Oct 20, 2024
An Experience of a Lifetime - My wife and I recently spent about 10 days on Safari with Bright African, Sept 29-Oct 9, and it was the adventure of a lifetime. Our Bright driver/guide was Rajabu Msangi, and he was a total class act: enthusiastic, can-do spirit, knowledgeable, flexible, and creative. Our situation was likely a little unusual since we also had an additional private guide who knew Rajabu well, and the two of them collaborated. We were interested in both animals and birds in the Serengeti/Ngorongoro regions and so there was hardly ever a moment when we didn't see something either totally exciting, like Crowned Grey Cranes, Secretary Birds, or any number of different raptors, let alone leopard, cheetah, lion, elephant, rhinoceros, or hippo. We caught three migration crossings in 2 days on the Mara River, plus an odd crossing over an interior road where the Wildebeest behaved as if the road were a river, go figure! We were very fortunate. We observed Rajabu's intimate knowledge of the crossings and how he positioned us and anticipated the movement of larger herds on the Kenya side while other drivers were racing all about on the Tanzanian side of the river. Having a large herd of Wildebeest race by as they completed a crossing was thrilling.
We had daily hot lunches in grassy areas in the shade of a tree, the perfect place to eat and not be eaten. We are not quite sure that Raj didn't have computerized telescopic eyes because he could see things at a distance that nobody else could. He steered us toward groups of lions so that we saw about 25 in a relatively small area; major cat naps!
Bright African Safaris clearly stand by their clients. We had minor engine trouble one evening in the pitch dark that necessitated a tow. Raj was quickly able to reach our home camp by radio, get us rescued, and Bright African Safari's drove a new vehicle to us overnight from Arusha to the Serengeti so that we didn't miss a beat on our tour. That's really a commitment.
Rajabu grew up local to Kilimanjaro and his intimate knowledge of Tanzania, both towns and countryside, was really appreciated. He is a family man and we enjoyed sharing photos of our grandchildren and his kids.
Our accommodations ranged from perfectly adequate to terrific and we slept both in glamping/platform tent scenes and elegant lodges. Do remember that solar water heaters are more friendly with an evening than a morning shower!
One thing additional: Raj was able to quickly adapt to my photographer's wishes regarding position, stop/start/move etc. He made this photographer's experience outstanding. I'm still sorting through the 900 really good shots I culled from the pool of some 8000 images captured during our trip. Oh, and if you have a chance to take a balloon ride: do it! It's worth the expense.
Bright African Safaris and Rajabu Msangi gave us an experience of a lifetime. We recommend them with enthusiasm.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oct 4, 2024
Amazing one in lifetime vacation - We had great time during our safari trip in the Tanzanian national parks organized by Bright Safari. I was in communication with Evania for almost 8 months to plan our trip. She provided multiple options, detail pricing and her experience to plan perfect trip. I was very happy with her timely responses, all reservation options she provided.
We are travel a lot, but it was our first trip to Africa and I was nervous
But when we met with Evania in Arusha, all our stress was gone.
We spent 12 days in Safari, visited 5 national parks and lake Nitro.
Our driver Rajabu was amazing, he took excellent care of us. We had clean car, water, tea/coffe, hot lunch daily. We saw so many animals, he drove us to the parts of the parks that we did not see other cars around us. All our tents were vey nice and comfortable, service and food were great also.
I would highly recommend Bright safari for your adventure in Africa.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sep 24, 2024
Spectacular once in a lifetime family safari - We wanted to do a once-in-a-lifetime safari trip in Tanzania with our recently graduated sons I contacted quite a few local Arusha tour operators and overseas ones with a rough itinerary but the quick detailed responses we received from Evania at Bright African made us choose them. The advice on everything from number of nights to spend at each park plus room types down to packing and more was invaluable. I went back and forth with Evania many times trying to find the right date range where the best accommodation would be available and she was very quick, honest and very patient in her responses. She even baked us a cake before we left on safari which was a lovely treat and explained exactly what was included in our Safari in detail at the office. Evania also arranged transfers for us in Zanzibar with their associate Juma. P
We travelled 5th September to 17th September in order to catch the migration and choose to do 2 nights Tarangire (Tarangire Safari Lodge with incredible views of river) as many people had recommended this park, two nights Ngorongoro (Lions Paw Lodge very modern and amazing sunsets) 2 nights central Serengeti (Sametu Lodge beautiful sunrise and elephants roaming at dinner time) and 3 nights northern Serengeti (Mara River Camp with beautiful sunset, most friendly staff and wildebeest roaming at night) . All three lodges are owned by karibu camps and you get a slight discount by staying at three of their lodges.
We also added in a starting side trip to Moshi to visit my home town and experience the beautiful Mataruni falls and Coffee experience with a local chagga tribe family in the foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro. This was an incredible experience to start with and we were treated to an amazing view of Kilimanjaro at the start of the day as the mountain can be shrouded in cloud a lot. We had a great local guide Alvin with us arranged by Bright African Safaris.
We lucked out by having Hamisi as our driver and guide throughout our time in Tanzania. Hamisi was absolutely the best - he was always smiling, no question was too trivial for him and he would explain things in detail, his bounding energy even at 6 in the morning on game drives, his instinct on where to find animals and to position the truck for the best results, his driving style was calm and considerate and he was the kindest soul and generous with his time no matter how late we made him with our request for just one more photo of one more animal when he had stopped hundreds of times for us already! Whatever we asked... he delivered. We saw so many things that I never imagined we would see.... the wildebeest crossing of the Great Migration, leopards - one on a tree and one walking right by our truck, lions with cute cubs, hippo, rhinos, giraffes, hundreds of elephants and bathing ones near a swamp, cheetahs standing on a rock and so much more including little things like various birds, mongoose, rock hyrax.
Hamisi is more than a guide - he is genuinely a good person and cares so much about the environment making sure we don’t leave any rubbish behind in the parks and most importantly making sure everyone is happy. His bush lunch set up was so immaculate and impressive and he made the best coffee! He also interacted with my boys really well. At the end of the Safari he stayed and helped with check us in at Kogatende airport and waited until he knew we were all set to go. He was very flexible if we wanted to shorten or extend certain game drives, everything was Hakuna Matata!
The truck was always cleaned by Hamisi every evening and metal water bottles given to all of us filled with cool water every morning. There was toilet paper and wet wipes available plus a cooler with water and soft drinks. The truck was a 6 seater and was just comfortable enough for the 4 of us. The top was lifted for game drives and we could stand on our seats to get a better view of the animals. Each seat had a storage tidy bag to put your bits and bobs in.
Bring along a trusted pair of your own binoculars as you will use them a lot.
Do not hesitate to pick Bright African and Hamisi for your safari trip! They are reliable, honest, have very quick and clear communication and are very hardworking to ensure you get the safari of your dreams. They are also part of the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators, so know that they are trustworthy. We paid our deposit and balance via our bank to theirs and everything went through fine.
Asante Sana Hamisi, Evania and all staff at Bright African Safaris. We truly had a spectacular once in a lifetime family safari with wonderful photos and memories to cherish for years to come.
The Moss family - Nita, Peter, Dylan and Conall. Sept 6th - Sept 17th 2024
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nov 15, 2023
The best safari trip ever :) - We had a group of 25 and did a private tour with the amazing Bright African safaris. All the guys/drivers are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about the local wildlife and culture. We learned so much and had a blast. It is one of the best experiences one can have. We saw wonderful scenes and experienced wildlife moments first hand.
Highlights including a Chui (leopard) finishing a baby zebra on the tree. Close encounters and sightings of cheetahs, lions, elephants, and giraffes. Flamingos, hippos, rhinos. Book with them now - you won’t want to miss this!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oct 6, 2023
honesty, quality of service, and cooperative approach. - I highly recommend this travel agent for their honesty, quality of service, and cooperative approach.
If you're looking for a travel agent who is both trustworthy and dedicated to providing a great experience, this is the one.
You won't be disappointed by choosing this travel agent; they are simply outstanding.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oct 3, 2023
An Amazing Safari Experience - Like many other travels a traveling buddy and I (our wives decided on to join us, they considered it a guys’ trip) had originally planned our safari in 2019 but the COVID pandemic had us postponing our trip to this year. We originally used Tripadvisor to compare outfitters and decided to use Bright African Safari because of its high ratings and levels of satisfaction. It’s always a concern when doing business with an overseas company but we were happy with our choice. This trip was originally scheduled for 2020. During the three year wait, Salim assured us we would be welcomed when we felt safe and the time was right for us. We scheduled our trip during the wildebeest migration and wanted to observe a Mara River crossing. We were on a 10-day tent tour that included the Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro National Parks. Salim also arranged a Serengeti balloon ride.
Simply put, the safari exceeded our expectations. Our guide John was terrific, he definitely knew the parks very well. He was able to sight wildlife from afar and seemed to anticipate their movements. There were many amazing wildlife sights but our highlights included four river crossings and two lion kills. The first kill was a lioness stalking and catching a Thompson gazelle at a waterhole and the other was watching a pride of lions capture a warthog hiding out in a road culvert right below us. The early morning balloon ride was spectacular. Seeing the savanna and roaming animals from up high gave us a better appreciation of the vastness and beauty of the Serengeti.
Our hotel accommodations in Arusha, Karatu and Ngorongoro Crater were excellent. We were most impressed by the safari camps and the luxury of our tents with beds, toilets and showers. Moreover, the buffet food served was delicious. We were after all, in the middle of the bush.
We highly recommend Bright African Safaris to anyone considering a safari.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sep 21, 2023
Warm and Professional Safari Company - We did a 9-day safari with Bright African Safaris (Tarangire, Ngorongoro, Central and Northern Serengeti) and had a great trip. Evania was very helpful with making all the arrangements and always responded quickly and fully when we had questions.
Our guide, Max, was outstanding. He had a great eye for wildlife, and we were able to see pretty much everything we wanted to see, including several leopards, cheetahs, and multiple river crossings. He was also really easy-going and personable.
At the end of our safari, we flew on to Zanzibar, where we had made arrangements for ourselves, but Evania still encouraged us to contact them if we had any problems there and weren't sure who to go to for help. We didn't end up needing it, thankfully, but the offer was very appreciated.
Overall, it was a great experience. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them or to use them again ourselves if we're lucky enough to be able to go back.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sep 14, 2023
Max is the best ! - Your safari guide can make or break your trip . Max was our expert guide and driver with 18 years of experience . And it shows! Max is the best . Absolutely top notch ! We saw the Big 5! He has a hunter’s eye and can spot anything from the small mongoose to the big elephant. And all the colorful birds in between. We saw the elusive leopard 3 times and the black rhino twice ! Very professional , polite and kind . While others were waiting for days for the wildebeest migration river crossing , we saw it in 3 different locations within 2 hours in the morning . He knows the parks very well . Other drivers ask him where to go so you know you have the master safari guide. We loved every minute of everyday. Won’t change a thing . Thank you Bright African for an unforgettable 9 day safari experience . Thanks to Salim for all the arrangements! He made everything very smooth and easy .
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sep 5, 2023
An amazing Tanzanian Safari Adventure! - We had enjoyed an amazing Tanzanian Safari with Bright African Safaris. Not only were they very supportive on planning our itinerary, they provided some great suggestions on what to include and where to stay.
Our driver, Rajabu, was fabulous - he has a hawk eye on the smallest glimmer of movement in the distant, and was able to quickly guide us to some great sights during our 9 day trek. He also shared some great stories throughout making the journey fun and enjoyable, and he certainly loved our jokes too! He also kept the vehicle in tip-top shape, cleaned it everyday and ensured we were well hydrated throughout the drives.
What topped it off was being able to see the Wildebeest crossing and a lion kill on the same day, and Rajabu was able to discretely follow the lion as he prowled, hid and then kill his prey - one of a kind!
One thing we noticed with Bright African Safaris is the use of reusable storage for our food for our lunch meals - taking in the environmental factor, which we acknowledged and appreciated.
Would definitely recommend Bright African Safaris and Rajabu.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sep 5, 2023
Wonderful private safari for 6 friends - I hv been wanting to do the wildebeests migration safari for the longest time and i did a lot of research on trip n tour operators. So glad we have chosen Bright African Safaris, they are a local Tanzania tour operator and an expert in Tanzania Safaris and TATO registered.
The team at BAS are very professional. Thanks to Evania for her very comprehensive proposal which captured what we all wanted to do,( and at reasonable price too! ). I felt confident and soon paid the deposit. Her briefing at BAS was super clear and baking skill wonderful as we were treated with a welcome cake.
Trip was made more memorable with Rajabu guiding us for 9 days, spotting different animals and showing us the most amazing mara river crossing of a thousand wildrbeests. He is a fun person to be with. He took good care of us and was always trying to deliver best experience. We felt the tour worth every dollar value.
Travel with Bright African Safaris, its the right choice! Look no further.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
