Reviews of safaris to Serengeti Migration Area
379 holiday reviews from our travellers of holidays which include Serengeti.
Mandolin
Surrey
"The trip of a lifetime."
I visited Tanzania and 1 other country between 25 Oct 2020 and 5 Dec 2020
"For a long time we thought we wouldn't be able to have our holiday because of the Coronavirus and as it happens, we had to cancel our visit to Botswana. But with the help of Maruska at Expert Africa we were still able to visit Tanzania and Zanzibar. Everything was very fluid with plans changing almost daily right up until the date of departure (and beyond)! due to airline cancellations because of Covid. However, Maruska was incredibly patient and helpful in identifying solutions and alternatives and she also proactively (and mostly successfully) sought refunds for the parts of the holiday that we couldn't undertake (a couple of lodges in Botswana offered to postpone our bookings but were reluctant to give refunds but they succumbed to Maruska's charms eventually). And although I didn't book our international flights through Expert Africa, Maruska kept an eye on all of our travel arrangements, even whilst we were away, and alerted us when our return flight was cancelled.
The holiday itself was way beyond our expectations partly, I suspect, because there were so few other tourists about. In some of the lodges we visited we were the only guests which meant that we were treated like VIPs. And what lodges! The Lemala camps were excellent and Maruska negotiated a very good deal for us by using only Lemala for our safari accommodation and the deal included our own vehicle and guide throughout, which meant that we could go where we wanted to go, when we wanted to go, instead of being tied to a strict timetable for game viewing. As far as the game viewing was concerned, having been told by a couple of friends that their experiences included having to vie for a view of the animals with 100s of other vehicles, we instead found ourselves to be in splendid isolation with almost every animal we saw. The only downside was having to come home." Read full review: 41 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari
The holiday itself was way beyond our expectations partly, I suspect, because there were so few other tourists about. In some of the lodges we visited we were the only guests which meant that we were treated like VIPs. And what lodges! The Lemala camps were excellent and Maruska negotiated a very good deal for us by using only Lemala for our safari accommodation and the deal included our own vehicle and guide throughout, which meant that we could go where we wanted to go, when we wanted to go, instead of being tied to a strict timetable for game viewing. As far as the game viewing was concerned, having been told by a couple of friends that their experiences included having to vie for a view of the animals with 100s of other vehicles, we instead found ourselves to be in splendid isolation with almost every animal we saw. The only downside was having to come home." Read full review: 41 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Giovanni
Biot
"Excellent vacation"
I visited Zanzibar and 1 other country between 16 Oct 2020 and 30 Oct 2020
"Everything went very well, it was exactly the kind of experience we were looking for and the children had a blast."
Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 8 on a Zanzibar holiday
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr A
Switzerland
"Amazing honeymoon in Africa"
I visited Tanzania and 2 other countries between 7 Feb 2020 and 24 Feb 2020
"Maruska was very open to plan an itinerary based on our requests and interests, and also flexible when we had to adjust our budget. Maruska has really been excellent, responsive, informative, and able to really organise exactly what we wanted. Excellent service and we highly recommend Maruska."
Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 5 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
MW&JS
UK
"My Feb 2020 trip"
I visited Tanzania between 3 Feb 2020 and 12 Feb 2020
"This trip was a joy from start to finish.
Thanks you Expert Africa and Asilia for a truly outstanding service.
While we are very much in tune with Asilia's values and the consistently excellent services they deliver we do hope the trend to build only high-end luxury camps is not at the expense of places like Ubuntu and Kwihala . It is not only the cost factor of these places ,which is increasingly out of our reach ,but the departure from the real wilderness bush experience which we crave." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari
Thanks you Expert Africa and Asilia for a truly outstanding service.
While we are very much in tune with Asilia's values and the consistently excellent services they deliver we do hope the trend to build only high-end luxury camps is not at the expense of places like Ubuntu and Kwihala . It is not only the cost factor of these places ,which is increasingly out of our reach ,but the departure from the real wilderness bush experience which we crave." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Dr C
Newmarket
"My Jan 2020 trip"
I visited Tanzania between 29 Jan 2020 and 6 Feb 2020
"Considering the difficulties encountered I would still say that overall the trip was fairly satisfactory.
Everyone did their best to iron out mishaps, rearrange itineraries and adapt to the unpredictable chaos due to the heavy, unending rainfall. Personally I understand that each trip will be different and no matter how much you plan...” life happens.” This trip just happened to be a bit more adventurous than what was planned; but no regrets.
My fellow travellers all report that though the trip was difficult they are completely blown away by the magnificence of Tanzania, her beauty, her glorious animals and her warm kind people. And yes, I’ll be back:)" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari
Everyone did their best to iron out mishaps, rearrange itineraries and adapt to the unpredictable chaos due to the heavy, unending rainfall. Personally I understand that each trip will be different and no matter how much you plan...” life happens.” This trip just happened to be a bit more adventurous than what was planned; but no regrets.
My fellow travellers all report that though the trip was difficult they are completely blown away by the magnificence of Tanzania, her beauty, her glorious animals and her warm kind people. And yes, I’ll be back:)" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Good
KS
Currie
"Super Safari!"
I visited Zanzibar and 1 other country between 1 Nov 2019 and 30 Nov 2019
"Everything went according to plan and both my partner and I thoroughly enjoyed our time in Tanzania.
If anything we stayed too long in Zanzibar but this was dictated by our international flights arranged by us.
We would have no hesitation in recommending Expert Africa to our friends and family who may be considering a similar excursion.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
No, none" Read full review: 29 nights in Africa; 12 on a Zanzibar holiday
If anything we stayed too long in Zanzibar but this was dictated by our international flights arranged by us.
We would have no hesitation in recommending Expert Africa to our friends and family who may be considering a similar excursion.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
No, none" Read full review: 29 nights in Africa; 12 on a Zanzibar holiday
Overall trip
Excellent
Ms S.
Bainbridge Isla
"Oct/Nov 2019 trip"
I visited Kenya and 2 other countries between 21 Oct 2019 and 10 Nov 2019
"We had a wonderful trip with many momentous adventures but quite a lot more tedious jeep rides than we had bargained for, especially in the Kenya portion where the distances between camps was several hours on washed out roads only to find out when we arrived that the next activity would be a jeep ride! This was disappointing as I had been quite clear that that what I was exactly what I was trying to avoid.
The biggest issue was that Olivia had not made clear to me the consequences of the rainy season. I thought it just meant that it would rain a bit during the day and we would get wet, something I don't care about. What it really meant is that the bush would be so green and thick that animals would be extremely hard to see, that water would be so readily available everywhere that animals would be widely dispersed across hundreds of thousands of acres, and therefore hard to find, that the bugs would be fierce. and that the normally rough, bumpy roads would be so deeply rutted and washed out hat driving was bone crushing. And, as I noted in my comments about Sarara, some activities such as the Singing Wells, were not possible. No one can control the weather but if I had known what the rainy season was really like I don't think I would have taken the chance of traveling in the shoulder season. Since we were the only guests at a number of places, i felt everybody else had gotten the memo except us!
Also, some of the logistics could have been worked out better. Though the three Samburu camps look equidistant on a map, in fact it made no sense to go to Saruni Rhino last instead of Sarani Samburu, which is quite close to the airstrip.By going there last, it added another 2 and a half hour jeep trip on washed out roads to get back to the airstrip we had just come from two days earlier.
Finally, we were never told that the trip from Saruni Rhino to Plantation Lodge would be over 10 hours. We were shocked to discover on arrival at Kilamijaro that our jeep ride was over 4 hours. I can't believe there was not a scheduled or even charter flight from Kili to Manyara. In any event, no one told us about the length of the trip and we had no food from 8 AM till 6:30 PM expect for the driver's small pack of Pringles. I expected better attention to logistics.
With the exception of Stone Town, all the places we stayed were great. I just wish we had done the trip a different year when we could have done it at the right time." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 7 on a Kenya safari
The biggest issue was that Olivia had not made clear to me the consequences of the rainy season. I thought it just meant that it would rain a bit during the day and we would get wet, something I don't care about. What it really meant is that the bush would be so green and thick that animals would be extremely hard to see, that water would be so readily available everywhere that animals would be widely dispersed across hundreds of thousands of acres, and therefore hard to find, that the bugs would be fierce. and that the normally rough, bumpy roads would be so deeply rutted and washed out hat driving was bone crushing. And, as I noted in my comments about Sarara, some activities such as the Singing Wells, were not possible. No one can control the weather but if I had known what the rainy season was really like I don't think I would have taken the chance of traveling in the shoulder season. Since we were the only guests at a number of places, i felt everybody else had gotten the memo except us!
Also, some of the logistics could have been worked out better. Though the three Samburu camps look equidistant on a map, in fact it made no sense to go to Saruni Rhino last instead of Sarani Samburu, which is quite close to the airstrip.By going there last, it added another 2 and a half hour jeep trip on washed out roads to get back to the airstrip we had just come from two days earlier.
Finally, we were never told that the trip from Saruni Rhino to Plantation Lodge would be over 10 hours. We were shocked to discover on arrival at Kilamijaro that our jeep ride was over 4 hours. I can't believe there was not a scheduled or even charter flight from Kili to Manyara. In any event, no one told us about the length of the trip and we had no food from 8 AM till 6:30 PM expect for the driver's small pack of Pringles. I expected better attention to logistics.
With the exception of Stone Town, all the places we stayed were great. I just wish we had done the trip a different year when we could have done it at the right time." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 7 on a Kenya safari
Overall trip
Good
Jonathan
bronte
"My Oct 2019 trip"
I visited Tanzania between 5 Oct 2019 and 12 Oct 2019
"The Safari exceeded our expectations entirely.
It was an incredible experience with our 3 young children (9,7,4). The 7 day itinerary was perfect, and glad we got to spend 3 days in the Serengeti (our favourite of the 4 parks). We didn't feel rushed at all, or pressured to see animals.
Our driver was fantastic. He drove safely and was knowledgeable, and passionate about his job. He was patient and great with the kids. Also the vehicle was in great condition (better than almost all others we saw) which helped make it comfortable.
The lodges were great, really comfortable without being over the top luxurious." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari
It was an incredible experience with our 3 young children (9,7,4). The 7 day itinerary was perfect, and glad we got to spend 3 days in the Serengeti (our favourite of the 4 parks). We didn't feel rushed at all, or pressured to see animals.
Our driver was fantastic. He drove safely and was knowledgeable, and passionate about his job. He was patient and great with the kids. Also the vehicle was in great condition (better than almost all others we saw) which helped make it comfortable.
The lodges were great, really comfortable without being over the top luxurious." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mrs B.
Basel
"Trip of a lifetime"
I visited Tanzania and 1 other country between 4 Oct 2019 and 21 Oct 2019
"Perfect holiday and thanks to expert Africa for the expert knowledge!"
Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Ms S.
Emeryville
"It was way more than enjoyable !"
I visited Kenya and 1 other country between 3 Oct 2019 and 16 Oct 2019
"I loved it. A trip of a life-time.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
I think your services have been amazing. I have recommended your firm already to a friend !" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 7 on a Kenya safari
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
I think your services have been amazing. I have recommended your firm already to a friend !" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 7 on a Kenya safari
Overall trip
Excellent
379
reviews of Serengeti by travellers since August 2007
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