We had the best experience ever with Stripes Africa Safaris. Coming from the greater Seattle, WA USA area, it took us over a day and a half travel to get there. Because we're on the other half of the world, not many people that we know travel to Tanzania on safari, so we were very nervous about our trip and making sure we had everything (and making sure who we booked were real people). We are so thankful we trusted because we couldn't have asked for a better experience.
Stripes Africa Safaris is locally and individually owned by Oscar, who arranged everything for us. His local, good, and highly qualified friend Jimmy was our guide for the week since Oscar was working with exchange students. We are sooo grateful to Oscar and Jimmy! Jimmy knew exactly where to go to see unique animal experiences (like being only a couple feet from a lion who had just hunted a zebra!), he told us all about each animal we saw and heard, was able to make the animal noises himself to call some of the animals, and was able to spot a very tiny speck of an animal in the distance while driving (and then take us there). We saw 4 of the big 5 on day 1, and all kinds of special animals and birds. It was INCREDIBLE!! Jimmy honestly deserves a PhD with his 18 years of experience, Oscar as well! We loved that both Jimmy and Oscar were also excited to see and hear the animals too. We kept thinking how grateful we were that we got Jimmy as a guide (no offense to other guides!), but he really knew all the things (and people in every city) and we felt we got a better experience because of it.
We did Tarangire National Park, Ngorogoro Crater, all over Serengeti, Arusha National Park, and ended with a visit to the Chaga tribe in Materuni to see the waterfall and coffee tour.
They booked excellent hotels and lodges. We stayed 3 nights at the tented Osinon Lodges in central Serengeti where we saw elephants outside our tented cabin at night, and heard lions! Definitely a highlight of our experience.
Oscar and Jimmy went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed. We had some issues with our bags through the fault of our major airline and airports that Oscar and Jimmy went out of their way to help us solve. They also communicated my dietary restrictions to the hotels and cooks. They even provided excellent binoculars in case we needed them. And also made sure we had ample access to clean washrooms or a clear and safe spot in Serengeti.
It's very clear that Oscar and Jimmy at Stripes Africa Safaris have in-depth experience and knowledge of the industry, safaris, and the animals.
The pricing was very reasonable. We heard about other experiences and met people who were paying 2-3x as much per person as we did. Their lodges weren't much better (if any better), their vehicles were the same, and their guides were probably (almost) as good as ours. So when you're considering who to book, choose Tanzania local Oscar at Stripes Africa Safaris!
Summary: Very reasonable prices, super trustworthy, excellent stays, amazing and knowledgeable guiding, very personable and hospitable, 10/10 recommend!!