Luxury African Safari tours in East Africa
Natural World Kenya Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 50-100 employees (Founded in 2002)
- Member Of:
- ATTA, ASTA, KATO, MCTA & Ecotourism Kenya
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $310 to $500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Kevin | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Do not with them - as others have said - they will take your money and not book anything
They will have you pay via Pesapal and then claim it isn't "working" for them and they cannot get the money. They will ask you to pay cash the day of. As others have said, nothing is booked or paid for, Stay far, far away.
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Email MARIAROSA CERRI | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Dishonest company
My husband and I purchased a 10-day, personalized package including accommodations, safari car, park entrances and driver guide. Paid everything in advance. Already upon our arrival in Nairobi, Mr. Humphrey, the owner, communicated to us difficulties in finding the promised car. He then sent us a car to the airport which took us to the first park and which would be replaced the following day. However, we had difficulty both entering Samburu park and having a room at the lodge, as we were not booked. After a few phone calls, everything was resolved for the entrance and the lodge. Instead, for the car, an odyssey began: in short, for the rest of the journey we had to repay the car to continue and complete the itinerary, as the agency, with a thousand excuses, refused to pay the drivers. It was very challenging for us, as the drivers wanted to be paid exclusively in cash...For hotels, they were only paid for the first week. we had to pay for the last 4 nights again, as did the entrances to the parks. Once we arrived in Nairobi we went to the agency offices and the owner, as soon as he saw us, tried to escape through the back door... however, despite the threats to report him to the police and his umpteenth promises to reimburse us for the expenses incurred on the credit card, we got nothing. He proved to be an unscrupulous serial scammer. BE CAREFUL, AVOID IT
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Email Mohith | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
My advise: Do not book!
Perplexed by all the recent reviews of Natural World Kenya, we were worried about being stranded mid-day despite paying in full so did some digging the day before our scheduled tour date. Thanks to all the recent reviews here, we saved ourselves a lot of pain.
We found that accomodations for the second half of the trip had been cancelled due to non-payment (e.g., Mara Serena Safari lodge told us that they had held the reservation and then released it when Natural World failed to pay them). This checks out with all recent reviews which highlight how Natural World leaves tourists stranded so that they're forced to pay again after paying in full.
Additionally, we received no flight or hotel confirmation until an hour AFTER our tour was scheduled to start! And that was only after they realized that we had cancelled our trip with them and filed for a refund with our credit card company. Amusingly, the confirmations only had one of our names (I guess the second person is flying with the luggage???) and that name was spelled incorrectly.
We ended up successfully re-booking with another marvelous tour operator. When we spoke with multiple operators to explain why we were already in Nairobi without a confirmed safari, they all understood and highlighted the same: Natural World is in financial trouble and so doing very shady things to keep the company afloat. Unsure why they're still allowed to operate. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
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Email Sabrina | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Do not book with them!!!
I had booked a safari with this agency for February 2025. Just one day before departure, I discovered they were in serious financial trouble. Many lodges (including some that were supposed to be part of our trip) refused to take bookings from them because they weren’t being paid. This meant we would have had to do the safari staying in places we hadn’t chosen and paying again on site, even though everything had already been paid in advance.
We decided to cancel and go with another operator. We asked for a refund of our deposit, but it was delayed for months until the promised date of May 15. That date came and went—no refund, and all their email addresses suddenly stopped working. The “government” and “bank” contacts they gave us as a guarantee were completely fake.
This agency is absolutely untrustworthy. It’s shocking that they’re still allowed to take bookings when they claim they can’t even refund €400 due to lack of funds. If I could, I would give them zero stars. Do not trust them.I had booked a safari with this agency for February 2025. Just one day before departure, I discovered they were in serious financial trouble. Many lodges (including some that were supposed to be part of our trip) refused to take bookings from them because they weren’t being paid. This meant we would have had to do the safari staying in places we hadn’t chosen and paying again on site, even though everything had already been paid in advance.
We decided to cancel and go with another operator. We asked for a refund of our deposit, but it was delayed for months until the promised date of May 15. That date came and went—no refund, and all their email addresses suddenly stopped working. The “government” and “bank” contacts they gave us as a guarantee were completely fake.
This agency is absolutely untrustworthy. It’s shocking that they’re still allowed to take bookings when they claim they can’t even refund €400 due to lack of funds. If I could, I would give them zero stars. Do not trust them.
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Email Averey | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We were almost scammed out of $1,600
⚠️ WARNING – Do Not Book with Natural World Kenya Safaris!
We were nearly scammed out of $1,600 by this company. Please read other recent TripAdvisor reviews — our experience is not unique.
We booked and paid in full (online, by credit card) for an all-inclusive Lakes Nakuru & Naivasha Day Safari Tour for six people. The package included breakfast, lunch, three park entrance fees, a boat tour, and a walking tour. I coordinated with Ezra from their office, and Dikdik was assigned as our guide.
The day started well:
• Hotel pickup in Nairobi was on time.
• Our guide was friendly, talkative, and knowledgeable during the drive.
Red flags began two hours into the trip:
• We still hadn’t stopped for the promised “breakfast along the way.” When we mentioned it, our guide paid for breakfast out of his own pocket but said he was “unaware of the itinerary.”
Lake Nakuru was beautiful, and we enjoyed a great game drive thanks to our guide’s skill in spotting wildlife.
Then the problems began:
• On the way to Lake Naivasha, the guide asked for payment again, claiming Ezra told him we would pay in cash.
• He said he had used his own money for gas, breakfast, and Nakuru park fees but couldn’t pay for the rest.
• When I explained I’d already paid online, he insisted Ezra hadn’t given him the money.
• I called Ezra during the confrontation — he claimed payment would “show up in two days,” even though credit card payments are instant.
• This turned into shouting, finger-pointing, and accusations between the guide and the office.
From that point:
• The company stopped responding to all my messages. No apology, no explanation, no reimbursement.
• The guide pushed us to continue the safari and “pay as we went,” which we refused. We asked to return to Nairobi as we were afraid of being stranded.
What we paid for vs. what we got:
• Paid for: breakfast, lunch, boat tour, walking tour, three park entries.
• Got: one park entry, no lunch, no boat or walking tour, and an incredibly stressful experience.
While driving back, we checked other reviews and found multiple travelers describing this exact scam — same company, same guide, same story — and some lost even more money than we did.
Bottom line: This company is unreliable, unprofessional, and in our experience, dishonest. Save yourself the stress and book directly with reputable local drivers or a different company.
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Email Haydee | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Please please please believe all the negative reviews as they are sadly true!
I was hoping so badly that we would not be one of the groups writing this review, but we also lost our money to this company. They stole our deposit of $12,956.40 and asked us to find lodgings, pay park entrances, and pay for the drivers and fuel ALL OVER AGAIN. We had this trip planned since 2023 and paid the money in April 2024. By the time we came across all the negative reviews in 2025, it was too late for us. This company was once stellar but that is no longer. The customer service we had was horrendous. Esther was our contact, and she was non-responsive. We not only had them taking our money, but then we had to provide the itinerary OURSELVES to the drivers since she couldn't even do as much as that the night before we were supposed to go on our safari. It was a nightmare experience. Thankfully, the second tour operators we worked with were much better, and we only dealt with NKWS on the first 3 days. I would highly recommend you try to get your money back if you have the time. If not, then you will probably be in the same boat as us. They e-mailed us TWO DAYS before our trip to tell us we owed the money again by the way. During busy season! This company needs to be shut down and no longer allowed to book tours for people!
Email Martin and Karen Hart | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Comes across as great but please please beware
We too fell victim to this company (also known as Natural Tours and Safaris). Booked a holiday of a lifetime in Kenya in October 2024 and wanted a 3 day 2 night safari to go with our beach holiday in Diani.
Booked through the Diani office of this company and duly paid our $856 deposit.
As the holiday came closer we became aware of issues with this company and found they were also under investigation by KATO, the Kenyan Association of Tour Operators. I then contacted the lodges we were supposed to be staying at who had no record of any bookings for us made by this company. More negative reviews followed so we decided to invoke our right to cancel the book for a full refund minus 'Administrative Costs'. After this I received no communication apart from a T&C statement saying there was a 60 day refund policy. We went along with this but of course, this came and went. Despite numerous emails and phone calls to the head office in Nairobi there has been no further communication from them.
We have waved goodbye to our deposit and I have reported them to KATO to go along with their other complaints.
Please also note as we have. Once a negative review us posted like this they all of a sudden have several five star reviews all of a similar nature! Just saying, must be just a coincidence.
We did in the end have a lovely holiday with the safari supplied by ORANJE Exclusive Safaris.
Email MJS | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Do Not Book through this company
A very dishonest company from our experience. You see all the high rated reviews here & on TripAdvisor, pay your money, then if you are lucky the 'game' starts 2 days before your safari. Having now delved into many bad reviews the script is exactly the same. Issues with account department, not my fault, I'm trying my best for you. Multiple apologies. Your midway lodge/camp won't be booked, park entrances won't be paid for, nor transport/driver fees or fuel, oh and if you manage to actually get all that sorted by them, who will 'gently' hint that you will need to pay more, or in the worse cases leave you stranded at a park entrance or in a park until you pay more (with empty fake promises of refunds for the additional costs due to their account department errors) the time in the parks is rushed, your transport won't be the luxury comfortable, air conditioned, WiFi enabled (despite stickers on the windows) charging point enabled, cold water providing vehicle you are promised. We enjoyed our safari that we actually managed to go on, but the stress prior and during as this company tries to con you ruined much of what our holiday was for. We believe we only got what we did because I made them aware I had contacted my bank and the fraud department asked me to keep them informed of what was happening. I strong recommend you do not use this company or their sister company Africa Kenya Safaris.
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Email Shankar | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Avoid like Black Mamba
Modus Operandi - collects full fare. Does not pay to service providers. Drivers wait endlessly at park gate. You end up paying entry fee, fuel, hotel charges. The CEO vanishes from scene. KATO suspended them. But they have managed to resurface. TRA , the authority who blacklist, has not done anything. I saw some other operator black listed but not Natural World. With all the amounts being diverted must be having a huge cash reserve to pull strings.!
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Email Justin | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Beware
This is not a complaint, it is too late for that, since I don’t plan to use this company ever. Instead, I am writing this review to help future travelers be aware of what they might encounter, and to provide important information so you can make an informed decision for your trip.
We booked our safari for six people with them well in advance and paid in full more than three months prior to travel. Our trip was coordinated by “safari specialist” Esther, who assured us that everything was set. She even met us in person to collect a thank-you note and reaffirm that everything was set.
Our first two days in Kenya went smoothly. However, the problems began when we crossed the border into Tanzania, in route to the Serengeti. We were suddenly stranded at the border because Natural World had not paid the local driver. Despite multiple attempts to reach Esther, we were finally able to get her on a call, during which she told us we had to pay $200 ourselves to continue the journey. We were shocked and explained that we had already paid in full. After a few hours, our driver, out of sympathy, decided to take us to the hotel without payment.
Upon arrival, we found that there was no reservation, and no payment made. The driver gave us the contact information for someone he called the “owner” of Natural World – Hamfry. After multiple attempts, we finally got a response, and the hotel reluctantly accepted us for the night.
The next day, while heading toward Serengeti, we were stopped at the Ngorongoro Park gate and again unable to proceed because no fees had been paid on our behalf. After hours stuck at the gate trying to sort this out, I received an email from Esther (please see attached) informing us that WE would need to pay $5,000 per day to continue, claiming they were having "a problem with their bank."
At that point, we had no choice but to hire another company in Tanzania, paying nearly $4,000 just to continue our journey. Had we not done this, our once-in-a-lifetime trip would have ended there. Another hotel had only been partially paid, and they were asking to we pay the balance ourselves.
I spent over a year planning this trip, and Natural World completely ruined it. Despite promises to reimburse us for the additional payments we made, we have not received a single cent.
To make matters worse, the “owner” never answered his phone when we needed urgent assistance. I have a log of
I am submitting a formal complaint to the Ministry of Tourism to help prevent other travelers from being put in a similar position.
I hope this review and the extremely unpleasant experience we endured will help shed light on what might happen to you. Please consider your options carefully before entrusting them with your dream vacation.