Tanzania: reviews from our travellers

"Trip met or exceeded my expectations. All went smoothly except the pre-booking of aisle seats for me. Apparently it did not appear in Kenya Airways system and I had to do it at checkin.

Also I found it very tedious at the end of a long trip to realise I would have to wait over 5 hours at Dar even though an earlier flight to Nairobi was available. I understand the need to give a safety margin on travel out of the bush, but I thought this was excessive and would have preferred to wait in Nairobi." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari

"A "very satisfactory" rating does not do justice to this superb 10 night, 4 centre Northern Tanzania safari put together with suggestions from helpful Expert Africa staff.

We thoroughly enjoyed our experience which was so different to previous and equally superb Expert Africa holidays in Botswana and Namibia and our own explorations of South Africa some years ago. We would recommend this time of year for such a safari, as there were no more than a handful of vehicles around the parks within eyesight at any one time, and even in the Ngorongoro Crater we were pleasantly surprised to be able to find our way to parts where we were totally on our own.

The trip was all the better for having the consistency of our superbly professional guide, Ayoub, for 7 nights in 3 camps. On our departure, he asked us to be ambassadors for Tanzania and spread the word what delights the country has to offer as a safari destination. We could not agree more and would recommend this circuit to anybody who likes to explore Africa either for the first time or for a return visit." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari

"Everything worked smoothly" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zanzibar holiday

"After a safari to Botswana in September 2013 we decided to visit Tanzania in green season, deliberately targeting Selous and Ruaha as a less busy area. Both locations far exceeded expectations and offered a very varied landscape with wildlife to match.

Our three camps were different in character and in how they operate. We were so glad we spent five nights at each as this allowed time to fully explore each area as well as getting to know the guides and staff. We didn't travel with expectations of seeing particular animals and with the bush in full growth thought sightings might be more elusive. However, we saw everything we thought we might see and much more. The number and variety of birds, including migrants, was stunning.

Everything went like clockwork, including camps being aware that we are vegetarian (not a problem!). Without exception staff were friendly, welcoming, informative and helpful. The time flew by and more than 3,000 photographs later, we were sad to leave. We wouldn't have changed a thing." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 15 on a Tanzania safari

"I say this every time but this trip was once again amazing!!

Ellie is simply a star! She knows exactly what we like and she is always great at giving suggestions but also at listening to my endless questions and thousands of email- I know I am hard work and demanding but so far Ellie managed to match and exceed our expectations, thanks a lot!!

Everything worked well and all the connections and transfers were all perfect as always. What more can I say? Thank you once more!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Just a couple of small suggestions....so not to lose my reputation of being a "pain in the neck" (self declared).

It would be good to give more emphasis on the local projects that camps run so that future guests can choose to help and perhaps bring something (I say this because we brought some supplies to the Katumbi clinic but the other two guests at greystoke were not aware of the possibility of doing so. They did not book through EA so perhaps my suggestions should be forwarded to the camps).

It would be good to add some price for each lodge/camp to give an approximate idea of prices (as some of your competitors do...without naming names...) and to give a break down in the quote for each accommodation/flight/transport etc, but maybe this would interest only myself." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 15 on a Tanzania safari

"Our trip as a whole was superb, with some unbelievably fantastic animal sightings ! We saw all the things we had hoped to see, such as the jackals killing the baby impala, the tree lions and elephant encounter, the vast numbers of wildebeest plus much, much more. We had some stunning sightings of birds, e.g. a Kori Bustard displaying.

Another bonus was the glorious view of Kilimanjaro at Tortilis Camp.

All the places we visited offered something different making our trip interesting and unpredictable as regards the animals.
We also met some wonderful people at each of the Camps/Lodges and our guides were superb and extremely knowledgeable.

Our trip was superb, fulfilled everything we had wanted and has given us some fantastic memories with over a 1000 photos. This was undeniably a trip of a lifetime !" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"The trip was put together perfectly and at each juncture, the part awaiting us was exactly what we needed/ wanted to compliment the last and maintain variety. We were so impressed with the quality of the &Beyond destinations in particular- they really are a cut above- so slick. But saying that, Beho Beho was such an incredible experience, the whole Selous felt manicured it was all so perfect. Ellie has just been amazing throughout and the guidance in putting together such a trip of a lifetime was invaluable. We're not sure that we will ever top this trip. But then again, that's the sign of the most perfect honeymoon..." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari

"Parts of our trip were really amazing but other aspects were so disappointing, so it's difficult to give an overall level of satisfaction really. In our view this was partly down to advice from Expert Africa and partly down to failings of Sunshine Marine Lodge (i.e. the food).

The connections etc. were all very smooth - the drivers were always waiting for us and there was never a need to follow anything up, so the trip had clearly been very well planned out and was very easy for us, which was great.

The upgrade for the last few nights at Sunshine Marine Lodge made a lot of difference, as it afforded some privacy, so we're pleased that it could be put in place." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 7 on a Zanzibar holiday

"I loved the green, having guides that actually enjoy and love nature rather than just chase after cats.

It felt remote and special enough in the South, hardly saw other vehicles. Got on with the guides very well and feel very lucky that they were so knowledgable. I saw some beautiful scenery, we took little breaks to enjoy the beauty around us.

James Denny at Expert Africa guessed very well what would appeal to me - within my budget too! I really appreciate that." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"It was wonderful! Every bit as fabulous as we had hoped and exactly what you would want your honeymoon to be.

The whole trip, considering we stayed in three different locations, across two different countries was brilliant. No delays or disruption to our travelling, lovely hotels and resorts and a lovely, warm welcome from Tanzania and Zanzibar.

Would definitely recommend to others!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Not really - may be a follow up call before receiving this form would have been nice but other than that, all good!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari