Thomson Safaris

My husband and I agreed that our Grand Safari experience with Thomson in November 2025 was our best trip EVER. It was our first time to Africa. Our priorities were an immersive,authentic, wildlife focused Safari with the ability to learn something about the country, and the people. Thomson FAR exceeded our expectations. When we first determined that Tanzania was the best country to go to, we decided on Thomson. Tanzania is their speciality with small group tours. We wanted a company which directly managed their own lodges, guides and vehicles. (Not a tour consolidator). The quality and responsiveness showed. This is a first rate operation and experience. Food was plentiful and delicious. Health (food and water),safety and concerns of guests evident every day. Service 5 star. Staff were wonderful and kind. Lovely to have interesting chats with many of them. Our guide, Hashim, was the best! Great person to spend 13 days with! Very experienced interesting and knowledgeable. Highly recommend him too! Guides and staff were fluent in English. We did not want to stay in ‘hotels’ or fancy lodges but liked the idea of luxury tents. They were wonderful and allowed us to be close to the wildlife. However our 2 night stay at Gibbs Farm was exceptional. The custom LandRovers were perfect for standing up and viewing the amazing wildlife. (Much better than open sided jeeps). We went in ‘low season’ which was perfect. Tons of animals, and huge migrating herds. AND it was not a mob scene with hundreds of other Safari vehicles. Awesome pictures with iPhone of animals right beside truck. Few bugs (didn’t need spray), nice temperature, fewer visitors, and only a couple passing rain showers. At the private Eastern Serengeti Lodge having a conversation with a Masai Storyteller/Midwife is something I’ll never forget. Thomson is very involved with the communities which was another reason we chose them. Thomson staff in Watertown, MA and Exito (airfare booking) were easy to work with. I’m recommending this to everyone I know!

Our experience with Thomson Safaris was simply amazing! From our first interactions with the management team to making our final flight connections, we received the best care. The staff at every camp was so amazing, taking care of our every need. The food was so good, especially the soups! I want to give a special shout out to our guide, Remi. He took wonderful care of us, and his animal spotting skills were amazing! We got to see all of the Big 5! He also gave us so much interesting information about the animals. Thomson Safaris gave us the trip of a lifetime!

We searched for over two years reviewing various tour groups for African Safaris. When we discovered Thomson it had all the criteria we were seeking. From our first phone call to the completion of our travels, Thomson exceeded our expectations. Lewis in the front office was very knowledgeable, answering of our questions and explaining different tours they offered. After booking the Grand Safari tour, we were contacted by our “trip manager”, Cat. She was amazing! She kept us informed of the timeline related activities when we needed to take actions. Her correspondence included helpful documents and links to helpful resources. When we had questions for Cat, she had the answers or typically got back to us with responses on the same day. Her excellent customer service is what we expect but rarely receive from businesses these days. The travel plans included transfers and timelines that took place just as expected. Once the safari began, we met our safari guides, Babu and Ashein after a short flight from Arushia. They were very knowledgeable, cordial, and a joy to be with over our two weeks on tour. Overall, all of our encounters with Thomson personnel were very positive. We definitely recommend considering them for your safari.

What an experience. Beautiful vistas, lots of animals (including babies), great guides, very comfortable accommodations all made for the perfect vacations. We missed the rhinos but saw the land great migration. The hot air balloon ride was stunning with a beautiful sunrise

One of the most exhilarating, humble, heartfelt and memorable experiences of our lifetime! My husband and I were on the “ULTIMATE SAFARI” during Sept/Oct 2024. From beginning to end, the adventure exceeded our expectations. The camps were rustic, beautiful and comfortable. The food was fresh… delicious and farm to table (Gibbs farm). The service and Thomson staff, including our guides, Freddie and Simon, were professional, friendly, eager to please and just overall amazing! Our animal viewing was abundant and spectacular…the highlight being the wildebeest crossing the Mara river… YES WE WITNESS IT!!! Worth every penny.

Let me make this simple, “You can pay more but you won’t get better!” My wife suggested I go with my two sons as a bucket list item for myself so I spent a significant amount of time researching several safari companies to ensure we got the best experience possible. I can say Thomson exceeded my expectations. Since this has been my only Safari I will summarize the highlights made by our group at the conclusion of our Safari. Our group was “right-sized”. There were 9 individuals in our group and had two vehicles, perfect for ensuring everyone had easy access for viewing/picture taking. Schedules were perfectly balanced. Had the right amount of time to pursue the Big Five while at the same time had adequate time to reflect on the experience within our group and share stories with others staying at the camp. By the way, we DID see the Big Five, our guides were fantastic, knowledgeable, and could spot game far earlier than most anyone in the group. Don’t pass on the optional balloon Safari ride, could not have been more satisfied with it. Both sons thought it should be added as part of the program rather than an option, they enjoyed it that much. They thought too many people were missing one of the top experiences. Two other items that make Thomson stand apart from the rest. They have a privately owned 10,000 acre reserve that only Thomson safaris have access to. While there we saw giraffe, zebras, elephants, wildebeest, etc. The second item setting Thomson apart is that the facilities we stayed at were owned/operated solely by Thomson and no other safari companies use the facilities. I believe this to be unique to most all other camping facilities. If I were to refer back to my opening statement, you may get something more by paying more, but I personally don’t think it would make the experience any more enjoyable or comfortable. Our group of 9 was unanimous that any additional creature comforts would not have been worth the value, we thoroughly enjoyed our experience from arrival to departure. Our entire group would use Thomson without reservation for any future services we desired they were to offer.

We had an amazing trip with Thomson and loved every minute. The trip was meticulously planned keeping in mind what we wanted from the safari. The camps/nyumbas/food all exceeded our expectations. As did the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater! Every person working for Thomson worked hard to make sure you had everything you needed and did so as quickly as possible. It was impressive. Kind, proud, wonderful people who work so hard for their clients. Our guide Sefh was OUTSTANDING! We feel like we won the jackpot with him. His knowledge, enthusiasm, and energy made every day better than the one before. He made sure we had the trip of a lifetime and got to see and appreciate the animals, birds and Serengeti as a whole. He made every day fun for us as well. He always asking for our input. If you are planning a safari we would highly recommend Thomson and Sefh. We'd go back tomorrow if we could and plan it to make sure Sefh was our guide!

Our trip with Thomson Safaris will forever be in our memories and shared with family and friends. Truly a trip of a lifetime. We started with the Kilimanjaro Trek, followed by the Highlights of Tanzania Safari and finished off with a relaxing beach stint in Zanzibar. Every portion of the trip exceeded my expectations. The beauty of Tanzania is stunning but what made the trip so outstanding was the Guides. On the Kilimanjaro Trek our head guide Sam gave us complete confidence in our safety. In my opinion, Thomson Safaris stood out in the camps as the best. Every porter and all of the staff were so encouraging with their smiles and attitudes every day. And the chefs provided amazing meals and accommodated special food needs. Some days it was the little things that made our day so great like at the end of a long days hike when we were tired and ready to be done, the porters came back to meet us after setting up our camp and carried our backpacks the rest of the way. I truly miss everyone of them. Just when I thought Thomson couldn't be any better, they surprised me again with the most amazing tented camp experiences. So comfortable and beautiful and the animals were right outside our little zippered door. Listening to Wildebeests honk and snort outside my tent at night has become a cherished memory (Definitely record those sounds so you don't forget them). The staff, food, beds, showers etc. were all wonderful but I think your Guide is the key to a great safari and ours was the best. Freddy was with us from our first flight to our last. He is so full of knowledge and so patient. Spending days with him was a true joy. After safari I chose Zuri resort in Zanzibar upon Thomson's recommendation and it was a true 5 star resort! Thomson organized all of our travel between portions of the trip and everything went smooth right down to getting covid tests to return home. Someone was with us every step of the way. Thank you so much Thomson. I'm ready to start planning our next trip with you!

Just had the trip of a lifetime, planned by Thomson Safaris! First class all the way! Wonderful staff on both ends! Boston and Tanzania ! Can't praise these people enough!

Local Watertown family residents offer high class safaris in Tanzania, east Africa! I had the "trip of a lifetime" with them - all around high quality service and a luxury experience - I only wish the company hadn't taken over a large section of traditional Maasai grazing land and water rights - the Maasai have had far too much of their land taken away by the Tanzanian government, regional corruption and greedy foreign investors and hunting safaris.