Average User Rating
Rating Breakdown
Write a User Review
gem and stu
GB
Visited:
February 2008
Reviewed: Oct 26, 2011
20-35 years of age
Big beasts, big leaves, big spices
Anyway, we still didn’t really know what to expect – so we met with our guide for the three day safari (Beerman) and rode off towards the Serengeti National Park. The drive up took about 5 hours and we first had to go through the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation area (Ngorongoro means “cowbell” in Masai because apparently that is what the word sounds like.) We didn’t go into the crater on the first day, instead we drove around the rim and down into the plains of the Serengeti. First of all we were so excited to see anything we stopped to take pictures of whatever we saw, no matter how
Read more
far away they were. But once we got down onto the vast plain, there were no shortage of things to look at – especially wildebeest, impala and zebra, which are in total abundance.Approaching dusk, we pulled into our campsite for the night – not exactly completely in the bush (there was at least a toilet (long drop, not very pleasant) but there was no fences and nothing to stop the animals coming in…
Beerman and some others from the safari company cooked us dinner and we were a little disconcerted that they slept in the caged off area that served as the kitchen while we were out in the open!! We managed not to get eaten alive although everyone (apart from me) heard a pride of Lion killing a buffalo scarily close to our campsite.
And that was just day one!!!Day two in the Serengeti started (after swapping stories of hearing lion in the night – some other group got a little over-excited and claimed that the lion were walking in between our tents!!!) with an early morning game drive – we left about 6.30 so any notion of this being a relaxing holiday soon got abandoned.
It wasn’t looking like being a terribly successful morning – we saw a herd of elephant in the distance, a water buck and some interesting birds (as well as the ever present impala and a few buffalo).
Then possibly the highlight of our tour thus far; going back through the main plains of the serengeti we spotted a cheetah in the distance. There were three about two hundred metres to our left and we watched them walking for about 10 minutes. Then, when we thought they were just going to wander off, they suddenly changed direction and headed towards the road. It turns out that they had spotted an Impala standing on a termite mound 300 metres to the right of our road. We watched them, a mother and two young, cross the road right in front of us and then slowly approach and stalk the impala right up until the final chase. The kill happened just over the brow of the hill so we did not see that (and neither impala or cheetah were seen again so we new they had made the kill) but that didn’t stop it being an amazing site!!!
That night we camped on the crater rim, which was alot colder than we had been used to. Also the campsite (another bush camp) was also occupied by an old (and grumpy) buffalo who grazed the site during the night and chased anybody who dared to go to the loo.
Surviving the night on the Crater rim with the not-so-friendly buffalo, day three of our Serengeti excursion started early again (6am) and straight after breakfast we descended through the mist into the crater itself, a massive caldera. David Attenborough could possibly tell you why but there is but there is an unbelievably amount of animals in the one location. Unlike the plains of the Serengeti, these animals do not migrate so there is always alot to see. The first thing we say as soon as we reached the bottom was this massive bull elephant. We had a distant view of a black Rhine, saw some Zebra giving themselves a sandbath and then spotted the aftermath of a lion kill. The Hyena were fighting over the carcass.
Dudley
GB
Visited:
June 2010
Reviewed: Jul 21, 2011
20-35 years of age
Loved Tanzania. The people we met were friendly and fun-loving, it felt very much like the cliched postcard view of Africa but was none the worse for it. Plenty to see and do there and, as you would expect, a tried and tested tourism industry.
club60
US
Visited:
October 2010
Reviewed: May 9, 2011
50-65 years of age
Zunu Hai
IN
Visited:
March 2025
Reviewed: Apr 4, 2025
Email Zunu Hai | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing country
Beautiful country. People are so good helpful and friendly. We really had a great and enjoyable time.
Manuel
DE
Visited:
February 2025
Reviewed: Mar 20, 2025
Email Manuel | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing
We had a wonderful trip to Tanzania. Really enjoyed the 4 days of safari with our guide. We booked the "hotels" but shared our car with some other guys which was no problem. The trip was organized very well from the beginning until the end. The hotels/ bigger tents we really enjoyed.
Seeing the animals in their natural surrounding was outstanding. We can recommend everybody a trip to Tanzania with Suricata Safaris. German couple 28 years.
Gerald Tijssen
NL
Visited:
February 2025
Reviewed: Mar 15, 2025
Email Gerald Tijssen | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Impressive Trip with our family
Our 3-day adventure set up by the team of Safari bookings was just amazing. The travel from Zanzibar, the arrival in Arusha, all well organized.
Our host for the safaris, Aton, was absolute the best! He is very knowledgable, careful driver, spot on time and a very nice guy to be with.
We have visited 3 parcs: Manyara (lake) NP, Ngoro Ngoro and Tarangire. All three very different. Amazing scenery, wildlife and great to see how the Masai still make their living.
Our overnights in Karatu tented lodge was very special. Great facilities, super cool tents, and the best food. Cooked and served by very nice people!
Overall we have an experience for life!
Thank you team Safari Bookings and specially Anton and Emanuel
ShaNae McCleskey
US
Visited:
June 2012
Reviewed: Dec 19, 2020
Email ShaNae McCleskey | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The most eye-opening and life-changing experience I’ve ever had.
I’m writing this review many years late. But my appreciation for Tanzania, the people I met there, and the wildlife is still a driving force in my life. I went in 2012 and my tour guide on this safari was Loth Kornelio and his team. They were absolutely incredible—they had extensive knowledge of the land and wildlife, were so kind, and gave us all memories we’ll cherish forever. I’m so grateful for them and their hard work—I hope to go back some day!
Luna
US
Visited:
August 2020
Reviewed: Sep 1, 2020
Email Luna | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A respite from quarantine
After a few months of restrictions of our normal activities, we decided to return to our favorite destination, Tanzania.
We have traveled with African Big Cats in the past and would not consider traveling with any other tour company. Emanuel assisted us in arranging a unique itinerary allowing us to experience new locations. He assured us of the precautions being taken by the country and his company regarding Covid. We saw wash stations, use of hand sanitizers, and sanitizing in all the accommodations and parks. It was a perfect time to experience the parks with so few tourists, and with Emanuel's exceptional guidance. For us to return to Tanzania at this time was the perfect antidote to the restrictions of our daily life. A wonderful break from this "new Normal."
Asante sans, Emanuel
Steve C
US
Visited:
February 2019
Reviewed: Mar 28, 2019
Email Steve C | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The good, the bad, and the ugly: how Kiliholidays turned crisis into comfort
The good: My wife and I took our children (ages 8 & 6) on safari last week. We went to Tarangire National Park, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater. Laurian was an absolutely amazing driver. He had vast knowledge of the areas we were traveling, the animals we were seeing, and to any question we asked. He was observing of speed limits, and particularly cautious because we had the kids with us. Throughout our journey, we observed all of the Big 5. The parks were amazing, each offering its own charm. Laurian always seemed to know where to go to find big game. My wife was initially hesitant to bring our children so far from home - by the end of the trip, we were already planning our next visit.
Read more
The bad: While we were leaving Serengeti National Park, the rear spring on the Land Cruiser broke, and we couldn't ride on it. We had to go ~4 hours to get to the Lodge we were supposed to be. We found it amazing that every single driver who went by us stopped to help. Eventually, the Wildlife Service came by, and the preliminary solution was to cut down a small acacia tree, and wedge a firm branch into the spring to keep it in place. My wife and I were a little reluctant that it would work, and we certainly weren't comfortable putting our children in that vehicle. So, Laurian asked another driver to take us to the Ngorongoro gates, at which point, he had arranged a staff member from Farm of Dreams Lodge to meet us and bring us back. Laurian himself stayed with the car, the Acacia solution worked, and he was able to drive it to a 24 hour mechanic in nearby Karatu. The vehicle was ready to go for the next day. And, Kiliholidays had a bottle of wine ready for us when we arrived at Farm of Dreams, to apologize for our inconvenience. At no point did we feel helpless.
The ugly: The following night, Laurian was bringing us to the Kilimanjaro airport, after an amazing trip to the Ngorongoro crater. About 10 minutes from the airport, he decided to pass 2 slower drivers at the same time. (Again, note that he was an extremely cautious driver). When he started to pass the car immediately in front of him, that car also decided to overtake the lead car. The other driver went straight into our lane. To avoid collision, Laurian drove off the road. Within a couple of seconds, a large ditch (10 feet deep x 15 feet across) appeared in front of us. This was literally the only ditch on a 30 mile drive, so really bad luck. We ended up straight in the ditch, going about 35 mph. The accident was not his fault, and he handled it how I would have handled it myself. Had he handled it any other way, the results could have been drastically different.
I needed several stitches on my forehead, my son banged up his cheek and had some swelling/bruises on his face. My daughter and wife also had some bruising. It was a nightmare situation, being so far from home. Thankfully, we had traveler's insurance, which helped in getting us medically evacuated the next day.
But in the immediate aftermath of the accident, it was all Mack and Laurian. Laurian arranged with another driver to take us back to Arusha to get medical care. Mack met us at the hospital, and waited the 6 hours with us until we were released. He paid out of pocket for the medical expenses. He arranged a hotel for us to stay the night (because we missed our flight). He went to the pharmacy for us to pick up our medications. He arranged transport to the airport for us, and he checked in on us several times. He felt horrible that this happened to us, and did everything in his ability to make it right. While we were far from home, and in one of the worst situations possible, they made us feel at home.
The accident could have happened to anyone at any time. I think the special part about Kiliholidays is how they responded to the incidents. They treated us like part of their family, and we are forever grateful for their support. We went to Tanzania looking for adventure, and we certainly found it - and we left with friends. We will be back, and we will use Kiliholidays again.
Also, look into travel insurance. They coordinated our flight out the next day, and due to our injuries/soreness, were able to get us into Business Class, which was absolutely amazing in allowing us to stretch out and not cramp due to our soreness.
Marianne Nabaloum
FR
Visited:
November 2018
Reviewed: Nov 27, 2018
Email Marianne Nabaloum | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
One of the best experience in my life.
Everything was perfect: the agency, the camp, the wildlife, food, transportation, and specially the guide who was the best who could have to live the great expérience.
He wasn't only a guide. He was always availabe and wanted to be sure that every minutes of out trip was good for us.
He constantly get managed to find all animals to satisfy us.
He was helpfully, always smiling and very professionnal.
We were very sad to leave him after three days.
Donatus was very reactive by email to give us all informations from France before the safari.
Mickael picked up us at the hotel at Dar es Salam with the 4×4 and we drove directly to the camp during 6 hours.
And we arrived, we have been welcomed by the staff.
All food and water is including expect soft drinks and alcohool.
The
Read more
first day we made a boat safari on the rufiji river during 2 hours. There, we met hippos, crocodiles and a lot of birds.The sunset was beautiful.
The day after, we made the safari in the reserve near the camp. We spent all the day from 8 am to 6pm.
We saw girafes, hippos, waldos, crocodiles, elephants, zebras, antilopas , birds, monkeys, lions, buffalos.
The landscapes were so beautiful that you have the feeling to be on another planet.
The last day, very early in the morning, we did a walking safari with a traditional hunter, Didi. It was an amazing meeting. Very impressive and unforgettable.
After the safari, we spendt 7 days at Zanzibar, so the agency was very nice to book the tickets boats and to leave us at the port.
The bungalow where we spendt 2 nights was very clean and confortable.
The electricity is cut off the night from 10 pm to 7 am.
To conclude, it was a big experience for all of us and we are glad to have it in these conditions and with this agency.
