Reviews of safaris to Tarangire National Park

"This was a return trip, and a fairly similar itinerary to 5 years ago.

Aided by Expert Africa again, we stuck to what we knew had worked. All the camps continued to be oustanding and the wildlife experience was once again wonderful yet completely different than last time.

We fell in love with Tanzania the first time, and we love it even more now.

Simply magical.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Absolutely not, its been amazing from the outset, and even through the Covid nightmare you managed to keep us up beat and informed.

The only sadness this trip was the relocation of Olakira away from the river which was enforced by local authorities apparently. A great shame because the game experience and game drives were decidely poorer for the extra driving and diversions away from some riverside areas that this relocation requires. Can't be helped and of course if we'd not been there in 2017, we'd have no comparison.

We were only disappointed by the quality of the wine offered with meals. It really was at best average.. We had been spoiled by having Stellenbosch wines in 2017! And we do appreciate that economies may be necessary after the Covid pandemic." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari

"It was a very good planned trip. We always felt safe and everything (each transfer, each flight and also the lodges ) worked well. The drivers were only three times a little bit too late, but there were always people around who cared about us.
The ideal length of your stay should be 4 nights in one lodge. So you have the opportunity to see a lot of different animals. On some days we only saw birds and on the last day of our stay in the lodge we saw the lepard. If your budget will allow you 4 nights, we hardly recommend that.
We also loved the different parcs we visited. Every parc is different in landscape and animals which you can spot easy." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 21 on a Tanzania safari

"Fantastic.

The trip was put together over a series of calls and discussions, met all our criteria and was a great success.

We had one slight hitch with charges for a walking and night safari which Lyndsey sorted immediately, the wonders of e mail.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Maybe make it clear that you will be guided through the many flight changes by Coastal, it was a bit daunting but they made it easy" Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 15 on a Tanzania safari

"The whole trip was memorable and truly amazing. The whole experience will stay in our memories forever.

The younger generation was overwhelmed and continue to talk about it.

We did especially appreciate the thoughtfulness and consideration given to the birthday girls and the surprise lunch in the bush is still being talked about.

Lyndsey could not have been more helpful from the first enquiry in March 2021 to our return and we will definitely recommend her and Expert Africa to any of our friends who might wish to make a similar safari.

Asilia's camps remain top of the pile and since we last used them 7 years ago have only got better. It is not possible to single out any one person as everyone who looked after us gave us wonderful service." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"The trip was great from start to finish and will definitely rank as one of our top trips ever!

Jessica was super helpful in making suggestions for our first safari and we appreciate her rebooking the trip twice due to covid.

I will definitely be recommending Expert Africa to any interested friends and cannot wait to plan another trip with them!" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Tanzania safari

"We had a fantastic trip covering three East Africa countries, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania. We stayed at two camps in each country along with extra days at each end of the trip in Kigali and Dar. Each country is different and has their own culture.

Rwanda was the cleanest country we have ever been to. Even way out from towns people are sweeping the roadsides and trimming vegetation. The Gorillas and Golden Monkeys were great to visit.

Kenya and Tanzania were the greenest countries, recent rains. The quantities of wildlife are incredible. The guides in both countries were excellent and transportation between camps was easy and convenient.

Everywhere we went we felt very welcome.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

I don't see how it could get any better." Read full review: 36 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari

"The Africa trip made possible by Expert Africa is one we'll remember for the rest of our lives and will be one we'll be talking to friends and family about for years to come. It was a phenomenal trip to say the least.

We spent time with golden monkeys and gorillas where we even got shoved and kicked by the latter which makes for a great story. We witnessed not one but two epic wildebeest river crossings in the Serengeti. We saw all of the big 5 and then some. The staff and service at all the lodges and camps were first-rate. Our guides did a fantastic job of taking care of us and educating us about Rwandan and Tanzanian history, culture, and and wildlife. We must give a special shoutout to Nomad Tanzania though. Their camps were so well-run and well-maintained and we can't stop raving about the food they served.

Expert Africa and Jessica Plumb put together an amazing itinerary for us and the staff was very helpful before and throughout the journey. Our flight out of New York was delayed, causing us to miss our connection and resulted in us having to spend a night in Amsterdam and miss out on our first night in Africa but Jessica and team worked their magic so that we just about kept to our original itinerary and didn't skip a beat. We thought we would have had to miss out on golden monkey trekking but they were able to adjust our itinerary so we were still able to do it.

We also had a scare regarding Tanzanian visas since we didn't apply for them beforehand (we would recommend getting them before your trip if you can!) and thought we wouldn't be able to get them at Kogatende Airstrip. A frantic email to Jessica's team was responded to quickly to reassure us that we'll be OK, putting our minds at ease. Overall, we felt very well taken care of from the time we landed at our first port of entry to Africa in Kigali to the point where we were dropped off at Kilimanjaro Airport to make our way home. Upon arrival in Africa, just about everything was seamless in getting us from place to place, getting COVID tests, etc. so it was nice to not have much to worry about.

And never once did we feel uncomfortable or unsafe due to any reason, including COVID, during our trip.

Though this trip felt like it was once-in-a-lifetime, we do hope that we get the opportunity to go on another trip just like this. When we do, we know Expert Africa will be able to craft something magical. We can't wait :)" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 8 on a Tanzania safari

"This trip was a “bucket list trip” from me to my mom for her 70th birthday. We originally planned to go in June 2020, rescheduled to June 2021, and then finally to Sept 2021. It was worth the wait!

Truly a trip of a lifetime and I don’t think we could have had a better experience. All the properties we stayed at were great and all the staff at all the properties were just so kind, friendly and attentive. Personally I preferred the experience and the guides at the Nomad properties (Kuro and Lamai) just a touch more than at the Asilia property (Highlands), but all were great. I thought Nomad did a little bit better job of seeming more “connected” to the area. Lamai in particular just blew me away - the design, the location, the staff were all impeccable. I can’t wait to go back!

It was also pretty special to be there while the parks and properties were at low capacity - twice we were the only guests at the properties, and having our own vehicle and guide for the entirety of the trip was amazing. I’m already planning to go back with my husband in 2023, but I know it won’t be quite the same.

Things to know:

- definitely bring Dramamine or something for motion sickness - those small planes can be rough and we were with several people who had issues.

- You lose a whole day getting to the crater - the drive from the airstrip to the lodge area is 3 hours, the road is AWFUL (though apparently they’re fixing it), and due to the hours you can’t do a late afternoon/ evening drive at the parks.

- I’m not a photographer and know nothing about cameras but I rented a camera for the trip (Sony RX10) and it was some of the best money I spent." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 11 on a Tanzania safari

"Travelling during Covid is challenging. It therefore felt good to have a knowledgeable and up to date partner like Expert Africa aside to plan and make this trip happen.

Glad we did the Serengeti during Covid as the destination would have certainly felt too busy in a regular year. May is further a lovely time to visit. Nature is lush and green, flowers in bloom, and there are many little ones amongst the herds. Rain was no problem at all as rainfalls did either occur at night or did hardly last for more than half an hour before the sun came through again.

The morning mist and the cloudy skies added a special atmosphere, while the bush babies kept us warm at night.

The itinerary was well balanced and met all our expectations ! Thank you Jessica :)

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

No, just perfect. Thank you so much again !!!" Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 12 on a Tanzania safari

"An incomparable vacation. Nothing can top it and from now on every safari can only be a downgrade. Why? Because I want to enjoy the animals and nature in peace. This is never possible in normal times because then at every animal observation several vehicles surround the animals. In this vacation I have seen in five different camps a total of fewer vehicles than usual in one day.

Who does not care will certainly have a nice experience otherwise. But then I can also go to a zoo." Read full review: 18 nights in Africa; 17 on a Tanzania safari