Safari Soles Tours: Best Safari Tanzania Company – 2026 Top Rated Tanzanian Tour Operator — Local services in Arusha

There are many safari companies and it can be quite overwhelming trying to decide which company to go with. Safari Soles Tours stood out for several reasons. Besides already having high ratings, they offered more activities and services resulting in a better value. Our first encounter with Safari Soles was with Happiness George, our travel expert, and concluded with the two most amazing guides, Baltazary and Isaac. When we had questions, Happiness was highly responsive. The package included activities on the 1st day before hotel drop off, which for other companies tended to include a pickup from the airport to the hotel, and also activities on the last day before dropping off at the airport. The other offering that we did not see with other companies we contacted was the inclusion of air ambulance medical insurance.

In terms of our guides, Baltazary picked us up from the airport and took us on a hike to a waterfall at the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, along with a coffee tour and a dip in a hot springs before dropping us off at the hotel, and picked us up at the hotel for some activities in the city before dropping us off at the airport on our last day. Baltazary was a delight. He was welcoming upon arrival and helped us with whatever we needed to do before our activities began. Our flight was delayed but Baltazary ensured we got to our destinations and was able to enjoy all the activities previously scheduled. He also provided us with rain boots and hiking sticks during our waterfall hike as it rained a bit. A very thoughtful gesture was on our first day, Baltazary stopped to get us fresh sugar cane as we had expressed our love for it. Throughout both days, he taught us about Tanzania, the local city, and local traditions which we enjoyed.

Now onto Isaac who was our safari guide for six days while we visited Serengeti NP, Tarangire NP, Lake Manyara NP, and Ngorongoro Crater. We love love love Isaac! He is such a sweet person, mild-mannered and pleasant, and so knowledgeable. The safari trip was absolutely unforgettable. We saw so much and at such close ranges. While there’s no control over where animals are going to be seen, we were highly impressed with Isaac’s ability to find and hone in on an animal in the grass. He didn’t just point out the animals but provided us information about them. He allowed us as much time as we wanted for viewings and changed course or went backwards when needed. His ability to navigate through the park was even more impressive. We seriously don’t know how we circled from one area to the next with no visible signs and still made it to our lodge at the end of the day. He was also accommodating with our schedule, letting us rest in a little bit longer in the morning, but not shortening our game drives in any way. There was an itinerary change initiated by us midway through our trip which Isaac responded to easily and without disruption. He really valued what we wanted. Isaac emanated the true meaning of Hakuna Matata! Similar to his counterpart at Safari Soles, he stopped to get us red bananas after our safari trip after we expressed amusement since we never tried them before. The fact you’re with an individual you met for the first time on multiple long days, having someone who is friendly, caring about your safety, and funny is crucial. Isaac is exactly that and an incredible safari guide! We are so appreciative for having him and for him giving us a memorable experience!

As for the accommodations, we selected a mid-range package but some of them felt like luxury. We had a mix of lodges with solid walls as well as tented lodges and each were equally wonderful with unparalleled service. The meals were also incredible at every location. We were pleasantly surprised with the lunch offered. The food was abundant and delicious and we couldn’t believe how many hot food options were available for us eating out in the wild. Safari Soles provided an endless amount of fluids during the long game drives. Honestly, the package that was put together for us turned out to be more than...

Safari soles was the perfect company for our 10d Tanzania trip and we were thrilled with the experience from beginning to end.

As context, we are seasoned travelers who have visited all seven continents, 60+ countries, and have taken safaris around the world. We tend to be quite serious about wildlife and photography, and Safari Soles delivered above and beyond our expectations. Highly recommend Safari Soles for any Tanzania trips and make sure to ask for Simon “the Safari Monster” as your driver/guide.

Booking and planning: Renata was a front office superstar and if at all possible try to plan your trip with her support. She was consistently the fastest to respond out of the 5+ safari companies we contacted and took the time to truly understand our needs for the trip. She did several iterations on our custom itinerary and carefully executed on our feedback. Renata and team had an attention to detail which is truly impressive – we made a passing comment about a beverage preference, and lo and behold the safari vehicle was stocked with an excellent selection for the duration of the trip. Most importantly, she matched us with our guide Simon the “Safari Monster” who was perfectly suited for our photography and wildlife interests. Renata continued providing equally responsive service all the way up util the trip started.

Guide and driver: 9 times out of 10, the driver / guide will make or break the trip for safaris. Simon “the Safari Monster” was the perfect guide for our trip and we could not have asked for a better experience. Simon is a versatile guide who is happy to accommodate all kinds of preferences, so feel free to be direct and open at the beginning of the trip. A few strengths we observed:

Experience working with photographers: Simon has experience working with photographers and this makes all the difference in the factors that go into capturing a good shot. This includes good positioning, understanding lighting, prediction of wildlife behavior, responsiveness to photographer working style (e.g., cutting the engine, suggesting different vantage points), willingness to wake up early and stay out late / overall patience in observing wildlife. He is also a photographer himself and on occasion will whip out his camera and take a few shots (always prioritizing his guests first of course)

Tracking and depth of wildlife knowledge: Simon has an eternal learning mindset even though he is already deeply experienced across all kinds of wildlife and natural history topics. We probably asked him to identify close to 100 birds and asked what probably felt like an endless barrage of questions about their behaviors and history. Simon knew most from memory, but most importantly did not try to make up any facts and would look up and follow up later. His understanding of animal behavior meant he could predict animal behaviors and position us in some of the best head-on spots. On one of our game drives, he spotted a black rhino in the bush for us and we were able to enjoy an hour with the rhino alone before more than 100 vehicles descended on us like a swarm once they caught wind and caught up.

Service and going the extra mile: Simon is single-mindedly dedicated to ensuring his guests have a wonderful experience at all times. Whether checking on the food, AC in the car, debrief for the day, offering drinks, preparing lunch, he is always keeping an eye out for how guests are doing and makes live adjustments along the way. One example of his customer focus: we mentioned in passing that we have never seen a Cheetah except from a distance and Simon drove an extra ~2h out of the planned itinerary to central Serengeti until he found 3 cheetahs for us.

Safety and skill: Simon is a very purposeful driver and we felt completely safe with him at all times. Unlike some of the horror stories you may hear about with other companies, Simon has no need to drive fast around like a madman because he has the tracking and wildlife skills to get to the right spot before everyone else or create his...

My wife and I spent two weeks in mainland Tanzania with Safari Soles (first, climbing Kilimanjaro and then on safari in the Serengeti) and we confidently concluded that we had found the best company operating in Tanzania.

The company is run by Bryson, who is a young local Tanzanian. All of Bryson's employees spoke incredibly highly of him and his professionalism, describing him as a man who never cuts corners. This was exactly accurate with our impression of him. In the lead up to the trip and during, he was always available, friendly, impressively efficient and easy to communicate with, and patiently answered every one of my questions. He organised exactly the trip we wanted - the activities, perfect dates, to our budget, etc.

First, we spent 8 days taking the Lemosho route up Kilimanjaro with Gasto (guide), Justin (assistant guide) and their team of porters. The group knew each other very well, since many of them have worked together for ten years, and their cohesion was evident. They felt like a family and we were made to feel very much a part of that family. Every person we passed on the mountain seemed to know and would greet Gasto, evidencing how respected he is as a guide and also how experienced he is. When he became a guide ten years ago, he was the youngest guide on the mountain. He knows every leaf, every symptom of altitude sickness, every corner of Kilimanjaro. Within a day, he had sussed out our strengths and weaknesses and would tailor our daily schedules to reflect this. The porters always got us the best spots in the campsites, everyone on the team was flawlessly professional and punctual, the food was excellent, the kit we borrowed top quality and the friendliness of the team was wonderful. Making it to the summit was amazing but we will cherish the memory of every member of our team who we spent those 8 days with as much as getting to the top of Africa!

Next, we spent four days on a camping safari in central and northern Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater, with Isaack (guide) and Dennis (chef). They were a fantastic pair who also seemed to know every other guide or ranger we passed! Dennis was a magician, cooking up the most delicious meals in such basic conditions. My jaw dropped when he brought us fantastic freshly baked bread for dinner! Dennis could absolutely be working for a top restaurant in Arusha. Isaack was super friendly and endlessly knowledgeable about the parks and animals, and managed to not only show us a heap of different animals but some amazing scenes - like a lion and hyena showdown over a killed buffalo! The Safari Soles guides have a great relationship with each other so, since there were two different SS jeeps in the Serengeti at the same time, Isaack and the other guide often worked together, giving each other tips on what they'd found that day etc. So you benefit from the eyes of not just your guide but their other fantastic guides too!

It was really important for us to book with a Tanzanian company, not an international one. This was a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us that we'd saved for and we wanted the money we spent to go entirely to Tanzania and the local people. Bryson has gathered a team of the very best guides, porters, chefs in Tanzania. You can't go wrong by booking with him and I am confident that, like us, you'll be grateful every day of your trip for finding...