Joachim is the best
We had an amazing experience, and we attribute the joy, success, and adventure of the trip to our guide (and now friend for life), Joachim.
From picking us up at the airport, Joachim was extremely attentive to our needs, telling us “your wish is my command”, and he went above and beyond to deliver on that message. He was consistently checking in to make sure we had everything we needed. He has great communication skills – speaking very clear English, but more importantly, doing an excellent job communicating the agenda, park and animal facts, etc. Joachim would make sure we understood our options and explained the different choices we had throughout our days, but we loved that we ultimately were always in control of our schedule and activities with his sage advice.
Joachim is also extremely knowledgeable about all things Tanzania, African culture, the various parks and reserves, and of course, the animals. He is clearly a student of the trade – often referring to what is stated in guidebooks about animals and also imparting his own experience and knowledge. We learned so much about so many different birds and animals! He was also a master navigator of all the areas/parks we visited. We were often stopped by other drivers to help with directions (to which he always offered help) and always knew we were in good hands when a new exciting sighting came over the radio that he would be able to navigate to it quickly and safely.
We found the big 5 in just two days, and then from there, Joachim helped us tick all our other wishes off – Cheetahs? Check – we saw 6. A huge group of elephants? Check – we saw over 20 cross a river together. An epic river crossing for the great migration? CHECK. We saw a “National Geographic worthy” crossing. He spotted a lioness in a tree from over 50 yards away and the same day also found a sneaky lion on a quick view of his tail! He also was very attentive to making sure we got the best camera angles possible for our photos and suggesting shots for us to take.
Overall, we had the trip of a lifetime and we can’t thank Joachim enough for his part in that. He made us feel safe and cared for.
“We have worked with various tour organizers in multiple countries over the years, and we all agree that A2T is the best we’ve experienced to date. They provided an excellent itinerary and helpful advice, ensuring we had great places to stay. The abundance of resources, including links to videos and other helpful information, made us feel well-prepared for our journey.
The guides from A2T were outstanding. We had three guides in total, with David being our primary guide. We also encountered several others at various lunch stops throughout the trip. One notable highlight was that we always had a cooler filled with cold water—something we struggled to find in other countries.
All the guides were friendly and exceptional. By the end of our trip, David felt like family to us, and we cherished our daily interactions with him. We truly could not find any negatives or areas for improvement with A2T on this trip.”