20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best luxury safari experience ever!
This was the best holiday we have ever been on and my only fear is that no future holidays can ever live up to it. We had the most fabulous time in Tanzania - from the pick up at Arusha, all the way to the drop off at Seronera Airstrip for our flight to Zanzibar.
Itinerary - The itinerary was so meticulously planned, ensuring we got the most out of our 5 day safari experience. Every time we told ourselves 'it can't get better than this', it did. We were lucky enough to see all the big 5 and so many more. Plenty of awesome photo opportunities... though I have to admit the photos really don't do it justice. It was so beautiful. Neither of us were particularly into bird watching but have somehow now turned into ornithologists. The experience has been truly life changing. We truly felt like we were in a David Attenborough documentary!
Accommodation -
The Melia Hotel in Arusha was amazing as were the incredible lodges that African Big Cats picked for us. Some of the lodges were better than 5* hotels we have stayed at on previous holidays. We were SO comfortable and yet so close to nature - so many wildebeests, impala and zebras... even lions, hippos and hyenas! The Masai warriors escorting us also had wonderful stories to share. The hotel staff were excellent.
Food - The food was fresh, nutritious and SO tasty. We were impressed by the variety that was available. The picnics were excellent... we even got to eat lunch with the black rhino (while sitting in our safari vehicle of course). One of the unexpected highlights was the garden tour at Kitela Lodge which sources the fresh fruit and veg used in its kitchen as well as the kitchens at the other Tanganyika Wilderness Camps sites.
Moses - Saved the best to the last. We honestly cannot praise Moses enough. He's professional, friendly and has SO MUCH knowledge, it is actually astonishing. How he spots birds (some of them flying high in the sky or hidden in bushes) and animals whilst driving expertly and dodging potholes is genuinely a marvel. We felt entirely safe with him at the helm. Like many surrounding cars from other providers, our high spec and well equipped safari vehicle suffered a small hiccup due to the dusty and bumpy roads, but Moses handled the situation like a pro. He was calm under pressure and made sure we were in safe hands at all times. His timekeeping and organisation skills were on point. We couldn’t have asked for a better guide than Moses!
Everything from start to finish was excellent. It is clear that African Big Cats work hard to keep their standards high. Emanuel (owner of ABCS) made sure he came to see us on Day 1 and scheduled a telephone conversation with us on the final day to gather feedback on our trip. We felt this was very professional and would not hesitate to recommend this fabulous company to our friends and family. Indeed when we return to Tanzania in the future, we would love to go on another adventure with them!
GR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing natural environment! Friendly people and THE BEST tourguide !!
Me and my family visited Masai Mara with SafariBookings this summer and it was a truly special experience for us. First and foremost, we saw so many animals and wildlife, even seeing a lion eating a buffalo. The highlight of our trip was our guide Kelvin, he was super helpful with everything we needed and explained everything thoroughly. He made sure to always drive us to the best spots to see lions, hippos and elephants. Beware that the wifi in the hotels is not great but it's an opportunity for a much needed digital detox. The tour of the Masai Mara village was also insightful, and everyone was super helpful and allowed us to step into their homes when it suddenly started raining.
PH
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Superb!
Our tour to Maasai Mara was an amazing experience. Close encounter with thousands of living animals was an unforgettable one.
Kudos to Lucy and Alex of Savannah Woods Safari for taking good care of us!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
One of the most beautiful places on the planet.
We visited Kenya (Nakuru and Maasai Mara) as part of our honeymoon, and it didn't disappoint.
Throughout our trip, we were consistently stunned by the country's beauty and landscapes. We were incredibly lucky to have seen 'The Big Five' within the first 24 hours. We honestly couldn't believe it!
The food and hospitality we enjoyed was fantastic. We felt welcome wherever we went.
A few tips for first time travellers, be sure to book your Yellow Fever jab before visiting the country - especially if you're planning to fly onto another country afterwards. Customs require this before you can leave the country. Secondly, avoid the East Africa Expressway at all costs. It's the main road from Nairobi into the Mara region and is notorious for traffic jams. We got stuck in on for 2+ hours. However, our driver said that it wasn't uncommon for you to spend the night there when it's really bad.
CA
Experience level: first safari
Spectacular wildlife and beautiful beaches.
The safari tours are fantastic. Drivers/guides are well coordinated with each other ensuring that animal sightings are passed along, giving tourists the best opportunity to see as many animals as possible.
Beaches are beautiful but the harassment from local vendors is intolerable. Locals are friendly until they find out you don't want to give them business or money.
As a woman, make sure you cover up to below the knees (no shorts no matter how hot if you're not on the beach) because the looks you get make you feel like you're a piece of dung at the bottom of a shoe.
Get a hotel close to the main attractions because the driving is insane.
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Smile!
Our Safari in South Africa with Wildlife Safari was interesting and well organised. Our guide/driver, Hoppy, picked us up at Joburg Airport and from there we set off on a 5-day itinerary. Our guide was always kind and helpful. The route is relatively demanding, because it still involves long daily journeys, but it allows you to see interesting and varied landscapes. We saw all the famous big 5, as well as numerous other animals present in abundance in the Kruger. The landscape, at least in this season (South African spring) is rather dry and this allows you to spot fauna more easily. Overall a positive experience, although decidedly different, in my opinion, from Safaris in Kenya and Tanzania, essentially due to the high number of tourists present in the park compared to these other realities. South Africa has a lot to offer, even on the human side. I found very smiling people
Great organization, excellent game drives and accomodations, and an amazing trip
We started communicating with Noel several weeks before our trip. He was very responsive and accoodating, making good suggestions and remaining patient as we changed our plans back and forth. He took great care of us and made us feel like family. During our stay we made a few last-minute changes (moving from a hotel we chose to a much nicer hotel Noel recommended), and it was a huge relief to know that all the logistics were taken care of.
The trip itself was amazing! Jackson was an amazing driver who was shockingly good at finding the animals hiding out in the Serengeti. At one point, we found a pride lions walking along, and were lucky enough to have them come up to our car, wiht some cubs even ducking underneath ins earch of shade (this led to amazing photos!).
Highly recommended
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Responsive, flexible, accommodating.
Our experience with Zambezi Expedition Travel and Tours couldn’t have been more positive. From the planning stage where they added on additional activities, they accommodated our every request at reasonable rates.
Of particular note, our flights were delayed resulting in us missing a connection and arriving in Victoria Falls a day later. I emailed Silence letting her know and by the time we arrived she had managed to reorganize our itinerary so that we did not have to miss out on any of the activities during our stay. She was available and helpful, along with Oscar, during our time in Victoria Falls and we couldn’t be more grateful for her help in ensuring we had an incredible trip. Our driver Francis was an absolute delight - a source of wonderful insight into the country and culture and met us each day with a warm smile and enthusiasm. We will definitely use them again if we return as we couldn’t have asked for a better trip!
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent detail oriented tour operator
We booked our 9 days of Tanzania Safari tour with MMS. We contacted the owner Talib, bit late in our planning process but he was very accommodating and worked with us with lots of patience, finalizing the itinerary and securing the bookings at lodges/campsites of our choosing.
Our trip started at Nairobi JOMO international airport, as Syed from MMS was waiting for us. The plan was to transfer us to our Hotel in Moshi but as a last minute change, we wanted to stop at friend’s house for lunch. Syed agreed without hesitation though he even brought some packed lunch for us to save time during a long drive.
We reached to Arusha at around 8pm for a quick stop at their office where Daniel Mitawas and Husain from MMS waiting for us for a quick briefing. All arrangements very quite neat and well coordinated including a quick meeting a day before with Ali -our guide for Kilimanjaro day hike on Day 3, meeting and greeting with Talib before embarking for the exciting part of 9 days Safari with driver-guide Remi.
The safari experience with MMS turned out to be quiet better than expected. Remi was very friendly, knowledgeable and respectful. The vehicle was very clean everyday throughout our trip, well equipped with enough drinking water and tea made and served by Remi at the lunch time during safari- loved it!!
Remi made our trip more interesting and enjoyable with his vast knowledge about the animals and birds, telling us names of those birds (even repeating them every time we see them but forget or mis-spells the names) and driving us to the right spot at the right time, especially the wild beast migration at Northern Serengity.
Overall, we were really impressed with the quality of service and professionalism thorough out from planning to execution of our Tanzania Safari. Everyone from MMS were so helpful, friendly and supportive that made our experience even better.
I would definitely recommend MMS to anyone looking for a reliable tour operator for Tanzania.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Not a good value
The advertised 10 day itinerary was actually 8.5 days.
If you don't do the optional tours, you'll be alone at camp for 15-20 hours over the trip.
If you do do the optional tours, the price of the trip doubles.
Pressure to tip. Even forced to tip $10pp once.
Bus: It's dirty because it doesn't get deep cleaned. It's dangerous because it's just a plywood shell with plate glass windows all around (good view though). And it broke down so we were stranded by the highway.
Guide: It felt like the tour guide and/or operator were going from kickback to kickback.
Cook: 3 out of 5 stars. Lunch was nasty sandwiches.
Safari: Incredible. Chobe is an awesome place, and the drivers (3rd party) are good at what they do.
Africa: Great experience, don't let ATC jeopardize it.