A Luxury Safari in Tanzania: Review of Sababu Safaris

LINDA D.   // NEW YORK, NY
OCTOBER 2019

Beyond incredible! Sababu is purposeful, personal, and genuine.

If you're looking for an incredible safari and a genuine visit to Tanzania, Sababu Safaris is your guide.

We  wanted to to go through a company that was eco-conscious and  responsibly connected to the country and people of the area. We wanted  our money to go to someone who cared about the animals, the land, the country, and the people of Tanzania. Sababu is genuinely that, and so  much more.

But before I talk about how wonderful the safari was,  what an amazing guide the co-founder Robert is, and how seamlessly easy Denise makes all the planning...

I have to first talk about how Sababu helped us visit the child we sponsor through Compassion  International. We've sponsored a child with Compassion for many years.  And while Compassion organizes group trips and approves individual visits to your child, it's been too complicated and expensive of a process to seem feasible to us. When we realized our safari would take us close to where our child lives, we talked with Compassion and Sababu.  Compassion has their own paperwork and background checks for visit approval. But after that, there are many logistics to figure out:  meeting up with the Compassion International guide/interpreter, setting times with the Compassion Center leaders, and setting up the home visit with the child and family. Sababu took care of all of this for us. They truly went above and beyond. We know for sure that this visit would not have been possible without them. Robert took care of all of the logistics on the Tanzanian side. He worked with Compassion International  directly to make everything smooth for us—so that we could focus solely on visiting our child (rather than all the details surrounding it).  Sababu also helped us find out what our child's family and the local Compassion center needed so that we were able to take personalized  gifts. While Compassion International has general recommendations,  Sababu talked to the local Compassion center for us directly for  specific needs. This visit with our sponsor child was the most beautiful experience of any trip we've ever had. Robert worked out all the details and helped translate the language and the cultural differences while we were visiting with the family—and both Robert and Mohamed (who  was driving for Robert that week) were active, respectful, and kind participants in the visit. They engaged with the family and created an atmosphere for us to have quality and deep connection with our sponsor child and family.

Now on to all the other wonderful safari details!

Sababu makes planning a breeze. We were planning a last minute trip—we planned it only three weeks out! But Denise and Robert helped us create our dream itinerary without compromising any of our priorities. Denise made the planning so simple. She is quick to respond. And she easily guided us through our millions of questions to find the right plans for us.

They work to make it a truly personalized experience. In our first conversation, Denise asked about our priorities. When I told her we wanted to maximize the amount of days we had in Tanzania over the luxury  of the accommodations, she found a way to add three days to our  itinerary while staying within our budget! And that still had us staying at incredibly nice camps with luxury amenities. Sababu gave us options  and helped us achieve all our priorities within our price range.Robert is an amazing guide. He truly loves and knows the animals and the bush—and that passion shows. He is such a joy to be around. He shares his knowledge and experience of the animals and of the communities in Tanzania. He caters each day to what you want to see. He takes you to remote areas of Serengeti that a lot of the big companies won't go to—because he cares more about seeing the animals than about saving the gas mileage. Within just a day, we considered Robert a friend. He is so kind and genuine. And as we went to visit different projects and tribes,  Robert also guided us through those experiences—sharing about the people and the history and helping us to engage and connect well.

The animals! Listen, you will not find a more up-close, in-the-wild experience than you will with Sababu. I can't even begin to talk about this without writing twelve pages. You will NOT be disappointed.

We visited Plaster House in Arusha. We took a solar light to the Datoga tribe. And we visited the Hadzabe huntsmen. All of these experiences were amazing and meaningful. I could write so much about each of them.  But the best thing I can advise is that you talk with Denise about these  projects as you plan your trip. She can work to make it fit well into your itinerary, and she can guide you toward the ones that might work best for you and those you are traveling with.

Denise and Robert suggested that we end our stay at Africa Amini Maasai Lodge. If you can do this, you absolutely should! It's a beautiful and relaxing way to end the safari and reflect on your time. And it's a meaningful way to  get to know the Maasai as they share their culture and stories. They also have a school, orphanage, and healing center that are doing incredible work. While you stay at the lodge, you can take an afternoon to visit and learn more about these projects.

I could say so much more. But let me just end with saying you can't go wrong with choosing  Sababu. They will help you plan a safari that is not only the once-in-a-lifetime dream safari, but that connects you to the people and the animals in a meaningful, life-changing way. #travelwithpurpose