US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Jean-Claude is the best!
My 16-year old daughter and I had the pleasure of experiencing a 4-day 3 night Rwanda adventure with Makario Safaris and it was wonderful. We did 1.5 days in Akagera National Park, visited Lake Kivu, and did the rainforest canopy walk and primate trek in Nyungwe National Park. To hit all of these places in this short amount of time requires a considerable amount of driving, but our guide Jean-Claude was top notch and an excellent driver. The fact that the landscape is simply amazing makes the experience of getting from place to place all the better. The Makario team was super communicative/responsive and provided options and pricing based on the preferences I provided. The trip was seamless, from when Jean-Claude picked us up until he dropped us off. Can't say enough good things about him. We only wish the trip cold have been longer!
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent Planning, Perfect Vacation
When planning a family safari to Tanzania, we wanted a special vacation with unforgettable memories. We contacted Tailormade Africa, another safari operator and a luxury travel company for proposals. It became quickly apparent that not only was Clyde the most knowledgeable, but he also listened carefully to our wants and aspirations, which included seeing the great migration crossing of the Mara River in the Northern Serengeti.
He proposed an itinerary ( Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater and N Serengeti ) and timing that aimed to fulfill all of our requirements, with attention to detail which gave us confidence that we would have a great experience. The cost was also reasonable for well chosen camps and private guides.
We have just returned from an outstanding vacation which met all of our expectations and then some. The arrangements were flawless from beginning to end - wonderful camps, excellent guides and magnificent wildlife, including spectacular views on 2 separate occasions of thousands of wildebeest crossing the Mara River !
We highly recommend Tailormade Africa and we would not hesitate to use them again when we next visit Africa.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Really great safari, efficiently planned and managed
SafariLife put together a wonderful safari experience for us, beginning in Kruger, moving on to Sabi Sands, and concluding with the Panorama Route tour from both the road and the river. While game reserves are great, there's nothing quite like being in Kruger with large herds of animals, especially elephants and buffalo, the experience of which far transcends seeing just one or a few of these animals on their own. SafariLife set us up with us a terrific guide, Percy, who found us a white rhino, which is rare, and had the sense to hold still after seeing a hyena booking it across the road because he knew lions would be close behind; indeed, three lionesses appeared after a few minutes! The housing at Skukuza in Kruger is basic but more than adequate, especially since we were spending the vast majority of our time on game drives. There are a couple of good restaurants there; we especially recommend the Kruger Station Restaurant. Our visit to Umkumbe Bush Lodge was a much posher affair, with excellent food, sumptuous lodging, and extraordinarily attentive hosts. It also afforded us the opportunity to see things that are very hard to see in Kruger, especially African wild dogs and leopards. Teas and coffees in the morning and a cocktail in the evening in the bush on game drives was a special treat. Lucky, our guide for the rest of the trip, took us along the Panorama Route, which shifts the focus from fauna to flora and unique geologic formations. It's worth taking the time to see these, as they are really breathtaking. We especially appreciated seeing the Three Rondavels from both above on the road, and below, on the boat cruise. SafariLife took excellent care of us, and we've already recommended them to friends considering trips to South Africa.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The perfect guide to experience Victoria Falls
We arrived at Victoria Falls as a family of 12. Kuda was at the airport to pick us up with a van and trailer for the luggage. We were at the Falls for 4 nights. Kuda filled our time with adventures that were always fun, exciting and educational. Having a personal guide when there are so many options is a real pleasure and saves a lot of time and personal organizing. Kuda was always on time, his recommendations excellent and he was always personable and willing to accommodate the different activities that members were interested in doing. We all would recommend him to others who would like a personal guide.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful people, wonderful experience
If you are looking for a safari experience in Uganda, I highly recommend Achieve Global Safaris. We had an absolutely wonderful experience. Jolie worked with me to put together an excellent 6 day tour that included an off-road safari in Queen Elizabeth park, chimpanzee trekking, gorilla trekking, and a river cruise. Every aspect of the trip exceeded expectations.
Jolie was fantastic in her communication. We ended up postponing a planned 2022 safari until 2023, and she worked with us throughout. And our guide, Zedius, was wonderful. Zed was extraordinarily cheerful throughout our week together, and was quite helpful and knowledgeable. If he didn't know something, he found out and gave us answers to questions that we'd forgotten we'd asked.
We were especially impressed with the accommodations that were arranged. The lodges were a great experience in themselves, and our only regret is that we were so focused on safari activities that we didn't have enough time to fully take advantage of them.
I recommend Achieve without hesitation. Wonderful people, wonderful experience.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very knowledgeable & kind tour guides and helpful tour operators!
Great communication in the lead up to the trip, and very kind staff - from the driver who picks you up, to the staff you meet at the lodge, and the safari drivers are excellent and super knowledgeable and kind - to make sure you see as many of the big 5 as possible! Great experience - thank you.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Superb Safari
Safari in different areas is worthwhile.
Masai and Amboseli are both brilliant and work visiting. Amboseli in particular is amazing for the volume of hippos and elephants.
Lake Nakuru was great for watching the rhinos, flamingos.
Hell's gate was a little disappointing.
I loved Tsavo West - thick grass/bushes, red soil - so different from other areas, yet good wildlife, and we finally saw a leopard ! Not as much wildlife as other areas, but still enjoyable. It is a bit more of an adventure.
Make sure you take new $100 bills (2017), as the old ones (1999) are sometimes not accepted!
Early starts are worthwhile on safari.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great place for holiday
We spent 12 days in tanzania, we took a fantastic tour with kihindo safaris ( amazing tour company) and visited mikumi national park, we found loads of wildlife( elephants, lions giraffes etc) . mikumi is relatively small , however this makes it a great place to easily spot wildlife. We stayed at camp bastion which was very comfortable and had a lovely ambience.
We also spent time on the beach at kendwa in Zanzibar, staying in La Fontana guesthouse- great place with delicious food and close to a geogeous beach.
We travelled by road and ferry,the roads on the mainland ( main Rd from Dar es Salaam to mikumi) was quite terrifying, with crazy trucks and mad over taking, the Ferry port was also quite an experience- very chaotic and aggressive porters ( be firm , hamg on to your bags and tell them you ll carry them yourself) however the ferry journey itself was comfortable, we travelled on economy tickets and this was absolutely fine, plenty of space and comfortable seats.
I would encourage anyone to spend some time in Tanzania, friendly , kind people ( except for the porters haha) and a fantastic vibe, we would definitely visit again
ES
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
AMAZING BREATHLESS COUNTRY WITH A HUGE AMOUNT OF THIGS TO IMPROVE
I never expected how much and deeply this country impressed us.
We have been for two weeks in Nairobi, Massai Mara Nakuru Naivasha Hell´s Gate Mombassa Diani Beach, and Lamu.
No words to describe all the wild beauty of the country
Six National parks, big five, ugly five, elephants orphanage, and giraffe orphanage, snake park...
We meet people Massai and Kikuyu and are with them (out of the tourist ambiance) and speak with foreign residents from Italy Spain and England.
We read the history of the country and visited Nairobi's museums where our guide explain us much more than a book.
We feel very safe
But, it's so obvious that the country needs to improve a lot of things in order to attract tourism to visit this impressive beautiful, and historical country beyond visiting national parks.
Roads, trains, unexisting public transport, cleaning and appearance of the cities and beaches (look at the capital)
Nonetheless, I'll be back the soon as I can
ES
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Ngorongoro Crater by José
This is one of the best Park that I,ve knew