50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Customer Care
I did a 9- day safari with Salina, visiting Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Amboseli, Tsavo West and Tsavo East National Parks.
I chose Salina after spending quite a bit of time researching on safaribookings.com.
From the beginning, Charles responded to me quickly and was very helpful, tailoring the safari to suit my needs.
The safari itself went well, although it was probably a little bit too long. I figured I was only going to do a safari in Kenya once in my life! My favourite parks were definitely those further East - Amboseli and the two Tsavos. Masai Mara was disappointing- very dusty, very busy, poor roads and a lack of infrastructure.
My only criticism relates to the accommodation. I stayed in five different places, and the quality varied a lot- it was very hit and miss. I think part of the challenge was that I travelled in high season, and despite booking 6 months in advance, some of the better places (within my budget) were apparently booked out. The cream of the crop are most definitely the Sentrim properties.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trustworthy Agency, Great Experience
I wholeheartedly recommend Sylvester's team to anyone considering a once-in-a-lifetime experience in Africa.
Right from the start, Sylvester ensured our needs were met and meticulously planned out the entire trip. Every aspect of our journey went smoothly, from the airport transfers to the safari and our final day in Nairobi. Sylvester and his team proved to be exceptionally reliable and easy to communicate with.
Our guide, Hassan, was an absolute gem. He took excellent care of us and had remarkable connections with other guides. With his expertise, we were able to witness the majestic Big Five (there's quite a legendary story to tell about that!), the Special Five, various antelopes and birds etc. His keen eye for spotting wildlife was truly eagle-like! Moreover, Hassan prioritized our safety throughout the trip, which meant a great deal to us especially since we were traveling as a family.
All our accommodations were clean, conveniently located, and provided delicious food with helpful staff. We had nothing to worry about in this regard.
In summary, enjoying a fantastic holiday with Seven by Far is EASY. Everything is dependable, honest, and of high quality. We truly appreciate it and hope to revisit soon!
SI
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best experience ever
Safari with Uwandatours was great! Best experience soo far! Our guide was very nice, he spoke english fluently, he told us a lot about animals and land! We really enjoyed. They also made a pick up for us, even-though we stayed at the hotel outside the Zanzibar city. Would really recommend!
KR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Unite together with the heart of rice Sururikata
The reason why you should choose Suritaka is the rice. Bob is crazy. Seriously, does it make sense to be able to eat cooked fish and meat in the Serengeti while traveling in Africa? The Polish ladies I went with also praised it. Looking at other tour meals, it's amazing. Bread slices for dinner. We had 2 basic salads and soup with meat or fish, but let's unite together with the heart of Korean food.
(automatic translation from Korean)
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Safari Avventura tour il top del top Michela super professional, Mirambo super guide top
The best safari in my life!
Michela super organaizer
Mirambo top guide
Valerio e Whity super
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beautiful!
We went to Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire National Park! Guide was very informative and put in the effort to help us see so many different animals.
Highly recommend !
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Not the best company to use
I did the 14-day Kenya and Tanzania shared group safari. I’m going to tell an entire story here, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if TouristLine categorized me as a “difficult” client. But I do NOT recommend using this agency.
To start, my trip and safari and the food and the people were all wonderful. However, the guides do not work for TouristLine, they work as contractors through a separate company, so it’s really luck of the draw there. No matter who you book through, you could end up in a group with clients from different agencies.
My first red flag from TouristLine was that they advertise assistance with booking lodging for any days before or after your safari. When I asked for hotel recommendations, I was ignored and they asked me for my hotel information for the safari pick-up. I found a great hotel on my own and didn’t think too much of it.
The start of my trip was difficult, as my luggage remained in NYC and so I had to do some paperwork and make some extra accommodations right from the start. After the long flight and with the extra stress I just wanted to get to the hotel and shower and make a plan. I was under the impression that once I left the airport, all of the logistics of travel would be handled by TouristLine. I was incorrect. No one picked me up from the airport as advertised. When I brought this up, I was told that I needed to call once I landed. Every other time I have had an airport pick-up, they use the flight number to track the flight and I have been picked up without difficulty. Anyway, I took a $20 cab ride to my hotel.
Out of frustration (that wasn’t necessarily all TouristLine’s fault), I wrote a Day 1 review on safaribookings.com. The company reached out to me and offered to cancel and refund my safari. This would have left me without luggage, accommodations, or a safari. I took the review down and played nice, even though at this point I knew that I was going to experience some bumps in the road.
TouristLine was contacted about my luggage situation. They were able to verify when the luggage had been put onto a plane and assured me that upon arrival it would be delivered to me. At this point, I volunteered to give up a day of my tour to make sure that I had my bag before heading out to the parks. They again assured me that the bag would make it to me and we continued with our original plan. I had a free day in Nairobi so I went and bought three outfits and some basic toiletries, thinking this would be more than enough to cover me until my luggage arrived. My luggage arrived in Kenya the next day, which was the day I was set to start my safari. My hotel pick-up was at 0700 and that went smoothly. However, my pick-up time was apparently much earlier than the other tour participants because we didn’t leave until around 0900. If I would have known this, I could have swung by the airport and grabbed my bag and that would have been the end of that. This didn’t happen, but I was again told that the bag would be picked up and would meet me the next day at the first camp. I won’t get into too many details, but this back and forth went on for four additional days before I receive my luggage. While the initial luggage situation had nothing to do with TouristLine, I feel like they gave me the impression that this was high priority but in actuality they did not care at all. If I would have known that there was going to be a delay that long I would have gotten extra supplies when I was still in Nairobi.
From that point the rest of the Kenya trip went smoothly. However, crossing into Tanzania started the real problems with TouristLine. Firstly, I had specifically asked about vaccination requirements, another question that had gone unanswered. I had done research on my own, but read the requirements incorrectly. I had to pay $50 cash at the border to get my yellow fever card. I was also told that Tanzanian visas were gotten at the border, while everyone else in my van had successfully completed e-visas in advance.
Okay, so after customs, I was waiting with another traveler who had a similar itinerary as I did, although he had booked through a different company. We assumed that we were traveling to Arusha together as we had not been given individualized instructions. We waited for several hours for a bus to Arusha, but finally boarded and headed to the hotel. It was at this point that I learned that the bus and hotel were just for my friend and not for me. NO ONE WAS SENT TO PICK ME UP AT THE BORDER. If I hadn’t been with a friend using another agency, I would have been completely lost since the border and drop-off point are very chaotic.
At the hotel I got in contact with TouristLine and asked if it was possible to swap my itinerary to match my travel buddy’s, since it was just swapping the days of Serengeti and Ngororgoro. She was able to change my itinerary, however, the changes did not put me onto my friend’s tour so we went back to the original plan. You have to understand, the plans for safaris are pretty much made day to day. The tour guide seemed responsible for getting people to their next destination, which required a lot of transfer vehicles and last-minute arrangements as they are unaware of each traveler’s individual itinerary. I heard the phrase “hakuna matata” very much during this time. That is the only reason I thought the change might be able to be made. TouristLine did attempt to help me make the requested changes and I appreciated the effort even if it did not work out.
The rest of the Tanzania leg of the safari went smoothly. Even though the tour can end in Arusha or Nairobi according to the website (and TouristLine had a copy of my flight information), my tour seemed to officially end in Arusha. The hotel I stayed at helped arrange a shuttle for me to go back to Kenya to make my flight. I had to pay an additional $35.
I am giving you my entire story so that you can judge for yourself. In my opinion, the agency’s only job is logistics since the tour guides direct the safaris themselves. As I had issues with my luggage, transportation, and the border crossing, I am not 100% sure what TouristLine did for me. I’m sure there are a million things they did on their end that I am unaware of, but there are over 400 companies that arrange safaris and I am sure that they all do those same things. I would recommend trying another company if you want to avoid additional, unnecessary stress during your vacation.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
best tour company with high professional tour guide
i booked trip to masaai mara for 3days and two night the company handled everything with care and they showed their professionalism my best tour i have ever hard
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A once in a lifetime
We had the most fantastic 10 days in the Land Cruiser. There were three of us and we sat on the front seats the whole way. We drove from Vic Falls to Harare via Chizarira National Park and Mana Pools. Our campsites were breathtakingly beautiful and the roads not too bad!!! We couldn’t have been happier. Ant was absolutely fantastic the whole way through the trip and in organising everything before and after. It is fantastic value for money and we couldn’t recommend it more. Thank you!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome Experience
We did a 1-day Safari at Ngorngoro Crater with Ngekewa tours and it was really nice. Josh arranged everything for us and had great communication prior to and during our visit. We had him arrange airport pickup and drop off, along with a city tour the day before our Safari. Josh and our safari tour guide was very knowledgeable, experienced, and polite. Everything was perfect and a great value. They had the best prices and customization to what we wanted in comparison to other safari tour companies I researched. We definitely recommend and will use them again on our next trip.
