’re expensive and, as a result, nerve racking. You just want to get it right and feel you are in safe hands. Fortunately, we were.
A few core things will make or break your safari; where you go, where you stay and your guide. Philippo nailed all three. Our trip was seamless. All the parks we were advised to visit were brilliant and varied, and the route we took worked smoothly. The accommodation options Philippo recommended were all excellent. We had the pleasure of staying in beautiful lodges in the Serengeti and on top of The ngorongoro crater as well as the beautifully chic and minimal ‘Manyara’s Secret’ to bookend our journey to and from the parks. This is highly recommended as an acclimatisation/rest post-flight and reintegration/rest post-safari!
The final piece, the guide, is undoubtedly the most important one. Thanks to Kimgoni/Philippo, we were incredibly fortunate to have Ayubu showing us around. Ayubu was the perfect balance of casual, friendly and professional, instantly making us all feel at ease. He’s a great driver - much needed when racing through a rainy Serengeti, or on the lookout for another Leopard! He seemed to know exactly where everything was - we were fortunate to see three leopards in one morning, as well as pretty much every other animal you’d want to see whilst on safari. Ayubu was a fountain of knowledge and educated us all on the animals and on everyday life in Tanzania. He also had a great sense of humour and helped us maintain good vibes and momentum.
Finally, we have to note that we had a few issues on our end with making our original booking work. Sadly, we had to postpone our trip. We were and are truly grateful to Philippo for helping us reschedule, making sure all the pieces stayed in place and that we didn’t lose out financially. This extra help and security was especially valuable.
All in all, we had a 10/10 experience with Kimgoni and will be recommending it to anyone who will listen.