Wow! There aren’t enough superlatives to describe our September safari with ADS. While my husband and I are frequent travelers and have enjoyed many wonderful expeditions, we had no idea how magical and unique this immersive experience would be. We chose ADS because my brother and sister-in-law had recently traveled with ADS. My sister-in-law does her homework when she travels so we knew we didn’t need to look elsewhere. She always finds the best.
As expected, ADS did not disappoint. In Dawn’s capable hands, trip planning went flawlessly. When the day finally arrived, we found ourselves in good hands with Mathias who greeted us in Arusha and sent us on our way to Northern Serengeti after a rejuvenating stopover at Arusha Coffee Lodge.
We chose the luxury accommodations (Lemala Kuria Hills Camp, Four Seasons Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater Lodge) and were glad to have the creature comforts after the long exhilarating game drives, not to mention the incredible ambiance. Each of these properties offered top notch hospitality, food service and unique experiences (e.g., private sunset toast, a Maasai performance, and a hot poured bubble bath that we found waiting for us after one of our game drives).
Our guide, George, was amazing — very knowledgeable, affable and just a good all-around travel companion and guide. We had so much fun with him. Plus, he knew where to find the animals. We had so many “wow” moments which George liked to point out was a common American sentiment and we found ourselves saying it at every turn (including here!).
As a last remark, we’d like to mention our travel to and from Africa. We chose Qatar Airways and were so glad we did. It flies in and out of Doha, Qatar so we spent 4 days there on the back end. It was a little bit out of the way for us but would highly recommend this as a way to cap off your African adventure!
Gail and Matt O.
Atlanta, Georgia
Safari Dates: September 11, 2019 to September 20, 2019
Really enjoyed your comments. We are making the same trip as you in 2020. We will be with ADS for 2 weeks starting 9/17/2020.
We are getting ready to book our flights. I saw you are from Atlanta. You went thru Qatar. What airlines did you take. We have only found a Delta/KLM combo thru Amsterdam. We would like to look at Options.
We are getting excited about our trip. What clothes did you take ??
How you see this email.. I would really like to hear from you. Thanks Ted
Hi Ted. We flew Qatar Airways. It was a 13 hour direct flight from Atlanta to Doha, Qatar on business class. This is a daily flight out of Atlanta. They also fly out of several large cities in the US. It was much cheaper that Delta ( much to Delta’s chagrin, the government subsidizes the fare). The airline was recently awarded best in business class worldwide and I must agree (great planes, food service and overall flying experience). We had a 15 hour layover and stayed at the hotel located at the airport (thus a security recheck wasn’t necessary). This was also a great experience as the government owns the hotel and the airport (new and the best airport we’ve ever been in) and offers additional amenities to business class travelers. There’s also an option to leave the airport and explore Doha if you choose. That said we decided to explore Doha for 4 days on the back end (loved exploring this wealthy middleast nation-some exquisite architecture, great museums, camel races, falconry, a camel ride) so chose the overnight airport option. The trip from Doha to Arusha took an additional 7 hours. Happy to answer any other questions you might have!