Cinnamon Lodge

The Namibia trip was fantastic!

Self-driving was brilliant, and the chronology of the itinerary was perfect (against the flow/direction most other travelers took).

As for specifics:

OKONJIMA
This place was the best!
Best service, best staff, best food, best experiences, best facilities.
We saw a cheetah kill, leopards, and white rhino (which we were not expecting).
If you’ve never been you should go...If I ever go back to Namibia I will revisit.

EMANYA
The only (slight) disappointment.
Maybe because it was right after Okonjima, but the service was lacking, the facilities were a bit run down, it was the only place with mosquitoes in the room with no net and no spray. Food was marginal. Not sure if there are better options in the area, though.

OKAUKEUJO
Etosha Park was amazing. There was so much wildlife with so little crowds.
The Okaukeujo Camp had the best watering hole with animals coming in at all times of the night. A great experience exclusive to the camp.

DORO NAWAS
Beautiful place. Very private. Food and service excellent.
A nice stopping point on the drive.

SPITZKOPPE
An amazing place...How they laid out and built it.
Enjoyed exploring the grounds and the local area/sights.
The staff was on par with Okonjima.
2 days were perfect.

Ivin provided us with good advice/information/recommendations along the route, along with a cell phone and cooler for the trip. The car was perfect.
They represent Tourdust well!

Again, another great trip you put together...Thank you!

Earl W reviewing Northern Namibia Highlights - Self Drive on 17 October 2018

We both suffered but enjoyed it immensely. Just how it should be!!!!
Our route up the mountain, the Burguret trail is very arduous and certainly should not be used for people who are not very fit and experienced trekkers. It mainly followers animal trails through the forests and bog lands around the mountain. The Chogoria route down was great. The guide and porters were great. Wild camping means just that, really just what I wanted, but I have lived in Kenya.

Jonathan B reviewing Mount Kenya: Burguret Chogoria Traverse on 24 September 2018

All the accommodation was great especially having the family rooms, I think our favourite place was the maramboi tented camp - everything about it was spot on, the location and service was excellent!
The only negative feedback I could give was the amount of time spent in the jeep, I hadn’t quite realised how much travel there was! But it’s a minor point, Haji our guide was excellent and constantly pointed out things of interest along the way.

Sam S reviewing Tanzania Extended Northern Circuit on 24 September 2018

The trek was fab, really enjoyed it! Was definitely a challenge but one worth doing. Our Guide Mohammed was excellent, took care of our needs, patient and went at a suitable pace for us. Ali, the muleteer and cook made us the most remarkable dishes and such large quantities, we felt bad for leaving so much food.....was enough for six people or more.

The refuges provided us a great place to stay....the first one was very quiet only another couple staying there, whilst the next was much busier and was a fab way to meet new people.

We were really pleased we made it to the summit, it felt like a great achievement.

I don’t think I would change any part of it.

Thank you, to you and your partners in Morrcco, will recommend you to anyone who wishes to follow in my footsteps.

Louise D reviewing Climb Mount Toubkal on 29 August 2018

Speke's camp was absolutely ideal - small and personal, with great hosts. We'd definitely recommend the "tented safari" experience to others. The kid's didn't miss having a pool (too interested in Safari). Speke's camp give you your own landrover and driver/guide, which gave us great flexibility (much better I suspect than what is offered by some of the larger camps). Our guide was brilliant. See below for the review we just posted on rip Advisor.

I think the only negative of the trip was getting through Nairobi airport (multiple security checks, and they ask you to "board" two hours in advance, which in fact means going into crowded transit lounge with no facilities), but there's not anything anyone can do about that

It's also worth saying that Peponi really is a unique experience. It's a proper East African institution, with all the locals dropping into the bar. It's the perfect antidote to anyone wanting to get away from the soulless all inclusive resorts which could be absolutely anywhere in the world (which seem to be a bit of a feature of Zanzibar). Lamu is still amazingly undeveloped.

We stayed at Speke's camp for 4 nights in August 2018 - a family of two adults and two children. For us it was the perfect location to experience the Mara. The camp is only a short drive outside the main Mara reserve and is in an amazingly picturesque location, set by a small river in the shade of trees. Wildlife roams near (and sometimes through!) the camp. You get to feel very close to nature when you have a buffalo rooting up grass just outside your tent in the middle of the night!

The camp itself is small and has a very personal feel to it. There are only eight or so guest tents, so you get to meet everyone passing through. One of the great pleasures was getting to chat to other guests over the evening meal or round the camp fire, swapping stories of the day's sightings. If you do want a little more privacy, then it's absolutely fine to eat in your own group.

Whilst you do sleep and eat under canvas, it is an extremely civilised experience: the beds are comfy (with hot water bottles provided to ward off the chill of the evenings); there are bucket showers which sound much more primitive than they really are; the communal area is very elegantly laid out; tea is brought to the tent before setting out on early morning game drives, and the food was fantastic.

What really makes the experience however are the wonderful hosts. Both Adrian and Veronique made a real effort to get to know us and ensure we were well looked after; and it's certainly worth picking Adrian's brains on the history of the region (it's not called Speke's camp for nothing)

The final word must go to our wonderful guide/driver Ambrose and our Masai spotter Marco. It was a real privilege to have our own land-rover and to be shown the reserve by such knowledgeable and charming individuals. Ambrose is a proper naturalist, can identify a lilac breasted roller at 200 yards, and knows where to see the best wildlife without simply following other trucks. On our final afternoon, with 30 minutes before we had to leave the Mara Triangle, we had seen every animal and bird that was on our wish list (including a live Cheetah kill), but had not seen a rhino. Marco saw a speck on the horizon, Ambrose drove like the clappers and as a parting gift we were able to see this most elusive animal up close. Notwithstanding all the awe-inspiring nature, I think my wife's personal highlight was driving the land rover back to amp along the dirt track through herds of zebra and ambling giraffe. A truly amazing experience all round.

Jonathan I reviewing Laikipia & Masai Mara Safari on 24 August 2018

Fantastic holiday - I think we all really enjoyed ourselves. California is really relaxing, the people we met were lovely, and the scenery is amazing - so huge.
flight - using San Jose airport was a joy. Out of the airport within 30 mins of landing.
car hire - very straight forward.
Copilot - useful. We did download Google maps too, but sometimes the GPS worked better with co-pilot than Google maps (although may have been the phone)
Argonaut hotel - Great location, pleasant staff. Included in resort fee is discounted bike hire (if you get up fast enough to get them) - that was a bonus.
Drive to Auburn - long! we didn't manage to avoid San Francisco rush our - our fault. But a very good idea to get there the night before the rafting, meant the rafting day was much more relaxed.
Holiday Inn - as expected. Nice pool and breakfast was good (and cheap). We quickly learnt that it is really difficult to get food in US after about 8:30 at night, esp in less touristy spots. In n Out Burger an experience.
White water rafting - Our fellow rafters and helmsman (Conner) were good company for the day and we had a great time negotiating rapids, jumping in the water and taking in the scenery. It was all safe without over doing the briefings. Would have been good to have some photos which were only available straight after the trip, rather than on a web site. Nearby Marshall Ward state park was good for non-rafters.
Resort at Squaw Valley - The hotel was amazing. Beautfiul setting. Buffet breakfast in Cascades was a fabulous extravagance - a real treat.
Mountain biking in Tahoe - tremendous. Great bikes, fantastic guide who managed to accommodate both 50+ year old parents and v fit teenage boys. And local knowledge of guide set us up for the rest of the day - recommending places to eat in Truckee and places to visit on Lake Tahoe.
Drive from Lake Tahoe to Yosemite beautiful - well worth going the eastern route so enter Yosemite from East. The drive through the pass was amazing, definitely worth emphasizing that people should make the most of it.
Tenaya Lodge - hotel was a little tired. But we appreciate that Yosemite was getting full by the time we booked. And in fact, it was prob a good thing we were there - as we were out of the smoke in the valley. (The Ferguson Fire began the day we arrived). Sadly after the drive through on arrival, we saw little Yosemite scenery. On the plus side, Tenaya Lodge was cooler than the valley and had less bitey insects.
Walking in Yosemite - guide was excellent. Offered lots of options, and was very informative. Also very personable.
Santa Cruz - great hotel. Lovely city. Organic supermarket, farmers market, Olita's on wharf - all great. The Mystery Spot was hilarious. The surf school were generous and allowed us to keep the boards for several hours after the lesson, as the waves were not that great the two days we were there.

Andrew C reviewing The Ultimate California Adventure on 26 July 2018

Everything was exceptionally well arranged and the whole trip, from checking in on line and printing out the outward journey boarding cards from home, until return to Heathrow, was completely seamless.

Although arriving slightly earlier than scheduled, we didn't have to wait before being collected at Nairobi by Elijah, our guide and Samuel the driver. On being told that we had hardly slept at all on the outward journey, they took us to a small B&B place they use (sorry, I've forgotten the name of the place) and we were able to rest/sleep for some 3 hours before setting off on our adventure. This was very much appreciated by us as that first day was full on after that.

They looked after us really well and both were very knowledgeable and good company and were flexible to our needs, with nothing being too much trouble for them.

The accommodation you picked for us was spot on. We were particularly taken with Sunbird Lodge (I could have spent the whole week there if it were not for being on the move due to the nature of the trip), which was quite informal and extremely friendly. We then moved on to the Maji Moto Eco Camp, where again everything was fine. Having stayed in similar places before, at my age now, the one night suited well and I was surprised when Dan was so taken with the place that he would have liked to stay another night! I think the camp fire might have had something to do with it. The visit to the school was also well worth it from Dan's perspective.

On then to Ilkeliani and I concur with what you say about it being so well priced for what it offers, that it is a good recommendation. This was slightly more formal at mealtimes than Sunbird Lodge but nevertheless, the staff were equally friendly. As adults, both my husband and myself enjoyed the food although the feedback I provided on their customer satisfaction questionnaire was that perhaps the evening meals could possibly have slight variations for children. We didn't see any signs of the suspended footbridge and as we didn't ask about it, I don't know whether it's still there or not.

I have to say that the beds in both Sunbird and Ilkeliani were very, very, comfortable.

The Mayfair Southern Sun was again a good choice although I think the room we had was perhaps a standard twin room. There were two what I call "three quarters" sized beds, i.e. larger than a single but not quite a double bed size, which meant it was a bit of a squeeze for 2 persons in one bed.

Both the Giraffe Centre and the David Sheldrick Wildlife Sanctuary were ideal additions to the itinerary. We had a 10 year old who was reluctant to leave Kenya!

Martha Ann Eileen C reviewing Maasai Family Adventure on 14 May 2018

We just got back from our trip and it was wonderful...It's really hard
to adjust back to real life!

We had a great trip and the trek was wonderful. Jatoo, our guide, was an
extraordinary guy, his English was very good, he knew the area very
well, he told us a lot about Thailand and he was a riot over all! I
think he made a big difference to our experience.

I'd rate the overall experience at 4. I think it'd be helpful to be a
little more detailed in the requirement up front, as we thought the trek
was walking around the forest but it was a bit more than that. We
thoroughly enjoyed the challenge, so the last day, the bike ride fell a
little short of expectations, we woke up really early and wished that we
did a bit more at the end. I'd certainly recommend it to my friends and
we'll look at other tours that you arrange in the future.

Anon reviewing Hill Tribe Trekking in Thailand on 11 May 2011

.The trekking experience was great (i.e. day 1 and 2) would rate that a 5, Day 3 was a 4, Day 4 was a 3. Some elements of the trip such as the dancers at Lisu lodge was not really necessary as we prefer to see the Lisu tribe in their village rather than a forced dance in the lodge. Also, the bike trip on day 4 was too short. I think you should look at extending this trip and rearranging some of the other activities.

Having said these, I must point out that we had an excellent tour guide (Jatoo). I would recommend him to all my friends. He was very knowledgeable, and never got tired of our detailed questions.

Overall my main disappointment was that apart from the Lahu Outpost, the "rules" did not allow Jatoo to have dinner with us. I find this very strange at this day and age. This decision should be left to the guide and the visitors, not the owners of the lodges.

Hope these comments help. We had a wonderful time and saw the best part of Thailand.
Thanks for your help.

Anon reviewing Hill Tribe Trekking in Thailand on 11 May 2011