avis_word GLADIOLA ADVENTURE Arusha

We traveled as a family of 4 (2 adults and two 4 and 7 year old kids). With our guide Reggie we had a perfect experience. Very patient and open to all our changes and ideas. So we could adapt our plans and were able to maximize our travel. The best is he was great with our kids and we always felt save and well informed about the wildlife

We booked a car with a driver/guide about two weeks before traveling.
We highly recommend the guide/driver George Evarest. He is a true professional in every sense. He has a wide knowledge, is an excellent driver and knows every corner in the area. He was patience, flexible and solved problems calmly and with a smile. We felt we were in good hands throughout the trip.

You should pay attention to a few important matters before setting off:
1. Be sure to prepare all park entry permits in advance. This will save you a lot of time when receiving the vehicle at the company office.
2. Make sure the car has an opening sunroof and a working air conditioner. The sun is strong at noon and it gets hot even in the winter days.

In general: 5 stars to our guide and 3 stars for the car.

The team has been very helpful and provided us with excellent advice and aided our bookings once we have arrived in Arusha. Much appreciated!
Had a great safari, did have some vehicle trouble, but the team was most helpful and made a plan to provide help whilst we were stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Me and my friends had the experience of a lifetime with Gladiola and our tour guide Reggie, I can't recommend them highly enough. We was on a tight budget but they still went above and beyond to cater to us in every which way possible. Reggie had all the information you could wish for on the animals and landscapes so big shout out to him. From me and the lads thanks bud.

Reggie was brilliant! Very impressive individual!

We loved our self-drive adventures. We could use the hire car to go to lots of the national parks. The company kept in touch, agreed to allow us to change the dates when I ended up in hospital, we're fine even when we had an issue with the exhaust, werent too bothered about small marks on the car. The Rav4 was perfect for what we needed. Definitely would recommend. Beware though - driving standards are totally different in Africa than the UK, Europe, America etc.

We loved our self-drive adventures. We could use the hire car to go to lots of the national parks. The company kept in touch, agreed to allow us to change the dates when I ended up in hospital, we're fine even when we had an issue with the exhaust, werent too bothered about small marks on the car. The Rav4 was perfect for what we needed. Definitely would recommend. Beware though - driving standards are totally different in Africa than the UK, Europe, America etc.

Good responses compared to the number i went looking for the car hire and after sometimes staffs are ready make you success with Your plan when you request

We had to change our plans because the visa for Kenya didn't come in time. Gladiola reacted very promptly to our request, offered a reasonable price and dropped off the car 2 days after booking fully equipped in our lodge in Arusha. Good instructions and help with tour planning and reservations for national parks. Only payment was difficult since they didn't accept card payment. For the rest we can really recommend, car was perfect even on the rough roads in Serengeti and Lake Natron we didn't have any problems.

Me and my girlfriend had a super time with Gladiola. Renting a car as self drive, going to Serengeti national park is not the easiest safari but by far the most adventurous and exciting. Gladiola (Didas & Melkiory) assist with all the arrangements and are always available for questions or when there are problems occurring.
So all communication has been super fast and you don’t feel alone but valued. Five stars

Gladiola Adventures was a really amazing experience. The owner and his staff were very nice, responsive and helpful. Car was in excellent shape. Fully recommend!

Gladiola Adventures was a really amazing experience. The owner and his staff were very nice, responsive and helpful. Car was in excellent shape. Fully recommend!

Excellent prices for a safari rental. The RAV4 we rented was very good at handling even the toughest terrain. Alao, the staff is very friendly and service was great.

We had a wonderful experience with Gladiola Adventures! Super friendly and helpful team, quick response time, great cars and equipment and all in all everything was perfectly organized and went very smooth. Highly recommended!!

Perfect service, perfect cars , round about highly recommended for self-drivers. We had an amazing and unforgetable time ! Didas and his team are super reliable and supportive. Thanks again for everything!

Nous avons passé une sejour extraordinaire et super bien organisé par gladiola. Nous avons loué une voiture avec un chauffeur-guide (Omari) qui parle francais. Super guide!! Process de reservation super, ils ont répondu à toutes nos questions. Voiture landcruiser avec toit amovible tres bien. Nous avons fait le Taranguire, le Manyara et le Ngorongoro avec un enfant en bas âge. Nous avons vu énormément d’animaux y compris de nombreux elephants et lions et même un leopard!
Vivement recommandé! Ils sont super, au top!

Great Price, Good Car, Good Service. We were taking a Toyota RAV 4 to Tarangire park for a 3 Day Safari and the car did great!

Une location de voiture très professionnelle, véhicule en parfait état , un personnel très accueillant.
un choix sans hésitation

Nous avons passé un super moment avec notre guide Ali qui était aux petits soins pour nous ! Gladiola Adventure a été très arrangeant avec nous alors que nous n'avions pas prévu de véhicule dès l'aéroport, ils nous ont pris en charge.

We spent 5 days in Safari with Gladiola. We hired two cars with Omari as a guide/driver and Matola as a cook.
We could organise our customised journey with a "camping" formula.

At the very start up, it was a little bit desorganised with the payement of left-over that had to be paid, at the latest notice, all in cash.

We were 2 families with six kids and all camping gears were OK.

Our guide,Omari, was great , dynamic and very helpful.
He made everything to feel us confortable and share his knowledge of wildlife.
He even teached us the national local song (Hakuna matata) in choir.
Matola was a great cook, always ready at time, and preparing us good food always in sufficience.

Cars were old but all in order and with all the things needed for that kind of trip.

In conclusion,we recommend Gladiola for people who want a flexible formula that can fit their budget.

Tuvimos la oportunidad de contratar un vehículo de autoconduccion con Gladiola Adventure Arusha y desde el primer momento de contacto todo fue realmente perfecto, la comunicación con Didas y su asistente Melkiory tanto antes como durante nuestro viaje fue total, ambos siempre atentos a solucionar y responder cualquier consulta, se nota su gran experiencia. Con respecto a la unidad todo estuvo 10 puntos, una hermosa toyota land crusier con tienda en el techo y equipada totalmente para cocinar, refrigerador incluido para disfrutar de unas merecidas cervezas heladas al final del día de safari. Es una empresa 100 x 100 confiable. Muchas gracias a Didas y todo su equipo.

Il est incroyable de decouvrir des "voyageurs " qui sont allées dans un pays aussi merveilleux que la Tanzanie, seulement pour traquer leur guide et prendre des photos avec le but de le faire virer et de ruiner son entreprise! Wow. Par hazard, nous avons rencontré ce guide "George" à l’entree de Ngorongoro. Il s'est approché de nous pour nous saluer lorsqu'il a reconnu notre voiture. Gratuit il nous a donné de bons conseils sur les itinéraires et il nous a enseigner où aller pour trouver des animaux. Il nous a offert beaucoup d'informations même si on n'était pas ses clients. Si les précédents commentateurs ont passé un mauvais moment avec George, c'est peut-être plus une réflexion sur eux-mêmes et leurs attentes mal placées.

En ce qui concerne Gladiola Adventures, selon nous ils représentent une valeur incroyable par rapport aux autres circuits tout compris, où le guide est serviteur et l’essence est incluse. Bravo Gladiola, on a passé un séjour incroyable à une fraction du prix avec vous. Merci pour votre chaleureuse hospitalité tanzanienne, et pour votre volonté d'apporter un service de qualité et d'écoute aux clients dès le début du processus. Vous avez été formidables !

Points positifs:
-Bon contact initialement avec le patron, Didas Dismas, qui a su organiser un périple tel que nous le souhaitions
-Réponse rapide aux emails
-De magnifiques endroits visités
-De magnifiques animaux photographiés
-Capacités à trouver des solutions assez rapidement pour réparer le véhicule quand cela a été nécessaire
-Nous avons dû décaler notre voyage de 3 mois pour des raisons familiales et cela s’est fait sans aucun soucis

Points négatifs:
-Lors des échanges de mails préalables au voyage il y avait des erreurs dans les calculs, en excès évidemment.
-Monsieur Didas nous a encouragé à prendre un chauffeur guide pour notre voyage alors que nous pensions le faire en self drive. Nous le regrettons fortement !!!
-Nous avons dû nourrir le dit chauffeur guide pendant tout notre voyage, quasiment sans jamais un merci, sans jamais une aide à la préparation ni à la vaisselle !
-Jamais d'aide pour charger ou décharger les bagages, ni pour monter ou démonter la tente, sauf le premier jour
-Notre guide George est très impoli et non intéressé par son travail ni par ses clients. Il a passé 9 jours sur son téléphone à appeler ou à recevoir et envoyer des messages (dans la voiture, devant les animaux, au volant, pendant les repas, dans sa tente la nuit…).
-Le même George est un très mauvais ambassadeur de son pays, de la protection de la nature et de la conservation des espèces animales. Il est sorti de la voiture à deux reprises dans des parcs nationaux pour ramasser une tortue et faire des photos avec elle. Lorsque nous avons vu un rhinocéros dans le serengeti il a dit que c’était l’animal le plus cher. « Si on en détient un on peut être très riche grâce à sa corne ». Nous étions outrés par ses propos !!! Suite des informations erronées : « il y a peu de rhino en tanzanie car l’Afrique du Sud les prend ». C’est absolument faux ! Et enfin la cerise sur le gâteau lorsque nous avons vu un python dans le parc de Tarangire : « si on le ramasse on peut le revendre 400$ ». Là encore des propos catastrophiques !!
-Jamais cette personne ne s’est intéressé à nous, nos vies, nos métiers. Dramatique.
-Le véhicule que nous avions est mal entretenu, non révisé. Il faisait du bruit dès que nous sommes montés dedans et cela a ensuite demandé 2 arrêts au garage qui ont évidemment entamé notre temps dans les parcs nationaux. Ensuite une fuite moteur à encore demandé un arrêt, même si le tout a été réparé en moins de deux heures. Aucun outil dans la voiture en dehors d'une clé et d'un crique.
-Nous avons eu droit à une demande d’argent (pour le cratère du Ngonrogoro à 300$ par personne) alors que nous avions déjà tout réglé auparavant. Heureusement que j’avais tout imprimé ce qui a fait que la discussion s’est vite arrêtée.
-Nous avons également dû payer les pleins d’essence.

En résumé, compagnie à éviter à mon sens de par le manque d’éthique du chauffeur guide que nous avons eu.

Nous avons loué deux véhicules chez Gladiola. Nous les recommandons à 100%. Après avoir comparé plusieurs agences de location à Arusha, nous avons choisi Gladiola car leurs tarifs étaient très compétitifs et qu’ils étaient les plus réactifs. Nous ne regrettons pas notre choix. Le véhicules étaient en bon état, ils ont toujours été très réactifs et arrangeants malgré nos multiples changements de programmes. Personnel très sympathique. On recommande !

Great safari experience with Gladiola. Before arriving in Arusha we exchanged several emails with Didas who was very helpful on answering all our questions and assisting on designing our safari itinerary. We finally decided to do self driving for Tarangire and Manyara and hire a guide/driver for Ngorongoro (mandatory for the crater), Serengeti and Natron which at the end we really appreciated as driving in Northen Serengeti and Natron is quite challenging due to the bad condition of the roads and the lack of directions. When we arrived to Arusha we met with a member of the Gladiola team to pick up the car and book and pay for the entrance to the different parks. The Land Cruiser we got was old and lacked AC/stereo but strong and robust for the tough roads. It included pop-up roof for game viewing and a fridge. We had a couple of problems with the car at the beginning of the trip but Didas and the team did everything possible to fix them. After that everything worked fine for the rest of the trip. Our driver Stanley was very knowledgeable of the animals (especially birds!) and the different areas of the parks. He provided us with a great service. Overall it was a great value experience when comparing to other companies that offer closed packages and with the freedom of being able to choose your own itinerary and either self-drive or hire a guide/driver.

In February 2019, we rented a Rav 4 from Gladiola. We went on a road trip to Lushoto in the Usambara mountains, we visited Mkomazi park and drove all the way to Saadani park just the 2 of us without guide and it all went very well. The Rav4 was in perfect order and we had no issue at all. I had to contact Dimas a few times for some info about the area we were in and he was very helpful, returning the calls very quickly. We are planning a return trip in November 2021 and will rent a Land Cruiser from them for our excursion in the Serengeti. I can only recommend them.

We've had a fascinating 8-days trip with Gladiola!
We really liked the hotels that were booked for us, they were even better than ones I had in mind.
Elia, our driver and guide, was really, really good, excellent! To me, he is a definition of a guide: always ready to spot animals, tell us interesting facts, answer tons of our questions, and tirelessly drive big distances when needed, staying positive all the time. He was always attentive to our needs, he helped us with the doctor when we had encountered a minor problem etc.
The jeep was in good condition, we had a 4-seat for the two of us. The opening roof was really cool compared to usual cars - we could see a lot with comfort.
At first we didn't know what to choose - self-driving or a guided tour, and Gladiola shared their clients' contacts so we could talk to them, and we did. We think we did the right choice because it's great to spend all the time watching instead of driving, but also because the roads in the parks become really messy after rains, and I don't think it's possible to compete with guides in animal-spotting:) plus they have radios to exchange info on animals spotting.

Sergey and Ekaterina.