Travel reviews by Mr P from Maidstone

"The choice of three different activities at Lake Manzie - game drives, boat trips and walks - make the visit here well worthwhile. There was a lot of elephant activity around the camp and the tents which created some excitement!

We had an excellent guide and driver for all of the 5 days we were there. He was knowledgeable on just about everything including birds that we were particularly interested in. We took half day game drives (excellent) which included bush breakfast, a full day's drive (perhaps only marginally rewarding although the lunch stop at the lake was superb), two boat trips on the lake (excellent), and a walk (really a nature walk taken from the camp which was informative but not a true walking safari).

Game sightings generally were very good - lions, elephants, hippos, buffalo etc - and bird life, particularly on the lake, was also good."

"Our 3 night stay at Kwihala was excellent. We were very well looked after by the camp manager and the staff and I can't speak too highly of all the guides. Our allocated guide was faultless and the other two guides, who accompanied us on our walk on the last day, were also extremely knowledgeable and competent. The whole experience was a step up from Lake Manze, but for us, still struck the right balance - not too plush, but comfortable whilst retaining the "bush" experience.

It was the attention to detail that was impressive - comfortable vehicles, excellent meals in the bush, and flexibility of activities and meals to suit our preferences. We had numerous sightings of lion and elephant, as well as good sightings of leopard on two occasions. Bird life was quite prolific considering migrants had not yet arrived and we achieved an impressive list of sightings with the help of our guide. We took half day game drives with bush breakfasts, evening game drives, a night drive and a walk.

We squeezed the walk in our last morning and this proved to be the best way to round off our stay - a proper safari walk. For this, we drove for 30 minutes away from the camp and then walked for over 2 hours with 2 very knowledgeable guides and an armed ranger. Altogether a great experience, and rates as one of the best in some 40 years of our African safaris."

"Butiama proved to be the ideal location to wind down for 5 nights after over a week in the Tanzanian bush.

The hotel fronts onto a superb sandy beach, and includes comfortable rooms, a good swimming pool, and spacious bar and dining areas. The proprietor, Maura, was very hospitable, excellent fish dishes were served for dinner and Maurice provided arrangements for daily activities.

Our two sons took a 2-dive trip from the Big Blu Diving Centre. This was not successful - although both are experienced divers they had difficulty with communications from the divemaster and found that some of the diving equipment was faulty. As a result, they both only (partly) completed one dive. In recognition of these problems, Butiama didn't charge us for the dives. This was a disappointment because a reason for choosing this hotel was the availability of diving in the Marine Park.

We took two snorkelling trips from the hotel, both of which were excellent - particularly the second one inside the Marine Park. The snorkelling guide from the hotel was proficient and very helpful. We also took an enjoyable excursion to Chole Island, which was combined with a snorkelling trip."

"We had visited Okaukuejo before and so we knew what to expect.

The chalet was excellent - clean, well equipped and well serviced. Although breakfast was adequate, service and quality of food at dinner were disappointing.

Also, we and others were somewhat frustrated that we had to pay separately each night for dinner - instead of signing each bill so that we could settle for the 3 nights as a single payment when we checked out from the camp. Arrangements for payment each night were slow and rather disorganised."

"Great choice!

Very helpful and friendly staff, very comfortable room and excellent food."

"Great location and very helpful staff."

"The room was quite small with adequate but basic furnishings.

Tea and coffee were not provided in the room - only in the hotel kitchen.

We had to leave for an early flight before breakfast was served and although we had been promised a packed breakfast, this was not available on our departure."

"Overall we enjoyed the camp - the staff were exceptionally helpful. the land rovers were excellent, the tents were very good and clean, and the food was excellent. Game viewing was also excellent. However, we became conscious that the camp was located in or close to a tetse infected area. We accept that this can be part of a safari but we had no warning of this and a number of our party were badly bitten. This did detract from our enjotment somewhat even though we saw plenty of game including lots of elephant, giraffe, and lion and also saw leopard and cheetah.

I had expected walking safaris to be available but on arrival was told that this wasn't an option at Mdonya because they didn't have a permit. This was a disappointment. I believe other camps in Ruaha do have walking safaris available.

A particularly good feature at the camp was the option of short, half day or full day game drives where breakfast and lunch was well served in the bush."

"Difficult to fault this camp - it was all brilliant. Particularly the options of game drives - in excellent land rovers and with very good guides - boat trips and walking safaris gave us plenty of variety. We had options of half day game drives with breakfast provided in the bush which was great. The rains had started early by the time we arrived but game viewing was excellent - particularly lion and wild dogs.

The walking safari guide was particularly good."

"Lovely beach and nice location.

We were surprised that the standard of the rooms varied - whereas some were adequately furnished, two other rooms were somewhat spartan, and relatively poorly decorated.

Management were very helpful but some of the waiting staff could sometimes be a little "off the pace". Overall we had a most enjoyable stay."