US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome guide, great tours & bird watching
In early March, we scheduled 3 activities with Savannah Southern Safaris: two half-day bird watching walks, and a half-day nature walk into Mosi-oa-Tunya with the possibility of seeing white rhinos (which we did - take the afternoon walk, since they know where the rhinos are from the morning!). Our guide, Chiinga, was perhaps the best guide we had during our 3 weeks in Africa. What made him so special was a deep passion for nature that went beyond his job - this guy is for real. He loves birds with his heart, and loves sharing and showing. He was funny, fun, and possesses an unusual balance of being relaxed yet intensely engaged with the wildlife. As a birdwatcher, I felt it was more like being out in the field with an expert friend than being on a guided activity. If you go birding with Chiinga, DO NOT MISS the Livingstone sewage treatment ponds. Doesn't sound like much, but it's a twitcher's paradise with species I never saw anywhere else. The only reason Savannah Southern doesn't get 5 ***** is the difficulty paying for the trip - their credit card reader doesn't work well, and we left Africa owing them $$ which we are still trying to figure out how to pay. You may need to pay cash for your trip. In our experience, it is well worth the effort.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Helpful and knowlegeable - and went extra mile!
Early in 2018, Kingfisher helped us set up a trip to Kwando safari camps in Botswana. Martin, our agent at Kingfisher, was extremely helpful and provided a wealth of information and suggestions. And - without going into details - Kingfisher was wiling to go to extra lengths to make sure our trip worked out (beyond what we expected). At every step of the process we felt supported. We set up many aspects of the trip on our own, but Martin still provided thoughts and sage advice about those portions of our trip that were not booked through Kingfisher. Communication was prompt despite the time zone difference and we appreciated the travel tips document he sent us before we packed. We would happily use Kingfisher again if we are fortunate enough to go back to Africa!
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent advice on stay for quality/budget, good communication and very friendly
We booked our Safari from Tekko Tours & Travel and our contact person was Maggie. She was very friendly, polite and helpful in organising our trip. Among all the Travel agents we talked to, she was the only one who understood what we were looking for and offered us the best options. The communication was prompt and very clear. They provided us with a driver/tour guide for 6 days. We spent 2 days at Kibo Safari camp in Amboseli, 1 day at Sarova Lion Hill Lodge in Lake Nakuru and 2 days at Mara Sarova Camp in Masai Mara. Our tour guide was Stephen. He had over 30 years of experience in Safari and he made sure we spotted all of the Big Five in the best possible manner. Many times, he went an extra mile just to ensure we've the perfect and close-up view of cheetahs/lions, etc. Only thing we didn't like was that sometimes, he was a bit haughty and sarcastic (in not so funny way) in normal conversation. But we think overall, it was a minor thing.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing safari, not the most professional company
I travelled alone to Tanzania and booked through Baboon Budget. Let me state that the guides were great and the location amazing. What was not the best was the communication ahead of time. I chose a total of 4 lodges for my 10 days safari between Serengeti and area and Selous. I only stayed at 1 of the 4 I chose. Abram who handles trips in Tanzania seemed a little sketchy. He tried to change my itinerary and changed my lodges. Warranted I ended up in better places. I would go back there in a heartbeat but I probably would not book with them again. I didn't appreciate itinerary changes and not knowing where I was going to be staying.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Kili
Godson is an incredible person and guide. He allowed us to test ourselves while simultaneously keeping us safe and well fed. He hired a great team of assistants, and we never once wondered if we had been overcharged or swindled. I can safely say that I would confidently recommend Godson to anyone climbing kili or traveling to Serengeti. His knowledge, honesty, and good nature make any trip enjoyable, even when you’re exhausted coming down from altitude at base camp. 10/10, a great man, great guide, and a trip that is a great value.
SE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Breathtaking experience!
I chose too book my safari (4 days camping safari- Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro) with Suricata Safaris, after reading many good reviews about the company. It was definitely the right choice and I'm really grateful for this experience! Of course half of the experience is just being in the wonderful nature and seeing all these animals. But in order to really enjoy the safari it is crucial that the organisation and all logistics also are in place and this is the other half of the experience. With Suricata safaris everything was well taken care of both during and before & after the safari. We were 6 persons in the safari group, travelling in a jeep with our driver. I found that was a perfect number of participants.
Our driver Frederic was kind, fun and knowledgeable and gave us a great safari! Frederic was also a really good driver which made our journey feel very safe the whole time. Our chef, Dionys made great food with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Being a vegetarian I have sometimes had bad/boring food experiences when travelling in organised groups. But this was truly really good food, lots of different flavours and many dishes to choose from. And all this delicious food was made on a portable stove (since we were camping) - that is truly amazing! I chose to do a camping safari both to keep the costs down and because it feels more like the "true" safari experience. The different camping sites were of different standards, but camping in Serengeti and hearing animals at night was quite something. A tip for anyone doing a camping safari is to bring a personal sleeping bag liner, since camping equipment and sleeping bags are handed out but thus also used by other safari participants before you ;)
All in all I can definitely recommend Suricata safaris! Thank you guys!
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Brilliant! Good communication throughout our trip, involving bus, train and airport shuttle.
Chris was amazing as were the drivers who worked for East Africa Shuttles and Safaris. We booked our original bus trip from Nairobi to Arusha on line and then the other journeys when we arrived in Nairobi. We met Chris on our first day in Nairobi and he made sure that we had the relevant tickets, provided pickup transport to take us to the relevant bus station, purchased and sent rail tickets for our train trip from Mombasa to Nairobi and had them delivered to the hotel in which we were staying in Malindi. His driver met us from the train station in Nairobi and took us to our hotel and the following day took us to the airport. The cost was much less than other offers of airport pick up.
We wil definitely use Chris and his services again when we visit Kenya and recommend to others. Thank you to all.
OM
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Patient, honest, prompt and informative
I am satisfied with mama Savana services, many thanks to Alex who was patient, kind, and informative in his communication all the way from the beginning, also many thanks to Allen who did his best in giving us (7 guys) the best safari possible in wet season. Mama savana is a reliable company with good 4wds, and kind staff.
RS
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
3 day, 2 nights Masai Mara Safari
I went on a 3 day, 2 nights Safari with Axis agency, everything was perfect and the food was remarkably good and there was plenty of choice. Marvin was our driver and he really took the effort to find interesting things for us to see and get close to the animals. Only strange thing about this whole thing was that we also shared the safari van and the whole experience with people who booked from other agencies, so as far as I noticed you won't be exclusively with people who booked though the same agency. Although they took tht effort to pick up and drop us off where ever in the city we wanted with no extra cost. I would definitely recommend booking the safari with them.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Trip of a Lifetime!
We did the 7 day Machame route with Chacha and had an amazing time! From meeting us at the airport till he delivered us back after our 10 days no details were left out to make sure our safari and mountain climb was enjoyable, fun, safe and successful!
Just a super group Chacha had to look after us, explain things and make our trip memorable! We summited at sunrise on Day 6, perfect planning ensured our success. The care and attention we received ensured our success!
Definitely recommend them and you will not be disappointed!