Zohar African Safaris — Local services in Arusha

We booked a 6-days private safari trip with Zohar for our wedding anniversary and it was just perfect. Like many others, we read the reviews before booking the trip, and were a bit skeptical about 5* reviews only - but if we could, we would give them 6*!The whole Zohar team made our trip a holiday of a lifetime.

There are several reasons why Zohar made our while experience so memorable:

The professional consultation prior to the trip: Lilian and her team were incredibly responsive and provided every detailed information needed to plan for a safari trip. They shared suggestions of accommodations and safari routes and were more than open to adapt to our wishes where needed. Once the trip was booked, they for example sent to us packing lists and created a Whatsapp group where we could ask any last questions.

The warm welcome at arrival: we arrived late at night at Kilimanjaro airport and were picked up by the guide that would drive us the whole trip. After a short sleep, we met with Lilian and the driver in the morning to have a briefing about the trip and discussing any last details. This was very helpful to ask any final questions before the safari started and gave a personal touch to meet the owner of Zohar.

The car and equipment: our car was of very high standard and incredibly comfortable. It was covered with leather through majority of the car so you would not hit your head when suddenly standing up to spot an animal. In addition, Zohar provided us with customized water bottles, snacks and even coca cola in a fridge that was part of the car. On the downside, the car was so comfortable, that we couldn‘t fully appreciate the free African massage on bumpy roads ;)

The safari tour guide: we believe we got the best safari guide ever! His name was Solomon and he was just amazing. He knew all the national parks we drove through by heart - while you may think this is normal, it is not. He knew all the hidden paths where we at times did not meet other cars for hours. He took it as a challenge to find all animals for us and he made it possible. We saw the big 5, we saw baby lions, we saw the great migration river crossing and most of that without any other cars (of course the great migration crossing is always busy). He drove also super secure and made us feel really safe. If you can, try to get Solomon as your driver for the trip! You really won‘t regret it.

The breakfast / lunch / dinner: we mostly took breakfast and lunch with us during the game drive which was the best idea of Solomon. Solomon found the best breakfast and lunch spots for us that were safe and gave you amazing views of the parks while enjoying your food. All the food prepared by the lodges was delicious and we never had any tummy issues.

The accommodations: you could feel that the lodges we stayed in were very well selected by the Zohar team. All lodges were located super well and of very high standards. Clean, warm water, good food and service.

The personal touch: given it was our wedding anniversary, the Zohar team tried to make the trip as unique as possible. We believe they do it for every trip, but we especially felt it for our occasion. Some lodges prepared cakes for us and the Zohar team even gave us a customized bottle of sparkles on our last lunch. So amazing!

Staying in touch: after our safari, we went to Zanzibar. We booked the trip to Zanzibar privately, however, Solomon still drove us to the airport, where another Zohar representative met us for a debrief. They even helped us with check in and bag drop! And after we left, Zohar team still regularly checked in with us to make sure we are safe and having a good time. Overall, we always had a feeling that Zohar team would go above and beyond for you.

If we would ever come back for a safari in Tanzania, we would choose Zohar again. If you are looking for a unique experience with safari guides that show you the nature and animals off the beaten paths - and show you the real Tanzanian nature - then we definitely...

Our vacation in Tanzania was great and much is thanks to Zohar and the people that work there☺️ Our journey with Zohar started some months before our arrival in Tanzania. At first we researched and compared many different Safari Tour Operators, but we got a really good feeling about Zohar and contacted them. It seemed like an authentic local company that really cares about the customer and seems to ”walk the extra mile” with a personalized touch.

We contacted Zohar and had email correspondence with Lilian, who was really helpful and suggested good itinerary options. We changed our budget and wishes a couple of times but that was fine, Lilian just gave us the best support to create a suitable schedule for our 7 days of adventures! We did safari, Massai-experience and hikings. After we agreed on the final itinerary, we proceeded to the payment which went very smooth.

1-2 week before departure date Zohar provided some good documents; detailed itinerary plan, packing list and other good to know-info. Zohar also made a WhatsApp group where we could quickly ask questions. Awesome!

When we arrived at the JRO Airport we met the first Zohar representative in person, a really nice and friendly guy named Goodluck. His warmly welcome made us feel in good hands and safe!🫶😊

The following week will be memories for the rest of our life. We have much good to say about all Zohar staff we met, but the one we spent most time with was our safari guide Tumsifu ”Tom”. We can’t imagine a better guide than Tom and really recommend him. It was easy to tell that he has a lot of experience as a Safari guide. He was passionated, had great knowledge of the nature and animals, and he was driving us safely through the roads in the national parks. Also, he was doing everything he could to find the perfect spots for photos. In addition to Tom’s professional skills, he is also really friendly and funny, and also he showed good “social understanding” where he let us have time alone but also together with him. The picknick lunches with Tom inside the Parks were great! Super good food and nice conversations😀 We enjoyed our time with Tom a lot, and he also gave us lots of tips about our journey. Thank you Tom for taking so good care of us and for all the laughters, we will always remember the week we spent with you in Tanzania!

After 4 days of safari, which was our main activity, we did the “massai experience”, which was great! It was not a “Touristic” place, it was a real Authentic Experience and interesting to meet the Massai family and learn more about their culture.

Day 6&7 with Zohar were two different hikes, we liked both of them! The first one was a hike in Kilimanjaro at “Shira Plateu” about 3500 m altitude. We were lucky with the weather so the views were amazing! We did this together with the guide Elias, really humble and nice guy! Last day was “Materuni Waterfall” which also included own coffee-making, really nice. Margareta was our guide and she was very happy, full of energy and good guide. This day was also together with Goodluck which was our driver for the day, a pleasure to spend time with him!

After our 7 days with Zohar we went to Zanzibar for a week of relaxation. We kept the contact with Lilian and she assisted us during our whole trip.

If you’re thinking of doing a safari, we 100% recommend you to book your adventures with Zohar. Amazing people and we felt so well taken care of, and also the pricing was really good.

Everything felt perfect, a great mix of activities and accommodations. Also the itinerary was well scheduled so we had some time between the activities to recover and reload for next day😍

Now afterwards, when we know the result and reality, we can definitely confirm that it is an authentic local company that really cares about the customer and all the employees really “walk the extra mile” with personalized touches ☺️🫶

Thank you so much Zohar and especially Tom for making our trip to Tanzania unforgettable!

Big hugs from us, Linus &...

We had an incredible experience with Zohar and I would absolutely recommend others to choose this operator! Our safari was a four night, five day luxury experience at the end of May that we took as a honeymoon celebration.

Zohar was very flexible to fit our safari expectations and wishes. In advance of our booking, we called Lilian for her advice on what options may be suitable for us. She custom designed a route that took into account the year’s rainfall (muddy driving proves challenging and excess underbrush growth reduces the ability to spot most animals) and also provided lengthy descriptions on the various “add ons” that Zohar offers. One tip - there may be additional activities Lilian can create based on your interests that are not listed on the website. When we mentioned a love of hiking, Lilian provided a few additional options for our review. Also, Zohar remained flexible on our itinerary. That is, Lilian allowed us to decide closer to the date of our departure for a final decision about extra activities. We appreciated the opportunity to reevaluate given recent weather conditions.

At the time of booking, we alerted Zohar that we were traveling to Tanzania for our honeymoon. We arrived at the airport in Arusha and were immediately greeted by a driver bearing fresh watermelon juice (and another thoughtful surprise I won’t specify). Lilian herself met us at our hotel (Serena), alongside Solomon (our guide). They presented our itinerary again and provided other helpful tips and tricks for the time to come. Then, we immediately left for the canoeing safari at Lake Duluti (walking distance from Serena hotel). This was an excellent day one experience, especially for bird watchers.

We departed relatively early the next morning for a long haul trek to the Serengeti. If scheduling allows, I recommend to spend a night at Manyara to break up the drive. Solomon helped the drive to pass with speed, answering our very, very many inquiries about Tanzania, the landscape, Arusha, the animals, and more. We had an incredibly lucky start, catching two lions playing right at the start of the park. Within the Seregenti, we stayed at the Serena, which was definitely impressive. Also, due to Zohar’s thoughtful notice to the hotel, we were greeted with a special honeymoon surprise during our stay (and the same in Ngorogoro). Of all our hotels, Ngorogoro was the favorite and I wished we had more time there!

Solomon was fantastic. He knows the area/animals/geography inside an out, he was almost inside the head of animals, predicting all of their next moves. While we had great luck on the safari, we also owe many of our sightings to his great skill, catching many things with his naked eye that we hadn’t even noticed with binoculars. He was also personable, patient, and funny. This was a very special trip, in no small part because of his presence.

In addition, Zohar is a locally owned safari operator. We learned that through this local perspective, Lilian treats her staff with considerably higher standards and pay than some other companies on the market. Guides work very long days and this dedication should entail equitable pay and acknowledgement/respect of their critical role in one’s safari experience. It was exceedingly evident that Zohar beats out many other competitors in this regard.

Also, regarding the Zohar vehicle, all was nice, new, and in excellent shape. According to our guide, our Land Cruiser was less than five years old and it was outfitted with a way to charge electronic devices. The vehicle itself wasn’t something I considered in advance, however, after passing multiple broken down cars, I realized we were lucky to be in a vehicle that was properly maintained. Our guide explained that Zohar vehicles are carefully reassessed prior to departure to ensure they are Serengeti ready!

Overall, Zohar is an excellent company, rating 10/10. We hope to return for a second safari soon, plus climb of...