CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
did not deliver
We decided to go with Basecamp Tanzania after reading the excellent reviews, in particular, the comments about the guides .... "incredible", "extremely knowledgeable", "beyond exceptional", "made experience most memorable", "walking safaripedia", "extremely competent", "taught a lot about animal behaviour and ecosystem", etc. etc. Pretty impressive. Unfortunately our experience was nothing at all like the reviews, extremely disappointing. We got a driver, not a guide, who could barely speak English. Attempts at communicating were frustrating and led to misunderstandings. We drove in silence. He stopped when we asked but often drove off while we were still taking pictures. He provided no information about the animals, the environment, etc. On his advice we changed when we visited the crater because he said morning would be better. It was completely clouded in, no views, to which he said mornings always cloudy?? This company was much more expensive than other tours we looked at but given the reviews thought it would be worth it. Not getting a proper guide, feel we paid too much for an experience that did not deliver what was promised. They had to have known this person spoke little English and was not a proper guide. All we received from the company was an apology. Missed out on a once in a lifetime opportunity.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Masai Mara National Reserve by Mariah
Do the hot air balloon ride over the Masai Mara, trust me! We were able to watch the sun rise with the animals and saw them migrating and moving together towards Tanzania due to the seasons changing. This game park was stunning and huge!!! So many animals and they don’t even care when you get so close to them. You can’t miss this park!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Nakuru National Park by Mariah
We saw so much in just 3 hours! It took us a bit longer to get there after our plane was delayed and then traffic driving there but it was amazing! We saw the black rhino and a leopard in the first five minutes! We more so did a sunset/night game drive so we didn’t see any birds. The accommodation - Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge was my favorite of the trip!! Stunning views and great rooms.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
AMAZING
Hi everyone! PSA - This review will be long only because I want to answer all of the questions I had before this trip and could not find the answers to myself (and then I will rave about this awesome tour group!)
First and most importantly - You NEED a visa to enter this country! They cost about $100/$120 pending on the site you get it from, it's detailed and you have to fill in a lot of questions and send pictures of your passport to them (I was nervous to do that but it is real).
Make sure you buy hiking boots/shoes! You will thank yourself later.
When originally booking this trip I talked to many different tour companies and found myself unsteady when each of them told me to pay via Money Order/wire transfer or a third party website if I wanted to use a credit card (and a % fee for doing so). I was looking all over TripAdvisor for the answer because I didn't know what to do so I used a credit card incase it was a fake website so the fee kept my mind at ease. WELL, I am here to say, trust it! Don't stress that this isn't a real company because it is! (If I saw this during my booking I would've easily felt better).
The companies all email back and forth very quickly and will answer any questions you may have.
After picking my resorts & add ons like the Hot Air Balloon ride (DO IT!!) I had to ask for a detailed itinerary of our trip because it's not like Expedia where its all right there. This is a very, "Relax and trust me" system in Kenya, which made much more sense once I got there.
My originally weariness of "What if we get there and no one is actually coming" went away right when we got off the plane. We met with our driver Joseph right away! He had a sign with our names on it and everything.
I also suggest opting for the Land Rover because you will NEED the leg room. This country looks small but its not! We got off the plane only to sit in the car another 5 hrs to get to our first game park, and these roads are bumpy! Bring some motion sickness pills if you have problems in the car. We then had another 4 hr drive the next day to the next game park; followed by 8.5 hrs back to Nairobi at the end of the trip, and we did all of this driving on a 4-day tour. Not expecting that much driving time I'm really happy we opted for the Land Rover so we could all spread out and get comfy.
Make sure you get the shots and heavy duty bug spray! I know it's an unexpected cost but having food poisoning or travelers diarrhea is no fun and will make you miss a day of the beautiful game parks. The food was amazing everywhere we stayed so none of us got sick thankfully! We did buy packets of pedialyte (amazon) and drank one every day just to make sure we stayed hydrated because it is HOT HOT HOT there.
Lastly, they like tips and payment for things in US dollars. I went to the bank and ordered Schillings ahead of time thinking I was ahead of the game, but all of the shops we went to, the driver, and even the add ons to our packages (the hot air balloon ride) they all preferred US dollars. If you have schillings they will take that too but you could save yourself a lot of money in fees by not even worrying about transferring US dollars to Schillings.
For some people this may matter - there is wifi in most of the resorts except it is only in the lobby and for limited hours of the day due to not having power! I was worried about "incase of emergency" exceptions so I added the international plan to my phone - which will run you about $70-$80 for a month because Kenya is not part of the cheaper plans. However, I did feel better that if we got lost in the middle of the park/ran out of gas, I could call for help.
Ok - enough about the little details - lets talk about this amazing company- Beacon Safaris!
From the moment we arrived we were greeted with a smile and excited face from Joseph! He was awesome!! He was so very personable and went above and beyond to do whatever he could for us. We even got to meet Robert quickly, which made me feel so much better to be able to put a face to the name of the person I was emailing back and forth with for the better part of a year.
Anything we wanted to do and even our last-minute change of plans never upset him. We asked to stop many times for some snacks, beers, shopping at these awesome little spots in the villages that we saw, and especially the bathroom and he was happy to accommodate. (The places you will stay have toilets and toilet paper but some of the places you stop for the bathroom are just a hole in the ground so buy some travel size toilet wipes on amazon to keep on you at all times - just incase). He was so personable and really went above and beyond to meet our needs. We had some very long car rides from Nairobi to Lake Nakuru to Masai Mara and then all the way back to Nairobi, and Joseph never complained once.
Instead, he was just as excited as we were to see the animals, which made us even more excited too because it felt like it was all of our first experiences. His personality is vibrant and he really is a shining light for the company!
I was nervous at first that we wouldn’t see any animals but Joseph made sure our day was never boring! We saw endless amounts of zebras, lions, giraffes, elephants, a leopard, cheetahs, and even the black rhino! You can't get out of the car but you will get very very close - get the 4X4 Land Rover because the roof goes up and you can put your head out the top to see the animals better.
Our morning hot air balloon ride got cancelled on our first attempt due to weather one morning, and Joseph had to rush to come pick us up unexpectedly. When he arrived, we were so hungry and asked him if we could stop to get breakfast somewhere but to our amazement he already thought of that in his rush to get to us and pre-packaged breakfast for each of us. He truly went above and beyond for us each day and I don’t think we could thank him enough.
Joseph is not just our driver, but we now consider him family! Thank you so much for the experience of a lifetime to both Robert & Joseph.
Maisha Marefu! (Cheers to a good life)
Mariah
CL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing
Jaco the best Tour guide. Everything was perfect. Nos quedamos en skukuza y superó mis expectativas. El lugar perfecto. Vimos muchos animales. Realmente buena agencia y fue un viaje maravilloso.
La persona que contesta los correos también excelente.
Muchas gracias por todo!!
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A perfect stay
It was a wonderful wk. we saw many animals thanks to our driver .Peter was a good driver,guise,person and very safe with the Carlos.Accomodations really good(Bush Camps and Lodge).
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Gilmag ! Experienced,Good Services, Very Friendly and Organised Crew I would recommend
While in Kenya/Tanzania for our holidays in Sept, we had a chance to do Animal Safari using GILMAG. I must say that this is the best Tour Guide we had for the last few years so far.
Well Organized, Friendly Crew, Modern and well serviced, maintained Tour Cars.
Was having Game drive for the first time with my kids and must say that they really had fun and am looking forward to make a repeat soon.
You wish to see all the BIG FIVE, and many more, GILMAG are the best, with the experience they have, they know exactly where to locate them.
After having drove long and wide, one will finally wish to have a rest and some good meal, GILMAG will always check you in to the best Hotels with affordable rates.
I would recommend them, at any one time.
ENJOY with GILMAG Tours
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I enjoyed every minute of my tour and all this was made possible because of hail tours
They have very good services, great customer care and treat clients exceptionally.
PL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Exceeded the expectations!
My sister and I had 5 days for a safari, and we spent a lot of time researching which safari provider to use. Most of them were not able to arrange Safaris to Serengeti start from Mwanza most of Safaris provider start from Arusha , but Hekima created a customized, one-way itinerary for us by starting our safari in Mwanza and ending in Arusha Hekima finalize our itinerary. Emails were addressed quickly and the guys deals with reservation provided great advice and suggestions. We also like that they have connection with people from Poland made us feel more comfortable submitting payment to them and feeling confident that everything was all set.
They all customer care from Poland they been responding our questions quickly. Our safari guide, Juma was amazing! So so so knowledgeable :) , patient and friendly. He navigated the roads after heavy rains with ease and has eagle-eye vision to spot animals. We saw all the animals and never once felt rushed by him. He was also extremely punctual he showed up the morning of our safari ahead of schedule, and also checked in on us the night before to ensure we checked into the lodge safely.
Hekima runs the Hekima House where we stayed after Safaris , it was fantastic with all the energy of the stuff! Beautifully designed, friendly staff,
There are so many safari companies out there, and I'm sure a lot of them are very good. However, I was very impressed with Hekima Safaris and recommend them eagerly
Ps: I saw Hekima working with one organization in Southern part of Tanzania that helps woman farmers!I was impressed by the impact they can have on society
Guys kip doing what your doing.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing busy experience! The place is lovely! The team is wonderful! Absolute jem!
Agh was so amazing!! Really had an amazing time with my friend. The team is very attentive and not in your face which is really good. The lodge facilities are wonderful and a great way to break away from city chaos!