65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent company...genuine personal attention in all aspects of the holiday. Strongly recommended.
Wildlife Sun Safaris are an excellent company to use for travelling in Africa.
From the beginning the responses to my communication was prompt, clear efficient and travel requests extremely well priced.
The boss of the company, James , was always there to assist & nothing was too much trouble.
I took a lot of items for orphanages there and James was fantastic in looking after these cases whilst I went off on Safari. He actually transported them from Nairobi to Mombasa where they went to the Shanzu Good Hope Orphanage. If you go do take whatever you can with you and donate to them...they are so poor and don't know where the money is coming from for their next meal. James will take you there or direct you yo another Orpganage in Nairobi. His company is the best ...we had an excellent driver who kept us informed about all aspects and spoke very clear good English.
You can either let James propose your itinerary or he will execute your own intinersry at very fair prices. He is genuine and you do not have to worry .i was surprised that during the course of three weeks we never saw or even heard a mosquito.,,having gone prepared, the Jungle Spray it never came out once even on Safaris.
Once you find this company there is no need to look any further as you will have found the best & I know you will be very happy st the end.
Our driver, Toya was an excellent safe & cautious & even took us to the airport too at the end and we were very sad to leave this great country having found a good company to look after us, seen an amazing selection of animals & animal activities in the wild & can't wait to go back! A big thank you to James and his team for a wonderful holiday,
Contact James..,you do not have to look any further!!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Hwange National Park by Carole Barnes
Abundant wildlife, professional guides. Fantastic camps.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Zimbabwe is amazing! The people are warm, friendly, hospitable, and also professional.
We visited Harare, Vic Falls and Hwange National Park.
In Harare we stayed four nights in probably the best B&B we have ever stayed in. The Victoria Falls are of course magnificent.
The Wildlife in Hwange is abundant, including the big five (apart from Rhinos), and the little five. Our guides were incredibly passionate and professional. Walking safaris are highly recommended. Nothing beats being up close and personal with the animals and the bush. The sweet smell of true savannah grassland is something I have not experienced anywhere else, nor will I forget the pungent smell of a hyena den.
The standard of accommodation and service in both camps (Bomani and Camp Hwange) was exceptional. All staff worked really hard to make us feel valued and welcome. It still confounds me how these camps manage to create restaurant quality meals with the freshest ingredients in the middle of the bush.
All our transfers were spot on. The hire car pick up at Harare International Airport was the easiest least stressful pick up EVER! The best transfer in the world has got to be the Elephant Express! A restored open air railway carriage, which transfers guests from Dete siding to Bomani/Camelthorn camps along the main Zimbabwe railway line. We were served a delicious lunch and saw as much game in 2 hours as any of the game drives; lion, zebra, giraffe, sable to name a few.
Please don't be put off visiting this wonderful country by negative media stories. The normal everyday Zimbabweanz are probably the friendliest most hospitable people in the world. You arrive as guests but leave as friends.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great customized trip to Johannesburg, Victoria Falls, Kruger and Cape Town for 3 adults
Excellent service from Heidi, working around our travel dates to build an itinerary (including activities) in Johannesburg (1 night), Victoria Falls (3 nights), safari (2 nights Sabi Sands, 2 nights Timbavati), and Cape Town (6 nights). Very helpful to have a single point of contact when planning the trip, as well as for any questions during the trip. We had a couple of minor requests during our trip - everything was handles promptly and very well.
The first night (Johannesburg) was also due to the flight schedule, but that turned out to be a good thing. Pre-arranged tour of the city and Soweto was quite interesting, and it helped recover from the jet lag. We stayed at an airport hotel (City Lodge) - very convenient for the flight to Livingstone next morning.
Flying into/out of Livingstone for Victoria Falls was fine, but unfortunately Zambia/Zimbabwe ran out of the Kaza Univisa stickers, so we had to get a bunch of separate visas for Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana at each border crossing. Nice view of the falls from the right hand side of the plane on approach to Livingstone. Good day trip to Chobe for a river/land safari. Very nice hotel (Ilala Lodge). Water flow in Zambezi during the dry season is quite low, but that make it possible to swim in the Devil's Pool.
We had an extra night in Nelspruit between Victoria Falls and safari due to our flight schedule. Try to avoid doing this if your schedule allows it - there is nothing to do there.
Safari was definitely the highlight of the trip, and it was nice to visit two different game reserves. Transfer was timed perfectly so we didn't miss any game drives. Both lodges (Elephant Sands and Simbavati River Lodge) were very good.
Stayed in a serviced 2 bedroom apartment (Lawhill) at V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. Again, good pre-arranged tours - city tour, Cape Point, wine country. If you have a couple of days on your own, you can go to the Botanical Garden (great free walking tours with volunteer guides at 10 am, 11 am, and 2 pm), Table Mountain (as soon as the weather is good), and the Old Biscuit Mill (excellent food market on Saturdays). You don't need a guide for any of this, taxis are easy to find and there is also Uber. If you want to have a nice dinner in Franschhoek after the wine country tour, you need to make a reservation weeks (if not months) in advance. Totally worth it. We went to Ryan's Kitchen, there are a couple of other restaurants that are similar.
Again, great trip and great service from Pembury Tours! Thank you , Heidi!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Bucket List, African Safari. Check.
It had been on my bucket list to go on Safari! Thanks to Kathy Phinney, one of the owners, that desire to check it off my bucket list, came to reality. Kathy and her husband Fan have a Safari company and I had a group of 8 people that have traveled together in various places on cycling adventures. This wasn't a cycling trip, but it was done with 4 couples that travel together very well. Kathy and Fan customized a trip for a group of 8. Breakdown Safaris coordinated all the details. A task that i could not imagine doing my self.
The variety of activities was incredible. We had beach time, safari vehicle game drives, a walking safari, boat safari, chimp tracking and even snorkeling in Zanzabar. While not like staying at the Regency hotel in an American city, the lodging was an incredible experience. In the Selous Game Reserve we stayed in a mud hut, romantically lit with paraffin lamps, and a four poster bed. The water was kept hot for us "westerners" via a wood fire underneath a water tank. Meanwhile, on the deck, you could hear the hippos in the river below. In Selous game reserve, we also did a boat safari. seeing a huge variety of animals you don't see on land. In Ruaha, we stayed in a stone cottage. During the night a lion and an elephant were having a little"tiff" just a few hundred yards away. Not quite like any experience we have ever had!
Breakdown Safaris did some amazing coordination to get us across the country and over to Gombe Stream National Park where Jane Goodall did her research on the chimps. We stayed in "tents" there, with bathrooms, hot showers, lights, and again a beautiful 4 poster bed. Through the work of the awesome guides we hung out with about 30 chimps for about an hour. It was a pretty strenuous hike to get to were the chimps were that day.
Overall, we saw a huge collection of animals, largely due to the knowledge of our guides, Fan, Rashid, and Kathy. They work hard to understand where the animals might be that day for an incredible viewing experience.
After several days of on land Safari, we ventured over to Zanzabar and Stonetown. The Safari continued with "Safari Blue" where we got to snorkel and see a different variety of animal life and sample a wide variety of foods.
The food through out the trip was amazing. Sometimes, like in Selous Game Reserve, it was all prepared with wood fire. We never had a had a "bad" meal through out the trip.
I would sincerely recommend Breakdown Safaris to coordinate your Safari trip
IE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Bestday more like best-holi-day!
We had the most memorable time and have promised to come back for a reunion! or some day in the future when we have kids! We went as a group of four friends (in our 20's - we were't the honeymooner type) who have traveled a lot of the world together. Our safari is definitely one of the best trips we've been on!
Bestday Safaris seemed almost too good to be true when comparing it to other tour operators but it has to be said everything was above board and much better than some experiences which we had heard about.
We did a private four day safari visiting Tarangire National Park on day one, Serengeti on day 2 and 3 and Ngorongoro Crater on day 4. The accommodation type was lodges and tented camping and it was all fit for a princess! The tents had more mirrors than an ordinary hotel room! There was no compromise made to comfort to be able to fall asleep to the sound of a lions purr. The food in all the over-night accommodation was delicious and there was no fear of being left hungry.
Hats off to our safari driver - Louis - he was a true gentleman,was full of knowledge (especially about the wildlife) and looked after us very well! He really made our trip and sang along with our songs and even taught us some Swahili! Asante sana!!
Peter the managing director was extremely professional and made the effort to meet us before and after the trip to ensure our satisfaction!
https://www.tripadvisor.ie/ShowUserReviews-g297913-d8682454-r536247639-Bestday_Safaris-Arusha_Arusha_Region.html#
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trek with Barafu tours and our fantastic guides, Sauly and Jonas.
Our experience with Barafu Tours on our Kilimanjaro climb was absolutely wonderful. From start to finish we knew the plan, what we needed to achieve each day, did some afternoon acclimatization hikes and made it to the top in one happy group! We took the Rongai route, 6 day trip. Our trek was 4.5 days up and 1.5 days down via Marangu. There wasn’t a moment where I was scared or felt overwhelmed or unprepared.
Our guide Sauly and assistant guide Jonas were exceptional. Each evening we had a briefing where our vitals were checked and Sauly did a check in with us to see how we were feeling to gauge the inevitable effects of altitude. In our briefings we discussed what to expect next on the trail and what to expect along the trail. Sauly was extremely knowledgeable, not only about the mountain and the trek but also about the tribes living on the mountain, flora and fauna we passed along the way, interesting sights, histories of how people have used and revered the mountain throughout history, things along the way to entertain and educate us. Other climbers would ask him questions because their guides weren’t a good resource. If I hadn’t had such an experienced and knowledgeable guide, I may not have made it! It certainly wouldn’t have been as much fun.
Our porters were fantastic and enormously impressive, breaking down camp for us each morning, sprinting up the mountain and setting it up before we arrived. I have nothing but great things to say about Charles, the cook. The soups we had every night were delicious and soothing after the day’s trek.
An added benefit, and one of the reasons we chose Barafu, is because they are a locally owned Tanzanian company, so we felt good that the fees were staying in the country and benefiting the local economy.
Also, book your hotel through Chance at the Kilimanjaro Wonders Hotel, it is lovely, convenient and they will let you store your extra luggage there while you trek.
One thing to warn you about, while it’s a good idea to rent a few items, note that the price list online doesn’t match what you are quoted. It seems to be out of date.
HR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful Trip to Kakamega Forest
I extremely love the birds and butterflies. Last year, a close friend referred a trip to Kakamega. Kakamega is the best place if you want to experience the iconic scenery of birds and butterflies. This region is the home to 330 species of birds and 400 species of butterflies. I was getting amazed with these amazing birds. Special thanks to Samuel, who arranged everything about the trip! This was the most pleasant experience of my life!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
My best adventure with the Wild Africa Safaris.
Best tour I have ever been on. The tour guide Rodgers was brilliant, so nice, friendly and was a pleasure to listen to. I would highly recommend going on this tour, great value for money and a full day out taking in the magnificent views of the Botswana.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent value 4x4 hire in Uganda
The whole experience with 4x4 Uganda was great - made the booking via email, and Paul quickly answered all my queries. The car itself proved excellent - no reliability problems, and it took me and my son safely round the country, including on some rough roads in the national parks. I would definitely book through them again, and would recommend them to others.