Hallmark Travel Planners
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2006)
- Member Of:
- ASTA & KATO
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $800 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Mike | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Poorly planned and did not refund fees we paid for them
Hallmark not only poorly planned and communicated our safari but failed to pay certain fees that we ended up having to pay with promise of reimbursement. It's been 6 months and now after multiple lies about the "check is in the mail" will not answer email regarding our payment. Basically stole from the 3 couples.
Reply from Hallmark Travel Planners
Posted on Mar 27, 2023Dear Mike,
Thank you for your feedback. I am sorry to hear that your safari experience did not meet your expectations. We have looked at all the issues that you mentioned and all that went through your 14 day trip hope to be able to deliver better experiences to any future customers. We certainly had some challenges with your particular trip and later on with mode of reimbursement of the amounts in question. Reimbursement of US$80 has since been made to all the 3 couples that were in your party. We still hope to serve you and others in the future.
NL
Email Iris | under20 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Nice view but poor guides.
We booked the Ndere Island Tour, of one day. Although the views were amazing, we had issues with the tour guides. We were on a boat for quite a long time and were very curious about Lake Victoria, but the guides seemed not interested in us and mostly kept to themselves, which was okay since it was early in the morning and not really part of the tour. However, we had to stop to pay parkfees to the Kenyan Wildlife Center, where our Hallmark guides started to argue with the employees about prices. We got a great but annoyed guide from the KWC and he showed all of us around on Ndere Island. Once again, nice views, but our own guides were having a vacation too: they made plenty of pictures of both the view and us, and seemed to be there for the first time. There seemed to be a rush and in high tempo we walked across the island at noon in full sun. Requests to rest or even look for more animals than the ones we bumped into were not taken seriously. Afterwards we asked to see hippos as they said they would do, but they laughed us off. Long story short, we paid a lot of money for our guides to basically have a tour too, next time we will just book at the Kenyan Wildlife Center and do without the Hallmark guides!
Email Lisa Williams | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Hallmark were accommodating with our requests. More insight into our tour would of been helpful.
1. Our guide Anothony was an okay guide but not very accommodating at times. To start, he invaded our privacy at Lewa after the night before (our 1st night on tour) he made bad remarks about the company and that he personally wouldn't stay there as they were set in there ways & not accommodating to other safari companies like Hallmark. The next day he informed my husband & I that he was coming with us for the 2 days. I asked him why & how? He told me he told Lewa that we wanted our guide to join us. this wasn't the fact all. Quite the opposite being frank with you. We paid the big bucks so we could get a different perspective from another guide & also have our own privacy for the next 2 days. He came with us on our game drives as well after we requested we get at least one game drive on our own to enjoy the expeiernce one on one with our guide. 2/ After requested from the start our planning with Levis that we wanted to do the Hells Gate. Anthony was not thrilled he had to take us there after our night in Nevashahs. We informed him days out that's what we wanted to do. We ended cycling the Hells Gate which in fact was a highlight for us & declined going on the boat ride to see the hippos. 3/ Our last leg of the trip - Rwanda was in fact organised by Magic Safaris, not Hallmark Planners. this was not mentioned to us at the time of booking. however, our guide was outstanding!! 4/ Overall, we are glad we paid the extra $'s to have most of our game drives in a four wheel drive truck as to a van with various guides. Having the same guide & van for the entire trip would of been terrible. 5/ Apologies on being so direct, however it is best you know as I am in business myself & would like to be informed rather then not so it doenst happen to somebody else. Anthony didn't do himself any favours by bad mouthing another company to us, especially on our first night after shouting him a drink at Opejeta for his B'day on our arrival. His attitude did not sit well with us, especially after just meeting him. He did in fact apologise after our 2 days there that he was wrong with his judgment. Lewa was outstanding & highly recommend it. 6/ We felt secure with our booking having Safari Bookings as the reprensative of the company & made the booking so much more reassuring. 7/ Also a note, we never received a questionnaire at the end of our trip with Anothony, hence me informing you. Magic Safaris on the otherhand did. I highly recommend them & will to others.
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Email Michelle | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trustworthy and responsible booking company
Communications were efficient and excellent. We always received very speedy replies and confirmation of any further information we sent. Regarding our service, I think we got a little spoiled by our last international tour company who handled all of our Visa requirements before our arrival. With Hallmark, however, we had to handle them all on our own. My ideal set up would have been for our itinerary to include the Visa requirements, types of Visa needed (single journey vs. multiple journey in Kenya), and prices that would let us know the amount of USD we would require. We had brought cash for tips and more than 60% of that cash was quickly used in Visas. We appreciated that our guides took us to ATMs in each country to help us bridge our spending, but it was a general point of concern and stress. Additionally, we had counted on being able to use credit cards at the hotels. We wish we had been informed ahead of time that credit cards were not accepted in Tanzania- requiring more cash. After spending so much on our trip, we just felt like there were too many pricey unexpected expenditures and we could have been better prepared by Hallmark. Our guides were good- some are just drivers but we had two guys who acted more like guides and were knowledgeable about the animals. Many of the roads (even main highways and thoroughfares) are not paved, especially in Tanzania. We were much more comfortable in the Land Cruisers than in the Toyota vans, but apparently the land cruisers are more expensive. Most of our lodging was as expected, except for the AA Lodge that was not as nice as we had hoped. However, it was near the Amboseli park and the animals were worth it.
As for our safaris, we feel so blessed to see everything we wanted, including the Top 5 and the Wildebeests migration. We could not have asked for a better safari!
My only other small complaint was being treated to a local restaurant that did not cater to tourists- although we appreciated the attempt to seek a local experience, within 24hours, both my husband and I were ill and required using our emergency antibiotics to recover. That was a bit of a damper on our vacation and honeymoon!
DK
Email Claus | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Everything just went very well. Perfect trip
Communication good and quick response
The driver always came on time - the game drives were just perfect and the driver was eager to show as much as possible. The accommodation was perfect except that the staff was "too eager" to make our stay at Ashnil perfect.
AT
Email Franz | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
very good experience 3 days Masai Mara
We ( 3 pax) booked a 3 days Safari to Masai Mara from Kisumu. Organisation was flawless with very quick responses to inquieries and in finding solutions. Everything went smoothly and was well organized. The driver/tourguide Lukas was an excellent driver and we never felt insecure even in crowded traffic. In the park he had an excellent knowledge of wildlife. He was also very interested in showing us as much as possible. The safari vehicle provided was the only thing which was not to our full satisfaction. For the safari it was fine, as it was an old but very robust 4WD bus with a push up roof and a very hard suspension. Which was the big disadvantage for the 6.5 hours road trip to and from the park. It would be wise to consider providing a better transport - including one with a fuctioning air condition - for the long distance drive and swich to the safari van only for its purpose. In total we had a nice experience, saw a lot of animals - of course the agency cannot be credited for that - but it must be credited for the very good organisation and the selection of the excellent driver-guide.
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Email Becky | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
4.5 star - Great safari holiday with only minor hiccups
We really enjoyed working with Levis to plan our safari holiday. He is super responsive and flexible. We planned an itinerary in Feb for end of May travel, but my father got sick and we had to delay the trip. Levis was very supportive and flexible in helping us to replan the trip for an August travel within a very short period of time. He also helped to reduce the cancellation penalties as much as the policies allow.
The hotels and guides of the trip were quite good with only minor hiccups, which is completely normal in a 5 country long trip (3 weeks). Levis has been actively working with us to address them as they came up.
Looking back I wish we should have communicated our goals better to Levis and our guides early on (eg see all Big 5 in game drives). Hope this helps other users in their planning.
Overall it's a great experience, thanks to the Hallmark team.
Email Mike B | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good reliable service
I had limited time available at the end of a business trip to Kenya, and enquired about my specific requirements from several tour operators.
Hallmark replied promptly, with a reasonable quote, then again responded quickly to a couple of additional queries.
The day before my 3-night stay at Masai Mara, I did have to telephone, to check that everything was arranged for pick-up the next morning. (A courtesy call to my hotel would've been appreciated.)
That aside, all other arrangements worked very well, with the same driver picking me up from Wilson Airport, taking me to hotel to collect large suitcase, then to international airport for departure - at no additional charge.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exciting
Very committed and organize. I would change only the packed food.
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Email Roxane | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Easy and fabulous
We decided on a last minute (a little over 1 month) safari trip. From the moment we landed until our departure airport, all the details were covered. We traveled Victoria Falls, Masai Mara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Lake Manyara, and finished with a day hike on Kilimanjaro. Our guides were courteous, safety minded, and unbelievably knowledgeable. Richard and Ray always had an answer for every question. Trip of a lifetime.
