Travel reviews by Ms T & Mr B from Toronto
Review Distribution
Total number of trips
1
Countries visited
2
Lodges stayed in
3
Excursions taken
3
Tanazian Adventure
Tanzania and 1 other country between 26 Sep 2009 and 8 Oct 2009
"Overall we were very satisfied with our holiday. On hind sight, there are only 2 things that would have have heightened our satisfaction. One was the order of the trip: we would have preferred to have stopped in Zanzibar first not last (see comments on this section of the feedback form).
The rest of the trip schedule was perfect - Arusha, Mahale & then Selous.
All in all, it was a wonderful experience!"
The rest of the trip schedule was perfect - Arusha, Mahale & then Selous.
All in all, it was a wonderful experience!"
Arranged By Claire Scott
Rivertrees Country Inn
"Rivertrees Country Inn review"
2 nights
Arrived
26 Sep 2009
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Safari in Arusha National Park
"Arusha National Park Nomad tour"
27 Sep 2009 • All-day excursion
Excellent. Roland was a knowledge guide. We saw a great many birds, wildlife (the black & white Collobus monkeys are absolutely stunning) and wonderful views of Kilimanjaro!
On hind site, it was a good place to start, as the accommodations and wildlife just kept getting better & better as our trip progressed. The only rescheduling of our trip would be to visit Zanzibar first, then Arusha.
On hind site, it was a good place to start, as the accommodations and wildlife just kept getting better & better as our trip progressed. The only rescheduling of our trip would be to visit Zanzibar first, then Arusha.
Excellent
Greystoke Mahale
"Greystoke Camp review"
3 nights
Arrived
28 Sep 2009
"A wonderful experience! We saw the chimps every day! How perfect! On our way to the camp by boat, some chimps were near the shore feeding in the trees. The guides stopped the boat and we walked about 10 minutes to be among them. It seemed too easy!!!
The following 2 days we again only had to walk 20-40 minutes to find them. They ignored us and continued grooming, feeding, playing and interacting meters away from us. Some even ran between us as we stood to the side out of their way. As the alpha male of M community ran by us, he punched a guide in the leg as well as slapping my pratner's leg! This community was obviously normalized to humans.
That afternoon we went by boat down the lake, motoring past the border of M community's territory and into K community's territory. K community is not normalized to humans, and so are very shy. We were lucky enough to see 15 of them playing in the trees! The guides were very excited as this group of chimps are not ofter seen! We tried to get a bit closer to the shore for an even better look, but when they heard the boat, they quickly dispersed. We also fished from the boat with success!
All the staff were very friendly and exceptionally attentive. Petra & Hugh were wonderful hosts, paying attention to all details, both large & small. The cuisine was fresh and tasty, amazingly so considering the isolated location of the camp and the logistics required for all the camp's necessities!!"
The following 2 days we again only had to walk 20-40 minutes to find them. They ignored us and continued grooming, feeding, playing and interacting meters away from us. Some even ran between us as we stood to the side out of their way. As the alpha male of M community ran by us, he punched a guide in the leg as well as slapping my pratner's leg! This community was obviously normalized to humans.
That afternoon we went by boat down the lake, motoring past the border of M community's territory and into K community's territory. K community is not normalized to humans, and so are very shy. We were lucky enough to see 15 of them playing in the trees! The guides were very excited as this group of chimps are not ofter seen! We tried to get a bit closer to the shore for an even better look, but when they heard the boat, they quickly dispersed. We also fished from the boat with success!
All the staff were very friendly and exceptionally attentive. Petra & Hugh were wonderful hosts, paying attention to all details, both large & small. The cuisine was fresh and tasty, amazingly so considering the isolated location of the camp and the logistics required for all the camp's necessities!!"
Excellent
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Excellent
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Excellent
Facilities
Excellent
Serena Inn
"Serena Inn review"
2 nights
Arrived
6 Oct 2009
"Although our stay at Serena was excellent, we have rated Serena as 'good' because of few small details.
There was a mix up at check in. They apparently didn't have our reservation - however there was a John Taylor from the UK on their list. Luckily we had our coupon handy and the matter was quickly resolved.
We were under the impression that Serena's restaurant was the best in town. We dined on the terrace, which was beautiful, however we were disappointed in the quality, taste and presentation of the food. The following evening we crossed the street to 'Beyt al Chai'. We loved their crab coconut soup so much that we returned the following day for lunchl! Also, the Serena's internet, when working, was very slow, so therefore we felt it was overpriced for the time required to use it. Although when the system quit on us, they were considerate enough not to charge us
A walking tour around Stone Town is a must and our guide, Soloman, was excellent. However, Fisherman's Tours didn't have our names on their roster for the day trip to Chumbe, and as the tour was booked up, we were not able to participate - no matter how much we begged! To fill in our day, we went on the half day trip to Prison Island. It was fun to feed the tortoises, and interesting to see the prison that was used as a quarantine station. I had great expectations for the snorkeling, but it cannot compare to snorkeling in the Caribbean. The fish were small and not exceptionally numerous or colourful. There were a great variety of corals and anemones, but the colours were not vivid.
The highlight of the day was on our return boat ride when 2 dolphins, not normally seen in this area, briefly swam along side the boat! That afternoon we rested, which was exactly what we needed after being on the go for the past 12 days. So, in the end, it was fortuitous that we had not been registered on the Chumbe day trip! Our last morning we visited Jozani Forest. As we had experienced so much wilderness and wildlife over the past 12 days, we did not find viewing the monkeys to be as exciting as we had anticipated.
With all this in mind, we would have preferred to visit Stone Town at the beginning of our African visit, staying for only one night at the Serena - enough time for a walking tour and to visit the monkeys at Jozani Forest. This would have been a good initial interaction with wildlife. If we were to stay longer on Zanzibar Island, then we would leave Stone Town and stay in the beach areas."
There was a mix up at check in. They apparently didn't have our reservation - however there was a John Taylor from the UK on their list. Luckily we had our coupon handy and the matter was quickly resolved.
We were under the impression that Serena's restaurant was the best in town. We dined on the terrace, which was beautiful, however we were disappointed in the quality, taste and presentation of the food. The following evening we crossed the street to 'Beyt al Chai'. We loved their crab coconut soup so much that we returned the following day for lunchl! Also, the Serena's internet, when working, was very slow, so therefore we felt it was overpriced for the time required to use it. Although when the system quit on us, they were considerate enough not to charge us
A walking tour around Stone Town is a must and our guide, Soloman, was excellent. However, Fisherman's Tours didn't have our names on their roster for the day trip to Chumbe, and as the tour was booked up, we were not able to participate - no matter how much we begged! To fill in our day, we went on the half day trip to Prison Island. It was fun to feed the tortoises, and interesting to see the prison that was used as a quarantine station. I had great expectations for the snorkeling, but it cannot compare to snorkeling in the Caribbean. The fish were small and not exceptionally numerous or colourful. There were a great variety of corals and anemones, but the colours were not vivid.
The highlight of the day was on our return boat ride when 2 dolphins, not normally seen in this area, briefly swam along side the boat! That afternoon we rested, which was exactly what we needed after being on the go for the past 12 days. So, in the end, it was fortuitous that we had not been registered on the Chumbe day trip! Our last morning we visited Jozani Forest. As we had experienced so much wilderness and wildlife over the past 12 days, we did not find viewing the monkeys to be as exciting as we had anticipated.
With all this in mind, we would have preferred to visit Stone Town at the beginning of our African visit, staying for only one night at the Serena - enough time for a walking tour and to visit the monkeys at Jozani Forest. This would have been a good initial interaction with wildlife. If we were to stay longer on Zanzibar Island, then we would leave Stone Town and stay in the beach areas."
Good
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location
Excellent
Service
Excellent
Activities
Poor
Rooms
Excellent
Food
Average
Facilities
Excellent
Stone Town Discovery Tour
"Stone Town walking tour"
6 Oct 2009 • Afternoon excursion
Our guide, Soloman, was excellent! He shared many experiences of life in Stone Town from his own and the locals perspective. We enjoyed him so much that we asked that he also be our guide the following day for the trip to Prison Island!
We would rate the tour itself as 'excellent', but we rated it only as 'good' because of the following organizational incident:
Fisherman's Tours has a main office in town and an office in the Serena Inn. The woman at the Serena lacked knowledge about the trips that she booked for us. She told us the walking tour was 2 hours (although Expert Africa had mentioned 4 hours) and that we could make our booking for the next day's excursion when we returned from the walk. As the walking tour was indeed 4 hours, the office was closed at the Serena when we returned. In fact, we cut our tour short by 1/2 hour to try to get back to the office at the Serena before it closed. We were upset the next day's excursion needed to be booked the day before. Our guide came to our rescue! Soloman phoned someone, who could 'fix' this and our next day trip to Prison Island was arranged through the Fisherman's office in town, with Soloman as our guide. However, the next day there was quite an uproar! The woman at the Serena office was very upset that we had booked through the main office - although she was the one who didn't know the length of the walking tour which created this situation! After many people were contacted, and great discussions, we were on our way to Prison Island, with Soloman as our guide.
We would rate the tour itself as 'excellent', but we rated it only as 'good' because of the following organizational incident:
Fisherman's Tours has a main office in town and an office in the Serena Inn. The woman at the Serena lacked knowledge about the trips that she booked for us. She told us the walking tour was 2 hours (although Expert Africa had mentioned 4 hours) and that we could make our booking for the next day's excursion when we returned from the walk. As the walking tour was indeed 4 hours, the office was closed at the Serena when we returned. In fact, we cut our tour short by 1/2 hour to try to get back to the office at the Serena before it closed. We were upset the next day's excursion needed to be booked the day before. Our guide came to our rescue! Soloman phoned someone, who could 'fix' this and our next day trip to Prison Island was arranged through the Fisherman's office in town, with Soloman as our guide. However, the next day there was quite an uproar! The woman at the Serena office was very upset that we had booked through the main office - although she was the one who didn't know the length of the walking tour which created this situation! After many people were contacted, and great discussions, we were on our way to Prison Island, with Soloman as our guide.
Jozani Forest Tour
"Jozani Forest"
8 Oct 2009 • All-day excursion
Although the forest was a good 40 mins drive from Stone Town, it was interesting driving through the countryside. As the forest has a high water table, the area was very lush, which was drastically different than our experiences of the dry season in the Selous. The Jozani conservation guide was adequate, but not nearly as well spoken and knowledgeable as the guides in Arusha, Greystoke and Beho Beho. It was fun to see the monkeys, but it wasn't as inspiring after all we had already experienced.
On hind sight, and if possible, we would have preferred to have visited Jozani at the beginning of our trip in order to appreciate it more fully.
On hind sight, and if possible, we would have preferred to have visited Jozani at the beginning of our trip in order to appreciate it more fully.
We awoke to the scampering feet of velvet monkeys frolicking about on the roof. As we arrived late the first evening, were away the next day in Arusha National Park, and left early the last morning, we did not have time enough time to fully enjoy the Inn. The staff we very friendly and the food was excellent."