Hilary and Martin - owners of Suricata Safaris
Suricata Safaris
- Office In:
- Size:
- 50-100 employees (Founded in 2016)
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $3,272 to $10,334 per person per day (MXN, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
AT
Email Oliver | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Thanks to Suricata Safaris (especially Rocky) for this wonderful adventure
As a child/teenager I always dreamed of a safari and what can I say, my great expectations were exceeded.
One thing was the breathtaking nature (whether Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Serengeti or Ngorongoro Crater), which was so varied and I have never felt so connected to our origins.
The other thing was how well Suricata Safaris organised everything. ‘Rocky’ is simply the best guide you can wish for. He told us so much about the wildlife, took us to the most beautiful places (it was great everywhere, but the viewpoint over the Ngorongoro Crater and the sunset in the middle of the Serengeti were probably the highlights) and did everything to give us an unforgettable adventure.
Although I am picky when it comes to food, there was something delicious for me every day.
I can only recommend Suricata Safaris to anyone.
The safari itself was amazing, but there were issues with other administrative matters.
Good Points:
• The safari experience
Bad Points:
• The most shocking issue was that no one came to pick me up at the airport. A person named Ali was responsible, but instead of apologizing, he kept making excuses about the traffic.
• Jackson, the person I had been communicating with via email beforehand, is completely unreliable. Whatever you tell him, assume that no one on the ground will be informed.
• In fact, I had clearly discussed via email the remaining balance to be paid, the change of accommodation, and the need to prepare change. However, none of this information was conveyed to the staff on-site. As a result, I had to spend my nights in the hotel lobby in Tanzania explaining everything all over again.
DE
Email Christian | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wow - Suricata did a great job to give us the experience of our lives
We chose Suricata Safaris through Safari Bookings and we were not disappointed. From the first moment on we were in good hands for a 5 day experience which was more than great. Our driver Freddy did a great job in terms of driving, showing us all the animals and giving us so much information about the animals and Tanzanian history. The camps were great and the food prepared by the chef (breakfast, dinner, lunch) was super delicious. There is not one thing that could have been better. Thank you Suricata!
Email Paul heaney | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional,friendly and overall confidence inspiring.
Suricata’s team proved to be both friendly professional and competent. Finding ourselves with the time go on a Safari at the last minute in country they reacted quickly.
Ally the tour manager met us at our convenience and immediately inspired confidence giving us time and the information needed to chose the right safari for us and a day trip too.
We chose a 4 day private trip to cover Taringere, Serengeti and Ngorogoro , 2 days camping and a first night at their lake Manyara lodge.
Ally kept in touch prior to the tour and we were picked up promptly from our hotel by our guide Baraka who proved to be a great companion.With 6 years experience behind hiim , this showed with his competent driving and knowledge of wildlife, spotting what we could never have found.
The hotel proved to be very luxurious but fun with amazing entertainment from a local acrobatic troupe and an energetic post dinner sing song from the staff - great !
The camping obviously more down to earth but an experience to sleep with the sounds of the wild night. Zebra wandering through the site and giraffe and buffalo on the margins. Tents were prepared and meals cooked for us on site including the preparation of a hot lunch every day ! Lucas cooked for us and I don’t know how he managed to get so much done behind the scenes. A lot of hard work goes on that you don’t see to keep things right.
We had not planned to be on Safari this year but events conspired to give us the chance so no real pre-conceptions. To be honest the magnificence and variety of the parks alone would be enough but the abundance and variety of wildlife takes it to another level.
We saw the big five but that didn’t really matter it was the variety and complexity of encounters and plain amazing how close you could be.
Highlights for me were watching the reaction of a cheetah as it spotted a lion in the vicinity of itself and cub. It decided to lay low as the pack remained intent on the warthog they were tracking and in the end failed to catch in the final chase. Later Barak somehow spotted a black rhino in the long distance and we were able to see it trot along meeting couple of big male elephants as if out for a jaunt,amazing.
So overall a trip we’ll never forget, we will come back for more and will recommend Suricata to friends and family.
NO
Email Dilan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great wildlife, but disappointing tour operator
We did a small safari tour over 3 days, where we slept in tents. Our experience was very two sided.
Pros:
1-The animals and nature we got to see was incredible. We saw almost all the animals we were hoping for.
2-The cook was amazing, considering his working conditions in public camping sites. Every single meal was really tasty, and had a good variety. He was always polite and explained in detail which food he served.
3-The tents were as expected for two adults in terms of size and weather resistance, but the campsite toilets and showers were dirty and lacking toilet paper. There were also too many tourists per toilet.
4-We have beverages in the jeep (water and soda) every day.
5-Two person per row in the jeep allowed everyone to have their own window.
6-The cars used for transport to and from the airport were in good condition
Cons:
1-The lodge where we stayed before and after the safari was very low-budget. The shower had only cold or burning hot water, and the water pressure was way too low. No hand towels were provided, and we had to ask for a second shower towel both stays. The breakfast was decent and the staff was polite. The room had poor sound isolation, so we were kept awake by other guests.
2-Our guide/driver (James or Jimmy) was often driving very erratically, so that it was often difficult for us to take good videos or photos of the animals. Sometimes he wouldn't stop when all of us saw animals we wanted to photograph.He was often giving information while we took pictures, but he kept demanding our response whenever we were busy with experiencing the wildlife. The way he approached different tourist in the jeep seemed unprofessional to us. When the tour was over, he didn't even bother helping with our bags, or even say goodbye. This was after we had paid the tip that was suggested by Hillary.
3-The driver should have a microphone, because it is almost impossible to hear his voice while the engine is running, especially if you are sitting in the back of the jeep.
4-Our contact at the lodge (Mr. Ally or Ali) gave us a very unenthusiastic introduction to our tour, where he said that we "must" pay a tip of 15 USD per day per person, even though Hillary's email said it was a recommendation. Only after we said this, he changed his choice of words. After the safari was over we met him again. Then he asked "give us a 5-star review on Tripadvisor, both of you today". We told him we would review the experience from home, but he kept asking to do it immediately. The only purpose was to keep Surikata Safari on top of the list at Tripadvisor, rather than honest feedback. Future tourists should keep this in mind when you read all the 5-star reviews. We had some extra time on our last day in Arusha where we said we wanted to relax. Instead he kept pushing for us to pay for more tours. The transport to the airport was 45 - 60 minutes delayed.
Overall what we suggest especially to couples is that to choose a mid-range (more luxurious) option compared to the one with tents. Then you might not be annoyed by some of the things we have listed.
Reply from Suricata Safaris
Posted on Aug 23, 2022Dear Dilan,
we are glad to receive your feedback and especially the positive points. We are very sorry for some experiences you had and we will work on improving. We are a young and growing company and feedback like you did is very important for us to revise internal conducts and miscommunications. We are very aware that improving our and our associate accommodations (campsites, lodges, hotels) service quality will reflect on the way our actual and future guests live their Suricata Safaris experience and experience Tanzania. Our focus in to make this really a memorable moment.
Let me go through on all the points you mentioned and give you some explanations:
1-We are in close contact with our partner accommodations and are working on checking the points you mentioned. We will create a checklist to revise ourselves the sites to improve. Some of the points are a bit tricky as we are bound to the infrastructure we have in Africa and that is sometimes a bit different from what our guests from other regions of the world are used to. Rooms insulation/noise sometimes is due to the location of the rooms inside the lodges; we are working on choosing the best solution taking into account budget restrictions that come with the packages that are booked by our guests. It is important to notice that these problems don’t happen in medium/higher budget safaris, where the lodges’ structure, architecture, atmosphere and staff conduct are designed to provide a more exclusive/calm experience.
2-Our guides/drivers conducts are on a constant process of improvement. We will reinforce with all of them the importance of the photo/video’s moment to all our guests. For sure calm/silence is needed to enjoy it fully. We have a steady flow of people and have actually very good feedback on our guides. We apologize if your experience was below expectation. The experience is until the last “goodbye”. We are aware and will make sure that such an experience does not happen again.
3-We are aware of the acoustical limitations in the safari cars. We have chosen not to put microphones because we think that silence is an important feature when observing wildlife. While very close to animals the best conduct is to turn off the engines, because silence is needed. On the other hand some guests want to experience safari almost in silence, so we will think about how to improve this point, including the distribution of people closer or not to the driver/guide.
4-Our guests’ recommendations are for sure very, very important to the company, as it is the way people can understand better the coming experience. The tips are a recommendation only, and is important to say that the tips are a very important income to all the people that work in safari business in Tanzania. We will solve the internal miscommunications about the tips and the approach to new experiences.
We are working to improve every day, we are sorry for the inconveniences you mentioned. Thank you for your time, you feedback is valuable to us.
Hillary and Suricata Safaris team.
Email Annelies | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
everything great
Everything went on time and correctly as agreed! Very good, friendly, competent and patient companion who drove us through the five days! We saw a lot and felt comfortable the whole time. Highly recommend and would do the same again. Ratios for price and services is top!
NO
Email Pedro Medeiros | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari, perfectly tailored for solo traveler
I just came back from 4 days safari to Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro, with Florian and Salim as guide and cook. Hillary and Alli took care of all logistics and organised everything for me according to my preferences. I was amazed how we could see so much in so little time. Loads of animals, all the different possibilities. Lunch was always very tasty and it's incredible how they can prepare such food in the middle of the wilderness. The choice of lodges allowed me to perceive the variety in hospitality around the region, and everywhere I was well taken care of. I recommend lodges of you are staying more than 2 nights, otherwise camping is also a good choice. I highly recommend Suricata Safaris for your authentic African experience!!!
AT
Email JuM | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic!
Once in a lifetime experience. Have seen big five and had a good time. Well organised. Good experience camping in wildlife and good fresh cooked food. They even served vergeterian options if you ask before.
BG
Email Yordanka | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
5-star experience of a lifetime
I had a once in a lifetime experience!!!We booked a 3days-2nights Serengeti-Ngorongoro safari. Right from the start till the end out safari was exquisitely well organised and detailly planed in advance by Hillary, the awlays smiling manager, who arranged a pick up / drop off from the Kilimandjaro airport and a stay in a hotel in Arusha. Lenard, the driver, is a nice and quite guy, had to wait for us for like 4 hours because of a flight delay, and had to wake up in 4 am to drop us off at the airport. And now about the safari itself: we had the rare chance to see almost all animals and birds there is in Serengati and Ngorongoro - lions, elephants, giraffes, gazellas, hippos, crocodiles, hyenas, even by far the black rhinos, except for the cheetah. Thanks to our amasing guide, Rocky, we were always first on the right spot to see the animals and every time he made sure our jeep was on the best possible position. He answered all our questions about wildlife, his skills of driving the jeep through the mud avoided us being stuck, he balanced well our desire to spend more time watching the animals and the need to press time, and last but not least he is funny and approachable. Also he put the tourists safety first by assessing correctly every situation. The top of top, and so unexpected for me, was the gourmet cuisine, prepared 3 times per day by our unique chef Ben. He even managed to cook us a pizza and some popcorn, apart from the delicious pancakes, all the beef stew, fish grilled chicken and variety of veggies !!! The public camps we stayed in were clean and well kept. In short all the crew of Suricata safari made our first safari an unforgettable memory !!!
TR
Email Nihal | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
so happy to be a part of an environment where wild life is still respected
When you are choosing a safari company, in fact you are choosing a service to build up probably the most unforgetable trip of your life. I am happy that ours was a smart decision.
I should start with our guide Fredy: A very professional, knowledgable, cool and kind person! He spoke English very well, always gave lots of information about the animals, even showed their close-up pictures from his book, answered all our questions patiently, made sure to locate the car at the best angle for taking photos (and showing respect to people at the other cars and animals - which is so important to us), waited patiently while we took tons of pictures. Most importantly, he was more than a guide, a friend with nice character that we would like to have with us on a long holiday.
Our talented chef Chaz was a master. He always cooked very delicious food and made sure we had enough. He surprised us by serving tasty and special things very quickly even early in the morning. We will miss the excellent food we had during the safari. Also we will miss his joyful chats with Fredy.
We had a difficult time in choosing the safari company as there are about 1000 alternatives. When I decided on one and was about to pay, there had been a couple of things I did not like. I checked for an alternative and met Suricata. I thought it was a young company but experienced enough. Hilary answered my e-mails very promptly. He was flexible and did his best to tailor the programme according to our wishes. I noticed he is one of the founders and that made me feel more comfortable knowing that he will be there to solve any possible problem. I was right; there had been a small misunderstanding during the trip and was solved through a phone call between Fredy and Hilary. Paying the deposit was easy and safe and we did the rest of payment on arrival.
We were a family of 3 people and had an 8 days private safari including Arusha National Park, Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Lake Eyasi (tribe visits), Serengeti and Ngorongoro. These 8 days were full of magic. Surprisingly, visiting the tribes was the highlight of our trip. We met Maasai, Datoga, Hadzabe, Makonde and Gidangodic people and had a wonderful time with them. We learned the way they live. We went to hunting with Hadzabe, jumped with Maasai, sang with Datogas who asked many questions about ourselves and our country and we were warmly welcome by all tribes. We keep the souvenirs mostly done and sold by women for ourselves as they are so precious to us and all are a great memory.
During those visits local guides Deo and Yusuf (sorry if I mispronounce) accompanied and helped us to communicate as the tribes' languages are different. Also there was an armed ranger (Ali) and his intern who accompanied us in Arusha National Park for a walking safari.
While deciding about how to use our budget before the safari, we preferred budget camping. Doing so, we could take a longer trip rather than paying more for lodge-stays. We are happy we did. But you might prefer lodges if you do not feel cool and adventurous enough. In Serengeti and Ngorongoro you hear voices of wild animals just around your tent. In our case, something rare occurred and lions tried to hunt two buffalos very close to our tents and one animal hit the tent. We were lucky as nobody was hurt (buffalos also survived) and now we have a story to tell all through our life. Also we heard steps of many zebras feeding around our tents in Ngorongoro Simba Campsite.
Choosing November for safari also has been a wise decision. Although it is short-rains season, luckily there was no rain. Also the parks and public camp-sites were not over-crowded. The herds had already arrived Seronera region so we were lucky to experience the great migration.
And yes, we saw all of the "big 5" but a safari should be regarded not as an experience of seeing; but as feeling. It is hard to describe how happy we felt during all these 8 days. In most of the world, people have built up plazas and cities full of unhappiness. With a human-centric point of view, they left no space for wild life. We are lucky people who experienced to spend 8 days at a place on earth where things are different. We were able to be a part of an environment where wild life is still respected and preserved. And we would like to thank Fredy, Chaz, Hilary and the rest of the Suricata team who helped this dream to come true. Asante sana!