Reviews
IL
Email NS | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing Kenya, and the SOLARIS the FRAUDSTERS
This is a genuine review about our trip (me & my husband) to Kenya during last month (5 days, End of January 2018).
Hope this will help you, if Kenya is in your bucket list also.
Kenya is an amazing place, with its scenic places, very friendly people, tasty food and the best tea.
There are many tour operators available online, please start doing the research a bit early and go for a reputed one.
I contacted many tour operators but got impressed with Solaris quotes and their flexibility which made us to choose them. The only and the biggest mistake I did in planning this trip. Now after the trip I understand, being flexible to any extend is the trick to make you fall for them.
The coordinator and the spokesperson from Solaris was Josphat.
Here is the list of disappointments by the Great Solaris!!
• Starting of our trip - Josphat cancelled the Amboseli NP plan without informing us. When we got ready with lot of excitement in the morning the driver took a turn towards Nairobi and said that you flight was delayed so the Amboseli NP is cancelled. We were shocked to hear this as we landed on time and got out of the airport as well on time, it was a lie told by Josphat to the driver.
We travelled all the way from Nairobi to Amboseli just to sleep in the Lodge...!!!!!!!! I must say the Kilimanjaro view we had from our lodge was spectacular, which kind of calmed us down.
And on second day travelling all the way from Amboseli to Lake Nakuru...
We reached late to Nakuru also...!!!!!!! 2 days wasted in our 5 days trip...!!!!!!!
Refund Number 1: Mr. Josphat then agreed to give us back the National park entrée ticket fee.
• We were provided with a safari van, which had a non-working radio. Only after reaching Masai Mara we got to know the importance of radio. The guides communicate to others over wireless when they spot something.
Our driver knew this radio issue from day one and he did not open his mouth until we were stuck inside Mara with no radio. If driver and Josphat had communicated properly, they could have fixed/replaced the radio when we had crossed Nairobi on the second day from Amboseli. But they did nothing...!!!!
We got to see the big 5, only because we were lucky...!!!!!!!
• The driver hardly opened his mouth and he is supposed to be the experienced safari guide too for us. He was more like just a driver who had already reached his retirement age. Every day we started on time, but never reached any destination on time...!!!!
He was very careless and sometimes rude too and never cared about our time.
Example,
After balloon safari (on the 4th day) he was supposed to pick us inside Mara at the agreed upon spot. When we returned he was already waiting there for us, but as soon as we got in, he said “I don’t see your lunch box inside and this hotel guys have forgotten to put it”, We had to go all the way to the camp from the national park to take the lunch box and after reaching there it turned out that it was in the vehicle all the time and he did not check it properly and just started blaming camp guys. This event made both of us very upset on for first wedding anniversary morning. First of all it is his job to make sure the lunch boxes are in before he leaves the camp and he did not care to check that while waiting on the spot for us too. Then at last he can’t search his own van.
Because of his carelessness we lost almost 2 hours in the morning, the time when we get to see more games.
Refund Number 2: For all the disappointments, Mr. Josphat wanted to correct his mistake by refunding some amount on the next day of our trip end.
Even after a month, follow up with lot of patients, we got zero Refunds!!!!
After one month, we did not receive any money, which explains us that was not a flaw which happened accidently, but all the plans and promises were just lies to get our booking.
When we are spending so much, his refund is not a big money. But still we wanted to give him a chance to admit and correct his mistakes.
So, guys after spending so much money, so much researching, expectations and planning, if you don’t want to end up with a feeling of being cheated, DON'T GO WITH SOLARIS.
Only 35 reviews in all these years tell what SOLARIS really is...
In spite of all these, it will still be a special trip with the magical view of Mt.Kilimanjaro in Amboseli, Flamingoes in the Lake Nakuru, Masai village visit, balloon safari and the big 5 safari in Masai Mara .
It would have been a lifetime trip if we would have chosen another tour. If we get a chance we definitely want to go back to Kenya, but definitely not with SOLARIS.
Reply from Solaris Tours and Safaris
Posted on Mar 6, 2018Hello NS
Greetings from Nairobi, and thanks for your review.
We are are medium sized company that have very good ethics in business. We appreciate you had great time and spotted the magical Kilimanjaro mountain, Flamingoes in Lake Nakuru National Park and the big five in Masai Mara National Reserve. We believe that having a 5 day safari and experiencing all this as a great opportunity.
However we are greatly concerned with the raised issues. You arrived at 10.42 am aboard an ET flight. We meet at 11.45am at the arrival hall. YOU HAD NOT PAID YOUR SAFARI and we had to settle the balance which you had promised to pay on arrival via paypal. We spent another 45 minutes working on your payments. I mentioned to you that on this day game drive in Amboseli would not be possible since we were behind and we all had agreement. An email dated 5th January 2018 explains the details of the drives and you acknowledged and you insisted Amboseli National park must be included in your program against our advise- I will resend it to you if need be. In addition we had mentioned about some refunds in case we had not informed on this on time.
The vehicle used is a brand new Minivan with all safari features - pictures can be sent with you on board. The driver is among the most experienced safari drivers in Kenya. We understand about the driver, but if you considered the driver old with less knowledge you could have informed me since I met you thrice on your safari.
We greatly admit some of the mishap and time constraints on this safari and we believe this may have been done better. But on every safari there is always some little or more time difference that might occur due various factors.
We welcome you again Kenya!
Thanks
Solaris Team
Email Claire | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Complete fraudsters.
We paid 4 months in advance because otherwise Solaris couldn’t pay Ngorongoro Farmhouse for our accommodation (apparently). We arrived in Tanzania and had an email to say we had been ‘upgraded’ to a tent in a place called Mosquito River. We were then parked in a hot vehicle for 4 hours in the middle of Arusha because the company had no money to pay for the game parks. The vehicle had broken seats and windows and all the seatbelts were broken. Amazingly we all survived long enough to get malaria !
Many emails since and 5 months later not a dollar back for the poor accommodation (the farmhouse had a pool, electricity, food and mosquito nets), missing game drives and spending hours in a dangerous truck because the tent was nowhere the Crater !
They are crooks, stay away
US
Email Jay | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Poor arrangements and Cheating
We took Safari thru them in Sept. We were group of 11 senior people. In Tanzania we ended up paying for three Park entrance fees and stay at one camp. We had to pay out of pocket more than $9,000. Despite repeated requests and phone calls we have not received any money from them. They had verbally and by e-mails agreed to pay this amount in full. SO BE CAREFUL !! The Safari itself was excellent and the drivers were very good. It's the front office that lacks communication and make promises that they do not keep.
Email Iain Oliver | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Terrible, feel absolutely cheated. Feel they spoiled what should have been the holiday of a lifetime
Please do not use these people. I do not know if they are fraudsters or just incompetant, but we paid a premium to stay at the plush NGORONGORO farmhouse. They took a 40 % deposit 3 months in advance and the balance was paid weeks before. They said the deposit was required to sucure the rooms. On the day we arrived in Tanzania he emailed to say we had been "upgraded" to a tented lodge (we could have booked a tented lodge for $250 less per person) we didn't get the email until they had picked us up because we had no internet. Then that seemed the least of our problemsbecause 4 hours after we were supposed to start our safari we were stillsitting in Arusha high street because there was no money on the entry card for the game reserve. We started to wonder if there would be any safari at all. We thought we might be being kidnapped. We eventually started our safari at 2.30 pm instead of 8 am. Then we were taken to this tented lodge (the name of which translates to "mosquito river") instead of the luxury hotel we had paid for. we also lost another half days safari at the end because our schedule was rearranged because they had no money on the card so we had to leave early to get back to Arusha by nightfall. a total disaster and no refund. DO NOT USE THESE PEOPLE.
That said, the animals were wonderful as was our driver/guide (it wasn't his fault) who did his best to salvage his employers incompetence/bad practice.
DE
Email Growwald Steffen | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
unforgettable! we recommend the tour to all our friends....Thank you all!!
Our driver guide gave our family unforgettable experiences and moments. He showed us as much as animals and nice places as possible, more than we could ever expect or hope for. He was totally reliable and explained alot to us and our kids. It was a pleasure to spend the week with him...Thank you John
QA
Email Samuel John | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful 4 days Experience at Kenya
We booked a 4 days Kenya tour package with Solaris Tours & Safaris in the month of June 2017. We were 2 families consisting of six people. We planned the trip only one day before we reached Kenya. Mr. Josphat and his team of Solaris were very prompt is answering our questions and making all arrangement quickly. Everything, from pick up at Nairobi airport to drop back at the airport, were well taken care. We stayed one night at Nairobi, one night at Naivasha Lake and two nights at Masai Mara. All hotels were top class. Our driver + guide, Mr. Dennis was very friendly and helpful. We will recommend Solaris for any of our friends planning to visit Kenya
FR
Email Charlie De Morguex | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
On of the best experiences ever in Africa
Our trip to Africa was the best thing I’ve ever done in my life. I love Africa, it was better than I could have ever imagined, Kenya and Tanzania were exceptional. The people were wonderful and the animals were amazing. We really enjoyed our guides Mr Joe and Mr David is an exceptional organizer with much patience for all my emails and questions. He was very informative and quick to respond.
Thank you so much for helping me fulfill my life dream!!
Charles
CA
Email Saad | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Experience!
Josphat was great from the start, he gave us all the information we needed and ensured we had an amazing time in Masai Mara. Uncle Joe our guide ensured we got to see the Big 5! The stay at Ashnil Mara Camp and Ilkeliani Camp were fantastic. Highly recommend everyone book a tour with Solaris! Great Team!
HK
Email Mr Kotoro | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amezing and wonderfull trip with Solaris Safari
Great safari trip with driver guide from Solaris Safaris
We booked a safari with Solaris Safaris for February 2017. We went with 4 adults. From the briefing at the Hotel in Nairobi till the drop-off at Jomokenyata airport, we had a wonderful Safari and great trip.. With thanks to our experienced and very friendly driver/guide , who knows almost everything aboud wildlife as well as Kenya culture. Jose Kim arranged some lovely accommodation too for us. it was excellent trip, for sure They make it an unbelieveable experience for us.. thanks as well to Solaris Safaris team.
AE
Email Jacky Muthoni | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great safari
My experience was wonderful ! The guides were awesome and found the big 5 for us.The lodges were so nice and the communication was excelent.