Reviews of safaris to Ruaha National Park

"We had an amazing trip due to the fact that Jessica took time to understand our wishes for the trip and tailored the itinerary accordingly.

The organisation was excellent and the lodges lived up to our expectations.

We were looked after superbly all by lodge staff and the safari guides were extremely knowledgeable and we were thrilled to see so many animals close up.

Thank you Expert Africa" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 13 on a Tanzania safari

"The whole experience was great. We had a brilliant time. Everything worked just as Expert Africa had planned so we didn't have to worry about a thing.

Safaris were great - the camps recommended above excellent. Everyone in both camps were determined to provide us with the best experience possible. Having discussed with Lyndsey the various areas in Tanzania we could have chosen for our safaris, we were pleased we chose the Selous and Ruaha - two very different areas though the wildlife was much the same on the whole. But we appreciated the different landscapes, the views, the lush vegetation and the amazing accommodation.

Stone Town - was good for two nights, not sure we'd have wanted any longer in retrospect, so again good advice from Expert Africa. And we couldn't fault White Sands!

All in all - an amazing holiday. Thank you!" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"We did most of the planning for our trip to Tanzania ourselves. Lyndsey was our agent from Expert Africa. This is our second trip with Expert Africa and we are left disappointed by the service received.

Lyndsey's main role was to assist in stitching our itinerary together, liasing with both Nomad Tanzania on the ground, with accommodation providers and with safari charter companies. On a positive note, all our transfers, accommodation and transport were seamless. We appreciate the work Lyndsey did to make this happen as we are aware logistics in Tanzania can be complex.

However we dont feel Lyndsey or Expert Africa proactively discount or negotiate on behalf of clients. We were offered discounts with various accommodation providers for booking direct but we had to push for these to be made available for booking through Expert Africa. They were never proactively offered. In addition, we had to push to stay at Hatari Lodge. Lyndsey wrongly commented that Arusha National park is closed after 6pm and we would be unable to arrive into Hatari later. We had to contact the lodge ourselves directly and paste information on email from Hatari's website to challenge this as Hatari have an agreement with the park management to allow guests arrive post 6pm.

We were disappointed we never received a paper copy of our documentation from Expert Africa. We didnt purchase a travel guide as we were expecting to receive one from our agent. With only 2-3 days before our departure date, we were finally told no paper documents, luggage tags or guide book would be sent. It left us no time to purchase one online ourselves. Its a small thing but it left a poor impression. In addition, & despite agreeing accommodation choices, it took a long time to receive confirmation of reservations, some times up to 14 days.

Finally, we are currently disputing a fee we were told we must pay in order for a safari charter to operate. We paid 4 seats and were reassured by our agent that this would be refunded if other pax were subsequently onboard. When we sent an email from Tanzania that 4 pax were in fact on board and requesting a refund, we received an email from Lyndsey offering to refund only 1 seat and would we be happy with this? There was no offer to escalate this on our behalf. We werent happy.

We have responded with copies from two emails quoting Lyndsey reassuring us of a refund if we were not the sole pax on board. We have been told twice in the last week on email that the matter has been escalated and the agent is awaiting a response. We would have preferred if this had been done promptly and efficiently. Having paid almost £20000 for this trip, it leaves a poor impression of both the agent and Expert Africa. After almost two weeks, we still are none the wiser.

We have every intention of returning to both Tanzania and exploring other parts of Africa. Based on our latest experience, we're not so sure however we'll continue use Expert Africa to facilitate these trips in the future." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari

"We were very happy with all the arrangements made by Expert Africa which went according to plan.

As usual they were very professional, efficient and helpful ( even down to helping us get our luggage stored in Zanzibar!).

Basically nothing was too much trouble.

This was our first safari in the Green season and, as expected, we did not see as much wildlife as we have done previously but this did not detract from our enjoyment and it was worthwhile in order to see the parks in leaf.

A very enjoyable trip." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"It could have been so much better if Ikuka had not been such a disappointment." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari

"Our whole trip went like clockwork.

We enjoyed all of the recommended accommodation and wouldn’t have made any changes to the itinerary.

Both Selous and Ruaha are remote and quiet parks to visit and point camps were small and exclusive. The short flights and transfers were all seamless.

We recommended Expert Africa to other guests that we met at Kichaka who had been unhappy with their own agent.

Good idea to give us business cards to hand out!" Read full review: 17 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari

"A fantastic and unforgettable trip - Whilst two years in the making (COVID) was well worth the wait.

Jessica has been an absolute diamond in helping get this trip sorted. We moved things around more than once and Jessica was brilliant in sorting out our needs.

Thank you Jessica :).

Thanks so much for helping us get this organised. This was an expensive trip (for us) so are really pleased it all worked perfectly.

We had such a fantastic time." Read full review: 19 nights in Africa; 17 on a Tanzania safari

"All of us greatly enjoyed our trip.

Ruaha is a wonderfully scenic park and its location at the northern limit of some species and the southern limit of others means that it houses a unique variety of animals.

We had some excellent sightings including roan antelope, numerous lions, including a mating pair right by the jeep, and leopard four times.

We stayed at Mwagusi first and then Ikuka and both camps were excellent." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"Really great wonderful experience, great vacation.

Really helpful.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No just a wonderful vacation . Thanks 👍" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari

"Quick responses and helpful guidance with our planning.

Very useful Zanzibar guidebook too!" Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 5 on a Tanzania safari