US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Rwanda is a hidden gem for wildlife observation
Our group of three pretty active seniors (63 ,66, 72) were traveling to Rwanda to observe mountain gorillas and do a more traditional safari. Two of us were birders, so naturally we focused on avian creatures a lot, but saw plenty of other wildlife. We like to go to sub-saharan Africa in January or February, which is what they call the emerald season. This is the time between two rainy seasons, where plants are lush and blooming and plenty of water is available for animals to drink. It is considered "off season", because it is not the time the big migrations happen. But we were not interested in that. We like to see the African landscape alive and blooming as well and with a good guide and from a safari vehicle that sits quite high it was easy to see wildlife. And an additional plus of the emerald season is that it is cheaper.
It has not always been possible to travel to Rwanda safely, since they had gone through a horrific genocide in 1994. In the 100 days of slaughter almost one million people, mostly Tutsis, were killed by Hutus. But today, Rwanda is an amazing country and completely safe to travel. The country is re-building itself from the genocide and its destructions. Comfortable roads and infrastructure have been put in place in cities and throughout the country. Government support helps people plant crops and bring them to market. Health insurance for all makes medical care available for everyone. Environmental laws such as the ban of single use plastic bags in 2008 have been passed. As a result the streets of Rwanda are some of the cleanest I have seen anywhere. Rwandans live peacefully with each other no matter what their "ethnic" background. So we were happy to support with our tourist dollars a country that does such an amazing job with its recovery.
We went to two different regions in Rwanda. The first one was the Akagera National Park at the North-eastern end of the country. Our transport
by van from Kigali took about four hours of driving through the country and getting a sense of the people that live there. They seemed very content with their lives and were very friendly and welcoming towards visitors. We stayed at Magashi camp during our stay in this area. This camp was pretty new, I think only one or two years old, and very well run. The staff was super friendly and emanated a warmth that was very pleasant. The food was outstanding, and they paid close attention to some dietary restrictions (allergies) one of us had.
One huge advantage of the location of this camp is that it borders a lake that is inhabited by about 500 hippos. During the day they mostly come up and grunt, but at night they come out of the water and even walk in between the cabins to feed.
The cabins were luxurious and of course very clean and well kept. Because we traveled in the emerald season (low season), we had a safari vehicle that could seat 7 or 8 people easily all to ourselves. We also were able to have the same excellent guide for our entire stay. He knew that we were very interested in birds and geared his game drives towards that as well. We had a fantastic time observing not only lots of different species of birds, but also the big mammals like lions, giraffes, elephants, cape buffalos, hippos, zebras and of course lots of gazelles. Our guide drove us into the area where the Eastern Black Rhino Conservation program is enacted. It was wonderful to see those animals getting re-introduced into the wild.
What made Magashi camp really special for us was the fact that they also did safaris on the lake from one of their small boats. Again, we were just the three of us and the guide in the boat and drifted along the shores of the lake. We had really close views of lions, buffalos and Crocodiles that did not even seem to notice our boat drifting by. And then of course there were the hippos in the water and the birds flying in and out of the reeds. So, Magashi was definitely a place we would recommend for safaris.
After our stay in Akagera we travelled back to Kigali and then on to the North-western corner of Rwanda, to Volcanoes National Park. We stayed at Virunga Lodge, a very nice "old-school" lodge with very friendly staff. The morning wake up call and delivery of tea or coffee to the cabin was done by a staff person singing in front of the cabin door until we opened up to take possession of the goods delivered. We had a lovely young woman with an angelic voice and we loved being woken up by her. Though the lodge was about a 45 minute drive from the meeting point for the gorilla expedition, it was well worth the drive.
Volcanoes National Park is a high elevation mountain range, where 60% of all mountain gorillas live. Dian Fossey made the area famous when she did her studies there. Because of successful conservation programs the population of these primates is actually increasing. One of the driving engines of this conservation program is the large financial input of a tightly controlled visitation program. For a pretty steep price ($1000 per person), eight people can trek into the mountains with trackers, guides and porters to spend one hour observing a family of gorillas up close and personal. Depending on where the gorilla families are on a given day, the trekking can take anywhere from a couple of hours in the morning to a whole day. It can be a very easy excursion of the toughest thing you have aver done. It all depends on where the gorilla families are and whether they stay put.
Our gorilla family called Amahoro group had 22 members with two silverbacks present. When we reached them they were still warming up in the morning sun and munching on the local plants for breakfast. There was a tranquility and serenity emanating from them as they slowly stripped plants of their leaves. They were fully aware of our presence as we were standing in the open just a few feet away, but they seemed undisturbed by us. We watched them for a full hour, and that included not only their eating sessions, but also mothers moving past us with their babies on the back, or youngsters playing chasing games over our feet. It was an experience like not other.
The next day we ventured into the same region, but this time to see another primate species, the golden monkeys. This is an old world monkey species endemic to the high altitude forest of Volcanoes National Park. Our trackers and guides found a family of them within an hour walk up the forest. They feed largely on bamboo leaves and fruit. Unlike with he gorillas there was no tranquility at all with these creatures. They were a lively bunch leaping from bamboo branches, frolicking on the floor and munching incessantly on bamboo leaves and other plants. The young were very playful and inquisitive, often jumping around our feet. It was pure joy to observe them while being completely ignored.
So, to wrap it all up. We can definitely recommend Rwanda as a great place to travel and explore wildlife and culture. It feels good to support a country that has its priorities right and has so much to offer.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible experience - definitely recommend private tour with open vehicle
My wife and I went traveled to South Africa with my brother and his friend in Sep 2019. The safari experience was absolutely breathtaking and Wild Planet Safari did an exceptional job making this once in a lifetime trip come true. Because it was 4 of us we elected to do the private tour, which I strongly recommend as we were able to customize the tour to our liking. I also think the extra money for an open vehicle was well with the cost because there was nothing between you and the animals. Overall, we recommend Wild Planet Safari without any reservation.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ex
Excellence service. Very Affordable price. Stuff are well trained and professional. You enjoy your money and worth it to book with them...
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect 5 day safari with Roam Serengeti
We had a great 5 day safari in February with Roam Serengeti - I can highly recommend to choose them for your Serengeti adventure!
We found Roam Serengeti by looking at good-rated safari operators on Tripadvisor. Communication with Mussa was great, he responded always within a few hours. Mussa created a nice 5-day tour for us and also recommended to integrate the southern Serengeti due to the Great Migration there at this time of the year. Our schedule was: 1 day Tarangire, 3 days Serengeti, 1 day Ngorongoro crater. He always made sure that all questions or requests from our side were considered. After booking, we made a prepayment and then decided to pay the whole amount upfront to reduce cash while traveling. Worked perfectly.
Our actual guide was Lyimo and we couldn't think of a better one. He was very experienced (10+ years of experience), knows the area and wildlife very well, was a safe driver and made always sure that we have a great time.
Whenever we come back, we would always ask again for Lyimo and for sure book once more with Roam Serengeti.
NO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I have to return to Tanzania one day
To begin with communication with Teacher owner KWESA was amazing. He practically gave us all the information we requested to create the perfect itinerary.
Moses our is probably the most charming Tanzanian I ever met, friendly and genuine care for me and my girlfriend. He was gracious to take our needs first and comfort in the 5 days of safari to Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park. Looking back, Moses actually made our trip the success it was. He tracked so many animals for us, flexible enough to agree to an impromptu Masai Boma visit which we came across along the way....
We were hosted in great accommodations and met locals who were perfect hosts and very courteous.
I have to return to Tanzania
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
12 Day Safari in Tanzania and Kenya
It was our first time on a safari, and it couldn't have been better. Indeed, it was lifetime experience for us. From the communication with the company and the professionalism of all who were part of our experience was exceptional. Our safari guide Kennedy and Joseph who made our experience so special. They were all informative and with their expertise we were able to see many animals every day! What the company suggested to mix of hotel and luxury tented lodges was perfect to us. Thank you very much for this experience.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Honestly an amazing incredible experience with 5star hospitality. Would highly recommend them.
Exceeded my expectations honestly..
Would love to do a few more trips with them
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing experience
We had booked into Ngwenya lodge and did a number of game drives with Bush Xplorers, what an awesome experience this was. It was by far one of my favourite holidays. We had amazing sightings and the guide was extremely knowledgeable about the animals and plant life that we came across. I would definately recommend Bush Xplorers to others and will definitely use their services in the future.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unfortunate Experience
Galloping Safaris took our money for a trip they did not deliver. Our hotels were not booked or paid for in advance, as promised. We chose activities that they did not take us on and did not respond to our questions and requests to have our trip as planned. Walter was avoidant of our texts and phone calls, but offered to meet us in person to make it right and explain himself on our last day in Tanzania. We drove for hours to meet up with him and he never showed. Walter has offered to provide my group a refund of some funds, which we accepted, but he has not followed through with that promise. I strongly urge you to pick a different company for your safari.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Broken Promises
I booked a safari though Kenya and Tanzania with Galloping Safaris in 2019. Walter provided a nice itinerary for myself, my husband, and my two best friends. Other providers were less expensive, but Galloping Safaris had great reviews, so I went with it. Walter demanded prompt payment, that the money be wired to him immediately, which we did. The safari took place in February 2020. There were several issues throughout, including Walter and his staff not listening to requests to change small parts of our trip, lying about why we couldn't go to a place we planned to go, and skipping events we had paid for all together. We had paid for two nights at The Four Seasons Serengeti, and Walter instead had our guide take us to a less expensive hotel three hours away, one that was riddled with tsetse flies, without letting us know that we wouldn't be staying at The Four Seasons as planned/paid for. We demanded that they take us to the Four Seasons as planned the next day, but when we arrived the staff at Four Seasons let us know that Walter had not paid for our stay, and we were left sitting in the lobby. They told us that Walter often does this, and they do not extend credit to Galloping Safaris anymore, so we would have to wait until he paid to be taken to our rooms. We asked the Four Seasons staff to confirm the rest of our trip with the hotels in our packet that were booked, and not one of them had been booked or paid for. My guess is that Walter is unable to pay for the current clients' reservations until the future clients give him cash, which is why we were stuck waiting without paid reservations even though we had submitted payment in full to him many months earlier.
When we had issues with the trip Walter ran from us, ignored our calls, had our guide disappear. We drove hours out of the way on our last day of travel to meet up with Walter and settle up our issues, and he never showed up.
Through phone calls and emails Walter acknowledged that he was at fault and owed us a refund, which he never sent. We have contacted him multiple times and its always one excuse after the next.
I have traveled all over the world and have never felt as scammed as I have with Galloping Safaris. I strongly recommend that you book your trip with a more reputable provider.