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This Tour Is Offered By

Image Travel Limited

Image Travel Limited

Image Travel

4.5/5  
(203 Reviews)
Office In:
Kenya Kenya
Size:
5-10 employees (Founded in 2011)
Tour Types:
Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
Destinations:
Kenya KE
Rwanda RW
Seychelles SC
Tanzania TZ
Uganda UG
Image Travel Limited

Image Travel Limited

Image Travel Limited is a Destination Management Company, with the objective of promoting quality standards in Tourism, Travel and Safaris. Image Travel Ltd will help you plan and organize your East African holiday. Based in Nairobi Kenya, we offer holidays and safaris in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zanzibar and Indian Ocean Beaches. We offer the very Best of Wildlife and Nature.

Reviews203

Disgraceful agency. Don't use them at any cost.
1/5

We booked with Image Travel Ltd the following package : 4-Day Luxury Lionhill Camp & Mara Serena Lodge Safari with 4X4WD LandCruiser Jeep for 2 persons costing 3,996 $.
This is a highly negative review for this agency which surprisingly has otherwise very favorable reviews.
1) First of all, the booking process was good, I got several quotes from multiple agencies from safaribookings website and compared them, did a lot of research using different reviews websites and finally choose Image Travel. Booking was made in July 2024 for a safari in September 2024. Paid initially a deposit then full payment using wire transfer. Up until then all good with smooth communication.
2) As we are approaching the start day of our safari, there was no communication from the agency. They didn't know our hotel in Nairobi, neither did they have my phone number, nor did we know the pick up time. So 2 days before the start day I email them in the morning letting them know my hotel and to confirm pick up time. No reply. I send a WhatsApp message in the evening. No reply. 1 day before start of trip, still nothing. I was in Nairobi already so call them around 9 am to ask. A man picked up and when I asked about pick up time he said 8 am, and I told him I sent email with our hotel name, he said ok I will reply to you. It's now 2 pm and no acknowledgement or reply to my email. Having wire transfered 4000 $ and just hours before the safari start, I decided to go check out their office in Nairobi CBD area. There were 2 girls, and I told them I come here to confirm the trip, she is ok, took her dairy and noted the hotel name. When queried how would she have known our hotel if I didn't come, the answer given was "most our guests come the day before start so we send them email 5/6 pm the day before to confirm the hotel and time"... ok but that's not a reason to not reply to email or WhatsApp message. Poor communication. Red flag was raised here.
3) Next day luckily the safari driver is on time to pick us. We go to lake nakuru, but the agency hasn't paid the entrance fee. So we wait at the front entrance waiting for them to pay. That seems normal since other safari vehicles also stopped waiting for payment. But they waited at most 15 min. We waited almost 2 hours... the driver had to make several calls to them to get it done, with excuses such as "she is going to the bank make payment "... meanwhile dozens of cars entered the park. Arrived at park entrance 12 pm and entered at 2 pm. Due to this we missed lunch, no big deal but still, and it started raining. So we skipped the hotel and directly went for the game drive. The game ended being much shorter than planned due to this delay.
They also changed the hotel to sopa lodge and booked double room when I clearly asked twin bedroom and they confirmed it. Luckily the hotel was good enough and they gave us twin room.
4) Next day, going to Masai Mara, the driver and us made a clear plan to press Image Travel office to pay the entrance fee to masai mara early to avoid the same issue as Lake nakuru. We left Lake nakuru at 7 am. We arrived at Masai Mara entrance at 1.30 pm. And Serena park entrance at 3.30 pm. The driver told us it should take 5/6 hours. It took 8h30... the driver was driving slowly, he even made the following remark "I am driving slowly to buy us time so they can make the payment of the park"... that was so, so frustrating, so I paid 4000 $ and flew all the way to Kenya just to enjoy a slow ride in a jeep going to Masai Mara ? Seriously ? According to the safari plan, we were to supposed to arrive at Masai mara for lunch... completely wrong.
Now ofcourse despite the driver several calls, the fees was not paid when we arrived at Masai mara entrance, but the driver got a "transit pass" to go to the Mara triangle entrance. Then the agency told the driver due to "payment system issue " we should pay the entrance fee, which is 800$ for 2 persons for 2 days by ourselves and they will refund that amount later. I got an email from them stating that also, "promising" to refund the amount once "the issue is solved". Now I am no fool, and I don't believe I would ever see that amount back, living in Europe dealing with a Kenyan travel agency on basis of "promise" in an email. I flat out refused and told them to sort it out. I paid 4000$ and I am not expected to fork out another 800 $ because of their problem (or atleast that's what they say). I got a number from the email to call, and I told them I paid a full package, they are member of the KATO (Kenya Association Of Tour Operators), have good review and rankings and this is completely unacceptable and unprofessional. I told them I don't have 800 $, so either they pay the fee or we go back to Nairobi and next morning I register my complaint with KATO, the tourism police and Tourism regulatory authority, in addition to negative reviews. She said ok give me 30 min to find an alternative to solve issue. Keep in mind that it's approaching 4 pm and we are wasting time dealing with this instead of a game drive... 5 min later, the driver found a solution : his boss (who is a contractor working for Image Travel) will pay and Image Travel will reimburse him later. Because of this we once again only a short game drive lasting less than 2 hours.
5) On day 4, going back to Nairobi. Upon checkout at Mara Serana Hotel in Masai Mara, we were informed Image Travel did not pay the hotel. They will not release us and let us leave until it is paid. That was at 7 am. The driver made several calls to get it sorted, without success. I managed to directly call Image Travel, and they repeated the same excuses "payment system issue", which doesn't mean anything. I strongly objected to him about the handling of this situation and threatened to report to KATO and the TRA. I also argued with the hotel that they should pursue the matter with Image Travel Ltd directly and not keep us "hostages" here because I paid everything to them. They refused to let us go. At this point with the risk of missing our flight I was about to pay myself the 1100$ hotel invoice, since it was nearly 9 am, but at the same time the person from Image Travel Ltd wrote an email to the hotel and they let us go. I have been told that the email was once again just a "promise" to pay. Due to this the driver had to rush to the exit gate of Masai Mara before 10 am to avoid having pay extra fee which led us to miss the exit game drive.

All the issues led us to miss most of the time which should have been devoted to the game drives, in addition to headache, frustration and anger. This is completely unacceptable from a accredited tour operator in Kenya. Nothing in the schedule of the plan they gave us was respected. The driver told us 3 other vehicles of Image Travel were facing the same issue that day and not being released. Furthermore he said in his opinion the person in charge at Image Travel most likely run out of money and he is not paying anyone and just "promising" to pay everyone by email. This is completely unacceptable after having spent over 4000 $ for a safari and projects a very negative image of Kenyan tourism. I have submitted a complaint to the KATO and the TRA with appropriate documentation. Additionally it seems this issues are arising very frequently at this company based on recent online reviews.
Please save yourself the trouble and don't choose this agency at any cost.

Well organised and helpful. Michael was an excellent driver guide.
5/5

Booking our 8-day luxury lodge safari in Kenya with Image Travel was perfect.

Mwanje helped us tailor our itinerary to suit our needs and was very accommodating with our questions, responding quickly to emails and messages. The itinerary was organised very well and ran smoothly. Our only small issue was that communication was a little slow in the week before our safari (linking us up with our driver etc), but it was all well organised in the end!

The safari itself was absolutely fantastic, not least due to our brilliant driver guide, Michael. Michael has 18 years experience and was great at spotting wildlife, telling us about animals and making us feel comfortable and relaxed on long drives. He made our trip so special and we can’t thank him enough.

The hotels and lodges we stayed in as part of the luxury lodge package were excellent. The accommodation was clean and comfortable and the food and service was equally good. Mara Serena lodge and Ol Pejeta Sweetwaters camp were two of our favourites and would highly recommend.

Thank you to Mwanje and Michael for an unforgettable trip. I’d highly recommend Image Travel if you’re considering an African safari in the near future!

A great way to see amazing Kenya
4/5

We recently travelled on the 6 day Amboseli, Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru flying and driving Safari. We had a great time in all parks, seeing the big 5, getting great views of the parks and animals. Our guide David was very dedicated to showing us the best views and teaching us about the animals and landscapes. The accomodation was good and the food was really good. We saved a significant amount of driving time by choosing to fly between Amboseli and Masai Mara which meant we could see more of the park and animals.

Trustworthy
5/5

Mwanje showed great communication and helped us design our perfect safari in Maasai Mara. This made for a great safari experience and amazing stay at Mara Serena Safari Lodge. Our driver was also super friendly and knowledgeable.

Efficient, welcoming and super friendly!
5/5

We had a fabulous experience in Kenya thanks to Image Travels, Mwanje, Husna, Jasan, Rooney and most importantly Patrick.
The highlight of the trip was the fact that we were among the very few lucky tourists who got an almost open jeep for the safaris. Patrick was our tour guide and is from Amboseli. He has a special place for elephants in his heart :).

We stayed for 2 nights in Amboseli, 1 night in Nakuru and 2 nights in Mara. Patrick is an amazing guide and can spot any animal at any distance with just a glance!

If you're planning to visit Kenya for safaris, Image Travels is the way to go. The whole team is so warm and happy to welcome you, you feel at home the whole way!!

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Disclaimer

  • This tour is offered by Image Travel , not SafariBookings.
  • This operator reserves the right to change rates advertised on SafariBookings.
  • If you request changes to this tour, the advertised rates will likely change.
  • Rates include a fixed budget for flights during this tour. If flights cost more, your quote will reflect this.
  • The exact order, contents and rates of this tour are subject to availability.
  • If an accommodation is fully booked, the operator will suggest a comparable alternative.
  • This tour is subject to the terms & conditions of Image Travel .