The Safari Specialists Reviews 19

This was our second Holiday organised by the Safari Specialist based in Gillingham.
We had an equally amazing time in Africa, again in Zambia, flying into two national parks this time and staying at 4 wonderful lodges.
All were of a very high standard, and the game viewing was really exceptional this time.
Their ground crew looked after us when we came off our aircraft so we did not have to worry about any detail.
So it was an equally great experience as we had in Zambia two years previously.
First Class.
Thankyou Safari Specialists!

I just thought I would drop you a line to say how much we enjoyed our couple of weeks in Tanzania.

Before we left Dave kept saying, “I am not sure why we are bothering to go to Tarangire, won’t be anything there this time of year” How wrong can you be, we saw so much in so short a time it was unbelievable.

Our guide/ranger/driver, was absolutely brilliant we learnt so much from him both about the animals and the wider economic/cultural life of Tanzania.

Three things in particular stand out. We had spent our 1st night in central Serengeti were heading north. We stopped at the Serengeti Research centre to top up with diesel – we had a leak – diesel was pouring out of the tank. Well we thought we would definitely not make it to the north that day.

Anyway to cut a long story short, we drove round to the back of the Research station where there was an inspection pit with a car being worked on. Our driver managed to persuade the mechanic to take that vehicle down, put ours up. Drain tank, remove tank, weld tank, refit and refill all within 2 hours!! Unbelievable!!

Secondly two crossings – wildebeest escaped croc – which was a bonus. Amazing!!

Thirdly we were back in central Serengeti Drinks before supper someone says there is a lion by the outside. After supper we decided to return to our tent and asked Masai to escort us. We had just zipped up tent and the Masai said there was a lion outside – we stepped just outside and saw large male about 20 yards away. We stepped back in and zipped up tent! The lion spent most of the night around the camp and later leopard appeared.

All in all a superb holiday, but we found it quite exhausting!

Thank you Tom so much for organising our trip for us with all the changes that ensued because of covid and airline schedules.

Tom organised our safari holiday in Tanzania, which was then postponed twice from 2020 to 2022. He kept us up to date on all changes, including a last minute flight change. We had a wonderful time and it exceeded expectations. Jongomero is the most amazing place - wild and remote. Selous fabulous as well. We were looked after like royalty at both camps with amazing animals everywhere. Finally got to see hunting dogs in the wild. Highly recommend The Safari Specialists.

Following our chance visit to the Safari Specialist's exhibition tent at the 2019 New Forest Show, Tom, patiently put together an August 2020 family holiday for us that included all our whims and fancies within our budget.
Unfortunately, Covid-19 prevented our holiday from happening this year and despite all the effort that Tom had made to create us the perfect holiday, he refunded all our money and worked tirelessly on our behalf to reclaim our KLM flight costs.
Tom shares with prospective clients, his exceptional knowledge and experience together with his love and passion for the people, animals and environment of his holiday destinations. We are not surprised that other travellers have had such wonderful holidays.

We are just returned from a two week beach break and safari in Kenya, taking in the Masai Mara and the Lewa Conservancy. We stayed in 5 different locations all as recommended by Tom and all were different but quite superb. We truly had the holiday of a lifetime.

We bumped into Tom at the Shaftesbury show and perhaps rather impetuously decided to entrust our holiday to him without much further research. We are very glad that we did. We specified the type of stay and location that we like and Tome delivered in spades. It couldn’t really have been better in any way

We’d be very happy to recommend Tom at Safari Specialists. After a couple of safaris on South Africa we were looking for something a bit different and Tom came up with a number of options with Zambia being our favourite.

Our route took us to 4 lodges in 2 areas of Zambia that were all amazing. It was obvious each had been well researched and were perfect for what we were looking for. We saw an amazing range of animals includes some close up lion and wild dog encounters with superb food and excellent room.

If you are planning a trip to Africa give Tom and Safari Specialists a go and suspect won’t be disappointed!

Wish I could give more stars! Can't recommend The Safari Specialists highly enough! I had been dreaming of a safari with my family to celebrate a special birthday for years. Tom was able to translate my thoughts to create the most perfect experience and a holiday that I don't think could ever be beaten. His knowledge is first-rate and he completely understood what I wanted to achieve. He arranged everything and sent us to the most varied areas, wonderful accommodation of every type and ensured that we had the most wonderful local guide who took great care of us. Tom was always available to answer queries - even those not directly related to the trip he had planned. I am already thinking of another trip to book with him

My husband was 65 earlier this year and last year we were thinking about what to do to celebrate. I emailed a few 'safari experts' with a wishlist. Tom at The Safari Specialists came back with an almost perfect trip at the budget we had set. We then added a few more days here and there. We started at the Motswari Private Game Reserve, WOW, amazing place, fantastic staff, wonderful wildlife, we then flew to Livingstone, Zambia to see the Victoria Falls, took helicopter flight, awesome. We stayed at the Waterberry Lodge on the Zambezi River, again fantastic staff, wonderful place. From there we went to Capetown, beautiful hotel, great time there. On to Hermanus to go whale watching, unfortunately hardly any whales this year, but can't blame Tom for that 😁 we then went to Franschhoek for some wine tasting, lovely.
Everywhere we went the places that Tom chose were brilliant, he really understood what we wanted. We didn't want to drive anywhere ourselves so Tom arranged transfers and all the drivers we had, everywhere, were so knowledgeable, we were having mini private tours.
We can thoroughly recommend Tom and The Safari Specialists to provide a very professional job, the fact that he loves Africa shows in his enthusiasm for the places he recommends.
Thank you Tom

We have just had the most magical, exciting, memorable trip to Zambia. Tom of The Safari Specialists was very patient with all the phone calls, knowledgable and advised us on camps which suited us perfectly. He also suggested some R&R on an island in Malawi which was paradise and a great way to end a safari trip.
Certainly someone with lots of passion for Africa, so perfect to organise a wonderful trip.

Just coming back down to earth with a bump after a wonderful safari arranged by Tom at Safari Specialists. After meeting Tom and discussing options for a safari in Botswana, Tom gave us a number of itinerary options and choices of camps - we really wanted something remote and back to nature.
Tom amended the arrangements to meet our requirements and we finalised on a two camp stay and 2 nights in Livingston to take in the spectacular Victoria Falls.
The whole experience exceeded our expectations, Toms meticulous planning and arrangements were faultless, the camps, guides and hosts everything we could have wished for.
If you are planning a trip to Africa, look no further than Tom and Safari Specialists to make you dreams come true!

Tom at the Safari Specialists put together an amazing bespoke trip for our family.

I initially spoke to 6 or so companies and got a range of options but Tom was the only one who seemed to be listening. He came up with some great options and was very patient and full of knowledge and advice.

We eventually settled on an August trip with 2 days in Nairobi National Park, 5 days in the Masai Mara and 5 days on the beach in Diani.

The bush house we stayed at in the Masai Mara was just amazing as were the staff. Everything was so well organised and we saw so much thanks to our wonderful guide.

The trip ran like clockwork and was so well organised. We couldn't have asked for a better first safari experience.

I can't recommend Tom and the Safari Specialists highly enough.

We could not have asked for better. We have been on a couple of safaris before but this time we were particularly interested in a walking safari. We met Tom - The Safari Specialists at the Bath & West Show a couple of years ago and got talking. This led to some detailed thinking and considerable patience on Tom's part answering our stream of questions. The plan he came up with worked like a dream and we had 2 weeks being very well looked after, the first week in the Southern Luangwa National Park followed by a week in Kafue NP Zambia.
Tom's sound advice, meticulous planning and attention to details ensured that we had a hassle free safari that meet all our demands.
We would certainly ask Tom to organise another trip for us and we are very happy to recommend the Safari Specialists to anyone.

Tom put together an excellent itinerary based on exactly what we had asked for. He arranged a six-day safari for my family in around Kruger and then onwards to Cape Town and the Winelands . The lodges and hotels were all exceptional and so are the flights and transfers.
Tom was always available to give advice and was very knowledgeable. The good thing about using a small firm is that you get personal service from the expert . He is extremely approachable ,a delight to deal with, always made himself available.
Without shadow of a doubt I can thoroughly recommend Tom company and will definitely be using him in the future.

We could not recommend The Safari Specialists enough. We came across Tom at the Bath and West Show in 2016. We had been toying with the idea of a Safari but my partners perception was that it would be too contrived. I felt there had to be a way of finding an exclusive, raw and authentic experience and thats when we bumped into The Safari Specialists. We are a family of 4 adults, us and two grown up girls. We explained exactly what we were looking for and immediatly Tom came up with a wide variety of itineries for us to consider - all ideas were just what we were looking for it became hard to choose! Over a couple of months with Tom being incredibly patient, we went backwards and forwards tweaking the itinerary here and there until we decided on the perfect holiday. At each stage Tom, having personal experiance in all the options, was able to give us completely accurate and honest advice. Once we had booked the holiday we still had an endless amount of questions. Tom went above and beyond what any travel specialist would do. Not only did he respond to my countless emails within a hour or so, he also came over to our house to discuss our itinerary and share some extraordinary experiences he had had in the camps we had booked. We opted for a week in Tanzania staying at Sand Rivers in Selous then to Kigelia in Ruaha then we flew for a second week in Zanzibar. It was organised so well, at every stage there was someone to greet us and help get us where we needed to be. The camps were well informed, they knew our culinary preferences and full itinerary. Tom checked in with the camps during our time away to ensure we were ok.
Anyone looking to book a holiday in Africa should definatley use The Safari Specialist - you wont be disappointed.

Tom, at The Safari Specialists helped us organise an incredible self drive trip in Namibia in August 2017. If you are considering a trip to Africa, i would highly recommend contacting Tom right away!

I tend to usually book my holidays independently, but having met Tom at the destinations show last year, we opted to book our trip through him and it was the best decision we made! He designed a perfect itinerary. The travel pack that included a guidebook, map and detailed trip itinerary with road directions and useful phone numbers was very handy and extremely useful.

Tom spent the time to get to know exactly what we wanted out of our trip. We are keen photographers and like immersing ourselves in  nature. The lodges he suggested were fantastic, small, intimate lodges and camps where it felt like we were in a second home. We are vegetarian (with allergies) and every place we stayed was informed of our dietary requirements and they all ensured we had fantastic food and were well looked after.

He was happy to answer our endless questions and patiently accomodated the many changes we kept making to our trip. We were trying to fit in a lot in the two weeks, during a busy season in Namibia and with accomodation in short supply he had to tweak the itinerary numerous times in order to fit in everything we wanted to do. No query or question was overlooked and his attention to detail was impeccable. Infact he managed to ensure we got a last minute scenic flight booked on the day when we were in Swakopmund.

We were unfortunate to have a road accident whilst driving in Namibia. The local contacts provided by Tom in our travel pack were most useful and they helped us tremendously at the time. Tom himself called and checked up on us after he was informed and regularly kept in touch for the rest of the trip too. Him and local ground agents also helped to get us a refund for the balloon safari we missed due to the accident which was greatly appreciated!

His honest advice on the best time to go to a destination as well whether certain lodges are worth the money is highly valuable and much appreciated. I will definitely book future safari trips through Tom and know I need to look no further!

Thank you for helping us organise a fantastic trip! We couldnt recommend Tom and The Safari Specialists highly enough!

I would absolutely recommend this company. Tom will personally ensure you have the perfect safari regardless of the type of safari you want.

I tried calling a few companies before settling with The Safari Specialists and the reason I chose them was because Tom got to know me a little before getting into costs. He genuinely cared to know what I wanted out of this holiday and then went on to make good suggestions.

Tom clearly lives and breathes the world of Safari so it's clear he knows what he is talking about!! He also didn't preach too much and dictate to me what I SHOULD do or book - this is what I found with a few other companies. He was also competitive with costs.

No query is too small - I would email back and forth constantly until I was happy and had all my questions answered and Tom was perfectly patient!

Would thoroughly recommend!!!!

If you're considering a trip to Africa and or the surrounding regions, contact Tom at the Safari Specialists as soon as possible!

They offer an unrivalled personal service and organised our incredible honeymoon to the Seychelles in August 2017.

After spending hours trying to organise the trip ourselves, we were delighted when Tom designed an exciting itinerary which perfectly matched our requirements and was far better than we could have imagined.

Having lived in the Seychelles previously, Tom's knowledge and local contacts enabled us to swim with turtles, snorkel with amazing tropical fish and eat the best food we've ever eaten, to name but a few highlights.

His attention to detail was impeccable, from start to finish, Tom took care of everything efficiently and thoughtfully. We've never felt so treated and relaxed on holiday!

Tom sent a smart travel wallet with lots of information and a guide book before we left and we were personally met and transferred at every stage of our holiday. We couldn't recommend the Safari Specialists more.

Thank you!

Tom at the Safari Specialist is well worth contacting if you want an unbelievable safari experience. Tom's knowledge of Kenya, where we visited Samburu and North Conservancy Masai Mara is second to none.

Tom recommended we use Saruni Group. It really was unforgettable with the dry and arid Samburu and the more lush Masai Mara 2 different safari experiences, both special in their own way. If you can find a better "hotel" in Kenya than the service, luxury, Italian inspired cuisine and views of Saruni Samburu you must be very lucky!!!

The Saruni Guides knew where to find ALL the animals. we were fortunate to see elephants, lions including young prides, hippos, zebra, giraffes, cheetahs and leopard. In Masai Mara we went to a local conservancy to see white Rhino.

The Safari Specialists organised everything from ensuring we were met at each airport and escorted to each safari location and at the end we spent 4 days at Diani on the Indian Ocean where I have never known the sea (Indian Ocean) to be hot water!!

Cant recommend Tom at the Safari Specialists enough