5 independent reviews for Exciting family holiday in Tanzania
Reviews for Exciting family holiday in Tanzania
Ben Cartledge review 16 Aug 2024
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Both summit of Kilimanjaro and getting so close to the animals on safari.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Combining the mountain trek, multi-site safari and time on Zanzibar worked well.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes, benefitted local people. More could be done to reduce environmental impacts once on the ground - especially reducing use of plastics.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Read the operator's response here:
Hello Ben and thank you so much for taking the time to write your review. We were especially interested in your reply to Q3 and your comment that more could be done in reducing environmental impact and particularly the use of plastics on the ground. Single-use plastics being used in all destinations remains a real concern, around the world. We are in the process of considering all aspects of this tour and what adjustments we as an operator can make, or can ask our local partner to make, to help improve. One thing we have already done is to have recently updated all pre-departure country information to highlight that single-use plastic water bottles are a problem around the world, but that there are some excellent and affordable filter bottles and systems available, and have made some recommendations of brands that future travellers should use. We hope that if people take up our suggestion, that this will save on thousands of disposable water bottles being used every year. We have also recently started highlighting to our travellers to check that sunscreen is ‘reef friendly’ and will not pollute the seas if swimming or snorkelling. In addition to this we will continue to review our operations on the ground to identify any other areas where we can reduce other environmental impacts of being on safari or staying at the beach. We are delighted that you had a wonderful time in Tanzania and welcome any other feedback that you have, and would love to help you again in future with another adventure.
Samantha Evans review 8 Sep 2019
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Meeting the Hadza tribe and being able to get so close to amazing animals in their own environment.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Be prepared for lots of long journeys (which is great as you see so much of the country) Ys3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes, locals and tour guides commented on how us visiting was good for the country and local economy.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
It’s was an amazing unforgettable experience.Martin Bigg review 8 Sep 2018
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
We (from age 1 to over 60) cannot agree on the best as there were so many highlights • The amazing variety of wildlife seen close up • Looking a resting lion in the eye • Lion cubs at play • Feeding the giant tortoises • Seeing a leopard with her cubs on a outcrop surveying the surrounding wildlife • Seeing cheetahs after catching their prey • Catching sight of several endangered black rhinos • Having two families of elephants amble past close to our vehicles • Swimming at Sopa Lodge with that wonderful view across the crater • Swimming in a thermal spring at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro • Snorkelling off Prison Island, Zanzibar • Walking along the expanse of beautiful white sands at Matemwe – next stop Sumatra!2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Take a fleece for chilly mornings and evenings, particularly at Sopa Lodge at Ngorongoro. Be prepared for the slower pace of life. The Swahili phrase “pole pole” meaning slowly, slowly is very appropriate. A meal may take more than an hour to arrive but it will be fresh. Everyone we met was very friendly – be prepared to stop and talk.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
• Benefited local people? Yes – definitely, through all the people whose services we used • Reduced environmental impacts? We would love to be able to respond positively on this element – but we flew 14 hours to get to Tanzania, and travelled 3000km in two cars while there, so we are afraid we will have had a negative impact on the environment. In addition, as we were strongly discouraged from drinking local water, we generated many empty plastic bottles each day, and we fear they went to landfill or burning. • Supported conservation? Yes, by virtue of entering the national parks and paying the fees.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Excellent. Strongly recommend and gratefully thank everyone involved for making it such a super holiday: Responsible Travel; the UK operator; and the local operator in Tanzania.Simonetta Pancaldi review 22 Aug 2018
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The Safari in ngorongoro and terengeri parks were the best but the siringit serengeti camp was unique ...amazing !!!2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
If you go to serengeti definetevely stay at the siringit serengeti camp ..a dream rent in the savanna ....and ngorongoro retreat3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Sure ! We supported the local people, using local guides, going to local business and restaurants, tipping them for their effort to make our staying súper.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
An unforgettable family holiday, Africa is beautiful , the wild life is well preserved until now. I was feeling emotional to see how the people live here and still ...they smile.Naomi Clarke review 18 Dec 2017
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Arriving in the Serengeti in a huge storm and seeing cheetah chasing gazelles immediately!2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Our tour operator will give you brilliant advice and tailor your holiday to your needs, I would recommend them. If I redid the holiday I would leave out the Arusha part, after being in the wilderness for several days, we found the city a bit jarring but we did not know we would feel like that and it was a very personal thing, others may be glad of the hustle and bustle. The tours to the foothills of Kili were actually much further away from Kili in a very flat landscape - This part needs to be more accurately described.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes, as much as it can - everything about our stay was as authentic and Tanzanian as possible. All of the locals we spoke to spoke of the benefits of tourism and also of their precious, unique, environment.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
This was a holiday of a lifetime. Our two sons (8 and 10) never got bored despite spending 6 days in total in a car on safari. They learned so much about wildlife, conservation, land pressures, climate, Tanzanian culture and politics. This was a fantastic adventure to share as a family. Our guide, Godfrey was such good company and had 25 years worth of in depth wildlife knowledge - we all really missed him when we went onto the next part of our adventure. We stayed in some fantastic places - I like the fact we could look at the itinerary before hand and request changes and Liddy was soooooo helpful, especially when we got delayed a day due to passport issue. As mentioned above, personally we would leave out the city part and think the Kili foothills section could be more accurately described. I would recommend this holiday and we haven't stopped talking about it.Holiday Reviews
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