US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I felt they were unprofessional.
I felt the communication was poor, and our guide was unprofessional. Our driver was at the wrong airport to pick us up, even though I had sent a screen shot clearly showing the airport we were flying into. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the area's ecology, but I felt his behavior was overly attention-seeking and unprofessional. Would 100% not recommend this company. We had a vehicle breakdown at one point and joined another company's vehicle. I felt the difference in the behavior and attitude of their guide compared to ours was shocking. Both my daughter and I felt on edge and uncomfortable with our guide for the whole trip.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Always going for your money
Kenya-Tanzania 11 days safari trip. The safari was good but the company is not trustworthy. We booked more than 6 months ago to avoid surprises and they have been very responsive all the time. But, the day we departed, they told us we had to pay about $400 each extra if we wanted to sleep on mattresses and not on a sleeping bag on the floor. They blamed that Tanzania sleeping options were too basic. So we paid but I am sure that was an excuse to get extra money on the spot. After that, on the first night, they told us to collect the park fees as they were not included. I had to do a bank transfer to pay for it. Only when I find proof that it was all included, they accepted to refund us. It took till the end of the trip to get the money back and I had to drive to their headquarters and get the money. Even there, they gave me $100 less and only after I counted the money, they found another $100 in their pockets. Lunch packs during the safari were very bad, not much in it and low quality. Some extra money were asked for some extra experiences, more than agreed at the beginning. Find a better company to do your tour and save yourself some disappointment.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ran into organizational problems
I am afraid our eight-day trip with Splendid Vacations wasn’t the five-star experience that the majority of other customers have had. Our driver, John, was very good, and we saw a lot of of animals; however, the company’s scheduling was often off-the-mark. For example, the planned 5 AM pick up time for our hot air balloon ride was changed to hours earlier, resulting in a significant lack of sleep, to say the least.
But the absolute worst situation occurred on our last day, where Splendid Vacations alerted me with less than 24-hours notice that our next day’s afternoon flight from Amboseli to Nairobi didn’t have enough passengers to warrant the trip (did no one realize this anytime sooner?!) I had to scramble to reorganize things, which caused us to lose out on our Masai village visit, and forced us to find something else to do in Nairobi following what was now an early morning flight (and we had already spent a full day touring Nairobi at the start of our trip).
We ended up touring Nairobi National Park in a land cruiser that had a pop-up roof which suddenly collapsed several times, barely missing my wife’s head at one point. The driver seemed inept at taking care of things, and also had a personality that made us feel like we were on our way to a funeral! Even though Splendid Vacations moved some things around, we ended up settling for lunch at the same place we had eaten a week earlier, and I’m sure I ended up taking a loss on a lot of of prepaid money as a result of all this.
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Desorganised
Very disorganized company that spoiled the safari experience. We had taken a group safari: non-compliance with the program initially announced, change several times of safari groups, driver and plans, announced excursions of a one-day duration that ultimately lasts only 5 hours.. you return to the lodge at 2 p.m. then you have all afternoon doing nothing. And what a lodge.... More than miserable: no hot water, no equipment, really unhealthy conditions. We were entitled to 2 guides, one very professional and the second null, gives no explanation, doesn't cares about customers, just wants us to go back to the lodge early, really no communication and didn't even make the effort to look for animals. Finally, we are warned the night before late that there is a minimum amount of tips to give per day to the driver and the cook when we had not planned so much cash for these additional expenses; the other companies warn in advance of the amount of these fees. In short, bad experience, company to flee!!
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Pre tour service is good but I didnt feel the same during the tour
Hello,
I would like to start by saying that the people sitting in HO are providing good and accurate services.
Costing seems good too.
My major disheartening was service provided during the tour.
I feel the guides assigned to me were not so keen to make my experience memorable.
I did two national parks- Masai Mara and Amboseli.
During Masai Maara, I felt my guide was not giving us adequate information. His driving skills were amazing but he would not follow where mass people were going, I felt he wanted to look for animals on his own and the result was our spotting was less compared to other people in the park on the same days.
Coming to Amboseli, our guide was informative, but I had a feeling he gave us less of a safari time and rushing to the drop point than what was planned and charged to us by giving some excuse of a protest at the border. (Which we confirmed to be false, later on reaching the border)
While tipping is encouraged I didn’t feel the guides were good enough for the same. We did still tip one of the guide.
So I suggest please be very clear while planning itself and convey beforehand that itinerary to be followed.
Lastly , even after all of this I would still say Masai Maara is definitely a place to visit. Thank you
I have purposely refrained from using any names here.
MY
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Horrible Time Management
Throughout my journey, I have encountered horrible time management - punctuality issue. Day 1, I waited at the hotel at the assigned time but the driver came an hour later. After that, every day I got ready at the assemble time but it is usually half an hour later to be picked up. The worst is my last day, also waited for another hour when I was told to get ready at early morning. And I had to wait outdoor for the whole hour.
The safari experience was overall good and acceptable, but try imagining every morning you were on time, but you wasted 30 mins to an hour for waiting to be picked up, and which actually you could have sleep more with the time waiting, will you still feel good and give an excellent review?
It might be other passengers who cause the delay, but as of my knowledge, it’s not the case all the time. The driver himself made inaccurate predictions of time, and I don’t think that the distance between hotels are unpredictable if the driver is experienced or responsible.
I once even thought that Kenyan culture is being unpunctual by delaying every appointment at 30mins, but after I asked other tourists, they were picked up at the assemble time on time. Then I know that it’s not the culture, it’s the person.
Kindly take note on this. The safari is good, but this issue devalue the overall experience.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Nature is perfect, the guide ruined it
Avoid at all costs guide Francis! Not a single honest word comes out of his mouth, and his service attitude depends entirely on tips! On the first day at Masai Mara when we were still excited, we gave $10 for a half-day tour (total $60 for 6 people). Starting from the second day, he forced us to pay $10 per person daily, even threatening that he'd "doze off while driving" if tipped less. Even on non-safari days—like the 5-hour pure transfer from Masai Mara to Nakuru—he demanded $10 per person! During transfers between safari destinations, he deliberately parks tourists at souvenir shops. Though not forcing purchases, you'll just sit and wait if you don't shop. If unfortunately assigned Francis as your guide, remember: always pay tips all together at the very end.
HK
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Don't believe all the positive comments in the agency's page. It won't show negative comments!
I participated in a 6-day safari tour in June, being the first group to join the tour. I reached an agreement with Emanuel, the owner of the company. However, upon my arrival, Emanuel informed me that all plans from Day 2 to Day 6 had been altered to accommodate the group tour. Since we were the first to join, the agency should have coordinated the second party to fit into our original schedule, not the other way around. Emanuel claimed that it made no difference, but how could that be true?
The first issue was that we had to depart at 6 a.m. on the second day, following over 13 hours of travel the previous day. According to Emanuel, our original departure time was scheduled for 9:30 a.m., based on the initial itinerary. The second issue was that we had to make a return trip to Ngorongoro and visit the area twice, which was unnecessary according to our original plans.
Emanuel's claim that we were not the first party to join the tour is untruthful. If we had not been the first, it would be even more dishonest to accept our original itinerary, knowing full well that it was not feasible.
Emanuel is solely a businessman with no regard for customer satisfaction; his focus is only on money. He shows no respect for the agreement we made. I have traveled to more than 20 countries, and regardless of whether it's a group tour or a private tour, my schedule has never been changed at the last minute without my consent. I do not recommend this agency for group tours unless you are prepared for your itinerary to be altered at any time without notice. And, of course, he will tell you that it makes no difference!
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
High expectations for a high price, outcome was disappointing
We booked a two-day private safari for Tarangire & Ngorongoro Crater. The first day Tarangire was fine, everything was well arranged and the lodge we stayed in for one night was beautiful.
However, the second day at Ngorongoro Crater was totally different than expected. When we arrived at the gate of the Crater, our guide had trouble entering the Crater…. there was a ‘technical issue’. At the same time, others had no trouble at all entering the Crater.
Eventually we waited up to 3 hours!! During this time, we were not held up to date or what so ever.
After 3 hours, we could finally enter the Crater, but because of this, there was not much time left. We visited the Crater on a very short notice and in a rush. Not what we had expected and paid for.
Eventually I had contact with the Guest relations Tour operator manager, who offered us a refund of $100…. which is not comparable to the time we have lost and the amount we have paid for the trip.
We are very disappointed…
CN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Jamlan's trip arrangement is disappointing
Last Oct, we booked two trips from two trip operators in Kenya. One 8 - day trip from Nairobi to Amboseli, Tsavo and Diani, which turns out to be perfect; the other from Nairobi to Nakuru to Masai Mara operated by Jamlan Holiday, which is quite disappointing.
We soon found all the hotels Jamlan booked for us are outside the park upon the start of the trip (in most cases, the hotels and lodges outside the park are cheaper than those located inside the parks). That truly cost our much time on the way and largely reduce our time inside the park. For example, when reaching Nakuru, we had to go through traffic jams of a city besides Nakuru to eventually arrive at the hotel inside the city. I then asked Jamlan to make adjustments but was refused with nice excuses like their operation cost is too high.
It seems they don't understand tourists can calculate the average price per day and compare it with that of other trips. Also they don't understand we can talk with other tourists to make comparisons.
So, I strongly suggest all guests planning to book the trips operated by Jamlan Holiday to check the locations and prices of the hotels, as that is an important part to decide the quality of your trip.
