Trip Advisor Africa Safaris
Trip Advisor Africa Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2012)
- Tour Types:
- Short mid-range tours (½ to 3 days)
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $300 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
PT
Email Raquel | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The safari was amazing, great guide and cooker!Once in a lifetime.
Everything just worked fine. Our tour operator , Seth, was 24/7 available and reachable. Just suggested directly some things to improve for a clearly communication.
CA
Email Nikki Zayne | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tanzanian Safari 5-star
We had an amazing time on our 4 day safari, our driver Max was so informative, helpful, and has an amazing eye for finding all the animals us normal mortals can't see. We went to Tarangire for 1 day, Serengeti for 2 days and Ngorongoro Crater for 1 day, this was the perfect amount of time for us we got to see 4 of the big 5 (missed out on seeing the Rhinos). A helpful tip is that all payments is to be made by cash (in Tanzanian Shillings)
IN
Email Srishti Rongpipi | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The Ultimate East Africa Adventure
I am from India. It was going to be my first time ever in a different continent so I just didn't just do my due research, I went overboard with it. I emailed almost a 100 companies and scrolled through websites after websites to get the best estimate of prices, places and packages. So it's fair to say I had a good idea about everything. But when I saw Trip Advisor's price and package, I couldn't believe my eyes. Not only was Seth Vincent the quickest one to respond to my mail, he had the best, most budget friendly package of them all! I noticed companies would automatically hike up their price if there was a mention of visiting two or more countries but Trip Advisor's price was drastically lower compared to any of them. Coupled with that, their's was the only package that offered a fantastic dinner at the luxurious Carnivore restaurant, visit to giraffe center and other activities, and stay at Meridian hotel on the day of arrival ALL FOR FREE. Their package also made sure we maximised our time by visiting as many different places as possible. They also offered a complimentary visit to Olduvai Museum in Tanzania. In short, their package was an all encompassing; wildlife safari, cultural and educational in nature. Thus, we got to experience Kenya and Tanzania in all its trueness.
More than any of that, it was the people involved that made our Africa experience so much more worthwhile. I am an anxious individual pre trip, so I kept bombarding Seth Vincent, the director, with questions after questions everyday and he painstakingly and patiently answered all of them. We had an instant dynamic over the phone, he was reassuring, gave us many useful advices and customised an excellent package for us. He also kept in touch and reassured my father back in India, while I was in Africa with no network.
Reuben our guide in Kenya was amazing. He was so cautious about our well being. He was also a very smart individual; he and I had very interesting geo-political discussions on Africa during our long drives.
Godfrey, our guide in Tanzania, was an absolute sweetheart! He was such a charming person to talk to. With over 15 years of wildlife experience, he knew just about everything! From trees, to animals, birds, mountains, everything! He even carried a small, handy wildlife book that I borrowed from him to read during the trip. Him and the cook made us feel like royalty; keeping our table ready every night, cooking our requests and not letting us move a single muscle.
In short, the team made sure we had the ultimate East Africa Adventure. We saw all the animals, learned about their culture and history and enjoyed their ravenous food! We feel so incredibly grateful and happy to have found this company. They have become our friends and that made our trip so much more special!
IT
Email Annalisa | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Super
I did 5 days of safari in Kenya, Masai Mara, Lake naivasha e lake Nakuru few days ago. It was the best experience in my life, everything was great. I want also to thank Vincent for understanding and patience towards me after my arrival a bit difficult. I lost the flight from addis for overbooking when i arrived in nairobi my bag was not there. Vincent did everything to make me feel comfortable and to make my safari great according to my needs, from the request to stay in a single room and from the request to arrive at the airport 1 hour earlier than expected. The safari was super thanks to the kenya but expecially thanks to the organization of Vincent and his agency, Trip Advispr Africa Safari.
CA
Email Tony | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Overall, fantastic
Taking everything into consideration, I received my money's worth. There were a few hiccups. We were a group of 12, and our understanding was that we purchased a private tour. However, when we got to Nairobi, we found that there was a 13th person included in our group. This was an inconvenience (no offence meant to this person), as we had to share two vehicles. All of the hotels were as promised and very good, except just one in Tanzania. We were told some rooms at the hotel that was promised, were not available, and we would be taken to another in Arusha. The hotel in Arusha was not up to the standard of that promised. I tried to get the hotel booking reference numbers beforehand so that I could confirm the bookings and the number of rooms, before our trip commenced. However, I met with some resistance, even from some members of our own group that protest the loudest, and never got this information. Then there was another incident in Tanzania where the hotel was claiming they were not paid for the second night, and wanted us to make the payment. Eventually though, it got sorted out. As you can see, it was mostly in the Tanzania side of our Kenya/Tanzania tour that we encountered some problems in logistics.
So those were the "cons". Taken with the broader scheme of things, they were minor. We did manage to complete the tour, and we did encounter heaps of wild life. I should also mention another incident that will show that the organizers had the well being of their clients at heart. One of my luggage, containing some of my medicines, did not arrive with us to the Nairobi airport. Seth Vincent (from Trip Advisor Africa Safaris) made the effort to collect it when it arrived (two days later) and forward it to me to the point of our tour.
CA
Email Chris | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
OK Tour for money paid but proper organization and attention to detail will help!!
This is a review of the 12 day Kenya / Tanzania Safari that 12 of us (Private Tour) undertook from 12 – 23 September, 2018 organized through Seth Vincent, Director Trip Advisor Africa Safaris, Nairobi.
The Nairobi airport pick up and transfer to hotel went off well and the Sarova Stanley Hotel that was booked for that night as per itinerary was great.
As per the itinerary day 1, the tour of Nairobi commenced at 9:00 am on 12 September. At the outset Seth introduced us to a 13th person (not known to any one of us in our group of 12) who was going to join our tour group. This was a complete surprise to us and none of us were happy about it. We questioned Seth why this was sprung upon us and he was quiet. Although this was not acceptable to us, based on the compassionate nature of our group we had no objection and the group became 13. On hindsight, we should not have allowed this and stuck to our position of only our 12 as this extra person in the vehicle led to great inconvenience with seating/viewing.
Seth/Trip Africa Safaris must ensure private tours remain private and limited to the people in the original group – no additions whatsoever, without prior written approval by the group.
While out on the Nairobi tour, we quickly realized the detailed itinerary as given to us by Seth was not realistic. Moreover, the drivers/guides were completely unaware of the contents of the itinerary. They had their own plans which made more sense than the given itinerary. Seth/Trip Africa Safaris must ensure the itinerary submitted to clients is realistic and correct AND it is copied to the driver/guide so that everyone is on the same page. Evening ended with a great welcome dinner to our group at the Carnivore as given in the itinerary.
Day 2 – Drive times given in itinerary were wrong but the drive from Nairobi – Nakuru through Great Rift Valley, game drive in Lake Nakuru National Park, and Sarova Lion Hill – Nakuru overnight hotel part were as given in itinerary. A problem we encountered was the hotel not having individual bookings in the names of persons in our group and the additional person. This led to confusion and delays checking in. Seth/Trip Advisor Africa must ensure hotel reservations are made in individual/couple/family name with individual reservation confirmation numbers, which can be confirmed by the clientele even before arriving in Kenya/Tanzania etc.
Day 3, 4, 5- Lake Naivasha, Masai Mara good but previously mentioned hotel check in problem existed at Azure Mara Haven.
Day 6, 7 - Drive to Tanzania Serengeti through Isebania border. Transfer to Tanzania vehicles/s driver/guide OK. Hotel check in problematic once again at Serengeti Serena on day 6. Major problem in checking out on day 7 as tour operator had not paid the hotel bill in full. This is completely unacceptable and must not happen.
Seth/Trip Advisor Africa must take full responsibility for ALL arrangements both in Kenya and Tanzania side as our group agreement is only with Seth. As a client we have no involvement with any sub agents.
Day 8, 9 – deviations from the given itinerary started to be made due to the bad/lack of planning of the Tanzanian sub agent who it appeared had not made any firm bookings for our group in Ngorongoro, and Tarangire. We were sent to Serena Manyara instead of Serena Ngorongoro, and Impala Hotel, Arusha instead of Sopa Lodge -Tarangire, which is a major downgrade of hotel not at all acceptable to the group. We were kept in the dark as to where we were staying until late evening and it was extremely disappointing particularly with the drivers/guides working in collusion with the Tour Agent/s. Game drives were shortened and varied from those given in itinerary. These changes are all unacceptable to clients such as our group who paid all the money that was asked up front well before the due date.
Seth/Trip Advisor Africa must take full responsibility for the inconvenience, peace of mind, etc.
Day 10, 11 – Transfer at Namanga OK and overnight at Sopa Lodge – Amboseli as given in itinerary. Game drives ok but changes to lunch arrangements by drivers unacceptable ( got boxed lunches from Sopa instead of Hot Lunch at Amboseli Serena as given in itinerary).
Day 12 – Back to Nairobi and farewell dinner at Thai Restaurant – Sarova Stanley Hotel as requested by group was good.
A good thing about this tour was that we saw loads of animals at very close quarters. This I believe is partly luck and to the efforts of the drivers/guides Ken and Jacob in Kenya AND Ben and Ziggy in Tanzania , although the latter two were partly responsible in working with their Tanzanian Boss to keep us in the dark on change of hotels. The arrangements on the Kenya side seem to be more in lines with the itinerary and OK but the same cannot be said on the Tanzania side.
I am satisfied with the tour but Seth/Trip Advisor Africa will have to improve tremendously if we are to actively recommend them. They are disorganized and needs to put a lot of effort up front to have realistic itineraries, vehicle details (A/C or Non A/C) and firm/confirmed individual hotel bookings with reference numbers available to client before coming over to Africa. Also, Seth must keep to his words when verbal promises are made to clients on site. That would go a long way in building trust and recommending Trip Advisor Africa as a reliable entity.
Chris - Canada
IT
Email Biagio | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Really good organization. From picking up at the airport to the safari itself!!!Recommended!
The whole safari was amazing. The agency provided me help also in accommodation the first night before the start of Safari, taking also care of the others luggages I didn't need during the safari. Tha safari was amazing, we saw all species!!!! big 5 and more. The guide was helpful in recognizing species and in giving us some explanations - not so many detailed but useful in general. The first accommodation in the camp just outside masai mara was wonderful - as living close the savanna. The second accommodation at nakuru was perfect about the quality of theroom in the hotel, but food and general organization in the hotel was really scarce! Anyway, the beauty of Nakuru lake with rhino and flamingo definitely didn't make us think about.
Strongly recommend this experience and this agency!
CA
Email Mano | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Very poor organzation with outright cheating as we didn't get th promised game drives and hotels
We went on a tour with Vincent Seth from Trip Advisor African Safaris(from the 7-24th of Sept 2018) and I would like to make the following comments.
We paid the money in 3 installments - First about 4 months ago, 2nd about a month ago and the last installment when we arrived in Nairobi (this is the way he asked).
Tour - Group = 12 to be accommodated in 2 vehicles as a private tour with an English speaking Driver/Guide. Tour 11days in Kenya/Tanzania with 5 of us doing an optional 4 day tour at the beginning in Zanzibar.
Day 1 - Zanzibar : Driver who picked us up spoke practically no English(acceptable for this part bout not later when touring). We were to have 3 singles and 1 double but when we got there the hotel stated we were booked as a triple and 1 double. Had to contact Vincent (while sharing a room for the initial hours by 2 of us - 3rd arrived later) who corrected the problem. Excellent Hotel (Blue Bay Resort). The day we arrived we were to on a Spice Tour in the afternoon - Driver who dropped as well as his Zanzibar contact(Willie) didn't inform us that somebody would be arriving to at 2PM to pick us up (when we have gone on tours the driver before leaving gives clear cut instructions a to the next pick up time-but this didn't happen). We were in the restaurant but whoever arrived at 2PM didn't bother to look for us but left after a while(if he told the front desk they would have had no difficulty locating us as we were only 30 metres away).
Day 2 : We went on the missed Spice Tour followed by the Old Town Tour - Guides very knowledgeable and overall very good tour; Suggestion - We were taken for lunch to a restaurant stating it is local food although the food was essentially Indian Food (which I know has a big influence on the local cuisine). There were other tourists there with the lunch acceptable. After the lunch during the tour we were taken to a colonial hotel with a nice restaurant overlooking the bay - It would have been better to give an option to the tourists to go to the usual place vs this restaurant (for an additional charge) as we anyway stopped there for tea, thus spending time.
Day 3: All problems commenced. On our schedule we were to be taken for a boat tour to see Dolphins followed by lunch and a tour to local sanctuary for a visit including a Colobus Monkey viewing. We had a 2hr drive to go to the Dolphin site (+ 2hrs back). The driver spoke no English at all. When we reached the beach there wasn't a single other tourist there (thus I am not sure whom they sub-contracted to do the tour). The motor boat was fine but the life jackets provided were old and frayed with the zips not functional. There was only one additional straps on the jacket (usually has 2-3) with the no clips to latch. Thus we tied the 2 frayed ends with an hand done knot. This in my opinion is gross negligence and dangerous. As you are aware a large number of people died in a Ferry accident in Tanzania a few days ago. The boat driver again spoke very little English. After the boat ride the car driver stated that he was asked to take us back to the hotel and that he wasn't told about lunch/Colobus monkey tour. After our insistence he had a back and forth discussion with Willlie with the phone handed to us to argue with him with regards to provision of the remaining portion of the trip. After wasting nearly 1hr the driver was told to take us back to the boat area to a restaurant - When we taken to this beach side restaurant there was not a single customer in the restaurant and there was not a single staff person to be seen either. We certainly weren't prepared to have lunch there and asked the driver to take us back to the hotel. We were not expecting a fancy restaurant(I have eaten at many beachside cafes in the Caribbean) but this place wasn't suitable to have a meal. The only people in the restaurant were 4 young kids seated and playing cards.
Day 4: Arrived in Nairobi. Taken to Sarova Stanley hotel- An excellent hotel. Vincent Seth was there. It took nearly 2hrs to get the rooms as Vincent had not made the bookings according to what we paid for ( 5 double/twin rooms and 2 singles). However we took this in good stride but informed Vincent that he needs to make a list citing the names and the room allocations and fax it to all the other hotels in advance to expedite the check in. Vincent spent a lot of time asking us to write all the names in detail citing the room requirements (all this info was already sent to him beforehand). However the next day he brought a sheet written by him many names misspelt and handing over to us. I explained to him that he needs to fax this the hotels and there was no need to give each of us copies. The list was ultimately not faxed to any of the hotels except possibly one.
Day 5 (Tour Of Nairobi): Vincent arrived late and stated that another person from England was going to joining us in our tour. This was a total surprise as we were to have a private tour. Although the person was quite nice having the 7th person in the van resulted in limitations for space to carry luggage as well as inconvenience when trying to jockey for position during game viewing(especially in Tanzaniawhere the truck had only 7 Tour of Nairobi -although identified we were not taken to the Nairobi Natl park, Blixen Museum etc - Vincent had too many things on the schedule and the drivers didn't have copies of the schedules with them (This was an issue throughout the tour where not a single driver/guide had the schedule given to us. Evening - Dinner at Carnivoro Restaurant - Nice
Day 6 : Told by Vincent that we would reach Lake Nakuru in 2-3hrs (and we would have a full game drive there) with his drivers insisting that it would take 4-5hrs (the latter turned out to be correct). Nice Hotel
Day 7/8 : Masai Mara - No issues although game drive on last day not done as road issues forcing a detour.
Day 9/10 : Serengeti Serena Lodge - Excellent hotel and good game drives. When we went to check out of the hotel after staying 2 nights the Manager told us that we cannot leave as the hotel has not been paid for the 2 nights with only a deposit made. He wanted us to pay US$ 5100.00. We obviously refused but were held hostage at this hotel until 1145AM. We had to make dozens of phone calls to get hold of Vincent and his Tanzania agent (Ibrahim) to arrange for the payment. Ibrahim stated that Vincent hadn't paid him and Vincent stated that Ibrahim had played him out. In addition to the mental anguish we missed the morning game drive. If anybody disbelieves this please feel free to phone the Mgr at the Serengeti Serena - his name was Vincent as well
Day 10 -we were to be taken to the Ngorongoro Serena Lodge for the night(as per our schedule) but the drivers stated that we should go to Lake Manyara Serena to allow for proper game drives at Ngorongoro as well as Tarangerie. Ultimately we had totally inadequate game drive at Ngorongoro and never got any worthwhile game drive at Tarangerie either(see reasons below). We were unfortunately naïve to believe this with Vince stating later that the Ngorongoro Serena and the Lake Manyara Serena are similarly priced - however when I checked on the Serena website a few days ago the Ngorongora Serena was listed at US$480 and the Lake Manyara Serena at US$ 280.00 (thus we were cheated again).
Day 11- We were driven to Tarangarie Natl Park(90 minutec drive) to be accommodated at the Sopa Lodge in Tarangerie for the night (as per original schedule). Throughout the day we had no confirmation from Vincent or Ibrahim as to where we are going (we repeatedly asked the drivers who stated that they were also not told). After doing a very short game drive(less than 2hrs) we were told that we are to be housed in Arusha (and not in the Tarngarie Park). We drove another 2 1/2 hrs and were taken to the Impala Hotel in Arusha - A very run down hotel with bare electrical wires hanging from the wall.
Day 12 - Amboseli - Good hotel but again as per schedule we were to be taken to the Amboseli Serena within the park for lunch - Instead box lunch given cutting their costs.
All in all the organization was terrible and I wouldn't recommend anybody to book with this company. I have been to numerous countries in the world in many continents but have never seen a person as disorganized as this. I simply do not believe some of the comments on the website stating Vincent was well organized unless we are referring to a different person. A prime example of his lack of understanding is illustrated by the following. My friend texted Vincent from Zanzibar asking him whether he could arrange a late check out as his flight was in the late afternoon (we left in the morning). The reply from Vincent was Jambo - "I would be more than happy to arrange an early checkout for you with the hotel"! As everybody is aware the cost for the tour at this site is substantially less than if you booked through an agent in North America. However this discount is essentially based on avoiding the commission charged by the agent in America - As ultimately they book though agents in the developing countries sometimes even go though other agents in UK etc (with everybody keeping a cut). We have booked though local agents and visited Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and recently Myanmar. We have never had this type of experience. In fact this was my 2nd visit to Kenya/Tanzania. When we went 15yrs ago we used an agent in Nairobi where the price charged was about $2000.00 less than the price asked by North American travel agents. We had absolutely no issues at that time with all hotels provided as per schedule with each driver having a copy of the schedule given to us. Having said all this the only redeeming feature was that we saw loads of wildlife during this tour with the experience exceeding our expectations. This as you know is partly luck and partly the efforts of the drivers. If by chance we didn't see much the trip would have been considered as one of the most terrible tours that I have had. The drivers/guides were quite good with a lot of knowledge on the animals including birds. However I felt that the drivers in Tanzania played us out working in conjunction with the agent - Missing 3-4 game drives, switching to cheaper hotels etc
Mano
Reply from Trip Advisor Africa Safaris
Posted on Oct 9, 2018Jambo Mano,
Thank you very much for sharing your experience with us during your holiday.
I will not comment on this but, I will only copy pest one of the review from the person who was in the same group , same vehicle same drive.
Here below find the copy pest review from one of you!!
Here below find the copy pest review of others in the same group!!
8 Oct 2018 | By Tony
Rating:
5 / 5 stars
CA | Age: 65+ | Experience: 2-5 times
Reply to this review | Report fraud
Overall, fantastic
Taking everything into consideration, I received my money's worth. There were a few hiccups. We were a group of 12, and our understanding was that we purchased a private tour. However, when we got to Nairobi, we found that there was a 13th person included in our group. This was an inconvenience (no offence meant to this person), as we had to share two vehicles. All of the hotels were as promised and very good, except just one in Tanzania. We were told some rooms at the hotel that was promised, were not available, and we would be taken to another in Arusha. The hotel in Arusha was not up to the standard of that promised. I tried to get the hotel booking reference numbers beforehand so that I could confirm the bookings and the number of rooms, before our trip commenced. However, I met with some resistance, even from some members of our own group that protest the loudest, and never got this information. Then there was another incident in Tanzania where the hotel was claiming they were not paid for the second night, and wanted us to make the payment. Eventually though, it got sorted out. As you can see, it was mostly in the Tanzania side of our Kenya/Tanzania tour that we encountered some problems in logistics.
So those were the "cons". Taken with the broader scheme of things, they were minor. We did manage to complete the tour, and we did encounter heaps of wild life. I should also mention another incident that will show that the organizers had the well being of their clients at heart. One of my luggage, containing some of my medicines, did not arrive with us to the Nairobi airport. Seth Vincent (from Trip Advisor Africa Safaris) made the effort to collect it when it arrived (two days later) and forward it to me to the point of our tour.
Thank you !!
CA
Email Maja | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Safari with Sami, great food, saw every animal, except leopards, but saw cheetahs and rhinos
The safari didnt match the itinerary that was emailed, in fact it was in reverse, but overall blew away my expectations and I am so happy with the price, the food, and the whole experience in general. Fantastic. Our group had Sami as a driver, he drove like a crazy off road racer and got us too all the animals as well as being funny and patient and keeping us informed on the daily schedules.
A wonderful experience seeing many animals in a short time
Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the animals. He treated everyone on safari well. Our tour was made at the last minute & we only had a short time so the tour company was flexible. They offered us a number of options for us to choose from. I loved every minute!