Reviews of safaris to Ruaha National Park

"We had a fabulous trip. Everything went to plan. The wildlife in the Selous was fabulous and we'd love to go back. Ruaha was beautiful and we would return but would either stay at a different camp in February or go back to Mdonya but at a different time of year.

The guides were probably not as well trained as we expected for camps of this quality - they were enthusiastic and friendly, but were not so good at communicating what the plans were for each day, or to establish what we knew, what we wanted to see, what we had seen before etc. Emanuel/Zahor (Manze) and Gerhard (Impala) were the best at communication.

The trip certainly whetted our appetitie for seeing more of Tanzania!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Not really. You are very good at what you do so keep doing it! The camp managers were all very complimentary about Expert Africa - Barbara (Impala) said that you are the best tour operator she deals with - so keep doing what you are doing!

On feedback, it might make it easier to complete if you had a narrative box against each question to comment on, for example, food, activities etc, rather than one large box at the end. It has certainly taken us rather longer than we had intended to get this completed!

With regard to Mafia it would be helpful to highlight on your website that snorkeling is very much tide dependent, so that anyone who is keen to snorkel might want to check tides and dates to make the most of their time there.

And finally - we would like to thank Angela for organising a very special trip. Some of our feedback might sound a bit negative but we would like to strees that we had a really fabulous time. It's easy with feedback to focus on the things that were not perfect and our comments are intended to highlight those areas where things could be even better. Please don't think that we are 'having a moan' in any way." Read full review: 20 nights in Africa; 18 on a Tanzania safari

"Very satisfactory doesn't really convey how happy we were with our trip. Everything was excellent. Right from the start when we first contacted Ellie it was obvious that we were dealing with someone who was really doing everything possible to ensure that we had a great holiday and we really did, apart from the fact that she couldn't conjure up sightings of Wild Dog and Whale Shark ( and I'm sure she would have if it were possible!) it really was a memorable holiday which all four of us would happily do again. Particular thanks are due for the recommendation to stay at Butiama Beach on Mafia which really was just the place we were looking for to unwind before returning home. We certainly would have no hesitation in recommending both Ellie and Expert Africa to friends and family and will definitely be contacting them again when next we return to Africa." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 13 on a Tanzania safari

"Just another wonderful holiday from Expert Africa.

Ellie was so helpful and her suggestions about where to stay excellent. She also helped so much with the many queries I had and was very patient in helping to sort out the itinerary.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No suggestions as this is our 5th holiday that you have arranged and I can only say that we have always had excellent service and will certainly use Expert Africa for our next African holiday." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 9 on a Tanzania safari

"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