Travel reviews by Mrs G & Mr R from Suffolk
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
1
Lodges stayed in
2
Excursions taken
0
Sensational Selous
Tanzania between 30 Jan 2009 and 8 Feb 2009
Someone at Expert Africa (not Peter) asked if we had ever been to Dar es salaam when trying to make us feel that another night there was ok, but it is still not somewhere we would choose to spend any time. This person also said that we would "only" be missing dinner at Impala camp, whereas in fact we missed an afternoon activity, dinner, morning activity and breakfast as well as being in a beautiful place. If that person can compare the two places then I wouldn't want to go on holiday with them!"
Feedback response
We’re glad that these travellers had an excellent overall experience – despite the problem that occurred with their flight home.
This traveller booked his own international flights between the UK and Africa, via Mombassa in Kenya. He asked us to arrange a week in southern Tanzania, and we arranged regional flights for him between Mombassa and Nairobi, with Precision Air.
A week before this trip, the airline notified us of a change to the return flight from Dar es Salaam to Mombassa: it would depart 5 hours earlier. This schedule change was completely beyond our control; we understand why it upset our traveller.
In situations like this, we try our best to make the best possible arrangements for our travellers given the new constraints. In this case, the only practical alternative was for them to cut one night off their safari, and spend it in Dar – in preparation for their early-morning flight back to Mombassa; there was no way for them to spend their last night in the Selous.
To soften the blow, one of our team did comment that some of our travellers have enjoyed a night or two in Dar. We’ll stick by this comment, as it’s true – simply read the reviews of the Oyster Bay in Dar – and you’ll see what we mean.
However, we’re sorry if these comments were not expressed clearly, or understood in a way that wasn’t intended. Clearly we knew that this traveller didn’t want to spend a night in Dar, and we completely understood why – and generally all of our team would prefer to spend their last night in a beautiful, natural place like the Selous rather than a large city like Dar.
We’re only sorry that we couldn’t do anything about the changing schedule of this airline.
Southern Sun Dar
"Good city hotel, good food, good transfers."
Impala Camp
"Fabulous time at Selous Impala camp"
The food was lovely and well presented. Our waiter, Obani was very nice, friendly and attentive. We loved the fact that the camp is small and made you feel totally relaxed. The intimate numbers made it easy to chat with other guests about the days experiences whilst enjoying a refreshing drink.
Organising the following day's itinery with Chloe was great as it made you feel that you are in charge of you days rather than doing what everyone else is doing. Having more options (game drives, boat trips, guided walks or fishing) than other safaris we have done was wonderful. Ezra (our guide) was great and Raja really knows how to drive a 4x4. Going off road was new to us as we have always had to stick to the tracks in previous safaris and made the game drives extra special. We stayed for 6 nights and enjoyed not having to travel to other lodges. Although some people think that 4 days is enough in 1 place we feel that there is so much to see and experience there is no chance of getting bored. If we had stayed any less time we would have regretted it."