Adventure Makers Tanzania

Visited: Oct. 2024 Reviewed: Nov. 19, 2024 Submitted in:

My adult son and I are just back from an amazing week with Adventure Makers Tanzania guided by the wonderful and knowledgeable owner Stephen. This was my second trip to Tanzania - the first trip being a luxury wildlife safari. For this trip, my son and I sought something much more distinct and special, with a locally owned company that could give us a customized, flexible, and intimate visit to Tanzania with knowledgeable local insight. We wanted to experience in depth the cultures of Tanzania - and not limit ourselves to the amazing wildlife - which we saw in great abundance! We could not have done better than spend a week with the very personable Stephen - a kind, warm, humorous, knowledgeable, flexible guide - deeply local but with perfect English and a very keen knowledge of Tanzania, its wonderful peoples and cultures, as well as all manner of wildlife - plants, birds, wild game. We spent amazing days with the Maasai, Datoga, Hadzabe and other tribespeople - days that were truly experiences of a lifetime. We also visited local villages showing us an insight into local Tanzanian life with its great diversity of cultures, foods, beers and peoples. This was definitely not a "Disney" tour - but an honest visit with truly authentic local people and lives. For each experience Stephen paired us with a specialized guide who spoke the local tribal languages of these very traditional cultures which enabled us to see unvarnished life as it happens. Special appreciation to Andrew who showed us in-depth daily life in the village of Mto Wa Mbu and to Faustin - a Datoga tribesman who was our lifeline to both the Datoga and Hadzabe peoples. We danced with the beautiful Maasai, tried our skills with handmade bows and arrows with the resourceful Hadzabe people on their daily hunt, and experienced the Datoga who skillfully turned crude charcoal into blazingly hot fires using goat skin bellows to melt, forge and hammer metals into fine arrow tips and jewelry. What amazement to experience the resourceful Hadzabe create fire in remarkable speed from skillfully twirling dry wood, as well as experience them living a hunter-gatherer life as they have for at least the last 10,000 years. Trying to track with them through the very wild bush including towering ancient Baobob trees will never be forgotten. Every step put our daily lives in very real perspective, and gave us an appreciation of the talent and abilities of these people to maintain their traditional ways in the face of overwhelming change all around.

In addition to the cultural aspect, Stephen treated us to a memorable day in the amazing Ngorongoro Crater. In our one day there we saw a staggering array of all the wildlife that Tanzania is famous for. Our day in Ngorongoro with Stephen was filled with steady wildlife viewing across the caldera floor. We spotted several wildebeest herds moving through the grasslands, and a couple of warthogs trotting along with their characteristic bouncy gait. Near the hippo pool, where we stopped for our packed lunch, we watched the resident hippos surface occasionally with loud snorts. The day's highlight was finding a black rhino - though quite far off, it was still clear enough to observe. A pride of lions rested in the grass, sleeping, and we came across a small group of hyenas moving purposefully across the plain. The Cape buffalo were perhaps the most numerous of the large animals we encountered, scattered in groups across the crater floor, among many different species of antelope - large and small. It was quite a day.

Many thanks to Stephen who was knowledgeable, ever-resourceful and happily willing to be flexible at each turn to give us the wonderful experience we enjoyed. Stephen is also a great (and prompt!) communicator from first inquiry throughout our journey. If you want an authentic experience with an outstanding local company - we highly recommend Adventure Makers Tanzania and Stephen. You will enjoy the experience of a lifetime.

Countries visited:

0People gave this
a kudu

Visited: Feb. 2022 Reviewed: Mar. 10, 2022 Submitted in:

I went on a 3-days safari last February with Adventure Makers. As I travelled alone, the organizers merged me with another group of people, which I really enjoyed. The safari went very well. We took the road the first day around 7a.m. from Arusha to Serengeti National Park (~4h drive). We were a group of 5 and had three guides (a driver, a savanna professional, and a cook). They were very warm, patient, professional and very good company !
During the safari, our group was lucky enough to eat very good meals every day. The cook was very clean and made sure to vary and to adapt to our tastes, while also allowing us to discover Tanzanian cuisine.

The safari was very good, and our guides made sure we saw as much animals as possible. We saw the big 5 and many other animals.
We spent the first two days in Serengeti and one day in Ngorongoro. In the morning, we would wake up, have breakfast, then go for a morning game drive and see the sunrise from the car, in the savanna. Needless to say it was a breathtaking experience. We would stop for lunch around 12/1p.m., then go back to the game drive. Around 6.30p.m., we would go back to our camp, chat with our guides and then go sleep in our tents. It was really an incredible experience to have that much proximity with nature. One night, some zebras came next to our tent and stayed next to us all night long.

Overall, I received a very good service, very good value for money. Most importantly, I always felt safe, which is very important when you are that much close to wild animals. Another thing I really enjoyed is that I could reach Stephen, the company owner, anytime if I needed. And he kindly accepted to keep my suitcase at the company’s office so that I could be light during the safari. I 100% recommend Adventure makers.

Countries visited:

0People gave this
a kudu

Visited: Mar. 2021 Reviewed: Apr. 12, 2021 Submitted in:

My wife and I booked with Stephen the climb in Kilimanjaro and the safari .
The climb is something absolutely fantastic: we did the Machame way, which is the most difficult but the most beautiful. The guides and the porters were fantastic companions, always ready to help, joke, laugh and encourage us. They always left after us but when we got to the next camp everything was ready, really SUPER!!!
A special thanks to our chef SALIM who really did miracles to meet our particular way of eating. We reached the top exhausted but happy.
For the Safari we were joined by one couple and another guest who were booked with other companies. We understood that in this pandemic crazy world tourists are fewer and fewer, and they also need to make a living of their job. Some little logistic problems but all of them overcome with crazy laughs and strong emotions. Our guide Jovani was the best ever to spot animals!! We saw all big fives and cheetahs from far away ( how Jovani spotted them is a mystery).
We were allowed to stay as long as we wanted to take pics and enjoy the view of this fantastic animals.
Strongly suggested.

Countries visited:

0People gave this
a kudu

We spent ten days with Adventure Makers touring Tarangire, the Serengeti and Ngorongoro as a party of ten..

This is what we appreciated about their service:

- the itinerary they chose was excellent. We covered a lot of ground but it never felt too much and the camps we stayed at were great

- the logistics worked smoothly and exactly to plan. We didn't experience any delays or problems

- they're very friendly and knowledgable. Great fun to spend so much time in the car with and they really know their stuff in terms of knowing where the animals will be and loads of facts about them. We saw everything - including families of cheetah

- it was very good value

I'm definitely using Stephen and the team again.

Countries visited:

12People gave this
a kudu