AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well organised Safari trip
My family booked 3 days & 2 nights trip from Hyrax Safaris. Miss Emma organised our trip as per our requirements. She made sure our trip would be trouble free. She instructed our Tour Guide/Jeep driver Mr. Jackson all information which was promised by her. Mr. Jackson with many years of experience for Masai Mara Safaris was an impressive driver for off road routes and searching for Big fives. He tried his best to search and click best locations. Thanks Emma and Jackson for a trip which we will remember for the long time.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing experience
Safari avventura organized for us a wonderful travel: 7 days of safari and 5 days in Zanzibar. Gianluca and Francis have been always kind and available for any questions.
Lodges and tended camps was always very good and clean and with nice staff.
The guide (Shunda) and the driver (Rachid) was very good and nice.
AE
Masai Mara Safari
I recently went on a three day trip to Kenya through Hyrax Safaris, and it was an unforgettable experience. From the first day to the last, everything was executed perfectly, thanks to Ms Emma, who helped us book the best trip.
Ms Emma made an itinerary that catered to our preferences and needs. She was very professional and did not leave any room for disappointment.
Our guide, Mr Jackson, was amazing. With over 30 years of experience, he was knowledgeable about all the locations and passionate about his job, which made our safari experience more entertaining. Mr Jackson was very professional and punctual, he always showed up before time ensuring we made the most of every moment.
Throughout the safari, Mr Jackson provided us with insightful information about the wildlife and culture of Kenya. His expertise in spotting animals was exceptional, helping us spot the Big Five. We saw about 12 lions, leopards, elephants and many more.
Ms Emma helped us pick a great lodge for our stay, giving us an unforgettable safari experience. The staff at the Olodare camp was friendly and welcoming and provided us with hospitality and delicious meals throughout our trip making the trip very memorable.
Overall, I highly recommend Hyrax Safaris. From exceptional service to experienced and knowledgeable guides, they go above and beyond to make your Masai Mara safari experience an unforgettable one.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A personalised service to find the perfect safari for us
A 5 day safari in the Serengeti staying at Olmara Camp - a once in a lifetime trip for the whole family. Clare and the Wild Wings Team chose lovely accommodation for us and ensured smooth transfers from our arrival in Tanzania, into the Serengeti, and for our return. We are so glad Clare suggested Olmara camp; it is a gem - dedicated staff who made us feel so welcomed, great food and really comfortable (but not over the top) accommodation. Just right. Discretely sited amongst trees, it is an open camp so we had some interesting night visitors - including elephants and hyenas. Our guide, who met us on arrival, was wonderful and made sure that we had the very best sightings of wildlife. This safari wasn't cheap - we were taking 8 adults - but we'd love to do it again next week! So many irreplaceable memories of a special time together - and so much wildlife seen.
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceed my expectations!
I had looked at so many different tour companies and what sold me on Samora was all the reviews about Iddy and that I'm supporting a locally operated small business.
Iddy was highly knowledgeable and charismatic as a guide with a very inspirational outlook on life. I always enjoyed all our conversations. He also was thoughtful in checking in with our needs and adapting the schedule/plan on the fly to fit our pace.
He pays attention to the small touches such as refrigerated drinks, a well maintained car and warm picnic lunches which makes the experience feel elevated than the typical "packed lunch". The accommodation he selected for us was also perfect - clean, luxurious feeling, good hosts and good food! I felt that we got a more premium experience than I anticipated!
I highly recommend Samora for a tailored, premium and special safari experience.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
CAUTION! My friend and I felt scammed by SCB Tours and Travel, lost Money & where forced to pay
CAUTION! We cannot recommend SCB Tours and Travel under any circumstances, as we believe that we have been severely scammed and coerced, leading to the cancellation of our safari. We are now left with over €800 in additional costs and were almost forced to pay another €900 on top. Allegedly, no one had ever encountered problems before, and we truly hope this is the case, because we wouldn't wish what happened to us on anyone. Here's our entire story.
First I would like to say, for the first days of the trip I would have given 5 stars because it was amazing – but what happened afterwards was one of the worst things that could happen.
Due to the attractive offer from SCB Tours and Travel, we decided to choose them, as the price seemed relatively affordable. We inquired multiple times to confirm that everything was truly included, and we were assured that chimpanzee and gorilla trekking, transportation, meals, non-alcoholic beverages, entrance fees, etc., were all completely included. After accepting the offer and making the initial payment, we were informed that taxes were not accounted for. Allegedly, the offer was created by an IT employee who wasn't authorized to do so. Despite the deposit being made, we were told that no further charges would be applied due to goodwill.
Just a few days into our trip, Solomon began blaming us for the high costs, asserting that we should have known that the taxes were not included. (We still wonder how we were supposed to know this, as when presented with an offer explicitly stating that everything is included for a specific price, we assume everything is indeed included. Unfortunately, our knowledge doesn't extend to Ugandan tax law.) We were also repeatedly blamed for the expenses of our vegetarian diet, and even when we ordered an additional pot of tea in a cold location, we were again reprimanded for how expensive everything was.
The situation escalated the day before our gorilla trekking, and we were essentially coerced into either paying for our accommodation here because the funds were depleted, or optionally, paying for entrance fees to the next parks since the money was simply not enough. Solomon cited reasons like accommodations demanding double the agreed amount, among others. However, this is also something beyond our control, and being in the off-season, we could have easily chosen alternative accommodations.
With the agreement that if we paid for our accommodation before the gorilla trekking, we could continue the trip without further discussions, we paid for the accommodation ourselves. However, in the preceding days, we had already paid for some of our meals (which were supposed to be included in the offer) out of pocket.
After the gorilla trekking, during our journey, we were suddenly stopped in a small town and more or less coerced into paying an additional $900, as we were told the trip couldn't be financed otherwise. Feeling uneasy about the situation and considering $900 to be a significant amount, we decided to terminate the trip. We also had to cover the fuel cost to return home, as we wouldn't have been able to make it back to Kampala otherwise and would have been stranded in the middle of nowhere.
The fact that we were stopped on the roadside and almost forced by Solomon to pay an additional $900 to continue the trip amounts to coercion and is illegal.
In Kampala itself, we incurred many extra costs as we had to independently cover accommodation, food, and drinks, which were supposed to be included.
Since April, we've made regular attempts to receive a response, all in vain.
Whenever we contacted Solomon recently, he shifted the blame and came up with various excuses. He has written that he will send us the $500, but we still haven't received a response regarding when this will happen.
Consequently, we cannot recommend SCB Tours and Travel under any circumstances and hope that no one else gets scammed like we did – this will forever be our impression of Uganda.
Screenshots are available in the images, unless they are deleted. Our trip started on March 6 and had to be prematurely terminated on March 18.
Since the end of the trip, we have made multiple attempts to get answers, at least regarding WHEN we will finally receive the money. We were only ever blamed for everything, Solomon even started playing mind games at times. Among other things, he told us that he hadn't even eaten because of us for a long time, and asked if we wanted him to kill himself because of us. In the end, he told us that he has a million-dollar business and he doesn't even care about SCB Tours and Travel because he doesn't need the money. Well, we are still stuck with our extra costs to this day, and most likely forever.
In conclusion, all things come back in life, or as Solomon said in his last message to us: "God (...) knows the truth and he will judge us all."
*Screenshots removed for privacy reasons.
DK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent and easy
It was an amazing experience to go to ngorongoro crater! We got to see a lot of different animals both close up and from afar! The views and nature just adds to the experience of it all.
Our guide, Hussein, was very good, and really kind to us!
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best Safari tour operator in Tanzania
Our 6 day camping safari with Suricata was really, really great. We saw everything we wanted and even more.
Rocky is the BEST guide. He is funny, friendly and knows so much about the parks and the animals.
Camping was really good, the company selected great camp sites. The food was perfect. Our cook Jamesi prepared fresh meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner and every meal was delicious.
I highly recommend going on a Safari with Suricata.
IL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best guide and driver
James was the best guide and driver we could hope for. Very social, explained about all the animals and knew where to find them.
The agency's planning was a little messy as they made some mistakes with our booking, and we're not the most efficient in schedule.
But after all it was amazing and we saw absolutely everything we wished and more.
Big shout out to James!
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Awesome Tanzanian safari adventure
We really enjoyed our 5 day northern parks safari with Safari Soles. We saw lots of birds and animals (big 5 included). By the 4th day we’d seen so many big cats we’d lost count. Highlight was a gathering by the river… a large pride of lions including 6 cubs, a herd of elephants (around 40) and a massive herd of buffalo (100+). Our guide Estomih was great. His knowledge of the local flora and fauna was truly impressive. I think he was even more excited at spotting the big 5 than we were. Our kids (13 and 15) thought he was awesome! Let’s be honest, on a once-in-a-lifetime safari like this, having the right guide means everything. If you’re looking for a professional and knowledgeable guide with a great sense of humor we’d definitely recommend Estomih and Safari Soles.
