Hilary and Martin - owners of Suricata Safaris
Suricata Safaris
- Office In:
- Size:
- 50-100 employees (Founded in 2016)
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $3,298 to $10,415 per person per day (MXN, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
RU
Email Dmitry Suhadolsky | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safaris in three parks (Serengeti, Ngorogoro, Tarangiri)
I went on a Safari from the company Suricata. I found them on the website: www.safaribookings.com I really liked the service provided. The price was average market. But the price included meeting from the airport and transfer to the airport after the safari. The price also included hotel accommodation before the safari and after the safari. The hotel is very decent. The company is run by three very active and friendly men. All with good English (one of them is American). The service was provided at a very good level, so I recommend choosing them.
If we talk about the Suricata company itself, I liked the guide, the cook (as it turned out later, in comparison with all the others he cooked very tasty). Every evening, as a gift, well, dinner was given a bottle of wine. Food was always prepared in excess. The guide drove fast, but very carefully. Car: six-seater Land Cruiser.
Now about the trip itself: the safari lasted 4 days (3 nights). Parks: Ngorogoro, Serengeti and Tarangiri. Tarangiri is separate from the other two parks. All parks are different and differ from each other in nature and animals. Therefore, it is interesting to see all three, but you need to correctly evaluate your strength and desire. Drive 300 km from Arusha to Serengeti Park, the road is bad, so be patient or choose other parks. But the Serengeti is the largest park.
I went in August 2019. When they tell you, take warm clothes, this really means that you will need them. Be sure to take pants, a sweatshirt, a windbreaker, possibly another sweater. Also bring along a headlamp, pillowcase, soap, small shampoo, wet wipes, mosquito repellent. Personally, I did not take a windbreaker with me and regretted it. In the evenings there is a very cool and strong wind.
Bargaining in shops, taxis and markets should be 3-4 times. Everyone wants to make money on white tourists.
Yellow fever vaccine is best done just in case. Whether to be vaccinated against malaria, everyone decides for himself. Locals get malaria like a cold. Many tourists even having vaccinated have a high chance of getting sick. Just fly to Tanzania, before you go on a safari, buy a malaria test. If your temperature rises, you can immediately use the test.
Paying all the more profitable in shillings (you pay the safari in dollars). Therefore, change dollars at the airport or immediately after arrival in the city.
Have a good holiday and interesting adventures!
TR
Email Nihal | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
so happy to be a part of an environment where wild life is still respected
When you are choosing a safari company, in fact you are choosing a service to build up probably the most unforgetable trip of your life. I am happy that ours was a smart decision.
I should start with our guide Fredy: A very professional, knowledgable, cool and kind person! He spoke English very well, always gave lots of information about the animals, even showed their close-up pictures from his book, answered all our questions patiently, made sure to locate the car at the best angle for taking photos (and showing respect to people at the other cars and animals - which is so important to us), waited patiently while we took tons of pictures. Most importantly, he was more than a guide, a friend with nice character that we would like to have with us on a long holiday.
Our talented chef Chaz was a master. He always cooked very delicious food and made sure we had enough. He surprised us by serving tasty and special things very quickly even early in the morning. We will miss the excellent food we had during the safari. Also we will miss his joyful chats with Fredy.
We had a difficult time in choosing the safari company as there are about 1000 alternatives. When I decided on one and was about to pay, there had been a couple of things I did not like. I checked for an alternative and met Suricata. I thought it was a young company but experienced enough. Hilary answered my e-mails very promptly. He was flexible and did his best to tailor the programme according to our wishes. I noticed he is one of the founders and that made me feel more comfortable knowing that he will be there to solve any possible problem. I was right; there had been a small misunderstanding during the trip and was solved through a phone call between Fredy and Hilary. Paying the deposit was easy and safe and we did the rest of payment on arrival.
We were a family of 3 people and had an 8 days private safari including Arusha National Park, Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Lake Eyasi (tribe visits), Serengeti and Ngorongoro. These 8 days were full of magic. Surprisingly, visiting the tribes was the highlight of our trip. We met Maasai, Datoga, Hadzabe, Makonde and Gidangodic people and had a wonderful time with them. We learned the way they live. We went to hunting with Hadzabe, jumped with Maasai, sang with Datogas who asked many questions about ourselves and our country and we were warmly welcome by all tribes. We keep the souvenirs mostly done and sold by women for ourselves as they are so precious to us and all are a great memory.
During those visits local guides Deo and Yusuf (sorry if I mispronounce) accompanied and helped us to communicate as the tribes' languages are different. Also there was an armed ranger (Ali) and his intern who accompanied us in Arusha National Park for a walking safari.
While deciding about how to use our budget before the safari, we preferred budget camping. Doing so, we could take a longer trip rather than paying more for lodge-stays. We are happy we did. But you might prefer lodges if you do not feel cool and adventurous enough. In Serengeti and Ngorongoro you hear voices of wild animals just around your tent. In our case, something rare occurred and lions tried to hunt two buffalos very close to our tents and one animal hit the tent. We were lucky as nobody was hurt (buffalos also survived) and now we have a story to tell all through our life. Also we heard steps of many zebras feeding around our tents in Ngorongoro Simba Campsite.
Choosing November for safari also has been a wise decision. Although it is short-rains season, luckily there was no rain. Also the parks and public camp-sites were not over-crowded. The herds had already arrived Seronera region so we were lucky to experience the great migration.
And yes, we saw all of the "big 5" but a safari should be regarded not as an experience of seeing; but as feeling. It is hard to describe how happy we felt during all these 8 days. In most of the world, people have built up plazas and cities full of unhappiness. With a human-centric point of view, they left no space for wild life. We are lucky people who experienced to spend 8 days at a place on earth where things are different. We were able to be a part of an environment where wild life is still respected and preserved. And we would like to thank Fredy, Chaz, Hilary and the rest of the Suricata team who helped this dream to come true. Asante sana!
BG
Email Yordanka | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
5-star experience of a lifetime
I had a once in a lifetime experience!!!We booked a 3days-2nights Serengeti-Ngorongoro safari. Right from the start till the end out safari was exquisitely well organised and detailly planed in advance by Hillary, the awlays smiling manager, who arranged a pick up / drop off from the Kilimandjaro airport and a stay in a hotel in Arusha. Lenard, the driver, is a nice and quite guy, had to wait for us for like 4 hours because of a flight delay, and had to wake up in 4 am to drop us off at the airport. And now about the safari itself: we had the rare chance to see almost all animals and birds there is in Serengati and Ngorongoro - lions, elephants, giraffes, gazellas, hippos, crocodiles, hyenas, even by far the black rhinos, except for the cheetah. Thanks to our amasing guide, Rocky, we were always first on the right spot to see the animals and every time he made sure our jeep was on the best possible position. He answered all our questions about wildlife, his skills of driving the jeep through the mud avoided us being stuck, he balanced well our desire to spend more time watching the animals and the need to press time, and last but not least he is funny and approachable. Also he put the tourists safety first by assessing correctly every situation. The top of top, and so unexpected for me, was the gourmet cuisine, prepared 3 times per day by our unique chef Ben. He even managed to cook us a pizza and some popcorn, apart from the delicious pancakes, all the beef stew, fish grilled chicken and variety of veggies !!! The public camps we stayed in were clean and well kept. In short all the crew of Suricata safari made our first safari an unforgettable memory !!!
AT
Email JuM | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic!
Once in a lifetime experience. Have seen big five and had a good time. Well organised. Good experience camping in wildlife and good fresh cooked food. They even served vergeterian options if you ask before.
NO
Email Pedro Medeiros | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari, perfectly tailored for solo traveler
I just came back from 4 days safari to Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro, with Florian and Salim as guide and cook. Hillary and Alli took care of all logistics and organised everything for me according to my preferences. I was amazed how we could see so much in so little time. Loads of animals, all the different possibilities. Lunch was always very tasty and it's incredible how they can prepare such food in the middle of the wilderness. The choice of lodges allowed me to perceive the variety in hospitality around the region, and everywhere I was well taken care of. I recommend lodges of you are staying more than 2 nights, otherwise camping is also a good choice. I highly recommend Suricata Safaris for your authentic African experience!!!
Email Annelies | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
everything great
Everything went on time and correctly as agreed! Very good, friendly, competent and patient companion who drove us through the five days! We saw a lot and felt comfortable the whole time. Highly recommend and would do the same again. Ratios for price and services is top!
Email Paul heaney | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional,friendly and overall confidence inspiring.
Suricata’s team proved to be both friendly professional and competent. Finding ourselves with the time go on a Safari at the last minute in country they reacted quickly.
Ally the tour manager met us at our convenience and immediately inspired confidence giving us time and the information needed to chose the right safari for us and a day trip too.
We chose a 4 day private trip to cover Taringere, Serengeti and Ngorogoro , 2 days camping and a first night at their lake Manyara lodge.
Ally kept in touch prior to the tour and we were picked up promptly from our hotel by our guide Baraka who proved to be a great companion.With 6 years experience behind hiim , this showed with his competent driving and knowledge of wildlife, spotting what we could never have found.
The hotel proved to be very luxurious but fun with amazing entertainment from a local acrobatic troupe and an energetic post dinner sing song from the staff - great !
The camping obviously more down to earth but an experience to sleep with the sounds of the wild night. Zebra wandering through the site and giraffe and buffalo on the margins. Tents were prepared and meals cooked for us on site including the preparation of a hot lunch every day ! Lucas cooked for us and I don’t know how he managed to get so much done behind the scenes. A lot of hard work goes on that you don’t see to keep things right.
We had not planned to be on Safari this year but events conspired to give us the chance so no real pre-conceptions. To be honest the magnificence and variety of the parks alone would be enough but the abundance and variety of wildlife takes it to another level.
We saw the big five but that didn’t really matter it was the variety and complexity of encounters and plain amazing how close you could be.
Highlights for me were watching the reaction of a cheetah as it spotted a lion in the vicinity of itself and cub. It decided to lay low as the pack remained intent on the warthog they were tracking and in the end failed to catch in the final chase. Later Barak somehow spotted a black rhino in the long distance and we were able to see it trot along meeting couple of big male elephants as if out for a jaunt,amazing.
So overall a trip we’ll never forget, we will come back for more and will recommend Suricata to friends and family.
DE
Email Christian | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wow - Suricata did a great job to give us the experience of our lives
We chose Suricata Safaris through Safari Bookings and we were not disappointed. From the first moment on we were in good hands for a 5 day experience which was more than great. Our driver Freddy did a great job in terms of driving, showing us all the animals and giving us so much information about the animals and Tanzanian history. The camps were great and the food prepared by the chef (breakfast, dinner, lunch) was super delicious. There is not one thing that could have been better. Thank you Suricata!
AT
Email Oliver | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Thanks to Suricata Safaris (especially Rocky) for this wonderful adventure
As a child/teenager I always dreamed of a safari and what can I say, my great expectations were exceeded.
One thing was the breathtaking nature (whether Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Serengeti or Ngorongoro Crater), which was so varied and I have never felt so connected to our origins.
The other thing was how well Suricata Safaris organised everything. ‘Rocky’ is simply the best guide you can wish for. He told us so much about the wildlife, took us to the most beautiful places (it was great everywhere, but the viewpoint over the Ngorongoro Crater and the sunset in the middle of the Serengeti were probably the highlights) and did everything to give us an unforgettable adventure.
Although I am picky when it comes to food, there was something delicious for me every day.
I can only recommend Suricata Safaris to anyone.
Email Jateen | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Safari Experience
I booked a 2 day safari from Arusha to Tarangire NP and Ngorogoro Crater. The Safari was amazing and we saw so many of the animals, absolutly no regrets whatsoever.
A great service overall, vehicles were of good quality and the guide (Simba) was very knowledgeable about the region and the animals.
Food was great, lunches and dinner and the "camping" accommodation surpassed expectations with a swimming pool, clean room and comfortable bed.
Worth the price, however a reduction wasn't offered when I didn't need the hotels either side of the tour.
The only other point is that they did not contact me the days before to confirm details. I had to contact them but once contact was made everything was very smooth.