Travel reviews by Giovanni from Biot
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
2
Lodges stayed in
5
Excursions taken
6
Excellent vacation
Tanzania 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."
Mount Meru Game Lodge & Sanctuary
"Warm welcome after a 12 hours travel"
1 night
Arrived
16 Oct 2020
"The lodge is very comfortable and calm, and close to the airport, which is what you really want after you spent some 10 hours on a plane. In the morning we had a very nice breakfast on the terrace, surrounded by birds, monkeys and a couple of zebras. The staff greeted us very warmly."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Good
Service
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Average
Sightings report
Buffalo
1 sighting
Zebra
2 sightings
Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge
"Plunge into the African atmosphere"
2 nights
Arrived
17 Oct 2020
"We had our first contact with the true African atmosphere here, Rooms are spacious and very comfortable, and it is a true farmhouse, it is nice to walk through banana plantations and all kind of flowers and vegetables. We enjoyed very much the BBQ on the terrace in the evening.
It is pretty close to the Ngorongoro crater (although not inside)."
It is pretty close to the Ngorongoro crater (although not inside)."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Good
Service
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Lake Manyara Safari
"Warm-up safari with some nice sightseeing"
17 Oct 2020 • All-day excursion
Lake Manyara park is not really comparable to Ngorongoro or Serengeti, but it is ok to visit the first day, just to warm-up. Also the view on the lake is beautiful, and we saw many lions.
Safari in Ngorongoro Crater
"A wonder of the world"
18 Oct 2020 • All-day excursion
Ngorongoro crater is just unbelievable, both for the landscape and the crater all around you, and because it is packed with animals. In the middle of the crater you are just surrounded by herds of all kinds of wildlife. It is a must see, at least once in life.
Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge
"Share your lodge with buffalos"
3 nights
Arrived
19 Oct 2020
"The lodge is not only in the middle of Serengeti, it is part of the park. Animals go around (and inside) freely. The first evening we had a buffalo walking on our side while dining. Dik-dik and zebra come eeating grass on the other side of your room window. Rooms are comfortable enough. Staff is extremely kind."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Rooms
Good
Food
Average
Sightings report
Buffalo
10+ sightings
Cheetah
4 sightings
Eland
10+ sightings
Elephant
4 sightings
Giraffe
10+ sightings
Hippo
10+ sightings
Leopard
3 sightings
Lion
10+ sightings
Roan antelope
6 sightings
Spotted Hyena
Many sightings
Striped Hyena
10+ sightings
Wildebeest
10+ sightings
Zebra
10+ sightings
Emerson Spice
"Worth the trip by itself"
3 nights
Arrived
22 Oct 2020
"Stone Town was a bit disappointing as most buildings are not maintained and are falling apart. One exception is the Emerson Spice. It has been fully renovated with great taste, preserving the colonial atmosphere. Rooms are spacious and very comfortable, and the staff very friendly. Honestly we were more keen to spend our time at the hotel rather than in the town streets. The restaurant on the roof serves very good (and spicy) food."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Average
Service
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Good
Stone Town Discovery Tour
"Stone Town is not what we expected"
22 Oct 2020 • Afternoon excursion
Stone Town must have been a magnificent and lively place .... 80 years ago. Now unfortunately most buildings are not being taken care of and are falling apart. Streets are dirty and crowded and walking around is not pleasant. The promenade on the sea is nice, particularly in the evening when they set up a food market. The Palace of Wonders was under renovation and could not be visited. None of the other interest points (Royal Palace, slave market, Freddy Mercury's house) is really worth the travel, you just visit them because you are there.
Princess Salme Spice Tour
"Children enjoy this a lot"
23 Oct 2020 • All-day excursion
This is a nice tour if you have children. They will spend they right amount of time (40 minutes) wandering around in a spice plantation, where the guide will make you smell or taste everything. Then we had the cooking session in a local house. It took a bit longer than we wished (3 hours) but it was interesting to be part for a few hours of the local lifestyle. Children enjoyed very much the cooking part.
Zanzibar Dhow Safari
"Turtles and pristine beaches"
24 Oct 2020 • All-day excursion
Very nice excursion. First a quick visit to Prison Island (where the main attraction are giant turtles) which has been ranked as the top of the whole Tanzania trip by the children. Then the BBQ on the beach, on a tiny shore in the middle of the bay, just white sand and turquoise sea. Not many fishes to see but great beach time.
The Palms
"Hard to leave"
5 nights
Arrived
25 Oct 2020
"In your 130mq villa you can just forget about the outside world. This is the perfect place to rest and do long walks on the very nice beach. The chef knows what he does."
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Good
Service
Excellent
Facilities
Good
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Jozani Forest Tour
"Just fine to spend one morning"
26 Oct 2020 • Morning excursion
The Jozani forest is not the reason to go to Zanzibar, but if after a couple of days on the beach you want to do something different , it is an nice variation. Keep it to 30 minutes walk in the mahogany forest plus another 30 minutes to see the mangroves swamp (the most interesting part of the visit), with a 15 minutes stop between the 2 to watch the monkeys.