SG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Marvelous team that is willing to go all out for client's best experience
The tour was very well coordinated from picking up people from different spot and get together for a 4 days trip to the end of sending off everyone to different final destination. Clear briefing was given a day ahead of tour. Our guide cum driver, Matcha was a very experience person who was very sharp at spotting the animals from afar and was always willing to go all out for the best interest of us without compromising safety. He was also very attentive and kind hearted to ensure that we were well informed of what's coming next and always be with us should there be a delay in events. His kindness and willingness to help the other counterpart whom vehicles got stuck during the drive and calmness in dealing with unforeseen circumstance (heavy rain and flood at main road of Serengeti National Park)should win him a recognition for being the Excellent Guide of Serengeti.
Coupled with him is a very creative cook, Victor who ensured we were pampered with good meals everyday.
Good job and well done team!!
NL
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful!!
Once is not enough, so we are for sure to book the combination trip again in september this year! The guide, his name is Isack Mollel (Justin) has a lot of knowledge of nature and animals, so that makes the safari unforgettable!
And also not to forgotten, the guest relations manager Joy of the Reef and Beach resort who has done everything possible to ensure that the safari continues, she stopped the rain ;-))
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
My tour operator was amazing and made the trip worth it.
I loved how Wanderlust handled the whole trip. They booked all the activities for us and at affordable rates. They shuttled us from the lodge to every activity that we were doing regardless of the time of the day. Excellent communication and responded to my messages on time. The tour was wonderful and Wanderlust made it even better.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very efficient!
We decided to travel to Botswana last minute and found Chalo Africa’s number online. Even though we called late at night, Sangeeta immediately answered the call and started planning our trip. Within a couple of days she sent us options and once we chose one we were on our way. The trip went smoothly and will last us memories for life. We highly recommend this company and next time we plan a trip to Africa we will definitely use Chalo Africa!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Freddy is genuine gem of a person, he is extremely easy to work and a true joy to spend time with.
Best vacation ever! Freddy and Benny were wonderful guides. They ensured the entire trip was seamless. From the moment we walked off the plane until our final goodbye. It was so relaxing to know that they took care of every detail. The travel and accommodations were even better than we anticipated. I particularly enjoyed our evening updates, to go over what was going to occur the next day. Freddy was always open to modifications in the plan if desired and he reminded us of the African phrase of going slowly "polepole", which we have incorporated into our everyday language. We were a family of 8 adults and Freddy and Benny took time to get to know each of us. We spent 3 days on safari and were fortunate enough to see the big 5! We will always remember our wonderful time in the beautiful country of Tanzania. Much love to all of the establishments that we stayed at along the way, that ensured such a top notch trip.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro
We had an amazing experience on Safari travelling for 5 days with our guide Abisay through Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro. Abisay was highly knowledgeable, very professional, the best driver of Tanzania and simply fun to be around. Finding animals and navigating the roads under rain is not easy, and we saw more animals we had ever thought was possible including from close by. And we learned a lot about the animals, the parks, country, culture and language. Can't recommend Easy. Travel&Tours and especially Abisay enough!
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Memorable adventures in and around Nairobi
We booked through Hallmark Travel Planners for two day trips around Nairobi - one to hike Mount Logonot and one to Hell's Gate and Lake Navaisha. We had a wonderful experience both times - our driver Maklus was adept at skillfully driving to and from Nairobi and our guide Gabriel was incredibly knowledgeable, friendly, caring and patient. Some of us were recovering from some illness before our Hell's Gate tour and Hallmark & our guides were very accommodating and flexible, changing our schedule to let us still see much of what we had intended, but in a less physically taxing way.
Thank you to Hallmark, Gabriel, and Maklus for some wonderful adventures! I would definitely book with them again - everything was taken care of and went very smoothly, and the itineraries were well thought out and enjoyable.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent customer service
Lencer and team were excellent in planning our 3 day private safari to Masai mara in a well maintained Land cruiser. I shared with a friend that we were anticipating doing a safari to celebrate our 13th marriage anniversary and he referred me to Charles who in turn chose Lencer to handle our case. Lencer was superb and a good listener. He incorporated our recommendations in the trip and chose Zebra plains camp that overlooks a hippo pool. It was nice staying in this luxury tent and food as well us the attendant were great.
We highly recommend this company to anyone planning to visit Kenya. Am aware they also offer group joining safari for travellers on small budgets.
Asante sana Lencer and George.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect
Incredible experience thanks to all the team, we will never forget.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A truly 'Brilliant' experience that exceeded all expectations
We did a lot of research before booking our safari. Like a couple of other reviewers, we were really intrigued by the reviews of Brilliant, but a little nervous because they don’t have as many reviews as the bigger companies. Ultimately, they were one of three companies we chose to request quotes from and Brilliant immediately set themselves apart in their response. Their email included not only an incredibly detailed itinerary but also a wealth of additional information about travelling to Tanzania, going on safari, the accommodations and their custom vehicles.
It was clear that Brilliant are extremely passionate about their work and think through every detail. After we decided to book with them, Lightness helped us through finalizing our itinerary and answered all our questions. We felt extremely excited and well-prepared boarding the plane and not at all nervous, even though this was our first trip to East Africa.
From the moment we touched down in Arusha, our experience was exceptional. Hassan was our amazing driver and guide and we truly cannot recommend him highly enough – we would have a completely different experience without him. He is passionate not just about safari and the Tanzanian landscape but about the country’s history, culture and people. Countless times, he went the extra mile to explain things for us, point out things we wouldn’t have noticed and put what we were seeing into context. Furthermore, as an enthusiast photographer himself, he was extremely accommodating about making sure we could get the perfect photograph.
The tour highlighted Brilliant’s thoughtfulness and attention to detail from start to finish. We were really sold on the custom vehicles and were wondering about how unique they really are – if anything, the difference is undersold on the website! Whereas most conventional safari vehicles fit 7 people, Brilliant’s only seat 4 and are designed for maximum manoeuvrability so you can move freely to see the animals and take photos. The difference is immediately obvious – we noticed many, many tourists with other safari companies checking out our vehicle during the trip.
We chose to do the four park Northern Circuit tour, and we felt it was an excellent choice - each park has its own unique, stunning landscape and we felt that each complemented the overall experience very well. We were a little apprehensive about spending so much time in a car, but we never felt bored or disengaged - even when we were on the road from one park or another, we found the landscape and Hussan’s explanations and personable anecdotes to be extremely interesting.
Although obviously we were there to see the animals and experience the parks, the food and accommodations were also hugely memorable and big highlights of our trip. We opted for the mid-range option which included a mix of lodges and luxury tented camps and enjoyed every place we stayed, with Acacia Farm Lodge and the camp at Nyumbani Collection in the Serengeti standing out in particular. (Nyumbani was such a gem, with a stunning setting and phenomenal food and service. We are so glad that the Brilliant team did the research and added it to their itinerary - we didn’t see it listed anywhere else!)
The food at all the accommodations was top-notch, but many of our best food memories are actually of the daily lunches we enjoyed on each game drive. Hassan always knew the best place to stop and once again, attention to detail was second to none, with a full spread, tablecloth and even a folding table and chairs so we could eat with the best view even if there were no picnic tables in the area. Each lunch was supplied by our accommodation and included a huge variety that went well beyond the boxed sandwiches we saw a lot of other visitors eating.
Truly, we cannot recommend Hassan, Lightness and Brilliant Safaris enough. This was a once in a lifetime trip and we truly don’t think we would have had the same experience with a different company - it was everything we dreamed of. We would strongly recommend reaching out to them and wouldn’t hesitate to book with Brilliant again for another East African safari. Asante sana!