Very relaxed, peaceful and friendly in general.
We went to Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti National Park with our friendly guides Patrick and Ali from Kilimanjaro Trip Safaris and couldn't have had much of a better trip. We saw prides of lions and cheetahs (an especial highlight), plenty of elephants, giraffes, zebras, hippos, waterbuffalos and wildebeest, and a scattering of hyenas and jackals. Another highlight was spotting a kingfisher alighting on a branch and stopping there for a minute or two, and our sighting of a lilac-breasted roller was spectacular, perched peacefully showing off its lilac breast for some minutes then swooping away revealing its thrilling electric blue underbelly.
Accommodation was good generally, with mosquito nets always provided. The weather wasn't as hot as I expected, with quite a lot of cloud about, but this was for the best in the main as though I love the sun it would have been too hot and dry with less cloud cover. I would certainly recommend such a trip with Kilimanjaro Trip Safaris around this time of year.
Incredible experience in Tanzania
Undoubtedly one of the best experiences of my life. 2 mates and I booked a 5 day safari through Tanzania. Hoping to see the big 5 and the great migration our expectations were greatly surpassed as we saw every animal from cubs to old elephants and even animals as rare as the black rhino. Of course this wouldn't have been as impressive a holiday if it weren't for our great tour guide Dickson who had us learning and laughing from dawn till dusk each day. Forever thankful for his kindness and experience and to everyone else behind the scenes who made our African dreams come true. 10/10 would recommend.
CR
Email Carla Mayorga | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing
Tanzania was an amazing experience, the weather was perfect and we were lucky to see lots of animals. Our guide Isaac was incredible and pleased us in every way. About the food I can say that breakfast and diners at the camps were very good, and lunches were ok.
About the tour company, we´re not very happy. The car was very old and it broke twice during the Safari.
Even though we paid for the whole package in advance, it happend that when we got to Manyara park I had to pay with my credit card to buy the entrance tickets because the company did not deposit the money to the guide. Same thing happend at Ngorongoro but I refused to pay and the guide could solve the problem. After the Safari the money was refunded in cash, but it was a bad experience.
Besides that, it was a great adventure and I would certainly go back again.
Versatile, vigorous and vital
We had an extraordinary experience with Shemeji tours. Highly recommended for Safari trips in and around Serengeti.
FR
Email JMBeltran | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Parks in Tanzania
We visited four parks - Lake Manyara, Nogorongoro crater, Serengeti and migration camp plus Tarangire. As our guide Said from Bush2City told us before hand, and exactly right, each one different and each one with its own magic. I would like to have a favourite spot but they were all wonderful. Simply amazing. Every trip will be different things happening, every day you have moments of magic. Perhaps Tarangire at the end of the trip was the cherry on the cake - An amazing Safari
SE
Email Jonas Nimmersjö | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
All I can say, I have lived in Africa for more than 12 years (Burundi 8, Tanzania 4+) but have not seen all of the wildlife in Tanzania. There are a lot of places yet to see. The only down side to a Safari in Tanzania is the price if you are not a citizen ...
Exceeded our expectations
Amazing experience, how close you ca get to the wildlife, the variety of natural settings, the brilliant blend of tourism and natural settings are second to none.
Email Winfried | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
the services they offer are awesome and the people are friendly especially the guides.
AE
Email Maryam | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Beautiful country, amazing & awesome wildlife experience in Tanzania, we love to come back again
We fell in love with Tanzania, it's such a stunning beauty, everything was perfect.We had an awesome, splendid, wonderful time viewing all the beautiful animals at the parks, it's just like magic & so amazing.You'll feel more close to nature when in Tanzania, it's simply beautiful & magnificent out there. Many thanks to Kiliholidays and the safari team for making our first family safari a very memorable experience.We can't wait to come back again soon. We appreciate your hospitality & great service!
Zanzibar
This review is only about Zanzibar - see Mwema review elsewhere (and maybe a different Tanzania review).
We had a short visit to Zanzibar prior to a Serengeti safari. Zanzibar was everything I imagined and then some. The weather, dry season period, was terrific, not overwhelmingly hot. Lots of clouds, came and went, maybe a little night rain one night. The old city, Stonetown, is a small maze of narrow streets, Arab-Indian-Swahili architecture, and small "squares". A guided tour is useful, but it won't help you much orienteering - you will get lost on your own (but so what). The tour, tho, helps sort out the architecture - who brought what, and why they built it - and helps fill in the details. We also took a spice farm tour - we could've extended that, there was a lot to learn there. I envy one of our friends who took a spice compounding class at another place. We also had a too-short snorkeling trip to Mnemba island. Several more days of this would've have been fantastic. There is evidence of coral bleaching on the reefs there - sad. There are turtle reserves here and there on the island - we didn't know that until too late - if you go look into this and see if you can include a visit. We didn't have time to visit the south part of Unguja island or the Jozani forest.
The bad side of Zanzibar - it's a hustling town. It seemed like every time I stopped to look at something or opened my book, someone would show up to sell me a tour or a souvenir. Our guide said that many of these people just take the money, buy drugs, and live rough on the other side of the Creek road; on the other hand I met a few Somali refugees who'd clearly had a terrible struggle. Nevertheless, the constant interruption gets tiring. There's also a hustle at the airport - as soon as your cab shows up, a porter shows up and your bags are whisked into the gate. He's as demanding as NYC cab driver for a good tip, and one for his girlfriend running the probably fake security check before the gate. Oh well. He did get us to the right gate - things are very informal and low information at the Zanzibar airport, so sorting that out was worth something.
A note about Tanzanian visas - we got them on entry at Zanzibar airport. But unlike what we were told prior, and what others experienced elsewhere in TZ, this port of entry is credit card only, no cash!
