"Benson Safaris: Thrilling Adventures Await!"
Benson Safaris Tanzania
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2006)
- Member Of:
- TATO, TTB & IGS
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $4,329 to $20,777 per person per day (MXN, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
IT
Email Abramo | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Safari experience. Wonderful Zanzibar relax
All tour has been very well organized. Claude, our ranger, drove us into Tanzanian parks as an amazing guide hitting Big5 target. I will advice the tour mostly in terms of value for money.
FR
Email James | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An ideal way to discover Tanzania
For our family holiday in Tanzania in August 2018, we opted for the 10-Day “Complete Tanzania” Tour offered by Benson Safaris Tanzania, supplemented at the end with a 2 day hike in the Kilimanjaro National Park. It was a perfect way to discover this beautiful country. Tanzania abounds with images that are iconic to Africa and which are simply breathtaking. We chose Benson Safaris on the basis of all the good things said about them on the Safari Bookings website and our experience more than met our already high expectations. The 10-day tour offered is a wonderful way to discover Tanzania and to see a wide range of different landscapes, fauna and flora. We were also given the opportunity to learn about the different cultures of Tanzania and this was very interesting, especially the trips to meet the Bushmen and Tatoga tribes. Benson and his colleagues were extremely efficient and helpful at all stages of planning the trip and adapting it to our needs. Our main driver and guide, Amani, was wonderful. He taught us many things about animals, plants and life in Tanzania, made us feel really welcome and generally made our trip highly enjoyable. We were very pleased with our accommodation which was varied and comfortable. The only less than perfect night’s sleep was on Mount Kilimanjaro but we knew what to expect and it was worth it for the fantastic views! (N.B. we only climbed to 3400m). We are also grateful to the other guides who helped out on specific days and who were all excellent: Daniel for Lake Natron, Ramadhani for the village of the bushmen/Lake Eyasi and Shabani for Mount Kilimanjaro. Thanks also to Zablo and the Kilimanjaro crew. Choosing a local company with an impeccable reputation is, I believe, the best approach when organising a trip like this. We can highly recommend Benson Safaris and all the people who took care of us during our trip - thanks again to all of you for what was an unforgettable experience for us and hope to see you again one day!
NL
Email Theo Vergeer | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
My experiences were very good with Benson.
Our jeep-driver did know a lot about the wildlife and he explaned everything very friendly. He also was a good driver on the bad roads in the parks. I did see much more wildlive than I expected.
We visited Lake Manyara National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park. Three beautiful parks.
We slept in three accomodations : Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge, Mbugani Migration Camp (Northern Serengeti) and Serengeti Tortilles Camp. The last two were camps with big tents with toilet and shower, two persons in one tent.
We did hear a lot of animals in the night-time. Very special!
The highlight was the river crossing of a big caddle of wildebeest.
NL
Email Martijn Segers | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Safari, Right into the Cradle of Life
We had a very good and impressive Safari in Tanzania with Benson.
This was my first Safari and I had really high expectations. Also because I see Africa as the roots of mankind, where life has started and thus a kind of home for all of us.
I must say that this Safari ticked all my boxes.
The awesomeness to see a multitude of African wildlife. Being marveled while beholding many wide landscapes, all looking different and giving you a feeling of time travel back to a point where all is just purity, roots and nature.
We went 5 days from Lake Manyara and the Ngorongoro crater to Serengheti National Park. We slept in a good quality lodge and 2 tented camps that where total wowness with elephants walking, only 20 feet away, past your tent.
Food was good and nourishing, water came from bottles.
We saw the Big five and much more.. a river crossing ( wildebeest migration ) in action, some very good (action) photo opportunities, that were taken, and met the many friendly faces of the Tanzanian people.
Praise goes to Benson, for a driver/guide can break or make you Safari. We had Peter: kind, informative and the best .. always finding good spots and experiences.
I would definitely recommend Benson as an operator.
Email Mary Burmeister | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well organized
Everything was perfect. Peter was an attentive, knowledgeable guide. We particularly appreciated his respect for the animals and the environment -- and has eagle eye vision! We were very happy with our time with him and impressed with the quality of service with Benson, and all the hotels/camps that were lined up for us. Thank you very much! We will be sure to recommend your company to our friends and contacts.
NL
Email Jasper | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unforgettable experience with river crossing and very friendly, competent guide.
We started our 5 day journey with a tour around the beautiful lake Manyara in Lake Manyara National Park. Here we saw our first baboons, pumbas and many birds e.g. flamingos. We then headed towards the Ngorongoro Crater where we encountered bigger wildlife like elephants and we were very fortunate to see a black rhino in the distance. The first evening we stayed at the Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge with a breathtaking view over the crater. A very nice accommodation with great dinner and breakfast. The next day we had a very long drive to the north of the Serengeti. Along the way our guide Peter told us a lot about the park and the animals living in the park. Here we saw our first zebras, wildebeest, antelope, giraffes and lions. After a long drive we arrived at Mbugani Migration Camp in the dark. We were welcomed by the friendly staff of the camp with cold beverage and warm meal. It was a great experience to sleep in big tents where you can hear the Serengeti come to life at night. The next morning we woke up with a herd of zebras and elephants in front of our tent. After a nice breakfast we went for a day trip to the river Mara near the Kenyan border. On the way to the river we saw enormous herds with thousands of wildebeest and zebras. After waiting for a few hours at the river we we lucky and a large herd started crossing the river. A humbling experience. On the way back to the camp we had another surprise, a leopardess with her cubs. The cubs playing in the long grass while the mother was eating a wildebeest she stashed in a tree. The fourth day we had another beautiful game drive heading to our last destination, the Serengeti Tortilles Camp, where we saw buffalos and cheetahs. And while we we having a nice cold beer in the lounge tent a hyena walked through the camp! All in all the safari was an unforgettable experience.
DE
Email Tanja | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A terrific experience
As women we wanted to travel by ourself in an African country. We were very skeptical as to whether Tanzania was the right choice.
We have written a request to the team of Benson Safaris Tanzania, which replied within 24h. Presumably we as clients have been exhausting because we have asked many questions: For the safety of the country, if we can travel as women by ourself, if it dangerous to go for safari as women and so on.
Today we can say that Tanzania is a truly peaceful and fun-loving country, poor as well. We have made 14 days safari and then flew to Zanzibar for 6 days.
In the 6 days Zanzibar we did a great spice farm tour and had a great yoga hotel in the north (Nungwi). Benson has chosen a wonderful hotel with 2x daily yoga offerings and meals right in front of our rooms.
Our guide on the safari was Joshua, who brought a lot of knowledge about bird species, land and animals. All our questions could be answered and he had great experiences from the wildlife and safaris, which he shared with us.
We found the people of Tanzania very eager to learn about our culture and country and we felt particularly comfortable being cooked African "Mama Lunch" for us from an African village woman.
All our prejudices about the country have not been confirmed, we felt safe, were always well accommodated and nicely received.
The team of Benson Safaris Tanzania we met in Arusha for a dinner: We wanted to take a "reparation" for our many questions and get to know the person behind the scenes. The staff is handpicked from Benson hiself and all are local people working for Benson Safaris Tanzana. Benson gave a special job and with it an opportunity for his life. That’s why we would always travel with a local owned company because they are knowledgeable for their country as well.
Our driver Zablon was a really authentic and true experience in Africa: He was funny and really friendly when he picked us from the airport and made the Arusha City Trip with us as well. Once you are in Arusha you should have a coffee in Africafé and some Mandasi as well
Email Roopesh | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Pretty good, but not excellent
I selected Benson Safaris because i was looking for a local safari guide vs. using the ones affiliated with the US. i thought that they would be more economical. I asked a friend what he used, and he told me it was Benson Safaris. I selected the Luxery tent and lodge and i thought the price was better than if i had selected the one from the US. I give positive stars for all the good things they did. Pendo was quick to respond, which i liked. The positive stars are for all the things that they did good, as one would hope for. I'm cutting off some stars because I had indicated I was very interested in the Great Migration. I had actually wanted to see the river crossing,but i guess i didn't spell that out. When my friend told me he used Benson Safari, I went directly to their website. Their website does not have an option for choosing the Northern Serengeti Trail where i found out that was where I would see the River crossing. I only found out after the tour that option was available in this Safaribookings.com. I think that its silly not to have that option in their own website, which was where I went to directly. Otherwise I would have gone to Northern Serengeti to see the river crossing, which i really wanted to.
I also wasnt happy that after I made selections on the lodges, after making payment, i am told that they are booked, and i have to pick alternate lodges. The alternate lodges were good; but their locations were not as good as the original ones. And only after i reached Africa did that dawn on me. Location, location, location. For example, I had been told reservations were going to be made for Kubu Kubu; but after payment, i was told that place was booked, so i would be reserved for Lahia Tented lodge. It was under the same ownership, and the quality looked the same, so i said ok. Only during the tour did i realize Kubu Kubu was in Central Serengeti, which was where most of the big cats were. We lost a lot of time driving to Lahia. I was quite disappointed that we did not get to see much of Central Serengeti. My children had really wanted to see leopards and cheetahs. We saw one leopard. We did see a lot of lions (but that was mostly in Ngorongoro). Our jeep broke down in Serengeti too + got stuck in the mud. But i won't make much of an issue of that, because that was just bad luck. I liked our guide and the owner and the staff, but I wasnt able to get the experience i was looking for.
I went with my wife and 2 kids (9 yrs and 6 years). We were given double rooms but they were huge. Like I indicated above, we booked luxury lodges. Each room were huge. We only used one room.
The following is not really a review of the safari guide, but of the optional package selected. I had also gone to Oldovai Gorge, but I don't think it was worth the money. Also, it took away time. Also night time safari in Lake Manyara, didn't really think it was that great. We saw a hippo, some birds, a chameleon, some monkeys, but nothing great like a lion, etc. Even the day in Lake Manyara wasn't great. Didn't see any lions in mountains, etc.
My main disappointment is that due to the website, I didn't go to see the river crossing even though I had said I was interested in the great migration. And the time in Central Serengeti got limited due to various reasons, and therefore my kids didn't get to see leopards and cheetahs. One leopard. No rhino. I had gone to Tarangire Park, Lake Manyara Park, Serengeti and Ngorongoro.
But I did give positive stars for quick communication; wanting to do the best; getting to see lots of lions in Ngorongoro crater; lots of elephants, and zebras, and wildebeests, and other animals.
Email Vladimir Kogan | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing trip!
Our family of 5 traveled to Tanzania for two weeks. We visited Tarangire, Serengeti National Parks, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manayara and Zanzibar. It was an unforgettable trip, which was arranged through and organized by Benson Safaris Tanzania, and to which we are so grateful for making it a remarkable and memorable adventure. Starting with Pendo, who was very patient and helpful in accommodating our ever-changing plans and schedule for the trip, and the owner of the company, Mr. Benson, who greeted us when we arrived, to our very knowledgeable and friendly guides Amini (during our safari trips) and Taib (our Zanzibar adventures in Stonetown, spice plantation, etc.) Our entire trip and all the tours were amazing, it was a life time experience, and we are very thankful to Benson Safaris Co. and all the people we met.
Email Toni Wheeler | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
This Christmas trip for my entire family was the most unbelievable experience we could have ever!!
My husband and I went on a Tanzanian safari 15 years ago. I have wanted to take my family since then. This year over Christmas we finally did it! I started planning 13 months ahead and found Benson Safaris. The price for 8 days was reasonable for what we wanted to do and see. My 5 children,their spouses, my 10 grandchildren(ages 5-22) My husband,myself and my sister(23 in all) left on Dec 21st to head to Africa! Our main contact with Benson Safaris was Pendo. She is a beautiful, knowledgeable, kind, helpful, amazing woman!! During the planning year I had so many questions and she patiently responded as quickly as she could. When we arrived in Kilimanjaro our 4 drivers were waiting for us-Joshua,Freddy,Amini and Liberatos. They were all fun and very well informed about history,wildlife, traditions, and more. We were in Tarangire NP, the Serengeti,Ngorongoro Crater,Lake Manyara NP and much more! If you can believe that 23 people ranging from 5-75 could have a flawless 8 day trip to Africa you would be totally correct. Benson Safaris booked us in the most beautiful tent camps We could have ever imagined! All had infinity swimming pools, beautiful rooms-all with spectacular views, incredible dining. The Tanzanian people are so kind and friendly!!! This was such an awesome trip for all of us. The wildlife viewing was so amazing!!!!! I think between us we took 10,000 pictures-We saw every animal that we wanted to see and about 25 we had never heard off. I wish I were more eloquent in trying to describe our experiences but since I'm not you"ll just have to be content with AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!!!!!!!!