Brilliant Africa Reviews 

Africa has been a favourite destination of mine for the past 30 years… this was by far the standout best adventure to date!
Gave Marc a wish list for Uganda… he improved on it and organised the perfect itinerary. Then last minute I asked him to tack on 2 weeks in Kenya… again … superb!
All at great value! My itinerary with some of the bigger travel names would have cost me 3 to 4 times the amount.
Travelling as a solo lady, I felt 100% safe and had every confidence in my guides and drivers all the way round.
Personalised service … this trip exceeded expectations… far more high end travel than I anticipated… the lodges were spectacular… activities organised flawlessly…

100% will be using Brilliant Africa again!

We spend an incredible week exploring the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater areas (Tanzania) with our extended family group of 9 to celebrate my mothers 70th birthday. The trip was just fabulous, our guides were very knowledgeable and accommodating, the safari vehicles superb, and the accommodation was great. The trip was tailored perfectly to meet our expectations and needs, just wonderful from start to finish. Thank you Marc and team, so many special memories made to be cherished forever.

We had an amazing few days. The trip was a surprise to celebrate a birthday and we were the gate-crashers! Brilliant Africa couldn’t have been more helpful and to crown it all our guides helped it to be an amazing safari experience, we were so lucky with what we saw.

We had the most incredible honeymoon in Uganda!

Marc was great at helping us plan a trip that incorporated everything we love as a couple. Everything was well organised and went to plan, and we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful and incredible few weeks- from lake Victoria, to seeing the chimps and gorillas in the wild, to a 4 day hike in the rwenzori’s, and some down time on lake Mutanda. It was perfect!

Excellent, customized trip to Uganda (gorilla trekking) and Tanzania (safari). Brilliant definitely gets to know you before proposing an itinerary. As another reviewer also said: it will be hard for me to travel any other way going forward.

I deeply appreciate Brilliant's attention to the local people as well. This includes the staff/guides we encountered along the way in lodges, camps, transfers, game drives, etc. They were extremely hospitable and we were sure to tip them accordingly and as per Brilliant's recommendations. The staff and guides made the trip extra special and memorable.

Marc helped us plan an unforgettable week in Tanzania. He listened to what we were looking for and then created a custom itinerary that perfectly fit what we wanted. We absolutely loved our accommodations, guides, and entire trip! All of our transfers and logistics were seamless and it was so helpful having contacts within country (via Whatsapp) to answer any questions. Thank you again to Brilliant Africa for designing and coordinating an amazing trip!

We had Marc helping us with our honeymoon and the experience was stress free! We did a 12 day trip in Tanzania that included Arusha, Lake Manyara National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, the Serengeti, and Zanzibar Island. We gave Marc our budget and he chose all of our lodging and did an incredible job, we were very comfortable and impressed with each place that we stayed. We especially loved the luxury camp site we stayed at at Ngorongoro Crater, it was a truly unique experience. All of our transport between places was seamless and stress free. It was great to be able to focus on planning our wedding and leave the honeymoon to Brilliant Africa. You can trust this company to create the trip of your dreams!

Brilliant Africa helped organise our honeymoon this year. My husband had left it to the last minute, and Marc and his team worked overtime to find exactly what we were looking for. Their in-depth knowledge of Tanzania and Zanzibar was what stood out and came across even during our trip. The experience was absolutely outstanding, the professionalism and commitment to meeting our needs was unmatched! The team even set up a whatsapp group to keep in touch throughout the honeymoon and were immediately responsive when we had any questions. More importantly, the trip itself was organised to a high standard making every moment special. We cannot thank you enough!

Brilliant Africa are absolutely incredible and I couldn't recommend them more. From day 1 Marc was unbelievably helpful in planning our honeymoon trip to Tanzania, and was always on hand to offer advice and more than happy to make changes to the trips based on our preferences. The trip itself was magical, and all of the hotels/experiences recommended by Brilliant were world class. They even go the extra mile by setting up a Whatsapp group for your time away in which you can ask any questions/express any concerns, and the team were always on the ball to help us out. We had the most amazing experience and are so grateful to Brilliant for making it happen.

We found Brilliant Africa after searching for interesting honeymoon ideas online. After looking at their brochures, we submitted our inquiry and were quickly put into contact with Marc with Brilliant Africa. Marc was available by email and provided a phone number to call even though we were located in Texas and he was in London. Marc was very accommodating to our schedules throughout the planning process. He was always open to making adjustments to our itinerary throughout the planning process. Prior to departure, Marc made us feel very comfortable in regards to packing, logistics, and health concerns. The overall trip was incredible and beyond anything that we could have ever expected. While on the trip, Marc put us in contact with local representatives that were apt to answer any questions and accommodate any last minute changes. If we decide to return to Africa at any point, we would happily use Brilliant Africa again, and we will not hesitate to refer any friends to them as well.

Please bear with this review. Its a long one but will give you a good idea as to what type of company 'Brilliant Africa' is.

Myself and two friends booked a bucket list holiday with Brilliant Ethiopia before Covid. Lockdowns started the day before we were meant to leave. Luckily Marc contacted us and offered us the chance of a free postponement, subject only to marginal, unexpected changes in prices of tours in Ethiopia, which was very reasonable and a huge relief for us who were wondering whether quite a lot of our money would be lost. Travel was up in the air for a long time with Covid, and I think we had to postpone again, because of another unexpected wave of Covid. Again, the money we had paid was kept safe, and the trip credit upheld. Then, Ethiopia broke out into conflict, and we had to postpone AGAIN.

By the time we could consider going, us three original travel companions had vast changes in our lives, and going on the original trip was completely impossible. Brilliant Africa was very understanding and offered us to transfer the credit to another destination in which the company operates, free of any other costs. Again, we could not make this work, and in the meantime, poor Marc had to do about 4 new itineries, which we had to turn down.

Finally I saw the writing was on the wall for the original travel group and we were never getting anywhere, and again, Brillaint and Marc, understood. They allowed us to sort out the finances internally and the credit was transferred to myself and my Fiancé, which meant that we could go on a pre wedding 'honeymoon' of our dreams to east Africa and Zanzibar.

A WhatsApp group was created, with us, Marc, Emma and Michael, who offered 24 hour support and made small changes to times of tours etc, just by us putting a message on the group.

I think other reviews of the company will tell you how everything was wonderful, well chosen, and on time. All our guides met us when we stepped off the plane, there were no hiccups with booking, and choices of accommodation and tour advice were spot on.

We went to Tarangire National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, and then spent four nights at Amani Boutique hotel in Paje, Zanzibar. Everything was exactly as we wanted it.

Lastly, I am South African and had worked in the Safari industry for almost a decade and I know, that in general, in Africa, the destinations do what they say on the tin, but its the support around a trip which can make or break it, as there are far too many companies taking a chance and saving costs etc.

As you can see, from this LOOONG review, that the backup support of Marc and Brilliant literally could not have been better. And in truth, Marc showed immense patience with us before we shifted to the 'honeymoon' plan.

I would highly recommend, and a huge thank you to all involved.

Amazing and challenging trek. Great organization and flexibility throughout the whole time in the mountains and before.

My colleague and I decided to take a weekend trip while in Uganda for work and we were blown away by this experience. From the very start, the customer service was incredible and everyone was very accommodating of our requests. Lake Mutanda was even more beautiful than the photos and the actual gorilla trek was outstanding. I would highly recommend.

Brilliant Africa is willing to accommodate any travel schedule – no matter how tight the timeline! When no other company was able to organize a weekend gorilla-trekking trip, Brilliant Africa was more than willing to be flexible and work with us to make our goal a reality. They delivered a top-notch trekking experience with a serene resort accommodation that made us feel as though we were in a different world. As we look back at the pictures and videos we captured, we are still pinching ourselves to convince ourselves that this beauty is real!!

Brilliant Africa made our Honeymoon experience absolutely fantastic! Marc was very helpful to work with from the start and very considerate in understanding our preferences for our trip, finding us the perfect places to stay within our budget, and answering our myriad questions in advance of travel. We really appreciated how seamlessly every detail was planned out without us having to lift a finger. While we were on our trip, Michael and Emma helped us sort out an issue with the property we were staying at and quickly moved us to another place without us having to worry about a single thing! There were thoughtful touches that the team took care of throughout - I really have never had such an easy vacation! Thank you to the Brilliant Africa team for an unforgettable experience - I don't know how we can travel any other way now!

Amazing Trip - Brilliant Uganda arranged a very good itinerary and looked after all the details. In hindsight I would recommend flying back to Entebbe from Bwindi rather than driving and giving Ishasha a miss but otherwise it was fantastic. Our guide/driver Kamye was first rate and the accommodation was generally top rate. They were helpful when our return flights were cancelled but in hindsight we made the wrong decision in cutting short our trip.

We trekked in the Ruwenzoris for 8 days and summited Peak Margherita. It was just amazing- the nature, vegetation, views, sounds (birds!), but also organization, guides and the whole staff. All were very friendly and dedicated. Also safari in the Queen Elizabeth National Parks and the Gorillas in Bwindi afterwards were just great. Again good organization, a safe driver with a lot of knowledge, competent guides in the terrain and last but not least: good lodges - some of them more than good! For us it was the first time in Uganda - but hopefully not the last! Martin & Lisa

A month before the pandemic hit, I worked with Marc to set up a two week itinerary through Ethiopia with a private guide. Marc was fantastic at taking what I said were our interests and suggesting a wonderful itinerary. We wanted to tweak a couple of things (for example, fewer flights, more land travel) and he promptly adapted the itinerary. His service was impeccable. No sooner did we have everything in place, the gravity of the pandemic became evident and we could not proceed with the trip. Throughout the pandemic we kept in touch and Marc updated us on the situation in Ethiopia. Now that things are opening up again we are working on rescheduling our trip. Although we haven't yet been able to travel, I can say the planning and communication were perfect. Brilliant Ethiopia was recommended to me by a friend who DID travel with this company and had nothing but great things to say.

Having realised that independent travel isn't really feasible in Ethiopia, 4 of us signed up for the Northern Timkat tour in January 2020 and we asked Brilliant Africa to design us a customised southern tour afterwards. The former really was brilliant. It was very full-on, but we greatly appreciated our little group of just 6 people, the variety of our excursions, our enthusiastic guide Gabrele and the excellent organisation. Particular highlights were the 2 wonderful treks, the Timkat celebrations, some fantastic lodges we stayed in, our visits to extraordinary monasteries and the boat ride on Lake Tana. Our tour of less-visited areas in the South was well planned, with some very memorable visits to tribal villages and markets plus a driver whose knowledge of local birdlife really enhanced our enjoyment. I'd wholeheartedly recommend Brilliant Africa to anyone wishing to explore this fascinating country. Members of the organisation on the ground keep a close eye on shifting political issues and we always felt very safe. For anyone with the time, I'd definitely advise them to choose both the northern and southern trips as they're so different, yet equally rewarding.

I had a wonderful 17 day trip with my daughter. We didn't think it was possible to visit 5 tribes, hit 5 cultural sites and do a 3 day trek, but thanks to the precise planning we achieved everything we wanted and more. The country i stunning but one of the big highlights was the quality of the guides used, the level of their english and how willing they were to go our of their way to make the trip a success. I have travelled to >80 countries and many custom trips and I can genuinely say that Brilliant Ethipioa are a 5star set-up. Highly recommend.