35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Extremely professional, highly communicative, very friendly, and highly customizable.
From the start, Safari Soles made our safari planning and execution an easy and awesome experience. The initial brochure they provided for their quoted tour was easy to read and very well organized. It clearly hit all of the highlights of a safari in Tanzania, customized to our needs. The extras we asked, they easy accommodated. The accommodations they recommended off the bat were perfect. They made all of this so easy, and then our tour guide was fantastic. He was so knowledgeable about the animals and plants of the Serengeti, and he was so easy going and friendly. He was flexible in starting and ending our days if we needed more rest or wanted to do something specific. We had a fantastic time, and if we are ever lucky enough to go back, Safari Soles is the only tour company we will use. We 100% recommend them to everyone we care about.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unrivaled professionalism and service
My wife and I took a private one day fly in fly out safari from Zanzibar to Nyerere National Park (used to be called Selous Game Reserve) during the latter portion of rainy season, mid-May.
Firstly, our amazing experience began with a request for a quote. Within 1 hour we had a quote and a deeply detailed layout of our trip from the pickup point at our resort in Nungwi beach to Nyerere and then back to our resort. I had a few questions for Jacob, my contact, through email which were promptly answered. So within 48 hours I confidently booked with Smile With Us Tours. Payment through PesaPal (a Tanzanian PayPal of sorts) was quick and easy.
On the day before our safari, the taxi driver (Nurdin) contacted us through WhatsApp to confirm our pickup and drop off. Nurdin was so very kind and willing to share his knowledge of his home with us. Most importantly, he was a safe driver.
On the day of the Safari we woke up early and met Nurdin who took us to the small departure gates that housed flights to Safari airstrips. The plane was a ~30 passenger double prop plane. The landing at Nyerere (as it is on any dirt runway in a small plane) is not as cushioned as a large international flight might be, but don’t let that deter you. It is such a cool experience! At the end of the runway awaits some nice restrooms, a line of safari trucks, and the entrance to Nyerere National Park. Stepping off the plane, we were immediately greeted with a huge smile by our fantastic tour guide Eric.
Eric began by familiarizing us with our 6 seater safari truck. Our safari truck was loaded with a cooler full of ice waters that was easily accessible throughout the trip. The dew that morning had left the seats a little damp, but before we even had the chance to mention it, Eric solved that problem by covering our seats with plastic panchos that were also available for rainy days. When entering the park, we stopped by the park rangers station where we picked up an extra tour guide who was learning the ropes in their tour guide school named Jameson “Jimmy”. Of course, Eric made sure it was ok with us before we added Jimmy as an additional passenger.
Despite being in the park during rainy season, when the foliage is dense and the animals more difficult to see, we had no issue getting many up close encounters with ALMOST all (sneaky lions) of the animals on our list. The guides from different companies are constantly on the radios trying to coordinate their movements to make sure you see the most animals. We were blown away with the variety of animals we saw and our favorites were the wildebeest, hippos, water buffalo, and the baby elephants! If you like giraffes, you are in for a treat! You will see more giraffes than you ever thought possible. You may even be sick of seeing giraffes at the conclusion of your trip!
Nyerere is a gem of a park as it contains many different “biomes” like savannah, wetlands, and dense jungle. Even in the rainy season, it displayed a dry grass savannah with herds of zebra and impala with the occasional wildebeest. 15 minutes later we were driving through a thicket of large, vined trees where a group of baboons were dropping fruits to a small harem of female elephants and their feisty young calves. Fifteen more minutes passed and we reached a sprawling riverbed where hippos and crocodiles were plentiful.
In the morning we had a 20 minute break where all of the safari trucks gathered near the river for coffee, tea, and Tanzanian fried bread (andazi). During the afternoon we stopped for lunch near a lake infested with more hippos than you can possibly begin to count. The lunch area had several metal gazebos where you can get out of the sun and very nice restrooms that were totally unexpected out in the bush. We ate a dish of chicken in curry on a bed of rice with a side of melon.
We finished the tour chasing after lion and hyena tracks, but to no avail. We were close though, as evidenced by several piles of giraffe bones scattered near our search area. Eric and Jimmy both created such an unforgettable experience for me and my wife and I know they are continuing to do the same for all of their tour customers.
The return flight to Zanzibar was peaceful and Nurdin was waiting for us as we walked out of the airport to take us back to our resort in Nungwi. In all, we left our resort at 0400 and returned around 1730 in the evening. If you want a special safari experience but don’t know if a multi-day trek is for you, I would highly suggest this opportunity.
Of note, the price of all the tours is a steal for the experience. However, the difference between a private tour and a group tour is arguably negligible. I would highly suggest a private tour if you feel that way too!
Also of note, while tipping is not mandatory, these guides are extremely skilled at navigating rough terrain, communicating with other guides, and teaching you about their animals, all while using multiple different languages. These gentlemen (from several companies) take pride in their trade and are unbelievably service oriented. They deserve a good tip so make sure to bring some Tanzanian cash!
Safaribookings.com is a terrific site and when my wife and I return to East Africa I will be using them to find my next safari adventure. Hopefully that tour is guided by the hardworking people at Smile With Us Tours!
IL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was Amazing, lots of animals and good price
The guide Julius was great. He came to the ferry to pick us up and then we went to the safari.
We have a good lunch on the way to Makuim safari.
After we slept at nice camp hotel with good food.
Thenext day we did more hours in the safari and back to the airport to Zanzibar
Everything was amazing, we saw lions, elephants, zebras and more
I recommend!!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing friendly service gave us an unforgettable experience
The service was extraordinary; our driver Dennis looked after us with a warm friendly smile and really became our friend and provider over the days of the safari. We are a school group of 24 young people and four teachers, so you can imagine that logistically that can present some challenges but everything was handled in a thoroughly professional and reliable manner.
We visited Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli, and we couldn’t ask for more from our host - the whole team gave us outstanding help and service. We saw every animal you could want from a safari, they knew all the best places to go, provided interesting information about the wildlife, and food and picnics out in the savannah were all part of the package. We have memories to treasure which will last a lifetime thanks to Jocky tours.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The tour operator had hospitality in mind and was very personable.
I greatly enjoyed our tours! The hikes were appropriately paced, the views breathtaking, and the guides knowledgeable. William, one of the guides, is an amazing story teller.
ID
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Sunny, our tour operator was excellent
It was an amazing trip, worth every penny. The 6 hours safari was filled with encounters with elephants, lions, rhyno, zebra, giraffe, hypho and all other animals.
Our driver/guide, Ika, is really kind and patient, explaining all the details about each animal we've seen. He is generously sharing his experience and knowledge and was as excited as we all when we saw a group of lions.
The lunch was delicious and all staff were helpful and friendly. Our tour operator, Sunny, was on time, kind, super helpful.
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Competent, reliable and Felixable
Daniel of Oride tours and travel informed us precisely, competently and always avery promptly during then the organization of the safari.
Amos then guided us though uganda in a land cruiser 4×4. We experienced him as a very reliable, professional guide who always knew comprehensively about the country, it's people, life and history. He also knew alot about nature and great wildlife. The lodges suggested and booked by oride tours and travel also surprised us a very positively. Very good service extremely friendly people, good rooms and last but not the least fine food convinced us.
The highlights of gorilla and chimpanzee trekking wil remain in our memories forever. Great experience surely recommend oride tours and travel for organizing your safari to uganda.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Serengeti Smile is quick, trustworthy and delightful to communicate with
We booked our safari adventure with Serengeti Smile and were extremely pleased with their service. From start to finish, they were quick to respond to any questions we had during the booking process and ahead of travelling. When we arrived at Arusha airport in the morning, we were greeted by our driver and guide Benson, who helped with our luggage and then drove us to our first destination, the Lake Manyara National Park. While we drove there, he told us all sorts of interesting facts about Tanzania, which we really appreciated. We arrived at Lake Manyara for lunch time, and did see elephants and baboons on our way to the lunch spot. We ate a super delicious boxed lunch at a view point, which had benches and tables and overlooked the lake. After, we continued our game drive and ended our day at the Serena Lodge Lake Manyara, where we spent the night (very nice hotel!). The next day, onward to the Serengeti, with a boxed lunch again and a game drive in the afternoon, a night at the Safari View Luxury Camp (an out of this world tented accommodation, very unique, highly recommend!), and another game drive in the morning. The game drives where truly fantastic and we were in constant awe at all the animals we saw! Benson was in touch with his fellow guides via radio and managed to show us also the more elusive animals there (cheetah and leopard). In the afternoon of the second day, we left the Serengeti and headed towards Ngorongoro Crater. We made a stop at the Olduvai Gorge (which Serengeti Smile kindly organized for us upon our request on short notice), which we found rather disappointing. The museum is small (you'e done in 30 mins to max. 1h) but very nice and informative and there is a view point to see the gorge which is a great photo opportunity - but the prices were ridiculously high for what was on offer (50 dollar per person, which is more expensive than the Louvre in Paris!). After the museum visit, we ended up in the Serena Lodge Ngorongoro, where we spent the night. It was really cold (at 2300m altitude) and the hotel staff thoughtfully brought us warm water bottles to take to bed which made the night very cosy. The next and last day, we visited Ngorongoro Crater. Again, hundreds of animals everywhere, it was stunning! Benson tried to show us some of the approx. 30 rhinos living there and we managed to see three of them from a distance, which completed our 'big 5 sightings'. After the crater, Benson drove us back to Arusha airport (with a boxed lunch stop on the way), from where we continued our holiday. All in all, we had an amazing experience provided by the guys at Serengeti Smile - thank you!
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wild Experience!!!
My partner Rocio and I decided to go on a safari in Tanzania.
After looking a lot we found Lappet Faced Safaris, Francisco was very attentive from the beginning. He answered all our doubts and questions that arose.
Once we arrived in Tanzania, Noel - our guide, was waiting for us at the airport to take us to our first hotel in the city of Arusha where we would spend the first day to rest after the long journey.
And the next day... our ADVENTURE began!
We visited Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara parks.
We have fallen in love with all its nature. Noel is always very attentive to us and always providing THE BEST view of the animals in his natural habitat! Better impossible! His experience in the environment is noticeable, he taught us unique moments in the day to day of these wonderful animals.
They provided us with great hotels throughout the 5 days of safari ( my favorite the tent in the Serengeti
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BR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The experience of a lifetime, trustworthy and professional.
Our safari trip was amazing!
From the booking, Maureen was very attentive and assured us we would have vegan options available for all meals included in the tour.
For strict vegetarians, the breakfast on the camping site could be improved, for example, with an option of spreadable as peanut butter and a vegan pancake. The package lunch for the sexond day could be improved too, but we saw that they were making an effort to accommodate us and they came to ask us what could and could not be included in it, which we appreciate. Dinner on the camp-site itself and the meals on roadside restaurants and the hotel all had a decent amount of vegan options and everything was very tasty. We loved the Kenyan cuisine!
They picked us up at the hotel on time and after paying for the tour in the office, we met our fellow travellers and went off to Masai Mara. We had to wait a bit since one other guest was a bit late, but everything worked out well.
We stayed 2 nights at a tented camping site outside the park, near the Masai Village. The camp was really nice, organised, clean, secure and had very good food! We literally felt like going to an expedition into the wild (tip: bring a small paddock to lock your tent against local tree dwelling thief's, aka baboons.. They would run around in the camp in the mornings and eventually try to go inside the tents looking for food, which only added to the whole experience!)
Our driver and guide, Charles, was the best! He was very knowledgeable about the animals and very good at finding them in the savannah. We felt safe the whole time and had fun on the way too. It was definetely the adventure of a lifetime and the expectation of not knowing what animals we would find next was thrilling, when driving throught one of the more remote locations, we felt like on a Jurassic park movie (on the beginning of the movie, when all is going well... Hehe)
On our third day we drove to our hotel near Lake Nakuru. The hotel was very nice and also had very good food, and the game drive on the park the next morning was also amazing.
We were not sure about booking 3 or 4 days and in the end we loved having booked the 4th day at Lake Nakuru. The park is much smaller than Masai Mara, and has denser vegetation and higher trees, but we were lucky enough to get a much closer encounter with a family of white rhinos.
Also, Charles told us that because the water level of the lake has been rising lately, there are not as many flamingos as before, but there were a lot of them and we loved it nonetheless.
On the way to and back from the safari, we stopped for lunch and also on a giant gift shop with a huge variety of arts and crafts, prefect to bargain for that souvenir to take home.
In the end, we were dropped off at the airport on time and will definitely miss Kenya a lot.
Overall, we couldn't have asked for a better experience. They were very professional and made sure we could enjoy the trip to this marvellous piece of preserved wild nature.
There are only two last things to point out: 1) on the safaribookings website, it was advertised 6-7 people per vehicle and we had 8 in ours. Everyone in the group was very nice and easy going, so we had a great time and, 2) the communication prior to the trip could have been a bit better, since we had our tour combined with another safari company who actually handled the payment, which per si is not a problem and Maureen was there on the day so we had no problems at all, but it would have been nice to know that ahead of time. Anyway, as they say there "hakuna matata", after such an unforgettable experience, we definitely recommend them for your safari on Kenya and also do ask if Charles is available to guide you, again, he was the best and made sure we had the best experience possible!
