Guests on a Wayfairer safari with local guide
Wayfairer Travel
- Offices In:
-
United Kingdom
Thailand
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2012)
- Member Of:
- ATTA, ATOL & Travel Vault
- Tour Types:
- Custom luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $371 to $1,857 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
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Email Camila | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent pre-trip planning and support; room for improvement during trip - solved at the end
I planned two safari trips with Wayfairer this year. The first, in Kenya in March, went without a hitch. Planning was courteous and responsive and local partners were spot on for what we were looking for. Memorable staff, beautiful lodge, and astounding animal sightings. Logistics went smoothly.
Trip two comes along in June for a longer, two week adventure spanning Rwanda, Uganda an Tanzania. Things in Rwanda and Uganda did not go well. Local partner was unprofessional. Sent a guide that did not speak English, had next to zero professionalism or knowledge and did not know the way to hotel. This would have all been OK had we received a prompt response and solution from Wayfairer. Our emails went unanswered and private messages followed the same route. Eventually, I reached out to the local tour operator hired out by Wayfairer and it happened to be the case that Wayfairer had not even communicated the situation to the local travel partner. They were appalled and immediately sent another driver. This was a world away: professional, courteous, knowledgeable. As we tried to figure out what had happened, this is what we were able to discern: Wayfairer subcontracts to a reputable local partner for Uganda and Rwanda; lets call them "A". Said local partner then subcontracted the hotel for our driver/guide. The hotel then went on a third round of subcontracting and hired a small, new, non-reputable Rwandan agency to deliver the service. Agency "A" did not know the hotel had further subcontracted. Needless to say, neither did Wayfairer.
We completely understand that hiring local partners is normal and part of the way travel works nowadays. What is problematic is that in this case communication channels were not established, we got no response from Wayfairer which were the only ones with which we had communicated, and there was no accountability for what took place while we were there.
Once we left Rwanda and got plugged into their Tanzania partner, the trip was everything it should have been from day 1: engaging, professional, surrounded by experts during the game drives and caring staff at lodges.
Wayfairer did eventually react, apologize and issue a refund for the transportation costs of the Uganda leg of the trip.
All in all, I think it is a well put together agency with its values in the right place. It just needs to smooth out and address the growing pains of receiving more bookings and keeping track of their clients all the time, regardless of who they have subcontracted out to.
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Email Dan | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
They deftly juggled complicated logistics.
They put together a multistop Zambia pleasure trip for me (solo traveler). I presented them with my interests and after some communication, they put together a plan. Their knowledge of the area and operators was very helpful. When, as they do, issues came up they were flexible in modifying my agenda (e.g. one of my extensions was canceled due to river water levels). I feel that their expertise made my experience much more enjoyable as I could focus on my trip and not the logistics.
Pro: professional, approachable, non-judgemental, flexible
Con: tends to gravitate to the more expensive experiences (which you can "tune" down), some difficulty reaching them during a weekend issue (consider international mobile phone rather than wifi based communications)
Uganda Trip
We are very happy with the service and attention from Eleanor Roberts, the itinerary was very clear, the service of the guides and quality of the cars was really good as well. The hotels booked were amazing despite the short timeframe planning the trip.
I would recommend Wayfarer Travel.
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Email Lori Goodman | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good service - more reasonably priced than high luxury
We traveled to Tanzania on Safari planned by Wayfairer travel. We used one private guide to visit three camps plus the Ngorongoro crater. Our experience was excellent. We loved our choice to have one guide and drive through the country. Wayfairer was helpful and worked with us on price. One thing I wish they had done was to let us know at the time of booking that we would need to visit a travel specialist doctor to get vaccinations. We didn't receive that information until 6 weeks before our trip and we were out of the country for business much of that time. It made our immunization visit more stressful than necessary. We loved this once in a lifetime trip and would absolutely recommend Wayfairer.
Reply from Wayfairer Travel
Posted on Sep 23, 2019Thank you so much for your great review Lori and we're delighted that you had a wonderful, once in a lifetime trip to Tanzania! Regarding vaccination advice, please note that this is always given to you at the time of booking as well as in your pre-departure documents. Thanks once again for your feedback and it's great to hear that you'd recommend our services to others.
Email John | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Kilimajaro and Zanzibar
The bulk of the tour went very smoothly, all very relaxed and Wayfairer chose good quality hosts that made our stay enjoyable throughout. The service was flexible, and the team worked to tailor the tour to our very specific dates and requirements throughout, providing clear advice on what would and would not work.
The information pack we received was clearly laid out, with all relevant information provided. In particular, highlighting key restrictions at various points in the trip.
Awesome
We had an amazing trip to Southern Africa. The itinerary we had included Victoria Falls (the Zimbabwean side), a day trip to Chobe, a visit to Great Zimbabwe and Cape Town. Wayfairer Travel was amazing at booking our travel, ensuring that we had the best tour guides and any issues we faced were resolved immediately. They really surpassed our expectations.
Email EE | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Well organised, communication could be better though.
The accommodation was great, well organised trip, our driver was excellent, good car. The communication and pre-trip information could have been better. We were not aware of mandatory tipping (which is quite high), also not aware of an additional guide for Rwanda - certainly didn't need one.
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Email Samantha | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very efficient - they arranged a perfect itinerary for our family safari adventure
Communication was very efficient and the service was excellent. The trip far exceeded our expectations and we consider ourselves to be quite well travelled.
The safari tour was excellent, we saw so many different types of animals and our guide was superb. He really went out of his way to make sure that we got the most out of our trip and was very experienced and competent. We loved tenting in the Serengeti and having lunch at a hippo pool.
Zanzibar was fantastic and we really enjoyed our time there. The resort was of a very high standard and the staff were very friendly and helpful.