AT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very great experience
Everything was very good our guide was very cool we see a lot of animals
Mr kapande
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Seamless and helpful
Our experience with Serengeti Smiles has been nothing short of amazing. From the start of the booking process, through to our incredible time with Zachary, our guide. Zachary has been phenomenal. He has illustrated immense knowledge of the African wildlife and ecosystem, and was able to answer any question we had! We also saw the big 5 which was such a happy surprise for us, as we know the leopard and rhino are hard to see. Zachary did everything in his power to get us there, even when we know animals have a mind of their own! We felt safe driving with him, which was so important. The tour overall was great. Loved the accomodation and food! I highly recommend the mid range and private tour. My fiance and I had the most amazing time. Thank you Serengeti Smiles!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Kind, knowledgeable, helpful, and communicative.
The afro dawn safaris team guided us through the devils pool experience including a pickup in Zimbabwe, cross border transfer to Zambia, and return to Zimbabwe. All was taken care of and the guides were all kind and communicative, including ensuring we were on the first boat so we could return for our flight in the afternoon.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing experience with Almighty Kilimanjaro
It was a pleasure doing the Kilimanjaro trek with Almighty, they were super responsible, and couldn't recommend them highly enough. My guide John was a pleasure to chat to everyday, he shared a lot about the culture, responded to any questions I had and kept me safe. The meals were absolutely amazing, the tent in perfect conditions and the whole team was delightful, I felt part of the team and welcome.
DE
nice
The tour it self was really nice!! The Accommodation is really simple but for budget travellers totally fine and the people are kind.
HR
You must do that!!
So beautifull experience..Guide are so kind and proffesional..
View is beautiffu, nature is also very nice..
Klimatization cars...helps on the boarder..
Take visa on airport for both sides, zambija only adult, Zimbabve for adult and child..
❤️thank you guys..
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing experience with Afro Dawn
We had an amazing group trip with Afro Dawn Safaris from Victoria Falls to Chobe, Nata, and the Okavango Delta. Everything was perfectly organized, and all our requests were handled quickly. Our guide Paul was professional, friendly, and made the journey unforgettable. Paul was patient considering it was a group trip attending to each individual needs to precision.
Highly recommended!!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great day trip to Chobe. Highly recommended
Booked the trip online and the experience was exceptional from prompt hotel pick up time to well a maintained vehicle for the trip to Botswana border from Victoria Falls. Casper, our driver for the day made an excellent host, friendly, respectful and impressively spoke 7 languages. He effortlessly put us at ease through the border process through his checking and explanations of what to expect. I would highly recommend doing your Chobe day trip with Fuhara Safaris.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great guidance with loads of knowledge and providing comfort and safety
The safari was great. We went for 6 days, saw Amboseli, naivasha, Nakuru and masai Mara. Josh (our guide) was incredibly friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. He answered all of our questions, gave clear agendas, showed flexibility and showed us everything we needed. We saw the big five due to Josh ‘ great planning and communication within the parks. Travel organization was smooth and lodges were great, better than expected! Would definitely recommend’
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Poor communication, unclear terms, and inconsistent service
We communicated with Frank prior to booking the tour and initially everything seemed fine. We tailored the itinerary together and eventually agreed on a trip. Before paying the deposit, we specifically asked for the cancellation terms and conditions. These stated that cancellations made more than 120 days prior would incur a maximum fee of USD 300 per person cancelled. There was no mention of hotel cancellation penalties. Based on this, we paid the deposit in March 2025 for a trip scheduled for the end of December 2025.
Originally three people were travelling. On 19 August, before the 120-day period, I informed the agency that one person had to cancel. When the revised pricing was eventually provided, it included a hotel cancellation penalty that had not been mentioned in the original terms. It also took several months and repeated follow-ups to receive the revised price, which only arrived on 8 December, just weeks before departure. By then, we felt uncomfortable but had already paid a substantial deposit and could not change plans.
Upon arrival in Nairobi, Frank picked us up at the airport, though there was no sign displayed by Destinations Kenya Safari. The safari itself was outsourced to another company, Super Eagles, and our driver/guide was Derick.
In Amboseli, we were supposed to stay three nights at Sopa Lodge but were instead taken to Penety for the first night due to an alleged overbooking. We were not informed of this change in advance and only learned of it from the driver. Penety is a lower-standard property than Sopa, with an approximate price difference of USD 100, which was not refunded.
On the morning of 27 December, just before starting the trip, Frank informed us that our Masai Mara accommodation needed to be changed due to an issue involving snakes, we did not fully understand, but we were flexible, provided the replacement was a tented camp. It took three days to receive an alternative, which we did not find suitable. We then researched options ourselves on Booking.com and suggested two camps. One of these was discouraged by our guide due to access and flooding concerns, and we selected the other. Because the booking had to be handled by the agency, we could not benefit from the discounted rate on booking.com. We were informed that the hotel cancellation fees of the first hotel were refunded to the agency; however, we did not receive any corresponding refund.
We later learned that typical safari schedules include both early morning and afternoon/dusk game drives as these are the peak times to see the animals. In our case, we were often back at camp by 2–3pm with no late afternoon drive. On our third Masai Mara day, after the hot air balloon activity, a full day game drive was part of the programme but initially not offered until we specifically requested it.
Derick was generally punctual, a capable driver, and the vehicle was decent. However, there were instances that raised concerns about transparency, including having no change very conveniently and charges that seemed high. For example, we paid USD 120 for two people in Lake Naivasha for a one-hour boat ride and a one-hour land tour (not Crescent Island) - because no official prices were displayed, we had no way of verifying whether these charges were standard - and USD 30 for a simple roadside lunch. We were only informed after eating that the lunch was not included.
While we enjoyed Masai Mara, we frequently observed vehicles going off-road and large numbers of cars surrounding single animals, including situations where rangers were present. We observed money being exchanged between drivers and rangers. This gave us the clear impression that enforcement of reserve rules was inconsistent. Sometimes 10 vehicles would be surrounding one animal or following them to the point of disrupting what they were doing. We would ask our driver to leave that animal in those cases.
Positively, the food quality was good, accommodations were generally comfortable, and the wildlife and landscapes were exceptional.
We also noticed after our trip that many of the agency’s high-rating Google reviews come from profiles with only one review and limited detail, which made it difficult for us to assess their reliability.
We doubt this review will change any of the quality of the services provided, but we wanted to leave an honest review regardless.
In conclusion, while the trip itself was interesting and we saw everything we hoped to see, the organisation and communication - particularly on the agency side - were poor. Only because we saw everything and had good accommodation and food this is a 2-star review rather than 1.
