Gombe Safari
Gombe Safari
4.5
4WD, ATV & Off-Road ToursSafarisTaxis & ShuttlesWalking ToursClimbing ToursHiking & Camping ToursNature & Wildlife ToursDay Trips
Full view
About
Gombe Track Safaris and Tours Tanzania Ltd has been providing international travelers with African adventures since 2005. The locally owned and operated company is based in Kigoma, in western Tanzania, with a branch office in Arusha (the safari capital of Tanzania) and with a booking office in the United States.
Kigoma, Tanzania
Meets animal welfare guidelines
Similar Experiences
Travelers talk about
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
17 reviews
Excellent
12
Very good
2
Average
1
Poor
1
Terrible
1
hadija m
2 contributions
Aug 2020 • Couples
I and my husband planed a trip to Western Tanzania. Our trip to visit the chimps in Mahale was a last minute arrangement and Joshua and his team made it possible with the minimum of fuss and a maximum of efficiency.
Everything worked like clockwork from the moment we were met off the plane to the moment we were dropped off at the airport after an unforgettable visit to Mahale.
This was a trip we will never forget.
Everything worked like clockwork from the moment we were met off the plane to the moment we were dropped off at the airport after an unforgettable visit to Mahale.
This was a trip we will never forget.
Written August 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Emma C
Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar9 contributions
Aug 2022
Joshua at Gombe Safari arranged a trip for my daughter and myself to go trekking in Mahala Nationa Park. We had to postpone due to Covid and he reinstated the plan when we were able to go with miminum fuss. He gave us good advice in advance of the trip. Prepare for serious hikking with good shoes, insect repellant, and long sleeved shirts. The travel arrangements (plane from Arusha to Mahale and then boat to the park) were perfect. We stayed in the National Park bandas – simple, clean and comfortable – which will be even better from next year as they are building a reception/sitting/dining room. You can stay in more luxurious lodges (Greystoke, Mbali Mbali) but the advantage of the bandas is that your guide is the head range – Raymond Lusoma. He has the most incredible knowledge of chimp politics, behaviour and history and looks after visitors during the trekking with incredible care. The walking is tough, especially as the fruit is ripening late so the chimps are usually to be found high up the mountain which means walking several hours to reach them. But is is worth it when you do find them. NB you can't swim in the lake by the National Park bandas because of the crocodiles but if you have time, you can ask them to take you to a swimmable beach by boat. A wonderful trip.
Written August 14, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Don W
Fort Worth, TX43 contributions
Sep 2024 • Solo
I had significant hassles with the first two safaris I booked in Tanzania. NOT with Joshua at Gombe Wold Chimp Safari. I told him what I was looking for, he proposed a program and a reasonable price and we quickly had a deal. Then, he delivered.
I spent three nights in Gombe NP with Salmin the chef, Cedric the boat captain, and Lajab the helper. All were extremely good at their jobs.
The food was good and the portions huge-way too much food for me but sometimes I ate it all! I stayed in the park lodge which was basic but clean and comfortable-luxury tents are available for those that want them.
Bonus I wasn’t expecting: The boat was available to take me and my National Park guide to the shore near the chimpanzees, saving hours if hiking each day.
I had a great trip with great service and highly recommend Gombe Wild Chimp Safari.
I spent three nights in Gombe NP with Salmin the chef, Cedric the boat captain, and Lajab the helper. All were extremely good at their jobs.
The food was good and the portions huge-way too much food for me but sometimes I ate it all! I stayed in the park lodge which was basic but clean and comfortable-luxury tents are available for those that want them.
Bonus I wasn’t expecting: The boat was available to take me and my National Park guide to the shore near the chimpanzees, saving hours if hiking each day.
I had a great trip with great service and highly recommend Gombe Wild Chimp Safari.
Written September 22, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MammaM
114 contributions
Jul 2020 • Family
From the beginning our bookings were chaotic, with mistakes in our itinerary and on the air ticket. When we arrived, only one car came for six people owing to an apparent breakdown, but instead of calling a second taxi we had to wait an hour for two journeys, delaying our tour. At the send off we were surprised to hear we were travelling to Gombe Park with a chef. Joshua has failed to inform us that we would be cooked for. We arrived at the park at 12pm. This means that according to park rules we would have 48 hours, yet our itinerary stated that we would leave at 14:00 two days later. Again, an administrative error.
Our first lunch was appalling. Packet soup with lumps, and a few bags of bread thrown on the table. Throughout our stay we tried to ask the chef to cook Tanzanian food well but he just was a terrible chef, over-grilling the chicken/fish so it was dry and almost inedible, over-salting the vegetables and eggs so they were almost inedible, and serving us chapati for breakfast without eggs, pasta with chilli sauce, cold food, and other weird combinations. We paid for medium-standard accommodation and food and had paid a total of $6,000 for this three night trip so we feel this was unacceptable and very poor.
Gombe is amazing and our national park guide was excellent. But we don’t advise you use this company.
Our first lunch was appalling. Packet soup with lumps, and a few bags of bread thrown on the table. Throughout our stay we tried to ask the chef to cook Tanzanian food well but he just was a terrible chef, over-grilling the chicken/fish so it was dry and almost inedible, over-salting the vegetables and eggs so they were almost inedible, and serving us chapati for breakfast without eggs, pasta with chilli sauce, cold food, and other weird combinations. We paid for medium-standard accommodation and food and had paid a total of $6,000 for this three night trip so we feel this was unacceptable and very poor.
Gombe is amazing and our national park guide was excellent. But we don’t advise you use this company.
Written July 8, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear customers, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you very much for writing a very important review that will help us a lot in our tourism service delivery activities and in our future business. Secondly, I apologize a lot to our staff for neglecting and providing you with a poor service that is inappropriate and unacceptable. In fact, we Gombe safari leaders are very saddened. It is also true that we agree with you that there are other administrative mistakes made by the leadership but for now, we have taken important steps and we have corrected ourselves. We believe it will never happen again as the administration has done the following. 1. As supervisors, we held a meeting and decided to suspend and terminate the cook and the two drivers for failing to provide proper and timely service to customers. 2. Management, we have changed the procedures for receiving and serving guests from the beginning when we receive them until the end of their journey. So from now, before client books with us(especially last-minute bookings) apart from having a safari itinerary he or she will need to clearly state what services he or she will need to be provided with. We have prepared a booking confirmation voucher which will be given/send to each guest so that before starting the journey he/she will provide a copy which will be the same as the copy that the tour guide will have and at the end of the trip the client will sign it.
Last but not least, we would like to continue to offer our cooperation to our guests and we promise Gombe Safari to provide better and better services to our valued customers.
Stay safe.
Written August 21, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Tapojoy C
40 contributions
Aug 2022 • Couples
Disappointed with the way cancellation was handled. My wife and I had planned a 3 day safari with Joshua in August 2022. However had to cancel due to last minute flight cancellations. He committed to refund 25% of the initial payment. Joshua was very prompt to respond till the time payment was received. However when the cancellation plan was shared, Joshua went AWOL. Still awaiting the refund.
Written October 16, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Olga E
4 contributions
Sep 2024 • Friends
I booked the 3 days chimp safari with Wild
chimp safari and I have mixed feelings with it. They sell it to you as a 3 days (2 nights) experience but actually the time you spend at Gombe is roughly 24h (1 night). The first part of the safari is amazing, Gombe is extremely beautiful, Paulo our guide was lovely, we managed to see chimps and the camp is stunning too. BUT at 16.00 we had to leave to go to to Kigoma Coast view resort, which is a quite bad hotel, given the cost of the safari.
So very expensive 24h chimp experience, just worth it if you really want to see where Jane Goodall did all her research.
chimp safari and I have mixed feelings with it. They sell it to you as a 3 days (2 nights) experience but actually the time you spend at Gombe is roughly 24h (1 night). The first part of the safari is amazing, Gombe is extremely beautiful, Paulo our guide was lovely, we managed to see chimps and the camp is stunning too. BUT at 16.00 we had to leave to go to to Kigoma Coast view resort, which is a quite bad hotel, given the cost of the safari.
So very expensive 24h chimp experience, just worth it if you really want to see where Jane Goodall did all her research.
Written October 1, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Maxime
2 contributions
Aug 2023
We made a couple of days ago an amazing trip to Mahale National Parks. Joshua and his team (special mention to James whom we spent 4 days with) were extremely helpful. We arranged the trip very last minute and had special requests (such as coming to Kigoma from Dar by train) and everything seemed very easy. We had a wonderful time, enjoyed every minute, and would definitely do it again.
For travelers reluctant to go all the way to remote Mahale, do not hesitate, it's absolutely worth it. The place is pristine, and chimps tracking (with a great staff in the park) is excellent.
Asante sana Joshua!
For travelers reluctant to go all the way to remote Mahale, do not hesitate, it's absolutely worth it. The place is pristine, and chimps tracking (with a great staff in the park) is excellent.
Asante sana Joshua!
Written August 18, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stephanie
Switzerland29 contributions
Jul 2024 • Solo
Booking was easy with gombe wild chimp safari. Communication via email was reliable, but it took some patience to get an answer to my questions beforehand. I booked a 4-day safari to gombe np, and it was totally worth it. The itinerary was slightly different than what I had received beforehand. We arrived at the park only at 5pm and chimp trecking is only possible till 4 pm. So I had two days of trecking and not three, but that was OK. Seeing the chimps was an amazing experince. On the last day, I was back in Kigoma around 6 pm and the hotel there was nice. The boat trip to the park takes approximately 2 hours and is a little rough. The guide in the park was very good, food as well. The room at tanapa Camp was not so nice, but the surroundings made up for it. Drivers both in dar and kigoma were very nice, helpful and on time. Communication during the safari via WhatsApp was very quick and my questions were answered immediately. Oh, did I mention that Jane Goodall stayed at the tanapa camp just some days before me. With 90 years she still doesn't seem to care about bush toilets (eventough there are flush toilets) and a little up hill hiking. Thank you
Written July 13, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
mkruchten
Calgary, Canada40 contributions
Dec 2022 • Family
Wonderful Safari experience. Pre-trip communication with Joshua was efficient and helpful.
The chimp trekking was incredible. The ranger was knowledgeable and careful to follow all rules.
Budget camp was clean and large. I was pleasantly surprised to have a personal toilet and shower in each tent.
The driver and boat driver were ready as soon as we arrived.
The chimp trekking was incredible. The ranger was knowledgeable and careful to follow all rules.
Budget camp was clean and large. I was pleasantly surprised to have a personal toilet and shower in each tent.
The driver and boat driver were ready as soon as we arrived.
Written December 27, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
emmaelind
Stockholm, Sweden32 contributions
May 2024 • Couples
Everything on our amazing trip with gombe safari went very smoothly and our time and trecks in the park were just crazy good!! 5 out of 5 stars! Easy communication, fantastic guide, good accommodation- can highly recommend.
Written May 10, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No questions have been asked about this experience