20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great safari, bad timing
I want to first say that our guide, Rodger, was excellent. He was very knowledgeable and helped us find all the ‘Big 5’ and many other beautiful animals. The accommodations were lovely- the campsite was great to connect with nature, and the hotel was comfortable and clean with tasty meals. The game drives were fantastic.
The reason I gave this safari a 3/5 is not the fault of the guide. On May 18th, the 3rd day of the safari, there were massive protests over gas prices all over Kenya, which turned into rioting, blocking roads and stopping cars. This is not the fault of Axis. The issue was the way the company handled the situation (this does not include Rodger- he was calm under pressure and kept us as safe as possible). Part of the issue here is that Axis combines travelers who are on different tours without clarifying it. There were people on the tour that were only there for 3 days, while others booked for 4 or more. This means that our third day involved bringing the people who had to go back to the office to a drop off point near Nairobi. This is where we got stranded for multiple hours with very little communication or assistance from the office. We spent the whole morning driving, leaving at 6 am, arriving midday and then staying in place. When asked about a refund of some sort for the day that really only included 2 hours of activity, we were told ‘well, day 3 is always a travel day’. The itinerary does not disclose that. They make it look as if there’s multiple activities that happen on day 3. On top of that, guests on our safari had to pay to change flights, without help from the office or clarification on what would happen to help them. Two of the people who were split from the group eventually to go to the airport were hit with a bag of rocks through the window of the car they were put in, leading to them being covered in glass. Again, this isn’t something the company can necessarily control, but the things they can control were handled poorly in my opinion.
Again, this would’ve been a great safari. The issues I had were partially the situation but mostly the office’s handling of it. Rodger was an excellent guide.
BR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
My not so pleasant safari experience with Safari Link
I had some problems with this agency that I would like to highlight here.
I booked a three-day safari. It was agreed that they would pick me up at my hotel in Johannesburg before heading to Kruger. One day before the trip, I sent a message to confirm, and they told me that I should go to the airport instead, as we would be leaving from there. I sent them the previous message where they had mentioned picking me up at the hotel, but I did not receive a response in time. Because of that, I had to go to the airport just to be safe.
After this inconvenience, it took me an extra hour to arrive at my lodge because my name was not on the driver’s list. He confused me with another person whose name was on the list and initially took me to the wrong lodge.
After that, we finally arrived at the correct lodge, but they informed me that there was no tent available for me because the agency had not sent my reservation to them either, just like what happened with the driver. As a result, on the first night, I was taken to another nearby lodge so I would have a place to sleep.
On the way back to Johannesburg, I managed to arrange for them to drop me off at my hotel, but once again, nothing was easy. The driver had the wrong address and was going to take me to the hotel where I had stayed before going on safari. Fortunately, I checked it in time and was able to speak with him so he could take me to the correct address.
Despite all these issues, everything was eventually resolved, and I was still able to enjoy the experience in the best way possible. However, these were still unpleasant situations that nobody would like to go through.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Mixed experience due to poor lodging at Buffelsdrift, cancellations, and poor service.
I've been in South Africa previously. This trip was affected by severe rains. We understood that this hampered the safari. But the accommodations were not as advertised. The power went out for a while and the phone didn't work. The drinking and bath water in the tent was brown. Outings were canceled. Our refund for all the issues totaled $33.15 on a $2600 tour.
MY
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
cool
Papa John tour driver very patience,
very understanding client need
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very caring
This was a fast-passed 4 day trip. I enjoyed it but the pace was too much. It would be better spread over 6-7 days. With overnights at the locations of the game drives instead of long road trips to and from the parks.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Charismatic and a pleasure to be around.
Unfortunately the booking with SafariLink left a bad taste in my mouth before the trip even started... but read my whole review before it leaves a bad taste in yours.
Booking with (Nobhule? At least that's the name that is on the invoice) was like trying to extract information from a stone and talking to an edgy teenager with their short, extremely unprofessional replies. After booking, I recieved no information as to where the shuttle was going to be (I knew I was going to be picked up in a shopping center, but the shopping center is medium sized and there was a few places the shuttle could've been) and after asking multiple times for the booking confirmation by calling and SMS, I never received it. I infact arrived at my shuttle the morning of, with no booking confirmation, stressing I was going to get denied the shuttle I had paid for.
SafariLink had 3 full business daysand 5 ½ regular days to send me the booking confirmation.
This was by far the most frustrating booking experience I've had.
But other than the friction and hassles dealing with the salesrep, the trip was a breeze and super smooth experience. The driver - Thomas - was fun, friendly and full of smiles. When everyone was in the shuttle he explained how low we had before the first stop, between the 1st and 2nd, and then how low we had after, and refreshed everyone's memory after every stop. He did a really good job with driving the pothole-y road from OR Tambo to Hoedspruit.
RU
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
You may encounter various issues throughout the safari.
We started our 6-day safari in Kenya with a great first impression. In Nairobi, the agency owner Morris introduced us to our guide Dennis, a trainee guide, and even gave us safari hats as a gift. Everything looked very promising at the beginning.
Unfortunately, the problems started soon after.
We entered Amboseli for our first evening game drive at around 4:30 PM, while the park closed at 6:00 PM. We weren’t too concerned because our itinerary clearly included a morning game drive the next day. To our surprise, Dennis told us he didn’t know about it and had already thrown away the park tickets, even though they were valid for 24 hours. He suggested skipping the morning drive and heading straight to the next destination because we were already short on time.
I insisted on having the morning game drive as planned and asked to leave at 6:00 AM to make the most of the limited time available. Dennis then claimed that the park gates only opened at 7:00 AM. After checking the information myself and speaking with the lodge owner, it became clear that this was not true. Dennis eventually admitted that he had lied because he did not want to wake up that early before a long day of driving.
As this was my first safari, I didn’t fully recognize this as a major red flag and eventually convinced him to leave at 6:00 AM.
I won’t describe every single day, but here are some of the issues we experienced:
• Amboseli – we only got half of the planned evening game drive, and the morning drive was shortened because Dennis spent around 30 minutes trying to recover the old tickets.
• Lake Naivasha – we arrived just before closing time, and during the Crescent Island excursion we had to rush through parts of the experience to avoid being locked out.
• Lake Nakuru – what was supposed to be both a morning and evening game drive turned into only a morning and partial daytime drive because we left the park and Dennis later claimed he didn’t know the ticket would not allow re-entry.
• Maasai Mara – before arriving, I explained the situation to Morris and asked him to speak with Dennis. Morris promised us a better experience. To be fair, Maasai Mara was excellent, and we had some unforgettable wildlife sightings. However, by that point we were constantly expecting another surprise or problem.
Overall, I cannot say this was a terrible safari. The wildlife was amazing, the landscapes were beautiful, and Morris genuinely tried to help whenever issues arose. The price we paid was also very competitive.
My main recommendation is simple: if you book with this company, try to avoid having Dennis as your guide.
RU
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Safari in Uganda was magnificent, but there were some organizational shortcomings
Overall, the safari went very well and the country was magnificent, but unfortunately there were a few minor issues on the organizational side.
I will start with the positives. During the booking process and afterward, communication with the manager was excellent. The company provided all the necessary information, reminded me to apply for a visa, informed me about the introduction of the health declaration due to Ebola that had to be completed before the flight, clarified the details of my flight, and so on. The airport pickup went according to plan, and I set off on the safari right away. Uganda’s parks are magnificent - the gorillas, chimpanzees, Queen Elizabeth National Park, and Murchison Falls.
Nevertheless, there were several shortcomings that I unfortunately have to mention.
First, the lodge in Murchison Falls was changed from Pakuba Safari Lodge to Bamboo Safari Lodge. Bamboo Safari Lodge is a good lodge, but unlike Pakuba, it is located outside the park. Although it is formally situated right next to the park entrance, in reality it takes about 20 minutes to get to the area where the main game drive begins. Even if that road is inside the park, it is mostly an asphalt road with almost no animals around, while the main game drives take place in the Pakuba area.
Second, I missed out on the game drive in Lake Mburo National Park. The original plan was that I would arrive, spend the night in Entebbe, and the next day go to Lake Mburo, where I would have an evening game drive. When I provided my flight details and said that I would arrive at 11:15 AM, the company said that “since you arrive early on the first day, we can start the safari immediately” and suggested slightly changing the plan so that I would go straight from the airport to Lake Mburo on the first day for an evening game drive. I agreed, but it turned out that this plan was not feasible. The drive to Lake Mburo, taking traffic and congestion into account, took so long that I arrived at Lake Mburo only around sunset, and the evening game drive in this park did not take place.
The third issue was on the first day in Queen Elizabeth National Park. According to the plan, I was supposed to have two activities that day: Afternoon - game drive in Ishasha, and Evening - game drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park. In my view, this should have meant that the first activity would start around 12:00–13:00, but the guide had a different understanding of this. I spent half the day at the lodge, and only at 15:00 did the afternoon activity begin, which consisted of a very short game drive in one area. Then at 16:30 the evening game drive in Queen Elizabeth already started. At the same time, the guide claimed that evening game drives in Queen Elizabeth begin at 16:00, but I asked the staff at the park entrance and they said that an evening game drive usually starts at 15:00.
I cannot say that these shortcomings seriously spoiled my overall impression of the safari, but I prefer to describe my impressions honestly, and perhaps this feedback will help the company take these points into account and avoid such issues in the future.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Friendly
The organization was really good and transport was efficient. The safari itself is informative about the animals you see. Minus stars because we spent a significant amount of time looking for a lion, I think we missed the opportunity to see a big herd of elephants and giraffes up close because of all the time we spent on the lion hunting for the few people who wanted to see it. Other than that they did great at making sure everyone could see the animals we saw and ensured we got photos.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Nakuru National Park by Tracey Cook
Not as many animals at Lake Nakuru than Maasi Mara, but worth visiting to see the rhino.