We are large enough to be respected as the premier safari Company in East Africa and still small enough to care about each of our travellers.” Any tour operator can get you to Africa and provide you with a guide… but TerrapinSafari’s roots are there. Our commitment to East Africa and local network guaranteed you will be well looked after.”
Terrapin Safari is a well-organized safari taking you efficiently to the ideal combination of places, of which is a priceless experience. We arrange wildlife encounters with world class guides, wonderful accommodation, delicious meals and charming hosts in some of the world’s most wild, beautiful places and worth every penny.
Terrapin Safari was established in 2000 and specializes in arranging the very best tailor-made safari holidays in East Africa.
Our tours vary from budget to luxury camping, lodge and tailor-made private safaris catering for families and large groups. The majority of our employees are native and knowing their way round home well, will ensure your trip remains vivid in memory for years to come.
We use powerful HF radios in our vehicles to maintain contact with the clients even in the remotest parts of Africa.
East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda) has everything for the visitor; National Parks and Wildlife Reserves, Spectacular Scenery from the rolling Savannah of the Serengeti and Maasai Mara to the Great Rift Valley and the lush Central Highlands around Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya. It is also home of rich tribal cultures including the Maasai, Samburu and Kikuyu.
Our lodge safaris have been thoroughly researched and planned to ensure comfort and adventure at a leisurely pace. The lodges have been selected for quality services, accommodation, interesting locations and best value for money.
Wonderful guiding, you will have guides with personality and expert knowledge who are good communicators. A good guide will play an important part in your experience of Africa. Camps and lodges that are run by charming hosts. Utterly reliable people to meet you and take you from one place to the next.
Perfect accommodation, you will stay in remote and scenic settings, near the wildlife. The camps and lodges are beautifully designed, intimate and comfortable with delicious food and charming hosts. Usually each lodge or camp takes only ten to sixteen guests. You may find that the other guests who choose to stay at these types of places have a lot in common with you and may strike up some lasting friendships. We also know dozens of exquisite hideaways in the Indian Ocean.
For our budget tours, we use purposely built expedition trucks and 4 X 4 Land cruisers ideal for organized groups. Due to the conditions of the roads we journey, our vehicles are built to withstand the remotest parts of East Africa. Though this does not guarantee breakdowns, it greatly enhances the spirit of adventure – a pre requisite for any trip through Africa. Nonetheless, our vehicles are well serviced and regularly renewed for reliability.
For luxury and personalized attention, the director, Mr. Daniel, will lead the safaris in specially built 4×4 land cruisers. Here we supply large stand-up tents, folding beds, bedding/sleeping bags, towels, chairs, cooks and helpers who will do the laundry. Shower tents and toilets are carried for camps with no facilities (most special campsites in East Africa are without any facilities). These private safaris offer flexibility as to where to go making it possible to use lodges and luxury tented camps at choice destinations for comfort and relaxation.
Uniquely blending with an ideal combination of places for wildlife, scenery and activities you are seeking for the time of year you want to travel. We work in four countries and there are hundreds of camps, lodges and guides. We know which places work well in combination and how long you should stay somewhere. If you’re looking for somewhere special to go for a honeymoon, we know just the places to go.
The Animals are usually observed from the safety and comfort of the vehicles, but optional game walks are available escorted by your hunter/guide and led by Masai or Samburu tribesmen. For the more adventurous, balloon safaris are available, as are guided climbs of Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya and gorilla tracking in Uganda’s Bwindi impenetrable forest.
With our camping and lodge trips, the driver is the tour guide and mechanic, while the cook caters for your dietary requirements ensuring fresh food cooked over wood fires. For those who truly wish to engross themselves in Africa – its wildlife and diverse peoples at a reasonable cost will find our camping safaris a convenient link. Often being part of a group of other people from various destinations enriches the trip and cements new friendships. Our aim is to provide exactly the right holiday to suit your particular requirements and then see that your holiday is executed to perfection.
Holiday of a lifetime
Whether you are looking for a perfect honeymoon, a special family holiday your first safari or if you are an experienced visitor to Africa with special requirements, Terrapin Safari has the expertise and understanding to make it a holiday of a lifetime.
On safari you will experience the luxury lodges at Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Nakuru. Your tented camp in private sites will have comfortable walk-in tents which sleep two people. They are completely fly proof with comfortable beds. Hot showers and toilets are attached to each tent. Excellent cuisine is produced in the camp kitchen by our chef. We have semi permanent campsites at Masai Mara and Samburu where we provide stand up tents, beds and mattresses, showers and clean toilets. At Lake Turkana we provide traditional Turkana huts in our semi permanent beach campsite with a bonus 22-seater powerboat to visit the surrounding areas in search of crocodiles, birds, and cultural excursions.
Terrapin Safari are tour operators offering adventure safaris in Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. We are now celebrating 12 years in the tour business, successfully operating camping and lodge safaris which have earned us a superior reputation world-wide due to quality and reliable service. To guarantee similar service in the four countries of East Africa, we have established company branch offices all over East Africa. Likewise all ‘Sister Companies’ specialise in all types of safaris, i.e.. walking safaris for hikers and trekkers or those with a desire to venture off the beaten trail seeking the definition of ‘raw Africa.’
We realise the need for sustainable use of natural resources and national heritage upon which our business very much depends upon. Accordingly we support eco-tourism and involve our selves in conservation projects as well as sponsoring various local communities with employment and education. We are active members of Tanzania,Kenya & Uganda Association of Tour Operators, and the East African Wildlife Society.
Our ethos is to provide quality service within our clients’ means.
We welcome you to join our TERRAPIN SAFARIS – your holiday of a lifetime
Community & Scholarships
For many years, Terrapin Safaris has endeavoured to pour funds and resources back into the communities that we touch during the course of outfitting safaris.
Through conscientious work with small groups, schools and NGO’s it is possible for even the smallest contribution to make a huge difference to the lives of East African Children.
Within the communities that we work with there is a fundamental willingness and desire to strive for better education for the young, but more often than not the lack of funds to follow the compulsory primary education, with the all important secondary studies that can shape the future of East African children and her citizens.
Simply put, we are not attempting to change the world but merely make a difference.
In setting up our community support, there are a number of different ways to contribute to helping with the problems faced by young people here in underdeveloped Africa.
We as a company pledge 4% of our annual turnover to Children’s Home and also maintain a small group of secondary scholarships.
Scholarships
For our guests wishing to help, there is the choice of one-off donations in support of scholars preparing to enter secondary education. The donation helps with the purchase of school uniforms, textbooks and equipment and travel allowances. In return, the recipient of the donation is required to acknowledge, with thanks, the donation, in writing with a photograph of his or herself mailed directly to the donor. School and home visits are most welcome by sponsors.
Alternatively, for those wishing to forge a more long-term relationship, there is the possibility of pledging to support a child or children through their secondary education. This requires a long-term commitment of 5 years with annual payments. With this long term approach it is common for great friendships to build between the recipient and donor with an exchange of letters, school reports and the creation of long standing links between under-developed Africa and first world lives.
Students are chosen through a forum of selection that involves written applications and references from the respective schools. Once a student successfully meets the criteria for possible scholarship or secondary preparation we endeavour to find a suitable source of funding for him or her with periodic follow ups from us throughout the year to ensure that both student and donor are meeting their respective end of the bargain!
Terrapin Safari 