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Angelica   –  
Canada CA
Visited: October 2019 Reviewed: Nov 5, 2019

Email Angelica  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of Angelica and not that of SafariBookings.
Awful experiences
1/5

Robert at Wanderlust promised me a tour with two nights in the Serengeti, and after arrival, he made up a sob story about why the tour had to be cancelled and tried to push my child and I to take a generic tour. We had just been to Masai Mara and weren't desperate to see the Serengeti, so I said No. I initially felt sorry for him, even though he'd messed up the dates we were supposed to be in the Serengeti in his "story," so I agreed to take it day by day and perhaps go on day trips with his company.

Before our first trip, we agreed that I'd pay by Western Union, just as I'd done for the deposit, but then he emailed to say he preferred Cash to exchange into USD to pay for our park entry fee. Initially, I preferred this over using my limited US$, but as it got later and later into the evening, I emailed to say I would give 100 USD to his driver tomorrow for the park entry fee. He wouldn't take No for an answer, saying he needed the cash Now to pay for the park fee online, and showed up at my hotel around 9:30 pm. He said we'd just be going to the "nearest ATM," but after we got in the car, we passed by ATM after ATM. More than twenty minutes later, he pointed at the exact ATM he wants me to use and waits outside. Luckily, the machine wouldn't let me take more than 350 USD, and he let us leave. It felt like we'd been kidnapped by loan sharks and forced to go to an ATM. On the way back to the hotel, he greedily counted the cash while talking non-stop on the phone. Very scary.

Via email, we were then informed that instead of 6-7 am, we'd be picked up at 5:40 am the next day. Then at 5:00 am, the lady from the hotel knocked on my door to say the driver was here. The name of the driver was different from the one I'd been given, so I had the hotel staff take down the license plate number. The van then picked up a couple who'd book through another middleman and were told their pick-up time would be 5:10. We then arrived at a camp to join a couple who were on a 3-day safari, but were told they be waking up in about an hour. This couple had booked through yet another company, and the safari itself was operated by another company in an almost unmarked safari jeep.

It turns out that nobody had informed the safari driver that the first couple had to be at the airport at a certain time. So our time on the actual safari was cut short to accomodate this.

Although we still had 50 USD with Robert, for safety reasons, we opted to leave Arusha as soon as possible. I sent him a Paypal request for money, but we never saw those 50 dollars again.

Reply from African Wanderlust Adventures
Reply from African Wanderlust Adventures
Posted on Nov 29, 2019

Dear Angelica! Our best current and future Clients of African Wanderlust Adventures.

We highly appreciate for choice you made in going to Safari with our company. We would like to apologize to you since our experience didn't match your expectations. We are committed to give each of our clients the best out of every tour we organize. Service to our client is always our first priority and that is well revealed by most of other reviews visible on our platform.

To us we consider unsatisfied customers are our greatest source and opportunity to learn and grow as we learn through mistakes. That's why we ask for feedback from our clients after safari to see if the experience matched their expectations. After that we find means to improve from the client feedback's. What you did is not saying anything or meeting us after the tour so we could discuss anything not right in spite of that I insisted in meeting you at the hotel.

Anyone being drive by mood, emotions and not getting someone to answer on the doubt would have write the same. Thanks a lot since we will try to improve from what you have experienced.

After what other clients who you were to join to Serengeti faced, something that for their respect we cant even write here. In case it was you, would have cancelled the trip. Due to that uncertainty we couldn't organize the safari for only you with budget price you paid.

For the case of you giving 100 US$, he could have not do anything with that since in the gate they don't accept cash but reservations have to be done in advance using the Park online reservation system and you only give driver a paper with the paid reservation number to show at the entry gate. Maybe this and more happened because you didn't know much about all this. That's why I suggested to take you to the place with many ATM for different bank just to give you many options in case, one didn't work out.

Also for the case of joining group safari you need to let the Company arrange for you everything. Most many clients think the will fall in the hand operator but it happens sometimes that's not the case, all we can do is to ensure that our clients falls in the rightful directions. You only need to trust the company you have booked with.

I couldn't give back the 50 US$ as I granted your son almost a free tour to Ngorongoro and I had paid 100 US$ for Kilimanjaro tour advance fees to secure the booking. But you never told me on time you wont go and I never received it back, in that case I have to loose it. But since we respect wishes of our clients, we shall look onto that too.

Thanks very much once more for trusting us to give you the best.

Brad   –  
Australia AU
Visited: September 2019 Reviewed: Sep 23, 2019

Email Brad  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Not the cheapest, but Robert provided a very very personal and professional service.
5/5

Robert at Wanderlust was always quick to respond and accommodated all my requests before I arrived in Africa.

The Wanderlust service was not the cheapest, but if you want an easy booking while not in Africa, and a very personal and professional service from pick up to drop off you will get that with Robert.

Of note, it does seem that Wanderlust is an on seller of tours of sorts - our initial pick up was conducted by Wanderlust, however the game drive was conducted in a vehicle that was branded with different logos, and with people who had booked through other companies and consequently paid alternate prices.

This situation had not been explained to me prior, so I had been expecting a consistent group however it changed on both days (day one there were 4 of us and day two there were 6 of us).... - however as stated above, given how easy Robert made the booking, and his professional service - I still regard it as a positive trip, just if I did it again I would ask those questions, as I personally prefer when a tour is conducted by the one operator, and is not out sourced.

William   –  
United States US
Visited: September 2019 Reviewed: Sep 23, 2019

Email William  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Great intro to Tanzanian wildlife!
5/5

Robert and his guides provided us with an excellent two day safari to Taringire National Park and Ngorongoro Crater. The driver, Issa, was amazing and very willing to get in as close as possible for us to view and photograph the wildlife. He was very enthusiastic and friendly to us. The overnight at a campsite was amazing, perched above lake manyara. A very tasty dinner was followed by native dances and acrobatics. The staff here were very friendly and accommodating. Also Robert was always very quick to respond and he went out of his way to arrange for our transfer to and from Moshi and was always early for our scheduled pick ups.

I recommend this or a similar trip with this outfit. They offer much more than the 2 day safari that we joined. Thanks African Wanderlust!

Janerick Nzuna   –  
United States US
Visited: August 2019 Reviewed: Sep 6, 2019

Email Janerick Nzuna  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Safari to tarangire Manyara and ngorongoro
5/5

Me and my three friends had an amazing experience, Robert respond to questions on time. We saw everything we wanted. The driver Simon was passion and amazing to wait whenever we encountered animal and the meal was perfect. we highly recommend this company for an amazing Tanzania safari experience

Richardson   –  
Germany DE
Visited: April 2019 Reviewed: Jul 31, 2019

Email Richardson  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Was simply amazing
5/5

Me and my partner enjoyed Safari with this company. Everything was perfect, from Guide, cook and Robert was quick responding to our requests.
Heading: 3 days safari to Ngorongoro and Serengeti! Was genuinely extra-ordinary

Michelle   –  
United States US
Visited: May 2019 Reviewed: Jul 23, 2019

Email Michelle  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Unforgettable 5 days in ngorongoro and Serengeti Robert was a wonderful guide ever. The best compa
5/5

Very nice I saw everything I wanted animal and birds

Average User Rating
4.8/5
Rating Breakdown
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  • 4 star 1
  • 3 star 1
  • 2 star 0
  • 1 star 2
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