ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Dont' recommend
We just returned from a trip organized through an agency in Spain with local guides from Akilanga, and I have to say it was disastrous due to the organization. We had buses of 50 people, and the guides were very unfriendly, especially in Johannesburg, and were not very helpful or helpful. For excursions, you had to get up early and spend an hour and a half picking up other guests from hotels, and the same thing happened on the way back, with the resulting waste of time. Furthermore, the excursions are very expensive for group trips. I was traveling with my family, and on one of them, my son didn't have a seat and had to sit in the guide's seat.
The tours are from the bus, leaving little time to take photos or explore.
I don't recommend it at all. It's much better, both for personalized attention, in smaller groups, and cheaper to book local excursions.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We were almost scammed out of $1,600
⚠️ WARNING – Do Not Book with Natural World Kenya Safaris!
We were nearly scammed out of $1,600 by this company. Please read other recent TripAdvisor reviews — our experience is not unique.
We booked and paid in full (online, by credit card) for an all-inclusive Lakes Nakuru & Naivasha Day Safari Tour for six people. The package included breakfast, lunch, three park entrance fees, a boat tour, and a walking tour. I coordinated with Ezra from their office, and Dikdik was assigned as our guide.
The day started well:
• Hotel pickup in Nairobi was on time.
• Our guide was friendly, talkative, and knowledgeable during the drive.
Red flags began two hours into the trip:
• We still hadn’t stopped for the promised “breakfast along the way.” When we mentioned it, our guide paid for breakfast out of his own pocket but said he was “unaware of the itinerary.”
Lake Nakuru was beautiful, and we enjoyed a great game drive thanks to our guide’s skill in spotting wildlife.
Then the problems began:
• On the way to Lake Naivasha, the guide asked for payment again, claiming Ezra told him we would pay in cash.
• He said he had used his own money for gas, breakfast, and Nakuru park fees but couldn’t pay for the rest.
• When I explained I’d already paid online, he insisted Ezra hadn’t given him the money.
• I called Ezra during the confrontation — he claimed payment would “show up in two days,” even though credit card payments are instant.
• This turned into shouting, finger-pointing, and accusations between the guide and the office.
From that point:
• The company stopped responding to all my messages. No apology, no explanation, no reimbursement.
• The guide pushed us to continue the safari and “pay as we went,” which we refused. We asked to return to Nairobi as we were afraid of being stranded.
What we paid for vs. what we got:
• Paid for: breakfast, lunch, boat tour, walking tour, three park entries.
• Got: one park entry, no lunch, no boat or walking tour, and an incredibly stressful experience.
While driving back, we checked other reviews and found multiple travelers describing this exact scam — same company, same guide, same story — and some lost even more money than we did.
Bottom line: This company is unreliable, unprofessional, and in our experience, dishonest. Save yourself the stress and book directly with reputable local drivers or a different company.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The tour is fraud
I experienced the same fraud as the below reviewer- including having a signed confession of fraud from him for several thousand dollars and him being arrested during our tour, he did not pay any money back.
CZ
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Avoid This Company – Lost €2,153 Due to Their Negligence
We booked our wedding safari with this company and had extensive communication — over 10 emails exchanged using their official email address — where we agreed on all the trip details. After everything was confirmed, we received a request for a 50% deposit, again from their same official email. Trusting this, we sent €2,153 to the account details provided.
Some time later, we received an email from telling us to contact them via WhatsApp. We then heard from them on WhatsApp, where they told us their email had been hacked. I have proof email regarding payment request, and WhatsApp communication confirming these facts.
During later discussions, instead of showing any regret or empathy, they told us it was our fault for sending the money — even though they admitted their own systems had been compromised. To make things even worse, they then demanded we pay the full price again — even higher than the previously agreed price — claiming that the lower price had not been agreed by them and that the “real” price is higher.
This is especially outrageous because this was meant to be part of the most important day of our lives — our wedding — and their attitude has completely ruined the experience before it even began.
Recommendation:
For your own safety and peace of mind, avoid this company at all costs. We lost our money, and instead of helping us find a fair solution, they blamed us, refused responsibility, and tried to charge us even more.
AE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Completely disorganised
I booked a 4 day safari through Mariam from Sipolio for 28/7 to 31/7. Everything went well during the booking process where I had to pay the money.
Then this is what happened:
• I was sent a contact for a driver who was supposed to pick us up at the airport. It was the wrong contact and someone else picked us up.
• Sideways tours sent a small 4 door car to pick up a family of 4? Why wasn’t a larger vehicle sent? The driver had to order a second car to take the rest of the luggage.
• When we met the safari driver it wasn’t the driver mentioned in the email
• When I asked the driver to check our bags there were only 3 bags in the safari car. The driver of the second car from the airport drove away with our 4th bag! He didn’t even get out of his car to check before he left.
• The safari driver wasn’t told which hotels we were going to and we had to tell him
• It wasn’t clear to him even if more people were coming on the trip with us. We waited and then he was told there would be another 2 people. He was then told there would be another person.
• He wasn’t told which hotels they were going to either.
• When we arrived at our hotel at 3pm in the afternoon, it was deserted and had obviously closed for many months. How could you book us into a hotel that was closed?????
• I called Mariam several times, but she never answered the phone. I emailed her but she didn’t answer the email. She only responded the next day at 7pm!!!!!!
• I then tried to call Sideways Tours who were responsible for the driver. Our "customer service manager" contact didnt answer the phone. I spoke to another who was very unhelpful and told me how it wasn’t the problem of Sideways Tours and there was nothing she could do. When I said I wanted to speak to the manager, she said he wasn’t available. He was “at home”. She refused to contact him or let me speak to him. Even better, then she hung up the phone.
• I was sent an email saying “Our transport manager is called Eric who is available on WhatsApp on +254717723305.” Why do you even bother sending this message if he is not available? Why do you write “Customer Success” in your emails?
• Our driver made several calls and eventually spoke to a lady called Susan from Mamu Tours who started to help us. She said that Sipolio is a sister company of Mamu Tours.
• She eventually found one small room for us in another hotel. We really appreciate that due to the urgency of the situation, but we booked 1 double and 1 twin room!
• I have to mention here that the driver did a great job solving all the problems throughout the trip and without him it would have been a mess.
You can make your own decision about whether you use this company.......
BR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Look elsewhere for your safari needs.
Do NOT recommend - Book your safari elsewhere
I've recently completed a 5-day safari with guide Richard from Mashindiko Adventure and I cannot recommend them. While the landscapes and wildlife in Tanzania were incredible, the logistical and behavioral issues with the staff made the experience stressful and, at times, genuinely frightening.
The Good
The safari itself was a memorable experience, and the natural beauty of the region was stunning. Great animal sightings, including leopards. The guide explained a lot of things, but we needed to ask most of the time since he was not proactive. We had no car issues besides the refrigerator, which was broken.
The Bad
The problems began almost immediately and escalated significantly toward the end of the trip.
Inadequate Itinerary & Guide: Guide kept trying to make changes to the safari plan without talking to us. On the 4th day, what was advertised as a full-day tour in Ngorongoro Crater was cut short to a half-day (we left at midday when the plan stated we should have stayed in the crater until 3pm). When we contacted the operator to complain, they said that this was the guide's fault for rushing, which felt like an unsatisfactory explanation for a service we paid for and no compensation was provided or suggested.
Space: The car was very packed and we had almost no space to move as we had a full car of 6 tourists + guide + cook. On top of the 8 passengers and their bags, we had to carry all camping and food gear inside the car, which makes it very packed and uncomfortable. Not having an auxiliary car also meant loosing game drive time to pack the car on camping days.
Food Issues: The quantity of food provided was consistently insufficient. My dietary restriction of no fish was ignored, and the protein portions were too small for our group of six (or eight during lunch). On the last day, we were told there was no more meat, which is unacceptable given the price paid and the fact that staff had been in town earlier that day. The car refrigerator was broken, so most of the time no cold drinks. Also, no wine was provided, despite the prospect saying that there would be.
Hostile Staff & Safety Concerns: The most disturbing events revolved around the staff's behavior. On the final day, the cook uncomfortably demanded a tip, physically blocking our departure until we paid him. Later, the driver became extremely angry when he learned we would not be tipping due to the poor service. He stopped the car on the highway, screamed, drove erratically, and attempted to drop us off at an unapproved location with a different driver. His refusal to contact our operator and his aggressive tone made us fear for our safety. At some point we even thought he was scheming some kind of kidnap and we had to involve gas station security to ensure we were not being put in a dangerous position. Thankfully at the end we met our airport transfer that was able to finally get in touch with our office and take us away safely.
Conclusion
The unprofessional and hostile behavior of the staff, particularly the guide, was a major concern. The experience turned from a safari into a frightening ordeal, and it is a situation no traveler should ever have to face. My group and I were left feeling unsafe and neglected by the company.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Signed a full confession that he defrauded us of the 8000USD
We paid 8000USD for a tour with Lucky lasting 9 days- when we arrived it turned out to be fraud. He signed a full confession of fraud and was arrested. He had not organised/paid for the tour despite taking the full payment from us upfrount. He is currently being seporately prosecuted by the botswanna tourism office.
Full Summary of each of the days:
Day 1 (Friday 13th June 2025)
Victoria Falls
-not given any plan for the day on the first day so we had no idea what was happening with the guide until we finally got through to Lucky on the phone
-hotel refusing to provide food for lunch or dinner as Lucky hadn’t arranged it or paid for it
-then no chef at lunch time so only sushi (which we had to pay for), then the taxi was late to take us down to the start of the Victoria falls walk.
-then half an hour of waiting for them to try to pay for entrance, until they said they couldn’t and we finally had to pay the 100USD for entrance ourselves despite this being agreed as included as part of the tour.
-then the hotel (N1 Hotel) said they’d not been paid so we had to wait for dinner until they were paid (which they still weren’t by Lucky)
-There was also no balcony in the hotel yesterday despite there being a balcony advertised in the itinerary for the first nights accommodation.
Thus- activities, food and accomodation (the contents of day 1's itinerary) all paid for by us.
Lucky agreed to refund the first day but never did.
2nd day (Saturday 14h June 2025)
-we wake up and the hotel said Lucky didn’t give them our breakfast order so the food had run out, and the hotel would not let us leave as Lucky hadn’t paid for the night's accommodation.
-We were then stuck waiting until midday (meant to leave at 9am for a game drive) until the driver came and we had to pay the hotel ourselves to be allowed to leave
-Only one car waiting at the border with Botswana not two as promised- so only the other family (not known to us but on a separate tour with Lucky's company) could use the car and we had to stay in the van.
-No lunch- had to buy our own and eat it in the back of the car.
-Missed both the game drives described in the itinerary- had to drive to the lodge in the freezing cold and pitch black.
-Only got half a single boat ride (only 1.5 hours not 3) as it started so late.
We arrived freezing cold to the accommodation after a 2 hour drive in the cold and dark from Chobe to the lodge.
Lucky agreed to refund the second day- witness statement of the hotel manager from the morning of the 15th taken.
3rd day (Sunday 15h June 2025):
-6 hours of driving as we needed to refuel, 1 game drive only (car has no speedometer- and was not road worthy) then the hotel was not booked so we had no hotel room, leaving us in the middle of the outback without anywhere to sleep, unsafe, with no dinner and he had not transferred the money back for days 1 and 2 when he said he would.
-Eventually the hotel owner who witnessed the above discussion regarding day 3 stepped in and explained Lucky was lying to us and that Lucky had not booked the hotel. We were stuck waiting for over an hour in the cold. At that time we begged the hotel owner to be able to sleep somewhere as we were unsafe and had no other choice, the owner agreed out of compassion but took Lucky's car keys and car battery as Lucky had not paid and did not have a booking, and we were not given anything to eat.
4th day (Monday 16th June 2025):
Unable to leave the lodge as Lucky had still not paid the owner, so his car keys remained confiscated by the hotel owner.
5th day (Tuesday 17th June 2025):
Finally released from Camp Savuti and went with Lucky to Maun Police station to report Lucky to the police - a 5 hour drive in the outback, the car broke down half way and had to be repaired with the help of a passing vehicle). Lucky was taken into custody for fraud by misrepresentation.
He has been charged with Fraud, he was imprisioned for 3 days, we have a full signed confession from him signed in the presense of his and our lawyers. He is seporately under investigation from the Botswanna Tourism Office.
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A bunch of deceptive individuals
Booked the tour via Get Your Guide. On the day of departure, the tour was cancelled for extremely vague reasons. We were told we'd be transferred to another tour operator, who doesn't even work through GYG and would require us to pay by card directly. Their website was unreachable — the whole thing felt completely off. Extremely poorly organised. It felt like we were being scammed. Do not do business with these people.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Lack of communication!
Hi there, I read Rio’s post about Grade One Tours using stalling and excuses to not do as they promised. Basically I paid them a deposit and after that they kept coming up with different excuses as to why nothing had been done! The whole time telling me that everything was going fine and on schedule. They were supposed to book hotels, and park fee for me and send me confirmation. But that never happened. They were also supposed to transfer money by bank or credit card to pay for flights but I only got delays and excuses. Finally they just stopped making contact via WhatsApp. Is what I’m hoping for is a final resolution to this order. If the trip is on do what you promised, is the trip isn’t going to work out, let me know and take the appropriate steps to fully refund my money. Thanks all I ask. I hope this will be helpful to future customers. Thanks Ryan
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Major Fraudulent Activity
We booked 10 days safari with them for Kenya and Tanzania. After paying 80% of the money- they stopped responding over email, call, whatsapp, instagram, facebook, linkedin. They just vanished!
I would recommend please stay away from them at all cost!