We'd rather take your smile to the bank!
Lush Africa Safaris
- Located In:
-
United States
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2004)
- Member Of:
- Association of Uganda Tour Operators
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $1,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
ES
Email Helena | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Extremely disappointing experience – Refund still outstanding
I am extremely disappointed with my experience with Lush Africa Safaris. I booked and paid for a safari, but had to cancel well in advance of the scheduled departure, in accordance with the cancellation conditions applicable to my booking.
Although the company acknowledged my cancellation, I am still waiting for my full refund. I have sent numerous emails and made repeated attempts to resolve this matter amicably, but I have received nothing but delays and explanations about problems with PayPal and third-party providers.
I have been patient and cooperative throughout this process, yet the issue remains unresolved. What concerns me most is the lack of a clear solution, reliable communication and accountability. Customers should not have to spend weeks chasing a company to recover money they are entitled to have refunded.
I have now escalated the payment dispute with my card provider and am pursuing formal complaints through the relevant channels.
Based on my experience, I would strongly advise anyone considering booking with Lush Africa Safaris to carefully review the cancellation and refund terms and consider the risks before making a payment.
A professional company should handle cancellations transparently, communicate clearly and resolve refund requests promptly. Unfortunately, this has not been my experience with Lush Africa Safaris.
IT
Email Rossella | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Several organizationall faiures
My experience with Lush Africa Safaris
My experience with Lush Africa Safaris was unfortunately far below what had been agreed and paid for in advance.
I booked and fully paid by early July for a tour in Uganda from 14 to 23 August 2026. Problems started from the very first night in Entebbe.
During the trip, I discovered several activities had not been booked and some services were different from those confirmed. The Batwa community experience had not been communicated to the guide, and the boat excursion had not been booked.
In Bwindi, the first accommodation was different from the one agreed and was of a lower standard. The second accommodation was also different from the one listed in the itinerary confirmed before departure.
Towards the end of the trip, I also discovered that the chimpanzee trekking had not been booked and that the hotel for the night of 22 August had not been booked either.
On several occasions, I had to show the guide my own itinerary to explain what was supposed to be included in the trip.
I want to make it clear that Steven, our driver and guide, did his best to solve organisational problems that were not his responsibility.
Another important issue concerned the Italian-speaking assistance I had paid for. I was supposed to have an Italian-speaking companion/translator, but at the last minute a replacement was sent who had no previous experience in this role and had never been to Uganda.
I want to stress that she was kind, helpful and did her very best. She was a lovely person and we are still in contact today. My criticism is therefore not directed at her personally, but at the agency’s organisation: the service provided was not the professional service I had paid for.
At the end of the trip, I was also asked to pay an additional USD 360 for the final night in Entebbe, which I disputed.
After returning home, I sent the agency a detailed complaint. On 25 August, I was told they were collecting reports before giving me a proper response.
I waited and followed up several times, including on 4 and 7 September, and again afterwards. I eventually formally requested a written response and a solution within seven days.
Despite the time that has passed and my repeated attempts to obtain clarification, to date I have received neither a substantive response nor any concrete proposal to resolve the matter.
I deliberately waited before publishing this review to give Lush Africa Safaris enough time and opportunity to explain what happened and resolve the situation.
My review is therefore not based on one isolated problem, which can of course happen during any trip, but on the number of organisational failures, the differences between what was agreed and what was actually provided, and finally the lack of proper handling of my complaint after I returned home.
Based on my experience, the repeated organisational problems during the trip and, above all, the lack of response to my complaint afterwards, I cannot recommend Lush Africa Safaris. I chose to travel with an agency precisely so that I could enjoy my trip without having to deal with organisational problems myself, but unfortunately that was not my experience.
Email Caroline | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Avoid
I booked a great migration 3 night 4 days Masai Mara safari with Abbey of Lush African Safaris 15 months ago, paid $4700 in full 8 months ago. It is for my 50th birthday and our honeymoon.
Today, 7 days prior to travel, I’ve received an email from a lawyer in Uganda stating a 3rd party has disappeared with some of the money we have paid.
We have 4 options.
1-proceed with the original safari but pay an additional $3500
2-reschedule at no extra cost. Obviously not an option as we have international flights and a add on in Zanzibar booked
3-use an alternative tour operator at our own cost
4-request a refund but it states they are putting the company into bankruptcy so this process may involve delays
All options are unacceptable. Also as they haven’t actually filed for bankruptcy we can’t claim on our travel insurance. So we have lost £3500 and it’s ruined our honeymoon
Email Cynthia Cousens-Jacobs | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful and Consistent Service and Support.
From the very beginning of our conversations about what I was interested in doing during my visit to Rwanda, Abbey took the time to listen to what I was looking for in a total experience and then delivered. Our back and forth conversation led to a most perfect itinerary for me. I am a mid-range to budget Traveler (with a focus on wildlife, national parks and village culture) and Abbey nailed it.
On top of that, from the very beginning when I met my guide Yves at the airport, I knew I was in good hands. Yves provided outstanding information in regards to the history of the country, developments in the country's agriculture, industry and infrastructure and picked out the best places for lunch! Unfortunately I have some pre-existing health issues that unexpectedly surfaced during my visit so Yves was not only a terrific guide, he ended up providing additional support that I needed due to my health conditions. We are talking way above and beyond. And while I would certainly have preferred not to become ill, I must say that I met such kind wonderful people, I came away with nothing but gratitude at what I was able to experience. Coming upon a wild gorilla family in Volcano National Park was probably the most amazing encounter I have ever had in this lifetime. In short, I highly recommend Lush Africa Safaris for assistance in planning a trip to remember anywhere in Africa that they service.
Email Adriana | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent Itinerary on Paper, Poor Execution in Reality
We chose Lush Africa Safaris because of its overwhelmingly positive reviews. Unfortunately, our experience was the complete opposite, and I cannot recommend this company.
Our trip was planned by Abbey Rafsanjan, Director and Safari Consultant. Before we made our final payment, Abbey was responsive, professional, and provided what appeared to be a well-organized itinerary with detailed descriptions of every hotel and activity. Once payment was made, however, the level of service changed dramatically.
The most serious issue was that three hotels on our confirmed itinerary were changed without our knowledge or consent. In every case, the replacement hotel was of a lower rating and significantly lower nightly cost than the hotel we had paid for.
On the first night, after more than 24 hours of travel, our driver took us to a different hotel than the one listed on our itinerary. We had no reason to suspect we were being taken somewhere else. We only realized the substitution several days later when we returned to Kigali. We immediately contacted Abbey and asked that we be moved to the hotel we had originally booked. He replied that he was in a meeting and would call us back. He never did. After waiting for over an hour, we paid for rooms at the correct hotel ourselves rather than spend another night at the downgraded property.
A second hotel substitution could not be corrected because we did not discover it until we arrived.
The third substitution we caught in time, and we instructed our guide to take us to the hotel that was actually on our itinerary instead of the replacement.
We requested reimbursement for the unauthorized hotel substitutions, but our requests were ignored. Abbey stopped responding to our emails and messages altogether.
There were also problems with the activities we had paid for. Our itinerary included a morning safari, but our guide told us Abbey had never informed him about it. Had I not insisted that the safari was included in our itinerary, we would have missed an excursion that had already been paid for.
As a result, we spent the entire trip having to verify each day's schedule with our guide to make sure we would actually receive the hotels and activities we had purchased. That is not how anyone should have to spend a vacation.
Ironically, before booking, I noticed two reviews mentioning unauthorized hotel substitutions but dismissed them because there were so many positive reviews. That was a mistake. Our experience closely matched those reviews. I've learned that sometimes the negative reviews reveal problems that shouldn't be ignored.
A safari in Rwanda is an expensive, once-in-a-lifetime trip. When you pay for specific accommodations and activities, you should receive exactly what you purchased—or at the very least be notified of any unavoidable changes and compensated appropriately.
Unfortunately, that was not our experience with Lush Africa Safaris. Based on our experience, I cannot recommend this company.
MX
Email Gerardo Wacuz | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best trip ever
When you just past the first day, you already think that anything cant be better but traveling with Lush will make you ask that every single day, they know exactly the places, spots, stories, hotels, food, everything was amazing.
If i could be able to do this trip in the future, i wont even search for anyone else, the attention since you contact them, they make you feel that traveling to Africa is so easy, you dont need to worry about anything.
Email Melanie | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Holiday of a lifetime
Our family of four (two adults, two children) travelled around Kenya and Tanzania in January 2026 to celebrate a milestone birthday and to fullfill a bucket list destination. We travelled for 11 days flying in and out of Nairobi airport. Abbey was very accommodating in helping us to adjust the itinerary to suit and very responsive to our requests. It was reassuring at the start of the trip to have phone numbers that we could contact over WhattsApp of the various people who would be looking after us along the way.
Day 1 and we were picked up by our Kenyan guide Jackson at our hotel near to the airport. Jackson was living in Nairobi and was very knowledgeable about wherever we travelled also taking us through his hometown. Jackson was also very energetic and passionate about the animals and had a lot of knowledge to share. Masai Mara in particular was very dear to Jackson and he was excellent at finding wildlife for us to see. He was committed to maximising our adventure and we would often be out until just before park closing to ensure that we saw all that we could. Masai Mara was teaming with wildlife and we never expected that we would see as much as we did.
We then had the pleasure of meeting our Tanzanian guide, Joseph who showed us what Tanzania had to offer us. Always happy and smiling with a very calm energy. Joseph showed us the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater which were both amazing. A highlight had to be camping in a tented camp in the Serengeti with the noises of the wildlife at night. Joseph was determined to find us a Leopard to see and in the end we ended up seeing two in one day!
Both guides taught us some basic Swahili to use along the way and explained a lot not just about the animals but about the local areas outside of the game parks which was all very interesting.
The accommodation that we booked through Lush Africa Safaris was very good and we found that we often had the closest rooms to the main lodge area which was also convenient.
We felt very looked after throughout and wouldn't hesitate in recommending Jackson and Joseph and Lush African Safaris for those looking for their next adventure.
The Best Trip You’ll Ever Have
The front office’s customer service was great, our local guides’ knowledge and skills in the field were impeccable, and the whole travel experience was excellent. I fully recommend Lush Africa Safaris especially if you’re looking to combine a number of countries. And I don’t know if you can hand-pick guides but Derrick in Uganda and Rwanda is impressive, Peter in Kenya is a champion and Joseph in Tanzania is heaven-sent. We couldn’t have been luckier to get three of the best!
I spent 18 days in Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania with 5 other friends and we had a blast, felt safe, taken care of and we saw many amazing things. We never wanted the trip to end because we were having a lot of fun, learning from the best Africa has to offer. As a lifelong Arizonan, the African sun was never a problem for me, but I must tell you the gorilla place Bwindi can get really cold at night, as if it has its own winter system. We were so lucky we saw the big 5 plus the chimpanzees, gorillas, lots of primates and the boat ride in Queen Elizabeth park is quite a highlight. We chose gorilla habituation over the standard tracking because we wanted to stay longer with the gorillas. I saw my favorite animal, the cheetah, in Masai Mara and Serengeti. At that point, my safari was completed. But we also saw many giraffes, lions, black & white colobus - another of my favorites, leopards, crocodile, many hippos in Uganda, rhinos in Kenya, we even saw a honey badger tussling with a pair of jackals in Ngorongoro.
Our trip began in Entebbe and ended in Kilimanjaro. The airport transfers were handled expertly by Lush. Their prices are fair, and they got us very nice midrange accommodations everywhere.
Email Lanna Wing | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Accommodating and Professional
We booked a trip from Entebbe to Bwindi for a Gorilla Trek as part of our 25th Anniversary. Steven, our driver was on time and professional throughout the entire trip. We also kept him as our driver for a week after for a Mission part of our trip in Busia. I can not say enough good things about how safe Steven made us feel and how accommodating both Abbey and Steven were for our entire time in Uganda. Communication was easy and we felt like valued customers. We will be traveling back to Uganda in January with a group of 7 and will re-book with Lush Africa Safaris' without hesitation. The service and value are top notch!
TW
Email Angry Traveler | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Bad and dangerous experience
Bad and Dangerous Experience
- Lush didn’t book our flights between Rwanda and Kenya. They had to change our itinerary last minute while we are in the forest.
- We almost couldn’t go gorilla trekking because they messed up our reservation with the national park.
- Dangerous driving in the mountains at night. No AC no seatbelts in the cars.
- Communicating with them was a nightmare
不要訂快跑！