IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Avarage quality honeymoon
The communication before departure was slow and sometimes not efficient, during the trip I had no response from them at all. Overall the trip was good, but not excellent as anyone expect for honeymoon. The company did not respect the itinerary we agreed upfront, the fridge in our jeep was out of service and the guide tried to took advantage of us more than once. I am sure there is better on the market.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The experience was ok but not over the top considering the name 'celebrity tours'
The lodge was great, the safari was not good, there were no animals to see. Our driver din't communicate clearly e.g he Said it was 20 dollars to visit a masaai village n on arrival to the village, it was 20 dollars Per person. Some drivers were getting to close to the animals n he Said it was not allowed and he was actually obligated to report if he saw one but he din't coz he Said they were masaai's. Our car had a problem driving back to nairobi which made everyone tense.
BY
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A mixed experience
We opted for a 5 days private reserve tour + Panorama route with RedAfrica.
Overall, we have to highlight that it was very pleasant to spend time in Jaco’s company: he is a highly dedicated and motivated person eager to do his best to share his passion of nature and his knowledge. We greatly enjoyed our exchanges with him throughout the trip and his respectful attitude towards us.
The first part of our tour – the gorgeous landscapes that we saw along the Panorama route – was just great.
However, the private reserve part of the tour was unfortunately disappointing: the area, which was described as located in the Greater Kruger ecosystem and thus hosting the same animal and bird species, was highly affected by the recent draught, which forced the animals to migrate elsewhere; a factor which we were not aware of prior to our trip. During our stay in the private reserve, we thus saw extremely few animals. Moreover, the information and time management by the reserve staff was not entirely satisfying, which added to our overall frustration.
Afraid of leaving Kruger disappointed, we requested Jaco to change the plan for the last day of our trip and spend it in Kruger proper instead of the private reserve. Luckily, Jaco was flexible and accepted this last minute change. This last day trip (although a rushed one) enabled us to see almost all of the Big Five in one day and somehow compensated for the frustration related to the impossibility to see animals during the previous days.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Venture Safaris: well organized visit to amazing parks in Kenya
Organzied by Venture Africa Budget Safaris, we had an unforgettable 4-days trip to Masai-Mara and Lake Nakuru. Both parks were amazing beatiful, the weather was great, making the trip a huge success. Price-quality ratio was perfect, also the drive to both parks was well organized. At the start, we departed from Ngong (1-hr from Nairobi) to Venture’s office. Prior, it was quite unclear were to meet Venture’s employees in Nairobi. After many questions to the organization, it became more clear where they wanted to meet. Hostels and food was good. During our drive, the car crashed. It took many hours before we continued our trip to Nakura, that was a pity and required a lot of energy. Overall, the organization was well done and really enjoyed the trip. Afterwards, we were a bit spammed for writing this review, so be prepared ;)..
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I had a great time!
I've seen "the big five", thanks to Steve our nice driver. Steve is really a humor guy. Our cook, Samwel is also a good guy and his service is acceptable. You cannot expect fancy foods in a safari trip I think. The only thing that I don't like is that sometimes we had to eat like vegetarians. I don't know if it's due to the tight of the balance for a cheaper safari.
The worst thing is the policy of the company. The price of your safari depends on how well you can bargain with the tour operator but not depends on the quality of the service and not depend fairly on how many people sharing the cars. Since I went alone, I had to join others. I had to pay 750 $ for 4 days of safari and others people in my group had to pay 750$ for 5 days. Shabani, the tour operator even wanted to charge me for 800$ if I didn't try to bargain. This is really a short-term benefit policy! One more thing even worse is that after a long trip of safari, we were brought to the company office and forced to give comments about the company. They didn't ask us if we want to go there to give comment or not! What kind of comment you will give in front of them? This is just ridiculous. I hope they'll read this comment and then improve their quality of service.
Overall, nothing is perfect. I had a great time in Tanzania. I will come back here in the future if I can afford.
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Uganda has terrible road structure, but wonderful wildlife and people.
Uganda is a beautiful country with wonderful people and amazing wildlife. What I did not enjoy was our car ride from the airport in Entebbe to Bwindi National Forest. It took 10 hours because their roads are in terrible shape, two-lane highways through small towns all the way. The distance we traveled would take 4 hours on roads from the US. But because they don’t have the infrastructure we do, it took 10 hours.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Good but not amazing
We went to Bwindi in May ans the experience was good , seeing these animals is a unique experience.
I think we were not lucky enough to see a big silver back as the one we saw was small. I think the price is pretty high for what you get to be honest
Our guide was not as attentive as I expected and we had a elderly person in out group who hired a a porter who was not that helpful
Nice experience in general
Friendly hospitality at a high price.
The Sunset lodge is a nice and wonderfully located in a private game reserve. If you are looking to get away from the big city and stress, and are willing to be overpriced for it, then this is the place for you.
Unlike what I was told by Rueben, there was no buffet for meals, but a limited tasty set meal each day. On the actual safari days, although it says you will get sausage and eggs and hot coffee, in reality it is one boiled egg, a muffin, maybe no coffee, or one sausage, and the rest of the items mentioned (depending how many people are in the group).
At dinner, all beverages ordered - juice or wine - you will be charged for it, even if it is a glass. I think this this important to mention, because for the price you pay, you would expect a glass of wine or juice would be included with dinner. They never tell you the price or that you will be charged for it until the last day you leave which was a surprise to me. Although it wasn't too expensive, it still was an unpleasant surprise. Another unpleasant surprise is here on Safaribooking.com, it says a 3-5 day safari is whatever, but they charge an extra 14% in taxes which makes it more than originally advertised when you actually book with them.
If a single person did this as a once in a life time event, then I would rate the Themba operators and the whole experience as average and overall a great experience with the wildlife and seeing this part of the world. If I rate this for people who have a family, I would say it was overpriced for what you get, especially the bigger the family.
Considering that a four person family is paying about $4-500 a day to be there, you are paying a lot for limited food and drink (although the family who runs the Sunset Lodge are spectacular), and time. A "3 day safari is really 2 days - or 1 1/2 days" etc because the last day you are only driving back to Johannesburg, and the first day you take 6 hours to get there, and you are paying for any snacks or drinks along the way. This is WAY too much to pay for what you are actually receiving.
However, with this being said, the animals in and around Kruger's park are amazing, and the experience was unforgettable. I will definitely go back, but I am unsure I would use this operator again unless I got a serious discount to match what I felt I received.
Great for Kenya, bad for Tanzania
We did an 8 day private safari this past summer, and KWSS offered the most reasonable price and flexible itinerary, plus they were really responsive on email. Once there, the experience was absolutely bipolar, with an excellent guide and experience in the Kenya part of the trip, vs. a terrible subcontractor and tons of problems on the Tanzania part.
You can read details on my blog:
https://bonatravels.wordpress.com/2014/07/29/country-summary-kenya/
https://bonatravels.wordpress.com/category/tanzania/
NO
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A dedicated driver means a lot!
I picked Karibu Safaris based on reviews found on Internet. I had some questions concerning the 6-day safari Masaai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli, and would like to have some answers before deciding whether to choose the 6-day safari or the 3-day safari to Masaai Mara. The email communication was not very professional and I was stuck without having the answers to all of my questions, just some of them.
I picked the 6-day safari. I was picked where I was staying in Nairobi. I was also brought back after the safari. That is a good and valuable service.
The actual safari tours were nice for someone who loves safari. The driver in Masaai Mara did not seem very interested in animals. Therefore, the experience could have been better. The safari in Lake Nakuru had a limited value except spotting the rhino which was not spottet in Maasai Mara. The driver in Amboseli was definitely the most dedicated one and did a good job. It was not his fault that Mount Kilimanjaro could not be seen due to thick clouds....
The 6-day safari is not recommendable unless you enjoy hours and hours of driving along the Kenyan roads. Driving from Nakuru in the morning, arriving in Nairobi in the afternoon and in Amboseli late in the evening was very tiresome. Instead of combining Maasai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli, I would suggest to combine Maasai Mara and Lake Nakuru as one tour. Amboseli should rather be combined with Tsavo. That would reduce the driving along the road between the national parks.