Highlights of East Africa

We did the 13 day safari and it was brillant , i would do it again tomorrow. We went for glamping tents and a couple of resorts to get the real experience. Our Guide Charles Davis nyangasa from Leopard tours was amazing we saw so many animals . I totally would reccommend this tour , so many highlights , the hot air balloon over the seringeti was incredible . When we go again we would ask for Charles again. Thanks Geoff

This was our first trip to Africa, and it had been a bucket list in the making for many years. I have come home ready to go again and soon! Veeral at Bench created the most amazing itinerary for us and was so patient with endless questions and concerns. We had a week in Tanzania, a week in Kenya and 6 nights in Zanzibar to finish. We felt safe and looked after the entire time. Our driver guides in both countries were engaging, knowledgeable and made the game drives so much fun. (Pascal in Tanzania, Leopard Tours and Peter, Southern cross safaris in Kenya). Both went the extra mile to make sure we saw everything possible (including later days back to camps due to viewing opportunities arising). The accommodations were exactly what we wanted, smaller lodges and camps without the huge crowds. Kati Kati tented camp raised a few eyebrows when we got there, however the experience of being walked to your tent by a Masaai and hearing lions roaring at night in the middle of the Serengeti was EPIC! Ngorongoro Farm House is amazing, beautiful grounds and staff. Elerai camp in Amboseli was breathtaking and we simply could not believe that we were there. All the accommodations were perfectly chosen. The bigger locations at the end of our Kenya leg (Sopa and Sarova) are a very different experience with a lot more guests, however staff were still lovely. There are long days on terrible roads in the jeep, but this is Africa and our guides called these roads "African massage". We had so much fun bouncing around and watching towns go by and the locals bustling around. Visitors need to remember you are travelling HUGE land distances during these tours, adjust your expectations and head into it simply enjoying the unique experience for what it is. Tip: USD is recommended throughout the travel documents; however, we found staff wanted the local currency and actively tried to change USD with other people. Kenyan and Tanzanian shillings were much preferred by the staff everywhere we stayed. Highly recommend Bench Africa.

Our driver and guide in Tanzania was excellent (leopard tours)and exposed us to some wonderful encounters with the big 5 and many other exotic animals. Loved the hyenas and observing a baby antelope stand and take its first steps. He had the knack of placing us exactly in the right place to experience the animals at close quarters. Our guide in Kenya was experienced and informative and despite social unrest kept us safe. His insight into the Maasai people was insightful and mind blowing. Thank you particularly Bench for finding my laptop which I left behind early in the adventure and returning it to me in Nairobi. Well done. I can now tick that adventure off my bucket list. Food, accomodation ,company wonderful. Even the African ‘massages’ were an adventure..

Simply the best at all levels,outstanding accomadation from lodges, hotels and glamping. The food was such a cultural experience so fresh with variety. We travelled Tanzania to Kenya. Saw the big 5 we were overwhelmed with the experience. Excellent guides and service. We were emersed in these countries and learnt so much about the animals and culture. The customer service from Bench is outstanding when I called with questions I was given support from knowledgeable staff speical mention to April you excelled yourself over the phone.

We travelled to Africa as our once in a lifetime visit to experience a cross section of Southern and Eastern Africa. As a couple travelling with a good friend on single supplement, the three of us were totally impressed with Katelyn's ability to ensure that our requested 'in country' travel itinerary was arranged perfectly. We booked our own international flights before we chose Bench Africa to complete the 'in country itinerary'. Our trip involved a mix of various tours and independent requests/arrangements all booked through Bench Africa. All of these worked perfectly, with the accommodation, meals and transport (land and air) very well coordinated by Katelyn such that there were no problems with this relatively complicated itinerary. The standard of accommodation, meals and travel exceeded our expectations. Our 5 weeks included South Africa (rail, road and air), Kenya / Tanzania (12 day Safari), Zambia/ Zimbabwe and Botswana (land and air). Whilst we paid more than what we initially thought, Katelyn expanded our horizons on what was possible with the result that we achieved more than that we wanted to achieve for this adventure. This journey was faultless, value for money and a credit to Katelyn and Bench Africa. We highly recommend Bench Africa.

My wife and I recently did Highlights of East Africa, followed immediately by Historical Jordan, with Bench. Both tours were excellent! The organisation was first class and almost all the hotels were very good, with an interesting range of properties across both tours. The guides were very good indeed and the way the tours were managed on the ground was outstanding. We had a wonderful holiday and would recommend Bench to anyone thinking of doing tours like this. The only minor negative was the appallingly bad and inefficient service (in the restaurant and in Reception) at an otherwise beautiful property - the Sopa Lake Nakuru.

We recently visited Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania. Bench were recommended by friends and we worked with Steph to organise our trip. Right from the outset her knowledge of travel in Africa and her professionalism were outstanding. Her suggestions, recommendations and travel tips were spot on and made our trip an amazing experience. For example Steph suggested we visit the Gorillas in Rwanda early in our trip. If you are unwell at the time you wish to make the trek, you may not be allowed to visit the gorilla group (to protect them from human diseases). Another factor was that the treks (we did two) can be quite difficult and with our energy levels high early in the trip it was certainly better than attempting the treks after two or three weeks of travelling. The tours, lodges and tented camps Steph included in our itinerary made for a variety of excellent game viewing and experiences. Also, on one occasion we had a flight cancelled (not booked by Bench) which disrupted our travel plans prior to picking up a tour that Bench had booked. We contacted the Bench "help desk" and they promptly and professionally contacted the tour and transfer companies as well as our hotel for the night to update them on our delayed arrival. In summary, we would highly recommend Steph and Bench for any travel in Africa and wouldn't hesitate to use them again in future.

Easy company to deal with. Safari was excellent, fantastic sights. Road travel challenging but more than made up for by great accommodation. Extremely knowledgeable and helpful guides. This was a great trip.

Fantastic experience from the booking all the way through to returning home!

Had the best time in Tanzania and Kenya. From first speaking with Maria about a year ago to getting home safe and sound and very happy with our experience. The guides the accommodation the animals the people, everything was more than we expected.

We booked and chose our African experience through our local travel agent. After perusing all the booklets and catalogues available on Africa, Bench International had by far the more comprehensive trips and covered exactly what we were looking for. They covered a variety of levels of accommodation, sights and tour sizes. We were looking for small group, personalised safari's staying in secure accommodation along with a self-drive garden route finish within our budget. Bench put together the most amazing 5 weeks of our lives in August/September this year, covering our total wish list and more. They then provided ALL the information possible in a travel booklet including our itinerary, country information, approximately what amount of money we would require,tipping advice etc that we used like a bible on a daily basis. We started our trip in Arusha where we arrived at lunch time and had the afternoon to spare. Our Bench advisor 'Charles' who met at us our Hotel after being collected from the airport by our first tour guide 'Edwin', advised us not to leave the secured grounds of our accommodation. At our disappointment of being stuck in a room all afternoon (after 5 flights from Australia over the previous 2 days) Charles went over and beyond our expectations and arranged for a friend to come and collect us and take us for a 31/2 hour walk through Arusha and experience the local people and markets, then onto the local Tanzanite museum. We felt very secure in his company and had the most amazing insight into this city that would otherwise never have been available to us. The next morning 'Edwin' began our 7 day, Tanzanian part of the '12 day Highlights of East Africa' tour including Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti N/P & Lake Manyara N/P. Bench matched us perfectly with another couple of similar age and personality to make our small group tour extremely enjoyable - and found us new life long friends. Edwin had over 10 years experience as a tour guide and was extremely knowledgeable and could not do enough for us before leaving us at the Kenyan border for 'Freddie' our next very experienced tour guide. Freddie took us on to Amboseli N/P, Masai Mara Game Reserve, Lake Nakuru & Nairobi. By the time Freddie completed our Highlights of East Africa tour, we had seen ALL of the Big 5, some several times over! This included a Lioness killing a Warthog, Leopard attack on Gazelle, mating Rhino's & Lions, many Elephants and Buffalo on a daily basis - ALL at very close range. AMAZING! From here we flew to Zimbabwe for 4 days at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge. We are so glad Bench offered the extra optional activities of a Helicopter flight over Victoria Falls & the Zambezi River which gives a whole different appreciation of this landscape from the sky; Elephant Back Safari and Lion encounter which gave us very personal time learning about these amazing animals and walking/riding with them through their natural environment and not in caged areas. From here we flew to Cape Town and on our own began a 12 day self-drive Garden Route trip. With a suggestion list from Bench we explored Cape Town, the Winelands and the garden route up to Port Elizabeth. Our hire car & accommodation once again was perfectly arranged to our taste and budget. During our trip we stayed in top hotels, tented lodges and on a coffee farm. All this accommodation was immaculate, well presented and many provided 3 meals a day including a packed lunch box on the days we were on Safari drives. At no time on our tour did we feel unsecure as our guides were local people with great local knowledge. Everything went perfectly to plan with our very experienced tour guides Edwin and Freddie offering over and above what we expected. We would highly recommend Bench International to anyone and if we were ever to return to these beautiful countries would never travel with anyone else. Thank you Bench and your tour staff for a once in a lifetime most amazing holiday to Africa. Rob & Carleen Hargreaves, Queensland