US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Moremi Game Reserve by Tina
This was my favorite campsite! The scenery was amazing; not too far from the gate and abundance of wildlife!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Chobe National Park by Tina
Too many tourists at the same time; camps are a bit farther;
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The safari was a fun experience but communication was difficult.
Overall experience was nice, food was average, tour guide was knowledgeable. A variety of experiences was challenges but was rewarding. The most difficult time was the beginning process with making final payment and change in safari package which caused an extra day stay. This was inconvenient and conflicted with other schedules. There was no insurance, warning of roads and safety. Driving up the mountain with no guard rails and the driver was driving fast and sometimes cloudy and raining.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Absolutely wonderful and enjoyable
I thought the safari was great and seeing so many animals was wonderful. Camp Bastion was nice although it would have been nice to have a bit more free time there so we could use the pool and have a relax.
The only negative is that it is a long drive- nothing can be done about this but it was tiring.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Once-in a lifetime- experience
My friend and I had an amazing time basking in nature and learning from Thosu, our guide, and Russell, our chef.
We saw so much wildlife within the 4 nights/5 days we stayed camping in Moremi/Savuti/Chobe. Thosu and Russell made sure we felt comfortable and safe. They were accommodating about our vegetarian/vegan diet, as well. I was in awe at their breadth of knowledge and being able to tell what bird we just spotted only by looking at its flight pattern—even without binoculars!
The highlight was being in the quiet of nature and waking up to the sounds of elephants eating leaves off trees around us and seeing hippos in a nearby stream. Our guides always made our safety of the utmost priority.
I highly recommend this Safari and the services of Thosu and Russell.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Adventure Makers will make sure every detail is just right. I wouldn't book with anyone else
Stephen (the owner/operator) was so easy to book with and he answered all our questions very promptly. He even met us at our hotel when we arrived and again on the last day before our departure which was very nice and personable. Kiaka was our tour guide for a 5 day safari. We went to Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorogoro. Kiaka was soft spoken, so kind, very patient and so so knowledgable. We joked that he had magic because we would tell Kiaka what animals we wanted to see and he would go find them. We stayed at Mbugani Tented Camp which was so beautiful. The food was also amazing and they have hot showers/bathrooms inside your tent (towels included) at Mbugani. The staff were so helpful and accommodating. I would highly recommend booking a safari with Adventure Makers Tanzania. I hope to go on another safari and I plan to book with Adventure Makers again.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable
an incredible experience, with attention to the smallest details. Tunu has always been present, reassuring and helpful. Our guide, Badru, was really great. He accompanied us for 6 days in 4 different safaris and has always been extremely helpful to our every need, great park expert. He was always in the right place at the right time, allowing us to photograph and experience unique moments. Moreover, accompanying us on the safaris he gave us a lot of information about the places we were visiting and where he worked as a driver for 15 years. It was a truly memorable experience and much is also due to the organization and the guide.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outsourced to another operator that provided poor service; bad client service after paying money.
The review is a bit lengthy but please read in full. I booked a 3-day shared tour in Masai Mara from 10-12Aug with 7 other travellers. Tour is operated by Bencia Africa Adventure & Safaris (I wasn't informed of this whatsoever until boarding the van).
Pre-tour: agreed on 2-person tent on SMS with Roselyne who had a friendly tone.
Day 1: Was picked up at 8:30am as scheduled and arrived at office at 9am to get into an uncleaned safari van. Other travellers were told to arrive at the office at 8am, meaning they had to wait for 1 hour pointlessly due to tour operator's poor arrangement.
Arrived at Miti Mingi Eco Camp, waited for 10 minutes, no reception at all and of course no room plans. Had the evening drive and returned to the camp at 630pm. Had a 30-minute wait for dinner, during which the tour guide did not give information on room and meal arrangements until we searched for him around the Camp. After dinner, waited for 1 hour to ask for information ourselves by searching for Camp manager / tour guide / etc. At 9pm, Camp manager said the camp is overbooked and asked me and another male traveller to stay in a 4-person tent (with 2 other people), and said "will talk about other things the next days". The other 6 travellers (1 man 5 women) were driven for >15min to another lower-quality campsite.
Day 2: Tour guide gave minimal explanation of animals (total talking time <15min). Definitely not the best guide as Roselyne described, despite his ability to follow other vans to spot the big 5. Visit to Keekorok Lodge was great.
At the Camp, we found the Camp manager for refund arrangements given the inconvenience and no 2-person tent as agreed due to overbooking. He argued he delivered his services because we spent a night at his tent. He refused to provide refunds because he claimed only the tour operator (Bencia), not the travellers, are their customers. His attitude was poor despite we the customers kept calm.
That night, my roommate and I stayed in the same 4-person tent (with no other people). Note that 4-person tents has worse facility and sanity levels compared to 2-person tents that other travellers stayed in.
Day 3: Had an early morning drive. We weren't informed by the driver of when and where the van will stop for lunch during the drive back to Nairobi.
Went to Bencia's office to complain the above issues and asked for some refunds. Bencia said they need to discuss internally for 2 days and will inform me of the decision. No follow-up since then.
Messaged Roselyne to complain politely. She said "There is no refund! You never slept outside. You ate and used water in the camp." "We don't refund clients after they have done a safari and feel like they need their money back. This is fraud!". No reply on messages sent over various days afterwards.
Fraud or not, my fellow travellers, it's your decision.
ttdr: didn't understand the overwhelmingly good reviews of Hyrax Safari and Roselyne.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolutely amazing!!
the safari was the most fantastic week ever! we have booked online through SafariHub. In Tanzania we were taken care of by our colsultant and he told us that Leopard Tours is a subsidiary of SafariHub, so we ended up in a jeep of Leopard tours.
during the safari we had our guide Peter. he was definitely the best guide you could wish for !! with his 8 years of experience he managed to find the big 5 flawlessly. Peter told us a lot about the parks, life in Tanzania and nature. He took the time so that we could take the perfect photos and made us feel at home. PETER YOU ARE THE BEST, THANK YOU SO MUCHHHHH!!!
ES
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Professional, responsible, excellent connoiseur of the environment
We enjoyed excellent days of safari with the guide , Eduardo. He is very professional, excellent driver in all kind of complicated roads, and always attentive to our requests. He has shown us the pride that he feel for his land. WE HAVE A GREAT MEMORY of that days