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What our clients are saying about us and our trips...

With web review sites being all the rage these days, it can be a little difficult to sift through the debris to actually find out what a place or hotel is like. From our point of view, having stayed in 99% of the hotels and safari lodges we sell (and quite a few we don't), we think that these reviews can be very misleading as it is impossible to know what the reviewer likes, was looking for, paid etc. etc. In our opinion our job is to find out what you like and match the correct product to you...see how we have done. (please note that ALL of the reviews we feature are 100% real and unedited. If you would like to speak to any of our past clients please let us know)

Furthermore, we have started to gather customer reviews through Trustpilot so please take a look at our page on there to see how we are doing! Trustpilot Reviews >>

Hi Gemma,

Thank you for your message and apologies for delay in reply. Hope all well for you. We had an amazing time and all ran smoothly so thank you for all your careful organisation!

On Safari we particularly loved Ruaha with its big herds of elephants and lots of babies which was great to see. We had hippos and elephants coming out the river and wandering round our lodge at night! Also saw a few prides of lions and a leopard ! We had a lovely guide called Corado who really looked after us and v informative.

In the Selous we saw the endangered wild dogs , hyenas , wart hogs , crocs which we hadn’t seen before plus big groups of hippos in the river. Tent and little plunge pool plus swim pool were fantastic as v hot there.

Breezes was a great choice for us so thank you! We were a little worried it would be mainly honeymooners as one guide book said but there were mainly families with older children which was great as ours mixed in with other teenagers etc. They were kept occupied with snorkelling , kayaking, tennis, boules and we had a great guided trip to Stonetown too with lunch on a rooftop restaurant.

The staff at the hotel were so attentive and the food really good plus beautiful gardens and beach so couldn’t really fault it! The manager told us there were 150 guests and 300 staff so that’s a good ratio.

The only hassle we had , which was nothing to do with you, was at immigration on arrival in Dar. As we had online visas , we proceeded straight to passport control, only to be told after queuing up that we had to go back to the Visa desk first to get our visas stamped. This was not at all clear and many other passengers did the same and everyone was getting angry as it seemed chaotic with big queues and nothing being done!! This took about an hour and half in the end and many people missed connecting flights , although luckily not us! I think these were teething problems of the new online system but it might be worth warning future clients as it was all rather frustrating and stressful.

Anyway, all in all a truly fantastic and memorable trip so thank you ! I will send over a few photos. Let me know if you want any other details as feedback.

Alison x

Alison and Family
July 25, 2019

Hi Gemma,

We had a great time, thanks, and both camps very good. One comment – I think it might be useful if you added on your site that credit cards not accepted when settling the bill – cash only.

Kind Regards,

Roger

Roger
July 23, 2019

Hello Gemma!

Thank you for the welcome home, and apologies for the delay responding - we're both back to work (after finally recovering from the jet lag!) and have been pretty busy winding down after months of wedding and honeymoon planning!

The trip was fantastic, I can say that much!

You thought of and planned every detail, and everything went off without a hitch.

Hope all is well with you and Nick!

Thanks!

Jim

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Jim and Mary
July 23, 2019

Dear Gemma

Many thanks for the welcome home!

Overall we have had a wonderful holiday in Tanzania - we are completely overwhelmed by the welcome and hospitality from all the staff at Siwandu Lodge, Pole Pole and The Palms - everyone was so keen to make sure that we were happy with every detail of our holiday in their lodges, which were located in such special surroundings.

So a huge thank you for your guidance and advice in organising this holiday for us.

Philip and Marion
July 22, 2019

Hi Gemma,

We are just in the car going back to Abu Dhabi. The whole trip has been absolutely amazing!!!

Loved all the places we stayed, had fabulous guides and a wonderful welcome everywhere we went. We did amazingly well on our safaris too. Everyday was very different and we everything we wanted to see. I’m sending a couple of my fave photos. I will definitely write a review between loads of washing. Got a quick turn around as headed back to the uk on Monday for 6 weeks.

Thanks again for all your help.

Hope you like these pics!

Kind regards,
Jo

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Jo & Family
July 19, 2019

Hi Gemma,

Got back Saturday night but had a lot of stuff to catch up with. Basically, the trip was outstanding – we had an amazing time!

All of the logistics went perfectly although, as expected, a couple of the internal flights were an hour or so late. The order of visiting the locations was also perfect. We visited the Selous first and loved it. But we met some New Zealanders there on their fourth week of Safari in Kenya and Tanzania and the Selous was a disappointment to them in terms of the range and volume of animals seen. I can understand this after later going to the Serengeti.

But, for us, the Selous was great and just whet our appetite for the Serengeti. Recommending going to the Selous first and Serengeti second is something you might also want to consider for future clients. All of the accommodations were great although the Dar es Salaam hotel was not quite the standard of the others.

The Rufiji camp was amazing but the highlight of the trip was the Kimondo mobile camp in the Serengeti – the staff were unbelievably friendly and helpful – and the experience unparalleled!

We have been on many great trips in many parts of the world and this one ranks with the best.

Thank you for all your help and patience – you were wonderful!

Let us know if you need anymore feedback.

Ray and Shauna

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Ray and Shauna
July 11, 2019

Hi Gemma

Thanks for the email. Siwandu and the Safari were magical. The animals in the Selous and the staff at Siwandu could not have behaved more impeccably! It was just magical. Some photos, taken almost from touching distance, below.

We had a disastrous journey home with Qatar Airways yesterday, so are absolutely knackered. I won’t bore you with all the details but suffice to say, hours spent forced to sit outside Zanzibar airport in the punishing heat, hours in it in the punishing heat, numerous changes to flights that didn’t materialise and subsequent inordinate delays.

Stone Town - thank you for sorting out the sickness situation so effectively. Given the way Zan Tours stepped in, it went reasonably well! Forget the taxi fare, it was minimal. We’re really glad we went to Stone Town and going on the spice tour on the way to Qambani worked perfectly. Jafferji House split opinion, Rob loved its authenticity, but Ellie and I had doubts. I fully accept that Ellie and I need to review our expectations of third world countries! Ellie works for Accenture and they have an office in Dar - I don’t think she’ll be rushing to apply!

We had dinner at Emerson Spice, (highly recommended in almost every guide book) which was in a great location but served uninteresting international food and at 174$ for three, with only one bottle of wine, was really expensive. Other more local restaurants were considerably better and cheaper. Jafferji House’s restaurant was much less expensive and had similar views from the roof terrace.

Qambani, where to start! My choice, not yours! Fabulous property, fabulous location, could so easily be 5+ stars! But....the management there left a lot to be desired! Some staff were exceptional, others indifferent. It was virtually empty most of the time we were there, so they had plenty of staff. It was sold as a property with no written menu and that you can have whatever food you want. All food was very geared to the European market, which seems to be what most guests want, when I suppose we wanted authentic local food. Having said that, when we asked for the local meat, goat, we got it, but cooked ....... with chocolate(!)....in a European style. We should have asked for it cooked in the local style and quickly learnt to be more specific, if we had any requests! The Swahili evening we asked for and got was exceptional! The drink prices were very reasonable, so if you do send other clients, unless they are alcoholics, the $60 charge per person per day is more than a reasonable drinker can consume and, I promise, I did my best!

Overall, we had an absolutely fantastic time and will recommend The Africa specialists to all we can. We really appreciated your knowledge and help throughout.

I hope you feel this feedback is constructive and helps with future customers.

Kind Regards
Lorna

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Lorna
July 10, 2019

Hi Gemma,

Thank you so much! I had a wonderful time! Everyone in Lake Manze and Mdonya Old River camps were so very nice.

I could not have asked for a better experience.

My favorite sighting was some lion cubs that couldn’t have been more than a couple of months old! They were absolutely beautiful! The hot air balloon ride was unforgettable! We got to see a herd of buffalo and they looked like ants from the air. It was amazing!

Whenever I get a chance I will leave a review on Trust Pilot. Thank you so much for all of your help making this a trip of a lifetime!

I would definitely love to go back some day!

Thanks for everything!

Best regards,
Kristen

Kristen
July 8, 2019

Hi Gemma.

Hope you are well.

We had an amazing time!!

Starting with Siwandu, what an amazing place. Everything was perfect, the landscape, food, staff, accommodation, activities. There was nothing you could fault.

We then moved onto Matlai which was lovely. We loved the room and the really cool bar. The staff here again were fantastic especially our designated butler, and the two owners Tim and his mother Ingrid. We did the spice and stone town tours while staying here which was ok but expensive for what it was. We also visited The Rock restaurant, what a beautiful unique setting but we were left a bit disappointed by the food.

Finally we spent the last three nights at Matemwe Retreat. Wow!! this was simply stunning. We had such a fantastic time. t was pure and utter bliss and a lovely way to bring our honeymoon to a close. We were very sad to leave.

Couple of minor comments; We didn't think Matlai was worth $600 per night. It was lovely don't get me wrong but Matemwe was $500 a night more expensive but was in a different league to Matlai.

I will submit a review on trust pilot over the weekend.

Regards

John

John and Josephine
July 5, 2019

Hi Gemma,

At the Swiss lounge in Zurich but let me just confirm we had an amazing adventure. Thank you so much for the help and getting me to Zanzibar that night. We will try to send referrals!

White Sand was a big hit with the group - we had villa 1 right on the beach which was outstanding and the meeting place for the group. Very good food and the entertainment was excellent (Masai night). They were in villa 7 which was more spacious but no view.

Mkombe’s house was probably the nicest place we had ever stayed, given the circumstances, and the atmosphere with the Keare’s and our hosts (Babu and Joel the guide) made it unforgettable. Two leopard sightings and seeing the wildebeest herd was epic.

The mobile camp was also very good and Musa an excellent guide. This was a realistic bush experience. Given that the wildebeest heard was early so we had seen 50000+ already, not huge new experiences there but also really positive. I know the Keare’s loved their lion and cheetah experiences during our two days apart - we had seen quite a few of both on our previous safari and as you know I wanted to see the wildebeest, so no regrets with our choice.

Richard and his team also made the Crater visit very special. We rocked the house partying the last night with the Keare’s and an Australian family we met at the mobile camp.

A personalized walk to the rim was truly special and we saw 2 rhinos and an old male lion (full mane) in the crater. The guide was knowledgeable but quiet and didn’t really connect with a boisterous group of 7. He would probably have been a better fit for a couple or solo visitor. It was windy during the nights but that was to be expected. The weather was clear and again, our hosts were terrific and everyone danced the last night.

All in all, an epic trip with great friends. I’m glad the Keare’s are enjoying the chimps - not our cup of tea and I need to get back to work.

Enjoy the summer and if you ever make it to Los Angeles, please let me know.

Best,

Bill

Bill & Family
July 2, 2019

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