Good Earth VS Roys Safari
 

Hello!
I am very close to booking my February 2011 private safari & Zanzibar beach vacation. For nearly the same itinerary, there is a $1000 difference between Roys Safari and Good Earth. I was about to book with Roys but for some reason experienced a lag in communication with them and that's why I enquired about booking with GE. I would love to hear about people's experiences with both companies.
Thank you

Your query will bring out cheerleaders advocating for either, and that just turns into a bragging contest ("we saw four of the Big Five on the drive in the dark from JRO to Arusha!").

If you haven't already, go the East Africa Index and sort through the postings from customers of one or another. It doesn't take all that long to do. We are returning for our third visit to East Africa in Feb2011 with GET for reasons evident in our posted trip reports. You will find others loyal to Roys for similar reasons. Jim.

After researching Tanzanian tour co's, both of those made my short list. I recently contacted them and found their quotes came in about the same for a deluxe/luxury 2 week safari.

I would feel comfortable using either one, especially if one was $1000 less.

Agree with the above statements. We had considered GE also, but booked with Roys through Africa Serendipity, which uses Roys as the ground operator. AS came back with less expensive quote than Roys (same itinerary), and payment from the states was easier with AS. Plus, we had met Sandi and felt comfortable booking with her.

Roys was excellent, but our experience was really based on our driver/guide Raphael (excellent) and the vehicle, which was great.

Another STRONG recommendation for Roy's. We used them for our 1st safari in June 2005. We (my wife and 12 year old son at the time) traveled to Kenya and Tanzania in June and had an amazing experience. I did lots and lots of internet research and can relate to the desire to hear from "real people" who had actually used Roy's. We also considered Good Earth but had a better feeling with Roys. Sanjay was great to work with. We had so many questions and made plenty of changes. In the end we got to spend an afternoon with him in Arusha in the office. I was amazed at how modern and professional everyone was. Our guide was Salvatory and he was super in every way. You can check out some of our pictures here:

http://www.pbase.com/jazzdrew/kenya_and_tanzania_safari

I would be happy to email you our phone number to visit by phone if that would help you. I am currently deciding between a China/Japan/South Korea trip and another safari (this time to South Africa) and I have really appreciated visiting by phone with some people who have used specific operators that I am considering.

Our safari included:

Giraffe Manor (Nairobi)
Tortillis (Amboseli)
Lake Manyara Tree Lodge
Ngorongoro Serena
Kirawira in western Serengeti

Jambo!

JazzDrew

JazzDrew - Nice to see your input. I remember well your trip report and the time (and photos of) your son, spent with Sal who is an outstanding guide (among many that Roy's has on staff).

Thank you all for your responses :) We are ready to book!
JazzDrew - Your pictures were great! What lens were you shooting with?

Hi Sandi - It is good to return to the Africa board as we are considering another safari. I would like to thank you for your guidance and advice over the years. I have found your advice to be very helpful and value your opinions on all things Africa! I know that you have great experience in east africa, but can you offer a suggestion for South Africa? I am looking for a Roy's Safari for our possible trip next June or July in SA. So far it looks like a few days in Capetown, then fly to Elephant Plains and maybe Pafuri and possibly another.

mctran - You are going to have a great time! Where are you going? I remember feeling anxious as I was planning, especially after wiring so much money to someone I had only had contact over the internet. I also remember landing in Nairobi and hoping that someone would actually be waiting there for us. Once I saw the sign with our name on it at the airport and the guide all my worries evaporated! Roy's could not have been better, especially Salvatory (our guide) and Sanjay (our contact with Roy's). I look forward to your pictures and trip report!

As far as my camera - I bought my first "real" camera just for this safari based on the advice of many from this board back in 2005. I used a Panasonic DMC-FZ15. It was great for me. Excellent zoom, quality lens and extremely easy to use. All shots were taken in auto mode (except a few close ups). Since 2005 I upgraded to the Panasonic FZ 35. It allows me to shoot HD video as well. I bought a 32 gb card and was abale to shoot 2500 pictures and 6 hours of HD video on our last trip all on the same card! So easy for me...no camcorder, no bags of lens to carry around, just one light weight camera that doubled as a camcorder! Perfect for me!

mctran - I just read your itinerary thread for your safari. Looks like you have had great advice and are all set. Enjoy!!

I just did a search on YouTube for Roy;s Safari and found a new (to me) video that shows Roy's. It even includes Salvatory (our guide) who makes a few comments from inside his Land Cruiser! Oh...I miss Tanzania....

Opps...here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixpt9hs0vCE

One more link. Here is an edited video I took of a lion kill not far from Kirawira and Grumeti river in the Serengeti.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFgkctEJ3N4

Salvatory really did a great job tracking this lion as she made the kill. I'll never forget it!

JD - Would be glad to assist with reference for an operator/outfitter for South Africa, but I don't have any recent personal experience. Sure I can name names, but feel it would be better to check the many threads on this subject from Fodor's regulars who I'm sure will be glad to help. Maybe start a new thread and go from there.