Classic Tanzania Safari

Our Clients’ Reviews

Here at Exodus we thrive on feedback from our customers. It's the only way we can ensure our trips continue to be the best they can be. So, for the real tales, twists and turns of the trip you're interested in, look no further than the reviews from our previous travellers. Any feedback collected (Good or bad) from Exodus clients is posted straight onto our website - totally unedited. Read more...

Average Review Rating: from 8 reviews.

Antonio Barranco

CLASSIC TANZANIA SAFARI

Written February 2013
Animal viewing was phenomenal.Toilet facilities at public sites not as good as the ones we brought along!
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Seeing so many young animals.
What did you think of your group leader?
Excellent.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Three season sleeping bag not required at this time of year. Photographers require long lenses as we have to keep to roads. I was using 400mm + 1.4 converter and 7D on bean bag. Plenty of iron on vehicle to allow clamping of gimbal heads.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Hot drinks on return to camp would be nice. We got these at the end but had to ask. Some of my photos of the trip can be seen: http://tonybarranco.zenfolio.com/p891108077
Jo Weston

CLASSIC TANZANIA SAFARI

Written September 2012
This is a great, if not basic way to experience the African bush and take in the beautiful starry night skies. However, do be prepared for the fact that there are long days spent in the vehicle with very little opportunity to stretch the legs, an activity holiday this is not! I would also strongly recommend you take binnoculars, not all the game is conveniently located by the side of the road.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Seeing 3 leopards in one day was a dream come true, whats more to see one up a tree eating it's kill was an incredibly special experience.
What did you think of your group leader?
Ben was good but not particularly charismatic.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
The first campsite in Tarangire is DREADFUL for Tetse flies, I would therefore recommend you wear full length clothes which have a reasonable thickness given that they can bite through them - no amount of Deet seemed to deter them.
Make sure you take plenty of bottled water with you for the first couple of days when you first leave the hotel. Bottled water wasn't provided whilst camping (just hot water) so you definitely need to take some supplies with you.
The Ngorongoro crater was definitely chiller than i expected so do take some slightly warmer clothes.
Personally i would recommend using biodegradeable soap given that you are showing in the wilderness and we want to minimise our impact on the environment.
For those that are wondering, whilst the toilet facilities in the campsite is basic e.g. mini porter loo, a lot of the national parks do have half decent toilet stops - just make sure you take loo roll with you, as you might expect it's not always provided.
Finally DO make sure you charge everything before you go and that you take spare camera batteries, there really is no opporutnity to charge anything whilst you are camping so fully charged spares are essential!

Is there anything else you would like to add?
Overall this is a great introduction to Tanzania and it's wildlife. You do need patience as there are long periods of time when you could see little to no game, however, hopefully when you do it's a fab experience.
Alun Edwards

CLASSIC TANZANIA SAFARI

Written November 2009
Ignoring the road accident, it was a most enjoyable trip and I would recommend the trip to anyone, particularly those going to Africa for the first time.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Getting up close and personal with a lion.
What did you think of your group leader?
Very good driver and animal spotter, not bad at the social stuff in the campsite, not great in a crisis.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Pack light!
Is there anything else you would like to add?
The camping was comfortable enough, food not too bad considering the basic conditions, and the drives to get to places not overly long.
Deborah Hudson

CLASSIC TANZANIA SAFARI

Written October 2009
An incredible holiday which won't be forgotten! The wildlife was fantastic, the crew brilliant and when we needed it most the camaraderie and support was second to none.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
We were fortunate to see so much. Our first glimpse of the Ngorongoro crater was quite something but by far the stand out moment was when a big male lion strolled across the road in front of us whilst inside the crater itself. To our disappointment he disappeared into a culvert diectly beneath us only to reappear dragging the remains of a Wilderbeast which he prompty decided to snack on. Incredible stuff. I could have sat and watched him for the rest of the day. His power, strength and dominance was for all to see. Further down the track we then came across a lone young lion calling for the rest of it's pride. In stark contrast to the adult male, the young cub seemed weary and thin.
Another moment which stands out was having lunch in the Tarangire National Park with a never ending view of elephants! Getting so close to them on our drive further into the park was fantastic. Whilst sat outside on the benches I commented that being out in the open I hoped we weren't in lion territory - 20 mintues down the track we came across 5 lions having a kip in the shade and another one up a tree!
What did you think of your group leader?
Our drivers Abraham and Ben were fantastic. Being in Abraham's car we were never short of conversation and came home being able to say "Lion on the left" or "Zebra on the right" in Swahili. Our continual lessons in the lingo were great fun! More to the point though, Abraham knew what he was talking about, was passionate about it and was happy to share his knowledge.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
1. Don't overpack! Whilst the luggage allowance from London to Kenya and home again may be 20kgs, the allowance on the internal flight from Seronora to Kilimanjaro is 15kg including hand luggage! This caught us all by surprise and meant some frantic unpacking in the hotel on the first night!
2. Be prepared for basic toilet and shower facilities. It is basic but it's better than nothing!
3. Carefully check your travel insurance. If like me you are planning on taking a lot of camera equipment, make sure your policy will cover the full cost should anything happen.
4. Most important of all, keep your eyes peeled and have your camera at the ready! The bigger the zoom lens the better although sometimes the animals will be so close you'll be looking for your smallest lens to get the best shot.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Whilst on holiday we were unfortunately involved in an accident (no-one's fault, just an accident). Although it was distressing at the time, the assistance we received from Exodus both in Tanzania and London was second to none. The way in which the support crew who had been looking after us at camp rallied around us and our fellow travellers looked after us made me realise how fortunate we were to be travelling with a company as experienced and dedicated as Exodus. Even though we missed the last couple of days of our trip I would not hesitate to recommend this to anyone else, the wildlife, the camping the scenery it all combined to make this trip truly special. We're already looking into where to go with Exodus next year......
Philip Durnford

CLASSIC TANZANIA SAFARI

Written September 2009
Amazing animal sightings, great landscape, friendly staff who looked after us brilliantly and great company
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
1. Seeing a leopard leap out of a tree and after an unsuccessful chase of a steenbok walk across the road right beside the vehicle
2. Stopped under a tree in Manyara with 3 lions just above us !
3. Seeing a serval in broad daylight
What did you think of your group leader?
Very helpful, fun and a mine of information
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Make sure you have a telephoto lens and binoculars
Nicola Jordan

CLASSIC TANZANIA SAFARI

Written September 2009
Fantastic safari - we saw so much more than I was expecting. The Tanzanian people are really friendly and there is great wildlife viewing.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Sitting around the campfire in the evening under the African stars talking about everything we had seen during the day.
What did you think of your group leader?
He was excellent - he could spot a leopard up a tree whilst driving along bumpy roads - amazing!
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Take a woolly hat for Ngorogoro as it gets quite cold at night. Also, you can pay for almost everything in dollars, so dont worry too much about local currency.
Christine Byrne

CLASSIC TANZANIA SAFARI

Written November 2008
superb gaming viewing, good wild camping sites, great team looking after us and a lovely, friendly hotel in Arusha at the start and end. I have done exodus trips to Namibia and Botswana and this ranks second after Botswana. All round a really great safari experience.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
first five hours driving through our first game park : lionesses, leopard and cheetah in addition to elephants (lots), giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and lots of the different smaller animals - dik dik, impala, baboons etc. Didn't think it could get much better...but it did we saw all that again and lots more as the safari continued. seeing a Rhino in the Crater was excellent and then hippos and crocs in the Seregenti National Park. The flight back was amazing. you got really good views of the seregenti and the crater and then the rift valley wall.
What did you think of your group leader?
two leaders: both very good and knowledgeable and worked hard to get us to where the best game viewing was. They have different personalities and perspective so travelling on alternate days with one or the other made the trip more rounded.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
The wild camping is so much better than being on fixed camps. Quieter and enjoyable and closer to the feel of the african bush - particularly when elephants want to share your campsite! The shower arrangement/tents/food were all really good. The toilet tent less so but it is not worth disregarding the trip just because of that. The Mosquitos were not the problem at the time of year I went (early October) but the Tsese fly in Tarangire Park were a really pain so you did need to cover legs and arms until the breeze from driving drove them out of the vehicle
Is there anything else you would like to add?
The smaller numbers in the group may make the trip a little more expensive but you are more flexible and far more comfortable. Some of the larger vehicles we saw with 15-20 clients would not have gone to the areas we did. Visiting the three different parks was a really good experience as they are so very different in terms of topography and vegetation and animal population. If you want a safari which gives you the best opportunity for seeing as much as possible this is a near perfect itinerary. Even the long road journeys are interesting and well worth the poor travelling condition of some of them.
Botswana offered the difference in spending time on the water (Chobe River and in Delta) which gets you out of the cars and gives you a different perspective but in terms of amount of game viewing both were truly excellent. I did expect to see lions/lioness but to see leopard and cheetah as well on both trips exceeded my expectations.
The big Cat sightings by the end of the Tanzanian trip were impressive : around 30 lionesses and cubs, three leopard viewings, three cheetah - one of which was really close - plus a civit(?) cat. And a lot of these viewings were quite close and brilliant for photographs and - equally important - just to watch and observe and be in the moment.