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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 Nick



Sorry not to get back to you before. I was in Morocco when you sent this, and then have been really unwell since then (something picked up in Morocco I think).



We had such a fantastic holiday, thank you. We really can’t fault it, everything was just great. Just amazing memories.


Thank you,

Clare

Clare and James

Dear Nick,



It is now two weeks since we returned from our trip and work pressures have meant it has taken until now to drop you a line to say thank you as we had an absolutely brilliant trip. I think I told you we are always prepared to take the rough with the smooth in our travels, accepting that some destinations come out above others; there is no doubt that this trip rates amongst our best holidays ever.

The organisation all worked to plan and I am aware that the price we paid was very competitive and we consider the trip worth every penny. 

Your recommendation of getting visas in advance was excellent as it streamlined arrival significantly. The Coastal flights all ran exactly as scheduled and worked so that we never felt like any day was a "travel day" as we always had time for a drive or something early or later in the day.

The out in business class back in WTP on BA worked well.



So in summary thank you for organising a wonderful trip for us so efficiently and for minimising the time and decision making for us by your extensive knowledge of Tanzania. We will travel back to Tanzania sometime but probably not for a few years and i will definitely seek you out when the time comes.

Please feel free to use any of this email as an attributed testimonial as I would be delighted to recommend your company and will do so to any friends planning a trip to Tanzania.



Kind regards


Leonie and Mark

Leonie and Mark

Hi nick

,

We are well thank you.

The wedding and honeymoon seem like a very long time ago. It has been full on at work since we've been back...need another holiday!!!



We had a wonderful time in Tanzania. The kili climb (or at least summit day) was hard. Not sure if we would have got to the top without the support of freddy and the assistant guide who accompanied us that evening. Totally amazing experience - although it took a few days to feel that way and reflect upon the achievement as positive!!!!



Onsea house was lovely. We had a superb room on our first night. Unfortunately the room on the night we returned from our hike wasn't as nice. We had been warned that we wouldn't be in the same room - but there were issues with the water as well. Fairly luke warm shower. Otherwise the facilities, food, staff etc were excellent.
We had a fuss made over us as honeymooners on our first night, which was nice.



Our safari guide, Andrew, was also great. Enthusiastic and looked after us well. He always made sure that the jeep was spotless and was a careful driver. 

We were very well looked after in both plantation lodge and Osupuko lodge (particularly so in Osupuko - David, the manager there made a big fuss over us and treated us like long lost family!) Plantation lodge is beautiful / charming and Osupuko was magical in terms of location. 

In short, great time had. Very lucky.

Thank you for your help and advice.


Amy and Eddie

Amy and Eddie

Hi nick

We've had a truly fantastic time. Spending 2 nights at ras katani was a great way to start the holiday after the overnight flight esp being in one of the hillside suites; mwagusi was magical ( so glad we were there for our anniversary); and vamizi completely blew us away, surpassing all our expectations - in fact I cried when we had to leave !

The only slight disappointment was in the selous. Whilst a very smart camp, we thought it had lost sight of the fact that people are primarily there to see wildlife and the accommodation / dining experience runs secondary to that purpose not vice versa as they now seem to be running it e.g. So that people can have a full breakfast first, the game drives do not go out until 8am which is the latest I have ever encountered across all of africa and the drives always seemed to kill the first half hour to an hour around the same circuit just along the lakeside, where there was little to see other than hippos and crocs, thereby reducing all chance of more varied game viewing esp as the sundowners invariably took place in the same spot.

The lake trip was thoroughly enjoyable but at this time of year the channels are closed due to the low water level so there was less water based activity on offer than we had expected - just one 2.5 hour sunset trip. We would therefore only recommend this camp for first time safari goers and birders (but only in the greener season).

Nevertheless, it was a good contrast to mwagusi and the overall package taking in all 4 lodges bush and beach combined made for one of our best ever holidays. Many thanks for all your help and advice planning this !

Best regards
Joanne

P.s. I dived neptunes arm and it was truly awesome - one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life...

Joanne and Clive

Hi Nick



Thanks for thinking of us. We just unpacking and washing away the journey home right now. All I can say for now is that it was perfect. We had the most fantastic time and couldn't have wished to spend our honeymoon at a more special place (Echo Beach).

The staff, food and accommodation- not to mention the location were all second to none. Surpassed all our expectations. Sue and Andrew and Zoe are so welcoming and excellent hosts. I was in tears leaving! 

Thank you so much for the recommendation and we're already saving to go out and visit them again next year!

Thanks again for all your help. 
Your service was exemplary. Nothing was too much trouble and you responded almost immediately to all our questions, which I have to say is a first! You were also very honest and open in your recommendations. When we arrived we got exactly what we wanted and expected - no surprises.

Would highly recommend you.


Best,


Rachel and Simon

Rachel and Simon

Hi Nick,

Hope you're well? 

Thanks for your email, apologies for the late reply. Yes we were very well rested after our trip but unfortunately reality had to kick in and it all had to end!



The Safari was fantastic and a big thanks to you for directing us south to the Selous as with less of us tourists around it really felt that we were the only people out there on the game drives making each excursion unique.

The Lake Manze camp was brilliant and the staff were very friendly plus the guides were like walking encyclopaedia's so all in all we had a fantastic time. We saw some great sights from Mock charging elephants to a pride of well fed lions. Unfortunately the Male lions have been heavily poached in this area so no fully grown males were sighted. We almost saw a lion hunt but it fizzled out though still very exciting. On our drive from the airstrip to the camp we saw a pack of wild dogs which we were told is very rare so a top start to the trip. On the lake we saw pods of hippos, crocs plus loads of birds plus elephants and buffalo taking a drink at the shore. The only disappointment was not seeing a Rhino's but they're not inhabitants of this area and we saw so much it didn't matter that much.
 


The Zanzibar trip went very smoothly with no hiccups. Serene travel were excellent, on time to pick us up to take us to our next destinations with no hassles. Plus the drivers were very friendly.

 Our first stop Imani guest house was a really nice guest house hidden away with spacious colonial styled rooms but unfortunately not in the best location. The owners and the staff made it a really friendly and comfortable place to stay but we just felt we couldn't venture too far. 



Moving onto the Sunshine resort. This was a very nice resort with picturesque views, the staff were friendly and the owners were welcoming though not much going on in the resort. 
Hotel Seyyida was a nice featured place, cant say anymore as we were only in there to sleep.



To round up. 
Safari, brilliant, cant say a bad thing about it....10/10
 
Zanzibar, not the Island for us, a bit too quiet and felt a little overpriced.



Once again thanks for all your help in making our honeymoon a great trip.

Cheers 
Mike

Mike and Rachel

Nick,

The trip was great, and my head is still slightly in East Africa….life was much more peaceful there!
 
But thank you for organising what was the perfect trip.

The safari sandwich worked really well and it felt like the right amount of time on Zanzibar before heading to Mdonya and then to the different safari experience at Lake Maze followed by the amazing and secluded beach of Ras K. The only complaint we had was that Fundi the Leopard remained elusive at Old Mdonya, but there was still plenty of wildlife to see, and the different landscapes between the two camps kept things fresh and interesting.
 


The accommodation was great and we were well looked after everywhere we went but particularly at Mdonya where they arranged a private candle-lit dinner in the bush….which was great despite the lions roaring from what felt like far too close.
 


So overall a thoroughly enjoyable trip, everything worked perfectly which give the amount of transfers was surprising, so thanks for sorting.
 


Dan

Dan and Adele

Hi Nick,
 


We had been meaning to reply to you but though we thought we’d have loads of time now the wedding’s been, that’s not really how things have worked out.
 


The honeymoon was AMAZING, a trip of a lifetime that we will never forget. Each of the places we stayed were great and we had almost no problems at all. I would also say that the order in which we did things was spot on and I would recommend that to anyone on a honeymoon i.e. go for some chill out time at the start, looking forward to the safari and then a couple of days at the end before we came home. 
 


As a commentary on each part of the holiday;
 
Breezes – lovely hotel, really nice and easy way to bed into the holiday. We did the Safari Blue day trip as well which I would totally recommend, the best of the trips/excursions we did! The accommodation and food were really great.
 
Driving to Nungwi – this was a really good experience, felt like something of a challenge which after relaxing for 4 days was good. Also meant that stopping at Jozani forest was really easy and could take the day at our leisure. The roads are pretty good and we didn’t have any real issues other than some confusion with fuel. The jeep that we had was not great (though it was reliable and perhaps I should have lowered my expectations in Africa) and only had π tank of fuel. 
 


Ras Nungwi - was amazing, the food here in particular was fantastic and they upgraded us to a beach view cottage which was appreciated as these had amazing views and were more romantic than the rooms towards the back. We went out on one of the nights which was good. Not that this is a criticism of yourself but the roads leading to the hotels are truly appalling, so much so that when we were going to the hotel we were sure we had gone wrong even though we hadn’t. Considering how good the main roads are it’s surely in the hotels interests to sort out the roads up to their gates?
 


Stone Town – We didn’t enjoy Stone Town that much though the hotel was very nice. I think this is personal choice but felt a little too hassled by local sellers which got tiring but glad we went and had a look round. 



Lake Manze – I had no idea what to expect but honestly it was amazing. We had ‘room’ 1 which was the furthest away and so most remote, it felt like we had the place to ourselves and so suspect we had the best of the animals near our tent. We had an elephant come and visit us on 3 of the 4 nights which was a fantastic experience. I’ve no experience of other safari but I would really recommend Manze, we really enjoyed the lake activities as well as the game drives, the variation and options were great and the experience of seeing the animals was something we will never forget. Some guests were a bit grumbly about a few things but we thought the food and organisation was great. Our particular guide we had each day, Victor, was really brilliant! 4 days was for me the ideal amount of time to go for.
 
The only really disappointing part of the trip was that it appears that Coastal forgot to send a plane to collect us from Manze. It seemed that we had been lucky that this other plane had arrived else we had no idea how we would have got back. It was a little stressful.
 


Ras Kutani – after how good Breezes and Ras Nungwi were I don’t think we could have imagined that Kutani could raise the bar but it really is an amazing place. The food there was simply the best we’ve ever had and the staff were so friendly and helpful. We really were able to totally chill out and enjoy the last 2 days of our trip, we were really glad you recommended it so highly and we had decided to go.
 
I must also say that the driver we had from the transfer company was excellent. We had the same driver every day who was on time every time (I know this is not always the case in Africa) and was friendly and helpful. Also Max was very helpful when we rang to arrange Safari Blue and arranged to get us a SIM card as neither of ours worked.
 


So overall it was really a perfect honeymoon and thank you for arranging it. We will be recommending both Tanzania and yourself to our friends as some of them have since expressed an interest as potential honeymoon destinations.
 


Regards,
 
Dan

Dan and Sarah-Jane

Nick, 



Apologies for the delay in writing, but I wanted to thank you once again for organising such a terrific honeymoon for us.

The safari was out of this world and the time we got to spend in Zanzibar was a great way to unwind after all of the hectic wedding preparations - it was undoubtedly the trip of a lifetime. 

We met a number of other couples as we travelled and it quickly became clear that the quality and thoughtfulness of the trip you had put together for us was a cut above the majority of other operators. Things like really knowing when it was best to pay a little extra for a flight vs. a long drive, constantly checking the status of our flights, and ensuring we knew how to get the most out of each leg of the trip. 



On the accommodations specifically: 

Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge - simply breathtaking views of the crater, particularly at sunset and a fantastic dinner buffet in the most amazing dining room imaginable. A real gem, and much nicer than it looks on the website. 

Olakira Camp - If only all "camping" was like this! Great accommodation, astonishing food and an amazingly welcoming staff; Olakira has it all. And given it's a mobile camp, it was perfectly positioned for some incredible safari experiences, particularly the wildebeest migration crossing the Mara River. The guides we had here (and throughout the trip) were exceptionally knowledgeable meaning we learnt so much about the animals, the land and the country as a whole.

We'd highly recommend the Asilia company - they seemed a cut above the rest (including having open sided vehicles which really transformed the experience) 

Olivers Camp - Without a doubt, the highlight of the trip! Olivers is nicer than many 5 star hotels we've stayed in, with the added benefits of the incredible wildlife of Tarangire. It was the only place where we decided to head back to camp a little early on one afternoon, to take in the breathtaking view from the deck behind our "tent", sipping on champagne as we watched the sunset - something we'll never forget. The staff were once again extremely welcoming, warm and knowledgeable and the food is something to write home about!


Mashiraki Palace, Zanzibar - When you see the incredible architecture of this hotel, you assume that will be your abiding memory, but for us, the warmth and charm of the staff was the highlight. Fantastic, laid back atmosphere, great room and an excellent location from which to enjoy Stone Town. 

Z-Hotel, Zanzibar - Sadly the only place where we had mixed emotions. Nungwi is a stunning white sandy beach and the hotel is perfectly positioned with great facilities and plenty of activities for those who don't fancy just a week of sunbathing. However, as you know, we had a number of issues which the staff were unhelpful in trying to resolve, ranging from defective plumbing in our first room, through to no hot water in the suite (which, to their credit, they upgraded us to for one night to make up for the first room) and to over $300 of double charging on our final bill which took 2 hours on our final morning to resolve. All in all, the customer services in relation to all this were terrible - when the GM responds with "well, this is Africa....!" you can only wonder how he has the nerve to charge New York / Cental London prices.

Thank you for all your help in chasing them down on our return. 

It was a shame to end with that, but nothing they could do could detract from what was genuinely the experience of a lifetime - thank you once again! 



Pav and Meera

Pav and Meera

Hi nick

That is brilliant, thank you very much. I just want to say you are an excellent advisor and gave brilliant advice about the holiday. We really appreciate the work you did.

Thank you again
Suneeta

Suneeta and Casimir

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