9-Day Kenya Fly-In Safari

Our African safari, organized by Zicasso’s tour company and its agent, was a trip of a lifetime. Their partnering with the local travel company was absolutely brilliant. Our guide was of the highest quality that could have been expected. 

The accommodations at the Ngorongoro Crater were amazing. The other accommodations were a bit more rustic, but they seemed perfectly located for our safaris. 

We would not recommend the "walk" to the elephant caves without more disclosure about the difficulty of the trek and the footwear required. We were not thrilled with the visit to the Maasai village. We felt taken advantage of. We would have preferred a visit to a village where our participation was more authentic and where we did not get a high-pressure sales pitch.  

Booking the hot-air balloon ride with the chosen company was an excellent choice. We have come back with so many memories of our time in Tanzania (including our stay in Zanzibar). We would highly recommend our travel company and agent to anyone considering an African safari.

We worked with Zicasso's travel partner to plan a trip around a seven-night sail in the Seychelles. After sailing, we followed the itinerary we put together with our agent to Namibia and Botswana. We had a glitch in Namibia with a scenic flight of the Skeleton Coast that did not go as planned. I made contact with our agent and over a couple of days, he forged a solution that fixed the oversight by one of his vendors.

We enjoyed the desert lodge very much. It was a first-class and beyond operation. We also really enjoyed Sossusvlei. We were not happy with our shared guided rides as we were with parents and their 11-year-old only child who ran their lives. It affected us on our tour of Sossusvlei in that we were left alone without a guide for three hours to hike Deadvlei while they unsuccessfully attempted to hike Big Daddy. The longest anyone takes to do that hike is an hour and three quarters. They only made it halfway and were gone for three hours.

We were not thrilled with the two-hour, very rugged ride from and back to the airstrip to the camp, but we did enjoy the camp very much. In hindsight, if we had known the ride would be dissatisfying, we would have likely opted for a different accommodation. This said, the private rides in the Hoanib Valley were unique and very satisfying.

We loved that as much as both of our camps in Botswana, which were in the Okavango Delta and in quite different environments. The camp was wonderful. The highlight of our trip came at our last camp in Botswana. We really enjoyed this area of the Delta in that it had a lot of water. This created a very unique guided driving experience. The safari rides were arguably the best we’ve ever done as we witnessed three warthog kills by lions. We almost witnessed a fourth, of a lechwe by a hyena.

What made this camp a cut above the rest was the food and overall culinary approach of the executive chef. He was at the top of his game. This camp also offered surprise after surprise to make us feel special – lunch in the field, a private dinner in our room, bubble bath, etc.

Our travel agent put together an incredible itinerary and trip. He too was at the top of his game!

I've never had quite the experience I did via Zicasso and its travel partner. From the moment we disembarked our plane in Cape Town and saw our local contact there at the gate, the service was exceptional. The walk-through to customs, to luggage, to transport, to hotel check-in, with all questions answered by the local rep; who could ask for anything more?

We felt safe and confident in the capable hands of the hotel staff and drivers at each junction.

The food and design of each experience were of high quality. There aren't words to describe the safari and our travel agent. His experience and connections delivered big time. Mozambique? Dreamscapes with every sunrise. South Africa? When can we go again?

Thank you, Zicasso, for connecting us with our travel agency. We will book again!

Zicasso’s travel agency gave us a mind-blowing experience. We've never had a trip where nothing went wrong. Thanks to their hard work and our in-country hosts, our trip was flawless. We had lots of questions and ideas. They worked to incorporate them into the package. This really showed how much they knew about Africa, as well as what works and what might not.

Our driver/guide for Tanzania was great. His encyclopedic knowledge of everything was astounding. From the little beetles and the birds to the Big Five and beyond, he knew it all and knew everyone. This really elevated our trip experience.

We started in Arusha, then set out on our adventure. We stayed in Tarangire National Park, drove through Lake Manyara, the Ngorongoro Crater, and then on to the central and northern Serengeti.

Our driver made sure we saw what I think was every animal in Tanzania. Each encounter was an experience and up close! Thanks!

The tented camps in Tarangire and the central and northern Serengeti were wonderful. While a little outdated, the locations were perfect. The staff at each camp were over the top. Awesome job. We planned this trip as my gift for turning 60. Our tour operator made sure everyone knew this, and at each camp, the cooks baked a small cake to recognize this. What an unexpected surprise. I cannot express enough gratitude to everyone for making the camps so special. The food was fabulous.

We also had a morning balloon flight over the northern Serengeti. This too was amazing, watching the sun rise floating silently over the Mara River, listening to the animals.

From the northern Serengeti it was on to Rwanda for gorillas. Again, the travel agency went above and beyond. Our guide in Rwanda was a font of knowledge and knew many of people wherever we went. The hotels in Rwanda were small and exceptional.

We had two days of gorilla treks. We were extremely blessed to have our guide on both days. We saw 35 gorillas in what I call a full 3D, up-close experience. I had wanted to see mountain gorillas ever since I was young and read about Dian Fossey. The gorilla experience really moved us. Such gentle creatures. We will remember this encounter for the rest of our lives.

I highly recommend the travel company. We had a wonderful adventure and want to return.