This Tour Is Offered By
Elevate Your Escapes
Splendid Vacations
- Office In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2023)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
-
ETKERWZATZUG
The Splendid Vacation team guarantees you an unrivaled African travel experience by offering safaris to unequalled tourism destinations in Africa. Our collection of safaris and lodges are advantageously located in Africa's most sought-after National Parks and Game Reserves.
Reviews145
CN
Sweet arrangement from Splendid but mixed experience with the guide
We had an 11 day safari in Kenya, it’s such a wonderful adventure. Splendid did great in helping us with the arrangement and making sure everything connected smoothly. Our tour consultant James from the office was patient, reliable, and a pleasure to communicate with. I was a little nervous in the beginning paying the deposit when I’m not in the country yet, but the moment we landed in Kenya and were met by the James and the driver, we instantly felt relieved. The vehicle was in excellent condition—clean and tidy inside, spacious and comfortable, and fully equipped with charging ports and a fridge. Splendid even prepared special honeymoon decorations on the back of the car, which was a wonderful surprise for us. It attracted many smiles, friendly conversations, and congratulations along the way. It was clear that they had put a lot of thought and care into making the trip special for us. They had been quietly working behind the scenes to make everything run smoothly.
Although we had a very good experience with our tour consultant James, who was professional, reliable, and patient, our experience with our driver and guide James was mixed.
On the positive side, James is an experienced guide and very good at spotting animals. We weren’t focused on ticking off specific animals from a list—just encountering wildlife naturally was already a joy for us. But thanks to James’s excellent spotting skills, along with some good luck, we ended up seeing an amazing variety of animals and birds. James was also a good driver who always managed to get us arrive in time and drive smoothly even in the most bumpy conditions.
However, there are things we did not feel comfortable and behaviors that are unprofessional:
- About driving off-road: this is the dealbreaker experience that made us very unhappy. During our time in Masai Mara reserve, James asked for 200KSH to pay the rangers, I didn’t think too much and thought probably just rangers trying to make a living. But when it happened the second time in Mara Triangle it concerned me, and I did some serious research afterwards on driving off-road. When we were at the gate of Mara Triangle, James read the rules to us (not sure if its park requirement) and one of them was: cars are not allowed to drive off-road and not allowed to drive too close to the animals. In later conversations with different people, I learned that as a private conservancy Mara Triangle had strict rules and enforcements, bribing the rangers is unlikely to work here. We were seeing a cheetah along with a group of other cars and then saw the rangers coming to get the cars to move. James asked us for 1000KSH cash, saying everyone will have to pay. Instead of driving away like other cars, he drive towards the rangers and spoke Swahili that I don’t understand but the rangers seem serious and James also did not look happy. After the conversation James also drove us away. We did not see any official fine issued, receipt provided, or payment made directly to park authorities. Later, when we asked for the money back, James said that he dropped the money on grass through the window (when there’s a cheetah in close distance?) and other cars paid through m-pesa (how possible they know which ranger to pay?), if we don’t pay they will charge a huge fine, and said this is good for us… I just don’t feel he is being honest. If he is honest, then these people playing with the rules in the grey area is ridiculous. Neither is acceptable. It’s not about the money, but about honesty and integrity. If you’re a good guide we’re happy to pay you good tips, but trying to make money in a sneaky way is just not acceptable. Looking back, I felt guilting getting on the grass and getting close to the animals, if I was given the choice, I will for sure not do that. To us, integrity and honesty is more important than getting close to the animals. We hope guides could follow the rules, transparency and clarity could be ensured in such situations in the future.
- Being late: this is a huge red flag for a safari guide. James was on time for the first day when he came to meet and pick us up. But later, he was late most of the time and we rarely met at the supposed time. When he says we leave 7:30am , that probably mean 8am. There’re many times when we’re wrapping up with our breakfast close to our leaving time, we see James just coming for breakfast. I have to admit sometimes we’re behind a little bit, but we’re usually late within a 10min range. We pay for our guide’s time so the guide shouldn’t be the one to be late…
- My husband is a kind and gentle guy who is easygoing and always treats people nicely, but I feel our guide is taking advantage of it. James did not remember my husband’s name even till the last day (11 days and private car with just the two of us) and called the wrong name after multiple times of correction, it’s not a name in a different language but an easy English name, so he just did not want to pay attention.
- He was on the phone ALL THE TIME. Probably 50% of the times when we’re in the parks James is busy on the phone, we had to wait if we had questions about the animals. James is good at spotting animals but didn’t share much about animal knowledge, we had to keep asking questions. We kept asking so he started sharing more towards the end of the trip. He’s different from all the other guides we met during the safari (guides from hotels and parks during our visit), while others usually try to share as much as possible. This is probably just his style.
- Some times I feel confused if we’re the customer or our driver is the customer… most of the times we’re the ones waiting for him; he asks us to take pictures and asks us to send it to him. I feel I have these tasks assigned from him that I have to get done during my travel time. I’m happy with that, but there’s a line between being pushy and asking politely, and you know when the line is crossed, and if you ask for something from someone else, you’ll need to follow their timeline, instead of expecting them instantly.
- The binocular is by default in his hand, he not only asks for the binocular from us when watching animals (for him to take pictures from his phone) but also asks for our phone / camera for him to take pictures of the animals for us (and then asks us to send this this pics), I felt okay at first but uncomfortable with constantly doing so. It’s my experience, its only meaningful when the photos are taken from ourselves, so refused to do so later.
I hesitated for quite some time about whether to include these in the public review, but in the end I decided to do so. I believe people should be accountable for their actions, and sometimes only real consequences can lead to change. With all the aspects that we’re unsatisfied, we still left a good tip in the end—far more than the service level we were provided. We appreciate James' hard work and did not want him to feel that his efforts had gone unnoticed or unappreciated. However, the things that made us uncomfortable are something we hope the travel agency will take seriously.
Reply from Splendid Vacations
Posted on Mar 13, 2026Dear Anika,
Thank you for your thoughtful review and for sharing your experience with us. We are delighted to hear that you had a wonderful adventure in Kenya and that James at the office made planning your honeymoon safari easy. We are also pleased that the special honeymoon decorations on the back of the car brought smiles, friendly conversations, and congratulations along the way.
However, we regret to learn that your experience with driver James was not good. We take your feedback seriously, as it does not reflect the standards of Splendid Vacations. Our company has strict policies that all our drivers must follow to ensure our guests have memorable safari experiences.
Allow me to address the key issues you raised:
Off-road Driving: Off-road driving is only permitted in private conservancies, not in parks and reserves. It is illegal to drive off-road, and James was aware of this, but he chose to break the law. Unfortunately, he requested cash to pay the rangers, which was unnecessary. We are more than willing to refund the amount you paid to the rangers for off-roading.
Lateness: Our policy clearly states that drivers should be ready to pick up clients ahead of schedule. For example, if the driver is supposed to pick up a guest at 8:00 AM, he should be ready by 7:30 AM to ensure the customer does not have to wait and the driver has enough time to confirm everything is set for the day. We are sorry to hear that James was consistently late and that you often had to wait for him.
To prevent this from happening to any guests in the future, we will meet with driver James and require him to submit a report addressing the issues raised, and he will face disciplinary action.
NOTE: We strive to provide our clients with memorable, trouble-free safari tours, but sometimes, despite our best efforts, things can go wrong. If you encounter any issues during your safari tour with Splendid Vacations Africa, please inform your tour planning consultant via email immediately. This allows us to address the problem on the spot, ensuring it does not spoil your safari experience.
In conclusion, we sincerely apologize for the mixed experience you had with James, and we greatly value your feedback. We are committed to taking the necessary steps to ensure that future guests have the memorable and fulfilling experience they deserve.
Thank you!
Best regards,
Splendid Vacations Africa.
An Amazing Exoerience in Tanzania!
We began our Tanzanian experience in the Serengeti under the expert guidance of Jackson, our highly skilled and personable safari guide. Jackson's love of the Serengeti was immediately apparent as he excitedly pointed out the plant and wildlife. He also shared some interesting stories from his days as a Mount Kilimanjaro guide. Jackson also handled gathering all the supplies for our picnic lunches and stayed with us and assisted both times we needed to go through customs. During our time in Tanzania we stayed in wonderful huts, as well as a beautiful lodge, where in both places, staff members came in nightly to turn down the bed, spray for mosquitos and secure the mosquito netting around the bed. As all meals were included (and delicious) we literally had nothing to worry about throughout our stays. After the Serengeti, we traveled to the Ngorongoro Crater which was so different from the Serengeti but equally incredible. This entire tour exceeded all of our expectations! The hospitality level of Splendid vacations cannot be beat. This whole vacation was also a fantastic value, very reasonable prices so that we could even splurge on things like a hot air balloon tour over the Serengeti followed by a bush breakfast. We are completely thrilled with our entire safari vacation and cannot recommend it more highly!
Experience of a Lifetime!
Splendid vacations put together the most incredible trip for us! Our Safari guide James picked us up at the Airport hotel and immediately began building rapport making us feel comfortable and ready to enjoy our first safari under his guidance. From his excellent driving to knowledge about animals and true desire to make sure we had the most incredible experience, we couldn’t have asked for more! All of the accommodations in which we stayed exceeded our expectations and the hospitality level was so high with everyone being so friendly and asking what they could do to make our stay most enjoyable. We will certainly be recommending James, our tour director Maryann and splendid vacations, to our friends and family.
Kenya (Massai Mara) - Guide: James
We had James for our first stop of our 10 day journey for Kenya and Tanzania. I believe he was the BEST first guide we could have gotten. Immediately was so friendly and personable, cracking jokes the moment we met. He made our family have an incredible time. Was very knowledge of the animals and was hands down an ELITE driver! What felt like 3 days with him felt like 2 weeks in the best way! I miss him everyday and am excited for the all future travelers that get the chance to hang out with him :). You tend to spend a lot of time with the drivers and get to know them well. I am very glad we crossed paths with James and hope whoever reads this next gets the chance to as well!
Excellent
I had a great time at the Mara and Lake Nakuru
James was an excellent driver and guide. The Hotels were good, food was probably the weakest point but everything else, service, location were very good.
I really enjoyed interacting with Rachael, the travel agent. I appreciated the clarity around the plan and speed of response.
I’d definitely book through Splendid again 🙂
