US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent pre-trip planning and support; room for improvement during trip - solved at the end
I planned two safari trips with Wayfairer this year. The first, in Kenya in March, went without a hitch. Planning was courteous and responsive and local partners were spot on for what we were looking for. Memorable staff, beautiful lodge, and astounding animal sightings. Logistics went smoothly.
Trip two comes along in June for a longer, two week adventure spanning Rwanda, Uganda an Tanzania. Things in Rwanda and Uganda did not go well. Local partner was unprofessional. Sent a guide that did not speak English, had next to zero professionalism or knowledge and did not know the way to hotel. This would have all been OK had we received a prompt response and solution from Wayfairer. Our emails went unanswered and private messages followed the same route. Eventually, I reached out to the local tour operator hired out by Wayfairer and it happened to be the case that Wayfairer had not even communicated the situation to the local travel partner. They were appalled and immediately sent another driver. This was a world away: professional, courteous, knowledgeable. As we tried to figure out what had happened, this is what we were able to discern: Wayfairer subcontracts to a reputable local partner for Uganda and Rwanda; lets call them "A". Said local partner then subcontracted the hotel for our driver/guide. The hotel then went on a third round of subcontracting and hired a small, new, non-reputable Rwandan agency to deliver the service. Agency "A" did not know the hotel had further subcontracted. Needless to say, neither did Wayfairer.
We completely understand that hiring local partners is normal and part of the way travel works nowadays. What is problematic is that in this case communication channels were not established, we got no response from Wayfairer which were the only ones with which we had communicated, and there was no accountability for what took place while we were there.
Once we left Rwanda and got plugged into their Tanzania partner, the trip was everything it should have been from day 1: engaging, professional, surrounded by experts during the game drives and caring staff at lodges.
Wayfairer did eventually react, apologize and issue a refund for the transportation costs of the Uganda leg of the trip.
All in all, I think it is a well put together agency with its values in the right place. It just needs to smooth out and address the growing pains of receiving more bookings and keeping track of their clients all the time, regardless of who they have subcontracted out to.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful Tanzania guide/driver
Our guide/driver Lalashe was just a wonderful person and within our first day felt like a friend ir family member. He was also extremely knowledgeable about the country, the flore and fauna and a safe driver. All members of our family loved iur trip and thanks to Gladiola are feeling a true connection to Tanzania
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible
My husband and are did the 23 day safari around lake Victoria and absolutely loved it. Definitely best value and liked that we were in charge of what we ate instead of being given premade meals like some other tours.
Wycliffe, our tour guide, and our driver, Hezron, were both the nicest, most considerate people you could find.
We both were comfortable with the camping, tents were really good quality and because we were lucky with a small group, got to stack the mats up 2 high which made it very comfortable.
US
We asked for a private Hemingway Experience and Africa Dream Safaris delivered-5 camps under canvas!
Communication via emails before departure were impeccable. We were handled from the time we deplaned in JRO until the time they left us at deportation from same airport.
Our guide was experienced, knowledgeable, personable, and intelligent. Our expectations were surpassed in every aspect. We spent 10 days on safari staying in 5 different camps all under canvas. We were the only people at 4 of the 5 camps having the full staff at our disposal- now that’s what I call private! We can’t wait to experience this safari again in 2 years- with ADS!
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very disappointed
In view of the increasing popularity of online reviews I decided to go with magical retreat safaris. I cannot convey how disgusting experience we had on those 10 days. Hotels were not good and the driver (Anthony) one of the laziest I have ever seen in my life. Didn’t go by the itinerary And he picked us at around 9AM for a early morning game drive
JP
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beacon safari did an excellent job making our first trip to Kenya a wonderful time!
First, we were very worried about our first trip to Kenya. However, Beacon safari (and all other safari tours that I requested quotes to) replied quickly and politely which helped me a lot to compare and choose the best tour for me.
The tour service was great, we were able to go to all the places we wanted to go. We were able to see almost all the animal we wanted to see (due to the season, and they’re WILD animals so it can’t be promised that there will all be there). Our tour guide, James ,worked so hard to look for all the animals for us. He also told me a lot of information about Kenya, the animals and the cultures which were very interesting.
I would highly recommend Beacon safari and will use it again if I have another chance to go to Kenya again.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Serengeti National Park by Sumit Dasgupta
We did not see all the big-5 but are happy with what we saw. Very scenic and the whole place with its unpaved roads has been kept as pristine as possible. Tanzania has done a superb job in maintaining these national treasures.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Ngorongoro Crater by Sumit Dasgupta
We did not see all the big-5 but are happy with what we saw. Very scenic and the whole place with its unpaved roads has been kept as pristine as possible. Tanzania has done a superb job in maintaining these national treasures.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful experience, an experience made that much better thanks to a great guide
Our primary reason for going to Tanzania was to visit the Serengeti, which included Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Oldupai Gorge and Ngorongoro. Our tour was through Kilidove Travel which provided a safari truck and driver (Jackson) for just the 2 of us. It was a fabulous trip and a lot of credit goes to our superb guide, Jackson, for the diligence with which he searched for the big-5.
The taxi driver we hired to get to Arusha and back was also very helpful. We paid him a bit extra and he took us all the way to Kilimanjaro National Park and showed us around.
The hotel in Arusha was excellent and the staff there treated us very, very well.
Overall, we have come back with a wonderful experience and opinion of the country and its people.
HU
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing views, amazing wildlife, amazing people, problems with accomodation
We had a 3 day trip to Mikuma and Udzungwa mountains. The views and the wildlife were amazing, we did not see any lions at the end unfortunately. There were some problems with the accomodations, one night we had to request a new room, the first room was not cleaned.