50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent on safari, not so good in the pre-trip organisation
We booked a three night Serengeti safari, through Golden Trips Tanzania. First thing to say, is that Dan, our guide and driver was fantastic. Freindly and knowledgable, he did everything he could to give us an amazing experience, and it was fantastic, and none of what I talk about below was his fault. He was brilliant.
However, the arrangements before we got to Tanzania is another story. At first the company was great. Very flexible when costing up different scenarios and happy to suggest lodges and areas to visit. Great. We ended up booking a three night trip, flying into the Serengeti on day one, and flying out of Arusha on day four. We paid a deposit early, then we had to pay 40% deposit three months before the trip, as they had to book the flights, so needed the cash - no problem.
The issues started about two weeks before the trip. I had to really press hard to get any update on the flight bookings, sending multiple messages asking for the fligth details and the tickets. But five days before we left for Africa, they 'suggested' a different flight on day four. At that point, it became clear that although they'd had my money for three months, no flight had been booked. I was able to look at the flight they originally told me we'd be on, on the airlines web-site, and it was fully booked. So I had to agree to a different flight. They told me it was because the airline had changed it's schedule, but the web-sie said otherwise. Nothing I could at that point, so we had to take the change.
The next issue came the day before we left for Africa, when they contacted me suggesting a change of accomodation on the second night, as it would be 'easier' for us and give us a better experiance. Again, I suspect the real reason behind the change was that they had failed to book the second night at all. I know that because that day I emailed the three accomodations we were due to stay at under the original plan, and received a confirmation from two of them, but not the third. There was no booking. As you might imagine, this caused a significant amount of stress, 24 hours before leaving for the trip.
During the correspondance on the flight and the accomodation, I kept getting apologies and promises that they would do everything to make the experience amazing when I arrived in Africa. Which brings me to the last issue. We arrived at the Serengeti airstrip at 8am on day one, along with lots of other people, who were all meeting their various guides from different tour operators. Over the course of an hour, every other group had been picked up, while myself and my family were still waiting. Even the airport staff started asking us why we were still there. I had to message the company numerous times during the wait and they kept promising the guide was 5, 10, 15 mins away. The guide eventually turned up 90 minutes late, and told us that there had been a mix up in the bookings and the company had originally sent him to a different airstrip to pick up a different group, before contacting him and turnign him around.
So in summary, fine on initial contact and organisation, total nightmare in the two weeks leading up to the trip, brilliant while on the ground in the Serengeti.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Not well organized, the program was not well described, we faced lot of extras.
The tour itself was beautiful; we really enjoyed the safari in the Masai Mara, but less so the Nakuru and Naivasha areas. The most disappointing thing for us was finishing the day's program at 3 PM without being able to do anything until the next day. The accommodations and lunches were mediocre for what we paid.
Despite this, John Mwangi, our guide, was very helpful and kind to all our requests.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Super responsive and friendly but too small to have a strong structure
Things we loved - First of all, the process to book was easy and not too complicated. Our driver, Charles, was super friendly and was not weird at all. The lodge they booked for us was amazing as well and the game drives were smooth in the car. We loved our own private experience as it was me, my wife, and one of our friend.
Things we did not approve of - Although we had a lot of fun and going with Viega was relatively cheaper than others, we did not get everything we paid for. There were 3 game drives as part of our 4-day package and we only got 2. We got there 2 hours late than what was estimated when Rogers talked to us before our trip, but it was not on us since we left at exactly 7am as per schedule. I did bring this up IN DETAIL with Rogers and the driver, but we weren't really given anything back other than an apology and a free trip to the giraffe feeding center (which is not even 15% cost of a one day of game drive).
We also spent almost 4 hours trying to find a Rhino day 2 (which we were told AFTER that there are only 2). Annnd ended up wasting another 2 hours trying to fix the bumper at the rangers station...but we brushed that off
Feedback for Viega - Rogers did spend almost a day with us when we got back to apologize and listen, but some sort of money back is what anyone would prefer. Because as per the package and Rogers, it was almost $200 per day for a park entrance fee ($600 total for us that we feel like was not compensated). Apparently this was brought up to their Boss, Jared, but looks like he didn't care to take accountability either.
Some direct feedback below:
- Yes they are small from an operational perspective, but they need to have open line of communication between their drivers.
- Rogers is efficient but needs to understand time difference of where his clients are based, because he was and still calls me after midnight or when I am at work
- If something happens where money is involved and a client is not happy, the Director needs to jump in and take responsibility
If you have made this far, I could have given less than 3 starts here but I don't want to hurt a small business. Hopefully this detailed feedback helps them become better.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Tsavo West National Park by Jessica Hoffmann
We didn‘t saw a lot of animals because the Park is to big. But the landscape is crazy beautiful.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Poor communication
Unfortunately our experience with Habitat and especially Goodluck Kombe was not as positive as everyone here describes it. This has certainly spoilt our once in a lifetime Safari experience and here is why…
We enquired about a safari itinerary in May 2025, based on a recommendation of someone who went on Safari with Goodluck as a guide. This was a special trip for my husband 65th birthday.
After receiving 2 quotes (one for mid range and one for high end), we decided on the high end itinerary, this included Habitat organising the internal flights for us. We had no changes/special requests for the initial quote. We paid the deposit and we have not heard anything from Habitat until August when they followed up on the 2nd payment. Again, we paid and we have not heard anything more. A week before our scheduled safari started, Goodluck followed up on the last payment and I requested if we can pay by card on arrival (due to the high amount), and he agreed.
This is where it all started to go wrong:
Upon arrival in Arusha, I was ready to pay the balance by card, as agreed with Goodluck before travelling. I got greeted by one of his employees but he did not have a POS and said that he’d send me a link to pay online. We headed to our first destination and that evening I received an email from Goodluck telling me he was expecting cash on arrival and that I put other people’s dream holidays at risk by not paying Habitat. After pointing out that he agreed for me to pay by card on arrival, I paid the remaining balance online that evening.
The next morning I received another email from Goodluck telling me that I only paid 50% and I still owed them $5k. You can imagine the panic, stressing out where the money disappeared. Finally, later that day he confirmed that he received the full amount but I still owed them $18 for his bank fees (if he wanted the client to pay his bank fees, he should have included it in the quote) – I passed $18 cash to our designated guide.
He also mentioned that their sales manager underquoted me by about 10% of the total cost (!!!) and initially asked if I can contribute anything towards this amount, the next day he said Habitat will absorb this cost. It is not very nice to ask a client, on their first day of the trip, to pay for your employee’s mistakes.
Initially (in May) we were told our internal flights were with Auric. We made arrangements based on the times of these flights. The week before travelling, we received tickets for Flightlink for different times and even different days!!! This unfortunately had a negative impact on our plans travelling back to Dar Es Salaam at the end of the safari.
The initial (May) itinerary included 4 different hotels. During the safari we realised that 3 out of the 4 hotels were changed and we were never informed about these changes. I am sure that the hotels were same quality as the initially communicated ones but it was not nice not to know where you’ll be staying and only find out when you pull up at the hotel.
On the positive note is that our guide was amazing and made the rest of the trip enjoyable.
Goodluck never asked how was our safari experience at the end of the trip…
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Mixed Experience - Communication Needs Serious Improvement
We booked a mid-range safari with Hekima Safaris after reading many positive reviews, and while there were some great aspects to our experience, we were also disappointed in several areas.
We made our booking early in February for a September safari, specifically because of the positive feedback about Hekima going above and beyond for their customers. However, communication from the company was lacking throughout the process.
Two days before our arrival in Kenya, I messaged Hekima to confirm our airport pickup and overall itinerary, but received no response. As we were flying all the way from Australia, this caused significant anxiety — especially given the common warnings about scams. Even during our layover in Mumbai, I messaged again, only to see the message was read with no reply. Out of concern, I contacted the hotel we were due to stay at in Nairobi to confirm our reservation. While they did have a booking under our name, Hekima had not yet paid, so the hotel staff said it wasn’t guaranteed.
Eventually, after we landed in Nairobi around 5:40 AM, Hekima responded and provided a contact for our pickup.
We also learned at breakfast that Hekima had sent an external guide to pick us up, as the staff members were away on another safari. This gave us the impression that our safari may have been overlooked or forgotten, despite our early booking.
Communication after our deposit was made became noticeably slower, whereas responses before payment were immediate. This shift in engagement was disappointing.
However, we were especially disappointed with the guide in the Serengeti. He did not make an effort to connect with us, and we felt like the "going above and beyond" service we read about in reviews was not true in our case. The guide seemed disinterested and did not engage with us or go the extra mile to enhance our experience. He did mention he hadn't slept but there was plenty of time to sleep and rest after coming back from game drives in the evening.
At times, we felt uncomfortable asking for a few extra moments to enjoy the sunrise or take in the animals, as if we were inconveniencing him.
There were also issues with accommodation changes not being communicated in advance. One of the lodges we were taken to was not the one we had booked, and it did not meet mid-range standards – dirty showers and poor food. On another day, the same thing happened again, but thankfully, the alternate lodge was significantly better.
That said, there were definitely many positives too — don’t get me wrong. The guides made sure we saw all the animals we wanted to see, including the Big Five. The lodges (with the exception of one uncommunicated change) were fantastic, with great food and comfortable amenities.
On the day we were flying out, we were told by the airline that our flight was actually departing from a different airport. Jackson and Benard rushed back immediately, picked us up, and drove as fast as they could to the correct airport. This really helped us, and we can’t thank them enough for saving the day.
Overall, the safari had its highlights — and we especially want to give a big shoutout to Jackson for his support and professionalism. But unfortunately, due to poor communication, last-minute changes, and a lack of attentiveness at times, we can’t give Hekima the 5-star rating we had really hoped to.
There is definite potential here — but improvements in communication and customer care are needed.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
No problems with tour operator, only Zambezi Trader information on the flight schedule was incorrect
Ichingo Chobe , experience was excellent , with good overall service. Recommend house boat on Chobe river , more wild life to view .
Transfer from one to another place was excellent .
Zambezi Trader - disappointing , waste of time and money . poor start to the trip on air transfer .
we booked thinking we going to the Lake Kariba(as per your tour package ) - trip is on the Zambezi River , did not go close the Lake Kariba
overfished river , limit number of wild life and bird viewing compared to our Chobe experience .
No spa , fishing only
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ok
The camping safari is pure adventure.
However, there were a few things that didn't go perfectly.
We were reliably picked up from the airport by taxi. The taxi driver told us the safari started at 7:00 a.m. At the hotel, we were told the safari started at 8:00 a.m. The actual start time was 8:30 a.m., but we were misinformed. The safari itinerary was also changed (Lake Manyara on Friday instead of Tuesday), which isn't a problem in principle. However, this needs to be communicated. According to the description, the game drives last about 6-7 hours. In reality, however, they lasted a maximum of 4-5 hours, as we didn't start at the agreed time on a single day.
Some of the campsites were very run down, often with only cold water, and only one of the three showers working.
(automatic translation from German)
MT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Nice, friendly and lovely people
We enjoyed the safari is amazing good stuff help full also
MT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Jesmond Lia
Perfect nature