35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
10/10 — The Experience of a Lifetime!
10/10 — The Experience of a Lifetime! 🦁🐘
We honestly cannot recommend Lukiano and Dorit highly enough. From the very beginning, they were caring, knowledgeable, reliable and incredibly well organised. We emailed them about what we hoped to see, and they thoughtfully tailored the entire safari around us. They also coordinated all our transfers, taxis, flights and drivers, making the whole experience completely seamless.
Having a private jeep just for the two of us made everything feel incredibly intimate and special. The whole safari felt completely unreal — we saw the Big Five, the Ugly Five and so much more: spectacular lion pride, lions feeding, two lionesses in different locationa with their cubs, playful cubs, elephants and their babies, hyenas, hippos, rhinos,giraffs, zebras, Pumbas, so many more and even an antelope hanging in a tree with a lion resting nearby after its meal. And, of course, witnessing the Great Migration river crossing was absolutely spectacular.
Lukiano is a formidable guide. He is exceptionally knowledgeable, professional and respectful of the animals and the environment. He always seemed to know where to go and when, and taught us so much about the Serengeti, its wildlife and the Ngorongoro Crater. At one point, when many vehicles had gathered around the migration, he explained how the animals experience human pressure. We really appreciated that he respected the rules and the environment, unlike some other guides we witnessed.
Everything was beautifully organised, including our accommodation, which was amazing, sleeping in the luxury tents was unforgetable at night we heard lions, and hienas and even had visitora by the tent. During the game drives we had fresh food, water, juices, fruit, treats and coffee, and the jeep was extremely well equipped with blankets and binoculars, minibar with cold drinks, fresh fruit. They stopped on route to the airport and we got lot of fresh fruit and tried local delicious fruit including sugar cane.
Honestly, this was the best travel experience we have ever had anywhere in the world — and we travel a lot. Dorit and Lukiano are a fantastic couple who clearly work together with genuine care and passion to create unforgettable experiences for their clients.
10/10 for the experience, organisation, coordination, calmness, proactivity and friendship. We were genuinely sad when our safari ended, and we already miss them both.
Thank you, Dorit and Lukiano, for giving us the best experience of our lives. You have enriched our lives forever. ❤️
Lots of love,
Saby & Jonathan
Romania & UK
🗺️ Our Safari Itinerary
Wednesday, 2 September — Safari Day 1
• Private transfer from our Zanzibar hotel to Zanzibar Airport
• Domestic flight Zanzibar → Kogatende, 08:00–10:20, arranged by Lion Guides
• Met by our private safari guide, Lukiano, at Kogatende Airstrip
• Full-day game drive through the spectacular Northern Serengeti
• Accommodation: Tanzania Bush Camp North
Thursday, 3 September — Safari Day 2
• Full-day private game drive through the Northern and Central Serengeti
• Incredible wildlife sightings, including elephants, lions, hyenas and much more
• Accommodation: Embalakai Serengeti Camp
Friday, 4 September — Safari Day 3
• Morning game drive through the Serengeti
• Continued through the incredible landscapes and wildlife of the region
• Drive towards the Ngorongoro Highlands
• Accommodation: Eileen's Tree Inn, Karatu
Saturday, 5 September — Safari Day 4
• Early morning game drive in the breathtaking Ngorongoro Crater
• Transfer to Arusha Airport
• Domestic flight Arusha → Zanzibar, 17:00–18:15, arranged by Lion Guides
• Welcomed at Zanzibar Airport by their local partner
• Transfer to Sahari Zanzibar to collect our luggage before continuing to our next hotel
• Accommodation: JAZ Elite Aurora Michamvi, Zanzibar
A perfectly organised four-day private safari — tailored specifically to what we wanted to experience. And it exceeded every expectation. ❤️
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Adventurous safari with amazing impressions
The staff were very helpful during the booking process and accommodated our wishes and needs.
Jacob is a great guide and did everything he could to ensure we saw as many animals as possible.
We have gained great insights of safari life and enjoyed our trip.
The only thing we didn't find ideal was that we had to change drivers and vehicles twice during the safari.
But overall, we had a great time.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well organised, with a guide who spots everything
Tazama organised our 6-day safari to the Maasai Mara, Lake Naivasha and Amboseli, and everything ran smoothly. Denis replied quickly before the trip and even booked our train tickets. Our guide Hirum was punctual and has amazing eyes – he found us lions feeding and even serval kittens nursing. He's also very warm and friendly. Highly recommended!
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Super fantastic
An unforgettable experience in the heart of Tanzania! 🐘🦁🦒
We spent four incredible days on safari in some of the most spectacular parks in Tanzania, and a huge part of the success of our experience is thanks to our fantastic ranger and safari driver ELIAS.
He was so much more than just a driver: an experienced, knowledgeable and passionate guide, always looking for the perfect spot to give us the best possible view of every animal and every unforgettable moment.
Thanks to his experience, we were lucky enough to see the Big Five 🦁🐘🐆🦏🐃, as well as so many other incredible animals. We experienced moments that we will carry with us forever. Every day was a new adventure, surrounded by breathtaking landscapes, spectacular sunsets and wildlife encounters that felt like something straight out of a documentary.
We especially appreciated his kindness, patience, friendliness and professionalism. He was always attentive to our needs and made us feel safe and comfortable throughout the entire journey.
It is clear how much he loves his job and how deeply he knows the area and the animals. Many times, he spotted animals long before we even managed to see them! 😄
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for making our safari such a special and unforgettable experience. If we return to Tanzania, there is absolutely no doubt that we would choose him as our guide again!
Highly recommended! 🇹🇿❤️
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Samburu Special Five and Masai Mara Big Five
With WECAM SAFARIS, we completed the eight-day Samburu and Masai Mara Safari Tour, and it was truly an amazing experience! From the view of Nanyuki to the Samburu National Reserve to the Samburu Special Five - everything is amazing. I was fascinated by the Big Five and the big cats in the game drive in Masai Mara. The guide was very experienced and friendly, the camps were also comfortable. MERCY arranged the whole package well. If you want to see the wildlife of Kenya, this tour is a great option!
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unbelievably Great Safari!
Our safari was amazing and so wonderful, we could hardly believe it. Every day was better than the day before and our expectations were met in every way. Matthew helped us organize a tent camping trip for my husband, myself, our 34 yo daughter and her 3 friends. We were 8 days in the bush and saw every possible creature we could hope for. Our guide Master was extraordinary. From tracking to his amazing patience while our group snapped photos, he was the best and we felt like we won the guide lottery. We had a blast. Our trip was easy to organize, the accommodations were great, the pricing very reasonable, the food delicious and the camps were just what we hoped for. We are looking at a 2nd trip to Madagascar through Indigo! Thank you to Indigo Safaris for a trip of a lifetime.
TW
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Silas is a flexible, warm, enthusiastic tour guide and owner
We had an amazing time in a large group of about 40 tourists from Taiwan. Silas had to coordinate 7 Land Cruiser drivers across over 1000 km of driving, more than 6 national parks, and a group of people all with different preferences, attitudes, and needs. He did an amazing job and my family was fortunate enough to ride in his vehicle.
Silas is incredibly knowledgeable about the parks, having over 20 years of experience, and it was amazing to see him driving around without any need for navigation. He always maintained a positive attitude throughout the trip even when some clients were, in my opinion, unreasonable in their requests.
He also showed us a couple spots, even the in the most busy Maasai Mara national park, where no one else really knew of.
Overall, I’d highly recommend Free Africa Tours. Silas will take great care of you!
NZ
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Experience
Lynn and the team were fantastic. They arranged our trip to Victoria Falls from start to finish and everything went off without a hitch. Great accommodation and all activities were a true experience. Thoroughly recommend.
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An unforgettable journey through Tanzania and Zanzibar
Our trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar was an absolutely wonderful and unforgettable experience. From the beginning, we felt very well looked after and supported by the team.
A special thank you goes to Diana Kibwe, our travel specialist. She was always friendly, helpful and approachable, and whenever we had a question or a problem, she responded quickly and found a solution. This gave us a great feeling of security throughout the trip.
Our safari was one of the highlights of the entire journey. The organisation worked very well, the itinerary was varied and we had many unforgettable wildlife experiences. Our driver-guide was knowledgeable, friendly and always tried to make the best possible experience for us. We saw elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest and many other animals, and the landscapes of the Serengeti and the other parks were simply spectacular.
The combination of safari in Tanzania and several days in Zanzibar was perfect for us. After the exciting and sometimes exhausting safari days, Zanzibar was the ideal place to relax and enjoy the Indian Ocean.
We also appreciated how quickly the team reacted when we had some problems with our first room at Paradise Beach Resort. Diana took our concerns seriously and arranged a room change very quickly. The second room was much better and showed us that the team genuinely cared about our experience.
Overall, we are extremely happy with our trip. We came home with fantastic memories and more than 2,000 photos that will remind us of this special journey for many years to come.
A big thank you to Diana and the entire team for organising such a wonderful trip for us. We would highly recommend them to anyone planning a safari and Zanzibar holiday in Tanzania.
We would be very happy to return to Tanzania one day!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The trip of a lifetime
We are a family of 6 from New York with kids ages 9 to 17. After researching and getting several quotes, we booked a 2-week safari and beach trip in Kenya with Splendid Vacations. Before, during, and after we booked we had numerous communications with Alice asking all kinds of questions and follow-ups. She was extremely responsive and helpful, even overnight and at early hours East Africa time.
We had the trip of a lifetime! Kenya is spectacular. The people we met were incredibly kind and hospitable. It is hard to imagine a better place to visit.
We feel very fortunate to have been paired with our guide and driver, Alex Masila. He was an A+. The game drives in Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli were fantastic for everyone in our family. We saw "the big 5," which was excellent, and we also saw all kinds of other wildlife in all kinds of settings and scenarios, including lots of instances with no one else around and with such peace and serenity. Alex has some magic tricks that keep him several steps ahead out there. He also is extremely knowledgeable, and has a great feel as a host and guide. He was also simpatico with our autistic 9-year-old. He felt like part of our family by the end of the safari.
The lodgings were magnificent. In one instance a lodging on our original itinerary was full, and Splendid instead booked an alternative lodging that was better at no additional cost. The beach resort was spectacular.
The transportation was reliable. The jeep was flawless, even over the potholed roads with their African massage. Our train ride to Mombasa and flight back to Nairobi also went without a hitch.
In addition to the game drives, the added excursions were unforgettable. Some of the highlights were the walk along the Masai River, the boat tour on Lake Naivasha, the visit to a Masai village, and the snorkeling day trip at Kisite Mpunguti Marine National Park and Wasini Island.
If we are ever lucky enough to return the first thing we'll do is contact Alice and Alex to book with Splendid again!