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Blends of Africa Adventures
- Located In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2022)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $1,899 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
NL
Email Tom | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We feel scammed by Blends of Africa
Our experience with Blends of Africa was by far the worst travel experience we have ever had.
We paid the FULL safari amount well in advance. Despite this, the safari collapsed after only two days and we ultimately lost the entire amount we had paid.
Day 1 already went badly. Our driver, Erastus, took a wrong route, causing a delay of around three hours. Because of this, we could no longer continue as planned and were forced to arrange and pay for alternative accommodation ourselves.
When we later reported the situation to the Tourism Police Unit (TPU) in Kenya, the police told us that, in their view, this appeared to have been a deliberate delaying tactic rather than simply an innocent navigation mistake.
Day 2 we did make it to Masai Mara, but we had to pay the park fees ourselves: USD 800, even though these fees were already included in the amount we had paid to Blends of Africa.
Robert, also referred to as Bob, repeatedly told us that there was a “cash-flow issue” and assured us that everything would be sorted out. Mary was also involved in the communication and organisation.
Throughout the trip, the driver repeatedly called Robert for instructions and updates. By this stage, our trust in the situation had deteriorated so badly that when we returned to Nairobi, we deliberately did not tell the driver exactly where we wanted to be dropped off until the last moment.
We were supposed to continue into Tanzania and be handed over to another driver/operator. However, on day 3 we travelled towards the border but ultimately did NOT cross into Tanzania. Instead, we turned around and headed back towards Nairobi because the Tanzania part of the safari could not continue as planned.
On the way back, we once again had to arrange and pay for accommodation ourselves.
Day 4 we arrived back in Nairobi. Even after dropping us off, the driver continued calling Robert.
At that point the safari was completely over.
In summary:
Day 1: around three hours of delay after the driver took a wrong route, followed by us having to arrange and pay for our own hotel.
Day 2: Masai Mara did go ahead, but we had to pay USD 800 in park fees ourselves, despite already having paid these fees to Blends of Africa.
Day 3: instead of crossing into Tanzania and continuing the safari, we had to turn back towards Nairobi and once again arrange and pay for our own accommodation.
Day 4: we returned to Nairobi with the safari effectively finished.
We subsequently reported the matter to the Tourism Police Unit (TPU) in Kenya.
After this, we received no meaningful follow-up from Blends of Africa.
No continuation of the safari.
No proper solution.
No refund of the money we had paid.
What makes this especially unacceptable is that Blends of Africa already had our full payment. Yet we repeatedly had to use our own money to cover services that were already included in our package.
Robert/Bob acknowledged the cash-flow issue in writing and made several promises about reimbursements. In the end, however, we were left with a safari that was barely delivered, additional costs we had to pay ourselves, and the loss of the money we had already transferred to Blends of Africa.
This was not simply a disappointing safari or poor customer service. We were left stranded during an international trip after having paid the entire safari in full in advance.
Based on our experience, we would not recommend Blends of Africa to anyone.
We would strongly advise travellers not to book a safari with Blends of Africa and not to pay them large amounts in advance.
We would never travel with Blends of Africa again.