eTrip Africa

Visited: Sep. 2020 Reviewed: Jan. 05, 2021 Submitted in:

This was the most amazing trip of our lives. We kept our honeymoon plans in 2020 and the 10-night Tanzania safari (and 5-night Zanzibar beach time) was incredible. We unfortunately had to cancel the gorilla trekking portion in light of Uganda’s COVID restrictions but can’t wait to try and do that in the future.

E-Trip Africa was an amazing partner from day 1. During the planning process, Ben was incredibly helpful in customizing an itinerary according to our requests and very responsive to our feedback as we tried to nail things down. He was exceptionally knowledgeable about everything from the macro logistics (in-country flights versus drives; certain parks and regions versus others) to micro details (specific lodges, experiences [i.e., horseback riding in a coffee plantation], and safari drive plans).

After we finalized the plan for our September trip in January 2020, there was obviously a lot of uncertainty and unexpected changes that have needed to take place. Ben was always on top of the latest restrictions from different countries in Africa (for US travellers) and proactive in swapping out our camps / lodges as availability and which ones were open shifted around. At the end of the day, he was able to upgrade us in a number of locations but even with those shifts, we were often the only people at the camps which was a unique experience (though I would imagine the amazing service we received at each would have been the same even if all ~12 tents/villas would have been occupied).

A few weeks before our trip, one of our airlines (Emirates) put a negative PCR test requirement into effect for our return flight from Zanzibar/Tanzania. The combination of a 96 window negative test requirement and 72 response time on the test results meant we had a particularly challenging logistical last few days. Ben was in touch at all hours of the day setting up a special test at a private clinic and even coordinating for our negative certificate to meet us at the airport because it wasn’t ready to be delivered to our resort.

While this was a challenging time to travel, Ben’s work behind the scenes made it still feel effortless for us.

On the ground, our E-Trip Africa guide Aladdin was amazing. He was very knowledgeable about all the animals and plants we encountered. He knew the parks exceptionally well and was often looked at as a resource by other guides around where to find animals and how to navigate the parks! We had some unbelievable viewings with him (two mother lions with 6 cubs on a rock formation, three cheetah brothers hunting, multiple leopards [including with cubs], and a handful of river crossings) and almost every time we were the only truck around! On top of this extreme professional acumen, it is clear he enjoys his job and being in nature in a way that is contagious when you’re in the truck with him.

My wife and I both agree this was the best trip of our lives and can’t wait to book our next one with Ben, Aladdin, and the E-Trip Africa team!!

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For years I had dreams of an African Safari. In 2009 I started doing some research to plan the trip. I was put off a bit because the prices were so high. So I took an extra part-time job to save up the extra cash needed to make it a perfect trip. Then in 2012 we started doing the research again and it took us a while to find the right company, we sent emails to some 50 safari companies we found on this site and on TripAdvisor. We told them the parks we wanted to see, the dates and our overall budget. In the end E-Trip Africa was able to organize the trip at luxury camps and still stay within our budget. Several of the companies told us we would have to settle for a camping budget trip, which surprised me. Others told us they could not do anything within our budget.

When we arrived at the Nairobi Airport it was a little crazy, because there was a fire. The manager, Ben drove from the office in Arusha to meet us and introduced us to our Masai Driver named Joseph. Joseph was wearing Massai cloths the whole trip. Not only did he share a lot about his culture, but he was very friendly and never left a dull moment during the long drives. Ben and Joseph took us back to the hotel, where we had a briefing about the trip and he gave us a local telephone to borrow, which saved us some money when calling the folks back in the states.

We set-off the next morning and Joseph gave us plenty of good information during the long drive to Samburu. Driving past Mt. Kenya was amazing and then it was very dry in Samburu. The wildlife was nice as it was the first time to see Elephants outside of a zoo. We spent two nights there before heading to Lake Elementaita and Lake Naivasha. The Rhinos were so cool and I can't imagine people are killing them left and right to sell the horns to China. We stopped in Hells Gate to take a bike ride, which was nice as we had been spending too much time sitting in the car.

Then we went to the home area of Joseph. The Masai Mara... It was perfect to see the millions of wildebeest. Joseph had a very good sense of the wildlife and he could tell us what they would do. You can tell he really enjoys spending the time watching the animals. Twice I was a bit confused, because there were lots of cars around a kill and Joseph drove and parked about 300 feet away. Then all of the sudden the Lions got up and walked down to the water and shade near us, we had the best seat in the house.

The first two days we did not see any Cheetah. I was a bit down as I wanted to see them. I now understand that they don't like to be around all these other animals. So Joseph took us on a two hour drive to the middle of no where. And then all of the sudden he said look. We were alone, not another car in site. He said look very closely and there was a cheetah walking towards us. We sat for a few hours watching him. Then all of the sudden it bolted towards a small group of antelope taking one down. It was just like on Discovery.

The next day we headed back to Nairobi where we met Ben another time. He was really excited to hear our stories and Joseph was telling them even better than anyone. You could sense that Ben and Joseph also have a very good personal relationship. The next morning we were back to Nairobi Airport and then on our flight. A special thanks to Ben, Aurelie and the rest of the team at E-Trip Africa for organizing the trip. And an enormous thank to Joseph, who I now think of as my Massai brother.

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Working with e-Trip Africa could not have been easier. From the quick response to our first email until the last goodbye, everything was seamless. I was stunned when after several emails, Ben Jennings asked to set a time to call me to better help plan our safari. Ben was kind, patient, and informative as he listened to and answered my unending questions. His response to emails was timely. If he was busy and unable to respond completely, Ben would sometimes send a quick note informing me of when I should expect to hear from him. He wanted to know our expectations.

I was never pushed to alter our budget. Yes, we spent more than the original budget, but this was due to our desire to meet our expectations. Well into the planning of our trip, we decided to add the hot-air balloon ride. At Ben's suggestion, we added returning to Arusha from the northern Serengeti by plane and we were so happy to have listened to him.

Ben took the time to be at the airport with David, our driver/guide, upon our arrival. He demonstrated a true desire to make everything flawless.

We were fortunate to spend our 10 days with the fun, smart, kind, witty, eagle-eyed David. It would be impossible to have a better guide. David was a patient teacher. As he learned we were interested in all the birds, animals, trees, and flowers... David always took the time to explain and point out everything. He would turn off the engine of our land rover to explain the behavior of an animal and tell us why he wanted us to sit and wait. He never drove away without asking if we were ready and had finished taking the pictures we had wanted. His wealth of knowledge was amazing. He wanted us to know about the country and the culture of the people, enhancing our trip in every way.

We were happy with all our accommodations: Tarangire Safari Lodge, Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge, Nieleze (in the Seronera Serengeti), and Mara Under Canvas (Kogatende Serengeti). The accommadations were good at each as were the staff who cared for us and the food. Actually, the food was more than anyone could eat.

Yes! We saw the 'big 5', but we saw so much more. I kept a list and have the names of 78 animals and birds on it. We never dreamed we would see so much. The weather was perfect and the only thing that made the trip difficult at times were the bumpy roads. We were in an immaculate, new vehicle. Our land rover could not have been better, but the roads... well, let's be serious they are dirt roads that are rutted from other vehicles and the rain in rainy season. Such is life...

There was one poor experience to our trip... the moment when we had to say goodbye to David, our teacher and friend.

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E-Trip Africa organised an amazing 2 week tour of Uganda for us. Starting in Kibale, the Queen Elizabeth, Bwindi, Mburo and finally Wildwaters Lodge on the Nile.

The whole trip was brilliant, and felt like a bespoke tour tailored to exactly what we wanted. Ben answered our many e mails and enquiries quickly and organised everything just how we wanted it.

Our driver/guide David was a real pleasure to be with and very knowledgeable. It was a private tour, so to have a guide you get on well with makes a big difference.

Gorillas were the highlight of the wildlife, and Mhingo lodge and Nkurongo Gorilla Lodge were the best accommodation, but they were all good.

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I don't usually like spend time writing reviews unless I either get very good or very bad service.

e Trip's Africa firstly gave us the best quote after I email at least 10 companies. I didn't waste time negotiating with them because there price was extremely reasonable. This is a company who will help you find the best holiday/trip/adventure for you at a good price!

On arrival in Kenya we were actually given a mobile phone, by our guide, to use to phone e trip's if we had any problems during our stay. This was a great comfort too us and was a very nice gesture to show that we were going to be well looked after.

Our guide, Moses, was excellent. His driving skills were fantastic and very safe, good english, very good knowledge of wildlife and the geography of Kenya and he was good fun which when your spending the best part of 10 days with someone is pretty important. A genuine nice guy who got out of the car during our safari to rescue a cornered baby gazelle from 2 domestic dogs.

I have tracked wildlife all over the world, been on some fantastic adventure holidays and been looked after by some great holidays and by some pretty average ones. e Trip's are by far the best company which I have used.

I believe from what I saw that this is a company who will be able to find the best holiday for you whether you want a luxury honeymoon safari, to climb Kilimanjaro,or a family holiday to remember. They will listen to you, help you find exactly what you want and then work hard to make sure you get it.

We had a great honeymoon and we plan to use e Trips when we climb Kilimanjaro and then go to track Gorillas in Uganda in 2014.

Chris & Sylvia

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I spent a great month in Tanzani last June. I arrived with out any plans as I usually do when I travel. Come to find out this is not any easy place to make plans, especially if you are traveling alone. Anyway, I ended up doing quite a lot. It was all about finding the right people.

I joined a group for a Kilimanjaro trek on the Machame 7 day route. The trek was great, but it was much more crowded than I had ever imagined. Luckly I met a Peace Corps Volunteer at the start of my trip, who put me in contact with Ben at eTrip Africa. He had a group departure on Kili which was nice. I saved some money and made a few new friends.

From here Ben helped me organize a camping safari to Tarangire, Manyara, Eyasi, Ngorongoro, Serengeti, and Lake Natron. It was a bit over my budget, but well worth it. I really got to know Fredrick who drove the car and found great wildlife. The full trip was amazing. The trip to Eyasi and Natron were to do thing outside of the parks so that there were no park fees. But in the end these two places were by far the best. Hunting with the Hadza was an experience.

After the Safari, I headed to Zanzibar for my last week. Originally I was going to stay in a hostel, but Aurelie found me a good deal at Coral Rock Resort. A nice place with plenty to do.

I don't think my trip would have been the same without the helpful and professional services of eTrip Africa. The simple fact that they could take a credit card, set them apart from the few companies that I approached.

Thanks for the amazing adventure!

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Embarking on a journey as daunting as Mt Kilimanjaro took a degree of level headedness in almost every stage, from choosing a travel company to gear selection to final summit night courage, but the reward of Uhuru Peak and the view from the Roof of Africa makes every test more than worth it. The best piece of advice I could give anyone contemplating the climb is to have confidence in every decision you make let this carry you to the top!

The keys to building this confidence are gained by doing thorough groundwork before you reach Tanzania in the areas of physical conditioning, gear selection, and guide company selection. While I was going through this process I was interning in South Africa where I did not have a lot of time or the available resources to devote to training or finding the right gear, so in hindsight I learned that tour company selection is one of the most important choices you make, they end up being the glue that holds what training, gear, and confidence you have together and if you make the right choice they’ll help you make up for any area in which you’re lacking.

That being said, the company I choose was E-Trip Africa and I could not have been happier with my selection. From my timely pick-up and conversation with Ben at Kilimanjaro International to our thorough pre-trek team meeting, I had full confidence I would make it to the top. Our lead guide, Caspar, was heavily suave with experience and led us through a detailed examination of all our gear making sure we had was up to par, with a convenient rental company representative there to offer any needed supplies at a very reasonable rate.

As we set out along the Lemosho route my team of six trekkers quickly realized we would be rubbing elbows with several other groups as we had chosen a full moon hike (still definitely recommend this despite the crowds, they thin out closer to summit). This close proximity to other groups for the first few days allowed us to eye the other amenities offered by other companies and we quickly realized how lucky we were in comparison. Our “dining hall” tent (A.K.A. the Jack O’ Lantern) allowed us to enjoy our frequent warm beverages and near gourmet meals in protection from the elements, and our team consistently surged past on the trail, always pausing to say jambo, to have camp set up for us at the next site.

The unique dynamic energy that each and every member of our team brought to the journey became essential in trying times of fatigue, sickness, and hardship. Caspar quickly adapted to any unforeseen circumstances ranging from impromptu birthday celebrations to accommodating a team member who felt the affects of AMS. An important aspect I hadn’t thought about in a company was how well they are able to adapt to different fitness levels within a group, something that Caspar and his team did very well. Summit night he timed our ascent perfectly to watch the sunrise from Stella Point. Definitely recommend!

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My family and I had a delightful trip to Kenya in early August of this year. We traveled with E-Trip Africa, who came highly recommended from one of the teachers at my daughter’s school, Mr. Jennings. Turns out his son owns and manages E-Trip, which was nice having that personal recommendation.

We were met at Nairobi by our guide Moses and the manager Ben. Since the flights were so long it made sense to spend two nights in Nairobi to get used to the time zone. During the first day we took our first game in Nairobi Park and then visited Sheldricks Elephant Orphanage. It was so nice to see the little guys come to take the milk. It is extremely sad that people are killing their mothers only for the Ivory. We then went to the Giraffe center and fed Giraffe.

We then went to Lakes Bogoria and Baringo as my husband is a bird fanatic. We had a great trip around the lake with a guide named Cliff. He was able to tell us so much about the birds and we had a nice walk around some cliffs to find different owls. Two days in this area was not enough, but we were anxious to see the animals.

Then we went to Nakuru. This park was very nice but the lake is very full and there were only a few flamingoes. We did get to see Rhino’s, which was one of the main goals of the trip as there is a good chance that they will disappear during my children’s lifetime. Also this was our first time to see Lions in the wild. They were just lying around, so it was a little disappointing. We then went to the Sleeping Warrior Camp, which was amazing. The night game drive was a real exciting experience and we saw an aardvark, which I guess is extremely rare. The next day we hiked to the crater and enjoyed the Hyrax around the camp.

Our trip finished with 4 days in Masai Mara. It was like a scene from a National Geographic film. The wildebeest were all over the place. We got to see lions hunt some down, which was amazing but I don’t know if I could watch it again because I don’t even like the sight of blood. The experience could not have been better. We stayed at a tented camp called Mara Eden Safari Camp. All through the night you could hear the animals, it was really a full experience. The camp managers were a riot and we really had a nice time by the campfire with them.

We returned to find the Nairobi airport nearly burnt to the ground. Ben had everything worked out and the whole process was rather smooth. We got on our flight back to civilization, with the fondest memories and the desire to one day return.

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I have wanted to see the wildlife of Africa since a child and eTrip Africa made my dream come true! I gave them list of species I wanted to see, and they designed a trip for me. We did several parks in Kenya, including Lake Bogoria and Masai Mara, and in Tanzania, including Serengeti and Ngorongoro, and then made a quick side trip to Uganda to see mountain gorillas. The wildlife were incredible...anything I wanted to see was found for me! I took 2500 pictures (won't post them all, but could) and very few of them were not spectacular. That was largely because we had incredible drivers/guides who could find anything and get us close. We did a lot of birding and were so impressed by the quality of the birders who guided us. But the lions, giraffes, elephants, rhinos, hippos, cheetahs, leopards and gorillas! It was spectacular. At the end of the day the accommodations were welcoming and comfortable. The food was so incredible that we gained weight. Our drivers were so knowledgeable and such nice guys! Customer service from eTrip Africa was great. They answered all my stupid questions before the trip and eased any concerns I had without my ever feeling stupid. We had no problems. Can't wait to go again.

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I was part of a group of 5 people that climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro by the Lemosho Route, during 9 days. I was not sure how the trip would go as everyone in our group is getting up there in age. But this is why we selected the long trek. And based on the advice of the tour Manager we added a day to relax around Moshi. It was also a great experience. We got to visit a school and a very nice hot springs.

Anyway, our guide August was very professional and he really understood that at our age we could not be rushed along. The cook was really great, he was quite funny too. I normally like to eat, so it won't surprise anyone that dinner was my favorite time of the day.

The summit day was very difficult, but we started early. I noticed that many group only had a guide or two with them. August decided that we should take four porters to help us if we needed it, that was in addition to the two assistant guides. And to my surprise all 5 of us made it. No one needed to be carried or dragged up to Uhuru peak (we did see on porter with a nice young woman on his back). After we came down we had a great celebration with the entire team.

I am not sure if I will be able to do something like this again. But for those considering a trek up Kilimanjaro, I highly recommend E-Trip Africa. From start to finish it was clear that they not only knew what they were doing, but they wanted to ensure that we had a great trip, all while staying safe.

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