Reviews of safaris to Ruaha National Park

"I rarely visit a place more than once -life is short and there is so much to see. Having returned from my second trip to Kwihala I am about to plan my third. I think that says it all." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari

"We thoroughly enjoyed our 7 nights in Tanzania. The two camps were both excellent and had their particular strengths. We enjoyed all of our guiding, the food was excellent, the transfers were seamless and we didn't get a lot of bug bites. All of the staff at both camps were so friendly and eager to help or explain things.

This was a trip of a lifetime and we cannot stop thinking or talking about our experience." Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"Everything worked out really well. We appreciated that the camp managers knew our itinerary, took personal interest in knowing us and remembering who we are. So each evening when discussing the next day, they knew our names, what tent we were in, what we'd done that day, what our options were for the next day, etc.

We would recommend that both camps encourage their guides and drivers to communicate a bit more with their passengers, especially after they stop and talk to drivers of other vehicles........they regularly stop and talk briefly with passing drivers, and we assume they ask what that driver has seen, etc - which is absolutely fine to do. But by far the majority of times they stopped, chatted, and moved on without telling us whether they'd gleaned any useful information from the other car. Of course they could have told us anything as we don't understand Swahili anyway!

But coming from a Customer Service background myself, I would consider it not very good practice to stop and talk with friends in a language that my customer can't understand, and then not explain anything to my customer afterwards.

Similarly one of our drivers seemed to use his mobile phone to make a lot of calls one day - I know the drivers talk between themselves by phone sometimes, but these were longer calls than just passing on information to another driver - and again is a bit disrespectful when you're 'on duty' and supposed to be concentrating on driving and looking for game for your customers.

Sometimes we felt that they were just shooting the breeze and a bit disinterested (which maybe they were!) - but we paid good money for the safaris, and the guys may need an occasional reminder about what good customer service means in the culture of their customers!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I mentioned in the camp reviews - both camps provided very adequate torches and bug spray, and some bug repellent too, so there was no need for us to have carried those ourselves. (I haven't kept the Expert Africa letter, but from memory I think these were things you recommended we carry).
The 15kg baggage allowance for the small planes, and "small baggage holds" was also not a problem......it was a lot more relaxed on all 3 flights than we imagined it would be from reading Expert Africa's letters!

The tipping policy is confusing. Obviously cultures are different, but we found that your advice of "$10 per person per day" doesn't adequately explain it.
Each camp had a general tip box for all staff at the camp (which staff at Mdonya reminded us about on the day we were leaving!), but then we were told the drivers and guides had chosen not to be part of that system.......and so the obvious hope/expectation is that we'll also tip the drivers and guides personally.
So does the suggested $10 per person per day mean we give $10 to the driver per day, plus $10 to the guide per day? And is that for each customer to give this, or just each group? (i.e. per couple/family)

Personally I wish that tip expectations were done away with altogether. It would be nice if we could be assured that each member of staff is paid a decent wage out of what guests pay for their stay, and that we truly feel no obligation to tip......and then we can tip people when we think they've done something really good.
It frustrates me that we pay a lot of money for a holiday, but there is a clear expectation that we'll actually pay more when we get there as well!" Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari

"We were in the right place at the wrong time of year, therefore, much of the game had moved away so game viewing was much more difficult with long periods of donating blood to the tsetse flies and not a lot in return." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari

"We really enjoyed the trip. We were very glad we did part of the trip by road, we enjoyed seeing and meeting people going about their daily lives, we will always try to incorporate this in any future safaris. The game is certainly more spread out and less abundant than many other parks, but with patience and good guides, it is all there somewhere.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Try to get a member of your staff to Hondo Hondo, we know you will be happy to recommend it when you have been there." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari

"We had a lovely holiday and would recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone.

It was a lovely combination of beach and safari and the areas of Selous and Ruaha were totally different experiences. The snorkelling on Mafia was unexpectedly wonderful. Expert Africa certainly guided us to some lovely places and it is one of the best experiences of Africa we have had. All our connections went very smoothly and we were well looked after." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 14 on a Tanzania safari

"We really enjoyed our safari and I did not want to leave." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari

"Do not obfuscate just with the Northern Circuit , If you want great wildlife viewing with far fewer crowds then go to the south , Selous and Ruaha are wild and beautiful ." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari

"I am almost lost for words about how amazing our trip to southern Tanzania was. It far exceeded our expectations in terms of accommodation and the game viewing and we wished we could stay much longer.

It was an expensive trip for us but worth every penny.

Elizabeth and James booked our trip for us and it was very well planned. What I really appreciated was that they took into account our very strict budget and still went out of their way to help us. I have found some agencies become rather reluctant to help you once they realise you will not be purchasing all the optional extras and need to stay within budget but I never felt that with Expert Africa.

I hope to book with them again in the future and would recommend without hesitation." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari

"It was fantastic -a real experience of the bush with an emphasis on wilderness expereince and excellent guiding
Thanks to Elizabeth Wollen at EA for her insights and advice .She interporetd our brief really well." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari