The Safari Soles Team
Safari Soles
- Offices In:
-
United Kingdom
- Size:
- 50-100 employees (Founded in 2018)
- Member Of:
- ATTA, TTB, KPAP & TAT0
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $5,194 to $31,166 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
Email Eddie | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceded our expectations
We recently completed our 10-day tour with Safari Soles. I’m not one who normally does reviews because my expectations of customer service and care are rarely met. I am please to say that with Safari Soles they were exceeded. From the beginning Joachim Mushi, our sales consultant, was extremely helpful as we worked through the details of putting together our itinerary. He was always responsive whether on the phone or through e mail. All the Safari Soles staff we encountered were friendly, helpful and determined to see that we enjoyed ourselves. The camps we stayed at were neat, clean, good food and filled with great folks. Our Guide however rose above all others. Silas Mathayo was the crown jewel in our trip. Friendly, extremely knowledgeable about the Country, the parks and of course the animals. His personality and sense of humor added to his knowledge made him an absolute joy to spend eight days with. By the end we felt like family and hated to part company with him. This was our first safari and thus our first guide so I can’t really make a comparison, however I would be hard pressed to see how anyone could be better that Silas. Thank you Silas, Joachim and the entire Safari Soles family. I whole heartly recommend them to anyone considering a safari. Eddie and Lou Ann
CN
Email YU | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Once a Safari Lover, Always a Safari Lover 🦓
Choosing a reliable safari operator is the single most important part of any trip to Africa—and choosing this one was absolutely the best decision we made for our entire journey.
Our guide, Dickson, is patient, professional, attentive, and always eager to help. At the start, he asked about our favorite animals and what we hoped to see, and he made sure to remember every single one of our requests. Since I love giraffes and we were desperate to spot the Big Five, he made it his mission to make both happen for us.
Dickson is like a walking, talking African encyclopedia. There isn’t an animal he doesn’t know, and he always takes the time to explain their behaviors and habits to us. He drove us all over the reserve in search of new sightings, and thanks to his expertise, we witnessed so many rare, unforgettable moments: a pride of lionesses fighting over a wildebeest kill, a leopard feasting on its prey, an impala mother eating her placenta right after giving birth, the massive wildebeest migration, spotted hyenas cooling off in a puddle, and warthogs rubbing themselves against tree stumps. It felt like we’d stepped into a whole other world.
As two female travelers, we also felt incredibly safe and well taken care of with Dickson. He always found the best light and angles to take photos of us, apologized every time the road got bumpy, and even laid out our tablecloth, set our utensils, and made us coffee at every meal. He also gave us the best advice: head out early in the morning when the animals are most active and the weather is cooler, then head back to camp to rest at midday before heading out again in the afternoon when the heat dies down.
When there wasn’t much wildlife around, he taught us simple Swahili phrases and told us jokes to keep the mood light. His driving skills are also top-notch—we always felt completely safe in his hands, no matter the terrain. He navigated muddy patches with ease and was always respectful, giving way to both wildlife and other vehicles on the road.
Dickson’s care and expertise truly made our trip worry-free and unforgettable. This safari will go down as one of the most special experiences of our lives. They say you only do safari once or never stop coming back—and we’re already ready to come back.
IE
Email Swati Jain | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful Experience!!
Had an amazing experience with Safari Soles. This was our first safari & their sales specialist Neema was very helpful & understanding. She tailored our package to our needs, gave us reasonable quotes & was very patient in every aspect of safari decision making. Their process is very transparent & one gets proper documentation after every phase. Guest experience team was equally great. & was very proactive to respond to our queries. Lastly & most important our guide Abrazack was abs great. He had knack for details, ensured we are well taken care of, explained us everything in detail & made our experience just wow !!
Thanks team, you guys were GREAT ! 😊
NZ
Email Shanan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great animals, great fun, great guide!
Had the best time on safari with our guide, Christian. He had great knowledge of the area and the animals, asked us what we wanted to see each day and travelled accordingly. He had great energy and humour and we felt like he was part of our group not just a driver/guide. We saw all the animals our group wanted to see and more.
We were also well fed with food and refreshments each day as part of our package.
Would recommend Christian and Safari Sole Tours to anybody!
Unforgettable moment
We spent a truly timeless, unforgettable moment on this safari with our incredible guide, Jeremiah. The breathtaking scenery and the extraordinary encounters with wildlife made this experience truly special. We would like to thank Jeremiah for his patience and positive attitude throughout this unforgettable adventure. We will definitely be back! 🤩
CA
Email Matt | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A Life-changing Experience! 🇨🇦🇹🇿
Wow. What a life-changing trip!
First off - if you ever book with Safari Soles you are in great hands. Happiness helped arrange our custom itinerary, so that we could tackle all we wanted to for our 2 week honeymoon in Africa.
Next, we met our driver/guide, Raymond, who is truly one of a kind. From his great taste in music for the long car rides, to his unwavering commitment to making sure you achieve everything you want to on your safari, it truly does not get any better. From Day 1 we felt so comfortable and knew we made a friend for life.
We started off at Tarangire National Park where we had an amazing day driving around and seeing all of the wildlife the park has to offer. The next days, we made our way through by the Serengeti, where we stayed at 5-star accommodations (truly) and were treated incredibly by all of the staff. We ended off at the N'gorongoro Crater where we achieved our goal of seeing the Big 5 and MORE!
Everywhere we went was very clean, very accommodating, and went above our expectations.
Side note - if you're a picky eater like me, do not fret as there is a good selection of food for every meal, and the staff are more than willing to accommodate should you not like the menu set out.
This truly was a life-changing trip, and we can not say enough good things about all that were involved in the planning of our perfect honeymoon.
Thank you to Happiness, Innocent and Raymond for leaving a lasting impact on our lives with this trip of a lifetime!
Asante!
Email Paul R | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outstanding local tour operator
Safari Soles is a local safari tour operator based in Arusha, Tanzania. My wife and I went on our first Safari in July 2019, and I really had no idea about the best way to go about booking. What I quickly learned is that there are plenty of western based operators who will charge you a small fortune. Now, don’t get me wrong, they have a place and I am sure there are plenty of people willing to pay a premium for the perceived dependability of a company based in LA, New York, London etc. I say ‘perceived’ because, in the end, I had such good service from Safari Soles, that I really began to question how much value those big companies really add. Just my opinion, your mileage may vary.
We booked a 4 day, 3 night safari with a guide and a cook. We camped which was excellent. We went to Tarangire National Park, The Serengetti and finally the Ngorongoro crater. If you need a little more comfort, Bryson and the Safari Soles team can arrange lodges instead of camping for an extra fee. It was truly amazing, I didn’t know what to expect but this trip exceeded my expectations is every way. Our booking covered the 1 for transfers to and from JRO airport, the first and last night in a hotel in Arusha (we were given a choice of 3) the services of an English speaking driver/guide (who had the sharpest eyes and spotting skills imaginable) our cook (who also helped with camp set-up and breakdown) 3 meals each day, campsite fees, and park entry fees. Only tips and souvenirs were extra. Bryson also added a short shopping tour of Arusha on our last morning.
Bryson and Safari Soles are super-dependable and trustworthy. We paid a 10% by Western Union (for which Bryson proactive emailed me his passport and ID cards for identity verification, we then paid the balance in cash (US$ in new bills are required everywhere in Tanzania) when we arrived. It feels really good to be putting money directly into the hands of local companies and not have fat margins skimmed off by middlemen. For me, this is really important.
Go on a safari and see these magnificent animals, it was wonderful.
UA
Email Iryna | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A wonderful experience
We were searching for a 7-days experience and chose the 6-day Tarangine-Serengeti-Ngorongoro-lake Manyara tour and an additional coffee-waterfall-hot spring day trip.
I made a lot of research myself before choosing Safari Soles, read reviews on different sites and asked lots of questions. I loved the balance of the company's good rating and reviews, budget-friendly price and the knowledge and support Bryson provided.
The tour exceeded our expectations. We saw lots of animals including the cats we wanted to see so much - many lions, a leopard, 2 serval cats and even a mother cheetah teaching her cubs to hunt! We also were lucky to catch endless herds of migrating wildebeest in Serengeti (were there on February 8-10) and saw how a baby zebra was born! We ever visited the Ndutu region where there were lots of animals and where budget safaris usually don't go.
Our dreadlocked guide Simba (David) was amazing - pleasant and cheerful, knowing all the animals and trained to spot them, telling stories when you want to hear them and just driving when you're tired. He had a cool playlist, drove well and made us feel welcome. Besides getting to know the nature and the animals, he made us a bit more familiar with the life and the people of Tanzania - so, we felt more like guests then like tourists, which we appreciated.
Our cook Shydia (not sure about the spelling) could do magic - he made restaurant food using a gas stove, some pans and the food we were carrying in the jeep. The cool food we had included pizza, lasagna, a fabulous banana-chocolate cake, and also nice curries and avocado salad! I've put on quite a lot of weight during the trip because the food was very delicious and there was a lot of it.
Although we booked the budget tour, the accommodation was cool. The basic but nice Arusha Tourist Inn, the Fig Tree lodge with a garden and a swimming pool, the Simba campsite at Ngorongoro with a beautiful huge tree in the middle and the lodge at Seronera with a campfire - all was cool. We expected to spend the two nights in Seronera at a campsite, but the upgrade to a lodge was a nice surprise.
The price for all this was quite low. Hard to imagine how many tour companies take several times more money, however, don't let you see more animals because you will see all the animals on a budget safari with a good guide. In case you're choosing the lowest price - consider that the 2-way airport transfer for the Arusha or Kili airport, accommodation for the nights before and after the safari, and all drinks including beer and wine are already included in the price.
As for those who are thinking about the length of the trip - for me the safari experience would be incomplete without the 2 nights in Serengeti and one night on the crater rim of Ngorongoro. The night in Mto Wa Mbu is necessary for the logistics and the Tarangine park is pleasant as well, with many elephants and baobab trees. So, 5 full days of safari seem minimum to me to get some knowledge of the region. If you have 6 days, I suggest adding the waterfall-coffee-hot spring tour - you will wee the beautiful nature of a different climate zone, see how many planks grow, have a chance to swim under a waterfall and soak in a nice hot spring, like the cenotes in Mexico. If you have 7 days - add lake Manyara, it was nice too, but the waterfall and hot spring were nicer.
Thank you, Simba, Bryson, Shydia and all Safari Soles stuff for our great holiday!
CN
Email Yiqing | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Top Safari Operator Definitely !!!
Me and my friend had a perfect 6 days' safari with Safari Tours!
Wrote emails to over 30 5-stars safari operators, Safari Soles won us in the final round owning to timely communication, price, well-organized schedule ! Before the journey, I did homework my own and had a rough idea of Tanzania Parks, the plan made by Oken perfectly matched with my expectation! And he was the first one replied my request email among all operators I asked even in the weekend. Although one of the accommodation was changed due to fully booked, Oken communicated with me timely and added me in WeChat app taking care of Chinese customers. The only thing could be improved is, I requested and paid 40% deposit 2 months ahead, but the flight ticket and accommodation booking letters didn't sent to me till a week before we start the journey. I don't know whether it's reservation team got slack at their work or caused by accommodation staffs, anyway, if the booking status could be communicated weekly, that would make me feel they are trying best to help book rooms. Beside this, Oken was really friendly and gave me a very warm welcome before the trip!
Beside wonderful views, our guide Alex was part of this lifetime experience! Alex was not only a professional guide, skilled driver, animal expert, human binocular, safari guard, private photographer, but also our friend! During the afternoon in Ngrongoro, we saw Big 5 in the same day! The moment he heard there's a leopard near, he drove us there ASAP, just after 5 minutes, leopard ran away! Thanks to Alex! Then we spent 2 days in Serengeti, saw 2 lions eating a buffalo, Alex taught us how Lions hunt and how to start from the tail of animals, we enjoyed a live BBC broadcast with a running commentary! The last day in Serengeti, though wildebeests failed to cross mara river due to one was caught by crocodile, Alex explained the wildebeest group immigration behaviors and how they live together with zebras, that's super interesting!
In conclusion, we really appreciate everything safari soles arranged for us, especially Oken and Alex, we can't have such a perfect experience without you two! I'll definitely recommend safari soles to all my friends who plan to go Tanzania!!
DE
Email Laura | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable experience thanks to the great planning and excellent execution of the safari
Right from the beginning, the team provided us with an ideal tour covering Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro National Parks. They tailored the tour to fit our budget and made an excellent selection of lodges.
Once we arrived in Tanzania, they picked us up at the airport and safely transported us to our first incredible lodge. What truly set this tour apart was having an experienced guide with many years in the field. He knew the parks very well and, more importantly, how to find the animals. Thanks to him, we were able to see numerous lions, leopards and cheetahs (all with cubs), groups of elephants, giraffes, the great migration of zebras and wildebeests, all types of antelopes and even rare animals like jackals and servals, which are hard to spot.
We highly recommend booking your safari with Safari Soles. Every single dollar was worth it and it truly made a difference in our experience.
I will definitely come back and book with Safari Soles again!
