US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Big 5 Safari Experience with Excellent Guide
We had little time for a safari, so we loved Suricata Safari's 3-day option. Hilary, the owner, set everything up for us, from the hotel the night before and after the safari in Arusha (with breakfast included) to the jeep pickup from our hotel and making sure we were all set to get transport out of Arusha afterwards. All the meals on the safari were included and delicious (our chef rode with us and prepared everything to our group's needs like vegetarian and gluten-free).
Our guide made sure that we had an excellent experience in Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater. We saw all the animals we could've asked for: face-to-face with lions, multiple black rhino sightings in the crater, giraffes at sunrise, elephants grazing, a cheetah hunting, even a leopard lounging in a tree. And of course there were tons of zebras, buffalo, wildebeest, hippos, and monkeys. Our guide did an amazing job spotting animals that none of us saw (since he's been doing it for 17 years!) and he made sure to give them space while double-checking with us that we were enjoying it and had enough time at each encounter. He made us feel taken care of and I would recommend him to anyone going on a safari.
We slept in tents at the camps and felt safe. In the Serengeti, it was warm and bug-free. On the crater rim, the weather was colder and we were visited by bushpigs in the night.
When I set up the tour, I communicated with the owner directly and he explained all the details. Bring USD in cash to make the payment easier. Hilary met us at the hotel the night before the safari to help us with the payment and explain the entire situation. If you go with Suricata Safari you'll have no worries.
CN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience
Due to mailbox problems, it's only two years later to evaluate absolute holiday safaris. It was a great travel agency. The arrangement was perfect. My friends and I felt very happy. I saw a lot of animals, zebras, lions, elephants, giraffes on the prairie. It is completely in line with the imagination of the grassland, and I hope to go again. Thanks to MR. David of Absolute Holiday Safaris for answering the questions in the mail. Thank you driver Peter, thank you for your 8 days of companionship and service.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very professionally and customer friendly Service. Amazing experience!
Hello,
we were lucky to book a 3 day Mikumi park safari with a Endric as a Guide. We were picked up from the airport , much earlier as it was written in the offer, because our plane came in the night. With no extra charge for it. From the very beginning and every day we were surprised about the high quality of service and the punctuality which we did not expect to have in Africa. The accommodation was very clean and comfortable. we lived in the cottage, the whole house with separated bath (hot water) and toilet , terrace only for us). Endric , our guide, is a very professional and responsible guide, who treat the nature with a big respect. He loves his job and it was a big big please to have him. He speaks good english and could share with us his knowledge about the animal world. Firstly, in our travel life, somebody tried to make our tour and every hour of it the best one. Moreover, Endric is not only a professional guide (He spotted some animals from the distance, even when we came closer we could not see anything firstly, every time it was our admiring of his skills!), nice person, he was even like a friend for us in that 3 days. He knew when to explain us something and when to let us space for our own conversation or just calm for enjoying. You know, sometimes guides are talking with no stop, that you have a had ache at the end of the day. With Endric it was extremely good balanced.
We have nothing to complain at all, we would like only to wish everything the best to Selous Explorer Company and especially Endric (BIG THANKS for everything). It was amazing. Nothing could be better. We warmly recommend this tour.
Dreams come true!!!
Best regards,
Kateryna & Vladi
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very Nice !!
A wonderful and complete safari of 3 days 2 nights a condensed of nature, animals and discovery of the massai people Lenard who was our guide was able to satisfy us fully and organized our journey in the most fluid and complete way we have did everything we dreamed of. Coming we were prepared to sleep under the stars but again we were in a really nice camp and after 15h flight and 6h 4x4 vs are really happy to sleep well. We are really happy to have had Lenard as a guide he helped us a lot and reassured all along our trip to Tanzania do not hesitate!
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect safari with amazing people
Truly a great company with fantastic people. We did a 5 day / 4 nights camping safari in Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro. Our guide, Saleh, was nice, caring and knowledgeable about all the animals and their behaviour. He understood our expectations very quickly and made sure we had the kind of experience we wanted. Our chef, Yusuph, was amazing and so creative! He cooked a variety of delicious meals (the best food we had in the entire country!!!). He is also such a funny and kind person. Finally, it was reasuring to get detailed information and quick replies from Anna while we were planning the safari (which we booked ourselves without a travel agency). We warmly recommend this company!
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A perfect organisation for a great experience!!!
Isaac, the manager of the company, did a great job with the organization of a ten day safari within 4 days before departure. The whole safari was more than we have ever expected: great accommodations, wonderful places and exciting experiences. Mike our driver made everything even better. His friendly nature and his know how about the parks and its animals made a memorable adventure out of every game drive. We really recommend Best Memory Safari with Issac and Mike. Thank you for everything.
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
3 days Serengeti & Ngorongoro tour
We have found and booked our 3-day Serengeti - Ngorongoro tour with Swahili paradise tours. Communication with their manager Jimmy was smooth and efficient. As soon as your tour is confirmed, you will be asked to pay half of the price via bank transfer. If you have any questions related to the Safari or general questions about Africa, you can ask Jimmy and he replies withing a couple of days. When we arrived to Arusha, Jimmy has sent one of his colleagues to collect the second part of the payment. Bring dollars issued after 2006, because banks in Tanzania do not accept old banknotes. If you need an airport transfer or excursions on Zanzibar, Jimmy will be also happy to assist.
According to our schedule we should have gone to Serengeti first and then to Ngorongoro. Instead we joined a group that started the tour one day earlier at Lake Manyara, had a breakfast and proceeded to Ngorongoro creator. It was a good decision of our driver Charles to visit Ngorongoro first and then Serengeti! The road between Serengeti and Ngorongoro is very bad, so if you start your trip in Serengeti, be prepared for 3 hours of dust! Thus, trust your guide if he offers to start in Ngorongoro.
In 2 days we managed to see almost all animals presented in those national parks: elephant, buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, crocodile, olive baboon, leopard, hippo, cheetah, lion, hyena, hyrax, golden jackal, impala, Thompson's gazelle, reedbuck, topi, warthog, Grant's gazelle, hartebeest, dikdik, Grey crowned crane, Kori bustard, Egyptian goose, vulture, moongose, agama lizard, Guinea fowl, secretary bird, ostrich, superb starling and many other small birds. It does not necessary mean that you will see all those animals, if you go another time of the year or even another day, because the animals do not stay at one place and always move, so the drivers will do everything what depends on them but you should be also a bit lucky.
Safari is always a roulette - sometimes you are lucky and see a lot of animals but sometimes you are not and see much less than expected. We could not find a rhino but there are only 50 species left and you can imagine that the probability to spot even one on the territory of 80.000 square kilometers in 5-6 hours is pretty low. However, we have seen how cheetah and pride of lions hunt, we saw a leopard sleeping on a tree, we saw an antelope hidden by a leopard on a tree, elephant family taking a bath, vultures eating zebra and it was more than enough in 3 days!
We stayed in basic camps in the tents. Our first night was in Lerai special campsite and the second night in Nyani public campsite. Both campsites were pretty good but the water in the shower is naturally warmed by the sun, so be prepared to take barely warm shower. Sometimes in the night you hear wild animals making different sounds close to the camp but it is very safe. However, you may want to have a torch, because it is pretty dark in the night far away from civilization :)
The last day we have seen a beautiful sunrise in Serengeti. Milky way in Africa is amazing!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing service
I cannot speak highly enough of Australken, they were so responsive to any questions before we left and then when we arrived we were looked after so well. Our tour guide Anthony was excellent and managed to show us the "big five" on our safari.
On top of this before we went I was planning to propose to my girlfriend and so I emailed Zippy from Australken and she was amazing, she helped me arrange the entire thing and got onto our hotel and got everyone in on the surprise. The result was her arranging for us to be taken to sunset point where I was able to propose and the hotel had set up a campfire and door and a table and chairs for us. To top it off they got the local Massai tribe to come up as well to joing in the celebrations and they performed a dance dor us. The whole thing was beyond anything we could have imagined and i could not have done it without Zippy's help.
It also has to be said the whole trip offered fantastic value for money and along with such a personal service I would rate this as easily one of the best safari providers. Zippy even got us an engagement present!! 10/10
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
No show!
We booked and paid for this trip from the UK and were told to wait at our hotel's receprion at 8:00. We arrived early, but nobody came to pick us up at the designated time. Eventually, thanks to the help from our hotel reception staff I was able to send an email to the company. Eventually, at 8:30, somebody came to collect us for a Buggy Ride!!!!!!
Eventually, another company took us out on a desert tour, but this lasted for 3.5 hours instead of 5.5 and my husband and I were in separate vehicles. The tour was good and everyone at the new company was helpful in trying to accommodate us, but this tour was much shorter and cheaper than the one we had booked, so it was very disappointing.
SE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great tour in Rwanda for 5 days!
Great program for the 5 day tour of soutwestern Rwanda. Culture, scenery, knowledgeable guides... Our driver/guide was very good and fixed everything we asked for and more!!! Rwanda, what a beautiful country with very friendly people!