50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Absolutely fabulous. Good for the soul!
Kenya is a beautiful country. Everything from the scenery to the diversity of landscapes. Most of all the Kenyans make this a must visit destination. They are warm welcoming and want to help.
Our safari was incredible. The accommodation at the Entim Mara was beautiful. Our safari guide was so knowledgeable. The space, the silence and experience of seeing wildlife on the Mara plains is unique.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic and exhilarating safari
The safari we booked at Pilanesberg Nature Reserve was amazing. From start to finish the trip was well organised and the staff were very helpful and informative. We were picked up from our Airbnb and taken back there after. We saw all the Big Five animals apart from the Cheetah which proved very elusive. The whole trip was fantastic and I would recommend Safaribookings.com to everyone.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Amazing
I had a wonderful trip with Safari Mashariki Expeditions. Our driver guide made our experience just amazing and we enjoyed our trip. I highly recommend their services.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The good, the bad, and the ugly: how Kiliholidays turned crisis into comfort
I think that this review may turn some people off, but the events that happened to us were unlikely, and could have happened to anyone at anytime, anywhere. I feel that the response to these events by Kiliholidays (and in particular, Mack and our driver Laurian), are worth commending.
The good: My wife and I took our children (ages 8 & 6) on safari last week. We went to Tarangire National Park, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater. Laurian was an absolutely amazing driver. He had vast knowledge of the areas we were traveling, the animals we were seeing, and to any question we asked. He was observing of speed limits, and particularly cautious because we had the kids with us. Throughout our journey, we observed all of the Big 5. The parks were amazing, each offering its own charm. Laurian always seemed to know where to go to find big game. My wife was initially hesitant to bring our children so far from home - by the end of the trip, we were already planning our next visit.
The bad: While we were leaving Serengeti National Park, the rear spring on the Land Cruiser broke, and we couldn't ride on it. We had to go ~4 hours to get to the Lodge we were supposed to be. We found it amazing that every single driver who went by us stopped to help. Eventually, the Wildlife Service came by, and the preliminary solution was to cut down a small acacia tree, and wedge a firm branch into the spring to keep it in place. My wife and I were a little reluctant that it would work, and we certainly weren't comfortable putting our children in that vehicle. So, Laurian asked another driver to take us to the Ngorongoro gates, at which point, he had arranged a staff member from Farm of Dreams Lodge to meet us and bring us back. Laurian himself stayed with the car, the Acacia solution worked, and he was able to drive it to a 24 hour mechanic in nearby Karatu. The vehicle was ready to go for the next day. And, Kiliholidays had a bottle of wine ready for us when we arrived at Farm of Dreams, to apologize for our inconvenience. At no point did we feel helpless.
The ugly: The following night, Laurian was bringing us to the Kilimanjaro airport, after an amazing trip to the Ngorongoro crater. About 10 minutes from the airport, he decided to pass 2 slower drivers at the same time. (Again, note that he was an extremely cautious driver). When he started to pass the car immediately in front of him, that car also decided to overtake the lead car. The other driver went straight into our lane. To avoid collision, Laurian drove off the road. Within a couple of seconds, a large ditch (10 feet deep x 15 feet across) appeared in front of us. This was literally the only ditch on a 30 mile drive, so really bad luck. We ended up straight in the ditch, going about 35 mph. The accident was not his fault, and he handled it how I would have handled it myself. Had he handled it any other way, the results could have been drastically different.
I needed several stitches on my forehead, my son banged up his cheek and had some swelling/bruises on his face. My daughter and wife also had some bruising. It was a nightmare situation, being so far from home. Thankfully, we had traveler's insurance, which helped in getting us medically evacuated the next day.
But in the immediate aftermath of the accident, it was all Mack and Laurian. Laurian arranged with another driver to take us back to Arusha to get medical care. Mack met us at the hospital, and waited the 6 hours with us until we were released. He paid out of pocket for the medical expenses. He arranged a hotel for us to stay the night (because we missed our flight). He went to the pharmacy for us to pick up our medications. He arranged transport to the airport for us, and he checked in on us several times. He felt horrible that this happened to us, and did everything in his ability to make it right. While we were far from home, and in one of the worst situations possible, they made us feel at home.
The accident could have happened to anyone at any time. I think the special part about Kiliholidays is how they responded to the incidents. They treated us like part of their family, and we are forever grateful for their support. We went to Tanzania looking for adventure, and we certainly found it - and we left with friends. We will be back, and we will use Kiliholidays again.
Also, look into travel insurance. They coordinated our flight out the next day, and due to our injuries/soreness, were able to get us into Business Class, which was absolutely amazing in allowing us to stretch out and not cramp due to our soreness.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lake Ziway is a birder's paradise!
I visited Ethiopia for 10 days with my family. This was not our first trip to the country, but this was my first time to have some time dedicated to viewing wildlife. Ethiopia has a rainy and a dry season. Roads can be difficult to navigate during the rainy season (July - September). We were fortunate to travel during the dry season (March) this time around. I am an avid birder and photographer and I really enjoyed our 2 days at Lake Ziway. We didn't use a guide - we just hired someone to drive us from Addis Ababa to Lake Ziway (about 3.5 hours drive). Addis Ababa sits in the mountains but shortly after leaving Addis we descended to lower elevation into what is much more iconic African savannah scenery with Acacias and sparse scrubland.
We stayed at a resort along the shore of Lake Ziway which was fitting of the name. They have nice, clean accommodations, a good restaurant on site, a nice pool, manicured grounds, spa, etc. They can arrange a very inexpensive (US$6 per person) boat ride out on the lake to view hippos and "bird island," which is a forested island that serves as a rookery for cormorants and African Darters. The boat ride was just over an hour in length and we had great views of hippos at a close, but safe, distance. With a field guide and several hours walking along the shoreline of the lake you can easily see 100-150 species of birds. The sheer number of birds can be overwhelming at times. There is a paved walking trail that runs parallel to the shoreline that is good for birding, but you'll also want to get off the path and walk out onto the mud flats to get closer to the water and away from people. Most of the roads in Ziway are dirt and it is safe to walk about and talk to the locals. We saw very few tourists during our two days in Ziway. I think maybe a total of 3 Europeans and that was it.
All of the local restaurants and hotels serve Ethiopian food, which is delicious. Even during fasting seasons, which most Ethiopians observe, these restaurants have meat available for their guests. Several also have western food items, if you are so inclined. The Haile Resort has Grilled Nile Perch, which was delicious. We also visited a local fish market, which was little more than a lakeside fire ring and someone cooking fresh caught fish, which was really good and a fun experience. There are many Marabou Storks hanging out in this area, eager to eat your leftover fish bones, which you can toss to the birds.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Once in a lifetime experience
Tanzania is a multifaceted country. The wildlife is amazing and was alone worth the trip. Moreover, we were positively surprised by the quality and taste of the food (no stomach Problems)! Also, our accomodations (Dar and Zanzibar) were very nice, clean and comfy although I have to say that we booked rather high standard accomodations. Nevertheless the people are all very friendly and helpful so that you might be even overwhelmed by it. However, not everyone only wants your best so you should always be alert and not too credulous but this advice also holds true for most other (European) countries in the world!
If you are looking for an adventurous, Rich in history, relaxing and „spicy“ holiday trip, you should definately go to Tanzania and Zanzibar!
CA
It was an amazing experience
Our guide was amazing, felt welcomed and safe. Be sure to bring bug spray and portable battery. Make sure to have some cash to buy beautiful jewelry from the massai community markets
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable experience, no wonder why Uganda is called the Pearl of Africa!
This was my first safari experience and I am really happy to have chosen Uganda. I don't like too much crowded touristic areas and Uganda was perfect for this. we had the chance to observe a lot of wildlife and enjoy it without crowds of tourists. The scenery was amazing, we moved from savanna to rain forest and back to savanna an,d even if the distance were quite long, the scenery was really amazing , no wonder why Uganda is called the Pearl of Africa!
We changed three different accommodations in 6 days and they were all very high quality standards, while the price were correct and the staff always very helpful and nice. Our guide was really perfect, and the different rangers that we met during our activities were professional and knowledgeable.
PT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An amazing and unforgettable experience
Soul of tanzania gave us the opportunity to discover the essence of Africa. They are organized, reliable and always available to help you deciding the best program for the number of days that you have and the time of the season that you are going.
About the tour itself, we had Amani as our guide and driver, there are no words to describe the professionalism and the knowledge that he has. He talks a perfect english and he is a person you enjoy being around all day. It's possible to see that he is very passionate for what he does and it only makes the experience even better. Thank you, Amani.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing !
Our trip was a pure concentration of happiness sharing and beautiful meetings.
Tunu was absolutely perfect, she was able to accompany us during the preparation with benevolence and enthusiasm.
And we had the chance to share with her a moment of complicity around a drink at Diani beach.
Our guide, and what a guide! Badri was great with us, he was able to answer all our questions and was of a very pleasant company, we often had lunch with him, nothing better to improve a level of English a little hardworking! We even shed our little tear!
In short, you will understand, you can launch your eyes closed in this adventure with Tammy Tours, Tunu and Badri.
We will never thank them enough ...