Combo Tours
11 DAYS TANZANIA SAFARI AND ZANZIBAR BEACH VACATION
11 Day Tanzania Safari and Zanzibar Beach Holiday
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In October of 2017, my wife-to-be and I decided that our perfect honeymoon trip would be to climb Kilimanjaro and follow it up with a safari. After much searching, we... read more settled on Tanzania on Foot because of the competitive pricing and great communication by the owner of the company, William. Throughout the process, he was upfront about what to expect and we were extremely excited to get on the ground and start hiking. We spent 2018 getting ready by purchasing plane tickets,buying new gear, and going on several backpacking trips to train. Everything was going great until an getting an email from William on December 16th, 2018 letting us know that our trip had been canceled 27 days before we were supposed to arrive at the mountain. He did not give us a reason for this cancellation, but he did say that our money would be refunded promptly. In the meantime, we scrambled to make plans with another company that would be able to work around our itinerary. At this point, it has been a week and we have not received our refund from William. We spent a lot of time saving for this trip and we aren't able to pay the price of another expedition, so we stand poised to lose our plane tickets as well as our honeymoon, a trip we paid more than $7,000 for.
Please do your research before planning a trip like this. We may have missed the warning signs about Tanzania on Foot, be we want everyone else to be aware of the shady tactics of this company so they do not make the same mistake that we did. This was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime for us. Instead, we'll spend a couple weeks in January sitting on our couch wondering what our trip might have been like if we had booked through a reputable company. We will probably never get to Kilimanjaro now, but if the opportunity ever arises again, we will not be booking through Tanzania on Foot.
It would be nice to see websites like Trip Advisor issue warnings about companies like this just to make it easier to realize that a tour operator is really just a scam artist. It definitely would have been helpful for us, as we would not have chosen this company if we saw more warning signs.
Matthew and Angela Conlon
December 21, 2018Last week me and My wife and Ny Daughter had an amazing 6 days organised by William of Tanzania on Foot.
A week before I was in hospital wit... read more the back pain receiving shots but did not want to cancel the visit due to the birthday of my wife and another late birthday for my Daughter
Took the plane with back pain and met William as promised in at 3 am, something that you always worry when you arrive so late... Big Smiling face
To the hotel for a short rest than meeting oour guide Abi in the morning ON TIME again...I will not talk more on how beautiful Serengeti is more talk on the capabilities of our guide
Managed to catch the Immigration - which was not expected at that time of the year
Made us saw all big five and more
Very knowledgeable on wild life and the back roads that very few or almost no people around
Hawk eyes that can spot anything miles away
Knowing where animals show up - kinda 6th sense..
A Birthday Party Cake Organised in wildlife amp with names, wishes and candles on it
And with great driving skills - NO BACK PAIN - he made me recovered
William and Abi Great couple thanks to you from Yukseks
Looking forward to other 3 event that we spoke, Kilimanjora, another park and bicycle riding
Since than take care
June 26, 2014I have just returned from a climb to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. I booked my trek with Tanzania On Foot. My point of contact was William Wagana. I was... read more very pleased with this company as William was very prompt at answering all my questions via email. I paid my fees in advance which can leave one with a sense of doubt but William and his company did not let me down. He had arranged for someone to meet me at the airport and take me to Moshi. The next day we headed for the mountain. I was climbing on my own but I had a crew of 3 porters a cook, waiter and a guide. The food was great and sometimes I could not even eat all that was given to me. My guide did a great job. He always made sure I was OK and was continually looking for signs of altitude sickness. Each day on the mountain I was briefed on what to expect the following day. After successfully summiting, I was driven back to my accommodation at Arusha. The room was very nice. I was offered the opportunity to take a mini safari in Arusha National Park before leaving Tanzania. It was an amazing experience as I got to see Giraffes, Baboons, Zebras and many other wild animals in their natural habitat. I would highly recommend using Tanzania on Foot if planning a trip to Tanzania. From the very beginning William and his crew took very good care of me. Something that I took away with me from Africa is that, everything does not always go exactly to the Itinerary. The people of Tanzania are very friendly and genuine. They have an expression which they often say, "Hakuna Matata" which means "No Worries". If you embrace that attitude you will blend right in to their lifestyle and have a great time.
December 17, 2017 -
We just returned from climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. Our trip coordinator, William Wagana, was fantastic. He was prompt to reply to every question (we had many) and came through... read more with every promise and more. Tanzania on Foot's pricing was very competitive. I was concerned about wiring the deposit money (75%), but the more I worked with William the more comfortable I became. As soon as he received our wire, I was informed. (We paid the balance upon arrival.)
We were greeted at the airport by William and Raymond and taken to our hotel, "The Kilimanjaro Mountain Resort". We found everyone to be friendly and professional.
We hiked the Rongai Route and were very pleased with our guides, porters and cook. All did everything possible to make our trip a memorable one. The guides were very well trained and watched us very closely to make sure we were acclimating to the higher altitudes. Honestly, I can't say enough good things about this group/company.
We finished our trip with a safari. Also, arranged by William Wagana. Our guide, Abbe, was extremely knowledgable about the area and the animals. We saw everything. He kept us going from sun up to sun down. We enjoyed staying in the tented camps and driving across country to take in all the sites of the Serengeti. I strongly suggest if you're going to Tanzania to climb Kili, don't leave without seeing their animals!
February 19, 2014We arranged a 7 day trek of the Rongai Route to Mt Kili summit as a fundraiser for our non-profit. We were a group of 10 of varying abilities and... read more from different countries/of different ages.
As a non-profit that works in developing countries, it is really important to us that companies we work with have ethical staff standards and environmental protection policies. Tanzania on Foot ticked both of these boxes, had great reviews and was competitively priced - the easy choice.
As an organization that has done this trek 6 times before, we were really impressed with Tanzania on Foot. From the beginning, I was in contact with William who was always prompt and helpful in answering my questions and making arrangements. William also accompanied our group on the trek, along with 3 other guides, 6 helping porters, 1 cook and 20-something porters.
We were really happy with the way the trek ran - we did have exceptionally bad weather which made things tricky and meant that unfortunately we weren't able to summit as planned. I think some additional communication on summit day would've been helpful - I understood that due to the storm and the cold we couldn't stop for breaks unless there was shelter, but not all of group realised this and were confused why we couldn't stop more regularly.
The rental gear was good - any gear that we had issues with was replaced with spares they had on hand (tent, spare sleeping bag). Everyone was happy with their clean, good quality sleeping bags and down jackets.
Food was great and varied, and probably even too much food at times (altitude either makes you really hungry or really not!).
There wasn't any information on altitude sickness given during the briefing by Tanzania on Foot staff, so if this is important for your group, either do your research before you go, or ask William and his team to cover it for you. Not an issue for us as we had people with high altitude experience in group already.
We would definitely use Tanzania on Foot again in the future - I think I may even go back separate from my organization so I can say I've reached the summit!
February 24, 2014In september 2014 we climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro organised by Tanzania on Foot We reached the top thanks to the wonderfull team of guides, cook and porters. Chief guide was Abdul... read more Hemedi who was absolutely competent, social, very helpfull and perfectly organised.
Unfortunately this could not be said about Wiliam Wagana (manager of Tanzania on Foot). First of all there was a misunderstanding about our trekking dates which we found really unprofessional after at least 20 email contacts. This led to the fact that we had problems with our permits and we had to loan the company money to buy the permits for the three of us for six days. They fully refunded us on the last day of our trek, but we were definately worried about this.
Secondly we found ourselves waiting for Wiliam, both before and at the end of our trip for quitte some time. This made us not regaining our trust in him.
We had really good contact with Tanzania on Foot by email. After the trip however we feel that the company didn't live up to our expectations. If you decide to book with them we recommend that you specify your agreement very clearly and ask for a detailed (financial) confirmation. And ask for Abdul to be your guide 🙂
Vincent, Lysbert and Roeland (The Netherlands)
October 18, 2014 -
I would not have thought of having vacation in such nature filled amazing wild life experience if I could not find this safari specialist.... It is worth going and spending... read more your time on the nap of the wild view of Africa a home to a many wild animals and famous for there migration stories.. I would recommend Tanzania Safari World is a best choice for freak travellers and to make your adventure story!!!
November 15, 2018My husband and I just got back from hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro with Tanzania on Foot. Before this, we have had experience hiking in New England, USA but never at altitudes... read more comparable with Kilimanjaro.
From the beginning, Tanzania on Foot exceeded our expectations. William, our trip coordinator, responded promptly to all of our emails, was explicit with trip joining instructions, outlined what to expect and helped us prepare for our journey. Upon arrival our driver was waiting for us as planned to drive us to our hotel. The Ilboru Safari Lodge, the hotel that Tanzania on Foot works with, was clean and comfortable with friendly staff and a wide range of food to choose from. A perfect spot to rest after a 36 hour trip!
The day before our hike, William met us with our hiking team including our guide, assistant guide, doctor and cook (Bertiki, Saloman, Robert, and Juma). We were introduced to each team member and went over the day by day expectations for the trip. The team was friendly and professional. They seemed genuinely excited to be part of our group!
The next day we were picked up promptly and began our journey! Absolutely every detail was accounted for from daily snacks to extra toilet paper. My husband and I felt spoiled with our own dining tent, daily tea time, and personal server (Liberate Minja). Our sleeping pads and bags, which we rented from Tanzania on Foot, were comfortable and warm. We were even woken up every morning with tea and hot water for washing! Juma, our cook was amazing. We looked forward to an abundance of healthy, fresh meals every day.
The rest of our trip was just as enjoyable. Bertiki, Salomon, and Robert were experts on the area and answered all of our questions. They met with us each night to ask how we were, take our oxygen and heart rate numbers, and discuss the next day. They were social, happy, and great at keeping up the team spirit. This was especially appreciated during our ascent to the summit. The team carried our bags, engaged us with their singing, and supplied us with hot tea and plenty of positive reinforcement to help us make it to the top!
By the end of the trip, we truly felt like family. This has been one of the greatest experiences that my husband and I have had with a tour company. We would recommend Tanzania on Foot to anyone!
September 2, 2012We did a 7 day tour with the company 'Tanzania on Foot' last december 2013. We choose this company because we wanted a good balance of... read more safari and trekking in Ngorongoro area.
The experience with this company in general was very good. However, we have some advices to keep in mind for future tours with this or any other tour operator in order to have the best experience:
- Tipping:
The good quality is included in the price of any product or service you buy. Nobody pays to receive a bad service in return. Therefore Tipping shall not be a mechanism to ensure quality but a way to express gratitude for an 'exceptional' service. This means when you receive something on top of what was agreed.
Keep in mind that the salary of the personnel shall not be linked to the tips. Otherwise, you will have a lot of pressure from all the tour personnel putting this subject on the table during the whole tour.
As it is not known if the tours operators pays good or not to its employees, it can help to agree in advance the tip amounts with the tour seller in order to consider these values in your budget as a transparent and extra tour cost.
- Money should not be discussed with the personnel of the tour.
Keep communication on this subject only with the tour seller. Or agree on the tip chart values with them since the beginning.
- Something positive of this Company is that they agree with a payment 50% at the beginning of the tour and 50% at the end. This is a good practice to ensure quality of the service until the end of the tour and to compensate fairly for un-expected changes in the plans of the tour if this is decided or required by the tour seller.
- The trekking itself was amazing in Ngorongoro area. AMAZING!
- The Massai Guide was great, we really enjoyed the time with him. He received a good tip mainly because he did not ask for it. We learn so much from him.
- We notice that many Massais were asking for money for nothing in return during the whole trip (specially kids). The bad point of this practice is that it is affecting the good spirits of this wise culture. The easy money behavior is not good for any culture in the long run and it is sad to see that it is polluting this areas. Therefore, in order to be keep sustainable tourism in this area is good to avoid giving money for nothing, but paying a fair amount for any provided work.
- The tour/driver guide was very responsible and did a good job but unfortunately created a very dense atmosphere during the whole tour when tried to change the pre-agree tour plan and discussed about tips all the time. We feel very uncomfortable because of this. Specially when presented us the tip chart by surprise on the last day of the trip with all the crew onboard of the car.
- The route of the trip was good: Karatu+serengeti centre safari+Ndutu area Safari+Ngorongoro Safari+trekking Olmoti Crater until lake Natron.
Normally you need 3 full days to do the point to point route as it is long. In our case, the tour gave us only 2 of the 3 stages of this trail, which was a bit short for our expectative. The quality of this trekking in any case was AMAZING. One of the best we ever did comparing to some of our previous experiences: South Africa (Hoerikwago Trail), Colombia (Andes Trails with Caminantes del Retorno), Peru (Inca Trail), Corsica, Argentina, Spain (Pirineos Trail) among others.
Hope this is useful for other travelers,
January 7, 2014