CN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Join a Perfect Tour with Bright African
After connecting with a few operators early this year, my husband and I decided to choose Bright African Safaris for our first trip to Tanzania given smooth communcation and swift response (with Salim), tailored made itenierary coping with our needs, privision of a few options in the first place much easier for us to consider, reasonable quotations etc. We also took reference to the review comments of other guests which is proven to be absolutely right.
Hammis picked us up at the airport and drove us to the office on the first day where we finally met Salim face to face. On the second day, Rajabu, our guide for the next 10 days, waited us at the hotel early in the morning and then we started off our journey of Safari. It wouldn't be such a great trip without Rajabu as he is so prefessional and responsive. We were out for searching Big Five and other wilds almost 10 hours every day during most of time Rajabu need to drive and look for animals. He was so focus and able to spot ones at very far distance. He wouldn't give up until we saw something new and great each day. He was also patient and would always let us take our time to watch the animals and take photos. If you want a private tour, Bright African would do as we drove to the remote places in the parks where there were no crowds and only few local tour companies would be able to do so. We had had a lot of unforgettable moments while credits all go to Rajabu.
The accommodations and food were all great and above our expection. The only regret was that we couldn't spend more time in relaxing in the resorts/camps as we were so keen to see as many animals as possible and we could only get back just before or after sunset. We are also thankful to Rajabu who worked long hours to accommodate. While breakfast and dinner were always well orgnized at hotels, what impressed us was the picnic we had for lunch every day. It was not just a picnic with lunch box. We had big meals every day... there were folding tables and chairs and tableclothon the car so that we can picnic anywhere we like (subject to safty); tin lunch box for hotels to put pasta, chicken/beef, bread etc every morning, coffee / tea, on the last day, Rajabu even prepared a bottle of "Champagne" (alcohol-free) to celebrate. The car was in good condition with Bright African logo. We had enough water and soft drinks in the frig in the car. Before the tour, we managed to go to a local supermarket to stock up some wines, beers and snack.
During the ten days, we felt time flied and all people we met were so friendly. On the last day, though we were late in back to Arusha, Salim waited us late and had a short meet with us in order to hear our feedback. Big thanks to Bright African Safaris, a real local operator in Tanzania and of course to Rajabu, Salim and Hammis. Wish you have a prosperous business!
FI
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari trip tuo Masai Mara was amasing. Hole trip was very good organized and we were very pleased.
Trip was very good organized. We have very good young man as a quide. Althought it was a budget trip, accommodation in Mara Lenchada Tourist camp was good. All our expectations was good.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Overall a great experience totally made our trip great.
I was a little suspicious at first the website wasn't working an so I took a chance on emailing company. They responded promptly but wanted me to pay via email I was very sketched out so I asked if we could pay upon arrival, they responded as yes. I was so worries that when we arrived to Dar es Salaam no one would be there an it would be a scam. This was not that case Tony picked us up at out hotel at 0600 an we began our journey switching vehicles with Nico our tour guide. Nico was very professional an funny man he took us all over the Bush it was great we seen all the animals except a leopard which we searched for. Nico was able to give us great onsite of the park an history we even witnessed a kill. Upon our conclusion of the second day he set us up with a home visit with the masai it was a unique an unforgettable experience. I would definitely do it again.
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
In love with Tanzania!!
What a unique country that offers many parks, each with different characteristics and traits. People are incredibly kind,friendly and welcoming. You guys were incredible and it never felt like I was there for the first time. Thanks you to the entire team
TW
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best tour in Africa
The tour was very nice and awesome. The guides were very helpful and patient for helping us. Definitely will choose them again for the accompanying. Thanks for bringing me the perfect memeory in Tanzania.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
NM_nams 1 Pending review BEST Experience Ever!! Highly Recommended!
Our trip with Afrishare safaris was incredible. From the moment both Ibrahim and Freddy met us at the airport to the day we had to say goodbye to our wonderful guide Freddy everything was amazing.
Our trip included 2 days in Tarangire National park, 4 days in the Serengeti, 1 day in the Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Eyasi. We also did the Hot air balloon ride at Serengeti NP, visited Hadzabe and Datoga tribe. We loved every minute of our trip.
Our guide Freddy was extremely knowledgeable and I have no idea how he spotted all those animals without binoculars :)
He was friendly, courteous and he made sure that we were comfortable throughout the journey. He was always willing to accommodate whatever we wanted to do. Thanks to Freddy, we saw ALL of the BIG 5. He got us close ups of every animal you could want to see - Lions, Rhinos, Giraffe, Cheetah eating a meal, Leopard sleeping on tree, Zebra, Crocodile, Hippos and on and on, absolutely fantastic. He started off our guide and honestly, ended a friend!
We had a fabulous experience and I would highly recommend Afrishare and Freddy to anyone.
ASANTE SANA Afrishare, Ibrahim and Freddy for this lifetime experience :)
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
did not deliver
We decided to go with Basecamp Tanzania after reading the excellent reviews, in particular, the comments about the guides .... "incredible", "extremely knowledgeable", "beyond exceptional", "made experience most memorable", "walking safaripedia", "extremely competent", "taught a lot about animal behaviour and ecosystem", etc. etc. Pretty impressive. Unfortunately our experience was nothing at all like the reviews, extremely disappointing. We got a driver, not a guide, who could barely speak English. Attempts at communicating were frustrating and led to misunderstandings. We drove in silence. He stopped when we asked but often drove off while we were still taking pictures. He provided no information about the animals, the environment, etc. On his advice we changed when we visited the crater because he said morning would be better. It was completely clouded in, no views, to which he said mornings always cloudy?? This company was much more expensive than other tours we looked at but given the reviews thought it would be worth it. Not getting a proper guide, feel we paid too much for an experience that did not deliver what was promised. They had to have known this person spoke little English and was not a proper guide. All we received from the company was an apology. Missed out on a once in a lifetime opportunity.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Masai Mara National Reserve by Mariah
Do the hot air balloon ride over the Masai Mara, trust me! We were able to watch the sun rise with the animals and saw them migrating and moving together towards Tanzania due to the seasons changing. This game park was stunning and huge!!! So many animals and they don’t even care when you get so close to them. You can’t miss this park!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Nakuru National Park by Mariah
We saw so much in just 3 hours! It took us a bit longer to get there after our plane was delayed and then traffic driving there but it was amazing! We saw the black rhino and a leopard in the first five minutes! We more so did a sunset/night game drive so we didn’t see any birds. The accommodation - Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge was my favorite of the trip!! Stunning views and great rooms.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
AMAZING
Hi everyone! PSA - This review will be long only because I want to answer all of the questions I had before this trip and could not find the answers to myself (and then I will rave about this awesome tour group!)
First and most importantly - You NEED a visa to enter this country! They cost about $100/$120 pending on the site you get it from, it's detailed and you have to fill in a lot of questions and send pictures of your passport to them (I was nervous to do that but it is real).
Make sure you buy hiking boots/shoes! You will thank yourself later.
When originally booking this trip I talked to many different tour companies and found myself unsteady when each of them told me to pay via Money Order/wire transfer or a third party website if I wanted to use a credit card (and a % fee for doing so). I was looking all over TripAdvisor for the answer because I didn't know what to do so I used a credit card incase it was a fake website so the fee kept my mind at ease. WELL, I am here to say, trust it! Don't stress that this isn't a real company because it is! (If I saw this during my booking I would've easily felt better).
The companies all email back and forth very quickly and will answer any questions you may have.
After picking my resorts & add ons like the Hot Air Balloon ride (DO IT!!) I had to ask for a detailed itinerary of our trip because it's not like Expedia where its all right there. This is a very, "Relax and trust me" system in Kenya, which made much more sense once I got there.
My originally weariness of "What if we get there and no one is actually coming" went away right when we got off the plane. We met with our driver Joseph right away! He had a sign with our names on it and everything.
I also suggest opting for the Land Rover because you will NEED the leg room. This country looks small but its not! We got off the plane only to sit in the car another 5 hrs to get to our first game park, and these roads are bumpy! Bring some motion sickness pills if you have problems in the car. We then had another 4 hr drive the next day to the next game park; followed by 8.5 hrs back to Nairobi at the end of the trip, and we did all of this driving on a 4-day tour. Not expecting that much driving time I'm really happy we opted for the Land Rover so we could all spread out and get comfy.
Make sure you get the shots and heavy duty bug spray! I know it's an unexpected cost but having food poisoning or travelers diarrhea is no fun and will make you miss a day of the beautiful game parks. The food was amazing everywhere we stayed so none of us got sick thankfully! We did buy packets of pedialyte (amazon) and drank one every day just to make sure we stayed hydrated because it is HOT HOT HOT there.
Lastly, they like tips and payment for things in US dollars. I went to the bank and ordered Schillings ahead of time thinking I was ahead of the game, but all of the shops we went to, the driver, and even the add ons to our packages (the hot air balloon ride) they all preferred US dollars. If you have schillings they will take that too but you could save yourself a lot of money in fees by not even worrying about transferring US dollars to Schillings.
For some people this may matter - there is wifi in most of the resorts except it is only in the lobby and for limited hours of the day due to not having power! I was worried about "incase of emergency" exceptions so I added the international plan to my phone - which will run you about $70-$80 for a month because Kenya is not part of the cheaper plans. However, I did feel better that if we got lost in the middle of the park/ran out of gas, I could call for help.
Ok - enough about the little details - lets talk about this amazing company- Beacon Safaris!
From the moment we arrived we were greeted with a smile and excited face from Joseph! He was awesome!! He was so very personable and went above and beyond to do whatever he could for us. We even got to meet Robert quickly, which made me feel so much better to be able to put a face to the name of the person I was emailing back and forth with for the better part of a year.
Anything we wanted to do and even our last-minute change of plans never upset him. We asked to stop many times for some snacks, beers, shopping at these awesome little spots in the villages that we saw, and especially the bathroom and he was happy to accommodate. (The places you will stay have toilets and toilet paper but some of the places you stop for the bathroom are just a hole in the ground so buy some travel size toilet wipes on amazon to keep on you at all times - just incase). He was so personable and really went above and beyond to meet our needs. We had some very long car rides from Nairobi to Lake Nakuru to Masai Mara and then all the way back to Nairobi, and Joseph never complained once.
Instead, he was just as excited as we were to see the animals, which made us even more excited too because it felt like it was all of our first experiences. His personality is vibrant and he really is a shining light for the company!
I was nervous at first that we wouldn’t see any animals but Joseph made sure our day was never boring! We saw endless amounts of zebras, lions, giraffes, elephants, a leopard, cheetahs, and even the black rhino! You can't get out of the car but you will get very very close - get the 4X4 Land Rover because the roof goes up and you can put your head out the top to see the animals better.
Our morning hot air balloon ride got cancelled on our first attempt due to weather one morning, and Joseph had to rush to come pick us up unexpectedly. When he arrived, we were so hungry and asked him if we could stop to get breakfast somewhere but to our amazement he already thought of that in his rush to get to us and pre-packaged breakfast for each of us. He truly went above and beyond for us each day and I don’t think we could thank him enough.
Joseph is not just our driver, but we now consider him family! Thank you so much for the experience of a lifetime to both Robert & Joseph.
Maisha Marefu! (Cheers to a good life)
Mariah
