Travel reviews by Mr & Mrs M from Bristol

"An attractive camp on the Rufiji river, we loved our tent no 1 which was accessed by a rustic bridge and was surrounded by wildlife as it was on the edge of camp.

The boat trip on the first day ending with a surprise sun-downer was lovely, and we saw plenty of birdlife and bigger game such as elephant crossing the river. The rest of the time we had morning and evening game drives.Our guide Ezra and driver Victor were both very good and made sure we saw plenty of wildlife, though sadly not the leopard and cubs. We appreciated having the vehicle to ourselves, and one of the highlights was seeing the 6 brother lion pride.

The food was very good and we appreciated having our own table and the various dining areas especially the table on the last night which allowed us better views of genets and bush babies. Our hosts Barbara, Silvie and Francesca were helpful and attentive as were all the staff, especially Maasai Daudi who was usually our faithful escort after dark.

This part of Selous is green and attractive at this time of the year with the scent of Terminalia and yellow Cassia in bloom. We saw a huge variety of game and birdlife."

"This was our second year in Jongomero which had a new manager Brian. However everything seemed as lovely as ever with very few changes and very good staff. Our tent No 4 was beautiful with some of the most comfortable beds we have experienced on safari. The food was as excellent as ever, we all sat together for the lunches and at separate tables(sometimes in the sand river) for dinner.

We did game drives twice a day sometimes alone or sometimes with one other couple, with our excellent driver Frank. Although it is harder to find game here, Frank made sure we saw almost as much game as in our first camp in the Selous, and a good variety of birds (the birdsong in camp is lovely). The thing that stands out are the Elephants, the large numbers of them in the beautiful woodland and drinking in the sand river. We missed the resident elephant family, Mother, Teresa and Benedict but the male elephant Bob still travelled through camp, drinking at the pool, causing some excitement.

We also saw quite a number of lions, and we could tell from the roars and footprints that there had been a lion visit during our last night in camp. The only drawback is the camp's sand paths which make walking in sandals uncomfortable - we should have had better walking shoes."

"We loved Kwihala which lived up to all our expectations. We were in this part of Ruaha last year. Our excellent informative guide Pietro assisted by Toni made sure we saw almost every possible animal and bird including leopards, cheetah, lions and the touraco. We did 2 game drives a day and each one was different and rewarding because of the expertise of our guide.

Our hostess Sarah was helpful and attentive. The food was very good and we enjoyed the communal bonfire and dining, and we were thoroughly entertained by the guides Pietro, Lorenzo and Festu during the meals. We liked our tent No 4, but it did not have a good view and was not as private as some of the other accomodation we experienced. This camp is semi-permanent and so the tents are not as grand as in the other places we stayed, but they were more than adequate and we really liked the feeling of being more in the wild.

The night time sound of lion, hyena and elephant were thrilling, and we especially enjoyed the night of the elephant invasion which resulted in some amusing diversionary tactics."

"This was the second year we visited Beho Beho and it was as good as ever.

Walter and Karen as usual were excellent hosts and now are ably assisted by Verne and Rika. It was good to see Mr Simba again and we can report Karen's cakes are still the best. We had two game drives a day each with a different guide, and saw a great variety of game and bird life. Godlisten took us down the Beho Beho sand river, navigating buffalo obstacles and gave us a good view of a leopard on a kill in a tree.

Walter took us on a lovely 'little Serengeti' route we had not been before and managed to find the well-hidden lion pride, and Heribut showed us yet another beautiful new drive. However Verne gave us a most memorable lion experience on our Tagalala day which we will long remember.

The facilities are lovely and my favourite is the water-hole view as we have pre-dinner drinks (buffalo, hippo, waterbuck and giraffe this year). The food is excellent, and the dining is communal which is a pleasant social event. We loved our room No 5, especially the gorgeous bathroom, and it was good exercise getting there after sitting in vehicles all day.

Its position allowed us to do game viewing even during the afternoon break, and gave us an exciting quandary one morning when setting out to go to the lodge, as to whether we should ignore the large bull elephant grazing close by."

"We are so pleased we chose to visit this beautiful island despite the apparent travel difficulties. In the event the flight from Dar to Mocimbas was very good and then I had the thrill of my first helicopter flight to the island - all very well organised. The ground staff involved were extremely efficient especially in getting our visas passed, and getting us to our flights. The pilot was good and entertaining.

To our delight, on landing, we met an old friend Meg who provides wonderful, highly recommended treatments in your own banda. She and Rob were excellent hosts ensuring that our stay was idyllic. The food was delicious and well cooked. We had a very good 'host', Charlie who attended our every need and who brought us our breakfasts, teas and sun-downers all the way up the beach, as well as thoughtfully providing a wonderful lime-drink as we arrived ashore from a snorkelling trip.

We went on 2 snorkelling trips which were expertly guided by Saluma and Safari who made sure we saw many wonderful things. The reef is beautiful and certainly the most pristine we have seen. There is an Conservation project on the island, behind the dive centre where you can report whale sightings - we saw one on our first afternoon from the beach- and where we sampled some delicious Ibo coffee (highly reccommended)

This is a place we would certainly love to revisit - though for a longer stay than our 3 nights."

"This was our second visit to this wonderful hotel and we were spoilt by having the place to ourselves.

Sebastian and Jurgen were excellent attentive hosts and the staff were as good as ever. The food is excellent, and we had an idyllic day by the pool appreciating the well kept garden. Our room was beautiful with lovely views both out to sea and inland.

It was especially nice to have Chauhan? expertly driving us again to and from the airport through the horrendous Dar rush hour. We certainly would revisit Oyster Bay if we were travelling through Dar again."

"The tents were well equipped. Food was excellent, served to individual tables in different locations each night.

Our guides (Kim and Modest) were very good and the games drives well organised and well driven. The drives started at 8.00 am. We appreciated the anti tsetse fly device. Amongst other animals we saw a honey badger, lion cubs on a kill, kudu, ostriches, hippo, jackal, a little owl, and many elephants digging in the sand river. There were lions, elephant and hyenas in the camp at night.

Molly and Noelle were very good and informative hosts, and we enjoyed the 'showing of the book'."

"We liked our banda and it's position, but there were problems with the lighting on three of the mornings which made getting ready for the game drives difficult.

The food was very good, served buffet style and normally at a communal table (in various locations) except for our last night when we were treated to a private supper in the river bed below our banda. Our guide and driver were very good (Samson & Vincent) and we enjoyed the game drives.

We saw 44 lions from 5 prides in one day! We saw lions and cubs on a kill, lesser and greater kudu, male and female bushbuck, jackal,ostrich, a herd of 500+ buffalo and a herd of about 100 elephant. We also were lucky enough to see a lion chase a leopard in the moonlight, along the river bed outside our banda. Chris, Adrian and Connie were good hosts."

"This part of the park is very beautiful with lakes and lovely acacia woodland with casia and terminalia in full bloom. We loved the location of the camp, being near the lake and the tent was comfortable and well equipped.

The food was very good and we were served at individual tables except for one delightful lunch which was served on the lake. Our guide and driver (Mwatu) was very good. We saw hyena with cubs, plenty of giraffe, kudu, herds of zebra and wildebeest, 2 prides of lions including one with cubs on a kill and the hippos, birds and crocs on the lake. The game drives started at 8.00 am. We enjoyed the lake trip.

Ricus and Pietro made us very welcome."

"This place exceeded our expectations and well deserves it's reputation. It has a unique friendly atmosphere which quickly makes one feel a welcome part of the Beho Beho family.

The bandas are well positioned, well equipped and comfortable. Being situated on a hill there are lovely views and we especially liked the one from our room. The food was inventive and excellent with much wonderful baking which we could not do justice to.

The meals were communal and served in different locations. The guides (Walter, Onno, Onesmo and Salum) were very good and rotated for each drive. We very much enjoyed the surprises which were arranged. The drive to lake Tagalala and hot springs was excellent. We saw a leopard at our first lunch and another at an evening meal. We saw lion with cubs on a kill, buffalo herds, wilderbeest and zebra herds. The waterhole always had interesting animal visitors, hyena, elephant, hippo, civet, buffalo and impala. We had problems with the tsetse flies on some drives.

Walter and Karin were excellent hosts."

"The hotel is beautifully decorated and comfortable. We loved the view from our room and I enjoyed the lap pool.

The food was delicious and ample. We will certainly recommend this as a place to stay in Dar.

The transfer to and from the airport was well organised."

"We had an wonderful visit to Tarangire staying in Oliver's camp.

Our personal guide, Hari was very good, always polite and cheerful. He provided very good game viewing including 3 cheetahs, 3 leopards, a lion family on a kill, bat eared foxes and a gerenuk family, apart from the herds of elephant, buffaloe, zebra and wildebeest. We felt that Hari did his utmost to make our experience the best possible. We felt it was a shame he could not have dropped us off at Manyara airstrip on his way back to Arusha, which might have saved us some transfer time.

Olivers camp was very good, in a quiet section of the park which made us feel we were really in the African bush.The position of the camp being well down the park, meant that early morning viewings were undisturbed by crowds of other vehicles. We loved the tent which was spacious and comfortable, and Ken and Michelle were good hosts. The food was tasty and there was always a good campfire to help us enjoy pre-dinner drinks. We would certainly stay here again."

"We were met at Manyara airstrip by & Beyond with a delicious picnic before our drive up to the crater. Unfortunately our transfer from Oliver's camp was not efficient enough to allow a trip into the crater on the way to the Lodge. However it did give us a chance to enjoy the excellent facilites.

We were bowled over by the size and luxury of our accomdation in North Lodge. Our concern about having good views of the Crater was unecessary as every part of the suite had views down into the crater. The room was always beautifully serviced by Falwel with rose petal hot baths, drinks and a log fire in the evening. Peter, our butler, was helpful and attentive to our needs both in the room and in the restaurant. The food was excellent. We were especially appreciative of the celebration provided on the eve of my husband's birthday. A really unexpected surprise especially the entertainment from the lodge choir. A very impressive and luxurious stay.

Our game guide, Mudy was very good. Taking us into the crater early in the morning and giving us a very complete tour of the whole crater. We sadly missed seeing rhino, but mating lions and a hyena hunt made the visit memorable. Our game viewing was completed in the evening by the visit to the lodge of a large tusker and a charming group of zebra.

The only downside was the large numbers of vehicles in the crater about which we had been warned."

"Sayari has a beautiful setting and we were pleased with our tent and lounge in the private part of the camp. Sadly we only had time to enjoy the pool once.

The game viewing was very good. We had come to see the wildebeest crossing from this side of the Mara river. We saw 2 wildebeest crossings, zebra and giraffe crossing the Mara so mission accomplished. Waiting for crossings to occur did take up a lot of time but we do not regret that since we observed other things as we waited.

We started with John as our first guide. He was a good guide and obviously experienced at finding the game, lions, eland, black back jackal with kill, leopard and buffalo. He found a black rhino which had just crossed from Kenya for a quiet wallow. However as more vehicles arrived (there are now a number of camps in the area which sadly makes crowds inevitable) he soon retreated back home.

We were especially impressed by John's driving through a very dramatic thunderstorm.(Whilst we were staying we had very unusual storm acitvity for this time of year, during late afternoon and evening. This did lead to us becoming soaked on occassion, and some water leakage along the edge of the tent but also produced some very dramatic skies and views including a leopard caught out in the deluge).

Our second guide was Mollel who was excellent, and entertained us with Maasai history and customs whilst we waited for the crossings. It was with him we saw all the Mara crossings. He also found us elephant and a cheetah family on our last drive.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and the hospitality provided by Salim and his team which included an impromptu celebration of my husband's birthday. We went out for full days each day and were always impressed by the picnics provided for breskfast and lunch.
The only downside was the presence of tsetse flies during the afternoon walk back to our tent, and the unexpected weather."

"Mnemba most unexpectedly provided us with two viewings of a turtle hatching which were a fantastic experience, and made our stay unforgetable. It was also very nice to be able to stroll to the home reef and snorkel, which provided a wonderful variety of animals and made up for the fact we were not going to be able to take advantage of the diving opportunities.

This was an extremely relaxing part of our holiday helped by the facilities and attentiveness of our bulter Amore. The staff were welcoming and we were impressed by the chef - the food was excellent. The island seemed to benefit from not having quite the same climate as the mainland which we could see just across the water often suffered from cloud and rain. The sunsets with sundowners provided were beautiful. We did not wear shoes for most of the holiday as the white coral sand was never too hot, although it took some time for my muscles to get used to walking in it.

Our room was extremely spacious and the fridge well stocked with drinks. Each room has its own shaded beach beds. You could be very private if you wished and we certainly enjoyed the evening meal on the beach outside our room. (we could have done this every day if we had wished)

The room was well serviced except that our room (apparently the only one at that time) had mosquitoe problems and because the room staff had been instructed not to intrude when guests were present it meant that our mosquito net was not in place at the correct time of day. We are not used to averting mosquito attacks and therefore would have preferred a more proactive approach from the staff. Certainly after some one had been brought in to spray the area there was a decrease in mosquito attacks.

The other problem was the last part of the road transfer which was incredibly rough (even compared to our game drives) despite a luxurious vehicle with a careful driver. It was an odd start to a luxury holiday. We also had a more difficult entry to the boat for the crossing because our flight in Arusha had been delayed so we were crossing with the rougher water at high tide (OK if you don't mind getting quite wet).

We feel for the price of the holiday we would have appreciated being offered some free treatments from the excellent spa staff in lieu of the diving trips which we were not using. One more comment - this is not an island to go to if you dislike the dove/pigeon family which use the island as a roost and are active even at night."

"Swahili house was a good place to stay since we were not in Stone town long enough to have a tour. It provided a memorable evening on its terrace overlooking the whole town and surrounds, with the evening muezzin and sunset views.

The food was good as was the service.

Our room was small compared to ones we had been staying in, but it was adequately equipped with mosquito net and a fan inside the netting should the night be too oppressive.

Fisherman's tours arranged a good prompt pick-up in the morning"

"The park was beautiful with its huge Mopane trees and water.

The camp was well run, with friendly helpful staff. Our tent was next to a hippo 'bedroom' which made it very noisy (in an exciting way at night). We certainly required our escort to our tent. One night a Genet ran across the branch in front of the tent, and every night we were serenaded by frogs and hippos.

Food was very good. We especially enjoyed the hot toast for breakfast. We also loved the variety of birds who joined us for breakfast.There was an attractive seating area with an open fire for the evenings.

There was a lot of water in the reserve (more than usual for this time of year) but despite that we managed to move around the surrounding area. Sometimes it seemed a boat would have been more appropriate than a jeep.

Our driver/tracker was excellent, and so we saw virtually all the animals possible and a great variety of birds. (Lion, Elephant, Hippo, Crocodile, Leopard, Kudu, Zebra, Giraffe, Buffalo, Lechwe, Wattled Crane, Saddle-Billed Stork, Southern ground hornbill, Pels Fishing Owl) This was despite the fact that in this camp our vehicle was not allowed off road. We were lucky in that the camp was not crowded so we mainly had the vehicle to ourselves.

In particular the leopard was wonderful. A large male, in broad day light moving in an unhurried way. In full view for about 20 mins . He seemed to pose for photos and spent about 7 minutes cleaning himself on the road track.

The boat transfer to Kwara was lovely and made a change from those small cramped planes. Our thanks to Water and Letty."

"After having seen so many animals and birds at our first camp it was always going to be hard for our next camp to compete.
Here we were given a driver and a tracker. However we did share the vehicle for most of the time which means that you have to go along with the interests of the other occupants.

We did see an unusual family of 6 cheetah containing 2 adults. We also saw a magnificent male lion rumoured to be one of 7 brothers! Our driver and tracker were good at following signs so we also saw 3 male cheetah and 2 groups of female lions. Amongst other creatures we also saw a Secretary bird, Ground hornbill and Ostrich.

We were unlucky to suffer 4 punctures and also becoming stuck which understandably meant quite a bit of hanging around.
There was a lot of water here and much of the driving was through water. The scenery was a contrast to the first camp but still lovely."

"This camp was set in a drier area to the first 2, and therefore there was different but also beautiful scenery. There was plenty of water in the river, and as in the other camps a nightly serenade of hippo and frogs.

We had an excellent driver and tracker, and one of the highlights was watching their expertise in tracking cheetah,. We evetually caught up with 3 enormous male cheetah on a zebra kill.

The highlight was the wild dog family of 8 puppies and about 11 adults. We followed a hunt from start to finish (not the actual kill thank heavens) which was absorbing and exhilarating. The dogs set up a leopard and eventually killed a warthog. The drive across country is not for the faint hearted, but the standard of driving was excellent.

We had an all day safari which is highly recommended. After driving through dry country spotting such things as Sable antelope we arrived at a beautiful lagoon to meet up with our lunch which had been driven 17km to meet us.

The staff at this camp were all very good. Our thanks to Dishu, Baruti and Niki,"

"This hotel is under the flight path!

The room was hot because we had to keep the window shut for the above reason.

The information about the evening food available was not clear and although we had a satisfactory buffet meal in the restaurant, we would have preferred to sit elsewhere and have the room service menu - which was possible."

"This was a beautiful way to end the holiday. Very relaxing after all the game drives. Fantastic sunsets.

We were unfortunately unable to go to Paradise island (because there were not enough people interested) but we thoroughly enjoyed the mornings snorkelling at the Coral gardens which is provided free. The travel by tractor over sand was more comfortable than by jeep.

This was the only place we were troubled by mosquitoes. Fortunately mosquitoe nets were provided.

The view from the transfer plane was beautiful."