Safari Jeep ready for departure
Africa Marvel Tours
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2014)
- Member Of:
- Kenya Association of Tour Operators
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $130 to $450 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CA
Email Li | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Complete lack of professionalism and unethical practices
My family and I had high hopes for our 12-Day Best of Tanzania and Kenya Safari (Mid-Range) tour, booked with Africa Marvel Tours from August 16 to August 27, 2024. After extensive research and saving up for this dream trip, we were excited to explore these incredible landscapes. Unfortunately, our experience was nothing short of a nightmare, largely due to the agency's complete lack of professionalism and failure to deliver on their promises.
We paid the full amount to the agency per their requirement, 30% at booking in January and 70% in July, three weeks prior to the trip, expecting everything to go smoothly. Instead, the agency repeatedly failed to pay park fees, accommodation costs, and even our driver’s wages on time. This led to multiple delays, forcing us to sit idle for hours, miss game drives, and even skip two parks altogether. In total, we wasted over 16 hours waiting on payments to be processed.
Here are the major issues we faced:
1. Border Delay: On Day 4, we were stuck at the Kenya-Tanzania border for 1.5 hours because the agency hadn’t paid for park tickets, gas, and driver fees. This caused us to miss the Lake Manyara game drive.
2. Ngorongoro Crater Issues: On Days 5 and 6, our schedule was delayed, and we were stranded for 5 hours waiting for the agency to cover Ngorongoro park fees. Due to these delays, we had to cancel our Serengeti stay and move to a camp near Ngorongoro, which was arranged at the very last minute after we had to argue with the agency.
3. Masai Mara Payment Problems: While our driver provided outstanding service during our Masai Mara visit, he later told us that Africa Marvel Tours hadn’t paid him. He had to cover the expenses from his own pocket. He is a freelance tour driver, hired by this company for our trip. The agency continuously promised him reimbursement, which never happened.
4. Accommodation Issues: On Days 10 and 11, we were held in the lobby for hours at different lodges due to unpaid balances by the agency.
5. Final Day Misery: On our last day, we spent a total of 7 hours waiting in a restaurant parking lot for the agency to deliver a meager $135 refund to me and to pay my driver. The agency representative claimed they have no money to pay the driver because they are experiencing some cash flow issue. He eventually signed an agreement to pay our driver 98800 Kenya Shillings =1, 035 Canadian Dollars by September 5, but to this day, no payment has been made. We missed our Nairobi Park visit as a result. We also missed Elephant Orphanage visit because the agency failed to book it in advance.
Our driver went above and beyond, often covering expenses himself to ensure our trip wasn’t completely ruined. He truly tried to salvage our experience, and it’s devastating to see him suffer such financial loss and disrespect from the agency.
I have reported Africa Marvel Tours to the following organizations. These organizations have the right to investigate them and make corrections. Despite all my frustration and stress during my trip, my biggest concern is whether our Driver can get his money back.
• Kenya Association of Tour Operators (KATO)
https://katokenya.org/consumer-protection/
• Kenya Tourism Board
https://ktb.go.ke/
• Kenya Tourism Regulatory Authority
https://tra.go.ke/
Please carefully select your safari tour agency. No one should go through what we experienced.
Email Katie Muckley | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible, Must-Do Experience with an Excellent Company!
Africa Marvel Tours was a pleasure to book and experience. Their communication was thorough and timely, and left my husband and I reassured about all the details of our first-time safari experience. Our 3-day trip started with an on-time and welcoming pickup from our B+B in Nairobi, a small gift form the company (Africa water bottles!) and started with an interesting drive through the countryside. Our driver Joe was a safe and skilled driver and talked to/taught us about parts of Kenya we were seeing as we crossed the country to the park. We were glad we chose this option rather than flying from Nairobi. The camp booked for us (Enkorak Mara Camp) was wonderful - well-kept, comfortable, and made complete with the sweetest staff and excellent food. Both our afternoon/evening game drive and long game drive the next day were absolutely breathtaking, and again our driver/safari guide Joe proved to be a trusted expert at securing the best experience and up-close animal views along the way (highlight was definitely his instincts in getting us the closest of all the safari vehicles to a leopard, which is so rare!) Joe was also extremely knowledgeable about all parts of Kenya and gave us safety tips and advice about how to maximize our time. Based on his advice, we were able to change our plans on our last day as he flexibly drove us to a new drop-off location outside Nairobi and secure tickets for a walking safari tour (Crescent Island!) thanks to his connections. Overall this safari and company were the highlight of our Kenya trip and helped us have a safe, beautiful, and memorable time at Masai Mara and beyond - we 100% recommend them!
CN
Email Jason | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The tour operator is exceptionally professional and dedicated
I just had an amazing safari experience guided by a fantastic local guide Paul. They were incredibly thoughtful and attentive to our needs, making sure we were comfortable and had the best possible experience. The entire journey was unforgettable, filled with breathtaking sights and fascinating wildlife. I truly appreciate the guide’s dedication and expertise, which made this adventure even more special. I highly recommend this safari to anyone looking for an incredible and memorable experience!
EE
Email Linda | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Definitely recommend this company
We took the 4-Day Tsavo East, Amboseli and Saltlick Mid Range tour option for the two of us. Communication with Africa Marvel Tours was excellent and we were able to pay partly in cash at the beginning of the tour.
Our tour guide Robert picked us up from train station and off we went. The safari exceeded my expectations - we saw so many animals, enjoyed 4 PM tea every day and were overall excited. The accommodation was always inside national parks or a kilometre away from the gates. The food was great, too.
Taita Hills was breathtaking, and the Salt Lick Lodge was definitely the highlight of our trip, with comfy rooms and elephants coming to the artificial waterhole next to the rooms. Kibo camp offered very cosy tent-houses and was very pleasant overall (it was the one outside of the gate, but that in itself made no difference). Ashnil Aruba was inside the park and animals would come all the way to the camp fence (we could watch them through the windows), but our room lacked proper air conditioning, it was too hot to sleep and massive grasshoppers kept intruding through the drain grates in the bathroom.
The company offers half a litre of water per day and hotels provide water bottles as well, however there is definitely a need for more - we recommend to take extra bottles yourself. We had a safari van and it was perfectly fine, but a short person might have trouble reaching to see over the roof (165 cm was comfortable).
We highly recommend Robert - he took great care of us. He promised I would see hundreds of elephants and he delivered. He had no problems staying put for an hour because I saw elephants very closely and just wanted to look at them. He always made sure we had the best place for taking pictures and really took extra care to make sure we could see even rarer animals (like rushing to see lions mentioned in the radio or looking out for animals and spotting them for us). We also enjoyed that he was polite - he left space for elephants to cross and made sure other tourist vans also would get a good view. He was accommodating for our needs and took us to the pharmacy when needed, and didn't see a problem in an early morning ride after a long driving day and a short night. We overcame our English barrier (I am not native) easily as well.
Overall, it was a great experience and we definitely recommend this company, especially Robert as the guide-driver.
AE
Email Ciara | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent
We had the best experience exploring the Safari with Africa Marvel Tours. Really well organised. Accommodation was perfect, very clean, comfortable and had amazing views. It was well structured throughout the day. Our tour guide Mike, went above and beyond for us to get the best experience and see all the different animals whilst also giving us great information on the safari, animals and history. Highly recommend!
AE
Email Clionadh Fahy | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tsavo East
Mike was a great guide and the accommodation was amazing. Food is better than expected, it’s all buffet
Email Shehnaz Fazal | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent customer service and great tour
Booked a 3 day Tsavo East and Saltlick tour for a group of 6 ladies aged 65. Perminus responded very quickly to my initial enquiry and subsequent queries and in the end we got a very good value deal customised to our requirements. The driver, James, was very experienced and had excellent knowledge of the game parks and widlife. He was friendly, patient, punctual and a pleasure to be with. Even once the tour had commenced and been paid for, Perminus continued to provide a great and efficient service, providing a ‘no show’ letter I requested for one of the group who had to pull out and claim the cost from her travel insurance. I would not hesitate in recommending Africa Marvel Tours if anyone is considering a safari in Kenya.
Email Sue Low | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Buyer beware, our trip turned into a nightmare of delays and non-payment of services promised.
I gave my review two stars to firstly acknowledge the great tour guides and hosts at our accommodation venues. The accommodation 'camps' were outstanding, the people went out of thier way to make us cared for, and the food was good and plentiful. The second star is awarded to the experience in the Game Parks themselves; animals appeared and behaved as expected. As a biologist, I could not have been happier with the experiences in these Parks. However, the integrity and reliability of African Marvel and their principle executives left a lot (everything) to be desired. It was humiliating for everyone to be waiting around at borders and accommodation sites for paymentd to be received from 'head office'. On the last occasion in Kenya, the manager of the site let us travel on and claimed that our accommodation at his beautiful site had been paid. We believe that this was not the case, and that he was being gracious rather than enduring the embarrassment of 11 of us being held 'hostage' to Marvels poor performance. As he said "this does not reflect well on our country".
Email Diane B | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unreliable !
A tour group of 11 adults, we paid the full cost of a 12 days safari in Kenya and Tanzania. We had great tour guides and accommodation BUT, we waited for hours at the Tanzanian Border, there were no drivers to meet us. Our park fees for Serengeti had not been paid, more extensive delays until finally they were paid by a member of our tour group. We then found our Accommodation and Park Fees had not been paid in other locations. Despite frequent phone calls and many promises no payments were made without delays and pressure. We had to abandon our tour and return to Nairobi. We have had promises of refunds for our additional expenses, but so far no refunds have come from Africa Marvel.
Email Peter Buchanan | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
In my experience, I felt deceived and misled by this company.
Our 12 day tour had some highlights (mostly the animals), but many lowlights including non payment for accommodation and park fees and extensive delays at border crossings.
We had paid in full for our 12 day tour prior to departure, but continually had problems with accommodation and park entry due to non payment by Africa Marvel. Every time I called them while on tour to find out the problem, the owner was at the bank trying to arrange finance to keep our tour running. It seems all the money we had paid was being used to keep the business afloat, and not provide the tours we paid for. Even our 4 day tour to Rwanda to see the gorillas was cancelled the NIGHT before we were due to leave, despite promises made during the previous week all was on track. It was finally admitted by Africa Marvel that they never made ANY of the bookings for this tour, despite taking our full payment. Everything they have been telling us was a lie - they have been behaving criminally and should be put out of business before they can take other peoples money.
Of course, they have promised (many times) to repay all monies owed to our group, but deadlines have come and gone, and they have made no real effort to repay, and we don't hold out any hope of seeing our money.
Do yourself a favour and steer clear of them.