QA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Poor communication and questionable integrity of owner/director. Avoid this travel agency.
Did poor job and did not pay for services that had been paid for by us. Would not recommend.
RU
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Tarangire National Park by Ekaterina Shcherenkova
We saw lions, cheetahs, elephants, zebras, giraffes and a lot of other animals.
RU
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The safari was excellent and memorable!
Our tour guide helped us to get acquainted with african wildlife, stunning nature, traditions and customs of native people. I recommend everyone to choose Kili Serengheti Tours as their tour provider.
Epic adventures in Mozambique, Southern Africa's last frontier
The trip started in Cape Town, South Africa and goal was to reach Arusha, Tanzania. Natasha and I are well travelled and along with our trusty land cruiser, we thrive on adventure. We decided to take an alternative route north, hugging the coast of Mozambique and Tanzania en route to Arusha.
If you want the iconic never-ending golden beaches, warm waters and seclusion, then Southern Mozambique is for you. South of Inhassoro, the pace was slow. We don't travel more than 350km's a day, and we spent at least 3 nights at each spot. We camped mostly, but there's a multitude of lodges and hotels that cater for just about everyone. Mozambique still offers great value for money, and is probably on par with South Africa. We took every opportunity to go snorkelling, various island excursions and found the day trips along with some relaxing on the beach, the perfect pace for us.
North of Inhassoro is were you leave the typical Mozambique tourist trail and head inland. We visited Gorongosa National Park, a once iconic game reserve that is being rebuilt. Its been on our bucket list for a while and I think it will not be long until it reaches its former glory.
From Gorongosa headed along the ENI road to Isle de Mozambique, an island off the Mozambique coast. This was one of the highlights of the trip, it took three days to explore alley's and fort, it was like stepping back into a bygone era.
Ibo Island is another gem. We took a traditional dhow to the island and spent the next couple of days exploring the surrounding islands and eating amazing seafood.
From Ibo, we headed north, crossed over the Ravuma River into Tanzania.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing Experience
My first experience with Encompass Africa was in 2010. A wonderful trip to Sth Africa, Botswania and Zambia. From my first meeting with the team explaining what I was interested in to arriving back home was great. They gave me an excellent itinerary, each park was very different which meant that I had encounters with a huge variety of wildlife. Communication was great and everything went smoothly - pickups were there, planes were organised etc etc. Just brillant. Consequently I have recommended Encompass Africa to family and friends heading to Africa. So given that I was heading back to Africa a few months ago - my first port of call was again Encompass Africa (via email and phone - no need to visit office) and again another brilliant encounter! This time to Kenya and Rwanda. Giving details of dates, number of days/nights that I had for Safari - the team put together a number of proposals- taking into account that I was a single female travelling solo. I choose an itinerary with 3 destinations in Kenya- one of which I was unsure about 'Amboselli' - but Jono suggested it was great - large number of elephants and bird life. So I took his advice as I feel that they know the continent - and it was amazing. So very pleased that I went to Amboselli. All the camps that I have stayed have been great/luxurious/decandent - smallish in size, not loads of people, great food and drinks, the guides brilliant, the service wonderful. On a number of occasions, I was the only person in the jeep on the game drive - briliant for sitting and watching as long as you like. On most occassions - 4 to 6 max in the jeeps. The communication from Encompass Africa is brilliant and your itinerary and docs all loaded up onto a cloud - which you can access with a password - thus if hard copy misplaced easy to access again. They follow up with you once home and ask for feedback on the camps etc. Would highly recommend this company if you want an African experience that is well organised, in fantastic camps, a wide variety of wildlife, slightly off the beaten track.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Horrible experience! Stay Away
The guide Humphreys was disrespectful to stay the least. Our trip to Amboseli was the worse trip we have taken so far. It started with Humphreys coming late to pick us up at Nairobi and taking us via dirt road to Nairobi National park to "pay" some fees where he was turned down. We reached Amboseli late and the car broke down in the middle of the park! We were on a custom itinerary and we decided to meet at7:30 am and were having breakfast in the hotel. Humphrey claims that he came and was waiting but did not bother calling us. When we came out to the parking lot he was not there and his phone was not reachable. No-one in the hotel knew where he was either. He finally came and from the minute he came he started yelling at all of us (my husband, parents and in-laws) in front of the hotel staff for being late. He called us unprofessional several times in public and threw our luggage in the car. He cancelled our safari on his own without telling us and we came to know that only after we realized we were on our way to Nairobi. So much money paid for what?
When we came back to Nairobi and called the Bornfire office, initially they were sympathetic and agreed to look into the matter, and later sent us an email justifying each and every action of Humphrey and proved us wrong. Even the CEO was cc'ed in the email and we addressed an email to him and have not received a response. We have taken many trips to different part of the world, but this has been the absolute worse! Please please stay away unless you want to be humiliated.
RU
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceeded my most optimistic expectations!
Serengeti Wakanda Tours was the first company that responded to my quote request (I sent three, as was recommended by safaribookings). From the very beginning, my communication with these wonderful young people was so easy, that I decided not to look any further. Further on, the feeling of being in good hands was only growing. From discussing technical details to confirming final arrangements of the trip, the communication was so smooth, held in such a warm and friendly manner, that by the time I got on the plane I knew I was going on one of the most exciting trips in my life. And indeed, that what this five-day safari trip was! Not only because Serengeti is a huge and beautiful national park full of wild life, where I happened to be during the migration season; and Ngorongoro appeared to look and feel like a combination of a paradise and the Noah's Ark, with "every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort":) That of course! But hadn't been the tour organized so thoroughly, and hadn't my hosts taken such a good care of me, I probably wouldn't have such wonderful memories of this first safari in my life. Thank you, dear Batho and Carlson, for this wonderful trip, for all the little extras you provided for me (having wine with every dinner was very nice, and I would not have been able to explore Arusha without you and Olivia). Thank you, guys for your professionalism and for such a caring attitude to your clients!
NL
Super nice!
The whole trip was wonderful. Everything was well organised. We had a very well organised driver and guide. He was always on time and he communicated well with us. The accomodation was beyond our expectations. The safari tents were beautiful. The view and scenery along the way were spectacular. We saw lots of animals including 4 of the big Five-excluding Leopards!The cultural visit by the Karamajong people was special and gave us some insight about their beautiful culture. We had the time of our lives.
NZ
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Totally let down, simply heartbroken
Consider very carefully before booking with Mushra Travel, NOT a trustworthy company.
My husband and I travelled to Uganda in October , our itinerary was changed, we weren’t told. We booked as a group, Michael told us 4 other couples were aLready booked on our tour, but we were on our own, not bad you say, but we like to meet people. The tour went reasonably well, although our guide wasnt really interested in us and only did what he really needed to do.
Our last day was to see the gorillas, they messed up our permits even though we booked and paid 10 months in advance. We had to change our flights and extend the holiday by 2 days for them to sort new permits. Our driver repeatedly tried to get cash from us to pay for petrol as he said Michael was not sending him money. Then to end the holiday on a high at 8.30pm on our last night, travelling back to Kampala we were pulled over by armed police who told us they were repossessing the vehicle (and our suitcases) as Michael hadn’t paid the lease. The repossession company turned up and we were faced with 3 men and the police telling us we would not be let go until Michael paid up. Michael would not answer our calls or theirs, what a nightmare!
It’s hard to believe this feedback, especially as most people seem to have nothing but praise for Michael. Micheal promised us a refund of our additional expenses incurred due to their cock ups but we have been home for 2 months and no refund has been received, despite numerous messages being sent. I’m not surprised!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The Uzuri team went above and beyond to create a truly magical safari for us. Trip of a lifetime!
The Uzuri team's communication and customer service was exceptional from day one through to the end of our safari. As someone who has traveled extensively, I appreciated how thoughtful, responsive and caring the team was and how well they took care of our needs. We had a group of four, ranging in age from 30's - 70's and they made sure everyone had a great time. The places we stayed in Uganda were carefully chosen for their location, quality and stunning backdrops (from Queen Elizabeth National Park to Kibale to Bwindi to Lake Bunyonyi). I loved the itinerary they arranged and the care they took to ensure we experienced the very best of the wildlife / game drives / hiking with mountain gorillas and chimpanzees, as well as seeing local communities (including a visit to a salt mine) and some of the best local cuisine I've ever had in all my trips to East Africa. We especially appreciated having Samuel Wako as our expert safari guide. He made the entire trip fun, engaging, lively and inspiring.Thank you, asante sana, webale, neyanzizah to the whole Uzuri team!
