357 holiday reviews from our travellers of holidays which include Dar es Salaam.
Mr & Mrs C
Bristol
"Southern Tanzania Safari"
I visited Tanzania between 26 Jan 2013 and 8 Feb 2013
"Fantastic! The opportunity to stay in 2 different parks (Ruaha and Selous) was very good, as they have a quite different feel to them and also different weather. Going at low season was beneficial to us as we received more personal attention than if we were just part of a crowd. It also meant that there were not loads of other safari vehicles at a sighting.
We did experience some rainfall in both parks, though more in Ruaha, but this did not unduly affect our activities and did not present a problem. We had some excellent sightings even though the bush was green and leafy, and it was actually quite good to have them scattered throughout the parks rather than being all in one place next to a water hole.
Both camps were excellent, in their different ways.
Can't wait to go again!
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
No, none." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari
We did experience some rainfall in both parks, though more in Ruaha, but this did not unduly affect our activities and did not present a problem. We had some excellent sightings even though the bush was green and leafy, and it was actually quite good to have them scattered throughout the parks rather than being all in one place next to a water hole.
Both camps were excellent, in their different ways.
Can't wait to go again!
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
No, none." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Richard/Mary
England
"Tanzania 2013"
I visited Tanzania between 4 Jan 2013 and 22 Jan 2013
"Emmanauel our guide for the first ten days. Excellent. Very experienced. Wide knowledge of the bush and hte country. Pleasant travelling companion. Very anxious to pelase.
Vehicle - very good. Claire had managed to arrange winding windows for us . Essential for my husband's photography.
Emmanuel is to be highly recommended.
Claire is thanked for an excellent programme yet again. We identified 48 different mammals. 266 different birds!
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Keep up the contacts with places that we visited. They all spoke very highly of Expert Africa. They liked the fact that the staff actually stay at the camps rather than just calling in for a couple of hours." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 18 on a Tanzania safari
Vehicle - very good. Claire had managed to arrange winding windows for us . Essential for my husband's photography.
Emmanuel is to be highly recommended.
Claire is thanked for an excellent programme yet again. We identified 48 different mammals. 266 different birds!
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Keep up the contacts with places that we visited. They all spoke very highly of Expert Africa. They liked the fact that the staff actually stay at the camps rather than just calling in for a couple of hours." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 18 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mrs B & Mrs W
Oxford
"A dream experience"
I visited Tanzania between 30 Dec 2012 and 8 Jan 2013
"Just brilliant"
Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr & Mrs W-J
UK
"My Dec 2012 trip"
I visited Tanzania between 27 Dec 2012 and 6 Jan 2013
"Another wonderful trip, our 12th (!) with Expert Africa.This was probably the simplest to arrange - thank you Ellie.
Although Mwagusi lost one paw in the marking for the temperature of the food it was definitely our favourite of the two camps - to the extent that Jane cried on having to leave!
Trip 13 is booked and 14 in the planning stages!
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Keep going - we even toyed with the idea of trip 15 tonight." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari
Although Mwagusi lost one paw in the marking for the temperature of the food it was definitely our favourite of the two camps - to the extent that Jane cried on having to leave!
Trip 13 is booked and 14 in the planning stages!
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Keep going - we even toyed with the idea of trip 15 tonight." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Family T
London
"memorable holiday in Tanzania"
I visited Tanzania between 23 Dec 2012 and 6 Jan 2013
"Fabulous trip. Well planned. It all worked. Each part was memorable.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Keep up the good work.
Our second trip with Expert Africa and really good again. Well done." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Tanzania safari
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Keep up the good work.
Our second trip with Expert Africa and really good again. Well done." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
The S family
Lewes
"My Dec 2012 trip"
I visited Tanzania and 1 other country between 16 Dec 2012 and 28 Dec 2012
"The holiday was brilliant not just "very satisfactory"!
Martin Mollel, our driver really made the safari for us. He was very personable, very knowledgeable about the animals, very skilled at spotting them and a safe driver. He was very tactful and was very good chatting and playing with our children He was respectful of the animals. We felt safe and comfortable with Martin at all times.
We saw all the animals and many birds that Martin also knew about. We would fully recommend Martin for other clients.
Incidentally, on the jeep, it would have been good to have had a canvas cover that could have been put up above the roof openings to give some shade at times.
Thoughts on the parks:
Tarangire - A nice place to start, very quiet compared with the Serengeti we saw plenty of Elephants.
Lake Manyara - We only really saw baboons as animals in significant quantity. I would not recommend this park. It is more lush and so the animals are difficult to see. There are more prolific and variety of animals in other parks we went to. The lake has shrunk in size due to silting up and so the flamingo are just a pink band on the horizon many miles away. If there could be alternative access at the other side of the lake, then the flamingos would probably have been spectacular. I would miss this park out and make a more leisurely drive to Ngorongoro.
Ngorongoro - Specatcular scenery and the place to see Black Rhino. But there was much more - Lions Hyena etc etc. An early start is a must to see the animals before the crater gets busy.
Olduvai Gorge - unfortunately the compulsory local guide was quite old and difficult to hear and understand. He had a very strong accent and struggled to be heard above the wind. This was unfortunate as particularly for the children it could have been made very interesting if described and explained well Perhaps little information sheets that could be read before the visit would help understanding of what is being seen and its significance
Serengeti - we saw the migration which was excellent. There was a tendency in this park to see something and then find 9 other jeeps around. Sometimes with them edging very close to the animals. This seemed a bit circus like at times. That aside it was a good place to see lions and hippos, wilder-beast, giraffe and zebra etc etc
On arrival at Zanzibar, the baggage handlers ask you to identify your bags and then ask for tips prior to handing the bags over to you, which is not a very good introduction to Zanzibar. Also as the flight arrived 10-15 mins early, as we exited the airport, the transfer guy was not around and so we got mobbed by taxi drivers and other hawkers trying to get us to go with them and trying to take our bags. This was not very pleasant.
Eleanor Dunkels in London was always excellent always pleasant, helpful and informative. Her personal experience of the area was very useful. She was a pleasure to deal with.
Tips for other clients:
Don't wear blue. the TseTse flies really do get attracted to blue and give a nasty bite.
Make sure you do take some very good binoculars - a pair for each member of the group. Some of our pocket binoculars we took were woefully inadequate.
Wear wide brimmed hats that tie under the chin, otherwise they blow off
Long sleaved shirts are a good idea as its easy to get burnt with the open roof on the jeep." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari
Martin Mollel, our driver really made the safari for us. He was very personable, very knowledgeable about the animals, very skilled at spotting them and a safe driver. He was very tactful and was very good chatting and playing with our children He was respectful of the animals. We felt safe and comfortable with Martin at all times.
We saw all the animals and many birds that Martin also knew about. We would fully recommend Martin for other clients.
Incidentally, on the jeep, it would have been good to have had a canvas cover that could have been put up above the roof openings to give some shade at times.
Thoughts on the parks:
Tarangire - A nice place to start, very quiet compared with the Serengeti we saw plenty of Elephants.
Lake Manyara - We only really saw baboons as animals in significant quantity. I would not recommend this park. It is more lush and so the animals are difficult to see. There are more prolific and variety of animals in other parks we went to. The lake has shrunk in size due to silting up and so the flamingo are just a pink band on the horizon many miles away. If there could be alternative access at the other side of the lake, then the flamingos would probably have been spectacular. I would miss this park out and make a more leisurely drive to Ngorongoro.
Ngorongoro - Specatcular scenery and the place to see Black Rhino. But there was much more - Lions Hyena etc etc. An early start is a must to see the animals before the crater gets busy.
Olduvai Gorge - unfortunately the compulsory local guide was quite old and difficult to hear and understand. He had a very strong accent and struggled to be heard above the wind. This was unfortunate as particularly for the children it could have been made very interesting if described and explained well Perhaps little information sheets that could be read before the visit would help understanding of what is being seen and its significance
Serengeti - we saw the migration which was excellent. There was a tendency in this park to see something and then find 9 other jeeps around. Sometimes with them edging very close to the animals. This seemed a bit circus like at times. That aside it was a good place to see lions and hippos, wilder-beast, giraffe and zebra etc etc
On arrival at Zanzibar, the baggage handlers ask you to identify your bags and then ask for tips prior to handing the bags over to you, which is not a very good introduction to Zanzibar. Also as the flight arrived 10-15 mins early, as we exited the airport, the transfer guy was not around and so we got mobbed by taxi drivers and other hawkers trying to get us to go with them and trying to take our bags. This was not very pleasant.
Eleanor Dunkels in London was always excellent always pleasant, helpful and informative. Her personal experience of the area was very useful. She was a pleasure to deal with.
Tips for other clients:
Don't wear blue. the TseTse flies really do get attracted to blue and give a nasty bite.
Make sure you do take some very good binoculars - a pair for each member of the group. Some of our pocket binoculars we took were woefully inadequate.
Wear wide brimmed hats that tie under the chin, otherwise they blow off
Long sleaved shirts are a good idea as its easy to get burnt with the open roof on the jeep." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
The K family
USA
"My Dec 2012 trip"
I visited Tanzania and 1 other country between 1 Dec 2012 and 14 Dec 2012
"The planning and execution of the holiday was very well organized. We were well prepared and had very few problems that could not be solved.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
No,your services were very good.
Will you be opening another similar service for Asia or South America? I would be interested!" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
No,your services were very good.
Will you be opening another similar service for Asia or South America? I would be interested!" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr & Mrs K
Wiltshire
"Ruaha-a Dream come true"
I visited Tanzania between 15 Nov 2012 and 30 Nov 2012
"A superb safari which expert africa helped put together at short notice with several changes (Thankyou Angela), which enabled us to return to Tanzania with some intrepidation (could it still be as good ?). It was even better and whilst there are some issues in the modern world of conservation, we were thrilled with our experiences and the enthruing discussions around the fireplace in the evenings.
The most lions we have seen in 20 years of visiting Africa and these parks are a great place to see them.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Keep doing what you do" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Tanzania safari
The most lions we have seen in 20 years of visiting Africa and these parks are a great place to see them.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Keep doing what you do" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr S & Miss G
London
"Safari and Beach holiday"
I visited Tanzania and 1 other country between 15 Oct 2012 and 29 Oct 2012
"Excellent holiday; would love to do it again some day."
Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr & Mrs H
Lisvane
"More than met expectation!"
I visited Tanzania between 13 Oct 2012 and 26 Oct 2012
"Would happily revisit at some point in the future."
Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
357
reviews of Dar es Salaam by travellers since August 2007
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