Safari Consultants Traveller Reviews

We have just returned from a trip to Southern Tanzania organised by Rob Slater at Safari Consultants. We spent nine nights in Ruaha National Park - a pristine wildlife wilderness. We stayed in two camps - Kigelia and then Kichaka. At Kigelia we were blown away by the landscapes of baobab forests, huge skies and a wonderful array of wildlife. The camp - where we spent four nights - was a simple bush camp on a sand river. We had night visitors including elephant and honey badger. Staff were superb and the tents perfectly but simply equipped. Guiding was excellent with a perfect mix of birds and mammals and we barely saw another vehicle all the time we were there - a real added bonus that confirmed the wilderness. We then drove up to Kichaka for five days of walking with renowned Tanzanian walking specialist Andrew Molinaro - known by everyone as 'Moli'. Tracking wildlife on foot focuses the mind and enables you to see all those tiny little things - the bugs, the trees, the plants, the animal poo, the footprints and so on. Three of the five days were spent in the main camp set up on a ridge overlooking the Ruaha River and then we walked 14kms to the fly camp on the banks of the river with superb walking; wonderful evenings spent having supper on a sandy beach on the edge of the river under a velvet black sky - with amazing conversation with the charismatic 'Moli' and his guests. This is a small camp with only three tents which ensures a lovely intimate feel; amazing service and attention to detail from the Kichaka team. Moli's partner Noelle was a great host throughout the trip too. Kichaka is a very special offering but probably more suited to experienced African travellers who appreciate bucket showers, short drop toilets, no luxuries but simply sensational guiding that was both informative, entertaining, and enlightening. We have travelled fairly extensively in Africa and learned things from Moli we had never heard from other guides before. And so to our final destination - Sand Rivers in the Selous. Sitting on the corner of the mighty Rufiji River - still with plenty of water in the dry season - and huge populations of hippo, crocodile and teeming with birds of all description. The guiding was excellent; wildlife sightings plentiful and birdlife amazing; food sublime; hosting spot on and the rooms provided some lovely luxury having been living in bush tents for much of the trip. Don't miss out on a trip up the river to Stieglers Gorge - an unforgettable experience having breakfast on a sandy beach previously only ever occupied by crocs and hippo; and to Lake Tagalala and the nearby hot springs. Add all that onto the riverside game drives and bush birding and you get a picture of the diversity of the activities on offer here. Nomad Tanzania do a cracking job with a wonderful culture which is consistent - we experienced it at both Kigelia and Sand Rivers. We almost needed to be forcibly removed to return back to the UK at the end of this superb trip.

We have travelled with Safari Consultants for many years now and Rob Slater and his knowledgeable team never fail to hit the spot for us - they know and understand what we are looking for and always in the right order. All their consultants travel regularly to Africa to visit potential camps and lodges to experience for themselves what is on offer - an essential and invaluable tool when advising guests on the accommodation and activities available in different areas. Seeing for them really is believing. They've done it again for us - a memorable Tanzanian odyssey.

Came back from the most amazing holiday of a lifetime, at Ol Seki Hemmingsway 4 night safari and Pinewood Beach and Spa 5 night beach last week. The whole safari experience was absolutely amazing. Debbie was such a fantastic host and our guide Isaac was so knowledgeable about all the animals and surroundings. We saw Leopard there times, lion, cheetahs, hippos, zebras, giraffes and all that you could possibly see in the Masai Mara. We had breakfast on the savannah, dinner in a cave by a log fire under the stars and all the food was superb. Hot drinks brought to our lodge in a morning and hot water bottles put in our beds at night. The lodge was brilliant in such a unique setting. We also had a delicious picnic by the river when we went to the migration. My husband and I met some lovely people and both felt sad to leave. We then went to our beach holiday which was very different from safari but thoroughly relaxing on the lovely white sands of Galu beach. Food was amazing there too, dining around the pool for Mongolian evening and BBQ by the beach too. Overall this holiday was everything and more than we could have ever wished for to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary.

Safari Consultants sent all the details we needed and were always on hand to help. We also went to a luncheon that they invited us to prior to our holiday which was superb. We gained lots of information there too from other people that had been on safaris with them.

We travelled to Uganda to see the silverback gorillas in the Impenetrable Forest and then to Kenya for a stay in the Masai Mara, Naboisho Conservancy before spending a few days by the coast near Mombasa.

Safari Consultants could not be faulted. From creating a personally tailored itinerary for us through to helping with visas and logistics of the trip everything was superbly organised. The service was first class and I would highly recommend to anyone.

My wife and I have visited a number of countries in Africa, but Namibia was different from many others. The variety of landscape, the scenery, the wonderful lodges, meant that our three weeks were full of interest, with friendly guides and hosts at some luxurious camps. This was a memorable trip for us, perfectly set out and arranged for us by Michele at Safari Consultants

This is the third trip that Michele Seamark at Safari Consultants has arranged for us in Africa. She is perceptive to our needs, recognises that we have been to and lived in Africa before, and always manages to choose a delightful variety of lodges and camps for us.

50th birthday treat for my wife and I which was planned for many years, at a time when our son was old enough to enjoy a safari (12). The quality of the safari was superb and we honestly could not suggest any improvements. Everything was thought of (hot water bottle for morning drives, hot chocolate wake up call), food was superb and plentiful, fellow holidaymakers were all like minded. Having a vehicle to ourselves was perfect and the scenery and animals were stunning. A beach break at the end was much needed after the long days and early mornings and Zanzibar ticked the boxes. Truly magical

As any good operator, they were there in the background and had everything organised perfectly. There was always someone to meet us as expected, the pick ups were on time and the information before the trip was plentiful. We had no need to contact them during the holiday so they did the job behind the scenes and made everything work seamlessly

We (family of 4) had an absolutely amazing trip to Kenya. We enjoyed 3 nights/4 days safari on the Naboisho Conservancy followed by 8 nights on Galu Beach, south of Diani Beach. Both the safari and the stay on the coast exceeded our expectations. We ate under the stars, had a fantastic breakfast during the morning game drive, saw all the animals we expected to see and more. Treasured memories for sure.

Safari Consultants curated a fantastic trip Also, when we needed support - my wife was taken ill, we nearly missed a connecting flight, Safari Consultants were on hand to provide advice and guidance. Normally, you only see the value in the service at the time of booking and pre-departure but in our instance, we needed their support during the holiday and we weren't let down. Safari Consultants definitely seem to have a great experience, relationships with partners on the ground and knowledge.

Safari in Botswana at 3 different camps including the Kalahari and the Okavango, then a short stay in Zambia on the banks of the Zambezi. The lodges were of a very high standard, with exceptionally knowledgeable guides. We felt safe at all times and well looked after. The food was extremely good and the accommodation was very comfortable indeed. The stay ay Tongabezi was a brilliant end to the holiday; we completely relaxed and enjoyed the scenery, the river and the pampering.

Excellent. They completely understood what we were looking for and then managed to book us into the most amazing lodges, knowing that they were exactly what we wanted. Everything was taken care of and we felt completely happy letting them do all the organising for us. We are used to organising our own holidays so we were a little anxious about this to start with. We would definitely highly recommend Safari Consultants.

1 night layover in Dar-es-Salaam 3 nights at the Selous Impala Camp in the Selous game reserve 3 nights at the Mdonya Old River Camp in the Ruaha National Park 7 nights at the Pongwe Beach resort on Zanzibar

Safari Consultants listened very well to what we wanted, and developed an exceptional itinerary that delivered exactly what we had discussed. All of the places we visited and stayed exceeded our expectations. The information and communication provided was extremely good, clear and helpful, and all of the travel arrangements, transfers and logistics worked flawlessly. The additional advice they provided in terms of visas/what to take/what to expect/vaccinations/etc. was also incredibly helpful. I would not hesitate to recommend them to friends and family.

This was our first visit to African as a family and it was simply amazing from start to finish. We were looked after every step of the was by the team put in place by Safari Consultants. Our first port of call was The Bush House in Madikwe Game Reserve where the owners Sue and Gordon welcomed us to the lodge. The lodge has a hide looking out onto a waterhole and many animals visited over the course of our stay including whole herds of elephants. We had eight game drives and our guide (Mike) was amazing on everyone. He was passionate and helped ensure memorable encounters on every drive. We honestly couldn't have asked for a more memorable experience. The second stage of our holiday was 4 days in the Cape Grace Hotel. We had tours organised through Vineyard Tours and Margie, our driver and guide, was friendly and knowledgeable. We crammed a lot into the 4 days and this was ideal as we are keen to see as much as we could in the time we had there. The holiday ended with 4 days in Grootbos Nature Reserve in Hermanus. This is a very special place indeed. The diversity of the flora in the area is spectacular. The passion of the team that work there when it comes to their aim to be environmentally friendly and to contribute to the community around them was amazing to see. We also went whale watching and cage diving with great white sharks..... This really was a breathtaking holiday that was faultlessly delivered by Safari Consultants and their service providers. We will certainly use their services again in the future.

From our initial contact to the end of our holiday, Safari Consultants were flawless from start to finish. All questions and concerns were addressed straight away, they were helpful and very knowledgeable. They were really amazing and we will certainly use them again.

We had a thoroughly amazing time in Victoria Falls, Hwange, Chobe and the Okavango Delta. Consideration had been given to our keen interest in photography and each destination was subtly different to give us a more varied and fulfilling experiences, both generally and photographically. This is evidenced by the huge number of pictures we took and the tuition we had at Pangolin will be of benefit in years to come.

Everything about the holiday was excellent, the destinations, accommodation and the transfers and I would recommend Safari Consultants to any wanting a similar holiday. We had one small issue with missing transport (though not Safari Consultants fault) but they were quick to become involved and sort the issue out.

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