Pam Robinson review 5 Jan 2013
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Camping in the Serengeti with nobody else near us!
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Brilliant!
Eric Lowry review 27 Feb 2012
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Seeing the migration cross the Serenara River in the Serengeti.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Do it.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Marvellous.
Emily Phillimore review 27 Jan 2012
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
I wouldn't know where to begin. There were so many memorable moments, including a male lion using our safari car to give himself a massage, spending Christmas in the gorgeous water of Zanzibar, the food in Zanzibar, the hospitality and gorgeous lodges in the Serengeti... I could go on forever.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Bring a flashlight/torch! Also, travel as lightly as possible. I thought I had packed virtually nothing, and still ended up getting rid of half of my clothes in order to carry a lighter load.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes, many of the lodges managed to turn off water and electricity during the day.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Brilliant! I can't stop talking about it, much to everyone's annoyance I'm sure.
Bibi Rainey review 30 Dec 2012
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Hippos around the camp during the night!
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
It was hotter and more humid than I had expected and there were no fans in Selous, which at 38C and over 60% humidity was quite uncomfortable. At Fumba fans in the rooms and public areas made a huge difference. We slept a lot better there.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes, especially in Zanzibar where a lot of the staff came from the local village. A fact they were very proud of!
In Selous, the conservation aspect and respect for the animal kingdom around them was apparent and the respect they showed to their environment too. Their local knowledge was lovely to witness.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Really, really good.
Katherine review 26 Sep 2011
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
I honestly cannot say! Our safari was sensational. I have been on safari before but nothing like this. For my boyfriend this was a first. Both of us had an absolutely unforgettable time! We then spent over a week in Zanzibar. I hadn't known just how much I needed to relax and rejuvenate but found I was able to do both at Ras Nungwi Beach Hotel.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Go for it! We found the operator to be an absolutely fabulous Travel Agency. Nothing was too much trouble. Our consultant worked tirelessly to develop a personalised trip based on our requirements. He knew first-hand what to expect and could advise us on the itinerary. We had a sensational time. Our other tip - don't stay in the Stone Town in Zanzibar. It's awful.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes, absolutely. I spoke to the tour guide on our safari. He was very happy working for the tour operator, Shidolya Tours and Safaris, and had been working for them for many years. He said that he was paid and treated well. The hotel we stayed in while in Zanzibar, Ras Nungwi Beach Hotel, was fabulous. They actively supported the local population and the environment in meaningful ways. We are so thankful that we chose the responsible travel option.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
We had an unbelievable trip and are wanting to go back!
Brian Mead review 3 Aug 2011
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Four days' safari in Tanzania - Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorogoro areas provided great experiences of the wildlife and, incidentally, the life of those around the parks (Maasai).
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
If visiting the Usumbara mountains, heed the advice about how cold it can be in July. Keep your cool when things don't appear to be running as you might expect because (at least for us!) everything DID work.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Can't be very confident about this apart from the obvious creation of employment. The impact of the larger (luxury) lodges on the environment might also be questioned.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Brilliant! Very varied, exciting, illuminating.
Jerome Demart review 28 Aug 2010
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Seeing animals in the wild, meeting other travellers, relaxing in amazing locations.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
spice tour in stone town was interesting. go to sambusa 2 tables restaurant in Stone town. go snorkeling in Fumba!
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
there were opportunities to contribute to the local village in Fumba. all the lodges employ local staff.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
We enjoyed every part of it a lot!
Teresa Kehoe review 3 Oct 2010
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Seeing a lion kill a zebra in Ngorongoro Crater, we just happened to notice a lot of zebras looking in one direction and then the lioness pounced... wow what an experience in mid afternoon.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Check that all tickets for your journeys have been pre booked, there was a cock up on our first leg from Dar to Lushoto, the tickets for the coach had not been purchased in advance and we ended up on a rickety bus that took about two hours longer than the bus we should have been booked on. In addition we had to travel the last leg of the journey on a daladala, not funny. It took 29 hours from the time we left home in Dublin to get to the lodge. We paid a lot of money for this trip and expected more. For the record another passenger was injured when she fell through a hole in the floor of the rickety bus.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Not sure about that, the lodges we stayed in were quite expensive but yet the staff seemed to be very dependant on the tips, one wondered who was really making the money. As we were on a tailor made package for two one cant say the impact on the environment was minimised from the travelling point of view. On the last leg of the journey from Zanzibar to Dar we wonder why we were flown when we could have been transferred by ferry, this option was never made available to us.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Overall we had a brilliant holiday, but in future we would ask a lot more questions about how the money is being spent and how workers in the various lodges are treated in terms of wages and working conditions, it is not acceptable in this day and age that any worker should have to depend on tips to make ends meet especially when the charges were so high. While I have some wonderful memories of the holiday I would hesitate to recommend the trip for the reasons already given.
Read the operator's response here:
Many thanks for your feedback on the holiday and overall it is great to hear that you had an enjoyable experience. The lion kill in the crater must have been a spectacular site indeed.
I am sorry to hear that you had a couple of concerns with regard to transport and the tipping situation in the lodges and I would like to offer the following observations.
Usambara Mountains: We strive to include off the beaten track destinations in our itineraries as well as the familiar tourist hot spots such as the Ngorongoro Crater. The Usambara Mountains are included because of their excellent Tanzanian Cultural Tourism Programme offerings but we do accept the journey there is long and arduous. There is no airstrip in the region and the journey can only be made by bus. We do give approximate timings for the coach journey in our pre-departure materials but I note on this occasion your journey was lengthened by a mechanical fault on the main bus.
It is not possible to pre-book the tickets for the coach trip and I am sorry if you had the impression this would be the case. Tickets are bought in cash by our ground handlers who escort all our customers from the airport to the bus station and ensure they are seated on the next available bus. It is true that there can be considerable variation in quality of individual buses and we have in the past attempted to reserve seats on the coaches we consider to be of the highest standard. However due to the variable time taken in leaving the airport due to traffic, luggage delays and obtaining visa’s (if not pre-bought) we have experienced situations where the coach has departed before the customers arrive.
We do note the situation is not perfect and we would always ensure our representative stays with customers at all times to ensure they meet the best possible connection. The alternative of leaving out the Usambara Mountains could be considered but we feel the tour would then become simply another mainstream safari / bush experience and a unique part of Tanzania would be missed.
Zanzibar Ferry: There is a daily ferry service between Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam but the journey time is 90 minutes compared to 20 minutes by flight. In addition to this there is the requirement to be transferred from the port to the airport on both sides which adds further time and expense to the itinerary. The port area in Dar es Salaam is particularly congested. There can also be significant delays in loading and unloading luggage and a greater risk of lost luggage.
As the journey from Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam is the final part of the itinerary taking customers on to their international flight connection we do not routinely offer this due to the possibility for delays and the consequent risk of missing the international flight home. I do note that in your case you were not flying directly home and decided to make your own arrangements in Dar es Salaam for a few days. In retrospect we could therefore have offered a ferry connection as an option and we will certainly make future travellers, who are not flying directly home, aware of this possibility.
Tipping and staff wages: We are not in a position to review staff contracts of the lodges we use in our itineraries but we do meet the owners each year to review rates and facilities offered. At this point we examine the staff working conditions with the management and we are ensured that all staff will be paid at least the local minimum wage. In order to verify this we have participated in two surveys with our local university and with Tourism Concern who have contacted and visited the lodges we use in Tanzania to determine their staffing policy. From the results, which were shared with us, we are satisfied that the lodges we work with are fair in their payment to staff but we do keep this under review as best we can. Two of the three safari lodges in the itinerary are completely 100% owned by local Tanzanian’s hence the proceeds of the money spent there will definitely remain in the country.
Tipping should always be a personal choice for the traveller according to the guidelines we give in our pre-departure material. Sadly it is something that is very difficult for us to control from our position but we do welcome this feedback. I am sorry if the staff at any of the lodges have asked excessively for tips and I will be sure to raise this matter with the lodges ourselves later this year.
Sean Eckton review 16 Sep 2008
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
All of it!! Although going on Safari in Selous and Ruaha were the highlights. Going on a walking Safari was excellent, especially as I came face to face (15ft) with a large male lion.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
This is tricky, we were advised to go to Selous and Ruaha for a number of reasons, one being that there are less visitors which indeed was true. In Selous we went a whole day (covering over 100 miles) without seeing one other vehicle. By recommending these areas I hope they don’t get to busy as we want to go back to them again!! Finally, don’t worry about local currency, take US Dollars (in small denomination). If you go to Zanzibar, be prepared to have people approach you trying to sell their goods, it’s a poor country, they are only trying to make a living.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes, having limited generator/solar power electricity especially. All staff were local and were very nice, friendly people. I only wish they were less humble (almost subservient) in front of us, they have no need to be, we are all equals?!
Judi Walton review 15 Sep 2008
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Camping in special campsites with the sound of hyenas and lions in the background, and having a huge bull elephant arriving at our camp site at breakfast time, just after the armed park ranger had left!
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Be prepared for it to be very cold camping on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. Those in the know had quilted jackets and woolly hats. Ask to camp at the special camp sites and not the public ones.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Obviously anyone working in the tourist trade where we visited would have the benefit of employment. The tours on Zanzibar are good at involving local people - we had an excellent lunch in a local home, from which the women cooks would have benefitted. Our cook and guide were very good at clearing sites and not leaving rubbish behind. I don't know what sort of impact there is on wildlife made by lots of Land Cruisers and tourists continuously driving through their environment, but we felt that the National Parks were well cared for in this respect.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Brilliant!
Brendan Godfrey review 24 Aug 2008
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Lots of wonderful experiences - hiking in the Usambara Mountains, the Serengeti, Ngorogoro, Zanzibar. All the memories of the amazing wildlife and exceptionally friendly people will stay with us for a long time.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
We did not realise quite how 'tailor made' this holiday was; as such we would have changed a few things (Perhaps adding one more day to the safari and to the beach part of Zanzibar) but when we booked the holiday we hadn't read a guide book thoroughly and so were led a little too much by the tour operator. Read a guide book before booking and be firm about what you want to see! (Our safari driver had to squeeze in Ngorogoro because the operator said we couldn't really fit in that and the Serengeti (which was plain nonsense!))
Make sure you find out how much hiking or climbing may be involved. We spent two full days, hiking long distances in the mountains, from 9a.m-5 p.m, which in our schedule was simply called a 'Cultural Tour programme'. This may not suit everybody. Thank you to the tour operator for including this though - it was a real insight into rural Tanzania! Check out the range of accommodation ,and do some research, as the quality and price range varies dramatically. Also the operator made changes to the programme - the Serengeti Serena was full so they switched us to the Sopa two days before departure, but still charged us for the Serena (a more expensive hotel!) They also switched one hotel when we arrived in Arusha, five days into the trip.
Check out your safari company carefully - they all use local companies around Arusha and standards vary wildly. We were very fortunate to have a vehicle and driver to ourselves, but some were packed to the rafters. (Ask about this!) Also, make sure your safari company knows when you are arriving and where they are meeting you. (They failed to meet us off the coach from Mombo and we were left stranded at night in Arusha-we had to get a taxi to the safari company offices and found out they weren't expecting us!)
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Partly. Tourism is vital to Tanzania's economy, but it is destabilising parts of their way of life. (Why farm, fish, teach etc... when you can carry luggage and earn more from tips in a few days than you would in a month in one of those jobs?)
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
An incredible experience. Just do your research and work out EXACTLY what you want to see before you book.
Read the operator's response here:
We would like to thank Brenden for his review of our tour and are pleased to see that he enjoyed the holiday. We agree that is very important to recognise the tailor made nature of this tour as we completely tailor our itineraries to enable clients to experience exactly what they want from a tour (within reason).
If customers have read widely around the destination and know what must be included in an itinerary then this gives us an excellent starting point to prepare an itinerary. If this is not the case we start from a sample itinerary such as the one indicated here. Planning such an itinerary is then always a case of balancing activities, time and of course budget. With these constraints in mind our consultant suggested a four day safari in this itinerary visiting three national parks. It is possible to include Ngorongoro Crater as well as the other three parks but this would involve spending more time driving between parks rather than actually game driving within them. To add a fifth day of safari to incorporate the Crater would have pushed the price up further still.
To explain the situation with lodges in the busy northern circuit of Tanzania some lodges block book provisional reservations for international travel agents. When we request rooms to be released to us we are placed on a waitlist which may or may not clear. We did make this absolutely clear both in discussions regarding this holiday before it was booked and on paper on our booking form and the subsequent booking confirmation. We always highlight this in bold red on our documentation. If a room does not clear we always have a second option held in reserve in a lodge of equivalent status in the same park / location as happened here.
We use a wholly Tanzanian owned and managed company to provide our safari vehicles and guides. They provide a private vehicle for all of our guests and we NEVER include any other clients on our vehicles in northern Tanzania. It is good advice to check this with the company you book with but in this case Brendon was not ‘lucky’ to have a private vehicle because this is exactly what he booked and is exactly what we always include on this itinerary. Brendon may have observed other vehicles packed with tourists on his tour but they were clients from other companies.
We would like to apologise for the lack of a transfer on arrival in Arusha. I have discussed this with the safari company we use and they advise us that the taxi sent to meet them broke down on the way to the bus station. Before the driver could make repairs and get to the meeting place Brendon had taken an alternative taxi to the safari company office. The safari company were surprised to see him because they had expected the original taxi to take them straight to the lodge for the evening. The breakdown was unfortunate but the driver is clearly at fault for not communicating the situation with the head office. We do realise that incidents of this type can occur in Africa where mechanical standards of vehicles are not as good as in Europe. For this reason we do provide a full list of backup contact numbers in the comprehensive pre-departure pack which accompanies this tour. Our suppliers have out of office hours support who I am pleased to note were able to resolve this situation.
Anne Dunning review 17 Feb 2008
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Seeing so many wild animals and being able to get so close to them without apparently upsetting them.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
If you have any pre-holiday panics about how it would all be, don't! The operator had everything well under control and all flights, transfers, tours etc were well organised. My only practical tip would be regarding travellers cheques as we found that not all our accommodation places would accept them these days; apparently changing them is rather a long drawn out & expensive process.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes, although this was not always obvious unless we get into discussion with people in the know.
We certainly noticed that all the lodges and hotels we stayed in were conscious of the environment, especially whilst on safari with the use of solar energy.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Fantastic - a marvellous experience. Thank you for your excellent organisation.
Abigail Jones review 5 Aug 2007
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Zebra, Buffalo and Elephants roaming around out campsite at night (Ngorongoro Crater).
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Take something against the rain - one fleece is not enough for either the Safari camping or for the Usambara Mountains. The Safari travel is very dusty. Camping facilities are very rudimentary. Royal Coach trip Dar to Arusha in order to visit the Usambara Mountains.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Some benefits for local people. I doubt that we minimized our impact on the environment.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
4 out of 5.
Bev Poling review 10 Jul 2006
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
All of it. It was well arranged and allowed us to enjoy every minute of it.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Remember that it really is tailor made and you can put together the different options however you want them.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
As much as tourism ever can..... in many ways it was obviously a huge benefit to the local people in terms of local economy. However there is a huge environmental impact of tourism (flying, extra water use in an already dry country) that can only be minimised.
Nick Kirby review 19 Sep 2005
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
There is nothing quite like seeing animals in the wild - going on safari is one of the most memorable experiences which we will definately be doing again. Selous is also less visited than the other parks so we were able to enjoy our own private safari & rarely saw another vehicle. Staying in the honeymoon bandas at Sable Mountain Lodge, Selous added to the whole safari experience. The lodges have fantastic views and open air showers.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Would definitely recommend a few days at Lazy Lagoon Island after getting married - it makes a fantastic start to your honeymoon before the safari which can be quite tiring. Also if your going to Zanzibar - it is well worth spending a night or two in the Emerson & Green Hotel in Stone Town - another magical hotel (we stayed in the Gallery room - which I'd recommend as some other rooms can be a bit noisy).
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Very much so - all the accomodation minimized impact on the environment through suitable building materials & solar power where possible. There were many positive schemes with the local communities both from the safari lodge and at our stay in Zanzibar.
4. Any other comments?
We had a fantastic honeymoon in Tanzania & Zanzibar! The combination of beach, safari, beach, Stone Town worked really well. Thanks very much.
Stephen Evans review 29 Mar 2005
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Where to start? Walking safaris, fly camping, watching a feeding elephant & baby hippo on a boat safari, African hunting dogs, ... the food deserves a mention too.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
The tour company put a lot of effort into planning our trip, and I would have no hesitation in recommending them. My advice would be to talk to them, as they did a great job of working out exactly what we would most enjoy.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes.
