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Testimonials

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,

What an incredible safari we had! Your recommendation of Lake Manze Camp was absolutely perfect for our family.

We enjoyed how close we were to the animals - we had an elephant wander through camp one lunchtime and two lions actually walked by our tent in the middle of the day (which was a little too close for comfort, but the masai guards were super awesome and we felt safe).

We saw so many amazing animals - we did two trips per day, including two boat safaris (with fishing). Our guide and driver were excellent <./strong>(Jackson and Omari) - very knowledgeable and made great efforts to make sure we saw every animal in Selous. We were fortunate to see the wild dogs several times and actually follow them on two hunts - one for a baby giraffe (which thankfully they didn't get) and the other for impala which ended in a kill. OMG what a thrill!! Our two daughters will never forget this experience - they learned so much.

Malcolm was heading up camp during the time we were there (the usual managers were away) - he says he set up the camp at LM originally and works in corporate in Dar Es Salaam. He was amazing, engaging and knowledgable - we really enjoyed meeting him.

All in all, such a great experience. Thank you for your help with planning our trip and helping us choose the safari experience that was right for our family.

Thank you,
Charlotte

Charlotte and family

Hi Gemma,

Sorry for the delay getting back to you, just had to get some things in order.

Thanks for your email and your help throughout the booking process and to Nick and the whole team. We appreciated very much that there was always someone there for us, especially when our plane was delayed and we needed to change plans quickly. It was a huge relief that Nick quickly set us up in the Hotel Slipway which actually ended up being a nice addition to our trip.

We loved both halves of the trip equally although the safari was probably the more unforgettable of the two just due to its nature - that's not the type of thing you see every day. Our highlights from Lake Manze included having two male lions walk right past our land rover, one even did a full lap around the vehicle to inspect it, allowing Allison to get a picture of the lion in portrait mode on her iphone (you have to be within 8 feet of the target or else it won't work correctly so that tells you how close we were)! On the last morning we were there, we woke up to a lion walking through camp not more than 20 feet away from our tent and then on our drive out to the air strip, we got a little stampede of zebras crossing the road in front of the jeep and another couple lion sightings, as well.

After all that excitement, Boutique Hotel Matlai made for excellent R&R. While there, we caught up on our rest but also did some snorkeling in the small coral reef and got up early one day to go snorkeling/swimming with a group of about 20 blue dolphins. We made reservations and had a delicious meal at The Rock Restaurant which was only a 10 minute walk down the beach and a nice boat taxi out to the restaurant at high tide (you should consider adding this to your description of the Boutique Hotel Matlai, many of the other travellers were discussing the restaurant while we were there and we were happy that we had reservations!) The entire staff at BHM made us feel very relaxed and at home and sought after our every need and indeed we were sad to have to leave.

Unfortunately, we did have some minor bad luck getting around (of course, our plane delay on the way down forcing us to stay in Dar, then also at various points our taxi had a flat tire, of course the taxi that had the wrong date to take us from the Zanzibar airport to our stay at Hotel Matlai and finally our booking through Kenya Airways on the way back had some confusion and added stress as they had us on a different flight than what I booked and due to overbooking our preferred flight, couldn't get us back on that one).But we rolled with it and didn't let it hamper our stay one bit.

In short, our trip was unforgettable and we thank you very much for putting it all together for us.

We'll definitely be coming back to Africa sooner than later, will use your agency again and maybe even come back to the same camps and resorts some day because we loved it so much. We're finally settled back in and will definitely be leaving feedback on the sites you sent us to show our appreciation.

Thank you so much!

Eric and Alison

Hi there,

The safari was just perfect- we loved every moment. Lake Manze Camp was perfect and impeccably organized.

We saw many animals.

Thanks so much!

All the best,
Alexandra

Alexandra & family

Hi Gemma,

Thanks for writing. We had a fabulous time and are happy to review your services .

Siwandu was the most remarkable place I have ever stayed at in all my many years of travel. I have never had such extraordinary service from everyone I came in contact with. We were assigned on our arrival to our own house man and our own personal butler. They couldn't do enough for us. Truly amazing and a reflection of the excellence of the manager Conrad. I encourage you to recommend them for anyone visiting the Selous.

Ikuka was fine but paled in comparison to Siwandu. If we had gone there before Siwandu, Tanya, the other manager, was great. Two parks complemented each other well. Selous with their crocs and hippos and Ruaha with their elephants.

Thanks again for all your help!

Lynn and Robert

Hi Nick,

A few comments and highlights as requested!

Overall we loved the trip. We've done a couple of big trips organised by different companies and I think you definitely managed to capture what we would enjoy doing.

Cape Town : was lovely, the hotel was a bit quiet, but I expect that was because it was boutique. They were very nice and helpful though with booking restaurants and suggesting things to do. We were a bit skeptical about doing Robben island as soon as we got there because we didn't sleep much on the flight, but it was really interesting. We went out to the hospital where they did the first heart transplant, I'd probably advise people not to bother doing that as it took rather a while. We wish we had done a history tour earlier on as we left it to the last day and I think there is a lot more we could have learned. We got Uber everywhere in Cape Town and Durban, they were very cheap and always had cars around which was great. We could have done with another couple of days in Cape Town!

Franschhoek : was insanely beautiful and we loved the hotel. Best hotel by far and they upgraded us so we were almost living in a mansion. The hotel staff were really helpful and managed to book us into an amazing restaurant, ROCA, where we could watch the sun set in the mountains on our first night. We really enjoyed the tour guides and the biking on the first day. We nearly missed the wine tram the next day as we didn't quite understand the timetable, but thankfully we got on it and had a wonderful time. Again we could have had another day here!

Hermanus : unfortunately it was too windy to go out on the boat to see whales, I think Richard nearly cried as it was also his birthday! But we went up to Creation Wines which was an amazing vineyard for lunch (apparently we didn't quite have enough wine in Franschhoek). We did have a land whale tour with Dave 'the best guide in the area', which the lady at La Fontaine organised for us. He was fantastic, but did cost ~£100 though. I understand why we were put in La Fontaine because the view is amazing, but coming from the palace at Franschhoek country house it was essentially like going to stay at your Grandma's house and we probably would have preferred something a bit smarter.

Safari : Well there are no words to describe how amazing MalaMala was and I can't believe we were looking at staying anywhere else. Richard even got a happy birthday ceremonious African song and dance at dinner. I'm sure we will be going back at some point!

Durban : The only place we didn't love. It was interesting to see a different city, but there was very little to do here and it was very segregated, perhaps it was more representative of 'real' SA? The hotel was nice, but I'm not sure it was worth the money really. The view was lovely but that was about it, we weren't bowled over by the room or the terrace restaurant.

Fugative's drift : We really enjoyed this! The story telling by the guides and the family history was really interesting. We also enjoyed the driving, it was nice to see the country by road. It was particularly beautiful driving around the coast to Hermanus. Beneficial to have a sat nav though, we had one added for the second car. We also wondered whether it would be easier to drive to Hermanus from Cape Town for the day then you could go when the weather was nice, but perhaps this is easier to judge with hindsight and perhaps we were unlucky with the weather.

We will definitely go back, there was a lot we didn't see and do and we absolutely loved the country so thank you very much for organizing such a great trip.

Many thanks, Richard and Amberley

Richard and Amberley

We had a brilliant holiday and everything went so well. Safaris exceeded our expectations and we were able to snorkel with whalesharks at Mafia. Wildlife fantastic, guides excellent and very knowledgeable, food good and accommodated the dietary requirements very well.

Couple of points worth noting. One minor that lake manze charge for washing whereas mwagusi and butiama don't, so worth hanging onto your washing. The second, Mwagusi now do night safaris. We did one and it was well worth the extra $85/person. Amongst other things, we saw bushbabies and a large python.

I would recommend having breakfast out in the bush rather than at camp as you get out earlier and also have the opportunity to get to know your driver and guide better. Also definitely worth having a driver and a guide as I am sure could miss out on a lot otherwise.

Will send some photos when get around to it.

Thanks again!

David

SEE THE GALLERY

David and group

Gemma!

If I could give you a million stars, I would!!! We planned my honeymoon together and it turned out to be better than I could have ever dreamed of. I would not have been able to do it without you. The process was so easy and FUN, and you were very patient and responsive.

I am already thinking about our next trip! :)

I attached some pictures for you. You won't believe the picture we got of a lion!!!

SEE THE GALLERY

Mariya and Zamir

Gemma and Nick,

We had a truly incredible honeymoon! You both did amazing job planning our honeymoon. We spent one week on Safari in Tanzania, and the second week relaxing on the beautiful beaches of Zanzibar.

Our honeymoon exceeded all of our expectations, and having knowledgeable travel agents plan this for us took away any stress from the process. You chose incredible hotels and drivers for us, so all we had to do was show up and enjoy.

We would definitely recommend you to anyone looking to do a customized, luxury Safari!

Janelle and Brendan

Hi Gemma,

Thanks for your email.

We are back, very tanned, relaxed and extremely happy!!

The itinerary: The work you and Nick did has proved to be really exceptional. You have been extremely receptive to our requests and you interpreted our desires as if you really knew us. We have been particularly impressed with the style that all the experiences/properties shared: something connected to a sustainable kind of tourism, young, luxurious but authentic and respectful of the place we were. We also really appreciated that you were very attentive and available during the preparatory stages when we needed to book everything and decide the details. All the information were always given promptly and precisely.

The safari: A truly unique experience that we will never forget! The places are unbelievable and breathtaking, which helps, but the whole organisation was exceptional indeed. We are really grateful for the treatment received by the Multichoice Safaris, in the persons of Abdullah and John. These guys have been the best companions for our journey. They enriched it with their personality and knowledge of the nature and the culture of Tanzania. We have spent only a few days with Abdullah but they were enough to get close to him and appreciate so much the work he has done for us. We wanted to let him know that we wish him all the best for his family and his future and we hope that his wife gave birth safely and she and the babies are good now. Regarding John, we consider him as a dear friend: we laughed with him and chatted about life and animals, we enjoyed sunrise and sunset, we discovered the Masai traditions and the secrets of the Savannah. We couldn't have dreamt of a better guide. He was extremely professional and attentive to all our needs and requests. Thank you, Johnny! We wish you all the best and we hope to see you again one day!

One last note: the highest point of the whole journey was the permanence in the Kati Kati tented camp. It has been magnificent and it really exceeded our expectations. It made our safari like a real adventure. The staff was kind, sweet and really professional.

Thank you again!

Giula and Francesco

Hi Gemma

Our honeymoon was amazing and we loved every minute.

Good hotels, all transfers, plenty of advice and ensuring that our trip was as great as it could be.

The new app Vamoos was great it had all our itinerary etc in one place without us needing to print off lots of paper.

Thank you so much for your help, we didn’t want to come home!

Stephanie

Stephanie and Simon

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