CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Very bad experience
I booked with them the half day Nairobi park tour (morning). Avoid this agency. Zero communications before the travel (need to send reminders to get an answer, they even forgot to inform half of the group about the need to buy in advance online the entry ticket for the park,…), then extremely late the day of the tour (late pick up, stopped at gas station on the way, at the park gate driver chatting with bystanders with the group waiting in the jeep, etc) it was supposed to be an early morning but we ended up entering the park essentially as the last ones of the morning, inevitably we didn't see any carnivores (to see them, prime time is in the morning). Other groups who entered earlier, saw quite a few lions. The guide didn't care. With so many agencies around, go with another one, the half day tur is not cheap (80 USD the park entrance fee plus the cost of the tour) and for that price you deserve better than that.
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Does not deliver what is paid for
Shocking from start to end - no qualified drivers or guide, food when travel not in cooler box we all got sick, no cold water , missed game drives, missed completely going to Lake MAnyara, vehicle breakdowns, waste of time in Nairobi, all in all a bitter disappointment for our guests and our company.
NAIROBI EXCURSION
DAY 7: 12/01/2025: NAIROBI EXCURSION - The only place we attended was the Giraffe Centre – none of the others we specifically asked to be arranged and were confirmed and paid for happened.
0630hrs: We were not picked up until after 9am and then taken to your office in Nariobi. We will pick you up and departs for Nairobi National park tour. Did not happen
1030hrs: You drive to David Sheldrake (baby elephant) where you will be able to play football and touch the baby elephants this is opened from 11am to 12noon. Did not happen
1200hrs: You break for lunch and we will drive you to Mamba Village (Crocodile farm) where you will have your hot lunch. Did not happen
1350hrs: You visit giraffe center where you will be able to kiss, touch and feed the giraffe this might take 2 hrs because it’s fun There 30mins and told by driver we had to go!!
1600hrs: We drives you back to the place of stay
Price: 150USD per person x 4 people = 600USD
Price Includes
- Transport
- Park fees
- Lunch
- All the game drives
13 DAYS KENYA, TANZANIA & ZANZIBAR COMBINE
PRE TOUR: 11 & 12/01/2025: ARRIVING IN KENYA NAIROBI
Our Safari adventure starts the Moment you land at Jomo Kenyatta international Airport, you will be met by our staff at the airport Our driver was waiting in the carpark we had to find him! and transferred to Nairobi in the peaceful surrounds of our comfortable pre and post safari accommodation in Nairobi Hotel which will be booked and paid by you. You can relax by the pool before your briefing with the Guides no briefing! who will provide the essential information for the safari or you can decide to have a Nairobi City excursion on a request. This did not happen until we were taken to the office and wasted time so missed our excursion as per the above booking not the invoice details which were wrong. – we were not told to bring USD cash – so had to go to an ATM and pay $48.00USD per $1000.00 USD in fees. This also meant I could not get any more money from an ATM for a month! We had asked and were told we could pay when we arrived by EFT.
DAY 1: 13/01/2025: NAIROBI- MASAI MARA
After breakfast from your hotel in Nairobi at 7am we will pick you up We were picked up at 9am and taken again to the office wasting time again!, Battery issues, stopped at a service station to get fixed 2hrs wasted again!! Did not arrive until 3pm – no lunch – no cold water in vehicle and no towels or toilet paper in tents!
. After lunch you will have the whole afternoon game drive until sun set. 2hr game drive
Dinner and overnight at Mara Miti Mingi Tented Camp.
Meals {Lunch& Dinner} Warm lunch no cold water – no cooler box, ended up with tummy problems.
DAY 2: 14/01/2025: MASAI MARA FULDAY
Balloon trip – we were told 450 USD included video – at the end of activity told we had to pay another 50 USD for the video – when Tomas asked Stephen he said we misunderstood which we did not as he told Linda and Greg while John and I were at the bank and then told all four of us it was included. Early morning breakfast then leave for a full day with packed lunch then proceed for a full day game drive in search of its popular animals like the well-known Big Five e.g. Elephant, Leopard, Rhino, Buffalo and Lion and predators e.g. lion, cheater, hyena, wild dogs etc. and their opponents like the Zebra, Wildebeest, Giraffe, Hippo and the dangerous Crocodiles with a visit to Mara river where you will have your lunch at migration point If we went to a migration point it was not pointed out to us. where the wildebeest migrating from Serengeti to Masai Mara and you will see migration taking place. Did not go to the river at all- spent time going to the lookout – we were not told what was happening or asked if we wanted to see anything particular – no info given to us. After lunch Warm lunch no cooler box!!you will continue with the game drive until Sunset then you will drive back to the camp. Back to camp at 3pm
Dinner and overnight at Mara Miti Mingi Tented. Food was terrible we all ended up with gastro
Meals {Breakfast, Lunch& Dinner}
DAY 3: 15/01/2025: MASAI MARA- LAKE NAKURU
An early morning game drive up to 9:30am did not happen in such of animals hunting, killings and eating after which you will come back for full breakfast you will have time to visit Masai Village extra cost again not told about this, also the “Masai Village” was not in the park but part of a normal community – so not like the one we saw last visit where they told us about life in the park. Not the same when it is next to houses and cars etc! and then depart for Lake Nakuru National Park arriving in time for lunch arrived after 2pm without a game drive. with game drive en-route to find leopard which are frequently sighted in Lake Nakuru Park. After lunch you leave for day game drive, take a further drive to seek out the 2 species of rhino found in the park. Lake Nakuru is known with many species of birds and thousands of flamingoes.
Dinner and Overnight at Lake Nakuru Citymax.
Meals {Breakfast, Lunch& Dinner}
DAY 4: 16/01/2025: LAKE NAKURU - AMBOSELI
Early morning game drive in search of animals then later return to the lodge for breakfast. After breakfast you leave for Amboseli National Park with hot lunch at Nairobi. Went to Lake Naviisha instead of Masi Game Drive – warm lunch again no stopping for break Arriving at Amboseli national park late evening with late evening game drive if time allows Arrived at Amboseli after 10pm - NOT acceptable driving in the dark on terrible roads late at night in the middle of nowhere, driver falling asleep at the wheel. which is famous for its scenery with a backdrop of snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro, which dominates the landscape, and open plains. Arrive late in the evening. 10pm -no dinner – Amboseli staff tried to call to see where we were no answer – we were not given any info on what was going on. No information given to us as to what was happening – Our guests very concerned by this time.
Dinner and Overnight at Amboseli Sentrim Safari Lodge.
Meals {Breakfast, Lunch& Dinner}
DAY 5: 17/01/2025: AMBOSELI FULDAY
Early morning games breakfast at 6:30am and leave the lodge with packed lunch warm lunch no cooler box! No cold water! for the full day game drive where you will spend time in the park in search of its popular residents like the well-known predators and their opponents like the Zebra, Wildebeest, Giraffe, and Hippo and Big Elephants with a view of Mt Kilimanjaro. Later return to your camp.
Dinner and overnight at Amboseli Sentrim Safari Camp. – Our driver was NOT a qualified guide and had no help for driving very dangerous.
Meals {Breakfast, Lunch& Dinner}
DAY 6: 18/01/2025: AMBOSELI –LAKE MANYARA
Early breakfast then proceeds for morning game drives exit the park and, we drive into Tanzania via the Namanga border. The park staff said we could drive through the park as other safaris were doing so out to the border – we went the long way around to the border arrived after 2pm and put into a car – no idea who it was or where we were being taken – NO information given to us as to what was going on, ended up at Charity hotel – NOT Lake Manyraa, where we were not expected (Lake Manyra Closed) we arrived after 6pm – NOT happy. We also pass-through Arusha to Lake Manyara National Park with lunch enroute. No lunch! Regardless of the direction we approach Manyara from, the view is always fantastic. We proceed to a camp for dinner and overnight stay. Lake Manyara is a shallow, alkaline lake that is part of the Rift Valley wall; the lake is at the base of this dramatic western escarpment giving it a beautiful and serene setting. In addition to this peaceful setting, Lake Manyara’s main attractions are its rich bird life, tree climbing lions and its hippos, which you can see at a closer range than many other places. Lake Manyara also hosts thousands of flamingos at certain times of the year and has diverse vegetation ranging from savannah, to marshes and acacia woodland, enabling a variety of wildlife habitats including butterflies.
Dinner and Overnight at Lake Manyara Jambo Camp. Did not even get to the park at all!
Meals {Breakfast, Lunch& Dinner}
DAY 7: 19/01/2025: LAKE MANYARA No Lake Manyara - SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK
Early morning game drive before taking your breakfast. After breakfast you leave Lake Manyara National Park with packed lunch then proceeds to Had breakfast and asked what happened next – found the vehicle – no information given to us again. Loaded vehicle and then went to another hotel where they rearranged the vehicle again! On road about 11am! Blow out – unloaded vehicle again! No Jack waited for someone to stop to help, back to hotel to get replacement tyre, unloaded and reload AGAIN! On to Serengetti – clutch on vehicle dry – no wipers on drivers side, bolt on back axle broke. Said we wanted a replacement car – and a qualified guide. Serengeti national park. Game is viewed as we proceed to the campsite for dinner and overnight stay.
Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Seronera Camp.
Meals {Breakfast, Lunch& Dinner}
DAY 8: 20/01/2025: SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK NATIONAL PARK
Half a day in the park due to vehicle breaking down and Full day spent exploring the park. Serengeti is Africa’s most famous and Tanzania’s largest park covering 14,736 sq km and is adjoining with the Masai Mara National reserve in Kenya.
Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Seronera Camp
Meals {Breakfast, Lunch& Dinner}
DAY 9: 21/01/2025: SERENGETI - NGORONGORO CRATER Vehicle broke down on way out, put into another vehicle who then dropped us at a curios shop, pickup again and taken to a coffee shop, then taken to a hotel NOT Lake Manyara as planed – missed another game drive
After an early breakfast, we drive south to the magnificent Ngorongoro crater enter into the crater for a full day crater tour with packed lunches ascend the crater and drive to Simba campsite for dinner and overnight stay The Ngorongoro crater is the world’s biggest whole volcanic caldera at 8300 sq km and is arguably the most stunning arena. It is frequently described as one of the wonders of the world, not only because of its geological magnificence, but also because it serves as an extraordinary natural sanctuary for some of Africa’s largest populations of large mammals.
Dinner and overnight at Ngorongoro Simba Camp
Meals {Breakfast, Lunch& Dinner}
DAY 10: 20/01/2025: NGORONGORO – ARUSHA – ZANZIBAR Went for early game drive in Lake Manyara – vehicle broke again sat in park waiting for help for 2hrs no time to have a game drive – had to get other vehicle to take us to Kilimanjaro Airport Airport - the driver was going to take us to Arusha Airport as pre instructions from 7 wonders – but Pride of Africa had organized from Kilimanjaro Airport – the only reason the driver knew about this was because we asked what was happening that day!
No Game Drive again.
Early morning game drive before breakfast, after breakfast you will leave at leisure then drive to Arusha with lunch en-route then your driver will then whisk you to the airport for your flight to Zanzibar. Not informed we would need USD again- or about the fact that our travel insurance was not enough in Zanzibar had to pay another $44UDS each at the airport you should be aware of this for your clients
Overnight at Cristal Resort and Spa
Meal Plan {Breakfast & Lunch}
DAY 11: 23/01/2025: ZANZIBAR FULL DAY
DAY 12: 24/01/2025: ZANZIBAR FULL DAY
DAY 13: 25/01/2025: ARUSHA – BACK HOME
After breakfast you will be transferred to the airport for your flight back home
Not told about the Infrastructure Tax we would have to pay as we left the hotel – you should be aware of this for your clients
PRICE: 2600USD per person x 4 people = 10400USD
Tour Price Includes:
• At no time were we told what was happening ie suddenly stopping to go to your office twice!!
• Full board accommodation whilst on safari.
• Meal plan as described, B=Breakfast, L=Lunch and D=Dinner. Food was terrible all of us got tummy problems from warm food – when it should have been cold and warm water.
• Accommodation in double or twin rooms.
• All park entrance fees to include government taxes and service of an English-speaking professional driver/guide. Unqualified guide and driver in Kenya – no information given to us anywhere.
• Game drives as detailed in the itinerary. Did not happen at all
• Exclusive transport in a safari 4x4 safari van in Kenya not suitable and driver not a qualified guide or confident driver and Jeep in Tanzania with open roof with a game viewing roof hatch and UHF radio. It was not a Jeep and did not have a radio that worked, or wipers, clutch and basically dangerous. Should be in a condition that copes with the task and mechanically sound, and a driver that can and will give information not drive with no communication at all unless asked and then did not seem to know much to tell us.
• Bed and breakfast accommodation at Cristal Resort Zanzibar
• One way flight to Zanzibar from Arusha NOT Arusha Airport as our driver was going to take us, just as well we asked.
• Recommended Mineral Water while on safari NO cooler box in vehicle no drinks offered – when asked given warm water!
• Airport Pick up and drop off
• Transport and game drives as indicated in the itinerary Nothing like the itinerary at all
• Champaign wine at Observation hill in Amboseli – Did not get this either
• Large portions of fresh, healthy, nutritious food – The food was sub standard and not kept at correct temperature as no cooler box in Kenya all of us developed upset tummy and nausea
• We were not told that when applying for visa’s that you should not apply too early as the 3mths visa is from the date of booking not the date of travel! Had to get visas twice!
The price does not include:
• Tips
• Visa
• Visiting Masai Village
• Laundry
• Drinks
• Items of a personal nature
To Sum up the whole trip was a nightmare – with no qualified drivers or guides sub-standard vehicles, I was told vodacom worked in Kenya and Tanzania it does not so we had no way to contact anyone. When asked for a vehicle replacement told could not happen, dangerous to have vehicles that breakdown and drivers not qualified as game guides.
I have had to refund my clients their costs and feel you should reimburse us as this was totally unacceptable as a safari supposedly with decent vehicles, personnel, food and accommodation.
Interesting from Godson – NOT Qualified!!!
Hello mom, I hope you are doing well. How are you doing? I have an issue, and that's right now as I'm writing to this message, I'm jobless and have absolutely nothing to do. The jeep we were traveling with that day, is no longer working it's got a problem. So because of that, the company gave me a holiday and a few weeks later they are not in touch with me anymore. Now that I'm not working i have decided that I'm going to take a course in any college to equip myself with enough knowledge about wildlife. The problem is , currently I'm not financially stable, so, I'm kindly asking for your support to make this happen so that I can get back to my job after studies. Share this with your friend Linda.
Godson.
JP
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I paid and they didn't deliver. I felt scammed
Be Aware
The person from Good One Tour has been arrested by tourist police recently.
I was scammed by this operator and visited Arusha tourist police to make a report in January 2026.
According to Arusha torist police, they have been chasing Mr. Gadiel from Good One Tour for long.
This company never paid hotel and guide company.
A part of tour wasn’t arranged and I couldn’t get service though I already paid.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incapable of correcting problems in a proffesional way
We went on a 7 day budget camping Safari with Makini. On day 1 we found out that the order of the parks had been changed, no one ever tolled us until we were already in the jeep. We booked a camping safari because we love camping and we were looking forward to camp for 4 days. The first day they brought us to a lodge without checking if that was okay with us. This happend again in day 4. The driver/chef were always late, this caused us to start the game drives very late (costs us valuable park time). The driver/guide lied to us about his experience, he said it was 3 years but really it was 9 months. When we contacted the company about this to ask for a partial refund (50-100 usd pp) they refused. They blamed us and told us that everything had been payed so they could not give us anything. They also said that we agreed to stay in a lodge : “you said you would like that”, that conversation never happened. After ignoring us for days (I called multiple times) they agreed to give us 25 usd pp, only 2,5% of what we payed for the safari!!! We refused to except this!
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Appaling, I advice you avoid them!
My advice is that you AVOID!! ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE! My holiday was ruined by continual arguments, over the entire 2 weeks, with Claudious Tours and Safaris about repayment for the money they extracted from me, as cash loans (yes they borrowed $730 from me to pay their Guide Team and National Park admission fees that were already included in my holiday!) and various payments for hotels and meals that were part of my "inclusive" package but which they insisted I pay for again.
I am home now, still owed $130 by them, but what really annoys me is that what should have felt like major personal achievements (climbing Mt Kenya and Kilimanjaro) have been totally overshadowed by Claudious reps appalling attitude and the complete absence of any sort of apology - clearly their customers are always wrong!
RO
50-65 years of age
Very poor and careless service
We have booked with this agency a tour of Johannesburg in January. It was on our way back home from Kruger Park that we had a whole day and booked a cultural city tour with this agency for our family of 3. They asked for a down payment of 35% when booking some weeks in advance and for the full payment of the balance before the tour start. We did so - they were supposed to send us a payment link for the balance one week before the tour but they forgot, we noticed them and we paid. In the morning of our tour, the weather at Nelspruit Airport was bad and our flight was cancelled so we could not make it to arrive to Johannesburg at the previewed hour. We even had to rent a car and drive for more than 4 hours so as to be sure we get in time for our flight back home in Europe. I wrote them a message right after the cancellation of the flight was announced, let them know that we could not make it and kindly asked them whether we could be reimbursed all of part of the Euro 250 cost of the tour. They did not answer for a week or so. After few kind follow ups, they replied, they said they will inquire again internally, I waited for another 2 weeks, made follow ups again. Long story short, they not even bothered to answer something. Not to say that they did not announced us that in case of cancellation due to a non-attributable reason they will not reimburse anything. Anyhow, a very poor service, a clear careless agency related to its clients and absolutely no sympathy or courtesy for its clients. I am even more surprised they have such high ratings. My recommendation - be careful if you book with them and never pay the balance before the tour (as they request).
CN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Horrible experience
We paid a total of $1,440 for a four-day trip. On January 5th, when we arrived at the entrance of Serengeti National Park in the afternoon, we were informed at 5 PM that we could not enter because the tour company had not paid the entrance fees. Even by the payment deadline that day, the fees remained unpaid. After extensive negotiations and communication, and upon receiving a guarantee, the national park allowed us to enter first. The fees were later paid.
On the afternoon of January 7th, when we were scheduled to leave the Serengeti and proceed to Ngorongoro National Park, we were stopped again at the Serengeti park entrance at 3 PM because the tour company had not paid the fees for Ngorongoro National Park. We waited at the Serengeti park entrance until 8 PM, but the tour company still did not make the payment. As overnight stays are not permitted at the Serengeti park entrance, we were allowed to enter the Simba Camp in Ngorongoro National Park at around 8:20 PM, finally arriving at approximately 1:30 AM on January 8th.
Throughout this period, the tour company repeatedly assured us they would pay the fees but kept delaying until noon. After that, they became completely unreachable.
After we got to the the tourism police station.We spent the whole days there to try to get our money back.A guys showed up at the end he gave us 100 dollars back each and promised to send us the rest of the money by transfer . But until today I still have not get it .
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredibly unprofessional tour operator ruined my entire day
Daudi was incredibly unprofessional - he did not arrive on time for my agreed upon scheduled pickup nor responded to any of my subsequent texts or phone calls over the next hour. Eventually, I gave up on my dream safari and missed the scheduled 6 am train.
Only then did Daudi respond, eventually showing up at my hotel 3 hours late, after I was resigned to frantically finding a new tour operator last minute for my last free day available of my business trip.
I believe I may have been scammed - Daudi asked for all of the cash upfront the week prior (thankfully I declined), sent me WhatsApp photos of his supposed IDs promising that I could keep them as insurance (the birth dates did not match), and did not offer or return my deposit.
I would strongly encourage other travelers to select a more reliable tour operator to ensure that your dream safari comes true as scheduled!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Worst Experience Ever
I believe this ccompany could be fraudulent and running illegally with a revoked tourist license. Please I recommend do not book here under any circumstance I cannot express how much I regret doing so as at the time I had booked they had a valid tourism license that was revoked for using unlicensed guides/vehicles which is exactly what had happened to me. I did not receive the itinerary, vehicle, or driver I had paid for. I was told that my original driver and vehicle was in an accident the day before which I was initially very accommodating of but did not realize that the company had lost their license for this exact bait and switch. This company also runs under the name Thinkscene Services LTD which is how I learned about the revoked tourist license as naturally this was not disclosed to me. I personally did not receive the itinerary planned and initially the company offered me a refund of $250 which was not at all adequate for what I had paid. I had to fight tooth and nail for this refund for over 2 months and the company still shorted me $72 on this $250 due to 'wire transfer fees' and issues with accounting. 4 months later I'm still so mad about the complete disregard shown by Philip that I'm choosing now to write this review.
After posting the review the operator has offered and paid the rest of my refund owed to me. I would like to note that despite multiple requests and asks to get this prior to posting the review he refused to credit what he had originally promised repeatedly and blamed his internal team even though he is the owner of the company. I do not feel this refund adequately reflects the amount of things that went wrong on the tour either.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unprofessional
We paid $1,200 for a 3-day Masai Mara safari and had a very disappointing, and at times, unsafe experience.
The guide provided little actual guiding or group management. For most of the trip, the vehicle felt like a party bus rather than a professional safari.
More concerning were the safety issues:
• the guide drank beer before driving
• frequently used his phone while driving
• failed to manage disruptive behavior
• at the end of the trip, we were dropped off at a gas station on the side of the highway and told to take an Uber instead of being transported to our accommodation as arranged.
The company later acknowledged the problem and suspended the guide, but refused any refund or compensation.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime trip that fell far below professional standards. I would not book with them again.