Our story
Safaris built around the empty seat
Where it started
Join Group Safari grew out of Bright Star Hotels in Arusha, the town where almost every northern Tanzania safari begins. Working with guests day after day, our team kept seeing the same thing: vehicles leaving the yard with two people in a six-seat Land Cruiser, while other travellers walked away from a quote because a private safari was out of reach.
The fix was simple, and it is the whole idea behind this company. Publish real departure dates, sell the seats individually, and guarantee the trip goes ahead once it is listed. Travellers get the same guide, the same parks and the same lodges at a fraction of the private price, and the vehicles leave full.
What we do today
From our Sakina office in Arusha we run joining departures across Tanzania's northern, southern, western and coastal circuits, all seven Kilimanjaro routes, Zanzibar and Pemba, plus day trips around Arusha and Moshi. Beyond Tanzania we arrange gorilla and chimpanzee trekking in Uganda and Rwanda, and Masai Mara, Amboseli and Samburu itineraries in Kenya - often as add-ons to a Tanzanian safari.
If a published departure does not fit, our tailor-made desk builds the same trip privately, at your pace, with a written quote back to you within 24 hours.
Travelling responsibly
We hire local driver-guides, cooks and porters and pay park, conservation and permit fees in full so that the money reaches the parks and the communities beside them. On the mountain we follow route operator rules on porter loads and rest days, and in the parks our guides keep to the off-road and wildlife distance rules even when a photograph would be better for it.
How we work
Shared seats, honest prices
A safari vehicle costs the same whether one person or six is in it. By selling seats on guaranteed departures we spread the cost of the vehicle, guide and fuel across the group, so solo travellers and couples pay closer to what a large family pays.
Guaranteed departures
Once a departure is published it runs. You will never be told a week before travel that your trip has been cancelled because the group was too small.
Our own vehicles and guides
We operate a fleet of pop-top 4x4 Land Cruisers with window seats for everyone, and work with driver-guides who live in the regions they guide - Arusha, Karatu, Moshi and the coast.
Clear payment terms
A 30% deposit confirms your seat and the balance is due one week before departure. Park fees, permits and everything listed in the itinerary are quoted up front.