HK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Worst nightmare
If you are looking for a tour company for your dream tour in Africa, NOT THIS ONE. Run away!
Only if there was the option of negative stars, this company would deserve 10 of them. Travelling with this company was the most horrifying experience, but trusting his owner John was the worst decision we had in life. He was lying to us till the very end of our tour. Never had I want to go home that badly for any vacation.
My husband and I came for our 12 days honeymoon, paid huge amount of money (50% deposit upon booking with them and 50% upon arrival, totally of $5500 USD per person) for everything inclusive and got the worst nightmare in our lives.
We know for sure we are not underpaying them, but they have not been keeping their promises, not even making sure everything on the itinerary were carried out accordingly.
It was a trip including safari at Kenya, safari at Tanzania and beach holiday in Zanzibar, Kenya.
The trip in Kenya was the first nightmare. The owner John, who was helpful and responsive ONLY ONLINE, turned to this disappearing person that never replied to us when we got here. He outsourced the job in Kenya to a local guide called Rufus, whom had never showed up at all. There was no designated person for our 4 days there, different people were responsible for driving us and bringing us around. They changed our itinerary without prior notice. One day, we left early morning towards the safari from Nairobe Kenya. We were promised lunch on route and afternoon safari game drive once we arrived. But that day, we arrived at 2:30pm to the hotel and didn’t have lunch till then. Itinerary also got changed from an afternoon safari game drive to a village visit which was a complete tourist trap and scam to us. They just found some Masai people on motorcycle and picked us up from the lodge, and told us this is the activity we have for the day.
The next day, we had our game drive at Masai Mara, we had to start late because the driver forgot to order lunch boxes from the Lodge the day before (all the drivers just came and took their lunchboxes and went for the game drive right away). We ended up waiting for 60 mins for lunchboxes to be ready.
At the National Park Gate, there were also some ticketing issues which made us wait for another 30 mins for entrance, which was not seen in the other jeeps. The worst was yet to come, Rufus hired a shabby car to drive us 5 hours to the Tanzania border, very terrible condition of the car and very poor road condition. We got stopped by the rangers at the park gate, and even got pulled over by the police because it was an illegal car for driving passengers.
Luckily, the experience in Serengeti National Parks in Tanzania was good, because John happened to have outsourced the work to a responsible and helpful guide called Michael.
Just as we thought the nightmare in Kenya was going to be over. John threw us a surprise again. Right at the time we boarded the plane to Zanzibar from Arusha, John sent us a hand written letter saying he could not pay for our trip at Zanzibar because his staff made a calculation mistake, and requested a top up of $1000 USD per person in order for him to complete our tour in Zanzibar. That was already the 8th day since we have settled out final payment, this whole calculation thing should not have heppened if he had booked everything for us as soon the payment was received. Therefore, we did not believe him. We didn't pay him, and the nighmare extended till the end of our trip.
These are what happened in Zanzibar:
1. He did not arrange transport for us from the airport to the hotel, so we were left stranded and helpless at the airport at 8:30pm at night.
2. He did not even book the hotel for us that night until our guide in Tanzania Michael helped us to call him. But when we arrived at the hotel, the hotel staff actually asked us to pay the hotel by ourselves. We refused and after negotiation with John, he finally agreed to pay the next day
3. We had to keep asking him for confirmation on the activities written on the itinerary. Eventually, there were 2 days of activities and 1 night of hotel not booked and not paid by him, which include 2 scuba dives ($120 per person), 1 snorkelling tour with dolphins (~$40 USD per person, and 1 night of hotel stay ($230 USD),
4. We had to pay by ourselves the diving we had, which was $250 for 2 persons, and paid $230 for 1 night at the hotel because he stopped replying to our messages. He made a lot of promises, but never came to fulfil them.
We have proof and receipts of everything we had to pay on our own. And we have pictures of his hand written letter.
From our experience this is the worst company you could get, terrible management, untrustworthy and dishonest owner, and all together made our nightmare.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari Trip of a Lifetime
We just returned from a Great Migration safari with Gosheni, and it was truly one of the most unforgettable experiences of our lives.
Everything was seamless; airport pickups, flights, transfers, and most importantly, our game drives. Our guide, Laban, was exceptional. He was knowledgeable, funny, and incredibly skilled at tracking wildlife. Thanks to him, we saw the Big Five, a wildebeest river crossing, and he also got us in prime spots for viewing.
The accommodations were exactly what we hoped for. They were clean, comfortable, and perfectly located to optimize our time on the game drives. The food at the accommodations and provided for lunch exceeded our expectations. We also really appreciated how flexible and responsive Gosheni was with planning around our travel needs when our dates changed.
If you’re looking for a well-organized, professional safari that delivers unforgettable memories, Gosheni is the one.
Huge thanks to Laban and the entire Gosheni team for making this trip so special.
HK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Provide very detail explaination on animals
The arrangement is great, the tour guide arranged on both reserve are detail and kind to explain
CN
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Disappointing arrangement
This is a very disappointing trip. The most important purpose of our visit to Tanzania is to see the animal migration of the Mara River. This wish has been explained to the travel agency more than two months in advance. Although we arranged to go to the Mara River for a day to watch the animal migration, it took eight hours to go back and forth from our residence more than 200 kilometers away from the Mara River, which we didn't know in advance. It was already ten o'clock in the morning at the Mara River. After waiting for three hours, the driver drove away and we didn't see anything. Later, we learned that wildebeest crossing the river usually ends before 9 o'clock.
This arrangement is frustrating.
Not recommended.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great Guides
Wisdom was a wonderful guide. He was great at spotting animals. I was wandering all throughout Africa to see wild dogs and Wisdom was able to make that happen here at Kruger National Park. Thank you Wisdom and thank you MoAfrika for the great memories.
BE
under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
1 day safari in kruger
Wisdom was an amazing tour guide who took the time to explain us everything there is to know about the animals in Kruger, even the birds! Definitely recommend.
DE
Everything was perfect
Everything was perfect. The driver and his team were really kind and professional.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The price and convenience were excellent.
Very comfortable, punctual, and professional transfer. The driver made regular stops so we could use the restrooms and stretch our legs. We really appreciated the safe and relaxed driving. The price and convenience were excellent. Highly recommended!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Birthday Safari Trip!
Simeon Safaris and Juliet allowed me to have an extraordinary 6-Day birthday safari!
While looking up safaris, I had reached out to a few different companies with inquires. Juliet was easily the #1 person I talked to while researching who to book with. I booked with Juliet within 24hrs of her contacting me. THAT is how pleased I was with her timely responses and the information she passed onto me. In total, we had an email chain of 29 messages from the time of booking up until I flew to Africa.
Upon arriving in Nairobi a day prior to the safari, Juliet had set up a hotel for me at the Best Western. There was a driver waiting for me with a sign once I got through customs and exited the airport. It was about a 20-25min drive from there to the hotel.
The following morning, Juliet and a driver picked me up promptly at 7am from my hotel and brought me to the Simeon Safari’s office. Once there, I completed the last of my paperwork, took welcome pictures, and was given a small lion figurine that had Simeon Safaris printed on it! Juliet then escorted me downstairs where I met the other members of my safari group, and our driver, Charles.
On day 2, Juliet messaged me via WhatsApp to check in and make sure everything was running smoothly. I had already seen numerous lions, so I sent her some pictures. Her response was, “ You were able to see Mufasa!”.
I would also like to mention that I booked the mid range accommodations. Somehow (I’m not entirely sure why), Juliet bumped me up to luxury for 5 of the 6 nights I stayed at no extra cost! Other members of my group selected the budget accommodations. Some of the distances between mid-range and budget were far apart, where luxury options were closer. This allowed for smoother transitions for daily pickups and drop offs. All of my accommodations were EXCEPTIONAL!
On the last day of my Safari, Juliet stayed in touch to ensure I arrived at the airport for my flight. She also contacted me to make sure I arrived back in the US! As a solo traveler, I cannot recommend her and Simeon Safaris enough! I felt safe, well taken care of, and had an extraordinary birthday while in Africa. Juliet, thank you so much for everything! Asante sana!!!
Exceptional driver with knowledge and skills of the parks for everyone to see the unexpected.
What an exceptionally brilliant tour. Our driver Anthony who is so skilled in driving, and his knowledge of the parks had us to see the Big Five and then some, which is rare. Not only did we see the big five, but Anthony also suggested other areas to explore in between going to other sites. Our camps, cottages, hotels were beyond expectations. This tour is a must! Can't say anything bad. Thank you Anthony for a trip and experience of a life time.