US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
the best tour and the best driver
Reginal at rwanda eco was very responsive and put together a great schedule. we asked for 3 star lodging, but, He can arrange anything you ask for up to 5 star. the lodges he arranged were clean quiet and quite nice. the trip starts in Kigali. there's not much in Kigali. pretty crowded and noisy. but, that's where you start to see gorillas.
our driver, Cipriano, was knowledgeable, good in english and very patient with us. He made sure everything worked out. the trip is a little expensive only because the government fee to see the gorillas is $1500 per person. Reginal's fee was VERY reasonable. he arranged for a private vehicle and driver. I would recommend that. its much easier without a crowded vehicle with people you don't know, and not a lot more money.
If i go again, i would not even bother shopping. I would go straight to reginal.
NO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Haavard
A lot of elephants. This is the place where you come clostest to the elephants. There is some gaselles and monkeys here, but not that many other animals.
Experience level: over 5 safaris
Nyika Plateau - the Scottish Highlands of Africa
Nyika Plateau is 3200sqkm in size and the biggest national park in Malawi and the third smallest in Zambia (only 80sqkm are on the Zambian side). It's more than 2000m above sea levelwith Nganda Peak the highest point at 2606m. It's alpine grasslands and motane evergreen forests. Common Eland, Southern Reedbuck, Roan antelopes, Crawshay's Zebra are very common sights. About 430 bird species are recorded. Denham's Bustard and the near endemic Red-winged Francolin are often seen. This magnificent highlands is not along any major tourist route. In short it is a hidden gem! From Mzuzu to Chelinda is only 180km but it can take you the whole day. The road from Rumphi up to the national park can be challenging especially after rains. As soon as you reach the park gate the track becomes much better because it is regularly maintained and no heavy traffic is passing through. The Peace Park Foundation is re-introducing Elephants in Nyika Plateau and you will pass the big enclosure on the Eastern side of the track where they are still kept to get used to the new habitat. The plateau looks like "whale backs" and one can get a very nice view from Chozi Peak. Guided and self-drive game drives are possible, mountain biking and hiking is offered too. Due to the high altitude it can get cold and windy up here. Chelinda is the only place to stay in the national park at the moment. The colonial resthouse on the Zambian side is still under renovation. Chelinda has a campsite, cottages and a lodge. Self-catering (chef provided) is an
option. Chelinda is operated by Central African Wilderness Safaris (CAWS) and managed by Johan and Laura with a very helpful and knowledgable crew supporting them.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Spectacular
The scenery was spectacular. Our driver and cook were both very accommodating on the safari. We felt very comfortable and were impressed by their amazing hospitality.
We saw the big 5 so we were very happy!
RU
Beautiful, but overpriced.
I am of two minds regarding our safari trip. Beautiful nature, animals, but people’s attitude to tourists is awful. There wasn’t a day native people didn’t try to cheat on us and try to extort money. Even our tour guide. We bought the tour with Travel partner, can’t recommend it. The accommodation was perfect, but our tour guide was only driver, I don’t remember anything interesting he told us about wild life. Only obvious things like: look, it’s a giraffe, it’s very tall.
NO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
There is a new impression every second
The wildlife was insane. Animals everywhere. The scenery is better than expected. Its taken straight out of David Attenborough documentary of the Serengeti savannah. Amazing. Tenting in Serengeti was a cool experience. We felt more in contact with the nature and wildlife. The food was soo munch better than expected. Freshly coocked breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.
Our guide was so good and nice. He sees these animals everyday, all year around but he still stopped everytime we saw something. He told about the animals and waited patiently for us to finish taking pictures or just enjoy the scenery. You could tell that he loved his job, the animals, the savannah and the whole Serengeti experience.
DK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very nice vacation
Masai mara was perfect.
No rhinos but lots of other animals.
Long drive to see lake naivasha.
Kilimanjaro was covered in cloud but amboseli was still nice.
Nice guide.
NL
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Unforgettable trip.
Excellent communication together during planning of the trip.
Experienced driver who is happy to show and tell you as much as possible.
Good places to stay during the night. Bushcamp in tents and lodges.
Personal debriefing at the end.
All transfers in Nairobi and Mwanza well organised.
A save and unforgettable trip in a good season with lots of water grass and animals in Ndutu region.
Nature and Tanzania Specialist on his best.
With thanks.
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Exiting time with lots of animals in the bush!
Communication was excellent, Maria from Kalahari Breeze had lots of ideas for a good trip and found a solution for every problem. Service - was familiar, warm, always helpfull, specially the meals were delicious. The tour was full of interesting moments, we saw lots of animals - as had been proposed, the campsites were very lovely, really in teh bush! and all very clean. Only the trips in the car every day were very long, but that is part of the tour, distances are long! Maybe next time one or two days longer?
Hilla from germany
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good, prompt, and responsive during bid and during our travel.
Recently, my wife and I traveled to South Africa from October 24 to December 12, 2019; and itinerary was primarily decided by us. We solicited bids from number of local travel agencies to book 3-4 star accommodations, purchase SanPark Wild Card, book premier classe train tickets from Cape Town to Jo’Berg and provide a 4x4 SUV to be able to drive on paved & unpaved roads in SA and Swaziland’s National Parks and country side. We selected Go Self-Drive Tours (Fleet Foot Safaries) primarily because of Hennie Beker’s promptness to our requests and willingness to communicate on WhatsApp to finalize our plan on a short notice. Hennie was very positive and responsive to our recommended changes, provide his company’s Toyota Prado (insurance included) for 46-days self-drive tour; and put together a well-organized travel binder and a folder with road maps and site visit brochures. Our interaction with him and his staff (including Elmor Beker and Sadi Schelan) during our travel in South Africa has been pleasant & prompt. One exception was the vehicle given to us has had problems the day after we took possession in Jo’Burg with its air-conditioning and couple of days later with starting. The A/C was promptly fixed outside of Kruger NP at a Toyota dealer. The high-mileage 2014 Toyota Prado SUV failed to start and we had to jump at least five to six times in first 11 days. One time while watching wild dogs at a water hole in Kruger at high noon and second time on a bridge (to Mpila Camp site, iMfolozi NP) stopped to observe two adult elephants ‘fighting or playing rough’ and one of them aggressively advanced towards our stalled vehicle. After repeated requests, the company-owned Prado was replaced with a rental SUV in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi’s Hilltop Lodge. During our 46-days of 4,000 mile-drive from Johannesburg to Cape Town, I had to use four different rental vehicles instead of one! I would have given a five-star rating if we have had no problems with Toyota Prado stalling and its air conditioning. It took them eleven days to replace a poorly maintained vehicle. Regrettably, I have to give a four-star rating to Go Self-Drive Tours & Fleet Foot Safaries and advise them a ‘customer Safety First’ approach in their future travel business.
Paresh S. Parekh, Citizen of the USA, Retired Senior Citizen.