Reviews

Timbuktu's trip planning advice and service was exactly what we needed. They listened to our goals and preferences and delivered with an itinerary that exceeded our expectations. I would definitely recommend Jonty and his team at Timbuktu.

A pleasure working with Jonty. He worked diligently to meet all our needs.

My family recently returned from a safari in Kenya. Our children are 8, 10, and 13 years old. We had no idea where to start planning such a complicated trip and came across Timbuktu online. After flipping through the website for a little while, I reached out over the phone. I began working with Joanna and I couldn't possibly be happier with her level of knowledge and help planning our trip. We told her our approximate budget and she was able to accommodate us with an amazing itinerary. She walked us through every step of the process from passports, vaccinations, visas, all the way through my concerns with traveling with my children half way across the planet. We had the trip of a lifetime and my children were awestruck every step of the way. From the time we exited the airport in Nairobi to the time we stepped back in airport on the way home, we had a local guide with us. We spent a couple of days in Ol Pejeta where we saw all kinds of wildlife (lions, cheetah, elephants, buffalo, gazelles, baboons, and rhino). It was amazing to see so many rhino since we didn't see any in the masai mara when we traveled there for the next 4 days. We stayed at Spekes camp in the mara, and the staff and guides were amazing. We had our own vehicle in both locations which was key since we were traveling with our family. This allowed us to stay late on safari at times and sleep in a little bit when the kids were exhausted on other days. That flexibility made the trip perfect. The Masai Mara was simply too breathtaking to put into words. The ecosystem, the abundance of wildlife (thousands of wildebeest and zebra everywhere and the cats - so many lions and cubs just doing their thing). Watching a river crossing was amazing and extremely intense. You are rooting against the crocs and it is sad to watch them take down animals during the crossing. Once the wildebeest made it up the other side safe from the crocs, they needed to escape the lions - again the lions were too good of hunters as well. It is thrilling watching nature in its wildest form, but still sad to see a zebra taken down by crocs. My kids handled it well and were glad that they were able to witness so much. The guides in both Ol Pejeta and the Mara were extremely knowledgeable of the animals. We saw and learned about so much more wildlife than we ever could have wished for and would highly recommend the trip and Timbuktu. Joanna Rigby-Jones was a breath of fresh air and so amazingly thorough with us. I can't imagine anyone doing a better job. She even had a conference with my entire family a few days before the trip to answer any questions and address any concerns that my kids had (such as the likelihood of being eaten by a lion). Thanks to everyone at Timbuktu for organizing this adventure for my family!

Joanna at Timbuktu helped us have the best honeymoon ever!!!

Excellent, excellent and excellent service! The trip planning was smooth and easy from the very beginning. Katie is so responsive and listens to my every request. I had gone back and forth with my planning and she was so patient and working with me to tailor the trip to best fit my budget and my vision. Even though I have not gone on my trip yet but I know I will be using Timbuktu again in the future for my other African trip planning needs. Their website has so much information (information is very transparent too!) and easy to navigate.

Incredible customer service - Jonty couldn’t have been more helpful and responsive. He really did design the safari holiday of our dreams in Kenya - an unforgettable experience for my family. We really appreciated the upgrades he managed to secure for us :) I have already recommended Timbuktu to all my friends!

I was overwhelmed trying to research safari provider options on the Intranet until I came upon the Timbuktu website. I was immediately impressed with its well designed and easy to use format. The website offers incredible amounts of information on countries, nationals parks and lodges and informative guidance on everything from creating your own safari to choosing one of the Timbuktu suggested safari itineraries to weather, safari packing and vaccinations. Once I discovered Timbuktu I stopped looking at any other online options. US-based rep Kristin J was incredibly helpful. She ensured the booking, payment and logistics for my first safari in August 2019 went super smoothly and she was always responsive to any questions I had. On the ground every single connection and reservation was in place. I never had any issues traveling to/from 3 different Tanzanian national parks and onto Zanzibar. I highly recommend this company and hope to use them again for future safari adventures.

Katja was extremely responsive; and planned a wonderful trip for my sister and I. She answered all my queries and telephone calls.

Everything was very well organized, from the initial interactions about lodging and routes, to changes based on availability, and to the staff on the ground, in Namibia, providing accurate and complete information. Made us feel secure and comfortable doing a self-drive tour around the country knowing that we have the information we need to make decisions or to call for help.

Timbuktu was excellent and responsive. Their head of sales provided rapid service and answered a number of questions whenever we had them. The information they provide before heading out is comprehensive, with a lot of small details and tips that really make a big difference.