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
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Email Maricel | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Deceiving, not professional, stay away!
Abbey from Lush African Safari responded to my Safari booking request for a quote with a very expensive package for a 14 days Kenya and Tanzania safari. The quote had places’ names and pics of cars and accommodation included. Upon arrival to Kenya I found out none of the places he quoted were actually available at the time he sent me that quote. In fact, he did ask me to pay immediately to book everything, which I did, but it was just a scam since the places weren’t available. And he hired local companies that book something else. He even tried to put me in a minivan instead of a landrover in Kenya, which at least at last minute the local company was able to fix. In Amboseli, he sent me to a tent instead of a nice 3-4 start hotel I paid, I was scared for my life there. Not a joke. Solo woman traveler I paid more to him, a company based in USA, to guarantee that this situation didn’t happen :(
In Tanzania he tried to send me to another tent and I was literally crying that day contacting the Safaribooking team begging to please not to be sent to a tent. I paid for a nice hotel, he was making up all sort of reasons why me going to a tent was best for me, among them so I can see the great migration.
He didn’t even know I already saw the great migration in Kenya!
Finally they sent me to a hotel, not like the one promised but I was so grateful for having walls and feel safe that I didn’t mind. Both local tours realized what was been done and were very sympathetic. I’d strongly recommend to use those companies directly, they will be honest and not lure you with some pics. I paid thousands of dollars to stay in the nicest hotel with great food and they sent me to a tent without electricity, shower outside that actually didn’t work, he gave me a $300 refund which felt like an insult, but I was powerless.
When I told him he couldn’t just go against the client wishes and going to a tent instead of nice accommodations I booked were not my wishes he said: “we are going to have to agree to disagree”. So he feels he is in power to sent you wherever he wants regardless of what you paid for. Here is another, when I send the pics he sent me of a fancy place that I paid for and the ones of the horrible tent he was sending me to, his response was:”some places take deceiving pics”. We have internet and the local tours were honest so they did told me how wonderful the other places I had in the quote were and how they didn’t compared in location food quality and overall with what I was given.
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Email Tina | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Avoid Lush Africa Safaris – Poor Management, Broken Promises, and Unsafe Vehicles
I do not recommend Lush Africa Safaris. Abbey, the owner, was terrible about communication unless it involved asking for more money. He would outright lie, claiming things were booked when they weren’t, and failed to follow through on commitments and providing pertinent information. I had to repeatedly remind him about details, and his last-minute scrambling caused us significant stress and lost sleep.
The vehicle we were given in Uganda was awful—not a “luxury” vehicle at all. The seatbelts, AC, cooler, and even the armrest didn’t work. On our very first day, before we had even started the safari, we got a flat tire on the highway. Then, two days in a row, we had a dead battery, which nearly caused us to miss our chimp trekking. We lost hours dealing with these issues and waiting for a replacement vehicle. When I raised these concerns with Abbey, he dismissed them with a simple “sorry to hear about your situation with the vehicle.” This is HIS company, and according to one of our guides, he owns the vehicles. He knew—or should have known—that what he provided was neither the luxury safari vehicle he promised nor even a safe vehicle for such a trip.
He also didn’t book our flight from Kigali to Nairobi until just 36 hours before departure, despite assuring me it had been booked more than two months earlier. This caused us to have to change our itinerary at the last minute as he didn’t put us on the flight he told me we would be on. On top of that, he forgot to book our hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti—even though it had been paid for nearly a year in advance.
The one positive: the tour guides themselves were excellent, especially Derrick in Uganda. He was outstanding, and I truly hope he finds another company to work for—he’s far too good to be tied to someone who caused as much stress and disappointment as Abbey did.