BR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent!
I was traveling together with my brother and Glen took us in our hotel perfectly on time. The ride to Pilensburg was very calm and nicely. Glen is an excellent host and was keeping a conversation with us the entire time. When arriving in the Safari, our ranger was already expecting us and took 2 minutes to start. He was a very funny guy and very patient explaining for us. It was an excellent experience. When arriving back to the main entrance of Pilensburg, Glen was already there and we went back to the hotel. It was an incredible experience. Everything worked as expected the both Susan and Glen were perfect. Hope to see you soon again!
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very attentive, involved and knowledgeable.
I was on a very structured optometry mission tour of 12 days duration. Peafowl got us everywhere we needed to go on time and with all our luggage/equipment (and we had quite a bit of equipment). The hotels were very nice, food was good. Their planning was excellent. I was able to be a rather carefree tourist.... they solved all the problems.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Umkumbe Safari Lodge/Victoria Falls Safari Lodge
I am still in awe over being able to realize my African Bucket List trip and it is ALL courtesy to the time and effort that Andy Saidy provided over the planning period for the last year! Andy offered suggestions and information that enabled a well-rounded experience for my first time ever visiting Africa. He organized the stays at Umkumbe & Victoria Falls Safari Lodges and made sure all the details were in place. Both locations were amazing and I plan on returning to Africa in the near future. I will not hesitate to call Andy again for his assistance & I will certainly refer Andy to friends and family who think such a trip is impossible! With Andy's help and expertise, it will become a reality! Thank you Andy!
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
This is a most helpful, supportive, knowledgeable and professional tour operator you can imagine.
We have booked an individually planned safari trip through northern Tanzania with a beach add-on on Zanzibar. This has been a lifetime experience and we cannot stop thinking of our wonderful experiences during this privately guided tour. A major advantage is that Paradise and Wilderness (P&W) owns the hotels, lodges and camps it offers, a modern fleet of specialized safari cars, and employs their own selected guides, which all allows for the highest standards during the whole trip. Wildlife observation and game drives were the major components of the vacation in our case. We started in Arusha from a conveniently located cosy place in a quiet part of central Arusha (hotel Africa Safari Arusha). Africa Safari Lake Manyara is a lovely tented camp at the shores of the lake and allows easy exploration of the National Parks in the surroundings (Tarangire, Manyara). Continuing via Ngorongoro crater, we crossed the Serengeti and found another nice camp on its western central edge just outside the parks gate (but in the ecosystem) called Africa Safari Serengeti Ikoma. Here, we experienced sleeping in the bush but in very nice high quality tents. The camp had so nice staff and very delicious food and full day service, we just loved it. This is also true for the brand-new Africa Safari Massai Boma, the newest addition to P&Ws portfolio of accommodations. Here, you sleep in a traditional round hut with all the amenities you can imagine, you also get pampered and served unbelievably good food. It also offers very authentic guided trips by the local Massai people who are really keen on teaching you what nature has to offer. The Massai tribe is also prominent in another stunning place, Lake Natron. This is such a fascinating place, a magic landscape and scenery, nice options of hiking trips, bird watching etc. – all of this very easy to do from another perfect accommodation – Africa Safari Lake Natron. This is a perfectly run new glamping camp with the most beautiful view of the lake and the mountains and the holy volcano of the Massai people. It cannot be recommended highly enough. Back in Arusha, we did game drives in the Arusha Park and walked around Lake Duluti. Another highlight was a tour to an authentic village where we were offered a very nice insights into daily subsistence life. We learned how to grow and produce coffee, sugar and all sorts of other agricultural products. If you want something real and not the usual tourist stuff, book a tour with Moivaro Cultural Tourism through P&W.
The whole safari trip was so enjoyable because of the guidance and company of the knowledgeable and most motivated guide David. He made sure we could do the maximum of wildlife observations but also helped us diving deeper into the countries rhythm and realities. We learned so much in the 2 weeks.
P&W has several hotels on Zanzibar, we stayed in a recommendable mid-range option Reef & Beach resort in Jambiani in a relaxed corner on the SE of the island.
All in all we can sum up and confidently say, if you do a safari in Tanzania, do it with P&W!
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Never book with this company. Horrible experience!
Don’t book!! Please, choose another company if you don’t want to worry during your safari.
Read this for more information ( long story, below a summery)
The hostel were we stayed, recommended Big 5 voyage. The boss came to talk to us
We agreed on a 6 days safari. With 1 night in a tent, 2 nights in a camping tent and 2 nights in a hostel in Seregenti park. With WhatsApp messages we got the planning and more details about the safari. In the morning we confirmed to do the safari the next day. We agreed on a total price of $2200 in tota.
We got a message back that the hostel was full and for only $120 per person per night we could have a lodge with swimming pool in Seregenti. We agreed on a total price of $2500, 2 persons 6 days safari, everything included (- $45pp cost of the hostel we first agreed on)
We got to the office in Arusha to pay, and there it was 5% more to pay with card, that was never told to us (we had cash at the hostel!). After again discussing this, he dropped the commission fees, and we got receipts.
Then next day, we started the safari.
We arrived at the meeting point to start. Nobody of the company was there, all of the sudden our program was changed and we had to go with another company on safari, also another group.
We had no communication about it, even if we asked for it.
After day 1 of safari, I got messages from the boss of the company, that we had to pay more money. We called him after this and then he asked for more money: we paid only for 1 night at the lodge he said. So we had to pay $240 more. Also he talked again about commission fees we had to pay. We paid everything in the office so we didn’t understand why he was again talking about it..
The lodge was already booked and confirmed (see photo of WhatsApp message)
We didn’t want to pay extra, so we asked for another option. He said we sleep in tents then and get money back. Then all of the sudden the call ended..
We worried all night, because we started already the tour and now we got really bad vibes.
The day after we got $240 back. We had a great 6 days safari with tour operator: Meru Slopes
We slept 2 nights in a bed and 3 nights in tents at public campsites. Our safari with the other company, meru slopes was really nice. We enjoyed the great migration!
Summery: the company asked 3 times for more money, even when we agreed on the price and paid it.
No communication during safari or changing plan
So book with another company if you don’t want to worry, even if you already started your safari!!
IT
Nightmare Honeymoon
So much went wrong in this 15 day trip I don't even know where to start. I am at the point where I think all the other reviews must be fake. It was sketchy from the very beginning and I would have surely cancelled if it weren't for the large deposit we had already paid. This was our honeymoon. The suggestions we were given were poor and provided little to no information. There were huge miscommunications between the travel agent and the local guide - honestly I don't understand how they can do business together. We were supposed to have a full serviced 15 day 'luxury´ camp, but on the last days of the trip WE ENDED UP SETTING CAMP AND THE TENT OURSELVES including cleaning the tent and DIGGING THE TOILET HOLE!! because they just abandoned us in a horrible island without any staff except for a chef. We were told there would be 2 games drives EVERY day, it turns out that on the day we changed camps there was no game drive at all because even though those drives were supposed to be considered game drives, the driver was not even stopping for us to have a look at animals. The evening drives on those days weren't even performed. We ended up having 6 game drives less than promised. We were not served alcohol due to COVID restrictions - which we understand- but the agent didn't provide us with any warning whatsoever beforehand, surely because he didn´t want to loose us as customers. Imagine finding out you won't even be able to have a glass of wine during your 15 day honeymoon once you get to the first camp and are in the middle of nowhere with nowhere to go. Additionally, no other activity or extra service to compensate for the price of the alcohol that wasn't bought was offered, so they basically stole 300 USD from us. The guide kept promising 'we will see rhino and wild dogs GUARANTEED in the next few days' and then we never saw them. Really, how unprofessional can you be? We never had the expectations of seeing them in the first place, but we did after his empty promises. When we asked to make some changes to the trip, the guide came with a ridiculous price, which didn´t make sense at all....yet another excuse to steal our money. On a couple of occasions we asked the guide to go check out specific things (like a dead elephant in the area) and he would say no because he just wanted to go chase whatever he felt like, thus we missed out on amazing sights. On more than a couple of occasions we were told to meet at a certain time to leave for the game drive, and they left us hanging for 30 min or more. The guide would sit with us every dinner and wouldn´t even talk to us, he would only talk to his staff in his language. Why even sit with us and ruin our dinner in the first place? All in all, it just felt like they manipulated and lied to us to take our money. And so many things more. Feel free to contact me and I can share more info and or photos of the disastrous camping setup. We felt and we feel robbed.
BR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent
We had a great experience with this company, we did the safari of 3 days and 2 nights, we got to see 4 of the 5 big fives. Driver Edward was very friendly and polite. Everything went according to plan and agreed with the company.
Unfortunately experience
Excellent services, good time management, customer care and affordable packages. Thank you Ameera Africa Safaris for the splendid services delivery and enjoyable travel experience to sipi falls
HU
Professional
We had a 2days 1 night safari in Mikumi National Park. Leonard picked us up in time at our hogel in the morning. He was very nice and drived safely. The tour was awesome, we saw a lot of animals( giraffes, elephants, zebraa, hippos, lions etc. even a leopard). The tour guide and the driver was very helpful, we had a lot of fun together. The food and the hotel was really good too. We are very satisfied. I highly recommend the company. Best price guaranteed! :)0
US
Transparent, Professional and Kind.
So you are looking for a reliable Safari in Kenya and you have so mnay different options and now you are looking at all these reviews to make your best decision? I will help you!
Mufasa was amazing, we made the right decision by choosing them. From the moment I contacted Joseph at Mufasa he was super responsive and he answered all my endless questions. He put together an awesome plan for us. Everything was covered and we were taken care of for our whole trip duration.
They picked us up at the airport, they took us to the best hotel in Nairobi. Our driver for the first day was the kindest and nicest person. Thank you Dan!
Then Kevin picked us up the day after for our Safari journey and let me tell you that we were truly blessed to have Kevin from Mufasa as our guide. He was extremely knowledgeable and despite all the long drives we never felt bored or exhausted cause our safari guide would hit us with some mind blowing scientific facts about the animals and the nature in general. Just a passion, kind and loving dude. He knew every inch of the Savanna by heart!
All the accomodations including camps and hotels and food and everything else was perfect. We had a great time.
Mufasa will take care of you. Asantisana Mufasa.