piyuyo

We are planing our trip to Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania and we are organizing it with Ranger Safaris tours. Does anyone have any experiences with this company? do you have any comments that would like to share with us?

aby

hi Piyuyo

comments: i'll give you 3 tips

1. read posts on this forum
2.Browse through this important Index of trip reports:
<red><i>NEW</red></i> EAST AFRICA Trip Report Index <blue>by LyndaS</blue>
http://www.fodors.com/search/results...t+africa+index
3. ask specific questions about your primary plan
you'll get lots of <u>specific comments</U>

aby

aby

about Ranger's in Tanzania - it is one of the biggest companies (should be one of the 3 biggest)

Eland

never heard of them. But like aby, may be she is right.

atravelynn

Here's a tardy personal experience with Rangers, which is a big company in Tanzania.

I had 2 different Ranger guides 7 years apart and both were great and so was the whole safari each time. I went with Shorter Juma the first time and Prosper the second time. These guides were picked by the US company I booked through.

I have heard from others who booked as individuals directly with Rangers that they were not as happy with their guide.

Rangers will have partners in Kenya and Tanzania I believe.

Another hint is to contact a couple of companies for comparisons and for your own education.

kokotezi_40

Ranger are Tanzanian. inquire if themselves will drive you in Kenya/Uganda or have partners. Foreign drivers in countries may not be that knowledgeable of routes, etc. You could think of getting 3 different operators.

carolines

We had a fantastic experience on a private safari with Rangers in 2007. We did the northern circuit (Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti) with their top guide, Emmanuel Mkenda whom we specifically requested after another poster recommended him. Mkenda had been a head guide at CCAfrica (now &Beyond) who trained the other guides. He had a brand new vehicle with all the toys and trimmings, did all the "extras" for us (like setting up table and chairs on the plains so we could watch the migration whilst having lunch, and driving us down into Olduvai gorge for a fascinating lecture and to show us where Mary Leakey found "Nutcracker man".) As there were only the two of us, he adjusted the tire pressure on the vehicle so that we had a smooth and comfortable ride at all times. We highly recommend him if you can get him- he's an expert birder, plus knowledgable in anthropology, botany, and an encyclopedia when it comes to the mammals. And a really nice, enthusiastic man! I became seriously ill later in Ruaha, and Rangers took immediate charge and rebooked our flights, and worked with their sister company in Kenya (Pollman's) to arrange to have a doctor waiting at our hotel in Nairobi, had a rep waiting to meet us and checked in every day to see how I was doing. They took care of all our arrangements, were with us every step of the way and we were really overwhelmed at their care and attention. A very positive experience!