US
Disorganized
The safari was ok. Not the best safari but not the worst.
The problem with the company was they were not organized. There were errors such as in flight details that I pointed out before my itinerary was finalized. The worst of all was they forgot to book one leg of my flights even though they confirmed everything was booked and I realized that I don't have a ticket for the next flight on the plane. Really subpar.
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I haven't like this tour operator
We booked a five days safari to Masai Mara, Nakuru and Naivasha. The driver , and he didnt take us to see the migration. It happened the 4th of August. Later, a person who was in Masai Mara that day, said me that all tourists were seeing the migration. Instead it, he "sell" us a "walking" to see Mara river. the price (the tip) was 5 dollars. Besides, he was very dangerous driving.
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Disappointed and let down!
My partner and I saw the itinerary for the 11 day exclusive safari in Tanzania&Zanzibar and thought it to be exactly what we were looking for. After confirmations and having our queries answered by the tour operator Tony, we went ahead and booked.
On the day we arrived, after having met our tour guide and Tony, we are told that the agenda for the week has been changed slightly. Reluctantly, we agree since there's nothing we could do at that point. The trip goes ahead just fine and we were meant to be on safari for 5 days spending 2 nights in one lodge/camp 2 nights in another and the last night in another. We in fact ended up staying in different lodges every night of our 5 nights there and were not told that this would be happening until when we were dropped off and told to pack our things for the next morning since we would not be staying here tonight. Completely unsettled for us to have to jump from lodge to lodge every night. We didn't know where we were going to be staying the following night, it was incredibly hard for us to relax comfortably and just enjoy the trip fully.
The itinerary included a trip to a museum and a visit to a Masai village. The Museum was completely scrapped from the list and for the Masai village, we were told that we had to pay an additional $50 each!! After having confronted our guide about this, he too was not aware that we were even meant to be going to these places! It's as though they were trying their luck to see what they could get away with not paying or doing. After putting our foot down and talking to Tony, he arranged for these two visits to take place but we shouldn't have had to have that conversation in the first place.
Lastly, the next leg of our trip was 5 days in Zanzibar. Before booking, we asked Tony if the package was inclusive of all meals and alcohol, he confidently responded yes that the alcohol was also apart of the package. We get to our resort in Zanzibar only to find that in fact he misled us and alcohol was not included in our reservation and so we had to pay for this out of our own pockets.
We were very disappointed and let down by Tony and this company. All communication had seemed to be thrown about of the window, not only were we not informed about changes etc, our tour guide was also sometimes in the dark about things that was meant to be communicated to him by Tony. Nothing at all about this trip was what we expected it to be, I don't think it was worth the money we paid for it, it wasn't a luxury tour like it stated and would recommend anyone against them to avoid such disappointment.
QA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
If something goes wrong, you lose.
Our family just completed a 5 day camping safari. Tanzania is awesome, but not to be confused with the tour company. Driver was clean, polite and helpful but lacked good wildlife knowledge. Didn'y always stop when we wanted to take pictures or observe. Also, 3 days before our departure the company contacted us (after we had negotiated the price and paid a deposit) and said the government had raised the tax by 18% and we had to pay 18% extra. We tried to get a refund or a sufficient email respose, but no joy, so rather than lose the deposit we went with the increase. For our budget it was a hit. Next time I would chose a more ethical company.
QA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Disappointed a real shame and ruined honeymoon
I never want to write a negative review but on this occasion I must as we were badly let down. Despite being notified at an early stage Somak failed to register that this was our honeymoon trip. In our group of 6 there was another honeymoon couple and they received special treatment but my wife and I did not, this lasted for the 7 days of our safari. This culminated with the last stage of our trip on Zanzibar when we arrived at the hotel and I told staff it was our honeymoon. However, they told us that they had not been notified of this, so we were denied the honeymoon package. I spoke with the Somak rep and he said he would pass the complaint on to his manager, and that the manager would meet us at the hotel the following day. He never came, in fact they just avoided us for the duration of the stay and did nothing. Thankfully the hotel guest relations manager became aware of the situation and stepped in to made our last three days special.
It is a real shame that we suffered this negligent communication error as the safari driver was great and he was tireless in searching for the fauna we wanted to see. Another plus was the Serena lodges we stayed at which were fantastic. To date we still have not even had a reply from Somak to offer an apology...
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Disappointed with the Hwange Day Trip
I would not recommend the Hwange game-drive. It may be better at a different time of year or with a different guide. We did not mind the drive to Hwange from Victoria Falls. We had a very nice driver, but the guide that we had for the game drive was not very good and our vehicle was so noisy that we did not see much except for animals running away. All the animals that we did see were from a distance. It was suppose to be a full day game drive, but it basically ended at lunch time. At lunch time, we drove a long distance (at a very fast rate of speed over a very bumpy road) to the Kennedy Picnic Site. Once there we had lunch while fighting off the many bees and trying to keep them out of our drinks. After lunch, we got back in our game drive vehicle and headed out. We were thinking that we would be seeing more game, but again we drove a very long distance at a fast rate of speed and found ourselves back at the main camp and our game drive was over. Very disappointing.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Bad expierence with Malcolm
We just returned from touring Botswana with Malcom.
Our experience with him as a tour guide was not positive.
At every border control post, he neglected to inform us of the procedure and necessary requirements.
This was also the case during the tour, we were not informed about when to take along water, diesel/petrol etc.
His cell phone was also not roamed.
With regards to confronting him with our problems, he was not approachable and dismissive.
US
35-50 years of age
An expensive stressful drama-filled two day trip to Victoria Falls - not worth it, won't do again
The one good thing I can say about AfriTrip is they are responsive. But our 2-day trip to Victoria Falls was not relaxing or enjoyable due to the stress and drama that ensued and the total cost was way more than the value we received.
The night before we are to leave we receive urgent messages that our Air Zimbabwe flight from JNB had been canceled and they rebooked us on British Airways. At that point it was an annoyance but not too bad. We had to get up earlier the next morning and switch airlines but still looking forward to our trip.
We land in Victoria Falls airport and the driver was surprised to see us since he thought we were still on the canceled flight! He didn't get the updated info so we were lucky that he was there waiting for others or might have been stuck with no ride. Victoria Falls Hotel where we stayed was okay but not worth the price. It's not a first-rate experience, e.g. the front desk agent forgot to return our passports! That caused some unnecessary stress. The room itself was mediocre.
Now, Victoria Falls itself IS amazing and worth seeing and we quite enjoyed it, just not the rest of the experience. For example, we had a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River that was so touted on KrugerPark.com for seeing wildlife and all we saw was a croc and some birds. I understand nature is unpredictable but I find the sales pitch misleading. Also, the cruise served snacks and drinks yet didn't have proper bathroom facilities! More unnecessary stress.
Now the worst part of the trip is the day before we are to fly back to JNB we get messages that our return flight on Air Zimbabwe has been canceled again! The airline wants to move to us a flight that's 5 hours later. Knowing how unreliable the airline has been we were not going to take the last flight out of Victoria Falls (on any airline) and risk getting stuck in Zimbabwe. How could KrugerPark.com book us on such an unreliable airline! Even after this, they refuse to rebook us on British Airways so, after a ton of back and forth (instead of enjoying our trip), we paid $724 to do it ourselves. They did refund us $322 which they claim is the cost of the flight plus their commission so we are out over $400 additionally.
In total we paid over $2500 for this two-day trip and did not see the value. Both flights getting screwed up, a mediocre hotel, and some mediocre tours. Overall it was a 5-star price for a 2-star experience. The Falls ARE spectacular though!
P.S. If I quickly do the math it doesn't quite add up. We paid over $2100 to the tour company. Based on the refund, flights were $322 each way including commission. Hotel was almost $800 for two nights (yes, quite expensive). Falls tour was $40 retail. Sunset cruise was $106 retail. And we got 6 transfers total which were maybe $100? We even had to pay $60 entry fee for the Falls and $20 for the River ourselves! This adds up to not even $1700 which includes part of their commission so how much are they jacking up the prices to make a package deal?! Knowing what we know now, we would've been MUCH better off booking the trip ourselves.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
We did not get what we paid for
On the 5, 6, 7 May, my two colleagues and I went on a “classic” three-day, two-night Maasai Mara safari with Oakland Tours Kenya.
It was critical that we booked a private safari as the three of us rarely, if ever, have the chance to meet in person.
Felistus from Oakland confirmed that this would be the case.
We were also told that we would be staying at Fisi Camp, as per the information on the website. However, on Friday we were driven to Manyatta Camp. (Felistus told me after I telephoned her that this was an “upgrade”, but I had made the booking purely on the fact that we were to stay at Fisi.)
On the Friday evening, as we were heading back to the camp after a game drive, our driver, Patrick (who is the saving grace in this whole debacle, because of his exemplary attitude) ran into some troubles with our vehicle, and we had to abandon the vehicle and catch a lift with another group back to camp. We were told that the vehicle would be fixed and ready for our game drive the next morning.
However, the next morning, the van was not fixed. Patrick told us that a part was being delivered from Nairobi which would be used to fix the car. He arranged that we joined another group (of 4 other people – not a private safari). We did not even have the chance to sit together.
At the end of the day (4pm), the part had not yet arrived from Nairobi, though by 7pm it had, and we were absolutely assured that we would have our private game drive the following morning,
Again, we were disappointed: the car was not fixed and we joined another group (5 people) for the morning game drive. We were also told that we would be driven back to Nairobi that morning in a rather beaten-up saloon car.
When we arrived back in Nairobi, Felistus and her business partner were there to greet us and offer their apologies. We had told them that we sought financial compensation because we had paid for a service (in full) that was not delivered. The best they could offer us was local currency for a trip back to the airport. (Which we did not need, but took.)
We found Felistus' attitude to be not at all what we had read about online: she brazenly told us that she would not take responsibility for what had happened, and she proceeded to blame poor Patrick for any wrongdoings/bad decisions made on her part. She didn’t seem in the least bit interested in the fact that we had paid for a private safari, but had not received one, telling us that they “got us to the Masaai Mara and back” and that was the only responsibility that they had.
What’s more, on our itinerary, it was listed that we would enjoy a trip to a local Masaai village on Sunday. This did not happen, and when we questioned Felistus on this point, she said it was “optional” (but, clearly, not our option, as we were never given the choice)!
I had spent some time investigating the wealth of companies that run safaris in the Mara and budget camps. It’s frustrating that nothing that I thought I had chosen was eventually delivered.
I understand that a safari is a complex product, and that things go wrong. But it's how you deal with it, Felistus and Oakland, that is of the utmost importance for continued business.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Terrible choice to sub-contract the Tanzania portion of our Trip
We recently went on a Safari (Kenya and Tanzania) with SafariBookEvolution. These guys can handle Kenyan safari alright, but they were not forthcoming about the fact that they don't run the Tanzanian safari themselves, and it was nothing short of a disaster as they sub-contract to Jackpot safaris (who basically give you dangerous cars, careless guides and put your lives in danger. See below the list of issues we faced. I wouldn't recommend them and can't say much for Safaribook Evolution as they but us in a very terrible situation.
Kenyan Safari issues
1) no power at destiny Eco camp for 2 days
2) no hot water at destiny Eco camp for 2 days, although we were promised.
Tanzanian Safari issues
Safety - We put our families in danger. Don't risk it!
1) Car's door kept opening right in the middle of game drives and on the highways endangering our families.
2) The car's open top literally fell on us which could have killed all of us. Thankfully we were sitting at that time.
3) Car broke down in the middle of forest. And the driver had least concern for our safety. A speeding vehicle nearly crashed on our car.
4) We were lost in the jungle of for four hours with the driver George not having a clue about where we were. He didn't even have the mobile number of the Kati Kati camp.
Value for Money - Zero
5) We paid a lot for the Kati Kati camp's luxury tent, but stayed there just for 8 hours in Kati Kati camp without enjoying any part of the stay. Thanks to George who got us lost in the jungle.
6) Car was small and cramped in Tz for 3 days. When we complained about this, George said he couldn't drive the other car so we ended up using the same cramped car for one more day which eventually broke down.
7) The guide/driver was very rude and arrogant, not well informed(like he didn't have the phone number of the Kati Kati camp when we were lost in the jungle.
8) The tents given to us at the flamingo hotel were so small. We had to pay $200 extra to get the rooms. Andrew (Jackpot Safari) threatened to cancel the whole safari even though he saw we had 2 small kids.
9) No binoculars for the Tz safari, although we were promised that we will be given one.
10) The itinerary was changed mid way, only one day at the Tarangire national park as opposed to two days.
11) the Tz driver has a total lack of interest with the safari, with us having to push him to go on game drives. For example we spent only 2 hours at the Lake Manyara game drive. Then we had to call the managers to get him to take us to another game drive.
12) The Tz driver only drove us around the main gate most of the time. We had to constantly push him to drive a little bit further. As soon as he shows us one thing, he will be satisfied, but we were not as we have paid a lot of money.
13) The last two days were completely useless, especially Tarangire was a complete waste of time. We didn't see anything partly because of the itinerary change. George, the Tz driver, lied to us that Tarangire will take 3 hours to reach when it took only an hour and a half.
14) The Tz driver tried to sneak into all the parks without paying for the kids
The list goes on. But there are two big things to keep in mind. First, Safaribook Evolution never informed us that they subcontract the trip in Tanzania, nor did they tell us who it would be doing our trip. In the end they are responsible for our trip and our safetey. Second, was anytime we spoke to Andrew about the problems he was not willing to discuss ways to solve them, but would simply threaten to stop the safari and abandon us in Arusha. This is very unprofessional, especially as we were only asking for what was written in the itineary and to be in a safe vehicle.
Don't use them of Tanzania!!!