Safaris Tanzania

Kassim Abdallah grew up in Arusha in the shadow of Kilimanjaro, at the edge of the greatest wildlife ecosystem on earth. His first job in the safari industry was as a junior guide in 1978 — barely paid, but out in the Serengeti every week, learning the land that would define his life.

He founded Safaris Tanzania because he kept watching travellers pay European companies premium prices for safaris that were, in practice, run by Tanzanian guides and Tanzanian vehicles. The European company kept the margin. The Tanzanian operator kept the work. Kassim decided to create an operation that removed the middleman entirely — where the person you booked with was the person whose name was on the vehicles.

That was 1978. Today, Safaris Tanzania is a true family operation. Three generations of the Abdallah family have now guided safaris across Tanzania's northern circuit. Kassim's sons work alongside him — one manages vehicle maintenance and logistics, the other handles guide training and park coordination. His nephews are certified safari guides. When you travel with us, you are not just booking a company. You are joining a family business that has spent 48 years perfecting one thing: showing you Tanzania.

For first-time safari-goers, that history matters. You want to know your operator has a spotless safety record. You want to know they understand how to position a vehicle for a leopard sighting at dusk. You want to know they will not abandon you if something goes wrong. We have been doing this since before TripAdvisor existed. Meet the Abdallah family — three generations of Tanzanian guides. Our reputation was built one traveller at a time, through word of mouth and honest service. Our team at Bobby Tours and Safaris has been running East African safaris since 1978.

For 48 years, Kassim has guided and overseen tens of thousands of travellers through the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire, Ruaha, and Zanzibar. He knows migration patterns across five decades — not from a database, but from personal observation. He knows the Mara River crossing sites well enough to tell you which bank the herds are likely to use based on the current rainfall. He tracks his guides' weekly sightings and adjusts client positioning accordingly. That is local knowledge you cannot buy from an algorithm.

Our guides are born and raised in Tanzania. They grew up near these parks. They are fluent in English, Swahili, and often French or German. Every one of them holds TALA certification — Tanzania's official tourist guide credential. They know animal behavior, bird species, Maasai culture, and park regulations inside out. More importantly, they know how to read your energy. If you want silence at sunrise, they give you that. If you want stories about the Serengeti ecosystem, they have a lifetime of them.

We are committed to responsible tourism. Safaris Tanzania partners with local conservation organisations and community projects and follows Leave No Trace principles across all parks. We respect wildlife viewing distances, support anti-poaching initiatives, and employ local staff from Arusha and surrounding villages. When you travel with us, your money stays in Tanzania — not in a European holding company's offshore account.

Safaris Tanzania now operates its own fleet of custom 4x4 Land Cruisers, employs its own experienced guides, and manages every detail of your safari directly — from airport pickup to the last campfire. When you book with us, you are not talking to a call centre. You are talking to Kassim on WhatsApp — the same person who will check your vehicle, brief your guide, and be reachable throughout your trip. That is what direct booking with the ground operator actually means.