Reviews of safaris to Ngorongoro Crater

"Overall we had a fantastic trip and felt well looked after.

However there were a few points in the planning that could have been better explained or handled by Expert Africa;

1. On our safari we were unable to see the Wildebeest migration because it was too far away from Sopa lodge where we stayed for 3 nights. When we planned the trip we believed we were close enough to see the migration. If we had known Sopa lodge was so far away we could have spent 1 or 2 nights there and some the other nights in the Western Serengeti near the migration.

2. We booked our flights through Flight Centre but as Expert Africa had also quoted for the flights we had a double booking on our account which caused our actual flights to be cancelled and so had to be rebooked. We had hoped that this had been sorted out before we left but infact we had trouble checking in to both the outward and return flights, and were held up at check ins for 30 mins or so while the airline verified our tickets.

3. See Unguja Lodge feedback re windy season in Zanzibar." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari

"I had a private driver called Ayoub for 9 days.
He was exceptional, I have done about 15 safari holidays and he was the best
The game viewing was outstanding.
I chose middle range lodges as I was out in the 4x4 from dawn to dusk.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

The book on Tanzania and the travel guide that Expert Africa sent to me was not expected and was a nice touch" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"This was an excellent trip that was tainted at the end buy some communication issues by/between staff about departure times to the airport.

This did cost us each about $550 US dollars in extra transport and meant we miised out a days sight seeng etc in Nairobi. (and spent more time in airport laounges etc)" Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"The trip was fantastic on every front. Everything went like clockwork, we had nothing to worry about except enjoying ourselves. The three camps were stayed in were all excellent in terms of facilities, catering and staff. I could not fault Esto, our driver/guide at all. It was the best game viewing holiday I have ever had and our family of 5 did not argue, get bored or grumpy once!!

The only thing that did not quite go as planned was that I had asked for a birthday cake and Olakira camp and this did not happen. However, the camp manager at Dunia, Richard, somehow learnt that my husband had a birthday and produced an absolutely delicious cake, delivered with pomp and ceremony by the whole camp staff on our last night of the holiday and it more than made up for the Olakira slip up.

The best game viewing area was around Olakira and it was even better that were could drive off road in that area to get right in amongst the herds." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari

"This trip definitely exceeded our already high expectations. We'd been to Tanzania once before but to the much quieter southern parks. I was expecting thee northern parks to be much more touristy and crowded than they actually were. This is my 9the trip on safari to Africa and thee 1st one that I've ever seen the great 5 on one trip! The bird spotting was excellent too.

What really made it for me though was the people we met. All the staff were incredible and especially so to my elderly mother, who they were just so kind and respectful to. Special thanks must go to our guide, Martin, who was both a fantastic driver as well as guide and just a really nice person. We spent a lot of time with him, so it was great to come away feeling that we'd parted as friends and if we ever go back would definitely request him again.

All of the camps were great and for different reasons - I'm glad we had a variety too as we had a different perspective at each place which were unique in their own ways.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

None at all - you did an excellent job as usual!" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari

"This was a great holiday which met all our expectations (except perhaps in Zanzibar). We will be going back to Africa with you." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari

"I think this was the most amazing vacation I've taken in the past decade.

Expert Africa made what would have been a complicated mess of arrangements on my part into an easy process where everything was taken care of from the moment I landed til the moment I left Tanzania." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"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

"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

"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