35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wildlife, warmth & minivans!
The views of the Rift valley with Zebras grazing by the roadside is a memory that will stay with me forever. And that was just the first day... Elephants, lions, giraffes, hippos, and numerous varieties of birds I had never even heard of were soon to come. The guides seemed to be able to answer any and every question we had about the animals, birds, insects and the traditional way of life in various regions of Kenya. And they were experienced with dealing with the challenges of driving around this huge country (even if a part or two had to be welded back onto their minivan). Despite the ongoing investment in infrastructure in the country, getting around is limited to hired vehicles with drivers, but the hours on the dirt tracks are rewarded with amazing beauty, and wonderful, friendly people! An amazing country that I hope to come back to soon
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Refreshing wildlife safari
We visited Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Ambaselli in August 2018. Though we missed the chance to see the great migration process, still it was a great experience to see the wild life so closely. Lions, Giraffe, Zebra,Elephant, Rhino - we spent wonderful 5 days among those. Undoubtedly Masai Mara was the best among the lot. Weather was just perfect. No rain. From morning 10 to 5 PM the temperature was high & sun screen & hat were mandatory. Rest of the time the weather was very pleasant. Our tour guide Anthony was a nice person & he tried his best to help us see more & more wild. Would definitely be there once again
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Amazing in the dry season..... stark beauty amazing wildlife
Uganda is literally the best kept secret in Africa, all the parks you travel to give you an extra-ordinary personal experience and you have some amazing close encounters. The raw power of Murchison Falls is something to behold, a drive on the delta and you will see massive herds of Giraffe, Elephant and Buffalo and of course Lions. We were also fortunate to see a Leopard up close and personal...... AMAZING.
Once you head down south, you see the remarkable change in environment that exists, from the game viewing and climbing lions of Ishasha, to natural beauty of the Bwindi and the mountain gorillas, the diversity is simply extra-ordinary. Without doubt the absolute best part of any safri trip to Uganda, is the small numbers of tourist, you feel like you really are having an individual experience with nature, very rarely shared with other tourists.
Next up is Kidepo in October....... True wilderness.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A very memorable experience
It was a trip that I will long remember. Not just for the stunning African landscape, but for the way that the trip allowed me to also experience Masai culture, the people of Kenya, and to be embraced by their friendliness. East Africa Tours provided a complete yet budget-friendly way to live and camp in the bush. Our guide, Tom, was very professional; his hard work and dedication were evident in the number and variety of animals that we saw on safari. Goshen tent camp was a very new establishment at the time of my stay, and was very accommodating. Although I could have paid more at a different camp, and had more amenities, Goshen camp provided a very friendly and personal experience. The camp manager was attentive to all of the guest’s special needs and requests, and gave special care for our safety and security. I would highly recommend the experience to anyone else wishing to experience the bush, the animals and the people of Kenya.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
7 day safari through Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, and Tarangire (2 persons)
Our overall experience with Tanzania Journeys could not have been better.
Booking/pre-trip; Fran was very thorough and responded quickly throughout the booking and payment process.
The manager, John, was responsive during our time in Tanzania.
Safari guide; Our guide, also named John, was absolutely the best. His knowledge of the animals, plants, and geological formations was unprecedented. The information John provided made the trip so much more than just a chance to take pictures of animals. There was a very good balance of talking, silence, waiting, and moving on to other sites. John also has an obvious appreciation of the wildlife and passion for his job. And John is an excellent driver (which is very important given the rugged conditions).
Luxury Camping Accommodations:
1. Serengeti Halisi camp was my favorite. The staff were the friendliest and most helpful. Listening to the animals at night was a great experience. Good food and very comfortable.
2. Migunga Tented Camp was also very comfortable was good food and nice staff.
3. Whistling Thorn Tented camp was my least favorite although we still had a nice time. The staff were nice but a bit awkward. Leading up to the camp is a long stretch of road with a lot of Maasai beggars, which also made it an awkward experience.
Lodges:
1. Rhino lodge was absolutely beautiful and very comfortable.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Knowledge, experience and attention to detail
I am getting ready to book my seventh trip to Africa to go on safari. My last trip was in April of 2016. John Moody and Extraordinary Journeys have arranged all of my trips. The accommodations are always fabulous, and the service, both at the camps and during the planning stages in the U.S. are exceptional. I rarely use travel agents, but traveling in Southern and East Africa can involve a lot of moving parts. I want an experienced operator in the U.S and on the ground in Africa. If a hiccup occurs, they have the contacts and expertise to deal with it. One time, I inadvertently left a bag on a small private plane that delivered us to a remote camp in Tanzania. I thought I would never see the bag again. Three days later when another plane came to pick us up, they had the bag!
I highly recommend John and Extraordinary Journeys! They will customize a trip that you will cherish. I have six fabulous memories, going on seven.
DK
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Poor planning, no responsibility for their mistakes.
I'm sad to write that unlike most I had a poor experience with Afrishare.
The guide was ok, but manager Ibrahim was not. Because of poor planning on Ibrahims side we didnt meet the agreed itenerary on the first day. I call Ibrahim with whom I planned the itenerary and tell him that because of this i wnat to pay the last 30% on the last day, so Im sure that I will get what I paid for. This he is absolotely NOT ok with, and he accuses me of trying to avoid payment.
Also he claims that I should pay more than agreed upon in the written agreement. We only managed to reach a solution late on the third day meaning that the first three days was marred by hours of discussion and IT-mistakes by his company leading to us not having time for the planned game drive.
The arguments got very childish on Ibrahims part:
1) He argued that I made up IT-issues in order to avoid payment, when in fact his online payment-system was not working, which he in the end admitted, and I was made to make a bank transfer (I had to pay all 80USD bank charges).
2) He said that he knew my "personality type" and that I was making up issues to avoid paying - he said he had had many bad customers like me before.
3) In the end he kept switching between that I should only pay 700 USD in what he sarcasticly called a "free safari" or, that I should pay 2200. I stuck with the 1900 that was in the written agreement in the e-mail.
4) after spending the first three hours of the second day discussing and trying to work out his IT problems, I asked if we could part ways, and I could pay some of his expenses + take the paid hotel stays with me to another operater. He declined this offer saying I had to pay 2200 because he had paid everything already. Later I found out that he had NOT paid all expenses incl. the 300 USD park fees to Ngorongoro crater.
I ended up paying 1900 + 80 USD bank/creditcard charges + 50USD tip for the driver for a genuinely bad experience, only after involving hotel manager and threataning with police. My four year old son and I had been looking forward to this for months, and this was both the worst and most expensive holiday ever. Luckily - and most importantly - my son seemed to enjoy most of the safari. Writing this, however, I feel like I should have accepted Ibrahim's 700 USD "free safari", though I doubt he would have kept his word.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Superb
My girlfriend and I booked the 3 night tamarind canoe safari with Martin from Kingfisher Safaris and we absolutely loved it. We started at Chirundu and canoed around 70km to Mana Pools (only an average level of fitness is required) with nights spent on sand islands in the middle of the Zambezi river. As soon as we set off we were greeted with a large pod of hippos and then a herd of elephants on a sand bank ahead of us. That was the start of an incredible experience viewing so much wildlife including gliding just 5 yards away from a 14ft crocodile sun bathing on the bank! There were hundreds of hippos, many crocodiles, elephants, birdlife and also zebras, impala and waterbuck viewed on the banks to name a few. The feeling of being in a canoe sat 6 inches above the water and feeling so close to the animals was amazing and something we’ll never forget.
Since I booked the trip Martin has been first class in his rapid response to emails (mostly within an hour/couple of hours) and arranging extras not even part of our canoe trip such as charter flights and transfers. His fast and helpful replies really put my mind at ease, he is so well organised and always contactable if you have any problems or questions so right away the stress of waiting for a response is removed.
We certainly recommend people do the tamarind canoe trip as we had an unforgettable experience, and without doubt I would advise people to book with Martin of Kingfisher Safaris, I can’t recommend him enough.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable experience
My girlfriend and I recently spent 10 days in Mana Pools (5 nights river camp, 4 nights Chitake Spring) with Khangela Safaris and it was absolutely incredible. Mike and Bernard were a brilliant team who’ve known each other for decades, helped in camp by Bernard’s brother Memba. Their knowledge of the animal and plant life was amazing and our experience was also helped enormously by their superb tracking ability, once they had picked up a track we would end up with a brilliant sighting 9 times out of 10. We saw lions 6 times, a leopard, wild dogs with 9 puppies, hyenas, buffalo, elephants, hippos, zebras to name just a few. They were very warm and friendly and helped prepare us great food at meal times (we’re both vegan and they were a great help). We will miss getting up at sunrise for our morning walks, mid-day drives, evening walks, Mike and Bernard’s stories round the fire at night, hyenas and elephants walking through camp while we eat and lying in our tent listening to the sounds of the bush at night.
It was truly an incredible experience and without doubt would recommend Khangela Safaris to anyone, we would love to return.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
An amazing adventure
We did a ten day safari with Leopard Tours, arranged with Lion World Travel. We travel often and I am typically very 'hands on' in the planning, but I also knew my limitations on working on a vacation with NO knowledge of what to expect.
Everything from the pick up at Arusha airport, to the final drop at Arusha airport was top notch. Being met at the airport and handing off the VISA required docs and money and then having our luggage handled by Leopard was excellent. Jet lag made us all a bit out of it, and we felt very cared for immediately.
We were a group of 14, shared over three vans. Each of our drivers, Daniel, Edwin and Peter were outstanding. We were assigned to Peter, and he was soft spoken, knowledgeable, open to suggestions, and very concerned with our comfort and providing an excellent experience.
We actually saw the Big Seven in ONE DAY! Fantastic. I did not know what to expect as far as the driving/roads, and although it was a very bumpy, dusty situation, Peter was very cautious and a careful driver. There were many hours spent with him and he spoke often about Tanzania's culture/economy/eco-systems and we learned a great deal.
We did an 'add on' and said goodbye to our group after eight days, and were in Peter's hands for the remainder of our trip. Unfortunately, my husband took a fall and cut his mouth pretty badly. Peter was amazing. (I immediately felt sick seeing my husband.) He took control, helped him staunch the bleeding and arranged to find a doctor at the Serengeti Central area. His concern and kindness helped immensely with calming my and our daughter's fears.
I highly recommend Leopard Tours. Not once did I have any qualms about the decision we had made to book with this wonderful company.