IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing planning and perfect assistance
As privately said to Hanneke, Namibia is such a beautiful place that having the time of your life down there is 95% because of Namibia, 5% because of a good organisation. Well, that 5% was simply perfect. She realised the journey we were looking for, the perfect mix among all the things we wanted to be part of. The campsites, the lodges, the games…everything exceeded our expectations. The assistance through the trip was very effective. Sooner or later, we will return to Southern Africa and - no doubt - rely on her for the organisation.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A dream come true (Safari in Kenya)
We have booked our honeymoon with Best Memory Safaris. The trip was excellent. It last 14 days including 8 days of safari, 5 days at the beach and 1 day for arrival and departure.
planning and booking
Our contact person for the organization and booking of the tour was Isaac Musyoki. We were requesting for our safari offer very late, only 3 weeks before the 1st game drive started. Despite this fact, in consultation with Isaac we have created a customized journey in less than one week of time. The booking process is characterized by a high level of flexibility. Even special wishes like meeting up with my wifes godchild would have been possible.
arrival
After our arrival at the airport in Nairobi, Kenya Isaac and Bernard Ngei, our game driver, picked us up directly to start the safari tours. The warm welcome immediately made us feel that we are in good hands. After Isaac left us in the city of Nairobi, we went on our tour together with Bernard.
game drives
Our ranger Bernard first took us to the national parks Lake Nakuru, Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Amboseli and Tsavo West before he drove us to Diani Beach. We have spent the whole 8 days of safari together with him and enjoyed every second of it. Together we drove approx. 2000 km through the country and its national parks. Usually we did two game drives a day. One in the early morning, starting between 6 am and 7 am., and one in the afternoon.
Due to the fact, that a safari trip probably stands and falls with the guide, we would like to share some of our impressions of Bernard:
a) He is very friendly, attentive and always cares about his guests, which means he is asking if a toilet stop is necessary or if there is still enough drinking water in the car to give a few examples.
b) He shapes the game drives flexible (i.e. weather-dependent) and is very regardful about his passengers. Whenever we needed a rest, i.e. after a long trip, he adjusted the time for the upcoming game drive.
c) He respects the habits and habitats of the animals. He knows how to provide an excellent view to the animals and the scenery for taking very nice pictures without disturbing the animals.
d) He is extremely experienced (> 25 years of safari tours) and therefore gained so much knowledge about his home country Kenya and its animals.
e) Moreover he understands and predicts the behavior of the animals. That’s why he is always one step ahead of many other game drivers to get the best views to the animals for his passengers. He acts absolutely far-seeing.
f) He does not overload the passengers with too much information about the animals. He doses information the right way and is also a good listener when talking with each other.
g) He is cross-linked to so many people across Kenya. It is unbelievable. It seems like he is knowing every person in Kenya.
h) He is multilingual. He speaks Swahili and the other languages spoken in Kenya (native languages). Furthermore he speaks excellent English (2nd native language) and also German. Probably he is even speaking more languages that we did not find out.
i) He knows the limits of his land cruiser (recommended) and the conditions of the roads. That’s why we always felt very safe.
j) He helps in every situation and clarifies that vegetables are washed with drinking water in the accommodations we have been.
Bernard Ngei made our honeymoon very special. Every second with him was so much fun. We really enjoyed our community.
accommodations
We have stayed in high standard tent camps and lodges, that were very clean, provided a wide range of meals and had a very friendly and helpful staff.
departure
A business-partner of Best Memory Safaris brought us from our hotel in Diani Beach to the airport of Mombasa, from where we flew home with all these beautiful memories in our bag.
conclusion
If you are planning to do a safari tour, book with Best Memory Safaris. The name says it all. They get a five star rating from us.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tour was great, easy and our personal guide Manfred was spectacular
We were flew into Arusha from Zanzibar and quickly met up with the tour operator. We got the overview of the safari and then met our guide, Manfred, who was knowledgeable and incredibly friendly. Got to see nearly every animal with the only exception being a rhino. The rooms were amazing and a life changing experience.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great experience!
We were lucky to have found African Wanderer by doing an internet search! As soon as I contacted them asking for information, Hanneke was very quick to answer me and better understand my preferences. We reviewed the route a couple of times, and she was always available to make changes to the tour. The trip was magnificent, exactly as we had imagined, even better! She recommended some beautiful places to stay with the right alternation of campsites and lodges and with different costs that we chose. We had the chance to see such beautiful places that we could not have seen if we booked by ourselves. Even during the trip, Hanneke was always available and helped us with requests for changes or information. I recommend it!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
First Class!
We have recently returned from 5 days at Lake Manyara, staying on-site in a bungalow - This trip was booked pre-covid - It was fabulous, and well worth the wait
Whilst there we completed 2 game drives (Ngorongoro & Tarangire), and visited a Maasai Tribe - All were excellent, and escorted by Sam, our experienced and very knowledgeable guide
Having the animals (Zebra's / Wildebeest / Baboons etc) wandering freely around our accomadations was pretty exciting, too - Some would even approach the pool for a drink, whilst we were in it!
Everything from start to finish in terms of communication, timing, facilities, service and value for money was exceptional
If you're considering a Safari - Go with these guys - You will not be disappointed........
BR
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excelent!
Nice time we had In Victoria Falls. It was all perfect. Stuart Washington our guide, lead us to one of most beautiful city tours we experienced. Great company, great places and great service. I recommend!
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
You are in good hands
Booked a spontaneous day trip (next day) from Dar Es Salaam to Zanzibar. Although there was not much time for preparation, everything was well planned. Pickup early in the morning to the ferry, tickets for the ferry, pickup by guide in Zanzibar, boat trip and island hopping with nice BBQ for lunch, and travel back to Dar Es Salaam. Whole time we felt safe and we were well looked after. Payment was very uncomplicated, no extra charges while on tour. Except for tips, but those were completely voluntary. Madame Mwajabu was very kind, accommodating and available at any time. Thank you for the nice trip. It is highly recommended.
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best touroperator to start your journey
We prepped our journey well with TS but the outcome was even better. We had no problems, communication was very clear during our stay in different lodges. We had an excellent driver who even spoke a bit of Dutch and he explained everything very well when we started in the morning and what we could expect during the day. We enjoyed the game drives eve more thanks to our driver. The lodges TS booked for us had all lovely staff members, people are so friendly and you can always ask questions if you are not certain about food/drinks or facilities. A big thank you to TS, we had one of the best holidays ever thanks to them.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best choice we could make for our trip!
We recommend African Wanderer. Hanneke and her team can provide you with the best and most tailored solutions and travel advice - we enjoyed our self-drive tour in Namibia thanks to her perfect organisation and advice. Suggested excursions were great, too.
We will surely work again with Hanneke - plus, in our opinion, it is much better to work with a local operator!
SG
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Helped us curate an unforgettable Safari experience
It was my first safari and I was quite unsure which operator to work with as I was booking for a group of friends. I checked the different Safari packages on Safari.com and came across Off2Africa. It had interesting packages that suits our budget and what we were looking to do. When I started enquiring, Sian Edwards who responded to me was very patient. Initially we couldn’t decide if we wanted to do Botswana and Victoria Falls as weather would be very hot in Oct. After much consideration and advice from other friends, we decided to do the safari in Botswana instead of Kruger National Park. As we discussed among ourselves to fine tune what we really wanted in the safari, Sian continued to be very helpful and patient.
She helped us secure the best value in Chobe Princess River Cruise, Muchenje Safari Lodge in Botswana and Victoria Falls Safari Club in Victoria Falls. All three were very good and we enjoyed every one of them! Activities she recommended in Victoria Falls were very good, such as canopy tour, sunset dinner cruise, and Helicopter ride over the Victoria Falls. We enjoyed ourselves very much. She was very responsive when I communicated with her via email and WhatsApp.
She genuinely wanted to help us achieve the best safari experience!
It averaged about USD 560 per day per person for our 6 nights safari. All air conditioned rooms, full board, except VF safari club was breakfast, tea and happy hour! For the quality accommodation and service we received, it was very good value.
If you are planning for safari in Botswana, check Off2Africa, Sian Edwards out. Hope you have a great safari experience like we did!
