Reviews

Average User Rating
4.8/5

Rating Breakdown
  • 5 star 54
  • 4 star 2
  • 3 star 2
  • 2 star 0
  • 1 star 2

Sort By: Date Most Helpful 1-2 of 2 Reviews
Marcella Wickham   –  
United States US
Visited: October 2019 Reviewed: Feb 4, 2020

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

The review below is the personal opinion of Marcella Wickham and not that of SafariBookings.
Made us a spectacular Safari, but communication was very poor.
3/5

The good: East Cape made us a truly spectacular safari and trip to South Africa! It was a dream come true, and for that we are grateful. We were put up in top of the line hotels and tents, with delicious food and wonderful people. Treated like royalty the entire time. We told them what we wanted, and they arranged the entire thing. Originally, we were put up in a different accomodation which seemed stuffy to us, and when I voiced we wanted an upscale tent with about 10 days to go, it was arranged for us (Best thing we ever did!). So, the trip was nothing short of spectacular, everything was absolutely incredible, and I thank East Cape wholeheartedly for memories that will last us a lifetime and beyond.

The bad: Communication with East Cape was on pointe until they received payment. Once that happened, it was like pulling teeth to get answers. At initial contact, the owner Colin actually called us from South Africa, asked us our preferences and budget, then asked if we wanted to pay in Rand or US Dollar. Being naive, we said "US" which turned out to be an expensive mistake. He should have told us to pay in rand, though I understand he needs to make money too. Readers take heed; pay in Rand, your dollar will go exponentially further. Colin was super friendly, and then we were turned over to Denise, who's communication skills were poor. At one point about 3 weeks out of trip, we still didn't have a completed itinerary, and after multiple attempts to get it, I reached back out to Colin, who told me it was the "time difference." We were inside of one week when I finally got the itinerary, which consisted of our flights, and I had to go back to the initial proposal and type the entire thing out myself. I knew airport transfers were arranged for us, but had no idea we had a private driver until he picked us up - which was a pleasant surprise, but a detail we should have known. There were more small details that we didn't get, but that's the jist of it. Overall, I would recommend East Cape Tours, but would ask for somebody other than Denise to help you along.

Reply from East Cape Tours
Reply from East Cape Tours
Posted on Feb 7, 2020

I am very disappointed by this review as Denise and I spent ages making sure “the trip was nothing short of spectacular, everything was absolutely incredible.”

I am also confused about certain parts.
We quoted and took payment in South Rand through our Nedbank virtual terminal, I don’t understand the comment about paying in USD. We paid the substantial credit card charges as we always do.

I am afraid the time difference is a reality, as it is a 14-hour difference. However, I arranged to call several times at midnight our time and managed to be super friendly.

We sent a full itinerary prior to you booking with us.

We clearly didn’t get the message across properly that it was a private tour, but can’t really understand why as it was on all our documentation. I even explained on the phone that one of our guides would be at the airport to meet you and thus no tickets or vouchers were necessary, the timing of all the transfers was arranged around your needs.

We gave you the guides mobile number, mine and Denise’s - just in case there were any problems. Nonetheless, there were no issues and it worked like clockwork, and the private driver became a pleasant surprise.

To reiterate, I think this is very harsh on Denise who went beyond the extra mile to make sure “the trip was nothing short of spectacular, everything was absolutely incredible, and I thank East Cape wholeheartedly for memories that will last us a lifetime and beyond.”

Nick Gilmore   –  
South Africa ZA
Visited: September 2018 Reviewed: Dec 16, 2018

Email Nick Gilmore  |  65+ years of age  |  Experience level: over 5 safaris

The review below is the personal opinion of Nick Gilmore and not that of SafariBookings.
Tour operator excellant
3/5

Communications and everything to do with East cape 1st class
Fishing Lodge most enjoyable and would visit again.
Did not enjoy African Queen as the boat did not really go anywhere .
and the couple of hours which it did cruise in the morning clashed with
morning activity .Food and staff good but might would be better of in a lodge.

Reply from East Cape Tours
Reply from East Cape Tours
Posted on Dec 18, 2018

Good day Nick,

Thank you for the great review! We're so glad to hear that we could help you plan your holiday. We're sorry to hear that you did not enjoy the cruise safari, but we appreciate the feedback and will use this information to improve our services. We look forward to organising a tailor-made African getaway for you again in the future!

Average User Rating
4.8/5
Rating Breakdown
  • 5 star 54
  • 4 star 2
  • 3 star 2
  • 2 star 0
  • 1 star 2
Write a Review

Disclaimer

  • All corporate and/or tour info is provided by East Cape Tours, not SafariBookings
  • The tours offered by East Cape Tours are subject to their terms & conditions