SE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Stay AWAY! Negative reviews Deleted!
ISIA contacted me after Safaribookings.com gave them my email address. This is not OK!
How can you trust the reviews on Safaribookings.com when you work like this?
A review website like this is to keep the customers safe. This is exactly the opposite.
Please know that when you read these reviews there probably is many who deleted their negative reviews hoping to get a refund from ISIA. In 6months... Sounds like a scam to be honest.
"Our request is if you and other clients accepts on our request to suspend the safaribookings reviews we can clear in installments your total refund in six months as we are getting many safari requests from the thousands of clients friends who are being recommended to us but the issue of the negative reviews is keeping them from booking with us, meaning if you can suspend your review and others as we are requesting from all those affected we can get business and pay all your refunds in the shortest time possible and we clear our name from the perspective the affected clients have on us."
"We are not only communicating with you alone but we have approached safaribookings for them to assist us in sorting out this issue once and for all as they know we were some of their best customers for the years we have used their services and they are the one who even sent us your email address and other clients and the review number you had posted and we are hoping for the best."
The rest of the emails is about how It Started In Africa is a victim and what ever...
This is YOUR fault! YOU have stolen money from a lot of people! People trusted YOU and YOUR company with their hard earned money or even life savings. It is your job to make sure they are safe!
Your customers are the Victims.
Not you!
I hope I can save someone.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Poor management, did not follow itinerary, rude, Great driver
I recommend looking ELSEWHERE before booking with Orongai Africa. I am not one to write bad reviews but my poor experience with them warrants such review.
I priced out many safaris prior to booking and specifically requested going to Lake Manyara weeks before booking with Orongai. They agreed to this and I paid a deposit down for a 5 day, 4 night safari. One week after paying for half of the trip, they sent an email with what looked like the same itinerary as we agreed upon. What I did not realize however was that they deleted Lake Manyara (despite our initial request and agreement) from the last day without discussing this with me at all. After arriving in Tanzania from Kenya (which I will give them 1 star of credit for because they were very accommodating to picking me and my significant other up from the border which was very helpful), we had to pay for the second half of the trip. We attempted to pay via paypal with a credit card which "did not go through", so I sent a second payment through paypal. Essentially, we paid 1.5x what was originally agreed upon. I have now been back for 4 weeks to the USA and despite emailing multiple times, we have yet to receive a refund for the extra half trip we paid for. I hope we get our money back soon.
Not only is their management rude sending snarky emails back and accusing us of not tipping our amazing guide (for which I take a lot of offense to because we tipped him extra for how great his knowledge and sense of humor was), but they are UNTRUSTWORTHY for changing itineraries AFTER money was already paid.
I highly recommend looking elsewhere before booking with this company. Save yourself the headache of being accused of being a bad person inappropriately.
On a side note, if you do come across a safari guide named Issac. He is really great and gave us a good experience on 4 out of the 5 days of the safari that the company took us on. The 5th day, they stated we had "used all of our money up" and could not go on the last day of the safari before the airport. Such a disaster.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Untrustworthy, changes to itinerary, skipped site, misleading communications...
I do not recommend this tour company. No compensation for changed itinerary with a site completely skipped that was on my tour, no pickup in Arusha on arrival, poor customer relations and misleading communications from day to day, difficulty with payment at national park resulting in lost time on drive, not enough room in vehicle for equipment so stacked tents on top resulting in no pop up viewing one day. It just seems the operator wants money and cannot deliver what is promised. Be very wary when touring in Tanzania. Enough said. I have experienced several safaris, and this one is the only one that I can say was regrettable.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Attempted to Strand Us in Arusha
My travel agent had booked us a tour with Ranger Safaris, and upon our arrival to Arusha, there was a mix-up as to whether our tour group would be the same as the group we had been in from the beginning of our trip in Kenya. My group simply asked that we be able to contact our travel agent in order to straighten things out, but we were first told Ranger Safaris had been in contact with our travel agent via email about this issue (which we later learned was an outright lie) and then told that if we did not get in the car we would be left alone in Arusha. When I raised these issues with management, Ranger Safaris never got back in touch with me. I would HIGHLY recommend all travelers avoid this company.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Non-trustworthy
Uganda was impressive country. However, this was the worst safari experience I have ever had.
If someone really needs to contact this agency, please make sure to read the followings;
1) The proposal you receive via e-mail is different from what you need to pay when you get out of airport.
They intentionally give you low-cost quote and change their word saying it was a 'mistake' which they've been repeating many times already.
Please make sure to bring extra cash to pay when asked for.
Otherwise, you need to look for ATM which is not easily working in the country.
Also, you will need to undergo unpleasant argument throughout the journey until you pay the extra money.
2) This agency is appropriate for those who do not travel alone - especially not for a single lady.
When you are traveling by yourself, then you will encounter a blackmail in the middle of trip that the tour guide will drop you off there and leave in the middle of nowhere.
3) You will understand what is typical African-style lie, telling whatever they want to convince you to pay more. Didn't want to argue about details, but it was disgusting to listen to throughout the journey.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Complete fraudsters.
We paid 4 months in advance because otherwise Solaris couldn’t pay Ngorongoro Farmhouse for our accommodation (apparently). We arrived in Tanzania and had an email to say we had been ‘upgraded’ to a tent in a place called Mosquito River. We were then parked in a hot vehicle for 4 hours in the middle of Arusha because the company had no money to pay for the game parks. The vehicle had broken seats and windows and all the seatbelts were broken. Amazingly we all survived long enough to get malaria !
Many emails since and 5 months later not a dollar back for the poor accommodation (the farmhouse had a pool, electricity, food and mosquito nets), missing game drives and spending hours in a dangerous truck because the tent was nowhere the Crater !
They are crooks, stay away
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unpaid tour and guide that did not explain anything
They work slowly, many unnecessary waits. They took us from Lake Nakuru to Amboseli, to then return to Naibasha, obviously we lost the last day, because it was horrible to do 9h to see a lake again. They did not return any money, they only paid us a bus for 10 euros, instead of a minimum 150e. The guide driver did not explain anything to us. It was very monotonous and boring. Neither warned us where there was wifi or not. Excellent Masai Mara, of course, regardless of the safari company. I would not repeat.
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Ripped-off consumers
For us this trip was very important, we have a job with normal salary and Kenya and Tanzania is very expensive for us.. We were going saving enough time.
The first day we pay all money, 3000$ for 16 days and half. Land Rover Defender with roof tent and camping equipment.
We take the vehicle in Nairobi.
They gave us the damaged vehicle.
We warn the same day that the turbo charger was not working.
For the highway the car was going very very slowly.
Neither the air conditioning was going. We were in time of great heat and we spent it very badly.
The first day in Ngare Ndare there came a few mechanics to be looked of arranging it, but not at all.
We could come to Samburu but they were following the problems.
In Nakuru one day we were in two workshops and on the following day in three. Was fustrating….
Finally, after several discussions, Winny said us that she was obtaining a van for take us to Masai Mara and there they would bring to us the Defender two days later, arranged. Windy say : Am paying for 3 days from today.and paying the driver.You will only pay for fuel and park fee for the car.
They brought to us a horrible van, without air, without usb to load mobiles and cameras, with the most uncomfortable seats, with the battered lights, and the driver with expired license as said to us a police officer who stopped us on the following day.
Well, the next day to arrive to Mara suprise !! the driver say us that he must to go away the next day, because his chief had not given him any more money.
We call to flight and safaris and Windy did not make sure us either that they were going to bring to us the vehicle.
We turned to Nairobi ready to speak with Windy.
And when we think that they returned all money because we had problems with the vehicle since the first day… no, they only return us a part..
Incredible… We pay for 3 days land rover damaged, 3 days 140 $ day for a horrible van..150$ for a cross border documentation when we dont cross any border, and one night at Mara Sidai camp.
Well, after that, we had other problems because we were not finding other companies that were renting a car to us, there were holidays, etc, etc… but this is another history, jajajaja
I have whatsapps, pictures, bills, etc…
Our experience was very very bad.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Think Twice Before You Book with Shedluck
It is very disappointing when companies do not act fairly. Unfortunately, Shedluck Tours has not behaved fairly.
For our very first trip to Africa we signed up to volunteer with a medical team. We fundraised and solicited donations of much-needed medical supplies to assist with surgeries in remote Migori. Because the journey is so very long, we wanted to extend our stay beyond the volunteer stint and we chose Shedluck Tours for the additional days.
Unfortunately, despite taking all necessary precautions, I became very ill with GI symptoms, requiring visits to two separate clinics. For medically necessary reasons and on the advice of the Kenyan physician, we were forced to cut our visit short and return home. Prior to becoming ill, we had even more bad luck. Heavy rains led to numerous road washouts and traffic jams (terrible, even by Kenyan standards) caused hours-long detours, meaning that we missed out on many opportunities outlined in the tour itinerary.
In country, we were too sick to hammer out the details of a refund. Once home, we realized that Shedluck Tours was not planning to return any of our fee other than a very small portion designated for a visit to a village, despite the fact that we had said on more than one occasion that we did not want to visit this village.
By returning early, we did not venture to Amboseli, a remote area without medical facilities. We did not precipitate a medical emergency that would have endangered my health, nor did we expose staff or guests at the Amboseli Lodge to unnecessary risk. Instead, we made the ethical and medically necessary decision to cut our visit short.
Despite the fact that we did not receive all services outlined in the itinerary due to weather, we did not ask for a refund from Shedluck for those missed opportunities because that would not be fair. These were circumstances beyond everyone's control and they continued to provide services. It seems entirely fair, however, to request a refund for services they did not provide, to share the burden of a trip that was significantly altered and shortened. Unfortunately, they have chosen to ignore my request and have cut off communication.
As to the services they provided, they were basic. I have learned the hard way that there are drivers and there are guides. After assisting with surgeries, the volunteer medical stint included a two-day safari in the Maasai Mara. That company, Frate Tours, provided honest-to-goodness GUIDES. They knew the unmarked roads of the Mara like the backs of their hands. They were as rapt as we were by the animals. They extended our drives to provide us with the best possible experience. They constantly consulted each other and other guides to locate the best sightings. They provided interesting information about the animals and the area. Frate Tours truly went the extra mile. I cannot recommend them highly enough.
In contrast, Shedluck Tours provided a driver. He was a nice young man and we cut him a lot of slack because he confessed to being new, but the difference was stark and obvious from the beginning. He was late to pick up up from the lodge on our first and only day of safari, but we had arrived early (bags all packed) because we had been trained by Frate Tour guides, who were always prompt. We were finally delivered just a few miles down the road to the boat launch. Our driver did not accompany us on the ride and we were expected to tip the boat guide, even though the itinerary did not specify that our driver would not be our guide. After the boat ride, we ate a pre-packed lunch. Instructions on the box prominently advised storage in a cooler to preserve freshness. Our boxes were stored on the front seat.
Little disappointments continued to pile up. During our one and only game drive, our driver did not yield to animals in the park. Instead, he drove impatiently, even when animals were in the road, causing them to flee. Our guide from Frate Tours always yielded; "They have the right!" he said, all smiles. When we came upon a group of white rhinoceros, our driver did not automatically turn around to follow respectfully when the animals passed us. Instead, he hung back and we watched them walk away from us. Frate Tours, would have repositioned us to get a better look while still maintaining a respectful distance. Our driver also never volunteered information about the animals or the location, even though I am sure he had a lot to give.
Most troubling of all, however, was that when I became very ill, our driver was not on-site. He was not on-site because Shedluck Tours had failed to determine ahead of time that our lodging did not provide any quarters for drivers, despite the fact that they had rooms available. As a result, our driver had to stay in town, some distance away. When notified that I was very ill, he did not show up until hours later. A truly conscientious driver would have returned to the lodge immediately to assess the situation and offer assistance.
As I said, our driver was a nice young man who was obviously new to the job. I fault the tour operator for not proactively addressing some of these issues (e.g., providing a cooler for lunches) and I especially fault the owner for not doing homework ahead of time regarding the the lack of lodging for drivers.
We took a big risk by signing up with Shedluck Tours because they have virtually no presence on TripAdvisor or any other review sites. They were recommended by another volunteer and the pre-trip communications were all very prompt. In the aftermath of my illness, they have cut off all communications, hoping that I will just go away and give up.
To our relief and complete surprise, we received a refund from United Airlines of the fee levied for changing our tickets, because they recognized that circumstances were beyond our control. They chose not to penalize us for making the right decision. A mega-corporation that receives hundreds of such requests on a daily basis was able to process our refund request within four days. Not Shedluck Tours. In fact, they have yet to process the meager refund that they promised.
If you read my other reviews on TripAdvisor, you will notice that I try to accentuate the positive. I try to be fair and look at the big picture, even if the experience is not 100% perfect. This will be my first truly negative review and it makes me sad. In this instance, however, too many little things add up to a bigger failure. We did not receive excellent service or fair treatment from Shedluck Tours so I urge you to consider carefully before you arrange a trip with them.
PE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Kruger National Park by Chris Conti
I know it would be hard to convince new people to skip Kruger and do the smaller parks with highly skilled guides...but I might have been convinced if you had told me this.