Meet the Team - eTrip Africa
E-Trip Africa
- Located In:
-
United States
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2012)
- Member Of:
- ATA, IATAN, IGS, KPAP & CODE
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $200 to $1,500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
AE
Email María Marta Viana | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very bad experience
We hired their service for people over 50 to climb Kilimanjaro on the Lemosho route. From the beginning the guides were annoyed because were not fast enough for their expectations. They gave us no kind of support and even treated us condescending. We made the claim to the company but they didn't give us any answers. In short , if you are over 50, forget about this company
Reply from E-Trip Africa
Posted on Aug 13, 2019Thank you for taking the time to post your feedback and sharing about your experience. Let me start by apologizing that eTrip Africa was clearly not the right fit for you, due to your expectations from our guides which were not in line with our safety and security procedures and policies.
I do sincerely hope that both of you do value that you were able to accomplish a feat that many will never achieve, with one of you making it all the way to the summit and the other to Stella Point. I know you may feel that you have failed, but this is a huge success in itself.
As this is the first complaint that we have had, I would like to share some more information. We do have many clients that did not make it to the summit, but of them they all agreed that it was in the end the right choice not to proceed further. We have taken nearly 1,800 people up Kilimanjaro and more than half of them were over 50 years old. Older climbers are actually our preference as they go slow and don’t try to rush up the mountain like the 20 year olds…
Our company ethos places great importance on safety, which means that reaching the summit is not our measure of success but rather keeping our clients and crew safe is our first and foremost priority. Of course it can be frustrating and disappointing when you work hard and don’t reach the summit, but the reality is that not everyone makes it to the summit and sadly there are people every year who lose their lives on Kilimanjaro because the guide allows them to push too far.
We keep very detailed daily records on each of our clients. Twice daily medical checks are recorded along with general state of being of each climber. Further the guides report any and every incident no matter how large or small. Further we use InReach satellite trackers for each trek which allows our office to monitor the progress of the trek. It alerts us when a team is moving too fast, as this can be one of the biggest mistakes that can be made on Kili. Our guides know very well that the slower the pace the better our bodies adapt to altitude.
As I mentioned in our many emails back and forth immediately after you emailed us (before you posted this review), our team has gone through all the records and the InReach track in great detail. From the full review we concluded that the guide and assistant guide followed all policies and procedures correctly. When I told you this you were clearly not satisfied and requested to see our policies and procedures, which I shared with you. From that point we did not have further response from either of you.
Of course, without being on the mountain as an eye witness it is impossible to determine if there was a personality conflict between the two of you and the guide and assistant guide. We did also follow up on this assumption and spoke to several members of the crew and received the report from the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project monitoring porter as well. Of these the most we can ascertain is that there was never a bond made between the two of you and our team as the two of you kept to yourselves not communicating much with our team and speaking in Spanish between you most of of the trek. This not a problem, but I hope that you can understand if the guides seemed distant (or un-supportive as you put it), as they believed you did not need them in that way based on your limited interactions with them during the full trek. Needless to say we did not find any reason from our team nor any specific information from you that lead us to believe that the guide or assistant guide acted in an unprofessional manner towards either of you.
Lastly as I mentioned in our emails and you read in our policies, it is forbidden for our guides to carry, push or pull someone and allow that person to continue up the mountain. If someone is in need of such assistance, they must descend. It was reported in the guide log that at one point during the summit attempt it was requested by you to carry or pull one of you up the rest of the way to the summit. The guide and assistant guide refused due to safety issues. Again, I believe we were not the right match of a company based on your expectations and you would have been better off trekking with a company that does not take safety as serious as we do.
On the positive side I am glad you had a great safari with us after the trek. I wish you would have taken the time to include that as part of your review as most readers on this site are safari goers…
Good enough
It was a great experience; my favorite place was the crater.
DE
Email Ozlem Ozdemir | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari Tour in Tanzania
Dear e-trip team,
I would like to thank you for the lovely and unforgettable trip to Serengati between 16th of September and 21st of September. The places where we stayed during this period were really good, the staff in the camp were very friendly and kind. The environment in the rooms were clean and comfortable even it was a tent. The food ere very delicious as well.
I would like to special thank our tour Guide Denis. He was very kind, knowledgeable and ambitious to show as everything. I am really happy to meet him. He is very organized and on time all the time.
Thanks again for everybody to make us this trip incredible.
Regards,
Özlem Özdemir
KR
Email RYU | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
E-Trip Africa Good, Fantastic Tanzania
Tanzania was a fantastic place.
The strong sunlight of Zanzibar was also good,
The dynamics of Serengeti were also good.
Thanks to E-trip Africa, who helped me from the initial planning, I was able to go on without any shortage. Thanks again.
It was a great help in choosing an event, choosing a hostel and choosing a safari. The schedule for helping was fantastic too. Although I was suffering from a physical discomfort during the trip, there were some things that did not feel good during the schedule, but overall it was the best trip.
Next time you travel to Africa again, E-trip Africa
JP
Email Jerry | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Guides/Ground Transportation excellent. Food/Accommodations adequate/ lunch's terrible.
Communication between us and the guides the day his credit cards didn't work to allow us to get into the Serengeti would have been nice. It took over 2 hours... and very little to no communication as to why until the end?
Guides had awesome knowledge about animals, birds, and culture. They communicated with their peers on where animal sightings might be so we could see as many animals as possible. They were both also very accommodating to the needs of the group and made adjustments if needed. They always maintained professionalism and the safety of the group was always at the top of their list.
The guides made sure the vehicles were always clean for the next day's trip.
Food at the resorts was not bad, but the lunch boxes were not appetizing!
Hotels... Moivaro Coffee Plantation Lodge - Really not good at all. Afraid to eat the food and very confusing at check out time for the food/bar bill. We were overcharged... double for the drinks and food we had already paid for the night before. 2nd lodge - Tarangire Sopa Lodge - Very nice lodge, the view was great and the pool was chlorinated which was nice. 3rd lodge - Escarpment Luxury Lodge - by far the cleanest and nicest lodge of the entire trip with another awesome view! The food at this lodge was the best of the entire trip as well. 4th lodge - Serengeti Sopa Lodge - Location and view were awesome... the food adequate. 5th lodge - Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge - Location and view were awesome, food... this is where one of us got sick from the food. 5th lodge - KIA Lodge - Food was not good here. Accommodations were okay, but having the A/C that night was the best!
In all of the lodges, the staff was very nice and accommodating. The guides were awesome and overall the safari was outstanding!
ES
Email Eva | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Helpful and reliable
Ben was extremely helpful and patient trying to accommodate all our requests during the preparation of the trip. Our guide, David, was excellent: good driver, wise guide, and enjoyable company.
The car was in good condition, although we had a small problem with one of the tires.
The lodges and tented camps were correct and very convenient, in good locations. The Researchers' Rest in particular is an unpretentious B&B which had everything we needed for our first night in the country, comfortable and very good value.
The safari was short and well optimized. David planned every day carefully and helped us to identify the animals and birds we found. He really enjoys his job and makes it enjoyable for the customers!
When we returned to Arusha at the end of the safari Ben took us to the rental company where we had booked a car, and made sure everything was in order before leaving us.
We find it very important to find someone reliable in a country like Tanzania, which is not easy for independent travelers. And the staff of E-Trip Africa are reliable people.
The only reason to give 4 stars instead of 5 is that we found the package a little overpriced, and we didn't liked too much the tented camp in Serengeti (Nieleze), although this is not E-Trip fault! Apart from that everything was really good.
Interesting eye-opener into the African continent
Well worth while; I did not think, I would see such abundance of wildlife
A well planned and diverse experience touching all aspects of Tanzanian life
The tour was well managed with great drivers who were always friendly and well informed. The itinerary was great, including a wide variety of wildlife in the parks and a very moving experience visiting markets and school in Karatu Village. The only shortcomings were the rather hurried drive through Lake Manyara Park after the stop at the hot springs, and the long drive to and from the Oldapi Gorge for quite a short stay. But these were minor problems and the whole experience was very enjoyable. The accomocations were excellent in all cases as were the vehicles.
Reply from E-Trip Africa
Posted on Mar 6, 2017Hi Roger. I am glad that overall you were quite happy with the trip. I also feel that your itinerary was rushed. We advised the organizers of your trip that they were trying to fit in too much. Of course it is hard to understand the distances to the different sights until you have been here. Hopefully, next time they do take our advice which would have given you more time to enjoy Lake Manyara National Park (one of my favorite parks) and also Oldupai Gorge. We appreciate your feedback and look forward to having you join us again on your next safari.
CA
Email Sue | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We had a very nice vehicle, careful and knowledgeable driver and quality accomodations.
Our drivers were always ready for us at the beginning of the day. The box lunches were very tasty and kept cold. We always had cold water. We saw lots of animals while on safari.
US
Email CB | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari experience!
The safari tour and accomodations were beyond our expectation! Our driver/guide was very friendly and accommodating.