Amazing trip with an amazing guide and an amazing company.
We loved David. He was a great fit for our group. His sense of humor, knowledge, experience was amazing. We were very impressed by his ability to read our mood and adjust on the fly to provide the best experience possible. A couple of afternoons we were dragging, David noticed and adjusted by picking up the pace and eventually getting us back to the lodge a little earlier than we had planned in the day before. I loved how he made real efforts to show us specific things we wanted to see. Sometimes it was obvious he was making effort (like driving North to see the great migration) but other times it wasn’t so obvious (which was great). For instance, Melissa wanted to see water monitors so any time we cross a creek David would stop to look; but there was another time we took a short side-trip to an area that on a sunny day probably had a good deal of monitors; however it wasn’t a sunny day and David likely knew we wouldn’t see anything but he made the effort all the same. To me, it showed that he understood what we wanted and tried his best to make it happen for us.
“Every detail was meticulously planned and perfectly suited to our needs. It was obvious that Karen paid careful attention to how we prefer to experience travel and matched us with a guide who perfectly suited our style. Barney was incredibly professional and let us set the tone and pace. He is an outstanding guide in so many ways; he quickly read us and we bonded immediately. Throughout the journey it was obvious that Barney is well respected by the other guides and they often follow his lead because he knows where to go and how to find the animals. He is also an incredible photographer–I got to a point where I just handed him my phone and he meticulously captured our trip. With no exaggeration, our 8 days with Barney were life changing and we think of him each and every day.
While we requested clean and comfortable accommodations with private baths, every place we stayed far exceeded our expectations. Nyikani and Mara Mara were the standout favorites. I have spoken with folks who were unsure and had reservations about the food that would be provided. We ate incredibly well–food was more than plentiful, very good to extremely delicious, and the soups were the best I have ever eaten. Service was consistently exceptional.
Honestly, we can’t say enough positive things about our experience and have been recommending Access 2 Tanzania and Barney to all we can.”