Reviews of safaris to Ngorongoro Crater

"Overall, our trip was a most enjoyable and memorable experience, and we would have no hesitation in recommending Expert Africa to other travellers.

Our advisor Ellie was knowledgeable and helpful, and was mindful of the fact that we were hoping to have high quality wildlife experiences but that we did not have an unlimited budget. She made many helpful suggestions, and was very successful in meeting our aims. I spoke to Chris at one time, and he made some helpful suggestions which we later appreciated, particularly about flying from Arusha directly to Ruaha, and not taking the Dar Express to Dar first (which was our original plan so that we might visit the Usambara Mountains, but this would not have been feasible in the time available). Ellie's planning was very thorough, and everything worked smoothly.

The only thing that didn't work was that the mailed package did not arrive in time before we left. It would have been better to allow more time.

Ubuntu and Kwihala were easily the most professional people we stayed with, and we thoroughly enjoyed staying at their two tented camps. Please pass this comment on to them. Both managers, staff and guides were excellent at both camps.
The only reservation we had was about our first guide, Kevin. He was quite pleasant and was also fairly knowledgeable about wildlife and birds. However, he has been a guide for some time, and seemed to be going through the motions a fair bit, and was not particularly enthusiastic (certainly compared to other guides we have used). He did not usually proffer a lot of information on his own initiative, apart from an excellent dissertation about the Rift Valley. He would provide information when we asked, but we had specifically told him we were interested in everything, including local culture.

When we were driving along in Tarangire (in particular) and Ngorongoro, he was not constantly scanning as the best guides do.He would often just drive along, frequently listening to the CB radio which tended to be on all the time. I would often spot things he would not, and I know from using other guides that my eyes are nowhere near as good as the best guides' eyes.
I know that guides use the CB radio for communication, but we got the sense he was using it (constantly) more for his own interest, and it became very annoying on occasions. We may be wrong there, but as we were starting to descend into Ngorongo Crater in the early morning light, I asked him to turn off the radio so we could enjoy the experience but he didn't hear or notice.

He did do a more thorough job in Lake Manyara, and we were happy with our safari experience there.

We don't necessarily want to cause a problem for Kevin, as he has his good points. However, we also have a number of specific complaints.

On our first night's stay in Sopa Lodge in Tarangire, we had to ask the management for some more bottled water. We found out the next day that Kevin had a large supply of bottled water on board, but he failed to inform us of this. He claimed he did, but my wife and I are quite aware of the importance of water, and he certainly didn't inform us.

On the way to Tarangire when we arrived at the big tourist shop where everybody stops, he made a beeline for the coffee bar for his free coffee. We don't begrudge him this, but he left us to our own devices (which is fine), but he had not really informed us of what was going on, or asked whether we might like a coffee, or indicated how long we would be there. This attitude contrasted with the few other guides we have used, who would make sure you were informed and were looked after.

Lastly, on the second morning during breakfast, he picked up my Nikon camera with its telephoto lens attached and played around with it for a short while. He did this without asking. As it happens, I was surprised but I didn't take exception to it as I could see he wasn't going to do any harm. However, I thought a lot of photographers I know would take exception to it, particularly as he could inadvertently damage something.

The above are all fairly minor gripes in the overall safari experience. As I said, Kevin was quite personable and pleasant, and we generally got on well. However, we believe his performance would be improved if he was more aware of his clients' requirements and showed greater enthusiasm and a little more "gung ho" attitude to do his best for his clients." Read full review: 33 nights in Africa; 16 on a Tanzania safari

"Our trip was incredible! Our first time in Africa and our first trip of this extent and we couldn't be happier. We had the perfect combination of safari, tent, beach, hotel and enjoyment.

We thought Tarangire National Park was the most amazing place for a game drive. The elephants were everywhere!! We particularly enjoyed the night game drive and the seclusion of our camp.

We weren't thrilled about Ngorongoro Crater or Lake Manyara. Lake Manyara seemed like a petting zoo compared to Tarangire and the crater had tons of animals but took so much time to get into and exit out. We didn't like the closed safari vehicles which you have to have in both places and the distance from the animals in both wasn't as fun.

The Serengeti is a MUST stop! We got to see the crossing about 4-5 times which was breathtaking. The camp was unreal and everybody should experience a mobile camp bucket shower :) The staff at both tented camps were out of this world.

We looked Asilia!! They were truly unbelievable. The staff was so reliable, intelligent and just fun to be around. We felt completely at home with them and safe. It was so great to work with them!

We loved visiting the Giraffe Centre and David Sheldrick's elephant orphanage. They were both unforgettable and moving experiences. We learned so much and have a huge appreciation for the work both places are doing for these animals. We also visited Mamba Village (crocodile place) and we were not fans of this at all. It was more like a zoo. Animals were captured and brought into this village to be looked at by guests. We saw injured ostriches and camels with mussels. Not a great experience.

After having such incredible experiences during safari, we were so exited to spend time in Seychelles relaxing. Although the islands are beautiful, they were too secluded for us. We found that the islands didn't have much to offer for activities or enjoyment. We left the hotel every night for dinner which was good, but the taxis were VERY expensive so that was disappointing. The highlight of Seychelles for us was scuba diving. We loved it so much we went 2 days in a row. We had a good time relaxing by the pool and taking in the breathtaking views of the beaches. I don't know if I think the amount of travel to get to Seychelles is necessarily worth it but it allowed us our layover visit in Kenya and we really enjoyed that.

Elizabeth is so great to work with, she made the planning promise seamless! I actually had fun picking out the destinations and accommodations. Ellie also was great in Elizabeth's absence. She helped us with our very minor issues while we were in the Seychelles. Both ladies were extremely responsive and helpful. Expert Africa is a superb travel agency, I hope to use again and I will recommend to all of my friends and family. Thank you for giving up the honeymoon of our dreams!!" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"We had a wonderful time on safari in Tanzania - first off, a huge thank you to Liz Wollen. She truly was the mastermind behind our itinerary and every lodge, logistical element and detail was 100% on point. Each day was a new and wonderful experience, and we are grateful to Liz for helping us plan an amazing adventure.

Our trip was also made spectacular by our fearless guide Nathoo Rafiq- we were so lucky to be paired with him. He's a gem - so knowledgable, kind, smart, patient...

Our only regret is that we couldn't have stayed longer- next time!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Liz really knew Tanzania like the back of her hand - she gave us honest information and advice as we were planning the trip. She was extremely informative and thorough, and we had total confidence in her planning and suggestions.

We usually plan trips ourselves, so having someone else deal with the nitty gritty was actually tough for us, since we actually enjoy doing that part. Liz put up with all of our questions and ideas and research, but did the heavy lifting. The trip went off without a hitch, which is a huge compliment since there truly were a lot of moving parts.

We could not be more thankful to her!!" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari

"The trip exceeded all of our expectations.

There were no "glitches" whatsoever. The recommended lodges and camps were wonderful, the timing and execution of every aspect was great. We were completely satisfied with the recommendations and service given to us by Expert Africa.

You cannot plan a trip to Africa being assured of seeing all of the wildlife you would like to see - you are at the mercy of nature! We were very lucky. We saw more animals than we ever dreamed of.

We have been to some amazing places around the world, but we will remember our trip to Tanzania as being one of our best experiences ever!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
No suggestions, we were very impressed with the team at Expert Africa. We worked with both Elizabeth Wollen and Eleanor Dunkels and they were both very helpful.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No suggestions, we were very impressed with the team at Expert Africa.

We worked with both Elizabeth Wollen and Eleanor Dunkels and they were both very helpful." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari

"From the planning stage to the real journey, everything went well. It was a real pleasure to plan the trip with Eleanor, she is professional in all aspects from giving advice to handling the bookings.

Gorilla trekking permit was expensive and originally, we thought of doing it for one day. Eleanor recommended us to do 2 treks and it was a very good advice as both experience were different. The local operators, camps and hôtels that was recommended are of very high standard.

We could not wish for more." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 5 on a Tanzania safari

"The trip was beyond memorable.

Every Lodge exceeded our expectations and I must commend all the staff at each House and Lodge for their professionalism and attention to detail.

We loved getting to know each and every person.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I think that all the accommodations were down played a little when I booked the trip.

I wasn't expecting them to be so spacious." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"The entire experience from start to finish was best in class. We truly had a once in life time experience and we are so happy we chose to work with Expert Africa.

I would strongly urge anyone thinking of going to Africa to work with you guys. The reviews we had read to help us decide and plan were all accurate which is alway a bonus as well.

If I had to do it all over again, there are minor ( and I mean minor) things I would have changed. The first day was an extremely long day of travel. After 21hrs of traveling we were a bit surprised by a four hour drive until we got to our hotel. We certainly sucked it up and at the end of the day it was fine but I may have opted to stay a bit closer.

I may have also done one less day of selous. Not sure if it was our location, luck or combination of the two but we we could have done one less day there. Again, this is being super nit picky it really was amazing.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

My only suggestions is a bit more detail around the flights and the distances of the transfers." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"Been to Africa 3 times now. This was the best one yet!!" Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"We had planned it as the holiday of a lifetime and it proved to be exactly this, just perfect.

The arrangements were flawless from start to finish

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No, and I will certainly recommend you to anyone travelling to Africa, we will certainly come back again" Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari

"With much assistance from Expert Africa we really were able to tailor make our honeymoon and it made the world of difference. It meant we could focus on the things we were most interested in, we could move on from one location to the next at our own pace and we could adjust the budget up or down accordingly by tweaking here and there.

Our whole trip was fantastic. It had a rocky start as our flight leaving the UK was actually cancelled, however we were able to ring Expert Africa in the middle of the night explain the problem and by the time we arrived in Tanzania a new schedule had been re-arrranged for us by James that minimised any loss of activities. Having this piece of mind was invaluable.

Thanks should also go to Liz (who often assisted us if James was out of the office) and to Megan as originally we were looking into going to Botswana." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari