Experience level: over 5 safaris
Not great, but dealt with problems well
Let's start by saying the Ngorogoro Crater and Serengeti were both amazing. The standard of the food was excellent.
However, this trip could definitely have been done in 3 days not 4, particularly as we had one 'rest' day at a campsite with nothing much happening. At $135 per day, that's an expensive rest.
Also the tents provided by the affiliate were entirely unsuitable for camping at the top of the crater. Thin plastic poles, one of which broke, flimsy plastic covering, no guy ropes. the crater top is cold, wet windy and you need the proper safari tents that most other operators provided. All my stuff got wet and i hardly slept.
Upon return at Arusha, Bestday listened to my complaint and took it on board. They promised not to use that affiliate again and paid for my hostel that night, so i felt they dealt with it well.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Visit to South Africa October 2014 - Wonderful Trip
We enjoyed our trip immensely. But we made clear that we didn't know the areas we were going to and I think our travel agent could have helped us out a bit.
ILIOS is the group that was used for our guide and transfers. They were all knowledgeable, punctual, thoughtful and professional.
Cape Town was beautiful. The hotel was very nice, big rooms and what a VIEW! Staff were friendly and helpful. The breakfast was delicious, fresh fruit every morning just got our taste buds popping. But as much as we enjoyed the hotel since there was not restaurant or bar at the hotel, I think for us, 2 women traveling alone, we would have enjoyed a place closer to restaurants. Maybe on the coast by the V&A wharf, not sure how much those places cost but would be something if I go back I would look into. We were there 3 days but personally, I think Cape Town could easily have been done in 2 days.
I can't say enough about the Safari and Lion Sand's River Lodge. Staff unbelievable, the rooms were huge, food amazing and again what a view, giraffe outside our deck on the first day! We saw all the Big 5. We had early wakeup call off by 6 am each day, we stopped in the morning for a coffee break. Each place our guide picked for a break had a great view, sometimes at the river and others in open plain One morning we had surprise full breakfast by the river! After breakfast we would go out again until about 11 am. We could relax have lunch, watch the wildlife off our deck which was right by a river. The afternoon around 4 we would go back out again, we loved the tracking and off roading. We would stop about 7 pm for a happy hour, Gin and Tonics, wonderful snacks and to watch the sun set. Back later that night for a lovely dinner. I must give a big shout out to Eddie, our tracker, and Landon, our guide, they went above and beyond for us during our stay. Our we absolutely had all our needs and expectations met at Lion Sand’s River Lodge.
Then the last 3 days and this is where we felt our travel agent failed us. We went to a very nice hotel because there was problem with us getting a flight out. The hotel was beautiful, there was a restaurant at this hotel but the food was so-so and again this was out in the middle of nowhere. It was too cold to swim and there was nothing for us to do. But luckily we were there only one night.
The next two nights was off to Zambia and Islands of Siankaba, we were so excited about going to Victoria Falls. Our hotel, Islands of Siankaba, was wonderful, we were on an island on the river! So we were ok with the isolation at this location. Staff was so friendly, food great so fresh. Several things to do on the island and in the evening we would go out on the river in a pontoon boat and have drinks, appetizers and watch a group of hippos and the sunset. Thank goodness we had this wonderful place because the Victoria Falls was such a disappointment! We were there in the dry season and there is really NO Victoria Falls on the Zambia, no one told us this. There was the opportunity to go to the Zimbabwe side which seemed to have some falls, an extra excursion we would have gladly paid for if we had known but we didn't know! We were leaving the next day so we couldn’t book it.
So maybe we can't blame our travel agent, maybe we should have done our own research but is that not why you hire a travel agent? Since you have never been in the area and don't know anyone that has been in the area before, is that not why you hire a travel agent? Lesson learned . . .
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Mixed experiences
We hired a car with KianGo Adventure Safaris from Arusha. The advice was helpful in Arusha and Dickson, who came with us to sort out all the issues in Arusha, was also great. However, the car was old, there was no chain and no shovel nor any real tools in the car - which would have been helpful on one of the sandy roads. We had a broken steering wheel stabiliser - but again it was Mr. Dickson who helped us get it fixed in the Serengeti.
So, all in all, we had mixed experiences. Good staff on the ground, but medium quality of car and car equipment.
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
not customer service friendly enough
I booked at Chobe Safari Lodge, when I arrived I was advised that I was booked into Chobe Bush Lodge, Not having been advised by Falcon, I thought I had made a Mistake in the booking. Fortunately it is next door to the Safari Lodge, with MUCH better rooms.
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
We asked FS to reserve a room at The Gorges which they appeared to handle effectively.
We were bumped from The Gorges (they said they had been overbooked) despite us having a confirmed and paid reservation. Falcon offered us an alternative night at Vic Falls Hotel which we declined and accepted a much more expensive night at Khulu Ivory Safari Lodge. As we got short notice of this situation it was a hassle to provide proof of payment of the additional amount required. We enjoyed our stay at Khulu very much but were disappointed that we missed out on The Gorges.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beautiful experience; stressful circumstances
First, I must thank Kenya Walking for helping my husband and I have the experience of a lifetime. We visited Tanzania and Uganda and were sincerely amazed by the African wildlife, scenery, and people.
We chose Kenya Walking because of Otieno's quick communication, the ability to customize our itinerary, and the price. We are still grateful to have experienced so much for the price, but feel that it's important for other prospective travelers to be aware of some aspects of unprofessionalism we encountered. They are mostly small things that added up to create an atmosphere of distrust for us.
Examples of unprofessionalism:
-Multiple last-minute hotel changes, including skipping Lake Bunyonyi in Uganda to stay at a poorly rated, loud city motel with water problems (original hotel was around $100, changed to $10 room)
-Incorrect itinerary dates. Even after reviewing our itinerary upon arrival in Uganda, both Otieno and our driver forgot that we were staying two days in the gorilla park to do extra hiking. We had to fight pretty hard to convince them to correct this.
-Over-worked, tired driver speeding considerably and close to nodding off during long drives (I would highly recommend flying into Kisoro to do gorilla trek, or at least requesting a Ugandan guide. Our Kenyan guide had to drive overnight from Nairobi before picking us up and continuing the drive. We also suspect he took a wrong turn which we followed for 90minutes before correcting.)
-Borrowing gas money from us. This favor was asked as a loan until our driver found an ATM, though we never found one. We ended up letting him keep the money as part of his tip, but the company never followed up to thank us or ask whether we got our money back.
-Other small inconveniences included late departures (2hours on our first morning in Tanzania with no communication on their end), spotty attitudes from guides (our Kenyan guide did not like Ugandans... and we were in Uganda), considerable time waiting for guides to deal with problems in banks, broken jeep roof in Tanzania (fortunately this didn't happen until our last day there).
I hate to make this list, because until Otieno asked me to write this review, I had managed to forget all the negative aspects of our trip and only think of the magic moments we had with elephants, lions, gorillas, mountains, and new friends. Even with all the drama of our trip, I don't regret choosing Kenya Walking as I'm not sure we could have packed everything into our time and budget with a different tour operator. I also suspect travelling with Kenya Walking Survivors may be an entirely different experience in Kenya, rather than Tanzania and Uganda where we visited. I have only the best wishes for our guides Mike and Jonas and for Otieno.
If you decide Kenya Walking Survivors is the best fit for your trip, please be prepared to respectfully advocate for yourself and your itinerary.
AE
Experience level: first safari
masai mara the best tour and safari
I love your response, friendly staff and affordable price
my safari was excellent, your really world class,i cant wait
to come with my friend, thank you East Africa Tour and Safari.
thank to Peter i appreciated your assistance
They paid back the $240
** UPDATE MARCH 2015
Peter paid us back today. He called me a few times in the past weeks to explain he was sorting out the financial trouble he got into, and promised he would pay back the money. So he did, the full amount. I am writing this update to do justice to him and his company. Despite the trouble, he's now trying to sort this, as he has done with me and my family.
** ORIGINAL REVIEW
Be aware if you consider to book with this company - I / my family still hasn't received the $240 refund. We paid up-front for a number of things including a safari (and park fees) to Amboseli. The deal was my family would visit Amboseli for 2 days, but they ended up going only 1 day. As the park fees for 2 adults and 2 children were already paid, Africa Flash Mc Tours need to pay us back the $240. Despite NUMEROUS emails, phone calls (Peter's number and the hotline number on their website), whatsapp messages to Peter etc I still haven't received anything. I got a few promises ("you'll get it tomorrow because I have reached my ATM limit", or "I will get it to you by Monday", etc etc) but still no refund... This refund is what obviously concerns me most. But, I'd like to add that generally their services are not great either. My family was supposed to be picked up for the Masai Mara at 8.30am (which I felt was a bit late, but Peter said this was fine), but the van showed up at 10.00am! I didn't get a justification why they were 1,5 hours late (yeah traffic....). I do want to do justice to two of their guides for the Masai Mara and Amboseli - my family did really like them.
PH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Be detailed
Mwanje the owner is fast in answering query, we were able to agree on the price as early as November 2013 and the terms of payment, I send my deposit as a guarantee of my travel, but after a month he ask again for additional deposit which is not our agreement, nevertheless I sent the money. On the later months he said again that the price rise up due to additional park taxes which based in my research it was implemented Sept. of 2013 way behind before we agreed on the price, he add the price US$ 125.00 pr person which I don't have a choice since I already send 2 times partial payment. I also make clear that I want car with aircon and he agreed to give us a Land Cruiser car with aircon, but during our tour, the aircon is not functioning. So my advice before sending money is to have a contract that in case all your agreement be change, he will return the money or you have the option to cancel your tour.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
bad food, and not enough of it
We stayed at two safari places in Selous Game Reserve, Sable Lodge and Rufiji River Lodge, selected by Gecko. Sable had OK food, but small portions that left you hungry. Rufiji River Lodge had food that was not at all pleasant or appetizing -- you just ate a bare minimum to stave off hunger. At $300/pp/day, I expected better.
Also, the train trip to Selous was not pleasant. 3rd Class or whatever it was is a real surprise for Westerners. Nothing bad happened, but it felt on edge.
Other than these, Gecko did a fine job. I wouldn't use them again, though, I don't think.