SafariBookings has received complaints from clients about Dens Safaris.

Reviews

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Jean   –  
United Kingdom UK
Visited: November 2017 Reviewed: Feb 11, 2018

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

The review below is the personal opinion of Jean and not that of SafariBookings.
Great value for money but poor organisation and communication
3/5

First of al we both had a great time in Zambia and its an amazing country with lovely friendly people and amazing wildlife and stunning landscapes. We organised a 18 day trip with Den of Den's Safaris. He was great at replying to all our queries prior to booking the trip but once we had paid everything communication totally dried up. We had a lot of questions just before we flew to Zambia and despite emailing on several occasions there was no reply from him. At one point we thought the company no longer existed and our money was down the drain!! Luckily my boyfriend was out in Zambia beforehand on a private visit and he was finally able to contact him by telephone. It was very inconvenient for us not being able to find out the name of the lodge we would be using while staying in Lusaka as we wished to leave part of our luggage there. However, many times during the trip neither our local guide / driver knew where we were going to be staying!! Nor did one guide know whether he was flying with us to Livingstone or not as his ticket was booked 10 min. before flight departure!! In fact Den really believes in doing things at the last minute and if you book him you must realise that he has very competitive prices based on the fact that lodges / campsites, etc. are booked totally at the last minute. We travelled in November which is the rainy season and we were incredibly lucky with the weather until we went to the Zambezi River National Park. The road to our lodge was susceptible to flooding and thus when it rained hard part of the road washed away. Den being a safari operator should have known to have that component of the trip at the beginning of November when the weather is more likely to be dry than at the end when the rains come. Unfortunately, we had to leave our lodge a day earlier as otherwise we would have been stranded there. Unfortunately, Den's staff didn't really know what to do and all decisions have to come from Den who as you have probably realised is quite difficult to get hold off All in all everything worked out for us and we had a really great trip, however, it was much more stressful than expected due to the lack of communication and organisation from the operator. On a more positive note it was an amazing trip and ended on a really high note with a houseboat trip on Lake Kariba.

Jan   –  
United States US
Visited: August 2016 Reviewed: Sep 19, 2016

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

The review below is the personal opinion of Jan and not that of SafariBookings.
A Good Camping Experience
3/5

The communication we had with Denver was excellent. He was always quick to respond to emails and provided accurate information. He had great knowledge of national parks and attractions in Zambia and provided good recommendations when requested. We had a great team for our camping trip: driver, cook and company representative. The latter was always very concerned for our safety and made sure to make our trip as comfortable as possible. The crew was very friendly and made us feel welcome. While on the trip, my husband developed an infection in his leg and the staff, concerned for his health, took us to the hospital where he was treated, upon our return to Lusaka. They stayed with us the whole time while he waited at the clinic. Members of the team did call us on several occasions to check up on him while we were in Zambia. I would make a few recommendations, however, It would be an improvement to have cots, as sleeping on the hard ground was hard on the back. Also, carry extra blankets as on some evenings it got chilly. Understandably, they already had a fully loaded van; they were talking about adding trailers to their fleet for added storage. One area of concern was security of our luggage and backpacks. We initially stored our things in the van, but then the driver had to leave for another engagement and we had to leave our things in our tent. Unfortunately, upon returning to Lusaka I found that my unopened bottle of Jack Daniels that I bought at the airport duty free shop was missing. When I told the representative, he was very apologetic; but still not a good way to end the trip for me. Overall, we were satisfied with our experience with Densafaris.

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