50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Poor selection of subcontracted safari guide, disorganized and inacurate information.
We selected Travel Partners Ltd. though not the most economical because of our initial correspondence with them. Belen was good to work with and did her job well. However, she was in a difficult position as her company was not as professional as she. Most safari companies do not require 50% upfront as do Travel Partners. Before leaving the U.S. we asked if a Bank (cashiers) check for the second half would be OK, and were told in writing that yes a check would be fine. Once in Africa ready to begin our safari they informed that a check was not OK after all and asked for funds to be wired instead. It is very difficult to wire internationally from the U.S. if not there to sign. Travel Partners pushed Belen to push us for the wire everyday during our safari. Most U.S. banks would not have been able to comply, fortunately we had an account at an institution that once all international requirements were met were able to wire. This issue was unnecessary, and caused needless stress. -- We tailor planned a safari to visit several parks in Tanzania spending most of the time in Serengeti including the north Mara area to see the Wilde-beast crossing. Our driver although pleasant was unprofessional and a very poor driver. We had two vehicle accidents during our 5 day safari, one could have been very serious, both were driver related. The vehicle and the driver had been subcontracted by Travel Partners. The vehicle was only in fair condition, (it caused permanent damage to luggage). One accident was a near head on collision at high speed with another safari vehicle (thick dust impaired sight), loss of exterior mirror and severe body damage to the entire length of the vehicle resulted from the accident. It was that close to being very serious. Due to the accidents, we had to ride with other safari drivers until our driver could repair our vehicle enough to continue. We had two experiences in other safari vehicles with other drivers, both were far superior drivers to ours, and the vehicles were in better condition (they even had cold water in the cooler, we did not - sometimes we did not have water at all.) A flight from central Serengeti to Zanzibar was part of our itinerary. Our flight was to leave Serengeti at 11:00 a.m. and arrive Zanzibar at 2:00 p.m. via Arusha. Although not the fault of Travel Partners, the flight was delayed both at Serengeti and in Arusha, so we arrived at 6:00 pm causing a loss of 4 hours in Zanzibar - Belen said she would try to get some compensation from the airline if possible.
--In spite of the above mentioned incidents, we enjoyed the experience. The accommodations were charming, and we were able to see so many animals. Serengeti is very beautiful!
--Overall, I would suggest looking at another safari company to plan your safari. The wonderful experience of being in Tanzania and the parks was not the result of Travel Partners, it was Tanzania itself. A different company could enhance the experience rather than inhibit it.
TR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The hotel was changed to a very bad one with no info ,no resv made for the night we arrived,norefun
We planned, communicated through mail, skyp for months.
We told our expectations and hotels we wanted very clearly,many times.
The day before our arrival, upon our call to the agency learned that the hotel at Zanzibar wasnt available, it was changed to a place which is like a hostel.After a 7 hr flight,2 hr drive, we arrived that place at 4 midnight and found out that no resv made for that night.We paid the sama amount that was told, eventhough it was a ver bad cheap hotel, no refunds was offered.
We were not given any proper info about the road conditions and distance in terms of hours, between parks
So the trip was very tiring and far below our expectations
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
not recommendable
Arrangements before starting the trip were managed well. The trip started with a delay of 2,5 hours. No explanations were provided, neither an information about the timing of the later departure. The accommodation in the tent lodge was not good at all: the mosquito net was not arranged, the bathroom was really dirty, food was acceptable, service personal rather rude. The bus we were transported in was not comfortable and noisy. The driver drove safely, was friendly and adapted to our wishes along the game drive. The game drive was nice as the wildlife we could observe was stunning.
PH
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
MT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Perfect service and management on the steps of booking; nothing to see and to do on place.
I booked 3-day-2-night mokoro trip, and it was the most expensive and the most disappointing part of my 16-day-travel. To start from good, the manager, Nobantu, was nice and helpful, she replied to my emails fast and for details. Also, the camp was designed in a wise and nice manner: every tent is spacious and equipped with en-suite portable shower, bio-lavatory, bed, and blanket. The food was good, and the cook did his best to please us. But this is where good points end.
On the first day, we were sailing on a motorboat for about one hour and then on a mokoro, the little canoes, for about three hours. Under the baking sun. But all of that would be fine enough if we could see at least something except a couple of birds...
Then we came to the camp and spent the afternoon doing nothing. After we had a 'Nature walk' seeing a lot of excrements of different animals and some insects. The local guides could tell 3-4 sentences as maximum about each species, and we were lucky to have a professor of zoology in our group. From him, we received 90% of information about the Delta and its wildlife.
During the night, in the camp (or village, I don't know) that was not far from us they had a kind of party till 3-4 AM and they make such a bad noise, that if I would have been an animal I would run away as far as I could.
Next day we had a 'safari walk' on another island, where we saw a herd of zebras and a heard of antelopes. It was early in the morning and from 10 AM to 4 PM we were just sitting in the camp. We were not allowed to walk around because of the 'dangerous wildlife'. I walked a bit at my own risk and saw heaps of rubbish and plastic. Probably that was why it is not allowed to walk around because there is simply NO wildlife in this area, I didn't see there even one simple impala. And I don't think that any wildlife will come there if they won't stop night orgies and pollution.
Coming back I found that my bio-toilet is not working. I asked the staff to do something.
In the evening, we had a mokoro cruise to the lake with the hippos. They were far away to make good photos, but at least we've seen something - I thought. But at that moment people from this camp/village came on their mokoros shouting so loudly that my group mates started to worry about our lives since hippos are not so tolerated to that crazy sounds as people are.
When I came back to my tent I found my toilet clean, but it was still not working.
Next day after the breakfast we just went back to Maun, without any morning activity.
Honestly, I was expected from Okavango Delta much more. Before that safari, I went to Chobe National Park, for the 3-days-2-nights tour, too. But there we had two safaris every day and just a couple of hours to rest, the staff was experienced and did their best to make us see as much as possible, and we've seen a great number of different animals. In comparison with that, this trip was just for wasting time and money. For this amount, I'd better book a flight and I'm sure I would be impressed much more.
HU
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Zsolt Banyai
Is animals density combined with the high general cost of doing safari in Tanzania makes this park a bad idea - I would rather spend more time in Tarangire or Serengeti than visiting this park again.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
not a good experience poor vehical
Vehicle was not up to standards, old, brake and engine problems and uncomfortable noisy. It was difficult to photograph from the way in which the seats were positioned to a very small roof hatch. The accommodations at the some of the lodges were poor and food not all that great. There was a lot of driving between parks (8-10 hours) in an unconformable vehicle with more time driving than viewing animals which were few far apart. I would not recommend this safari to anyone.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Bait-and-switch on lodging, haggling and hassle once arrived
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this operator. We were sold a package promising accommodation at Azure Mara Haven or comparable. What we got was Jambo Mara Safari Lodge - no WiFi, no pool, no spa, currently under construction and it books at about half the price of Azure. When I voiced my dissatisfaction, I was told that no bookings were available at the former, which a quick Internet search proved to be false. Owner George Oketch reimbursed me less than half of the difference between the room prices, which recovered one star. The other star is for his driver, Martin, who did a great job navigating the Mara and showed himself a kind and generous man with the Maasai who live there.
I learned a lot in this process. I should have stuck to my guns in holding back 10% until the end of the tour (he insisted on full payment in advance...before notifying me of the change in lodging). I should have read more reviews and done a FakeSpot review (using the TripAdvisor reviews they received a "D", https://www.fakespot.com/trip-business/right-choice-tours-safaris). I'll be more careful next time.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The tour guide didn't know where to take us and the tour was poorly organized.
Unfortunately our expensive tour with Vacay Holiday Deals was much worse than expected.
We were told the name and telephone number of the driver that would be picking us up in our hotel in Nairobi about four days prior to arrival. The morning of the pickup, another man picked us up and said that he would be replacing him. Unfortunately he had no idea about the package we had booked. He had to look at our voucher to find out details such as the itinerary (where he should take us, where we would be staying, the fact that fees for parks etc were already included in the high price, the fact that water was included, and that drop-off would not be Nairobi but Iten near Eldoret).
The car was terrible for the Masai Mara. Every other car and especially the jeeps and Land Rovers passed us constantly. It took us much longer to reach the camp than it should have, and we couldn't take some of the roads that other visitors were taking. We had asked about the condition of the vehicle in advance, and we had the confirmation that it was suitable for a visit to the Masai Mara. This is definitely not the case. Even now in the dry season, it was almost impossible to pass some of the roads.
It seems like Vacay hires external drivers with their private cars to drive the tourists around. Both the driver and Vacay try to keep their profit as high as possible, with disregard to the experience of the customer.
The camp (Mara Concord Game Lodge) was excellent. The owner and all employees were very welcoming, and made sure we had a great stay. We had an excellent view of the river, where we could literally see hippos from our window. The food was very good too.
In our previous planning and dealing with Vacay, we had determined that all fees for the parks and conservancy and also the guide would be included in the package. Of course the voluntary tip was not included in this yet.
Nonetheless, on our first day a second man entered the car, and he was never really introduced to us. It seemed like he was supposed to be the guide, but he never said anything to us, nor was he in any way familiar with the park. He sometimes pointed our driver in a random direction, only to find out minutes later that it was a dead-end.
We came to Kenya for our honeymoon in order to see the Great Migration. Since we only took dead-ends, and then couldn't pass one of the rivers (that every Land Rover passed with ease since it was only 20 cm deep), we couldn't get to the section of the Mara River where the Great Migration of wildebeest and zebras takes place. We were told that "there aren't really that many animals in the park anyway," which is hard to believe since the Masai Mara is the reason that many people visit Kenya in the first place, and it is one of the most famous national parks in all of Africa, famous for the herds of animals.
When we said that we would love to see rhinos, we were told that these don't exist in the park (other people told us they saw them, so that can't be true). When I mentioned some information on areas in the park that often have rhinos (which I read in my guide book and online), the "guide" and driver didn't even recognize the names of the areas of the park.
When the guide left after the second day, we were told that we had to pay a fee for his services. This was not about a tip, but an actual fee that we were meant to pay, even though this was already included in our package.
On the third day we were meant to have an early-morning game drive (which is when most of the animals are out anyway). Our driver said "it is cancelled", and simply started driving towards Eldoret.
On the way the car broke down, about 80 km from our destination. We were not surprised, since the terrible old car took quite a beating on the roads. We stood in the roadside in the burning sun for two hours, and then had to pay for part of a taxi ride by some private driver that our driver organized. He explained that Vacay would pay for a small part of the ride, but we had to pay for the other half to reach our destination. Considering the amount we paid for our package this is completely ridiculous.
It is really unfortunate that we made the booking with Vacay for our honeymoon. We specifically didn't go with a budget option, because we wanted to enjoy these special days.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris