Reviews of safaris to Ruaha National Park

"Our ninth safari and a return for a second visit to Ruaha and Selous. The game and sightings were as good as any we have experienced before anywhere.

We saw three different lion hunt and kills, a crocodile/impala kill and an unsuccessful leopard hunt in daylight. We had good wild dog sightings, plenty of various antelope and an excellent range of smaller animals; add a total of 220 species of birds in 12 days, many lizards and even a few snakes this trip- 2 pythons and a green snake (it's a harmless species - I don't mean a mamba or boomslang). Both Ruaha and Selous remain game rich and less tourist full than many other destinations. Selous is a favorite over Ruaha because of the availability of water safaris but to us a mixture of places makes a trip and the paucity of available water in Ruaha just concentrates the game.

Guiding was excellent at all the three camps we went to and the camps themselves reflected the range from bush camp to luxurious with none of them having any shortcomings. As usual the camp staff were unfailingly pleasant and efficient. One does not usually notice the domestic staff side of things but all the camps manage hotel type efficiency of cleaning, clothes washing and ironing and food production and all done out in the bush far from civilization.

We approached Expert Africa with two itineraries; a Zambia trip was not on because places were already booked but it was clear that a Southern Tanzania one was possible and in fact everything we wanted fell into place within a few days. Claire was efficient, friendly and you get the impression with expert Africa that they will keep on trying to get your trip right. On this occasion there was no problem. Our documents arrived in plenty of time as promised.

An excellent and enjoyable trip- Thank you

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Our second trip organised by you and faultless really. We are experienced safari fans so perhaps we know what we want and what to expect more than some (Africa being Africa!), however knowing that your staff will have actually visited and have experience of many of the camps is comforting when planning and discussing places to go.

It would be good to see you cover Kenya and particularly Uganda." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Tanzania safari

"Absolutely fantastic and lived up to and in fact exceeded our expectations. We had been wanting to go on a safari for several years and when this year we finally decided that we would go we thought it was going to be Botswana.

However having had many very useful and informative phone calls with the Ellie and other members of the Expert Africa team we ended up going to Tanzania, and were delighted with our choice. Everything that Ellie said was accurate in every respect and we would not hesitate to return to a wonderful country, with fantastic people, scenery and wildlife

Ellie could not have been more helpful and our overall experience with the Expert Africa team was excellent. I would not hesitate to use Expert Africa again or indeed recommend them to other people.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No!" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari

"The trip had the uncanny quality of feeling once in a lifetime whilst making you desperate to return.

We had great advice from Elizabeth in the Expert Africa team and couldn't have been more delighted with the choices we made on where to stay and what to do with our time. The planning was well done in advance and every element hung together seemlessly - every connection was made, all transport was waiting, everyone with whom we were staying knew to expect us.

We're already thinking about where to go next and wouldn't hesitate to pick up the phone to Expert Africa in the future to help us plan another great trip." Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 9 on a Zanzibar holiday

"Our trip was a once in a lifetime experience. One that will never be forgotten.

All the camps and lodges were different, as were the national parks and animal reserves. And we loved them all. We saw all the animals and birds in their natural habitat. Our guides were wonderful and very knowledgeable. WE were lucky that we had our own guide and jeep all the time, except for Lamai Serengeti. It made it easy for us to see all the animals in comfort. We have more Camps and Lodges to see in Tanzania.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

None, you have done a marvelous safari tour for us." Read full review: 39 nights in Africa; 34 on a Tanzania safari

"Our first safari in Africa and we definitely hope it will not be our last. We were fascinated by all we saw, heard, felt, experienced and learnt. We loved it. Seeing so many animals up-close-and-personal is such an experience and privilege. We had to keep pinching ourselves that we were actually there in the places we had only read about or seen on our TV screens.

We appreciated Liz listening to our 'wants' and coming up with the solution that to get the experiences we wanted we should combine the North and the South of Tanzania - excellent.

We are glad we did not spend more time in the more crowded areas of the Serengeti, and so glad we went up to the border near the Mara River, before flying down South to Ruaha (Mwagusi) and Selous (Beho Beho). Each camp so different - each with their own special feeling - but each providing wonderfully efficient service, given with warmth and friendliness.

We just have to save now for another safari......

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Only a minor point which relates to us as one passenger is a bad traveller - if a trip required flying over the Serengeti - try to arrange morning flights which apparently are not as bumpy!!!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari

"Overall th etrip was excellent. A good balance of location, activties and time.

The one thing I would consider doing differently is to fly to Kigali via Amsterdam and miss out Nairobi. Costs more but less hassle." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"We were very pleased we went.

We are still processing our 3,000 + photos!!!" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari

"We cannot thank Ellie enough for this great holiday
We had great guiding and game viewing.
We really liked all our accommodation and especially liked the nomad camp in Serengeti

The holiday was everything we wanted it to be" Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 13 on a Tanzania safari

"We are hard to satisfy as we have traveled a lot and always have hight expectations. This was a very well organized trip and expertafrica is truly a specialist in its field. They delivered great service with a lot of patience for our various demands.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

It may be a good idea to monitor the professional qualifications of the safari guides as there are clearly differences which the visitor should know about prior to deciding on the camp. At Ruaha the guide had started as a waiter in the camp and then worked his way up and got trained by Fox himself. In SA Sabi Sabi we came across guides with a degree as a safari field guide and he was the third generation and practically started training with his grandfather.

We met a lot of experienced safari tourists who are interested in very knowledgable guides. We also believe it is important to have a driver and a guide rather than a single driver guide who we had in Selous. There needs to be a lot more information avaibable in your brochures and website on the training the guides have received for us to make an informed decision which trip and camp to book.

To manage expectations you should also explain the various areas to go on safari - for example: you get very close to wildlife if you are on a private game park safari (SA) in contrast to a National Park (Ruaha), where there are stricter rules to not follow the animals beyond the tracks. You may also point out that the local game parks provide shooting licenses for parts of the park (to make more money) which is affecting the behaviour of wildlife and visibility when you are on a safari close to such an area. (Selous)" Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"The holiday matched and superceded our expectations. Thank you" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari