Lenchada Safaris

Great guide, bad organisation

We did a 7 day safari with Lenchada Safaris and while the wildlife itself was incredible, there are serious transparency and communication issues that future travelers should know about.

The main problem was in Amboseli National Park. The safari package is sold and charged as if you enter Amboseli for 3 days, but in reality you only enter the park for 2. The itinerary clearly mentions a night game drive on day 5, a full day game drive on day 6, and a pre morning game drive on day 7.

The night game drive on day 5 never happened. Our guide clearly told us that they have NEVER done the Amboseli night game drive on day 5, yet it is still advertised in the itinerary they send to customers.

There was no refund and no option to recover the unused park entrance fee. This is not about a missed service. It is a park entrance ticket that was never used. Amboseli park tickets are valid for 24 hours. What they do is enter the park on day 6 around 10am, which allows them to re enter at 6am on day 7 using the same ticket. This means they only pay one park entrance instead of two, while charging the customer as if three days were included.

If you actually want to do the evening game drive on day 5, you would need to leave Hell’s Gate no later than 10am. This was not done and it was never communicated in advance.

I have screenshots of the emails from Lenchada Safaris showing the itinerary exactly as advertised (you can go to google reviews and check the actual conversation there in screenshots). I also have screenshots of WhatsApp conversations with Sam, the Operations Manager, where I raised this issue. In those messages, he first states that they never offered the day 5 game drive, and later says that because there is not enough time on day 5, they instead do the pre morning game drive on day 7. These explanations contradict each other.

I initially dealt with Collins during the booking process. He was responsive until the deposit was paid, but after that it became extremely difficult to get answers or support from him.

It is also worth mentioning that Lenchada Safaris is a subsidiary of Jocky Tours, which operates several other safari companies as well.

Our guide Kikitu was excellent, honest, and very knowledgeable, and the safari itself was enjoyable from a wildlife perspective. However, the itinerary is misleading, park fees are not handled transparently, and communication when issues arise is very poor. I strongly recommend clarifying exactly how many park entrances are truly included before booking.