CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
All good except Zanzibar
We did the 14 day safari, 3 camps in Kenya and 3 in Tanzania, finishing with 3 nights in Zanzibar. The accommodations were superb as were the jeeps. The Kenyan guides were great and made sure that we had opportunities to see all of the animals. The Tanzanian guides were very kind and did their best for us but unfortunately their English wasn’t great. This meant that our opportunities to ask questions and learn were limited.
Unfortunately things fell apart in Zanzibar. When we arrived at the resort we found that Right Choice had not paid for the accommodations. The resort obviously wanted to be paid so was unwilling to provide rooms until payment was made. That meant that one of our party had to provide a guarantee for payment while “negotiations” ensued with George for payment. Many promises and excuses were provided until finally payment came through some days after we’d checked out. Ultimately no one in our group was out any money but this left a sour taste. I would suggest that there’s a good chance that Right Choice is suffering from financial difficulties. With all the safari choices out there, it might be wise to go with someone else.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Efficient
Agent was efficient, pricing was fair. However, subcontracted driver was not well qualified in offroad driving nor safari guiding.
NZ
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Much room for improvement
Hi,
I did a group tour with Jocky Tours and Safaris: 7 Days Masai mara/Nakuru/Naivasha/Amboseli. This was my first ever safari, and I followed this with another safari in Tanzania and a Mt Kenya hike with a third company. This safari I rated 3/5 stars, the Tanzania safari 2/5 stars and the Mt Kenya hike 5/5 stars, and I’ll tell you why. Firstly the pickup was 40 minutes late and the excuse was an obvious lie - said to be a car crash but there were alternative routes and the route that was said to have had a car crash had no signs of one (we went this way after he picked me up). This wasted time and waiting around unfortunately was the main theme for this safari - very frustrating. Other team members were often staying at different accommodation and we spent much time just driving between accommodation on dreadful “roads” that had been washed out by recent flooding but also waiting on others to join the vehicle over and over! For example, waiting for nearly an hour outside the Masai Mara gate for one person to join the rest of us. This person was also waiting at his accommodation (under instruction) while we were all waiting for him! Such stupidity of logistics that could so easily be avoided. And we could have driven into the park and looked at the wildlife while we waited for him there and he could have joined us by getting a lift in another company vehicle but no! What really grinded my gears is that the best times of the day for viewing wildlife in action, and in the best light for just viewing and for photography are early in the day and late in the day, and these times and opportunities were repeatedly wasted. I thought perhaps this company was just a bad egg, but the safari in Tanzania was worse - mainly because of the guide who talked bullshit answers when he didn’t know the answers - I happen to be an ecologist who has worked in multiple countries so I often knew more than he did and when he didn’t know what he was talking about. The guide on Mt Kenya said he didn’t know the answers to my questions sometimes and I respected this honesty. Big cats were the priority by far but some people really want to see other wildlife too like elephants, giraffes and birds. We spent a lot of time driving past magnificent wildlife just to watch lions sleeping. My recommendations to Meru Slopes unless you want people to choose other companies like I wish I had: don’t waste peoples time and take advantage of being on safari during the early hours from dawn and then again in the last few hours of daylight. The middle of the day is terrible for wildlife action and photography. Ask people what animals they want to see rather than assuming lions are #1 for everyone. Choose guides that are local (driving a 4WD isn’t that hard, and the Masai people should be employed as the Masai Mara was their land) and perhaps also with relevant degrees in ecology for example - although the local Masai already have a culture of knowledge regarding the wildlife there. This tour has such potential and variety. Until these changes are made I recommend trying a different company or paying more for a private safari.
Cheers,
Grant
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Game / guide great, food did not meet quoted standard
We undertook a 6-day five-night Safari for three adults and three children opting for package B out of three choices. The difference between A and B was the provision of toilet/shower enclosure behind the tents and an enhanced meal package. Although the food provided was good, it fell well short of that outlined in the itinerary. Cereal and scrambled egg for breakfast, no brunch, a cooked lunch, no afternoon tea and only a one course evening meal not the three advertised i.e soup, main and sweet . Only on one evening we did had a sweet.
Particularly disappointing was the absence from the package of the night drive.
When I raised this with Mark on our return, he " express(ed) our sincere apologies for the mix-up- it was our mistake and we are completely responsible for it" .
He stated that our guide Voice, who was absolutely great, had said we were not keen to do the night drive. In fact I had asked about it and was told it had not been arranged.
"For meals we will refund you $350."
I pointed out that the difference between the two packages amounted to around $1,600 and that in fact our meal package did not even meet the standard set out in package A, but did include the toilet/shower enclosure which surely didn't amount to $1,600?
Mark's final response was " the camping standard was the one you booked and you were not happy about the standard of the food which was breakfast" despite his earlier acknowledgement and apology.
The game drives themselves were excellent but that would have been the case whoever we had booked as the area itself was fantastic.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
The country had beautiful wild life. The city exposure was not very pleasant to experience.
The wildlife safari was an awesome experience. There were so many animals I was able to see.
AE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Budget Accommodation
Booked for a 3 night stay. The Lodge was comfortable but the room I was assigned was very jaded and dark with strange lighting and fixtures. The food was decent though the menu could have been altered more frequently. Staff efficient and pleasant. Its the old room that was an annoyance and seriously needs an upgrade. The photos on the tour operator's site does not give a true picture. Otherwise the tours were decent though the tour to the sights within the park was underwhelming and this can be substituted for something else.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great holiday booking, lack of support during holiday
I'll start by saying that we had an amazing experience and loved our holiday. Secret Namibia were helpful and patient with our requirements and booked an amazing trip for us. What left us sad was the lack of care and support that we received in the immediate run up to the trip and during it. We had to ask for a detailed itinerary in the days before our departure (which turned out to be little more than a list of where we were booked ie it didn't include any useful information about transfers, timings, what to expect, what tipping was etc etc), and we were told we would receive a printed version on our arrival (we never received anything). They suggested a transfer from our hotel in Windhoek the morning of our departure, for which we were charged the equivalent of £70 for a 5 min ride in a friend's car where the mess had to be moved off the back seat to allow us to sit down, and were we were just dumped in the airport car park with no further instructions. When we had delays and problems during the trip our pilot and his company had to solve the issues himself and Secret Namibia contacts us to 2 days later to say they hoped we were ok, but with no apology for non contact. For a trip of a lifetime, Secret Namibia are the only part that we feel let down with. Go to Namibia, but perhaps find another agency to book it through.
DK
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Maria
We went here on our last day and had luckily already seen everything we had hoped to see, because we only saw monkeys, a few impalas, zebras, elefants and two lions here.
NL
Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A bit over-promised
All in all it was ok. The bus from Joburg to Hoedspruit was small, packed and warm. It had a flat tire when we left.
The 3 hour sunset tour felt a bit stingy as we were the only vehicle that looked worn out and we didn’t have any wine or beer during the snack moment. Only soft drinks and water. The other cars were very well taken care of with nice glasses etc.
The tour guides were amazing though.
HK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent guide but Jastro has to be more detail minded
We decided to book a safari tour with Jastro with their competitive quote. Before paying them, everything was good and smooth. And yet after deposit communication became difficult. They were quite irresponsive so you had to keep texting them if you had any requests or changes. They made several mistakes in bookings. Eg originally we rent 2 binoculars and 2 cameras and it turned out only 1 of each were available… it was a pretty big miss
But wells our driver Jonathan was very experienced and we saw the big 5 in 2 days! Highly recommend him to be your safari guide