Falcon Safaris
- Offices In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2002)
- Member Of:
- ZTA, ASATA, ZNTBS & MARS
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $600 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Awful service and stolen money
Warning! Do not use this company at all or risk losing a lot of money. They have stolen over £1000 of our money and refuse all forms of contact - and have done for the last 3 months. Do not trust or use them because our experience is truly awful and we are significantly out of pocket. They do not follow through on bookings after payment!
Reply from Falcon Safaris
Posted on Oct 26, 2017Dear Mathias,
We “Falcon Safaris” thank you for all your reviews that you posted. It would be very wrong of you to point out that Falcon Safaris robbed you of your money. When you sent an email to us advising that you made payment to us you did not forward the proof of payment which is our normal company policy. You then sent an email close to your travel dates checking if your booking is in order. We advised that the booking was in order but we did not receive the payment. We later asked you to forward the proof of payment to us, which you did and we sent the same to the bank who we asked to trace your payment. You mentioned that your bank was in comms with our bank but you never copied us in the emails between yourself and your bank. Falcon Safaris made sure that with each correspondence with our bank we would copy you in so that you are in the know that we are following up. Your last email sent to us was with a warning that you are going public but we forwarded the same to the bank and copied you in so that you remain in the know that we are still tracing your payment. If we get any responses or if the money is found, we will definitely send it back to you as we would always want to keep good relations with all our clients. We are sorry that this happened as it has caused a lot of inconvenience to you as also to us as it is painting us in a very bad picture. We hope that this issue will be resolved sooner.
Email Jono Weiss | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A bit disappointing
2 of 3 activities were great but Falcon was terrible to book with
Activity 1 was operated by Falcon and was a guided tour on the Zimbabwe side. This was the biggest waste of money EVER. We paid $100 a head to have some one read us the signs at the front and hurry us along the whole way. What a waste of money!
Activity 2 was a Dinner cruise on the Zimbabwe side which was really nice but Falcon never gave us a booking receipt and so the operators tried to charge us an extra fee which we shouldn't have been charged
Activity 3 was the Livingstone Isalnd/Devil's Pool lunch tour. Amazing experience which we almost missed out on becuase again Falcon never gave us a booking receipt.
Recommend booking with literally anyone else!
PK
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A well structured, professionally managed and decently priced holiday adventure in Zimbabwe
Falcon Safaris designed a trip to Zimbabwe as per our requirements. Their choice of tour operators / service providers was good, and their own guides/tour arrangements were par excellence. We were comfortable throughout our 5 days in Zimbabwe, and did not experience a single instance of late service or an event that was below expectation with the exception of the Boma dinner where we thought the food / food selection could have been better. Elephant Hills Hotel in Vic Falls was nice and the choice of Ivory Lodge at Hwange National Park was an inspired one. With respect to pre-tour service we found Falcon Safaris quite accommodating as they changed our dates at the last minute and we did not have to pay any penalties/fees, etc. Overall a very good experience and would recommend Falcon Safaris to anybody interested in holidays in that part of the world. Thanks to Aron and the staff at Falcon Safaris.
50-65 years of age
reliable and friendly
Good communication and service. Bookings made with them were all in order.
Only booked Hotel and transfer- not a Safari
Email Desiree Reddy | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent Service, extremely happy and impressed.
I was looking for tours and what to do on trip advisor and I come across a recommendation from a gentleman to use falcon safaris. From the initial contact to my drop off to the airport , everything was perfect. My partner and I was most impressed. Vimbai, Essau and their team ensured that we were well looked aftered and that everything was in order. The guided tour of the falls, the helicopter ride and the sunset cruise was all carried out very professionally, we were dropped fetched and well taken care off. As I myself am in the travel industry I will definitely refer my clients to Falcon safaris. Very professional and polite staff, always willing to go the extra mile. We had a perfect holiday thanks to the team at Falcon Safaris.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A great place with very very very nice people
The communication was completed, fast and precise.
The reception and the hosts are extraordinary, very pleasant and smiling.
Reservation services for the activities were managed in the perfection.
PT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Competent Company.
Last August I went to Victoria Falls on vacation.Christel, from Falcon Safaris, managed my package tour and I'm delighted with her work.Friendly and professional, she accepted all my suggestions and showed me good solutions.
I stayed one night in Outlook Lodge, in Joanesbourg.Beautiful place and nice staff.I really appreciate François's hospitality.My staying in Victoria Falls was a dream.The Kingdom Hotel is a wonderful place with a friendly staff.Don't hesitate to ask for help, Falcon Safaris will be there for you.If you intend to travel I really hope you choose Falcon Safaris next time.
DE
Email Anne | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A promise not fulfilled
Victoria falls are breathtaking and definitely worth the trip. The way to reach them needs carefull attention though. Being stuck in an airport for a full day, we have been initially supported by Falcon in a correct way. However, we got the promise in the bus, in front of other witnesses, that the safari day to Bostwana (which was cancelled due to shortage of time) would be refunded. Guess what, back home this was no longer the case. While Falcon Safaris seems to have been very responsive, this no longer existed when money was at stake, and we got no refund for hotel and not for the safari, while the later had been promised, otherwise we might have chosen to sacrifize the cruise on the river. I had paid in advance the park entrance. I can only recommend, pay the minimum in advance. It's when you have troubles that the average and the great can make a difference. The refusal for any further discussions was also disappointed.
Last point, not entirely disconnected to the experience on this trip and not the fault of Falcon Safaris: don't be foolish and pay more thinking you get safer with South African Airways. Worst experience ever: lost the luggage, delayed and missed the connexion without any apology, 4 hours, yes 4 hours of fight to get a boarding pass for the flight on the next day.
Reply from Falcon Safaris
Posted on Sep 20, 2014Dear Anne
Thank you for your feedback. I find it rather disappointing that you are writing us such a negative review despite all the efforts we made to assist you to make the most of your holiday when you missed your flight.
We had nothing to do with your flight reservations and as such had no control over you missing your connecting flight. We did however immediately jump to action, rearranged all your activities at very short notice and was able to re-schedule it in such a way that you were still able to experience all the activities you booked with us (including the Chobe Safari). Being high season in the area, this was no mean feat. I also offered to drive to the airport in Johannesburg to assist you in any way possible but you declined the offer.
I have no idea why you decided not to do the Chobe Full day safari, but since there was no reasonable reason for this, we refunded you 50% for this tour, even though we were under no obligation to refund you at all.
You also booked and paid for only two people for the elephant back safari while all three of you partook in the activity. We paid for the third person out of our own pocket, although you did not arrange this with us, nor did you pay us for this. We did this as a gesture of good faith, but this was obviously not appreciated.
The park fees we charged you was explained on several occasions, both on the phone and by email. Zimbabwe park fees (which is what you were charged for) are charged as legislated by government and it has to be paid if you want to visit these attractions, either by paying the operator in advance or at the point of entry. We make no money on this and it is paid over to park officials on a daily basis. You were charged park fees for the helicopter flight, tour of the falls (rain forest) and the sunset cruise in Zimbabwe. You partook in all these activities, so I really cannot comprehend why you are still unhappy about this.
As for a refund for the hotel - I have in my 20 years in the industry not dealt with a single hotel who will give you a refund because you missed your flight. I did however check with the general manager of the hotel, just to make sure and he told me exactly what I told you. I.e. they are not responsible for you missing their flight and their cancellation terms and conditions are clear. You should take this up with your travel insurance and/or the airline.
We also did not refuse further discussion about the entire issue. The matter was escalated to management, i.e. either the owner of Falcon Safaris or I and I asked you to please direct any further inquiries about this to either of us, rather than to the consultant who dealt with your reservations, as he does not have the authority to agree on refunds etc.
I hope this explains some of your concerns, although I already mentioned all of the above (excl the elephant safari) to you via email.
Feel free to email me if anything is still unclear and you have any further concerns.
Kind regards
Christel van der Merwe
Marketing Manager
Falcon Safaris
Excellent service
Service was excellent. Prompt and punctual returns on questions and queries. Would recommend Falcon Safaris at anytime.
US
50-65 years of age
Amazing Service!
I set up a trip for our company which included 19 people traveling from the USA. The communication between Falcon Safaris and myself was excellent. Patrick was a joy to work with. He took care of every detail of the team's stay. It was great to have the ability to prepay for the entire stay. The A'Zambezi hotel was beautiful. The accommodations were wonderful and the staff was the best. I will definitely use them again!