DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Enjoyed my trip with Gorilla Bookings
In a nutshell: In my experience, Gorilla Bookings is trustworthy and provides good values for money. I enjoyed my trip a lot!
Extended version: Went on a solo trip for 5 days to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest (gorilla tracking) and Lake Bunyonyi in September 2022. Sylvia and Justus of Gorilla Bookings always responded quickly and tailored the journey to my needs. Everything turned out as they said it would.
I have come to know Eli as a careful driver and great travel companion. He made me feel safe and comfortable. He also provided an internet hotspot whenever necessary.
I stayed two nights at Ruhija Gorilla Friends Resort and two nights at Bunyonyi View Resort. Both accomodations were rather basic and had wifi issues. If you are looking for a more luxury accomodation, it is probably a good idea to let Gorilla Bookings know in advance.
The gorillas roam freely, so the length of the gorilla hike can vary significantly. We walked for about an hour, then saw them up close - amazing!! The terrain can be steep, and I did not regret hiring a porter for the backpack.
At Bwindi, I took the opportunity to go on a community hike with a guide called Happy and a nature hike with a guide named Alan. Those additional activities were not included in Gorilla Booking‘s offer. I would recommend them, though. Each walk took about three hours.
Included in my trip was a two hour boat tour on Lake Bunyonyi. I wanted to extend that tour significantly, and Gorilla Bookings made it possible at an extra charge. The guide named Justus knew his way around the lake very well and provided tons of interesting information. He tailored the tour to my preferences, including visiting two islands, hiking to a viewpoint and some extended birdwatching.
Thanks a lot for the amazing trip! : )
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Experience! Excellent booking process, response, and tour guide!
After sending a few email inquiries to different tour operators in Tanzania and exploring off-the-shelf options on online booking sites. We instantly knew Serengeti Smile would deliver the safety, service, and experience we were looking for.
Frank, our Serengeti Smile booking agent responded to our inquiry quickly, providing multiple easy-to-understand itineraries and price points. The pre-arranged options provided a range of options from budget-friendly to splurge luxury. In our case, we were looking for a mid-high (a taste of luxury that wouldn't break the bank) option. They worked with us proactively to tailor a 4-day safari within our budget and comfort needs for our accommodations.
They provided multiple payment options and plans to confirm our booking. We prefer to pay with our US credit cards as they have insurance coverage, and we were able to do this easily via an online payment link the arranger (Frank) sent to us.
Once on the ground, everything went smoothly! Champion, our guide for the 4 days, showed up early to our hotel pick-up in Arusha and every morning after that. He was extremely knowledgeable about the area, parks, and wildlife! We explored Tarangire, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro meetings with lots of animals along the way! He also cared about our safety, driving cautiously on main roads and off the beaten path roads.
Our hotels were all part of the Serena lodge chain, which we highly recommend! Good food, very clean properties, good wifi, and excellent service by the staff. Amenities included welcome drinks, hot towels on arrival, f&b (excluding alcohol), and we had to do laundry for a couple of days and they delivered laundry within a couple of hours of dropping it off for a very reasonable price.
After our safari was completed we were so satisfied with our experience that we added an additional day trip from Arusha to Materuni Waterfall, and a coffee plantation visit. Again, on time, safe, knowledgeable, cultural experience. Highly recommend Serengeti Smile, 5 stars!
SE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
My Wife and I we booked our safari to Tanzania with Great Image Expedition in August this year. The
My Wife and I we booked our safari to Tanzania with Great Image Expedition in August this year. The experience was so amazing, our guide Raymond he is the best guide ever. We saw all big five animals and we are real enjoy our holiday in Tanzania.
Highly recommend Great Image for your Tanzania Holidays.
IT
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
wonderful
August 2022, finally we go! We booked a six day safari, plus a week at sea in Zanzibar, with Safari Avventura after reading excellent reviews about them: a perfect choice! The lodges and tented camps in Tanzania, and the resort in Zanzibar were all of a very good standard and the cuisine was also excellent. During the safari we felt privileged because we were perhaps the only ones to have a hot meal with the table set in the middle of the savannah and not a bag of simple sandwiches and fruit. In addition, there were drinks and snacks always available on the jeep. The perfect organization, without even the slightest hitch, allowed us to fully enjoy the emotions that a safari brings: seeing animals so closely, in their habitat, is an exhilarating experience. It made me feel like an ecstatic child in front of so much wonder. Credit also goes to our guide Regan, who spoke perfectly Italian, and who took us around four of the most beautiful parks in Tanzania with professionalism and competence. I absolutely recommend Safari Adventures, if I go back I would choose them again.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very Professional with great packages, wonderful guide and full of information.
Everything about our trip was amazing. The safaris were unimaginably wonderful. Great packages and value for money. Thank u for the wonderful, relaxing service you provided during my trip to Victoria Falls. Wonderful guide full of information around. She was amazing, enthusiasm and laughter.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Reliable!
We organized with them the excursions in Zanzibar and Hassan made it so easy for us!
Everything went well and we will recommend the services for anyone travelling to Zanzibar!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good experience overall
Safari was very successful. We’re able to see all the major national parks with lots of success with animal viewings and game drives. Highly recommend Ismail(Guide), he was very knowledgeable, polite, sociable and catered to our needs and requests. He provided us with a great safari experience. We had a fun time on the safari and all the accommodations were very well put together.
The only two pieces of feedback for the company would be
1) included lunches could be better. Surprisingly the lunches provided by the tented camps were of far higher quality and enjoyable than those from the hotels/lodges.
2)provide accurate and detailed information about the places, activities and accommodations as our last stop in Lake Natron was not at all enjoyable. Accommodation was sub par, weather was too hot, and activities were very limited and were not a good use of time. Lake Natron is also very out of the way from all major national parks making for very long driving days.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable
After having duly inquired about the different safari agencies.
We finally chose great escape trail for several reasons: first, although the comments were few, they were very positive. They describe a small, local agency, with experienced and attentive guides. The reviews were true to our own experience. We contacted them before the tour to share our questions and requirements. In addition to being very responsive, they organized everything according to our wishes, and this for a largely affordable price.
Then we came across an exceptional guide, Cornel, who made this experience more than perfect. A guide who knew perfectly about all the animals and the best places to observe them. In addition to having had the chance to see all the animals of African safaris in a short time, we had a great time on the road, chatting with him. We also learned a lot about the local culture.
All this to say that we thank this agency for making this trip unforgettable.
(automatic translation from French)
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great staff, but beware a bargain
My day trip to Saadani via speedboat from Zanzibar was a wonderful day out, but not without its complications. Abdallah was helpful and communicative from the start, but I had to pay $17 in Tanzanian bank fees to pay a deposit to hold my spot (not the operators’ fault, I appreciate). When the day of the Safari had to change due to adverse weather, the communication and rebooking process was excellent, and they even drove me to a different part of the island afterwards at no extra cost.
My main complaint is that the boat that took us from island to mainland and back was barely seaworthy. I couldn’t believe it when I saw the small size of the vessel, and learned that we had to wade through knee-deep water to disembark (I had asked beforehand if I should wear a swimsuit and was told no so I got my clothes wet!). En route back, the motor actually stopped working and we had to travel back at a very slow pace as a result, taking almost 3 hours instead of 75 mins. It was worrying, to say the least.
The Safari itself was indeed fantastic, and our park guides were very helpful and friendly and spoke excellent English. All in all a great park to visit if like me you only have one day. We saw giraffe, Impala, elephants, many more animals. It was the ideal first Safari experience.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great 4 Day Camping Safari
Managed to see 4 of the Big 5, food was great and the guides were very helpful. The camping experience was also very good as you really felt like you were in nature.