Tanzania: reviews from our travellers

"We saw so many amazing animals and were given a friendly welcome throughout.

Our own arrangements at the end of the holiday made us realise that a permanent camp in the Serengeti rather than the mobile camp we chose at Olakira would have been a more satisfactory option, particularly as the Ndutu area was so busy with other safari goers. When discussing Kusini with you as an alternative at the planning stage, this aspect was not pointed out. As it happened the Migration had moved closer to Kusini (Maswa area) away from Ndutu but we were not offered the opportunity to drive out in this direction, despite staying for four nights at Olakira." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari

"Fantastic!

Selous and Ruaha gave us the variety of countryside and wildlife we wanted, and we thoroughly enjoyed the tented camps. A few relaxing days at Unguja made the perfect end to our trip. We loved Tanzania and the people we met.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Your service was excellent, especially in one way that you do not ask about: we were not sure which country we wanted to visit, and our ideas were quite vague to start with. Your team were very skilled at questioning me, proposing ideas and narrowing the choices down gradually. This plus the layout of your website helped us make the right choice.

I am happy for you to contact us by email but I would rather not receive regular brochures; they often get thrown away, so are such a waste of paper." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari

"We love Africa and this holiday exceeded expectations.

We saw a lot of wildlife, lions every day, and without exception everyone we met was welcoming and eager to give us a good time. We thought we saw more wildlife at Selous Safari but at Beho Beho there were lots of new experiences for us. What was good was that we saw very few other vehicles when on our game drives, it was not like the Serengeti or Ngorongoro where there are often 20 vehicles around one lion!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We have now used Expert Africa 3 times - Namibia, Botswana and now Tanzania - and can't fault you for your efficiency and helpfulness. Am now looking at your new brochure for ideas for our next triop to Africa!" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari

"North East Zanzibar good location for Matemwe but nothing else.

Onec you leave the main the road is terrible, so it it quite a process to get to the snorkelling.
Would stay in the South next time." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 4 on a Tanzania safari

"We had a great time and it was everything we expected that it would be. Ellie was so helpful in the booking process and answering my questions.

We loved Tanzania and we agreed that the safari here was better than other countries we had visited. Our driver from Asilia (Albert) was very friendly and knowledgeable. He was always prompt and the vehicle was always spotless.

We undertook a couple of trips with Wayo at the Serena Hotel at Lake Manyara:

1. The night drive into the park made us feel very special as we were the only people in the park on that night. I love the expectation of what you might see and this is what anyone who does this trip needs to bear in mind. It is highly unlikely that you will see Lions and whatever you do see unless you have a very good camera and are very quick at taking the picture you won't be able to do this. So it's best to just sit back and enjoy the trip. We saw different notcturnal animals - porcupine, genet, hippos feeding, bush babies etc.

2. Whilst we enjoyed the bike ride, there are a few factors that anyone doing this needs to think about. It was about 30km and whilst a lot of it is down hill the hot wetaher can take it out of you so take come water (we weren't offered any by Wayo, although our Driver gave us some) and plenty of sunscreen, a hat etc. The bikes are ok, but the seats are a bit worn and uncomfortable (we were talking to the guy who took us and he told us that they wanted to order the gel seats but had to get these form Europe). I had thought that the visit to the village was going to be about meeting people who lived and worked there - we actually visited a curio shop. We then biked into the park and down to the lake and then back up to the village where our driver met us. So overall we enjoyed it but a few things to consider for anyone else.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I really can't think of any." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 18 on a Tanzania safari

"I suspect our main problem is having been spoiled by too many Botswana holidays. Tanzania was quite beautiful; 2 of the camps were pretty well spot on as advertised but choosing Manze was our mistake and made against Liz's advice. Overall, the bird and game sightings were excellent, bearing in mind it should have been wet with lush vegetation. In effect the Selous and Ruaha were having a mini dry season and we benefitted greatly from it, albeit with some pretty savage humidity at times.

We were privileged in having Kwihala and Beho Beho totally to ourselves and were looked after royally in both camps. Both delivered top notch guiding and everything that there was to see, we saw. We were a little disappointed in the park rules for Ruaha and the impact that nearby shooting in Selous and poaching in both reserves is having on game and bird behaviour. Unusually I collected a small portfolio of photos of damaged animals. Coastal is a bit chaotic and BA really needs to review the standard and scheduling of catering on the return flight from Dar.

On balance we had yet another great holiday thanks to Liz and Expert Africa.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

In respect of this holiday, the information on Kwihala will need a major update after the move and improvements this spring and I suggest potential clients should be told of the off road and driving in the dark restrictions that are imposed in Ruaha.

Coastal's 'flexible' scheduling may also need to be considered for clients with tight schedules." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari

"Excellent and I have already recommended Expert Africa to a number of friends planning similar trips.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

None" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari

"We both had a wonderful honeymoon - it surpassed expectations and every place we stayed was different but equally fantastic. It was an expensive trip but I felt it was worth every penny.

Liz in particular was amazing - right from advising and helping us put together an itinerary, to sorting our flights out in the Heathrow chaos and helping us when needed during our trip. Liz's achievement in swapping us from BA to Kenya Airways on 20 December (at virtually no extra cost), without any exaggeration, saved the whole trip.

I would whole-heartedly recommend Expert Africa to friends and family, and I'll be in touch when we visit Africa again!

Thanks again for all your hard work,

Neil and Jo

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Keep up the good work, everyone in Africa we met spoke very highly of Expert Africa." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari

"great time had by all. would recommend.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
no" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Tanzania safari

"Yet again an excellent Africa trip.

We have yet to be disappointed with any of our trips, we do our research and choose our agents carefully, and have again been pleased with Expert Africa. Thus trip was arranged with short notice and no hitches.

The allocation of a trip advisor as "one port of call" is what we expect and the fact that there is a team of other experts to assist is also vital in our choice of agents - both these points were met and we would not hesitate to contact them for future trips.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
None" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari