Kilipath African Safari
- Office In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2022)
- Member Of:
- TALA & AITA
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $180 to $600 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
RU
Email Pavel | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kilipath is a tour operator with terrible organization and logistics
I had a "4-Day Majestic Tarangire - Ngorongoro Crater - Serengeti" trip. I really enjoyed the safari, but it was the driver's doing.
From Kilipath my manager was Prisca and organization was awful.
I would say a lot of things went wrong after sending the prepayment:
1. They didn't send me information about the trip details until the night before the trip. The manager wanted to meet me, but I wasn't in Arusha that time. Then I needed to push her to say me the time of departure. And I received it only at 21:30. And it supposed to be 7:00. It's first when I got stressed.
2. Also that time they said that my tour company was changed to another company as they don't have place in the car (or something like this). That time I started to fell it's a scam.
In reality it was the third company, different one from they mentioned.
3. Next morning I was ready at 7:00, but there wasn't a car. I asked Prisca and she didn't give me anything specific. Only "let me call the driver". And 20 mins later "He is nearly". But in reality driver came at 8:00 and I was the first in the car (so the delay wasn't on other guys in the trip). It was really stressful.
4. The first night when we came to the camp it turned out there is no room for me. First they asked to wait until they finish cleaning the room. But then some other tourist came (from different car) and I was told there is no room in the hotel. They changed my hotel and I had to drive back and forth for dinner and breakfast. And it's all after the day-trip when you are exhausted. A lot of frustration.
5. They mixed our group. In different ways. First - they put in one car tourists with different accommodations. So the second night we were driving through 3 different camps and the same on the third morning (I was the last and the first in dropping and picking up). I saw others' cars - a lot of them were staying just in one camp.
6. Another way they mixed groups - one guy had 3-days tour. And he didn't have that experience that we had on the first day. So he was slowing our group as he needed more time for watching zebras, etc.
Also with us was a guy with a 5-days tour, but he didn't affect my experience.
So only the third night was good - all in one camp, no delays and other disappointments.
It was my real experience with the Kilipath and how things can be. Of course I complained, they sent a lot of sorryS, but it couldn't change my experience at all. And of course they have explanation to every my complain.
Reply from Kilipath African Safari
Posted on Sep 3, 2025Dear Pavel
Thank you for sharing your feedback. We sincerely apologize that your experience did not fully meet your expectations. We would like to provide some clarifications regarding the points you raised:
1. Pre-safari briefing – At Kilipath, it is our usual practice to meet clients upon arrival to provide a briefing and finalize payments. When I asked what time you would arrive in Arusha, you initially said 20:00. Later, you informed me that you would arrive between 21:00–22:00 and requested a briefing over the phone. At that time, I was driving and unable to chat immediately, so I asked to do the briefing one hour later, which you agreed to. When you texted again asking, “What time should I be ready tomorrow?” I parked safely to respond. Your messages confirming this are attached.
2. Joining another company’s vehicle – For shared safaris, it is a normal practice to combine clients from partner companies. This allows us to form a full group, as it is difficult to get 7 clients going on the same date for the same safari. I explained this to you, and after repeating the information, you confirmed your understanding.
3. Delay in pick-up – I informed the guest that he would be picked up promptly, but due to unexpected traffic, the guide was slightly delayed. This was unfortunate, but it was beyond our control.
4. Accommodation on the first night – Normally, if a client’s room is unavailable at a particular camp, we offer an alternative, often at Fig Tree 🌳. However, in this case, due to a reservation mistake, your room was not ready. I attempted to check with you to see how the safari was going, but I received no replies, so I could not resolve the issue sooner.
5. Mixing clients in shared safari – For shared safaris, clients book different types of accommodations, such as lodges or campsites. In such cases, it is necessary to organize pick-ups and drop-offs according to each client’s bookings. If you had booked a private safari, the driver would have followed only your instructions.
6. Other clients affecting the group – Each guest has the right to enjoy their safari at their own pace. A client with a shorter tour may take extra time to observe animals such as zebras, and this is normal. It is not a reason to affect other guests’ experiences, as everyone has paid for their own safari.
In conclusion, all arrangements followed our standard shared safari policies, and all situations were handled according to our procedures. We understand that the client was not fully satisfied, and it appears that his primary concern was requesting a refund. While we regret any inconvenience, we note that there were no serious issues with the safari itself.
At Kilipath, we always strive to provide clear communication, transparency, and a quality experience for all guests.
Warm regards,
Management
Kilipath African Safaris
FI
20-35 years of age
I do not trust this company! They cancelled an already confirmed trip a few hours before as they resell peoples paid tickets
I would never trust this company!! We had booked a safari trip directly through them well in advance, paid the deposit as advised and received a confirmation of booking together with flight tickets. The night before our trip the company emails us at 10:02pm (pickup was agreed for 6:30am) to inform that they cancel our trip. They gave us no reason for cancellation and when our hotel staff called them, they told that they had re-sold our tickets to someone else. Later on they told us that airline had canceled the flight, which we found out to be a lie and no flights were actually canceled…
So besides causing us a huge disappointment, they also decided to blindly lie to us and not take any responsibility of their actions whatsoever. Our customer service representative Charity also decided to stop responding our emails leaving us unanswered.
All in all, incredibly bad customer service and non-reliable company. I highly recommend to book through someone else!
Reply from Kilipath African Safari
Posted on Feb 22, 2024I want to express our deepest apologies for the unfortunate experience you encountered during your recent booking with us. We understand the importance of your trip and the impact our actions had on your plans.
Regarding the cancellation of your flight tickets, we would like to clarify that it was not our decision to cancel, but rather an unexpected action taken by one of our new airline partners. We deeply regret any confusion caused by the conflicting information you received.
Our team acknowledges the disappointment this situation brought, and we want to assure you that we took immediate steps to address the issue. We extended our sincere apologies to you through direct communication and even dispatched a staff member to your accommodation to provide a face-to-face explanation and express our regret.
In terms of the refund, We have already fully refunded our customer and we understand the frustration this has caused, and we genuinely regret any inconvenience.
We take your feedback seriously and are conducting a thorough internal review to prevent such incidents in the future. Our aim is to provide reliable and professional services, and we deeply apologize for falling short of your expectations.
We appreciate your understanding and hope to have the opportunity to regain your trust in the future.
Below is the payment we received from our customer and also there is proof of the full refund from PesaPal reversal.
Payment Received
Payment through Pesapal
KILIPATH SAFARIS TZ, TANZANIA
13, February 2024
USD 103.63
You have a new PesaPal payment of USD 103.63 from Emma Confirmation Code: 7078172770436888303013
Payment Method
Card
Confirmation No
7078172770436888303013
Reference No
518758
Payment No
0085322402043801
Full Refund
Dear Merchant,
Your reversal request for a transaction with reference 7078172770436888303013 was processed successfully on 15, February 2024 and USD 103.63 has been credited to the client's account. Reversal code 7078172770436888303013-REF