Reviews of safaris to Ruaha National Park

"The advice I received from Expert Africa was extremely useful in enabling me to choose two contrasting park/game reserves and the right accommodation for my needs. It was particularly helpful to have advice on the best places for a solo traveller. I was also grateful to have been advised to get a visa beforehand as I noticed other travellers were forming a lengthy queue while I breezed through immigration. All the transfers went smoothly and the staff from Coastal Aviation were friendly and helpful.

During the low season in which I travelled the Selous was abundant in plains game, particularly new born animals. Predators were not so easily found but the guides were skilled enough to track them down. Ruahah had so many elephants with herds up to perhaps 100. There were plenty of elephants a few weeks old. Good sightings of cheetah and lions.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Of the eight nights of my trip I spent seven of these as the sole guest. Obviously this had advantages but as a solo traveller I would have liked to have been able to meet other safari guests. The staff at the camps went out of their way to make me welcome so there was no chance of feeling isolated. Not really something you could resolve !

At both camps it was commented that Expert Africa was one of the best Africa tour operators." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"One of our very best trips. We had done many previous safaris but always in the dry season. While going in the green season has some downsides (much thicker bush and some areas were inaccessible due to flooding) the scenery was more attractive and we still had excellent game viewing while the bird life was significantly more abundant than in the dry season. Combining Selous with Ruaha provided good contrast and meant that we saw a wider range of game than remaining in just one reserve." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari

"A great trip, literally the holiday of a lifetime.

The itinerary was well thought through and met our budget. There was little I would change." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari

"Very well organised and coordinated trip leading to a marvellous holiday making the most of remote and beautiful game reserves

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Keep being aware, which I am sure you are!, of the difficult balancing act between remote bush and wish to see animals and comfort.

Different customers will have different requirements, but my personal view is that excessive luxury in this situation is not appropriate, makes me feel uncomfortable and actually detract, not to say making an already expensive trip even more so.

Kwihala got it absolutely right for me." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari

"This trip was worth everything that my husband and I put into it. We hesitated on the cost but then realized that having the exact trip we wanted would be worth it.

I can't gush enough about how perfectly ExpertAfrica put together everything for us. It was also in the perfect order, and met every little thing we had asked for.
We wanted walking safaris, which we got. We wanted luxury, which we got. We wanted parks/reserves that were not as crowded but still had great game viewing. Nothing about the itinerary disappointed us.

I'm also impressed with the order of the itinerary. We thought it strange that we were going to Selous and then Ruaha when everyone we encountered in Selous mentioned that they had come from Ruaha. We wondered why we were doing it the other way, and also wondered, with Beho Beho's level of luxury, if maybe finishing on it would be better. But once we got to Ruaha and experience Kichaka Expeditions, we knew that the trip had been planned exactly right. Though both camps are absolutely great at what they do, if we had done it in reverse order, we might've been a little disappointed.

Also, I want to comment that I was very pleased with Primate Safaris, who worked with us in Rwanda. They were professional, and really great. Our luggage had gotten lost on the way into Kigali, and the company helped us get it to us. The guiding was knowledgeable, friendly, easy to talk to, and we had a really good time.

The only problem with this trip is that it made me realize how unhappy I am with my current day job and it was extremely hard to transition back to regular life. It was almost too good of a trip! All I want to do is return to Africa on another vacation, even though I know it will be a long time before I can...
But for certain, when I do, I will book through Expert Africa.

As a note, though Lyndsey helped with our final details of our trip," Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari

"Another great trip to Tanzania. This was our 6th trip to Tanzania and as always we loved it. Accomodation, transport, food, game viewing and beach were all excellent. Can't wait to return." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari

"Fantastic holiday - I hope to return to Tanzania one day and will contact Expert Africa for help when the time comes." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"We always come back from Africa wanting to head straight back!
We have travelled twice so far with Expert Africa and we would use them again and highly recommend them to our friends." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"It was great. We had a fabulous time.

Loads of super memories and missing the blue skies and heat." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 13 on a Tanzania safari

"I applied for a job in Tanzania some time ago so i bought the guide book and book on safaris just in case I got the job. Well i didn't get the job but the book really got me excited about Africa. When i found a travel partner, some years later, while re reading my books i was inspired by the fact that the authors had travelled to this area frequently and consequently I was drawn to contact the affiliated company regarding trip planning.

Lyndsey was excellent. She started off by asking what kind of trip we wanted and from there guided us through planning a trip that would meet our needs and expectations. She answered our questions, wasn't pushy and was open to my suggestions of things i wanted to work into our trip, like visiting fish markets and seeing some of Dar es Salem. The adventure was exactly what we wanted and more.

Travelling as two older women it was important to feel safe and at the same time experience the opportunity of adventure. Keeping the costs down and not going to high end camps was important as well as avoiding the crowds. We met other travellers who had been further north and when they showed up at an animal sighting there where 50 jeeps already there, everyone lined up. We knew we didn't want that nor travel in an enclosed vehicle so again great direction from Lyndsey.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

We were not charged the $30 fee to leave Tanzania and I'm not sure if this is because we left from Zanzibar or not.

The Stone Town Airport does not open until midnight for a 2am flight so there is no point going out there early. If u do the toilet outside the airport building costs money and the one inside is free. You need TZ shillings.

The booklet is confusing on tipping in the camps and we received different information from the different camp managers. If two people are travelling together do they pay their guide as one person or do they people double the recommended amount? We paid our driver, the guide, the boat guide all separate from each of us and then half that amount at the second camp. Other people we talked to seemed confused as well.

I brought a black head net and was really glad I did as the flies at the second camp were fierce in some areas. Burning elephant dung helped somewhat. Green head nets interfere with your vision clarity but the black ones work great.

Thanks Lyndsey for all your help in planning our wonderful adventure!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari