African Safari & Beach Vacation Packages

You could not have planned the trip better. It was fantastic! Our safari driver from Rangers was great - again could not of been better. He pushed every day for us to see everything possible. Hes fun and incredibly knowledgeable and has a great command of the English language.You were right to schedule one day in Nairobi - so glad we did not change it to two days. We saw the last of the Big 5 - the black rhino in Kenya. We loved all of our accommodations and the people are so friendly, polite and helpful.We saw the Great Migration in Tanzania. We would not of changed one thing. People from other tour agencies were dissapointed that when they arrived in Kenya when we did as all of the Wildebeest had already migrated to Tanzania.What you scheduled for us was perfect. I do think that Tanzania is not well known but Kenya is to the average American like us. If it wasn't for you we would of never known about Tanzania. Tanzania has it all - except the black rhino at the Govenor's Camp- no need to even go to Kenya but I did want to go the the Elephant and Giraffe orphanages. We loved Capetown, the shark cage trip and the tour operator was wonderful. The 1/2 day Capetown trip was great. We went on the historic Capetown walking tour at 11:00 after we checked out. We added the Olduvai museum at the crater to our trip.  We had a wonderful time and saw so much in 17 days including traveling from the East Coast;  Arusha, Tarangire National park,  Ngorongoro crater, Central Serengeti - Turner Springs, Norther Serengeti - Kokatonde, Masai - Mara, Nairobi, Victoria Falls and Capetown. A trip of a lifetime.

Wow.  That's just for starters.  I just returned from Africa with my partner and two of our close friends.  We had a 2 week trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar booked through this African safari tour operator.  It included a day hike on Mt. Kilimanjaro, 7 days of safari, and 3 days at a resort in Zanzibar.

Just as we prepared to leave San Francisco, our flight was delayed, and we had to rebook arrangements, and arrived in Arusha 36 hours later than planned.  That did not phase our travel company.  I sent them an email on Saturday AM with our new flight plans, a representative of was waiting for us as we landed at 3:30AM, and the adventure continued.

Our travel company was able to shuffle our schedule to allow us to fit in our hike on Mt. Kilimanjaro at the end of the safari portion of our trip, and give up one day in Zanzibar.  

All of the accommodations were first class.  We stayed at the Arusha Hotel for just a few hours when we landed, and found it to be a charming colonial style hotel that we wished we could have enjoyed more.

Our driver/guide, Joseph, was with us 7 days.   He was very good at negotiating the rough roads on safari, and we were able to see most of what we wanted over the trip.

We stayed one night at Kirururu Lodge overlooking Lake Manyara.  Be sure to have a drink at the bar - the view down to the lake is breath-taking.

The two nights at Tloma Lodge were also very nice.  The rooms were large and well-appointed, and the meals were wonderful.  It was relaxing to hang around the lobby in the afternoon talking to other travelers, comparing sights on our safari outings.  A special thanks to Martha for her outstanding service.  She was the best.

In the Serengeti, we stayed two nights each in two tent camps.  One in the central part (Kati Kati), and one farther north along the Mara River (Mara Under Canvas Camp).  The Mara camp was very deluxe.  Our tent must have been over 600 square feet, and had plumbed cold water.

The whole trip exceeded our expectations.  Our agent at this travel company was so helpful at every phase of planning and during the trip when our plans changed at the last minute.  Our tour guides were also there every step of the way in Tanzania.  We were never at a loss as to where to go or when, as they had us totally covered.

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.

Absolutely awesome experience – better than we imagined! We spent time in Victoria Falls, Chobe National Park, the Okavango Delta and Cape Town. The service, guides, lodgings and experiences we had in each location were exceptional. This safari travel company and our travel planner made everything easy – we were greeted each step of the way, enabling us to enjoy our African adventure without the normal stress of traveling in another country. In Zimbabwe, we experienced majestic Victoria Falls both from the air and a guided tour through the park. We enjoyed a sunset dinner cruise on the Zambezi River. Our room at the Ilala Lodge was picture perfect and comfortable, plus we could see the mist rising from the falls. In Chobe National Park, we went on numerous game drives and boat tour with a dedicated guide. The Ngoma Safari Lodge was the most visually extravagant place we ever stayed.  The view walking into the lodge literally takes your breath away as you look down at the Chobe River with herds of zebras, giraffes and antelopes moving between a small watering hole close to Ngoma Lodge and the river. Combine that with great location to Chobe National Park, exceptional guides, thoughtful and well-trained staff, delicious dinners and wonderful rooms with incredible views and you have the perfect safari location. In the Okavango Delta we saw so much wildlife (inlcuding a numerous lions and African Wild dogs and their pups) and were again blessed with wonderful guides, great staff, and lovely rooms in an amazing location at Sable Alley in the Khwai Reserve. Cape Town gave us an opportunity to relax at the boutique hotel and enjoy winery tours and a peninsula tour, as well as amazing restaurants.

Originally, I tried to work out an itinerary myself using online review and travel books, but became concerned about arranging transportation and guides. Then I contacted several different travel agencies. This travel planner quickly responded. She made everything easy for us. She worked with us on locations, desired experiences, dates and cost. We really wanted to see Botswana’s Chobe National Park and the Okavango Delta. Two other companies were trying to steer us away those areas due to cost and availability, but our travel planner was able to make it happen for us. She took care of absolutely everything from lodging, car and in-Africa air travel, tours, guides, and even restaurant reservations for us in Cape Town. Amazing personalized service.

This company makes you feel very pampered and special. Our travel planner made time to meet us in Victoria Falls (her home base). In honor of our 30th wedding anniversary, the travel company surprised us with a complimentary dinner and bottle of wine at our Victoria Falls hotel, which had one of the best restaurants in Victoria Falls.

This Africa safari travel company arranged the trip of a lifetime! We visited South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Kenya, staying at top drawer accomodations, flying from place to place, meeting wonderful hosts, and, most importantly, seeing the scenery and all the wild animals we had hoped for!

Our agent arranged all the lodging and connections, and made sure that someone met us at each transfer point, which was most reassuring for us. She picked excellent facilities and was very adaptable, as, for instance, when we asked to change dates, or when one of the flights we were to take was de-scheduled after out plans had been made.

Our odyssey began in Cape Town at a marvellous hotel on the Albert and Victoria wharf, from which we visited Table Mountain one day and the Cape of Good Hope the next, followed by a day visiting the shops and the Aquarium in the Wharf Area.  We then flew to Sable Alley Camp in the Okavango region, a wonderful base for game drives. After three nights there we flew to Ilala Lodge, from which we walked to Victoria Falls, an awe-inspiring wonder of the world. Next a flight and road transfer to the Serengeti Sopa Lodge, a first class hotel that was our base for three days of game drives in the Serengeti, each more amazing than the last. Our last excellent game drives were from the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge when we explored the Crater. Finally we spent the Night at an excellent Arusha lodge to be near the airport for our flight to Nairobi and then on back to the USA.

Our guides on the game drives were friendly, professional, and extremely knowledgeable about the wildlife we encountered; we were especially gratified to learn that they were both also very well versed in birds. We identified almost 40 beasts and over 100 birds!

We'd like to add that when we signed up for the tour, we thought that it might be a bit pricey. By the end, however, we wondered how this company could provide such an experience for the price!