Madukha Tours and Safaris ltd Staff
Madukha Tours and Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 1993)
- Member Of:
- ASTA & KATO
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $300 to $1,500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CH
Email Alexander | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We believe this tour operator is bankrupt: do not book with this organization
We traveled to Kenya with Madukha, and while initially the trip started off great, suddenly our driver/guide started mentioning that he had not received any money for 2 days already from his boss to pay for fuel / park permits etc. Due to this we lost a full day of safari as we had to wait until he found a solution. At the end of the day, somehow the money did arrive and we where able to continue the trip as planned. I am now reading that many of the other guests here have not been so lucky and have lost either part or all of their money, which is absolutely terrible and unacceptable since the full amount had to be paid 2 weeks before the trip.
Either this company is bankrupt or has some serious liquidity issues but clearly you should no longer book with Madukha and stay away from this company. It is a shame because our driver was really nice, professional, knowledgeable and never even suggested that we pay for anything while he was 'trying to find money to continue the tour'. I hope the other 'victims' will somehow get refunded for their losses because this is truly unacceptable.
NL
Email Hennie Sakko | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
It is a fraud
We had a 8-day Safari to Samburu, Aderbare, Lake Nakuru and mAsai Matra.
They did not pay for transport, we had to.
They did not pay for parkfees, we did.
They did not pay for Lodges,we did.
We went to the tourist police to file a report. They say we were not the first one.
So stay away from Madukha.
CN
Email Connie Tuanzi | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Responsive, reasonable price & planning, great driver and problems solving proactiveness
The overall experience with Madukha was pleasant. The travel planner William was responsive both thru email and WhatsApp. The itinerary was revised based on our preferences a few rounds and William was there patiently with us re-arranging everything for us. We had a little hiccups along the 12-day journey, which was solved by our all-rounder driver Steve and the strong back up Joyce at the office.
Our hotel at Naivasha Lake - Sopa naivasha had no room for us when we arrived. Turns out, the booking date was one day later. The itinerary was modified when i discussed with William, not sure which side (madukha or sopa hotel) didn’t correct accordingly. However, our driver Steve managed to find us the equivalente hotel - Simba lodge with the rooms we hoped for.
We wanted to have night safari experience, so William suggested us Ol pajeta sweet water and arranged serena sweet water hotel for us at first place. The hotel was changed to another great hotel Maisha by the time we final confirmed the itinerary. However, William didn’t check for us if night safari was available with this hotel. It was only one day before we went to Ol pajeta did we find out the night safari was not included. Again, our driver Steve and Joyce from madukha office in Nairobi helped us get the last spots before it was too late. Great it was eventually settled and the night safari exp with the ol pajeta conservancy was unforgettable.
I want to give great credit to driver Steve, he’s very experienced. Great driving skills, knows all the roads in the national parks, has abundant knowledge of the animals and very humorous. We enjoyed our time with him along the journey.
Overall, I’d recommend this agent, but you’ll need to be more remindful of the upcoming itinerary, better check from time to time with the driver about the exp so to avoid last minute loopholes.
JP
Email Naoko | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great guide, worst agency
I do not recommend this agency at all.
All the bookings are fine, but they hadn’t pay petrol fee to our guide in advance , so we had to stay at petrol station twice for long time to wait them to send money to our guide.
Eventually they did not send him money so he had to pay out of his pocket. Which is INSANE.
As you know, petrol fee in Kenya is bloody expensive.
Anyway, our guide was super nice guy. He said that our tour will be the last job with this agency. Bless him.
CN
Email Mining | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
This travel angency ruined our trip totally, don't choose it.
This is a very terrible travel agency
Took all our money, but did not perform the contract to pay for our hotel and park fees included in the contract, we had to pay extra by ourselves.
And we spend extra time to communicate with the travel agency hoping the problem can be solved, but now they can't get in touch. So we have to call the police to defend our rights.
It wastes us almost $6,000 per person and two days of Safari, ruining our trip totally. Don't choose it.
Plus, this company only has three full-time employees.Our guide also has not received his oil and labor fees, and will no longer cooperate with the travel agency in the future.
CN
Email Alice | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
They’re just a three-person operation and can’t even pay the driver’s fees. It's infuriating!
The travel agency demanded full payment two weeks before our departure, despite the fact that we had already paid a deposit months earlier. Out of caution and naïve trust, we communicated and retained a small portion of the final payment. However, after arriving in Kenya, the owner, William, came to collect the remaining balance and then disappeared. We later discovered that the subsequent six nights of hotels and park entrance fees had not been paid. They repeatedly deceived us, exploiting our trust and isolating us in a foreign country, forcing us to continuously cover expensive costs. As a result, we have not only lost time but are also facing potential losses exceeding $20,000.
CN
Email Leo | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A journey filled with wits and courage, yet also extremely exhausting
The travel agency is really outrageous! For the hotels and tickets we booked for a total of six nights, they didn't make the payment and reservation. We only found out when we arrived at the hotel. They even asked us to pay in advance and then promised to refund us. But now, they have lost contact! Moreover, they arbitrarily changed the agreed hotel in the travel contract without notifying us in advance at all! They replaced the hotel in Nakuru with a substitute hotel that is more than twice as cheap, but they didn't refund the price difference either! They have deceived us by various means many times and delayed time, making our itinerary a total mess. They have greatly wasted our time and caused us to lose one day's itinerary in Masai Mara. What on earth is this?
CN
Email Ray | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
the worst travel experience of my life.
Please be cautious of this company that scammed us; this has been the worst travel experience of my life.
1. We paid the full amount, but the 6 nights of hotel accommodations and park entry fees included in the trip were never paid. We only discovered this upon arriving at the hotels. The travel agency asked us to cover the costs upfront, promising to refund us later, but they have since completely disappeared.
2. The agency unilaterally changed the hotels specified in the contract without prior notice. They replaced the hotel in Nakuru with a substitute that costs more than double, and they did not refund the price difference.
3. The agency has repeatedly deceived us through various means and delayed our plans, which has severely impacted our itinerary. We have lost an entire day in Maasai Mara.
This experience has been a total scam and a nightmare, so I urge everyone to be very careful with this company.
CN
Email CHEN | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Never choose this travel agency. They took our money and disappeared！！！
Issues with the travel agency:
1. For a total of 6 nights of hotel stays and entrance tickets, there was no prepaid reservation. We only found out when we arrived at the hotel. The travel agency said that we should pay the expenses first and they would refund us later, but now we have lost contact with them.
2. The travel agency unilaterally changed the agreed hotel in the travel contract without prior notice. They changed the hotel in Nakuru to an alternative hotel that is more than half cheaper in price but did not refund the price difference.
3. The travel agency has deceived us in multiple ways and delayed for a long time, causing a great waste of our itinerary. We have already lost one day of the Masai Mara itinerary.
Email PJ | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great rates & friendly service
You will be in safe hands with Madukha Tours. From the moment we contacted them, they were responsive to requests via email & offered us the same safari as other groups for a significantly cheaper price. Upgrading to private & a land cruiser was a no brainer & made our experience extra special. As people who are used to life in the UK, we did find the lack of "official" confirmation of e.g. payment a little strange, but once we arrived in Kenya we understood that this is the way things work there!
Our driver was incredibly friendly (Paul) and knew how to find all the animals, including catering to our perhaps unusually high interest in birds and antelopes. We saw leopards, cheetahs, lions, serval, giraffe, elephants, rhino, buffalo, hippo, 15 species of antelope (including the delightful dik-dik) and 100+ species of bird. Paul was there for us the whole time & we always felt safe with him. We did have a copy of "The Safari Companion", which together with my partner having a PhD in biology provided me/us with a particularly detailed account of the animals we were seeing & why they were behaving in certain ways. I suspect if you want that experience, you may want to request a specially trained guide who has a bronze or above certification from KSPGA.
The lodges booked for us by Madukha were all great & above our expectations.
We were very pleased we went with Madukha and not others!