CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We wanted to see animals and Beck Off2Africa made it all happen in the best trip of our lives!
Going on a safari was something my husband and I had always talked about doing. We finally made it! It was a truly life changing experience! Our trip was perfectly planned and everything went smoothly. Beck had first hand knowledge the National Parks and accommodations where he sent us. We visited Zambezi NP/Victoria Falls, Hwange NP, and Matabo NP. Each experience was unique and the variety added to our overall experience. All our accommodations were first class and the staff were knowledgeable and lovely. All our transfers were arranged; we just showed up and we were looked after. We asked Beck to show us animals and that’s exactly what we got!
Beck even checked in on us along our travels on a regular basis.
For the second half of our trip we toured the Garden Route in S.Africa where we self drove and stayed at first class B and B’s. We experienced the same exemplary service arranged for us by Beck. This part of our trip we enjoyed hiking in the hills and the beaches.
We absolutely recommend Off2Africa.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
21day tour 15 days very good last 7days not so much??
We started off so well in Kenya with SED Adventures contracting Gofan safaris for this portion of our tour. We were promptly met at the airport and transferred to Boma Inn Hotel. The grounds of the hotel are very nice and the adjoining hotel has a pool and several restaurants. Hotel staff advised not to leave the gated property without first removing all our jewlery. Our driver/guide Evans picked us up early for the 8 hr drive to Masai Mara. The roads are very rough- a dirt/muddy track for a good part of the way. We enjoyed our tented stay at Losokwan Camp and several game drives through their private reserve. We spent 2 days here and saw most of the big 5. Evans made sure we saw wildabeest crossing the Mara river- lost one to a crocodile, 2 cheetah chasing a zebra and a lion with a kill. Our next stop was Lake Nakuru to see the flamingos. While the itinerary says full day to view wildlife it takes half day to get there.
Lake Nakuru lodge was ok, not too memorable. Lake Naivasha had more flamingos. Hotel was Sweet Resort- not very nice. While I am sure we were safe the hotel offers temporary housing for those working the area. Our room was equipped with a kitchenette. Restaurant had very little to offer.
Next day was another 8 hour drive to Amboseli National Park- for 2 days of more game drives with Evans. Kibo Safari camp was very nice. Not sure why but we moved to the Amboseli Serena lodge for our second night.
Tsavo west national park- Here we finally saw the elusive leopard. That was the only highlight of this area.
Evans was with us for 7 days, just him, us and the amazing wildlife he spotted for us.
We now had Afran as our driver guide in Mombasa. Here is where things started to go downhill. We did not follow the program as described- there was no cruise on a dhow, no seafood tasting. Alfran dropped us off at the old Mombasa fort with a guide for a tour of the spice market area.
We had 2 nice stay at the Indian Ocean Beach club. Again not following the program nothing was arranged for us for another dhow sail, snorking and Swahili lunch. After a few phone calls by the hotel consierge to Walter, our contact at SED, a driver picked us up and we were taken to a pier and just told to get in line. We no tickets no idea which boat to take. After some hesitation we boarded a large boat and were take snorkling and to a restaurant for a Swahili smoked fish lunch.
Alfran got us to Tanzania border crossing where we were turned over to another driver guide. Calling Pepon Beach Resort a resort is a bit of a stretch. We were stranded here for 3 days!! Continuous rain made the roads impassable. The "resort" does have a pool and a beach. Dirt and in our case mud paths get you there and to the "dining room" . This was the only place for WIFI and you had to ask to have it turned on. Leaking roof made a large portion of the area unusable. We had no hot water for showers the entire 3 days, even after asking the staff. We were told it was available from 5pm to 8pm daily. Due to the rain and road conditions we never made it to Saadani National Park.
John was our next driver/ guide and he was a God send. Our stay in Bagamoyo was noneventful. We did not feel safe to leave the hotel premise. The Millennium Sea Breeze is very run down, food was minimal, liquor watered down, loud music till 3am. The reception staff spoke very little English. A late check out was a $25us charge. We were glad to see John the next morning.
After a fairly long drive we arrived in Dar es Salaam. Our hotel looked ok on the website- location was very undesirable. After a horrible previous 4 days experience with hotels and locations we refused to stay 2 nights at the Tanzanite Hotel. Walter refused to try to get a refund or book us else ware and basically we were on our own to find suitable lodging- thankfully John stayed with us and helped get us to the Four Points by Sheraton where we spent (at our own expense) 2 relaxing days and had great food and drinks. The front desk staff arranged a day outing for us.
Sooo.. 15 days very good last 7 days not so much. We were disappointed that Walter with SED was not able or willing to help us at the end of very long trip (at this point we had been on the African continent for 32 days). Be advised to check out hotels and resorts online, trip advisor, websites and etc. I did and still was disappointed and surprised at the condition of some place, others were a pleasant surprise.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience, would use this company again
Our tour operator, Novatus, was great. He asked what we wanted to get out of the experience and made his best effort to make sure we saw the animals we were most excited about, and that we were enjoying our days in the Jeep. He was very good at spotting hard-to-find animals and clearly very experienced. He was flexible about our pick-up time and changed the itinerary a bit to make sure we'd be able to make our flight to Zanzibar at the end of the safari. He was great to talk to and I hope he enjoyed our company as much as we did his! Highly recommend Novatus.
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Family experience
Mingo tours made me feel wellcome and show to me and my family the very best of their land and culture.
Fantastic experience.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best and perfect company with the best and perfect guide
Amazing guide, knows so much, so nice and friendly, knows exactly where to go to find the rare animals. they are the best company and i am privileged to have the most enjoyable and successful tour with Brendon.
Next time i'm coming i am definitely going with them again.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Best 3 day trip- Gorillas and more
We chose the 3 day Rwanda-Uganda tour. Our driver guide Jovia was well informed and very cautious driver over some less than optimum road conditions on our drive from Rwanda to Ugnada. We had unusually cold weather and both lodges- Bakiga and Da Vinci Gorilla provide hot water bottles and extra blankets. The Bakiga lodge is very remote and isolated- near the Bwinda entrance. It is worth it not to have to drive far early in the morning to meet your guide and porters. Yes, even if you don't think you will need one- get a porter. A visit to the village (walking distance) will allow you to meet the local and Happy at the Little Angels orphanage. The children are delighful and entertaining with their song and dances. Any items you wish to leave for them- school supplies etc is well appreciated by Happy and her crew.
We were apprehensive about the gorilla tracking- it had rained for serveral days prior to our arrival. Jovia requested that we be in a group tracking a close family. We met up with them after 1/2 hr of tracking through the jungle. The porter carried our backpack and pulled and pushed us over the steep slippery slopes. We had great views and encounter with the troop.
After a long drive back to Rwanda we arrived at the De Vinci Gorilla lodge. Locals entertained us with song and dance around a campfire. Again we were a short drive to the Volcanes national park for early morning golden monkey tracking. We did not get porter and should have. The tracking took us up and down muddy steep paths. Monkeys were very active and entertaining. Jovia got us back to Kigali in plenty of time for our evening flight out. It is a lot of area covered in 3 days and well worth it. After all you can sleep on the plane.
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20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
THE BEST SAFARI OF MY LIFE
Me and my sister were looking for a safari company and we came across Staajabu Travel! At first we couldn't say much because it was a new company. We eventually decided to go safari with them and it was
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
In one word..... fantastic!! Best of the best!!
Everything was above our expectations!
The lodges were perfect!
The people were very friendly and experienced. Our guide Daniel was the best you could get. Took time for us to take the pictures, explain about life of the animals. Very happy with that man. Also the guide who was driving us from and to the airport Valance was very great. He told us a lot about life in Tanzania. The food was delicious every day again. And onsea house Wauw Axel and his boys make the best dinners I every had
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
High proffessionalism and customer cetricisty
For the time I have been for tours in and around Uganda, limitless has left with unforgettable experience. The people are to warm and know what they are doing. Humility and professionalism is their way of handling customers.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible experience - highly recommend!
Everything was absolutely brilliant - from start to finish, I could not find a fault with the safari experience. Lennox was great in communicating over emails, booking was super easy and convenient and the tour was certainly more than expected. Our tour guide James was hands down the best guide we could have had. He is absolutely brilliant in what he does. James was very professional and knowledgeable but also extremely friendly and approachable which made our tour very enjoyable and the entire group had loads of fun. Camp accommodation was great and game drives were definitely something I will never forget. The wildlife was incredible (we saw it all!!) and the Maasai village was an amazing experience in itself. I absolutely loved every moment of the safari tour and would highly recommend it to anyone - in particular if James is your guide! :)