Silver Spark Team at Ikigai Office Westland
Silver Spark Africa Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2018)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $400 to $2,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
ES
Email Rui Jorge Dantas | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Terrible organization and management by Abongo, though Peter the guide saved the experience
I booked the "Nairobi: 4-Day Maasai Mara and Lake Naivasha Safari" through GetYourGuide, operated by Silver Spark Africa Safari, and the company's management (especially the boss, Abongo) was absolutely dreadful. I do not recommend them at all.
The issues started the day before the trip:
Last-minute changes: We were informed that they had to change our hotel because it was fully booked, and that the Spanish-speaking guide we requested couldn't make it due to being in "quarantine."
Extreme lateness and unprofessionalism: We were told to be ready at 6:00 AM at our hotel in Nairobi. The boss, Abongo, showed up at 8:00 AM (two hours late) because he had overslept, and he smelled strongly of alcohol. After dropping off the vehicle, he left and did not join us for the safari. Furthermore, the van he provided was incredibly old; it’s a miracle it even survived the trip.
Failure to pay entry fees: Upon arriving at the Maasai Mara gate, we were denied entry because the company had not paid the fees. Abongo sent me a WhatsApp message demanding that I advance $400 USD, claiming GetYourGuide hadn't paid them yet. After a heated argument where I flatly refused to pay, and after waiting for 2 hours, our guide managed to get them to let us in just to eat, under the condition that the payment would be processed later.
Held hostage at the hotel: After Maasai Mara, we headed to Lake Naivasha. The next day during check-out, the exact same issue happened again: we were forced to wait and couldn't leave the hotel because the company had failed to pay for our stay.
The only saving grace:
Our driver and guide, Peter, is a 5-star professional. He was amazing, always available, and constantly trying to minimize and resolve the endless problems caused by his boss, Abongo. The safari itself is wonderful because of the nature, but Silver Spark Africa Safari's management is a complete scam. They put you through incredibly stressful situations while the owner pockets the money and fails to pay vendors on time. Avoid this company at all costs!
Email Ina | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We would advise others to avoid Silver Spark. In our experience, their conduct felt unethical
I booked almost 8k worth of trip and got cheated by this company . Bad broken van, terrible transfer from Kenya to Tanzania via rural road to save toll fee, worst of it is to cheat us out of hotel that we paid for to a cheap hotel in a weedful beach in Zanzibar. After promising to return 300 dollars for 8 months and 50 msg exchanges, I had to pay my friend on my own as I booked the trip . I feel terrible and stupid to have trusted them
NL
Email Vinod | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I do not recommend Silver Spark Africa
Our highly anticipated 5-day private safari, costing over $4000++, with Silver Sparks was a complete disaster. After full payment, we were subjected to:
• Substandard vehicle.
• A seemingly new and potentially unpaid driver.
• Unpaid entry fees at tour sites (despite our full payment).
• The driver's concern about not being paid, jeopardizing our return.
• Last-minute cancellation of our return airport transfer via text leaving us stranded.
• Unacknowledged overpayments for dinners.
• Zero communication or proactive updates from Silver Sparks during our trip.
• Unauthorized itinerary changes.
Silver Sparks takes your money and fails to deliver on their promises. This unprofessional and unacceptable experience ruined our first visit to Kenya. We strongly advise you to seek other reliable tour operators.
Silver Sparks never acknowledged returning the monies we paid twice due to their negligence. Seems to be their standard way of operating.
A formal complaint has been filed with the Nairobi tourist board.