Tanzania Serengeti Adventures (TSA)
 

I'm very close to booking a safari with TSA, but I need external validation. Their prices are very good relative to many other operators (too good?) and their website testimonials are excellent, but I'd appreciate any feedback Fodorites can offer. Thanks

Anyone?

not ignoring you, just don't know anything about TSA

Not me either.

Avogardo,

The only thing I can say is that I priced numerous itineraries with different Tanzanian tour operators. In nearly every instance, TSA was the best price, and they were always very responsive with their e-mails, a rarity with African tour operators, mostly due to the time differences, but also because with some there is a general lack of urgency.

Unfortunately, I have not yet visited East Africa, as I have been unable to shake my love for Southern Africa yet, so instead continue visiting Southern Africa each year.

I don't know if this provides the "external validation" you are seeking, but if it is any help, if it were me, I would give TSA the opportunity, especially if they have been responsive to you thus far.

Good luck.

I am booked with TSA for a safari leaving on June 17th. Have you aleady been? If so, how was it? If not, I am home on July 9th and will post a report then.

eljay2:

We're booked with TSA for a 16 day safari in Jan/Feb 2006. We look forward to your report when you get back!

No validation, yet. we will go on our honeymoon in September (2005).

I heard good responses from other people on this forum (do a search with "Tanzania Serengeti Adventures").

The only problem I have is that I have booked a trip and I am not sure whether I made a good choice. According to ppl at this forum, we will travel a lot and might miss the migration...

I just got back last week. What exactly were you planning? I can give you details.
Stay away from 2000 World Tours and Abraham Shaidi if their names come up.
Are you flying to Arusha.
[email protected]

I also got a good price from TSA for a Kenya/Tanzania Safari in 2006 - but they didn't make any comments or suggestions - it was kind of wierd. I sent them the itinerary (with some questions on it) and they just sent back a price, no comments etc. They didn't even mention that the park rates would be going up in 2006 or that hotel rates would probably go up. So, I was just wondering how involved they really are.

Before I booked with TSA I e-mail about 20 past clients. Everyone had wonderful things to say about Jordan, Iris and the trip they provided. If you ask, they will send you a long list of people you may contact.

They have been very attentive to us and promptly e-mailed us answers to our many questions. They also have tweaked our trip until it is exactly what we want. We have been very happy with the planning. We leave in a couple of weeks and that will be the real test but have no qualms at all about the company.

I have to agree with you Orlylily. I am travelling by myself and when the safari I had booked through a well-reputed travel agent here in Vancouver, Canada fell through I had basically 3 weeks to put one together by myself as my agent was hitting a brick wall. The problem was finding other travellers that didn't mind me 'tagging along'. I sent out numerous emails in search of a safari and TSA were efficient with their communication and quickly came up with an itinerary with the dates I had at a reasonable price. After doing some reference checks and research I signed up and will be off on my safari June 16th.

Just back from a month in Kenya with a 5 day safari in Tanzania starting on June 16th. I booked with Tanzania Serengeti Adventures.
I travelled to Lake Manyara and then hooked up with the couple, who would be my travel companions for 5 days. They had started their safari earlier and visited Tangiere and Lake Manyara before I joined them. We continued to Ngorongoro and did the crater drive from noon to 6ish. The day started off wet and the road just in from the park entrance was blocked by some big trucks that were stuck sideways on the road. After a hour wait or so a route was established to maze our way around the trucks and into the crater.
Our guide, Hashim, was outstanding and very knowledgeable throughout our safari.
I stayed at the Serena Safari Lodge and the accommodation did not disappoint.
The next morning we travelled on to the Serengeti. My first night was spent at the Wildlife lodge as the Serena Safari lodge was full. Although the Wildlife Lodge was acceptable the Serena Lodge was well worth the $25 US/night upgrade. My next 2 nights I checked into the Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge.
I won't go too much into the game drives except to say we saw it all because my intent in this post is to provide my opinion of Tanzania Serengeti Adventures.
I was exceedingly happy with my choice...
My initial experience with TSA was quick response to my emails and good pricing. Once there I found the 4x4 Landrover very sufficient for the 3 of us, plus guide. Hashim was an excellent guide and I would recommend him highly. The itinerary was well chosen and my highlight was definately the Serengeti. The accommodation was excellent. In concensus all 3 of us on the trip were very happy with our safari.
The only hesitation I have in further recommendation of TSA is this: on return to the office we witnessed Iris' treatment of Hashim and other office staff. I found she was very condescending and her public display of chastizing the guide we had just spent so much time with was very inappropriate.
So in conclusion I really found the safari wonderfull, the guide great, transportation reliable (despite 2 quick tire changes due to flats) however I am torn on whether I'd book through TSA again. I would gladly have Hashim guide me again but I have a moral problem with supporting a company that treats staff as we witnessed.
p.s. I found out 2 days into the safari that the couple were on their honeymoon! They did not have a problem inviting me to share their trip with them and I am ever grateful.

Eljay

We traveled the same time as you - also go stuck behind 2 broken-down trucks in 2 different places! There was one that broke a front axl at speed down the hill between Ngorongoro and Oldupai! Fortunately the crew survived.

What happened on night one at the Serengeti Serena? Did you have a confirmed booking that was not honored?

Eljay,

Will you be sharing pictures from your recent trip?

ClimbHighSleepLow
No, there was not a scenerio of bookings not being honored, rather I had to book 3 weeks before travelling and I could not get a guaranteed confirmation at that Serena for that night thus my night at the Wildlife Lodge.
I had a few chuckles. The first came when I was in my room trying to catch up with my journalling and I looked up to see wildebeest, zebras, impalas and gazelles running just 10 feet in front of my window! The second came when I awoke at 2am and went to turn a light on... no electricity! I figure that the barely audible speel I was given upon check in must have told me that electricity was cut off between eve and 5 am. So after rummaging around for my torch I realized that I wasn't sure which way the light switches were to be to be off. At 5 am all the lights in the room turned on! I am also not sure whether I was told about cold water showers but that is all I could get out of the shower.
It all makes for a good story though and the cold showers was the lead in to my week stay in a mud hut with pit latrine and bucket baths!
As far as posting photos Avogadro, I'm not sure just when that will be. The most part of my stay was in a very rural part of Kenya where I had the good fortune to stay with a friend who is a volunteer that has been there for a couple of years in the area of AIDs orphans and I have promised her help on some projects from this end. All this and the reality of working fulltime might mean it is the end of summer before I get around to shuffling through the 500+ pictures I took!