CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very professional and excellent service from the team. Definitely recommend it
I was generally satisfied with the services i received right from the planning stage to the end of the trip. We had the BEST driver ever and if you ever book a trip with them, please ask for James! :)
Geofrey was very helpful and was quick to reply to every of my message. Even at times late at night - since i was working full-time and planning the trip from abroad. Will definately book a trip with them again and i highly recommend this operator.
Had the BEST experience at the Mara - sleeping in tents, our host David was so good, and the safaris were adventurous!Voi Safari Lodge and Masada (Naivasha) were also good. Wished we had booked Lake Nakuru too but there is always another time.
Thank You Geofrey, and the entire Team!
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Holiday of a lifetime
Wow, wow, wow if the only way to describe our holiday. I will admit we were advised by many people not to book through a non-UK company - even our usual travel agent received a message from his Kenyan agent advising us to go with a known company. O|h we are so glad we didnt. Right from the start we received emails from John who helped us tailor make our own private safari adapted from APS 12 day Classical Safari. He helped us with our visa application and answered all our questions - of which there were many - within 2 hours. 48 hrs before we left we received an email telling us the name of the driver collecting us from the airport & how we would recognise him. The first morning John himself came to meet us & introduced us to our fantastic driver/guide Lawrence and went through the entire itinerary with us.
Lawrence was absolutely amazing and spotted lions, a leopard, elephants & cape buffalo on our very first drive - not to mention the hippos, giraffes, zebras etc, etc. We had to wait 3 days before we saw the rhinos!!!! Having Lawrence for the entire trip was fantastic, we learnt so much from him, not only about the animals but Kenyan culture and particularly his tribe. Lawrence ate most of his meals with us, which we really enjoyed as he was so much fun and informative. When we were on the drives if there was a bird he didnt' know he immediately looked it up in either his much used book or on his phone and if we asked him anything about an animal he also looked that up for us to give us even more information, although his knowledge was unbelievable. The advantage of it being just the 2 of us is we could change the itinerary on a daily basis - morning drives instead of evening or vice versa - and opted to have 2 half day drives rather than 1 full day - Lawrence was so good at assessing our needs and ensuring we got the very best out of the days - bearing in mind we are both in our 70's so not as agile as some.
The lodges we stayed at were very diverse but all were comfortable and clean , with an excellent choice of food - all but 3 meals were buffet style. Yes the roads on the safaris left a lot to be desired - but hey what do you expect on a safari, we are on unmade roads looking for animals in their environment not ours.
Some of the journeys between the parks were up to 8 hours - however the scenery was so varied the time just passed fast. The jeep itself wasnt the newest but I would be surprised if even the most up-to-date one would lessen the bumps, but again it was reliable, gave us absolutely amazing views and allowed us to get close up to the animals, so what is there to complain about?
The only glitches over the whole 15 days was one hotel where the room was more like a prison cell - this was sorted within 15 minutes with John being contacted & resulting in us being transferred to a neighbouring hotel and on arrival in Nairobi the hotel had a booking but with different names, however another quick call - and this was 11.00pm - by the taxi driver to John and it was sorted.
We paid our deposit on booking and the balance on arrival - again we were warned in the UK that this was dicey and what happened if there was no-one to meet us on arrival. Unfortunately we took American dollars some of which were issued before 2007 & therefore not accepted in Kenya. "No problem we will sort it when you re back" When we returned to Nairobi John didnt have his card reader with him, so believe it or not, we didnt pay him until we returned to the UK when I sent him a bank transfer.
To say we were warned about using a Kenyan company rather than a local UK company I have never met the owner of our usual tour company, never had email replies within 2 hours, never had hotels/rooms sorted in 10 minutes and NEVER EVER paid for a holiday on my return. Additionally I then received an email from John asking if we had returned home safely and hoping we had enjoyed the holiday.!!!
Thank you again John and Lawrence you promised us the holiday of a lifetime and you certainly gave us that - even with the bumpy roads and Lawrence not finding me my penguin!!!!!!!!!!
HU
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
She (woman) was proactive and extremely flexible, which we greatly appreciated.
Excellent organisation, flexibility, good value for money.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Amazing experience
From April 15-22, 2023, myself and six of my friends embarked on an extraordinary safari journey with Tales of Tanzania, a family-owned operator based in Arusha. I worked with Pendo, the owner, to plan the trip. Her prompt and attentive responses to my numerous emails, addressing every aspect from lodges to food, parks to logistics was great
Our adventure began in Arusha then we went to Tarangire National Park where we saw so many elephants. After we went to Manyara park. Then, we set our sights on the Serengeti, our home for three unforgettable days. The view of the Kubu Kubu Lodge was amazing and left us awe-inspired. We finished our trip in the Ngorongoro Crater before heading back to Arusha.
All the lodges we stayed exceeded our expectations. Exceptional views, comfortable accommodations, and delightful cuisine, and everywhere the staff was very attentive to our needs. We celebrated the birthday of one of my friends, they surprised us with a lively dance and heartwarming Swahili songs, my friend had the best birthday ever !
We were fortunate to see so much during our safari. From playful baby lions to lionesses after a successful kill, from herds of over 200 elephants gathering in the Serengeti (apparently for a grand meeting) to the majestic rhinos, hippos, and graceful giraffe. sightings also included various antelope species, olive and yellow baboons, monkeys (who stole our lunch) , soaring vultures, wildebeest, hyenas, agile mongooses, alligators, and so many beautiful bird species.
The true essence of our safari experience would not have been possible without our exceptional guide, Dismas has a bionic eye to see from afar all the wildlife and bring us there. He played an indispensable role in making our safari an unforgettable journey, he was attentive to our needs and very knowledgeable about all the wildlife. We had a lot of fun with him the entire week.
Tales of Tanzania, with Dismas as our guide gave us an exceptional experience. Their well-equipped and comfortable Land Cruiser provided us with a seamless ride. I highly Tales of Tanzania to all seeking an unforgettable safari adventure.
Genevieve, Pat, Jack, Maryse & Gaetan, Laurie and Roberto
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic
starting from the organization before the trip, to the whole trip, great work by all. from the office we spoke to by email, to the organization of the safari. our guide was available, prepared, kind.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
5 days Mt Kenya
We chose Hyrax for our 5 day climb of Mt Kenya. We had a wonderful time on the mountain. It was hard work but the delightful team made it much easier.
Special thanks to Daniel our guide for all your support on summit night and for managing your climbing crew so well. Service was impeccable and always served with a lovely smile. We enjoyed playing Uno with the team and learning more about their beautiful Kenya from their perspective.
Thank you Samuel for the most delicious food. That chicken and guacamole was perhaps the best meal we had on our 2 week stay in Kenya. Simon, our waiter was charming - always helping us with hand washing and tea pouring with a smile. Desmond and Leon were fabulous walking buddies and looked after our things very well.
In all - if you're planning a climb of Mt Kenya (or a safari) - call Hyrax and ask for Daniel and his team. You shan't be disappointed. We miss Kenya but miss the individuals we met along the way even more!
Asante Sana !
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Trip of a Lifetime!
Hyrax Safari's goes above and beyond! From pick-up at our hotel to helping us organize and pay for train tickets Rose is a full-service business owner! She helped us with so many aspects of our trip, some that extended beyond our time on safari. I can't recommend her highly enough. Ben was our guys and he was awesome, very friendly and helpful and we saw so many animals (The big 5 and then some!) and had such an amazing time I want to do it all over again! I recommend paying a little extra for the 4x4 vehicles since they are comfortable, roomy and allow for great views of the animals and scenery. Trip of a life time and Hyrax had a lot to do with it! 10 stars!
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Aruni is clearly a very experienced safari guide, he went over and above to give us an amazing tour!
Our tour was seamless from beginning to end, while being a budget safari everything we needed was accounted for.
Warm water, warm accommodation, food and an amazing tour guide who was punctual and wanted us to see the best Kenya had to offer. Would recommend Karibu safaris and Aruni to anyone wanting the real Masai Mara experience ☺️
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect honeymoon safari in Kenya!
There is so much I could say about our wonderful safari in Kenya for our honeymoon but will try to keep it brief. Our tour guide Nelson was the most lovely, funny, bubbly, knowledgeable man who looked after us from start to finish. He has so much experience and knows endless amount not just about the animals but the parks, lodges and Kenya itself. Our happiness was clearly paramount to him and we felt like he put us first every single day, determined to see as many different animals in different situations as possible. and boy did we see a ton of animals! We could not have imagined the wonderful close encounters we would get to have with these amazing creatures.
We opted for the luxury option as it was our honeymoon which means staying at the more premium lodges. We started off in the Amboseli lodge which had an authentic safari feel to it. We enjoyed close encounters with wild monkeys while staying here in the gardens. The next lodge we stayed at was The Cliff in Lake Nukuru, which literally took our breath away. It was the most luxurious lodge overlooking the lake and was stunning. The last lodge was Entim in Masai Mara which again was incredible. You overlook the famous Masai river where the great migration takes place each year. While I was reading in the garden a giraffe wandered over and I once again got to share a private, beautiful moment with one of these wild animals.
The food at Amboseli was buffet style and was nice enough. However the food at The Cliff and Entim is a changing menu each day and it was DIVINE. I am a very fussy eater and can't believe how much I liked the food.
We also added on the hot air balloon ride with a champagne breakfast. This was such a fun experience having never done one before. And a lovely way to see the animals from a different view while floating through the sky. The breakfast in the bush was lovely and they are very generous with the champagne!
Overall I could not recommend this tour (and especially tour guide Nelson) enough! You do not have to worry about a thing while you are with them, everything is taken care of and communicated clearly to you. It's really good value for money and highly reliable. Do not hesitate and book! It really was a once in a lifetime experience and one we will cherish forever!
THANK YOU NELSON!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very knowledge,respecful and assisted us diligently.
Kameraz of Afrika responded my emails very fast and the information was very clear. I would recommended the company to other people.it was a unique and wonderfull experience. Hotels, food and the staff were amazing. The Driver James was very knowledge.