African Paradise Safaris guide
Paradise in Africa Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2009)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $180 to $550 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Mark | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Do not do business with African Paradise Safaris
I bought a 7-day 6-night group safaris from African Paradise Safaris. It turned out there was no such safaris.
They subcontracted my safaris to Africa Natural Safaris, which does not have a license to operate. I was shuffled between 4 different safaris groups in seven days. It was a disaster. Do not do business with this company
Reply from Paradise in Africa Safaris
Posted on Jun 18, 2018Dear Mr Adam,
Thank you very much for the review. I apologies for not meeting your safari expectation.
When you wrote to me in regards to the service. Yes I advised you that I sub contracted Africa Natural safaris. One thing in Tanzania - If you are not registered tour operator your vehicle cannot entered National parks. So the Africa Natural Safaris is a registered tour operator.
You mentioned well that the tour was good and the problem was breakdown of communication. In budget joining tour, some time you might join 2 or more groups going in the same area.
Initially remember the package I sent to you, you were to do 2 nights in Serengeti but when Geoffrey came to take collect the payment. You changed and stated you want a tour which will have 3 nights in Serengeti. And it was few hour (less than 15hrs) to the departure time. Now we had to joining you to the group you had requested initially, And because we had another group extending in Serengeti we joined you to the other group - so that we can satisfy you staying 3 nights in Serengeti National Park.
You changing the program last minute when company representative is collecting the payment, made everything out of order. In which the services was provided, the problem was joined in several group which was a result of you changing the program, less than 15 hour to the departure time.
I listen to your dissatisfaction and we refunded you all the profit we made for your package- which was delivered by Jacob under my instruction.
NZ
Email Brett | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Untrue and dishonest to secure our budged joining safari booking
In Aug 2023 my wife and I signed with African Paradise Safaris (APS) to join a 6-day budget safari of Masai Mara, Nakuru and Amboseli National Parks. We loved the parks, saw plenty of animals, and enjoyed the park environments. We were very disappointed with the arrangements made by APS, the blatant untruths told to us in order to secure our safari booking, and the unprofessional manner in which they avoided addressing issues that we had regarding their safari arrangements.
Prior to arriving in Kenya, APS was very communicative in answering all of my questions. On the basis of the information they provided, we signed up to join their budget safari. Unfortunately, it turned out that a lot of the information provided to us was completely untrue.
APS guaranteed that we would be in a safari van with a maximum of 6 passengers, but the van had 8 seats and 8 passengers, which makes the small van too crowded, particularly when you are trying to stand on the game drives. It also means that at least two people sit in the middle, without direct access to a window.
We were told that the safari would be operated by APS and not by another company. On the day, APS was nowhere to be seen, and we were told that we were joining a safari operated by Big Time Safaris. There were people from 3 different safari companies in the van, all with different itineraries. When we raised these issues with Big Time Safaris, they told us to contact the safari companies that we had booked with. (APS).
We were told by APS that all participants in the safari would stay with the safari throughout. This wasn't true, with some people leaving the safari at different points.
We were told by APS that everyone would be staying the same accommodation on the safari (so time wouldn't be wasted picking people up before the game drives). This wasn't true. People were staying in up to three different lodges and both budget and moderate accommodation each night.
In our itinerary we paid for 7 game drives. 3 at Maasai Mara, 1 at Nakuru and 3 at Amboseli. Our safari van broke down on two occasions, taking a total of 5 hours to repair on the roadside. As a result, two evening game drives in Masai Mara and Nakuru were shorter than they should have been. Due to changes to the itinerary as a result of vehicle repairs, and to changes in Masai Mara ticketing fees that were not communicated to us by APS, we missed a further two game drives completely - 1 in Masai Mara, and one in Amboseli. When we brought all of these issues up with African Paradise Safaris, they completely ignored us, and would not correspond with us regarding all the misinformation they had provided, the issues with the vehicle, or the missed game drives. In fact, we never met or saw any APS staff at any time either before or after our safari. The other members of our safari were met by staff from their companies at the drop off in Nairobi and at least one received some compensation for their missed game drives. APS was nowhere to be seen.
APS have many great reviews and I suspect that if we had booked a private safari with African Paradise, our experience would have been completely different, but be aware that if you are booking a budget joining safari, there is a good chance that APS will tell you whatever they think will secure a safari booking, but it will not necessarily be the truth. I would recommend you look for a more trustworthy company for a joining safari.
SE
Email Rez | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good price and so much fun!
I was in a group tour, although I wasn't staying at the same hotels with the rest of the group, but everything went great, thanks to our driver Gibson and other organizers, we left there with many unforgettable memories!
The price also was more reasonable compared to other tours!
Email Gathogo Julius | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Mombasa holiday and mida creep tour
I contacted African Paradise safaris on behalf of other 20 group members.
John organized a 5 days tour in watamu at temple point beach resort. And we managed to do mida creek and dolphin tour.
Everything was well organized and fairly priced.
Email BOLLA | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Truely Exciting
Wow.
After much debating with my friends with which company to go on safari with, we finally decided to use APS.
And what a good choicevening we made.
We had a great time!!
What an experience throughout.
Thank you John (guide) for your eagerness to share and ensure we enjoyed our stay.
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Email Justine | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Cheap but Unorganized!
First off I would recommend this company but only because it is extra cheap for the same vacation you would get with a safari company that charged double. You must be aware that regardless of what budget company you use, you will not be going on safaris with this company rather you are joining groups of others going to the same location as you aware temporarily. Example: I was picked up at the airport and taken to a hotel where I thought I was joining my tour but the group that picked me up didn't share my whole itinerary only the next two days and then i was shuttled to join a group sharing my next two days. Every other day I had to worry that I would actually be sticking to my itinerary African Paradise Safaris sent me. Of course that didn't happen. I booked Maasai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Amboseli with solo lodging and a lot of afternoon game drives..instead they took me to Maasai Mara, Amboseli, Lake Nakuru where I had to share a room and ended up with morning drives and really long drives to the next location following the drive. Maasai Mara to Amboseli ended up being 12 hours in the car just to transit. My itinerary included a Maasai Village tour with no additional fee..I was asked to pay $10. The tour guide called African Paradise Safaris and they declined to pay for it at first. Great to see the animals but it did not feel like a vacation.
NZ
Email Kalvin G | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
14 Day Kenya Wildlife Adventure Private Tour
My partner and I booked a private safari with APS for the 14 Day Kenya Wildlife Adventure which saw us visiting the following parks Tsavo East x2, Amboseli x2, Aberdare x1, Samburu x2, Lake Nakuru x1, Maasai Mara x3, Lake Naivasha x1 as well as a night in Nairobi. We organised everything through John Peter who responded patiently to all of my questions (and I asked a lot!), modifying the itinerary to our needs and while we were in Kenya, helping us to locate our taxi driver and upgrading one of the rooms in the Maasai Mara which we really appreciated! Our guide/driver was Lawrence and he was incredible, getting us close to all the animals, always on the radio to let others know what we had found and getting good information back. Aside from black rhinos, there was nothing that we didn’t see from all the main animals, we saw everything multiple times and every time it blew our minds completely. Every park had its own unique characteristics and nothing was the same. All of the park rangers were so friendly and knowledgable, as well as all of the boat operators and guides. It was so hard saying goodbye. All of the rooms and facilities in our accomodation were beyond what we expected and the food alone is a reason to return, we were spoiled! Our van did break down a few times during the trip which unfortunately meant some of our plans changed, however this was out of Lawrence’s hands and led to some great experiences that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. We will cherish this trip forever and thank APS so much for providing us with such an amazing experience in Kenya!
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Email Zhou S | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
14-Day Kenya Masai Mara /Amboseli/Samburu/Aberdare/Tsavo
We are a group of 4 friends taking the 14 days private safari, and had a wonderful time. The communication with John was prompt and full of useful and accurate information. Our guide Lawrence impressed us throughout the whole journey with his excellent spirit.
We chose to upgrade our lodges at Amboseli and Masai Mara. Looking back, we should have probably picked a different lodge inside the Amboseli park, so we don't have to rush out of the park before it's getting dark.
We will be more than happy to do business with APS again, probably during the migration season and to cover Tanzania the next time.
Email Kamil | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Holiday of a lifetime and made even better by African Paradise Safaris!
Our 9 day private safari tour of Kenya and Tanzania visiting the Masai Mara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Amboseli was unbelievable and organized so well thanks to John Peter of African Paradise Safaris. John was excellent at communicating by email and WhatsApp, he was very accommodating when organizing the tour and made any adjustments that we wanted to the itinerary. The payment terms were also convenient and was the best value across multiple tour operators.
When we landed in Nairobi, our baggage unfortunately was left behind by the airline. This could have easily ruined our holiday, but John and his team were there to ensure we got our baggage quickly. They spoke with the airline and once our baggage arrived in Kenya, they organized it to be delivered to us at a town near the Mara. Davido, our guide in Kenya, was extra helpful in driving to a town which was completely out of the way to ensure we were able to pick up our baggage and continue on the tour.
The safaris were an experience of a lifetime! Davido and Joseph (our guide in Tanzania) were very knowledgeable about the animals, the culture and made our experience so much better. We saw the Big Five along with so many other animals, and were able to take unbelievable pictures. There was a lot of driving involved between the locations but Davido and Joseph were excellent at keeping us entertained and educated during our drives.
The lodges recommended by APS were very good with great food, hospitality and all being at brilliant locations.
I would definitely recommend African Paradise Safaris and will be using them again the next time we visit!
Thank you John, Davido and Joseph for an unforgettable experience!
HU
Email George | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing
Highly recommended! We enjoyed every second of our six days private safari. Our driver, Jackson, went above and beyond. He has extensive knowledge of the parks and the animals that roam there. Thanks to his efforts and driving skills, we’ve seen the big five! We will remember our time with him fondly.
We also have to thank John, the person responsible for organising our safari. He prepared an incredibly structured and scheduled tour that fit our budget and needs perfectly. You can’t go wrong with choosing their tour! Thank you both for everything!