IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari experience professionally organized
We have been in a 8 days safari in North Tanzania Parks in the first half of August.
We are a family with 1 child (9), 2 daughters and 1 nephew all adolescent.
The organization of the trip set up by Deo and his team was almost perfect, tailored on our family requirements and needs.
The guide selected has been Joseph, also known as "Balo": he is very fluent in Italian, very friendly and brilliant he succeeded in creating a very nice and authentic atmosphere with both my kid and the rest of the adolescent group. Moreover he is very passionate on his job and very competent on naturalistic and cultural topics helping us to appreciate this beautiful country along with the cultural, social and tribal characteristics.
His attitude has always been focused on our needs and preferences showing a true professional approach never improvised. Even during a small accident with the jeep tires we always had the impression Balo had the situation under control and that it was part of the safari adventure!
Finally we found the lodges and tented camps very nice and comfortable as per our expectations.
I strongly advice Earthlife Expeditions if you want to live a memorable safari, well organized and customized on your needs.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Life Changing Safari Experience
My son and I have had the two of the most outstanding life changing Safari experiences with Anthony and Cross to Africa safaris. We visited Tanzania in December and Kenya in July. From the very outset, Anthony was an excellent communicator and planning guide. We discussed our objectives for each trip as well as budgets. He provided multiple iteneraty options to meet our desired outcomes. Anthony was always available via phone or email to discuss questions and provided thoughtful insights which aided decision making. He knows his world intimately and can advise you at every step of the way so as to experience the trip of your dreams. Not only did we have absolutely AMAZING animal encounters, we achieved every single goal we had for both trips. Anthony is a font of knowledge and is able to share stories, history, geographical and animal behavior information at the drop of a hat. He negotiates every move you make the entire trip and the result is flawless. Your Safari search should start and end with Anthony and Cross to Africa Safais. It will be your best ever travel decision.
SE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An awesome safari in which we experienced much more than expected!
Our family of five had an awesome time during our 7 night and 6 day safari with Rhino Explorer. We learnt a lot and experienced much more than expected. I can really recommend this length of trip to be able to fully explore and enjoy the lovely parks and all the unique animals. Our personal driver and excellent guide David had a huge knowledge and shared everything with us in a very friendly and relaxing manner making us all feel safe, never afraid and with a great home feeling. On top of this our professional chef Action served us delicious food both for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Even our three children expressed their ratings for the pumpkin soup one evenings as "the best soup they ever had tasted - why can't we have this at home"! We where amazed and was wondering how such good food could be kocked during quite simple conditions. The first contacts with Daniel and Rhino Explorer was also very easy and he quickly built up a trust and good relation with us even though the distance between Sweden and Arusha was large before we arrived in Tanzania. We were picked-up on time at the airport and transported to the very nice Venice Hotel to eat and rest before going out on the safari. During the safari David where spotting animals all over, it's amazing to be close to someone with such good eyes - we managed to see all big fives, the wild beast migration and of course a lot more. This safari is something we will remember as one of the best travels ever for very long time! Many thanks to Daniel, David and Action at Rhino Explorer. We hope to be back and see you some day again!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Thoughtfully customized tour with excellent guide
Brenda and our guide Leslie helped us create an amazingly memorable experience on our four day safari. I was referred to this company by a friend. From the moment we began planning this trip to well afterward, Brenda was patient and so helpful in making sure we had the best experience possible on our safari. We video chatted with her before finalizing our itinerary, to ensure that she planned a trip that would meet our needs. Once on the safari, she checked in on us to make sure everything was going well.
Our guide, Leslie, was incredibly skilled at spotting animals. Thanks to him, we saw all Big 5 animals in less than four days, which is kind of unheard of. Leslie even took us around in Arusha on our last day when we had a few hours to kill before our flight.
There are thousands of tour companies in Tanzania to plan safaris. We picked this one because it was small, family owned and operated and seemed to have a personalized touch. We were not disappointed!
QA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Exceeded my wildest expections!
I did the 7-Day Mobile Adventurer safari through Botswana. I literally couldn't say a bad thing about any of it. From booking right through to dropping me at the Zimbabwe border, everything went perfectly. Robert was quick to respond to any of my queries, and provide all the information required. Our guides Max and Noga (Snake) were phenomenal. Knowledgeable, friendly, helpful, genuinely fun and good people. We learnt so much from Max, and the food that Snake was able to whip up on a camp fire was delicious! Everything was perfectly organised. Botswana was unbelievable, the landscapes were stunning and the wildlife breathtaking.
Don't hesitate, book with these guys. You can't go wrong.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Yes Yes Yes
Absolutely wonderful safari. Everything was taken care of and we had a great time. Shout out to Kin and co for making our trip fantastic. We loved the fact that we were sleeping outside and getting a true camping experience in Chobe. Great ready for thousands of elephants!! We cant wait to book our next trip!
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Once in a life time, Off the charts, Ker Downey representives were exellent.
Great trip, excellent providers, the trip it-self was far beyond our expectations.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Race to the Bottom
73 days from Nairobi, Kenya to Cape Town, South Africa, Jan through Mar
Do you enjoy people not following rules that affect you directly?
Disregard of 10pm curfew, smoking and noise restrictions, or environmental welfare?
Recurring theft of your well-marked belongings (food, drinks, power cords, etc.)?
Repeat damages to your stuff due to negligence (sleeping bag, backpacks, etc.)?
Incessant juvenile jokes about farts, vomit, drunkenness, burps, sex, or making fun of others?
Constant loud music rather than enjoyment of nature?
Purposeful ignoring of guide’s requests to the extent that it may endanger you…
Person buying drugs in broad daylight and near cop – you could be made guilty by association
Person drinking while driving, guilty by association if open container found by authorities
Lack of food because some people abuse how much they take or stash away
Waiting for the people who are not prepared, not following the schedule or could care less that they are enjoying themselves while you WAIT – hey you paid the same price, but they enjoy while you WAIT
People not sharing the workload saying they have more important things to do like washing hair, downloading pictures, making phone calls. Once again you paid the same price, but they enjoy while you WORK
People who make you miss optional events you sign up for because they came back too late or crossed your name out of events you have signed up for replacing it with their own?
People claiming that they don’t have money to give tips (the way many survive in Africa) while they carry thousands of dollars of equipment, have money for drinks every night, buy drugs, give each other’s birthday gifts, etc. Embarrassing to be associated with these uncaring people. What bad reputation!
People pushing elder of a village out of the way to take picture? Others entering locals’ homes without asking? Clearly invading their privacy, acting as if these people don’t matter.
People refusing to share tents, storage areas, workload, space to take pictures, etc. The me, me, me syndrome leading to people being hurt due to pushing to be there first, etc.
Most of this could have been address by the guide but he chose not to be involved so it festered for 73 days, making the bullies get all they wanted and the non-bullies, second citizens – incredibly sad.
THANKFULLY, Africa, its people and nature are AMAZING, and you push that aside long enough to enjoy it until you return to the bus and face the sad reality of your tour cohorts.
Overall, this felt like a race to the bottom or the lowest common denominator instead of an uplifting experience.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Extraordinary Promises but Ordinary Delivery
My husband and I decided to skip our wedding and use the money for a once in a lifetime trip to Tanzania. We choose EJ because we wanted to climb Kilimanjaro before going on a luxury safari and beach trip.
Our final iteneray information regarding our treking company was wrong upon our Intial booking. Once our final documents were sent to us 3 weeks before our trip, our trekking information was incorrect again. After pointing out several inconsistentcies we were provided with "correct" information. Once in Tanzania and meeting with our guide the provide and confirmed information was incorrect again. Examples are if our sleeping Bags were included as part of our climb, having space for them in our bag, if we were going to be tested for oxygen levels daily and the tipping process. Additionally our Kili guide was told a different time than we were to meet him and ended up waiting for over 2 hours because of EJs mistake while we were on a planned day excersion.
As for our Intial arrival we booked an escort through customs. The escort did not arrive until we were through customs and already received our bags.
Our one day trip to Arusha National Park was supposed to include a walking safari. However when I asked the guide about it he seemed very surprised and we had to abtain an additional permit at an additional cost once we arrived at the park.
We arrived at our final destination in Zanzibar and there was some confusion as to our included beverages. EJ said we would have cocktails on the beach, ect however once we arrived we were told no cocktails were included. Upon reaching out to EJ I was told "we are not always aware of what "premium drinks" mean." It is my expectation that if a luxury travel company makes a recommendation of a location they are aware of what is provided.
Overall we were very disappointed with the level of organization and execution. Especially when you are promised the moon when booking. It is unfortunate because we spent close to $25,000 on a 2 week trip and the amount of mistakes was truly extraordinary.
We have voiced our disappointments along the way but we often get canned responses with no real action.
With the amount of travel companies out there I highly recommend you choose someone else if you have multiple legs of your trip.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Safari Trip - professional and well planned by Trevaron Tours
HANNAH was really awesome and super helpful in planning our itinerary for this trip right from the get go. She made sure she answered all our questions and concerns and put together a great 10 day trip for us. It was wonderful to see her receive us in the airport at 11:30 PM upon our arrival. We were provided with a brand new land cruiser for our trip and an A class guide SIMON who made the trip very memorable for us. He was super friendly, very knowledgable about everything in Kenya (safari, animals, places, weather, history, interesting facts and current affairs) and shared a wealth of information. He interacted with us with utmost care and respect and is very compassionate as well. On our way to Masai Mara, a few vehicles were stuck in a swamp and he helped getting them out of the mess and got them back on the road. All the places that we stayed in were beautiful resorts and very comfortable as well.
We got to see a lot of birds / animal sightings and best part of the trip was the view of the majestic Mount Kilimanjaro in Amboseli from our resort.
We strongly recommend all to visit Kenya / Tanzania through Trevaron Tours.