Meet the Team - eTrip Africa
E-Trip Africa
- Located In:
-
United States
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2012)
- Member Of:
- ATA, IATAN, IGS, KPAP & CODE
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $3,442 to $25,818 per person per day (MXN, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email April Cohen | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent Professional Safari Company
E-Trip Africa did a phenomenal job organizing our safari, providing timely updates in the lead-up and executing everything without fault. Our guide Dickson was top-notch and extremely knowledgeable about all the animals and areas that we went to. We saw all the animals we had hoped to see and were extremely fortunate to see rare animals too--I credit E-Trip with their professionalism and background for making our safari experience a true success! I would recommend them to friends and family without hesitation. Our hotels and campsites were also high quality and the food we ate was also excellent.
Email Lesa McNeill Nichols | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Skilled and fun team puts you in best possible position for wildlife photography
Simon and his team at E-Trip Africa made my photo safari trip an epic adventure. I was traveling with a small group of photographers and Simon was hired to make everything smooth from the moment I landed in Nairobi and the moment I left two weeks later. I didn't know when he picked me up at the airport what I would be going home with. It turned out to be a lot, including:
*Amazing photos of the Big 5-lions, leopards, elephants, buffalos and rhinos. On top of that we got photos of giraffes, a serval, cheetahs, hippos, warthogs, zebras, hyenas, antelopes of all types and a gazillion different birds (owls, eagles, herons, flamingos, rollers, weavers, etc).
*A deeper view of Kenyan daily life and culture
*A deep appreciation for the food-especially the fresh fruits and vegetables. Like nothing I had experienced before.
*Memories of bright red, purple and pink skies at sunrise and sunset
*A Kenyan music playlist put together with input from all of the guides
*A moment I will never forget-being surrounded by an elephant herd at sunset right in front of Mt. Kilimanjaro
There are too many moments to review. Simon and his team worked to create these moments for us. They did it with skill, humor, teamwork and camaraderie. It was truly an epic adventure! I would go on safari with them again and again.
Email Laura M | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An excellent experience overall
Our Tanzania safari was an amazing experience. We saw so much wildlife, it's hard to describe!
Despite all of the wonder of Tarangire, Ngorongoro and the Serengeti, the thing that really made our trip special was our incredible guide Elisha. You spend so much time with your guide - for us up to 10 hours a day for 8-9 days - so if you don't get the right guide it could really impact the whole trip. Elisha was knowledgeable, patient, warm, friendly, and a genuine joy to be with each day. We came away feeling like we'd made a wonderful friend, a somewhat strange feeling after only knowing someone a handful of days and given you likely won't see them again! I hope the management of E-Trip Africa realise how much of an asset he is to their company!
The organisation of the trip itself was very good. We really appreciated Ben's support and patience as we considered all the options available to us. His advice on accommodation was very valuable, including some insider knowledge on the ins-and-outs of each property which really helped influence our trip and ensured we could stay in line with our principles by supporting the best companies and people. We really appreciated his frank and insightful feedback which meant we ended up in 4 properties we were ultimately very happy with!
The only point of feedback we'd have for management was that it felt like once we paid up in full, the level of communication really dropped down. We ended up having to chase them up a week before departure for all the relevant details (with a holiday of this complexity and cost, earlier contact would have been nice). We'd also originally requested a specific safari guide based on a recommendation, and that was changed last minute, but we had to ask why we'd not been given the guide chosen. The change wasn't an issue (and clearly as above very happy with the alternative we were given!) but proactive comms on this would have been appreciated.
Once we were on the trip we heard nothing more from them, and had no follow-up on our return to ask how the trip was. It wasn't a huge issue as we had a great experience, so nothing to really follow up on, but that extra care and service to check in with how our trip was going / went was something I would have expected based on the excellent reviews, and at least for us personally it felt a little lacking.
Overall though, I would definitely recommend E-Trip Africa, especially making sure Elisha is your guide in in Tanzania, you will have a fantastic time! Despite the minor communication shortcomings, I would still give 5* overall! :-)
CA
Email Kevin Medland | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ben was like a family member or friend who just happened to run this tour;
had two weeks with e-trip; did 8 day Mt kili climb and then remaining days on safari; every part was outstanding; ben and his staff were amazing; i was in a group of 18 and everyone was more than pleased with accommodations, food, travel, guides, porters, drivers...all of it
highly recommend travelling with e-trip Africa
prices were competitive but not over priced
Email Amyn Husain | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Outstanding service, a flawless program with a keen eye on sustainability and ethics
Ben and Aurelie patiently organised a Kilimanjaro and safari itinerary for a group of 18 of us. Covid delays meant the trip was postponed for 2 years and each time the trip was rolled forward with minimal hassle. What a fantastic crew, superior and experienced guides, a looked after porter team and attention to detail at every corner. We had a 100% summit success and the lead guide’s pole pole approach paid off. I would recommend them to anyone, whether a small or large group. We loved the fact that they are socially conscious with a high standard for all staff accompanying us and no short cut measures to compromise the highest ethical standards. A superb memory.
Email Keith Morgan | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We had an amazing trip!
My gf wanted to do something special to celebrate her 30th and we bounced between a few different locations/trips and finally settled on Africa. We have each travelled quite a bit but felt like a safari was more than we wanted to try to plan ourselves so we emailed several tour operators to get quotes/plans/proposals. eTrip stood out from the start with their very detailed proposal and cost breakdown as well as their quick responses, dedicated truck and driver/guide, and accommodations with Lemala camps.
Our driver, David, was a joy and knew not only every animal we saw but every BIRD as well [which is a huge feat with the variety present]. He kept our truck extremely tidy and I was impressed that it was even washed almost every night in the bush.
I would highly recommend eTrip and will definitely use them again when we go back [We've already talked about it!]
Email Suzye | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Emmanual has an unbelievably sharp eye for spotting wildlife and is incredibly knowledgeable.
This was one of the best experiences of my life. It far exceeded any expectations I had. My mind was blown by how much wildlife we got to see. We watched a family of lions feast on a giraffe while jackals circled around, waiting for their turn! The landscapes were breathtaking, from the trees to the sky, everything was a treat for the eye. The accommodations were exceptional! I loved the pools and the gorgeous views of the river valley and getting to hear the animals at night from our room. One of the best parts for me was the food though. Every meal was an absolute delight. I want to marry that chef! On the last day the staff brought us a cake and sang and danced and it was the purest thing, my whole family was moved to tears. Ahhh please take me back there!
Email Julia Hubbel | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
This is trip #6, and there will be more. As always, a perfect job.
Ben and Aurelie have carved a very special niche out for themselves in this market, and here's why. Ben doens't stop at the uber-service, careful planning, detail management and now critical hand-holding that is necessary with the swiftly changing Covid landscape. What keeps me coming back are these:
1. Superbly trained guides, the best in the business,not just on the mountain but in every country.
2. He supports and promotes local businesses, charities and NGOs which are doing it right, and he puts his money where his mouth is by helping local families, activities and business whose integrity he respects. That helps them, helps me purchase from the right places, and in all ways we all benefit.
3. If you find something extra you want to do, Ben will bend over backwards to fit in into your agenda. He is great at keeping in touch and more than once had to wave his magic wand to get me a travel certification that a website refused to deliver.
4. I have spent a lot of time with his guides, both on Kili and on Mt. Kenya. I continue to be deeply impressed. Seeing them again is like coming home to family.
This time around Ben sent me to some familiar places, such as Reseacher's Rest and Moshi, but he sent me far afield to game parks near Same, TZ and to the MamboViewpoint EcoLodge. Not only are these places both remote and stunning, they were both uncrowded and as a result, unbelievable. The Lushoto drive was a full cultural immersion and the game park near Same had unbelievable black rhino viewings. While other sites are better known and more popular, being willing to do a little driving paid off handsomely in both photos and a chance to see without looking over or past many other vehicles.
I also spent time at the breathtaking and remote Mara Eden resort,which is also way out of the way, so much so that the drive through the Maasai Mara just to get there and back were game drives. Those few days left me with my heart in my throat from what we were able to view, and as always with a most able driver, Simon.
I had revisited the beautiful and incomparable Ol Pejeta, which is worth every bit of the four-hour drive from Nairobi. That wants its own review, but in every way, it's not to be missed.This was my second time and with any luck not the last. Game viewings, as it is a conservancy, are guaranteed, and the best part is that you get a solid education as you explore, view, photograph or ride the various parts of the 90k acres. And see lions and their meals, which is something else again.
Finally, and I cannot emphasize this enough, Safari sites and Trip Advisor are, unfortunately full of advice on how to go cheap. Folks, if you go cheap, someone loses, and that is particularly true when I see unsubstantiated information about how the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project Partners "jack the prices up."
As a prize winning journalist and professional adventure traveler who has written extensively about, spent time on the ground with and done far more research than probably anyone else on KPAP, not only is that false but that kind of narrative perpetuates porter abuse on the mountain. ETrip, like other partner companies with KPAP, are committed to a fair wage, proper conditions, good training and the kind of treatment which ensures not only our safety but folks who are happy to see us coming. You don't get that when you shave too much off the cost of a trip. Travel is pricey, plan for it. Get good operators. ETrip gets my business every single time, and they earn that money.I have the deep satisfaction of knowing that those guides and employees who are affiliated with them are not worried about a paycheck and can concentrate on ensuring that my trip rocks.
Ben has become a trusted friend, for good reason. He has earned my respect many times over, and it is a joy to plan another trip. Which, with any luck, will be next spring.
Email John and Madoka | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Look no further to choose your safari operator! Ben and his team are very professional!
We came back with a lot of great memories that will last our lifetime. Many thanks to Ben who made our dream vacation come true! We were supposed to travel last August (2020) with a different company in which we ultimately had to cancel because of the pandemic. We were desperate for a legitimate safari operator after our bad experience with the company called “Wildebeests Safaris”. We still have not been refunded for the service we did not receive. However, we were lucky that we have found Ben and were very happy that we chose his company! Ben was very patient throughout the booking process and answered countless questions mainly of the current travel restrictions associated with COVID. The quote he provided us with was very easy to read and it was precisely laid out with breakdown expenses. He also helped us customize our itinerary and gave us extensive discounts on tented camps including a complimentary stay at the Researches Rest in Arusha. We really enjoyed our stay there. Eddie cooked a home style meal for us and and he told us an interesting story about the lodge.
We wanted to focus our trip on the river crossing of the wildebeests so Ben recommended us to stay three nights in the Northern circuit of Serengeti and three nights in Maasai Mara. We could see the river crossing six times on our first day in Serengeti! Vultures and eagles were circling around in the sky waiting for the wildebeests and zebras to get killed by predators. We also saw a lot of wildlife including lions, cheetahs, leopards, hyenas, elephants, giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, warthogs, antelopes, birds, storks, vultures, eagles, and many more…! We could see everything we had hoped for.
In Tarangire, we could find three climbing lionesses on one tree. Young male cubs were roaming right by us. We were very satisfied with the number of times we saw lions close up. We saw many “honeymooners” in Serengeti and Maasai Mara. We did not see this many in South Africa six years ago.
Most importantly, all of our guides were fantastic! We couldn’t have great safari experience without them. We had three guides during our 18 day trip to Kenya and Tanzania. All of them were experienced, intelligent, passionate, and knowledgeable about the wildlife. They can spot animals that no one else can. Simon was a very friendly and outgoing guide who was great to spend time together. He sensed immediately a coalition of cheetahs that were chasing after a gazelle. We could video the dramatic scene of the kill. He also knew that a massive number of elephants were coming towards us so we made a stop to see the elephants crossing the road in front of our vehicle.
Eli was our guide in Tanzania. Not only is he an excellent guide, but also is a very good driver. He was driving careful for us on the rough terrain because my partner had a back and abdominal pain from a surgery two years ago. What we were amazed by his skills was how he could quickly spotted animals. He was also patient until we finally saw the wildebeests started come down the river and we were the first one to see the entire scene of the river crossing! He was able to show us and told names of a unique and diverse flora and fauna in the area.
Mike was our guide in Maasai Mara. He was also skilled in spotting animals. We found more lions in Maasai Mara than any other places! He made sure that we received our negative COVID test results on time for our next destination. He recommended us to visit Lake Nakuru and Samburu next time to see some animals we didn’t see on this trip.
We highly recommend Ben and his team for booking your East Africa vacation. We will definitely book with ETrip again!
Email Peter Bacon | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A great safari, from start to end.
My wife and I travelled to Tanzania in early January 2021, pre UK lockdown, to continue our long standing educational project work there. We also allowed ourselves time for a safari before returning home, but had made no arrangements prior to arrival in Tanzania. We sent out email enquiries with an outline itinerary of collection from Bunda, 3 nights in Central Serengeti, 4 nights in Ndutu and 2 nights in Tarangire to 7 Tanzanian safari operators, and received 5 responses, including a very quick response from Ben at ETrip Africa.
Due to the pandemic tourism in Tanzania has significantly declined and not all camps are open so many of the operators offered similar camps to one another, but ETrip did offer us some different, and slightly more up-market, camps at a reasonably comparable cost. We followed up on several of the itineraries proposed and during this process ETrip offered us further savings based on additional discounts offered from the camps which made them one of the cheaper options. We also asked Ben to look at a better alternative in Tarangire which he did with little price difference. At all times ETrip were open about the pricing and discounts that were being applied.
We were very happy with all our communications throughout this planning stage and chose to take our safari with ETrip, at which point we were sent a comprehensive itinerary with advice about the safari and full and clear breakdown of costs, with payment details. We were able to pay by bank transfer to an American bank account via internet banking.
We had indicated we had an interest in birds and Ben had proposed that Alladin should be our guide. Alladin came and met us at our hotel in Bunda the night before our safari started to make arrangements to pick us up the next day.
The safari car was a relatively new Land Cruiser with pop up top as used by most safari companies and was in the best condition of any vehicle we have used on the 10 or so safaris we have enjoyed. It was well fitted out with convenient drinks holders, and large seat pouches and a cool box and charging points. We had no mechanical issues with the car all trip. ETrip also provided two pairs of good quality binoculars for our use in the car.
Our guide Alladin was excellent, he was a very good driver, a good game and bird spotter, and good company throughout. We enjoyed every day of the trip with him and had some great game viewing, and with the small number of visitors we were often the only car at a sighting.
The camps proposed by ETrip were all very good, we suspect in non COVID times they would have been outside our usual budget, but it made for a very nice to experience for us. On several nights we were the only guests at some of the camps.
We are extremely happy that we chose ETrip Africa, everything from their initial communication to the follow up when we finished the trip was spot on, and we will definitely be contacting them again the next time we are lucky enough to think about a safari in Tanzania.