Travel Partners

Poor selection of subcontracted safari guide, disorganized and inacurate information.

We selected Travel Partners Ltd. though not the most economical because of our initial correspondence with them. Belen was good to work with and did her job well. However, she was in a difficult position as her company was not as professional as she. Most safari companies do not require 50% upfront as do Travel Partners. Before leaving the U.S. we asked if a Bank (cashiers) check for the second half would be OK, and were told in writing that yes a check would be fine. Once in Africa ready to begin our safari they informed that a check was not OK after all and asked for funds to be wired instead. It is very difficult to wire internationally from the U.S. if not there to sign. Travel Partners pushed Belen to push us for the wire everyday during our safari. Most U.S. banks would not have been able to comply, fortunately we had an account at an institution that once all international requirements were met were able to wire. This issue was unnecessary, and caused needless stress. -- We tailor planned a safari to visit several parks in Tanzania spending most of the time in Serengeti including the north Mara area to see the Wilde-beast crossing. Our driver although pleasant was unprofessional and a very poor driver. We had two vehicle accidents during our 5 day safari, one could have been very serious, both were driver related. The vehicle and the driver had been subcontracted by Travel Partners. The vehicle was only in fair condition, (it caused permanent damage to luggage). One accident was a near head on collision at high speed with another safari vehicle (thick dust impaired sight), loss of exterior mirror and severe body damage to the entire length of the vehicle resulted from the accident. It was that close to being very serious. Due to the accidents, we had to ride with other safari drivers until our driver could repair our vehicle enough to continue. We had two experiences in other safari vehicles with other drivers, both were far superior drivers to ours, and the vehicles were in better condition (they even had cold water in the cooler, we did not - sometimes we did not have water at all.) A flight from central Serengeti to Zanzibar was part of our itinerary. Our flight was to leave Serengeti at 11:00 a.m. and arrive Zanzibar at 2:00 p.m. via Arusha. Although not the fault of Travel Partners, the flight was delayed both at Serengeti and in Arusha, so we arrived at 6:00 pm causing a loss of 4 hours in Zanzibar - Belen said she would try to get some compensation from the airline if possible.
--In spite of the above mentioned incidents, we enjoyed the experience. The accommodations were charming, and we were able to see so many animals. Serengeti is very beautiful!
--Overall, I would suggest looking at another safari company to plan your safari. The wonderful experience of being in Tanzania and the parks was not the result of Travel Partners, it was Tanzania itself. A different company could enhance the experience rather than inhibit it.