Reviews of safaris to Ngorongoro Crater
296 holiday reviews from our travellers of holidays which include Ngorongoro Crater.
Dr A, B & B
San Diego
"Tanzania 2014"
I visited Tanzania between 29 Jul 2014 and 12 Aug 2014
"Excellent. Have not written much about the parks. While we are glad we visited Ngorongoro and lake Manyara (one person visited these over 30 years ago and they were much different) we would not not return to either. Tarangire, North Serengeti, and Ruaha were all great in their own ways and very much worth the visit, if we were to return we would explore different parts of the very large, diverse, and less trammeled Ruaha. Even with any minor complaints we would do it all again just as it occurred. We have a short slide show (with small camera) should you want a copy. Although we know people were trying to please and we saw the good side, everyone we met was very friendly and clearly took pride in what their country and people had to offer. NB: With a few exceptions, when you asked, you could get quite good, strong coffee rather than the instant coffee often served. Interesting for a major coffee-producing nation. We would consider Expert Africa for any future Africa travel, perhaps Namibia.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Not much to say here. It was really Ellie who walked us through the process. Well done Ellie." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 13 on a Tanzania safari
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Not much to say here. It was really Ellie who walked us through the process. Well done Ellie." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 13 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Dr & Mrs S
Cheshire
"Northern Tanzania July/August 2014"
I visited Tanzania between 20 Jul 2014 and 3 Aug 2014
"The good parts of the trip were the lodges (with the exception of Lemala) and the logistics which all worked extremely well.
We found the game viewing rather disappointing compared with Zambia and Botswana, with which we are more familiar, in that the wildlife was often very distant from the roads and made photography and observing behaviours less satisfactory.
Although we had to actually book the flights ourselves, the suggested routing of Manchester/Amsterdam/Kilimanjaro worked very well." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Tanzania safari
We found the game viewing rather disappointing compared with Zambia and Botswana, with which we are more familiar, in that the wildlife was often very distant from the roads and made photography and observing behaviours less satisfactory.
Although we had to actually book the flights ourselves, the suggested routing of Manchester/Amsterdam/Kilimanjaro worked very well." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 14 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Good
Mr & Mrs V
Harlow
"Gorillas and the Serengeti Migration 2014"
I visited Tanzania and 1 other country between 3 Jul 2014 and 17 Jul 2014
"We are seasoned safari aficionados, this being our 11th trip but first to Rwanda and then on to the Northern Tanzanian circuit. We enjoyed the whole trip immensely and had many memorable sightings and generally excellent lodges and camps.
Rwanda. Words cannot describe the gorilla treks- we looked forward to them, read as much as we could before going and still the experience was overwhelming. This was a birthday treat for my wife and on her birthday we watched a large family of gorillas going about their business and interacting with us in an absolutely magical way. Expensive but worth every penny- just save and do it.
Rwanda practically. The lodge was great and Primate safaris were efficient, our driver friendly and efficient. The country was fascinating- a modern city in Kigali and so clean but subsistence agriculture elsewhere with not a tractor in sight. Very friendly people.
Northern Tanzania. We saw the migration, half of a Mara river crossing and an abundance of game in the Serengeti. I was dubious about going to such a popular destination but did not feel that there were too many vehicles in the area. A great lodge in Lemai.
Asilia were superb in looking after us from Manyara onwards. Manyara was fine but beware, the open part of the park is only a half day's game drive and although we did meet someone who had seen a lion, the famous tree climbing lions are not often seen nowadays - good bird life though.
Ngorongoro crater. Cold when we were there - heed the warnings and ensure you take something to ward off the morning cold. A magical place though with abundant game. The Lemala camp seemed like a disappointment but we felt that it might not have been if the weather had been better.
Tarangire; an excellent camp in Oliver's and good game in particularly birds
The general organisation of the trip was pretty faultless (until we returned to Heathrow to find the Stansted express we use for the last leg home was not running) Camps and Lodges and all the interconnecting bits and pieces all worked together really well. Each driver who met us had printed name boards to find us with and named folders of permits etc and it all worked really well. They were friendly, bright, witty and informative, full marks to Primate safaris and to Asilia safaris
Elizabeth at Expert Africa made helpful suggestions before we decided on where to go and organised it all quietly in the background, sending their final ticket pack and useful information booklets a week or two before we left. We will undoubtedly use them again" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari
Rwanda. Words cannot describe the gorilla treks- we looked forward to them, read as much as we could before going and still the experience was overwhelming. This was a birthday treat for my wife and on her birthday we watched a large family of gorillas going about their business and interacting with us in an absolutely magical way. Expensive but worth every penny- just save and do it.
Rwanda practically. The lodge was great and Primate safaris were efficient, our driver friendly and efficient. The country was fascinating- a modern city in Kigali and so clean but subsistence agriculture elsewhere with not a tractor in sight. Very friendly people.
Northern Tanzania. We saw the migration, half of a Mara river crossing and an abundance of game in the Serengeti. I was dubious about going to such a popular destination but did not feel that there were too many vehicles in the area. A great lodge in Lemai.
Asilia were superb in looking after us from Manyara onwards. Manyara was fine but beware, the open part of the park is only a half day's game drive and although we did meet someone who had seen a lion, the famous tree climbing lions are not often seen nowadays - good bird life though.
Ngorongoro crater. Cold when we were there - heed the warnings and ensure you take something to ward off the morning cold. A magical place though with abundant game. The Lemala camp seemed like a disappointment but we felt that it might not have been if the weather had been better.
Tarangire; an excellent camp in Oliver's and good game in particularly birds
The general organisation of the trip was pretty faultless (until we returned to Heathrow to find the Stansted express we use for the last leg home was not running) Camps and Lodges and all the interconnecting bits and pieces all worked together really well. Each driver who met us had printed name boards to find us with and named folders of permits etc and it all worked really well. They were friendly, bright, witty and informative, full marks to Primate safaris and to Asilia safaris
Elizabeth at Expert Africa made helpful suggestions before we decided on where to go and organised it all quietly in the background, sending their final ticket pack and useful information booklets a week or two before we left. We will undoubtedly use them again" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr B
Rayleigh
"My Feb 2014 trip"
I visited Tanzania and 1 other country between 17 Feb 2014 and 28 Feb 2014
"I don't think that I can really commit all my expectations, experiences and wonderment otherwise I will go on and on .....
Expert Africa did a terrific job, they organised everything for a fantastic holiday, we got everything and more that we could have expected or hoped for. You are so far out of your comfort zone, after a comfortable life in UK that so see what we did, the country, how it's people live and work, the animals, just everything will stick and be remembered.
All I can say is tell Expert Africa what you really would like and not like and I am sure they will come up trumps, we did and will never reget it. I have just had the holiday of my lifetime and would highly recommend it if you only do it once, the rewards will outweigh any cost involved." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari
Expert Africa did a terrific job, they organised everything for a fantastic holiday, we got everything and more that we could have expected or hoped for. You are so far out of your comfort zone, after a comfortable life in UK that so see what we did, the country, how it's people live and work, the animals, just everything will stick and be remembered.
All I can say is tell Expert Africa what you really would like and not like and I am sure they will come up trumps, we did and will never reget it. I have just had the holiday of my lifetime and would highly recommend it if you only do it once, the rewards will outweigh any cost involved." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr P
Ringwood
"My Feb 2014 trip"
I visited Tanzania and 1 other country between 17 Feb 2014 and 28 Feb 2014
"A holiday of a lifetime - and it lived up to it.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
You are extremely professional and it shows. expert sums it up." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
You are extremely professional and it shows. expert sums it up." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Ms C
Vista
"Unforgettable experience in Africa"
I visited Tanzania and 2 other countries between 12 Feb 2014 and 24 Feb 2014
"All the way through our trip we were grateful to individuals that gave so much to help make our vacation so spectacular. Certain people were left out in the previous feedback. I want to give special thanks and kuddos to our guides in Rwanda, Hussein, our driver guide, as well as the amazing gorilla trekking guides. Fernando was an amazing gorilla trekking quide and teacher who ensured that we had a special, memorable experience watching these amazing creatures but also learned at the same time. How did he manage to learn all of our names in such a short time, incredible! If you have any interest in gorilla trekking I would jump at the chance. It's an experience of a lifetime! And please employ the local people as porters as this helps support them in a positive way instead of poaching.
Don't put off going on safari. So many species are under pressure from humans and habitat loss to survive.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Thanks to Ellie for her patience with our labored and prolonged itinerary planning. And thanks to Claire when she filled in during Ellie's absence. We benefitted enormously from her knowledge and suggestions.
Thanks so much to all for another amazing and unforgettable trip to Africa that we will never forget!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 5 on a Tanzania safari
Don't put off going on safari. So many species are under pressure from humans and habitat loss to survive.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Thanks to Ellie for her patience with our labored and prolonged itinerary planning. And thanks to Claire when she filled in during Ellie's absence. We benefitted enormously from her knowledge and suggestions.
Thanks so much to all for another amazing and unforgettable trip to Africa that we will never forget!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 5 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr MW & Mr M
UK
"Wonderful despite the weather"
I visited Tanzania and 1 other country between 3 Feb 2014 and 16 Feb 2014
"We had a wonderful time and had quite a few 'wow' moments. The weather was not what we expected and we were surprised at how cold it could be in the Serengeti but obviously there's nothing you can do about the weather.
We had one small hiccough at Nairobi airport but apart from that everything went very smoothly and everybody we encountered at every stage of the journey was most helpful.
It has to be said that travel in this part of Africa is now very expensive compared to the competition and we feel that better guidelines could have be given on tipping." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari
We had one small hiccough at Nairobi airport but apart from that everything went very smoothly and everybody we encountered at every stage of the journey was most helpful.
It has to be said that travel in this part of Africa is now very expensive compared to the competition and we feel that better guidelines could have be given on tipping." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mrs R
Canada
"My Jan 2014 trip"
I visited Tanzania and 1 other country between 19 Jan 2014 and 31 Jan 2014
"I think the ecstatic would be a better description. You didn't ask about the safari. Our tour guide, Ayoub, was fantastic. I had my 86yr old mother with me and he treated her like gold. She was "Beebee" the whole trip and he stopped and got her a stool when he saw that getting out of the jeep was hard for her. I'm pretty sure he had bought new picnic seats and table for us as he was taking the wrapping off of the . He was so knowledgeable and had eagle eyes. He made the trip, I can't say enough good about him. Going with a 15 yr old and and 86 yr old I was a bit concerned but he put us all at ease and was so very ,very nice.
Also Maruska did a great job, we heard of guides who were in the central area worried about finding animals as they were all near us!! thank you for putting us down into the south we saw all the big 5 plus a cheetah, lepoard, lion hunt,elephants fighting, new born wildebeests and huge troops of baboons. Thank you for considering our jet lag and suggesting Arusha Nat pk it was a perfect introduction.
It was to be the trip of a lifetime for my mom and it lived up to its billing and then some. She will never forget it. Thank you.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
No, You did a fantastic job. I have recommended you to my cousin who is planning a trip." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 4 on a Tanzania safari
Also Maruska did a great job, we heard of guides who were in the central area worried about finding animals as they were all near us!! thank you for putting us down into the south we saw all the big 5 plus a cheetah, lepoard, lion hunt,elephants fighting, new born wildebeests and huge troops of baboons. Thank you for considering our jet lag and suggesting Arusha Nat pk it was a perfect introduction.
It was to be the trip of a lifetime for my mom and it lived up to its billing and then some. She will never forget it. Thank you.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
No, You did a fantastic job. I have recommended you to my cousin who is planning a trip." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 4 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
AB
Essex
"My Jan 2014 trip"
I visited Tanzania and 1 other country between 16 Jan 2014 and 26 Jan 2014
"Unfortunately our experience with our guide/driver soured our whole experience. We had a huge sense of relief when we left him to fly for our last few days in Zanzibar. We emailed Expert Africa about the experience we were having while on our trip to flag up how awful we were finding the guide but asked them not to report it until we had finished that leg of the journey because we were concerned that if the guide knew our remaining days were likely to be more unpleasant. We left Tanzania on 22nd Jan and almost three weeks have passed but we haven't as yet had any response to the issues we raised."
Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 5 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Terrible
John
Australia
"My Jan 2014 trip"
I visited Tanzania and 2 other countries between 10 Jan 2014 and 26 Jan 2014
"We loved it. What else is there to say?"
Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari
Overall trip
Excellent
296
reviews of Ngorongoro Crater by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
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Where to stay in Ngorongoro Crater
Our suggestions for safari camps in Ngorongoro Crater
Plantation Lodge
A relaxed base between Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara, Plantation Lodge has lush grounds and offers good value and high standards.
Gibbs Farm
Located not far from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Gibb's Farm has comfy rooms, homegrown food and strong community links
Lemala Ngorongoro
Lemala Ngorongoro is a small, comfortable tented camp on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater with lovely walking in the vicinity.
Entamanu Ngorongoro
Opened in 2016, Entamanu Ngorongoro is a small camp high on the Crater rim with views towards the crater and the plains of the Serengeti.
Crater Lodge
The ultra-luxurious Ngorongoro Crater Lodge is perched in a spectacular location on the edge of the Ngorongoro Crater.
The Highlands
The Highlands is a unique camp near Olmoti Crater, north of Ngorongoro, offering drives, walks and cultural visits from a beautiful remote setting.
Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge
Situated on the eastern rim of the Ngorongoro Crater, with outstanding views, the Sopa Lodge is a somewhat dated, international-style hotel.
Rhino Lodge
Rhino Lodge is a simple, good-value lodge with a great location near the crater rim, in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Farmhouse Lodge
Ngorongoro Farmhouse Lodge is set on a 750-acres working farm. Close to the NCA gate, it makes a great base for exploring the Crater.
Rhotia Valley Ttd. Lodge
Rhotia Valley is a simple lodge with a strong commitment to the local community, including a children's home, which guests may visit.
Ngorongoro Serena
The large, hotel-like Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge sits on the western rim of Ngorongoro Crater and has stunning views of the caldera.
Bougainvillea Lodge
Bougainvillea Safari Lodge provides an economical base from which to visit Lake Manyara or the Ngorongoro Crater.
The Manor
The Manor is a smart, family-friendly Cape-Dutch-style lodge, offering high-quality service and food in very comfortable surroundings.
Neptune Ngorongoro
Neptune Ngorongoro Luxury Lodge is a smart hilltop lodge with log-style cottages set close to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Wildlife Lodge
Stay at the Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge while on road safari in Northern Tanzania's spectacular Ngorongoro Crater area.
Crater's Edge
Craters Edge is an intimate luxury property on the north-eastern rim of the Ngorongoro Crater.
Sanctuary Ngorongoro Crater Camp
A small tented camp, located on the eastern side of the Ngorongoro Crater rim, with a five minute drive to crater descent gate.
Lion's Paw
Located on the eastern rim of the Ngorongoro Crater, this camp has stunning panoramic views down onto the crater floor. A five minute drive to the nearest descent gate allows for early access into the crater, maximising on avoiding the large crowds
Ngorongoro Fly-Camp
Explore the remote northern rim of the Ngorongoro Crater on a two-day hike and spend the night in this small fly-camp.
Country Lodge
Country Lodge is conveniently located on the edge of Karatu and provides a comfortable base for exploring Ngorongoro Crater or Lake Manyara.
