US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our driver was very accommodating to our group with provided for an awesome experience!
Before the trip, I worked with Peter to plan. He was very responsive and attentive to any requests and inquiries. Overall Peter and our driver, Wachanga, were very accommodating, especially when it came to last minute changes or deviations. It was very evident that Wachanga was very knowledgeable about the park, animals, culture. He was such a pleasure to converse with and he made our experience very worthwhile! I would recommend this safari tour to anyone going to Masai Mara.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We really enjoyed the whole experience
We were both very happy with the trip, all the arrangements went smoothly.A great holiday! very difficult to find fault with anything, all aspects were of an excellent standard. We never expected to see quite so much game, and to have quite such close encounters all thanks to Emmanuel our best Guide.
We would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Get Together Adventures to any and everyone who wishes to travel to Tanzania and we look forward to dealing with you again.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beyond our imangination
I and my hubby planned a safari using wecam safaris for our honeymoon. I was worried because i wanted this to be our best moment but surprisingry it was beyond what we were expecting. everything went well as planned our contact person was always there to listen to us and advice.
Thank you Wecam safaris team.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Well-planned & great communication
We had an amazing time in Chobe & the Okavango on one of Darren's trips. Our time in Pom Pom Camp was unforgettable thanks to a fantastic guide named Patros. Darren was thorough and quick to respond as we planned our trip -- which is very important when you're trying to become comfortable with logistics of a trip into the bush. The camp had a potentially significant luggage SNAFU on our way out the door, but the camp operator took care of us while we were delayed in Maun -- and Darren did what he could to assist.
Our time at Garden Lodge in Chobe was nice. The owners are fantastic, but one of the staff members left a bit of a bitter taste. I understand that person is being cycled out soon enough, so should not count against the lodging.
Overall, my feeling is that we live in an age where its become increasingly feasible to design your own worldly adventures. We picked Compass Odyssey because it lined up with our trip budget, however, after the fact, I do believe the trip was slightly over-priced. I say that even though Compass Odyssey gave us a great deal of peace of mind headed into our adventure and guided us to some great venues.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ngorongo Crater Safari with Patrick!
We would highly recommend Sunset Africa Ltd. to anyone looking for honest, quality service when embarking on an African safari. After finding our family of five in a difficult situation due to another company’s incompetence, Sunset Africa Ltd. came to our rescue and made sure that we were taken care of. Godfrey, the managing director, ensured that we knew exactly what we were getting so there would be no surprises. Patrick, our driver, was knowledgeable, friendly, considerate, and made sure that we were able to see every possible animal in Ngorongoro Crater. While the kids’ favourites were the zebras, we all enjoyed the wide variety of birds, herbivores, and carnivores. Patrick’s patience, experience and long-standing relationships with other drivers meant that all of us – our kids ranging from teenager to toddler – had a memorable time.
Our sense of being taken care of did not end with the safari portion; Patrick coordinated with Godfrey to drop us off directly at the airport instead of changing vehicles in Arusha (as planned) to make sure we arrived on time. We have nothing but gratitude for the positive experience and are thrilled by the animals we were able to observe in their natural habitats!
Note that Sunset Africa Ltd. further specializes in mountain trekking, camping and lodge safaris, balloon safari, cultural tourism, beach holidays, hotel reservation and volunteering programs.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
SED Adventures and tours did a great job
Wife and I just completed a 10 day Northern Circuit tour of Tanzania with SED. Beginning with excellent correspondence and planning from Laizer in the communications dept., who answered all of my questions and presented reasonable alternatives to potential problem areas for us, to our awesome driver/guide Anton, the trip went off without a hitch. We have taken several safari tours before, never in Tanzania, however, and were never disappointed in our guides, but Anton is the best. He is a very safe driver over some awful roads getting to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, and his game spotting ability is amazing. All in all, a wonderful trip.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very smooth professional dealings with our holiday...thank you so much it was brilliant!
Dealing with Robert was wonderful and put us at ease by his knowledge and experience on African holidays. All communications were handled quickly and his inside knowledge of everything was brilliant. The holiday was wonderful with all accommodation being excellent and central. The arranged flights/transfers and tours all went like clockwork. South Africa/Zimbabwe and Botswana will always be in our hearts forever...thank you so so much.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing Holiday - Off2Africa were very professional and their recomendations were spot on.
As an ex-Zimbabwean returning to Zimbabwe after many years - we booked through Off2Africa to ensure we got the best travel experience possible. Their recommendations were excellent - and all transfers flowed seamlessly. After a few days in Vic Falls, we stayed at Bakwena Lodge just outside Chobe National park. For our group of 6, this was a wonderful lodge and great value for money. Amazing animal sightings in the park included Leopard and Lion and even wild dog when en-route back to the lodge one evening. From there, we caught a road transfer to Khulu Lodge just outside Hwange national Park - where again we had some fantastic animal encounters including Elephant drinking from the pool 2 meters from where we sat - that was truly a unique experience and one we will always remember.
Off2africa truly value their clients and stayed in touch with us during our trip to ensure everything was tracking to plan. I would highly recommend them - they know and understand the region and will ensure you have a trip to remember!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
11-Day Kenya/Tanzania Mid-Range Safari - Trip of a lifetime!
My wife and I joined a couple of friends for an extraordinary private 4-person safari with Amazing Memories. Our safari exceeded our wildest expectations in large part due to the tour operators of Amazing Memories. We are extremely satisfied having gone with them after comparing several safari companies over many months.
We had a pop-top van in Kenya and pop-top Toyota LandCruiser in Tanzania. We ended up strongly preferring the LandCruiser for good suspension, comfort, space, ease of drives, and for viewing purposes. Our itinerary included tours of, in order, Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha, Maasai Mara, Serengeti, Ngorogoro Crater, and Amboseli.
We were greeted warmly at the airport and were immediately taken out to Nakuru, which was a pretty lengthy drive. We had had problems with Qatar Airways getting to Nairobi, and Anne of AM was incredibly helpful in adapting our itinerary to fit our late arrival and start to our safari. (as a side note, I highly recommend building in an extra arrival day before your safari begins). Anne was instrumental to the planning and coordination of our trip. She made us feel like we were her most important clients before and during the trip. She was eager to match and beat prices of other safari tour operators for the same itinerary, and made really helpful suggestions to that itinerary. She also upgraded one of our camps a month or two out from our safari, which was fantastic – she moved us to a camp that was probably our favorite place to stay.
Itinerary Comments:
We chose an itinerary that minimized times in major cities – many of the multi-site tours across most safari companies spend time in Nairobi or Arusha prior to border crossings. We wanted to minimize driving time and build the most direct route possible. The direct transfer between Maasai Mara and the Serengeti was in fact the main reason we found and ultimately chose Amazing Memories. This ended up working out really well for the most part (read exception below under “Guides” section). We loved every site we visited, and the order we visited them. The one thing I would say, however, is that transfers between locations were always longer than the itineraries accounted for, especially between the Mara and Serengeti. So we didn’t have quite as much game viewing time as we were led to believe.
It seemed like every day and game drive added a unique experience or sighting to our safari. I’d say the Mara, Serengeti, and Ngorogoro were the highlights, but Nakuru, Naivasha, and Amboseli each added great things. We didn’t see as many rhinos as some others did at Nakuru, and the flamingo population had declined significantly. But it was a great start to the trip. We enjoyed Naivasha, and the optional add-on walking tour of Crescent Island is highly recommended! Maasai Mara was incredible…we saw a huge array of lions, elephants, and giraffes in particular. By the end of the trip we had racked up 68 lions, 2 rhinos, 6 cheetahs, a tree-climbing leopard, hundreds of elephants and giraffes, and thousands of herd animals. Many of the key animals were in the Maasai Mara, highlighted by about half the lions and a group of five cheetahs who made a kill, ate it, sauntered to a drink, and then plopped for a nap. The Serengeti was perhaps our favorite park experience – we had great luck in the Seronera region of the park. The park also has bathroom and picnic locations, which were really helpful on our full-day game drives. Here we saw the full array of high value animals – basically everything but a rhino. Ngorogoro was otherworldly and should not be missed…it’s like being in a fish bowl with almost every safari animal you can imagine, in a place that’s unlike any other. And Amboseli was a fantastic park to finish our trip – so many elephants, birds, and lions. And we had a lucky hour or two on our first day when Kilimanjaro became visible for a brief time. I think if we were to take a second safari, we might minimize the number of sites and stick with Tanzania. We didn’t get to see Manyara, Tarangire, or Zanzibar either (which was our choice). But for our first trip, Anne and AM designed a truly spectacular safari.
Camps/Sites Information:
We were really happy with AM’s choices for our stays. We stayed at Flamingo Hill Tented Camp our first night at Nakuru…it was spectacular. The grounds were gorgeous, the staff incredibly kind and welcoming, and the food exquisite – the best of the whole trip. And they were incredibly gracious in asking park officials to keep the gates open late for our late arrival. At Naivasha we stayed at the Sopa! Property. It was a larger, more hotel-like operation. We appreciated the wifi for photo updates. But the grounds were incredible in that animals wandered through the grounds. Zebras, water bucks, monkeys of various sorts, even hippos late in the evening. Don’t worry – they have security staff to escort people around the grounds. For our first night in Maasai Mara, we stayed at the Sentrim camp. It took a long time to arrive here from Naivasha, and Sentrim was perhaps our least favorite camp. But it was in an excellent location near the park entrance. We had been slated to stay here three nights, but we were upgraded to the Ashnil Luxury Camp within the park the next two nights. We LOVED it here. Its location was ideal for game viewing, situated above a large bend in a river that was populated by lots of hippos, birds, and crocodiles. It had an excellent restaurant and bar, and the tents themselves were really nice. We really enjoyed our evenings at Ashnil. For our Serengeti evenings we were at the Ikoma Tented Camp. It’s near one of the smaller park entrances, but it’s only about an hour’s drive into the Seronera region of the park. It was the closest to feeling like “being in the bush” – it was a comfortable and minimal group of tents that we really enjoyed, wolf spiders notwithstanding. After our visit to Ngorogoro, we stayed at the Crater Forest Tented Camp, which is in the middle of a coffee plantation. It was a really gorgeous location and nice tents and restaurant. Finally, we stayed at the Kibo Safari Camp in Amboseli, which gave us prime place to see Kilimanjaro when it came out for a couple hours. Kibo was a lot like Ashnil – really exquisite tents, good restaurant and bar, and beautiful grounds. Overall, AM did a great job of selecting a mix of places to stay – each had their own distinct atmosphere. I think the most important thing in the future is picking places already within the parks – it greatly reduces drive times. But Anne did a great job of mixing location with keeping costs within our budget.
Guides:
Each of our three drivers said the same thing: “You are one of the luckiest groups we’ve ever had.” We saw a ton of rare animals. But we grew more convinced that it was driver talent rather than just luck. We had Anthony in our first Kenya leg, Farro (of Migada Adventures) in Tanzania, and Joseph for Amboseli. Simply put our guides were the most important and influential part of our trip. We couldn’t be more thankful for their enthusiasm, knowledge of the animals, skill at getting us in really great viewing spots, and in accommodating our requests.
Anthony was particularly good at wedging us amongst the number of cars at high value areas, and anticipating how animals would move. He was a charming and really effective guide. The one thing I’d say about Anthony, though, is be sure to be very upfront about times. As we learned later, he started our drives much later than other guides, and we didn’t get to do afternoon game drives with him. Moreover, our transfer between Maasai Mara and Serengeti went very poorly. He had picked up a Maasai companion/guide for our days in Maasai Mara, and to return the companion to his home we had to take a 4-hour detour on our way to the border. As a result, we missed our first afternoon/evening game drive in the Serengeti, probably our favorite park. Without the detour, we would have made the drive without a problem. Anne was very responsive to this issue, and even compensated us for the missed game drive. And we were given a different driver upon our return to Kenya for Amboseli, one who was explicitly instructed to maximize our game drives. But this was a little frustrating since this transfer was the reason for going with AM in the first place.
In Tanzania, Anne had arranged for Farro and the Migada Adventures safari company. We couldn’t speak highly enough about Farro (and the LandCruiser…we loved that thing). He really knew the parks well and always seemed to get us to the best animal sightings at just the right times. And he always seemed to guess precisely how the animals would behave, especially the leopard that killed the prey and took it up into the tree. If it had been up to us we’d probably have stayed in the area all day, but he suggested we continue on because the leopard would nap there all day. He was spot on – we returned on our way out of the park, just in time to see the leopard feed on the impala and come down the tree. That sort of thing happened a lot with Farro – he was really eager to stay as long as we wanted, but was equally eager to make really helpful suggestions. He was professional, kind, personable, really knowledgeable – the perfect guide.
Finally, we had Joseph guide us through Amboseli. His knowledge of the animals was unparalleled. We had seen nearly every animal by this time in the trip, but we learned so much about each one we saw. He was especially good with spotting and knowing about birds…he was really excited that our friends were budding birders. He was equally personable and skillful at finding great sightings. I’d say the guides were really the highlight of the trip – they were the main reasons the safari was spectacular as it was.
Conclusion:
The safari truly was the trip of a lifetime, and we have Anne, Anthony, Farro, and Joseph to thank for that. I think we’re a bit more savvy now understanding transfers, and being much clearer with our guides about our desire to maximize game drive times and knowing about transfer times. But the trip exceeded our wildest expectations and we are very thankful of Amazing Memories’ care in planning and executing the trip. We have a number of friends now considering taking safaris, and we are eager to recommend AM to them for their (and our) potential visits in the future. Thanks Amazing Memories!
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A lovely, amazing experience in the Masai Mara.
My four friends and I had a great safari. Our driver, Jesse, was awesome and continuously checked on me and my 3 friends to make sure we were doing well. Our camp accommodations were very good and we met a whole bunch of lovely people from around the world. All in all it was a great experience and I would definitely do another safari with them, perhaps in a warmer month.