LV
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Too expensive for a bad safari.
Too expensive for a bad safari.
I saw very few animals. The driver did not show or look for animals that the passengers themselves saw, that was it. The driver was talking loudly to other drivers and on the phone all the time, not paying attention to the passengers. I was promised there would be 5 more passengers, but I was the 7th. It was a mixed group, living in different places. Also, living in the middle category did not always meet the standard. Compared to my first safari in Kenya, which was perfect, this one was downright bad. I do not recommend anyone to apply for this company. So they are not SafariBookings.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We believe we got scammed by Dickson
Four of us were referred by my friend’s sister to the owner, Dickson, of Adventure Africa Expedition over six months ago. All communications were very good at the begining. We were so exited and looking forward to the great migration in Masai Mara and Serengeti. We even wired him extra fund after the contract due to park fee increase from July 1st in Masai Mara. But during the tour, we realized we were scammed. He charged us 5 day Masai Mara park fees ($4,000), but we should only pay for 4 days. We have confirmed with the driver that he only paid $3,200 for 4 days. We brought this fact up to Dickson as this is an integrity issue, but he has been running around and refused to refund $800. We have reported this scam/integrity issue to Kenya’s Tourism Regulatory Authority (TRA) and we are waiting on the reply. But we really don’t know how Kenya authority will do. We were told that government has got so corrupt. Hope that is not the case. I have all the facts including the contracts and communication. I like to share this true experience so you can avoid falling into the same trap. Safari is great, but you need to stay away from this company.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Bad service
Bad service, 1 day waited 3 hours at a gas station, 2 day safari ended at 2 p.m., 3 days no safari, just drove around, even drove to another country and dropped off 1 person. There was no response to a complaint.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Disappointing Experience with Nkollo Tours - Unfulfilled Promises and Poor Service
We had a deeply disappointing experience with Nkollo Tours during our private fly-in safari from Zanzibar to Selous, Tanzania. The communication was severely lacking, with multiple schedule changes not being communicated to us, resulting in significant delays and missed safari time. Our flight was rescheduled without prior notice, causing us to miss 2 hours of our first day’s safari. We only became aware of the rescheduling when we arrived at the airport, prepared to board our flight at 06:00, and were handed new tickets. Moreover, the flight we were placed on included a stopover, contrary to the direct flight that was promised to us. As a result, instead of arriving in Selous at 06:50 as initially planned, we did not reach our destination until 08:15. After contacting Nkollo Tours about this delay, we were promised compensation through extended safari hours, but this was not honoured. In subsequent correspondence regarding the flight rescheduling, they asserted that they are not responsible for the issue and advised us to contact the airline directly. However, it is standard practice that when a flight is rescheduled, passengers are rebooked on a comparable flight, not one that includes a stopover and is significantly less expensive.
The second day was equally unsatisfactory. Our safari, originally scheduled to start at 07:00, was delayed by two hours without any communication, forcing us to wake up unnecessarily early (again!). The driver then proceeded to rush through the park at high speeds (60-80 km/hour), despite being informed of my mother’s back pain. This reckless driving led to a broken phone, a broken camera lens and injuries to my back and hip. We passed the elephants twice this day, yet the driver refused to stop for them, citing the need to be on time for lunch. Because the safari tour started two hours late, and the full itinerary was still followed, the driver maintained high speeds, which made it impossible for us to capture decent photos or to enjoy the safari experience properly. Lastly, if the driver did stop for us to look at the animals, a huge cloud of sand came up because he had to brake so hard for the car to stop. In subsequent correspondence, they claim that driving at such speeds would have caused the vehicle to break down. However, as someone who frequently drives, I observed that they were indeed driving at significantly high speeds, certainly not the 30 km/hour limit that is required within the park. They also claim they are not liable for any damages suffered, but I feel this is unjust, as these damages would not have occurred had they adhered to the appropriate speed limits.
On the final day, our scheduled walking safari was also delayed, with no timely notice, leading us to cancel it altogether. We had asked the tour operator the day before if the start time could be pushed to 08:00, but were informed that if starting at this time, we would not be able to see any animals. We were therefore advised to begin at either 06:00 or 07:00. We agreed to a 07:00 start, but upon arriving in the dining room, we were informed by one of the employees of the lodge that our tour guide had notified them at 00:00 the evening before that our tour will start at 08:00. Given that we had to wake up 05:30, we were already in bed by this time, unaware of the change in schedule. Given the previous warning about the likelihood of not seeing animals, we cancelled the walking safari altogether. Although we received a $100 compensation for this, we were still extremely disappointed with the overall experience we had with Nkollo Tours. Additionally, the lodge’s pool was out of service, and we were not informed of this in advance, which diminished the value of our stay further.
In conclusion, the experience was severely impacted by poor communication, lack of professionalism, and failure to deliver the promised service. We are seeking compensation for the missed safari hours, damaged property, and the subpar experience, but Nkollo Tours insists that the cost of the tour has increased, and therefore refuses to refund any portion of our payment, despite the numerous delays and damages we endured. The second day, they even bought us two bottles of liquor, which we interpreted as acknowledgement of their mistakes. However, they are now citing this gesture as a reason for refusing to refund any portion of our payment. We strongly advise other travellers to be cautious when considering Nkollo Tours for a private safari.
IT
Unprofessional
My experience with Tegu Tours and Safari could be sum up as follows.
My girlfriend and I booked a tour with:
- afternoon game drive the first day: didn’t happen;
- a Jeep: there wasn’t, there was a van
- 2 full days in Mara, we spend half of the second stuck into a savana because of the van;
- in the morning of the second day we started at 9am safari and not a 7am;
- the second Mara day we were with a new first group and we did the same things of the first day, wasting our money and time;
- the second day at Mara they put us in danger because the driver didn’t call the ranger to rescue us and we were on the grass after the park was closed (illegal) and we got split up without knowing when we were going to see each other again (very worried) because we were in Africa and we had to rely on people who were not transparent at all;
- the second night we booked Lenchada Camp, we were forced to go to a different accomodation because our reserved tend was given to other clients;
- they weren’t able to switch us in a Jeep although there was availability;
- we were treated disrespectfully and unprofessionally by the staff of this company during all the vacation.
After 4 days with these disrespectful people we changed company and we kept going our trip perfectly, enjoying the beauty of this magic country.
Don’t compromise your holiday, don’t book with Tegu Tours.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
So disorganized, terrible communicators
Once you get to game driving, it’s hard to have a bad time. But I would not trust this company with booking anything more than a day trip. The day before our trip, they changed the entire itinerary, and it was clear from that point that they were only booking things one day at a time. Drivers weren’t showing up on time, we weren’t in the right vehicles, it just took so much away from a once in a lifetime trip. There were things in the itinerary we missed out on, and when we try to ask for a refund, the operator stops responding. There’s so many companies, don’t book with this one.
DK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Rushed and impersonal safari
Went on an evening game drive with a bush dinner. It started off promising and good. However, we then spend over half an hour having a snack-stop and the driver seemed in no rush to continue the game drive. After the snack-stop it were finally beginning to be dark, so that the evening game drive could begin. However, the driver where rushing forward to get to the bush dinner so that we nor he could have any chance to spot any animals. We then ate and the same story continued after. A driver that rushed through the park where no one had any chance to spot any animals. Very rushing and impersonal experience. Would definitely not recommend.
HK
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Bring a very bad experience to us!
1. After we confirmed the itinerary and paid the deposit, we received an email on the day of our arrival to change three hotels, among which Lake Naivasha Sopa Resort, the most expensive hotel, was changed to Lake Naivasha Resort. You can check the price difference online.This was the hotel with the largest difference in price, and two nights were also changed to cheaper hotels and the difference was not refunded
2.Two times early morning safari and last day's lunch all be cancelled,The guide said never be informed of the early morning safari.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
False promises, Bad communication, Wasted time
Do not book with this Operator!
From home we booked a 5 days Safari with 2 Nights in Serengeti. We were told that the tour is almost sold out and we will get the last two seats.
When we got there, the tour with two nights in Serengeti was not available and they just put us on another tour which we did not want. It was only with half a day in the Serengeti instead of two. Instead we went to much smaller and cheaper park on our last day with less Animales.
Furthermore, it was a joined tour. We did not know that. It means that you have to wait all the time for other travellers joining the tour on different days and therefore, always leave late to got to the parks. Hence, you have less time to find Animals.
Our driver always had to ask for money and the permits which should have been in order before the tour. So even more time was wasted.
So, nothing that was promised in our quote was met. Every day there und was a new problem we had to face.
At least we got a small discount, but it was nothing compared to all the trouble. After the tour we talked to our hotel Manager and he said that they already know the operator is a cutthroat.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
No interest , no lunch , awful operator
They didn’t come to pick up to the AirPort the first day.
The last day was awful , we are super dissappointed. The driver didn’t tell us to take the lunch , we have eaten at the end of safari (3.00pm) awful street food , we are worried to have some illness of that food. But the whole 3 days the general attitude of the driver has been awful, he didn’t explain nothing about animals and Park, tired , showing 0 interest in his Job and looking foward to go back home every day as sooner as possible . We are completely dissapointed with this driver. We really missed to have one guide. But I could tell more things , half of the Park of lake manyara is covered by water , so we could’t see most of the Park , knowing this the company should have offered to us another option.
So taken into account that the duration of safaris has been súper short every day , the attitude of the driver of looking foward to finish , we didn’t have any explanations, the lunch of today was forgotten and we ate hard uneateable chicken in the middle of the street, and we were forgotten to pick up us first day at the AirPort , we are extremely dissapointed with this company .
Starving in the middle of a safari paying 1760 dolars is inadmisible
