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!
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The dishonest business operator secretly changed the hotel without informing me.
The quotation stated that it was a high-end hotel with beautiful photos attached. After paying the deposit, they booked a hotel with a similar name but of a completely different grade. We didn't inform the hotel in advance that it had been changed. Moreover, incorrect information was provided in the itinerary given to the driver later. After contacting the person in charge, I was told that she had sent me the hotel reservation form, but I didn't notice it myself. It was a really bad experience.A total of three hotels were reserved, but two of them were changed to lower-grade ones! This is just too outrageous!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Total scam
We paid about 7 months in advance half the cost for Mark from Gorilla Holidays to get our permits. Then on arrival I paid the remainder in cash. When we arrived to Bwindi, it turned out he didn't buy the permits, so we lost $3200 for the 4 of us. He also didn't pay for the last lodge and I had to pay for it or they wouldn't let us go. So you can imagine, coming all the way to Uganda to see gorillas, do all the travel across the country to Bwindi to find out that there were no permits. Mark promised to refund us, but a month later there is nothing and he told me "it's a lot of money." I bet it is. To get a reliable operator, as I found out too late, you should go to the Bwindi NP site and they have a list there. And we are not the only people that Gorilla Holidays did this too.
TH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Bad experience think twice book with Rajatour
Disappointing Experience – Poor Organization and Lack of Transparency
I booked a 9-day, 8-night trip to Kenya and Tanzania for a group of 6 people, and partially paid the deposit since February. The package was supposed to include all accommodations and meals throughout the trip. While everything in Kenya went smoothly, the experience in Tanzania was extremely disappointing.
• On the day we entered Tanzania, I was suddenly informed by RajaTour (the operator) that all our previously selected and confirmed hotels had been changed — without any prior notice. I was only told after we had already arrived in the country.
• The guide was unexpectedly switched to a new person who seemed confused and unfamiliar with the route. It took us 1–2 hours just to find the hotel on the first day.
• The hotels were downgraded, with the excuse that our original 4-star hotels were “fully booked”, despite our early reservation and deposit.
• For the last two days, the vehicle was changed from a proper 4x4 safari car to a small Toyota Noah — again, without any prior agreement. Not ideal for a safari trip, especially when traveling with luggage.
• On the final night, we were suddenly told that dinner was not included, despite the package clearly stating that all meals were covered.
I had to chase and negotiate with the operator every single day just to get the basics of what we had already paid for. It was exhausting and took away from the experience.
If you’re planning a trip and want peace of mind, I would suggest not to book with Rajatour.
This should have been a memorable and enjoyable trip — instead, we were left frustrated and disappointed. For the price we paid, we certainly didn’t deserve this kind of treatment.
TH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
very bad
I had a very disappointing experience with Rajatours (Tanzania side). The coordination was extremely poor from the start — our itinerary was changed almost every day without clear communication. Hotels were consistently downgraded from what was originally promised. The package was supposed to include all meals and drinking water, but that was not the case. We barely had any drinking water during the day, and on some evenings, dinner was not provided at all.
What made things worse was the lack of transparency. We never knew which hotel we were staying in until late in the day, and they were always of lower quality than agreed upon. The worst part of the trip was when our group of six was moved from a proper safari vehicle to a small, cramped car simply because no guide was needed that day. Four of us had to squeeze into the backseat with our luggage on our laps — it was completely unacceptable.
This was not the standard we expected or paid for. Rajatours needs serious improvement in communication, logistics, and customer care. I would not recommend this experience to others unless the company takes meaningful steps to improve its service.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Please please please believe all the negative reviews as they are sadly true!
I was hoping so badly that we would not be one of the groups writing this review, but we also lost our money to this company. They stole our deposit of $12,956.40 and asked us to find lodgings, pay park entrances, and pay for the drivers and fuel ALL OVER AGAIN. We had this trip planned since 2023 and paid the money in April 2024. By the time we came across all the negative reviews in 2025, it was too late for us. This company was once stellar but that is no longer. The customer service we had was horrendous. Esther was our contact, and she was non-responsive. We not only had them taking our money, but then we had to provide the itinerary OURSELVES to the drivers since she couldn't even do as much as that the night before we were supposed to go on our safari. It was a nightmare experience. Thankfully, the second tour operators we worked with were much better, and we only dealt with NKWS on the first 3 days. I would highly recommend you try to get your money back if you have the time. If not, then you will probably be in the same boat as us. They e-mailed us TWO DAYS before our trip to tell us we owed the money again by the way. During busy season! This company needs to be shut down and no longer allowed to book tours for people!
