Team Hyrax Safaris
Hyrax Safaris
- Office In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2018)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $80 to $400 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
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for a custom tour
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Reviews
IN
Email Sebastian | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Freddy was very informative and accommodating but not that flexible when it came to schedules.
I enjoyed my time at the Masai. The place was breathtaking, animals everywhere (we saw more than 20 lions!) and the hotel was spectacular! But I wouldn’t say it was a great value for money for various reasons. We had to skip lunch the first day because the restaurant we stopped at ran out of food. I was promised water but didn’t receive any until the last day. There was also an activity that I had to give up since the driver said it was optional and wasn’t paid for then later found out that it was paid for but it was too late to go. And it was supposed to be a 3 day safari when actually it was just a day and a half. I would recommend checking what time the park is actually open and confirming the schedule for when you will go for a game drive before booking.
SG
Email Raj | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good overall but 2 bad experiences! Do your research before booking
We booked a 4D3N midrange safari to Maasai Mara and lake Nakuru with hyrax. We had a great time with Hyrax Safaris and both my parents were extremely satisfied. We saw the Big 5 and our guide Solomon went the extra mile to show us the animals. He did all he could to show us a leopard and we ended up being the first ones to see it. He was also very knowledgeable on all the animals and shared interesting facts about each animal. He was also quick to rectify any problems that came up along the way. On the first day we had a flat tyre and Solomon took care of it quickly with the help of his other Safari guide friends. He also placed my bag in the wrong camp but quickly realised and had it brought back to me without 15 minutes. With the above being said, we had 2 BAD EXPERIENCE which you should read before booking Hyrax
Roselyn agreed to provide us Jambo Mara lodge and Saravo woodlands in her original quote. After we made the down payment, she told us that saravo woodlands is no longer available and instead proposed another accommodation. However, the other accommodation is much cheaper and there was no mention of discounting the price difference until I brought it up. She also did not apologise for her lack of oversight in accepting down payment before checking availability of hotel. After I brought up the price discount, she quoted us a discount which definitely did not seem enough. True enough, when I checked the hotel price online, the discount was supposed to be greater. When I brought this up to Roselyn, she did some calculations to show us that she was right. However, in her calculations she calculated the hotel price per person instead of per room, so the total cost was higher than what it should be. I pointed this out to her but she didn’t agree. In the end, I made it a point to call the hotel and recorded our call with them showing that we were right. Afterwards Roselyn told us that the hotel told them the higher price at first and that she will check with them and in the end she gave us the correct discounted price. While I do appreciate that she finally gave us the right price, it should not have been after such measures from our part. Also, it’s extremely hard to believe that a tour company which has been booking hotels for their business does not know that hotel prices are usually quoted per room and not per person. I do suspect that it was an attempt by Hyrax to take a larger profit but I will give them the benefit of the doubt.
Secondly, before our safari Roselyn provided us with an itinerary. However, during our Safari, our guide changed the itinerary without asking us first. To be specific the change was as follows. We were originally supposed to have a pre-breakfast game drive on Day 3. However our guide changed it to Day 2 and on Day 3 we did not have the pre-breakfast game drive. Yes, in the end we got the same amount of game drive. However, I want to point out that entrance fee to Maasai Mara is on a 80 USD/24 hour basis if you are staying outside the reserve. By doing this shift, Hyrax is able to pay only 80 USD for entrance instead of 160 USD. However, they were not transparent with this information. I believe this is done so that when unsuspecting customers such as ourselves ask for the safari price breakdown, they can quote the entrance fee as being 160 USD but get away by only paying 80USD and hence have an extra 80 USD profit. We would have been okay with this had they been transparent. It is not professional to change an itinerary after we paid for it.
The above experiences might not be unique to Hyrax and might occur with any tour companies possibly. So for anyone reading this review, please do your research beforehand and do not let them get away with your money! If the review is confusing but you want to understand more, feel free to contact me.
Reply from Hyrax Safaris
Posted on Jun 22, 2023Thank you for booking your safari with us. We are glad to learn that you enjoyed the safari.
We value your feedback.
We would like to address the complaints raised as follows:
1. Group joining tours are dynamic and complex. Sometimes, groups tweak the program to accommodate their collective needs and inform the guide. For instance, the group opted to visit the Masai village instead of doing the morning game drive on day 3.
It's unfortunate that our tour consultants at the office were not notified of this matter. We have learnt about it here. Had we known about this that morning, we would have liaised with the guide to ensure you go for the morning game drive as per the itinerary provided.
We encourage our clients to inform us about any changes in itineraries that were not communicated prior to the safari so that we address the issues immediately.
We have a 24/7 customer support that resolves matters as and when they arise.
We regret that this happened and take full responsibility.
2. It's unfortunate that the hotel you chose was fully booked hence our decision to provide an alternative since this was a last-minute booking. It is important to note that some hotels have offers on their websites that are cheaper than the rate provided to tour operators. This is beyond us because we can't dictate how much a hotel should charge; it's a free market.
We refunded the difference between the 2 hotels before the commencement of the safari and communicated the same.
We are transparent and endeavor to give our clients value for money.
We apologize for the inconvenience caused.
Best regards,
Roselyne
CH
Email Simona | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good relationship with price and service
It went really well as both the guide and cook were nice. However, the only complaint is that for our stay in Nakuru we ended up staying at another hotel which was not planned. The hotel where we stayed was old, dirty and not what we expected. I would recommend that the safari tour informs people before about this change because it came as a surprise . I think paying 100 usd per person for one night in this hotel was too expensive.