Camping safari - sleep under the stars, close to nature and in the comfort of a 2 person walk in tents with ground sheets and foam mattresses. This itinerary gives best opportunity to see the BIG 5.
Overall operator rating 9.4/10 from 16 trip reviews
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We loved our 8-day budget camping safari. Esther , who organized the safari, was excellent in all her communications and really took our needs into consideration. I was four and a half months pregnant when we went and she made sure I was reassured about the trip and comfortable.
Our driver, Paul, was also very considerate about my pregnancy: he drove very carefully and was very accommodating and knowledgeable. The food was great too - nice range, healthy, and delicious fresh fruit.
We started with the Masai Mara and had fantastic game drives for 3 days there. We also loved the campsite we stayed in there. We were less keen on the next day of our trip to Hell's Gate park, partly because it was overcast and partly because the guest house in the suburbs of Naivasha had no view and didn't really feel like a 'safari'. But we enjoyed spotting rhinos on our next day at Lake Nakuru. We finished the trip with a superb two nights in Samburu Lodge (we paid extra for this).
I've already recommended the tour operator to a couple of friends who have seen our pictures and want to go on safari now!
We found this safari extremely enjoyable and met our expectations or even exceeded them in some areas.
The driver/guide, Paul, was extremely warm, humorous, knowledgeable, informative and professional in all ways. He also has a very good understanding of the animals and the knack of getting into the right positions to view and photograph them. He also provided a lot of general information about Kenya. He really made the experience special.
The food prepared by our cooks, Justice and George, was also excellent and varied for this sort of tour.
The camps, particularly Camp Manyatta in Masai Mara, Stayed 1 night in Nakuru in a 1-star hotel which was clean and comfortable and the food was quite good.
Whilst we had a great safari in Kenya, the Tanzania safari was a disappointment
We could not recommend this operator for the Tanzania Lodge Safari. They themselves do not operate in Tanzania and operate through an Agent.
There were changes in the Itinerary and the lodges from what had been booked and paid for.
The driver/guide was incompetent as a guide. He was rude, uncommunicative and ill-prepared. His vehicle did not even have a radio. He could not even position himself properly when trying to look at and photograph game.
We never knew what we were doing from one moment to the next and he had the distressing/disgustingly annoying habit of ignoring any questions we asked or any requests we made.
Whatever the reasons for this he went a long way to really spoiling the total experience. If it wasn’t for the places and sights along the way, the wildlife, the people at the hotels and some of the other guides we talked to along the way, we would have had a hard time recommending anyone to Tanzania itself.
We would certainly have been better off booking the Tanzania safari through someone else.
Tour Operators Reply:
Thank you for your feedback, we sincerely apologise that the Tanzania safari did not meet your expectations and your complaint will help us strive to do better in the future which will help us to provide future clients with a better level of service
Changes do very occasionally occur with regards to transport and accommodation and this is often beyond our control. We did try and rectify the situation but it out of our hands.
We are very sorry to hear that the guide did not provide the level of service expected. I am surprised as this is the first complaint we have received about him, but we shall be taking the matter up with our agents in Tanzania.
We are pleased that you enjoyed your safari in Kenya and wish that your safari experience had not been marred by the events that occured in Tanzania, but thank you for taking the time to send through your feedback.
We were on safari from 19th - July 27th 2010 and had a fantastic experience!
From the beginning of our inquiries with them, Esther was very helpful and accommodating with all our requests from wanting to see the wildebeest migration in the Masai Mara and suggesting the best time of the season to experience this to traveling to a variety of game parks. She was very flexible and accommodated late requests to add an extra day at Lake Naivasha and a bike trip through Hell's Gate Park.
Our driver and knowledgeable safari guide, Joseph, was excellent! He was very prompt with all appointments and delivered impeccable service to our family of 4 (parents and our daughter and son 21 y.o. and 18 y.o. respectively). We visited Masai Mara, Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru, Samburu and Aberdare while staying at a mix of campsites and lodges. It was very enjoyable to have a pre arranged visit to a Masai village and also to be lucky enough to see all of the "Big 5" thanks to Joseph. He was untiring in his service to us even though there were some long driving days between game parks.
Overall, we had an excellent experienceand our family would definitely recommend a safari with them.
That was a marvelous adventure.Safari was perfectly prepared and conducted.
Our driver/tracker and cook were outstanding team with first always knowing the best places to watch and photograph animals and second taking perfect care for our health and well being. Although the price was located in between ridiculously low and real bargain and no luxuries were expected we were nicely surprised by the quality of the camps.
The tour operator has my highest recommendations and grades for their outstanding quality and proffesionalism.
The parcs that we visited were: - Ngorongoro Crater - Tanzania - Masai Mara - Kenya - Lake Nakuru - Kenya.
We traveled by car / bus (with driver) During our trip we stayed in Lodges.
We had a great time in Africa. We saw a lot of wild animals, had a good view of the beautiful countryside and had a very pleasant holliday.
The operator organised the trip very well. We were picked up at all the different places and everything was booked in advance. We will recommend them to everybody we know if they will plan a safari in these countries.
Thanks again for the wonderful time we had at the Nairobi Game Park. Esther and her crew were promptly waiting for our arrival at the airport.
They whisked us off to a safari where we saw lots of animals. Giraffes, warthogs, baboons, impalas, etc. to name a few.
We then headed over to the Carnivore Restaurant for dinner. Esther had made all the arrangements for our group of 23. We were able to reflect back on our day as the waiters at the restaurant met our every need.
It was a wonderful day and we thank the operator for making it be so great, especially Esther!
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Itinerary
Day 01: Nairobi-Arusha-Tarangire 08:00hrs depart for Tarangire National park via Namanga border and Arusha for lunch at app 1300hrs. Arrive for a short late afternoon game drive. The park has an atmosphere of remoteness and has fewer visitors than all the other parks in Tanzania’s entire northern circuit. Blue monkeys, hornbills, pelicans, herons can be seen as well as elephants in large herds, cheetah, jackal, fish eagle, marabou stork and hippos.12:30-1400hrs lunch at the campsite. Enjoy an afternoon game drive at app 16:00-1830hrs.Dinner and overnight at the campsite.
Day 02: Tarangire Day is spent in Tarangire with full day game drives. All meals and overnight back at the camp.
Day 03: Tarangire-Ngorongoro Crater 08:00hrs, leave after a morning breakfast and proceed to Ngorongoro Crater for lunch. Afternoon 1/2 day Crater tour. drive to the Ngorongoro crater and descend down its walls for a full day crater tour with a picnic lunch. It is a thrilling experience to descend down and out of the narrow and steep crater walls of 670 metres depth, which has earned this crater, also the largest in the world the title ‘’the eight wonder in the world’’. Flamingos can be seen seasonally in the Crater Lake, depending on the water level as these birds only breed in shallow water. Many animals, which have made this crater their permanent home, can be seen on the crater floor. Dinner and overnight at the campsite located on the Crater rim.
Day 04: Ngorongoro Crater-Serengeti 08:00 Depart for Serengeti via Olduvai Gorge. Lunch at the campsite in Serengeti. App 16:00hrs, enjoy a later afternoon/ early evening game drive in Serengeti Park. The term ‘Serengeti’ mean ‘endless plains’ in Masai language. In the central plains there are carnivores like lion, leopard, hyena and cheetah. This park is normally the scene off the annual migration of wildebeest and zebra, which occurs between the Serengeti and Kenya’s Masai Mara. Eagles, flamingo, ducks, geese, egrets, vultures, secretary birds, ibis, stork, heron, kite, pelican, crane and guinea fowl are among the birds that can be seen in the park. Dinner and overnight at the campsite.
Day 05: Serengeti 06:30-0930hrs morning and afternoon game drives 1600hrs-1830hrs in the Serengeti with a lunch and leisure break at the lodge or camp in the mid afternoon. In the late evening, return to the campsite for dinner and overnight.
Day 06: Serengeti-LakeManyara 06:30 Early morning game drive still in Serengeti. 10:00 Drive to the Ngorongoro Highlands. Lunch at Gibbs Farm. Afternoon visit the famous beautiful waterfalls. Arrive for dinner and overnight at the Lake Manyara campsite.
Day 07: LakeManyara-Arusha 08:00 After breakfast, have a morning game drive in Manyara Park. The main attractions here are the tree-climbing lions. The park is small in size but the terrain is diverse. The vegetation comprises of groundwater forest, open grassland, swamp and acacia woodland with giant mahogany and fig trees. The park is home to a wide variety of mammals and birds. Lunch in Arusha at 1300hrs.
Safari cost Includes:
* All Park entrance fees * Game drives as mentioned above accompanied by our professional fluent English-speaking driver cum guide * Comfortable transport in our 9 seater safari vehicles with open hatch-roofs and VHF radio fitted * All campsite fees * All camping equipment (except sleeping bags which we have available for hire on request) * Complete use of our two man mosquito-netted tents. * Jungle-stools for sitting around the campfire in the evenings over a cup of hot tea/coffee * Foam mattresses and ground sheets in the tents * Three delicious meals per day i.e. breakfast, lunch and dinner whilst on safari, prepared and served by our cook on open woodfires.
Price does not include International Flights Visas Items of a personal nature Tips/gratuities Sleeping bags which are readily available for hire at request Personal spending monies on hot air balloon, local village visits Drinks, bottled water
Note: We can organise transfers from Nairobi if required and accommodation on your first and last nights. You can combine this safari with a Kenya Safari, Kilimanjaro climb, Zanzibar beach holiday etc....
