US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great safari experience until we discovered we were robbed.
Great safari experience, we saw the Big 5. Accommodations and food were as you would expect for the price point. We stayed one night in Tremesana and two nights at Marc's Treehouse. Ivy and Pretty were fantastic hosts. The only reason I am giving this two stars is because we discovered after leaving Marc's Treehouse that almost $600 (yes, I know we shouldn't have had that much on us) was missing from our wallets. We were not informed that cleaning people would be entering our rooms to make the bed and that is likely when it happened. So make sure to keep your money or valuables on you at all times.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Dissapointing
We chose big time safari for our Safari on the class called budget mode so of course we did not expect great luxuries but unfortunately we had so many problems we wanted to share the experience.
The total days of safari were 11 days.
The worst episode was the second day in Serengeti where the car just broke down, old jeeps are used and you will have many chances that this will happens to you. The whole day was lost and nothing was seen that day.
After the Safari was over once in Nairobi we did complain at Big time safari offices to get some compensation as the service offered was not given to us.
The manager, John, was careless and unprofessional as he was more interested in what was happening on the TV than on our complain. He made us waste a lot of time in the office for nothing. The discussion ended up telling us that under his point of view we were not humans as we did not understand his problems and than worst would have been to die in the safari. Once he has your money in his pocket his behavior changes he won't call you back or he will tell you he is busy in some meeting.
Other problems we had was the guide in Tanzania was bad no interest on us. The camp in Amboseli was dirty and no mosquito net was given in one of the beds.
The picnic meals very poor some of the days.
In summary the safari was ok because the landscape and the animals are great but sure thing we would chose different company for a safari.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Overall good experience but very dependent on which safari guide you are given
The tremisana lodge was a little tired and basic (compared to other lodges I've stayed in before).but the staff at the lodge were very friendly and helpful. The Dutch lady (I can't remember her name) who was the manager at the lodge was absolutely lovely and very warm and friendly. The safari guides were very variable. We had a day safari to Kruger with James who was absolutely outstanding. He is the best safari guide I have ever had. He was knowledgeable and worked tirelessly to find wildlife for us. He was truly excellent. I can't recommend him highly enough
Murray, was also an excellent guide and knowledgable and enthusiastic.
We had a morning safari walk with Philip, however, which was very poor indeed. He seemed totally uninterested and the entire morning was very dull and I would not recommend doing this with him.
We also did a sunset drive with Rex. What should have been a nice evening safari drive was ruined by our guide, Rex. He was obviously upset at the vehicle he had been assigned and spent the drive complaining about the organisation of the company and the poor state of the vehicle. We then stopped for a drink to watch the sunset and he spent this entire 30 mins or so complaining to us about viva safaris, their organisation, the staff, the lack of investment and how he had used to work in 5star lodges that were much superior. I found this odd and very unprofessional. If he had an issue with his bosses etc then I would expect him to discuss this directly with them and not spend a few hours moaning to us about it. In summary, I think safaris are good here if you are lucky and get a good guide (James or Murray from my experience). But I would be careful because if given a poor guide in my opinion it can really spoil the safari.
Experience level: over 5 safaris
Disappointing i m afraid though maybe ok for first time visitors to Africa
We travelled Johannesburg to Victoria falls last November. The truck was full to capacity at 12 plus provisions and was far too cramped. We had two guides, only one of whom could drive the vehicle and he was by far the better at his job. The second guide had preferred clients and was often rude to those not among them; his knowledge was poor, demonstrated at the zimbabwean border crossing when we found his visa advice to be incorrect and more generally in terms of local traditions. Group integration was poor based on our worldwide experience. The farewell event was pointedly only open to those favoured few.
However, the local park-based guides were really good. We saw all the animals we hoped to see and more thanks to them. No complaints about the food either.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Bad experience with Terminal Tours
My friend and I signed up for a 3-day Masai Mara tour with Terminal Tours (Kenya).
Terminal Tours arranged for us to stay in Rhino Camp for 2 nights, which turned out to be quite a bad experience. Firstly, the electricity was unavailable during some parts of the promised hours and hot showers (generated by wood fire) were mostly unavailable during the promised hours too.
Our driver (and guide) Sammy does not seem enthusiastic in leading the tour. He was often quiet during the game drive and only spoke when people in the tour group asked him questions. Furthermore, he seemed clueless to some of our questions, to the extent that two of the Canadians in our group sarcastically told him to "at least make up a reason to tell us when we ask you again".
Also, the apparent owner of Terminal Tours - Nelson, practices price differentiation to a huge extent. For example, people on the same tour were charged in varying amounts between USD$360 and USD400+. Hence, it might be wiser to book a tour with a tour operator that has a more transparent pricing structure. On a side note, it is intriguing that Nelson issued me with an invoice with a stated amount which is lower than the amount I had paid him and he told me that it is okay.
Lastly, do not rely on their promised free transfer service. Terminal Tours was supposed to pick my friend and I from our hotel to the bus terminal at 6:15am in the morning to catch a bus at 7am. We waited until 6:25am and no one turned up. I have explicitly mentioned to both Nelson and his assistant - Steven, the day before our departure, that the driver must before 6:15am as we needed time at the bus terminal to have our tickets confirmed. Eventually, we had to fork out money from our own pockets to pay for a taxi to the bus terminal. Nelson eventually arrived at the bus terminal himself, just before our bus departed. Ostensibly appearing apologetic, he started arguing that I have told him to send the driver to our hotel at 6:30am instead. I was totally disgusted by his actions and words.
In conclusion, I will not recommend anyone to sign up for a tour with Terminal Tours. As my friend says, it was "a ruined experience in Kenya".
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Beware of rip-offs
I booked a seven day safari with Kennafrica Adventures, which included the Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli. The exposé was excellent, and the tour was slightly more expensive than comparable tours, which would have been absolutely fine considering the services promised.
Unfortunately, the stated inclusive services were not provided.
For example, a walking safari at night, a visit to a Masai village, a photography workshop, a visit to an elephant sanctuary, or cheetah tracking on foot, to name but a few.
The tour was ultimately carried out by a third-party provider (I would give this provider at least four stars).
What is particularly annoying here, however, is that this provider was (initially) not paid. Kennafrica Safaris was then suddenly no longer available by phone or otherwise, so I first had to advance money to the subcontractor in order to continue with the safari. Only after many (unanswered) phone calls and threats with lawyers, the police and the Ministry of Tourism was the corresponding fee finally paid, 770 dollars. I myself had paid 1200 dollars. The considerable difference might in my view be explained by the omission of services that were promised but not provided. All in all, a very disappointing experience and so different from all the hospitality that one usually experience throughout Kenya.
Finally, I can absolutely recommend the route itself, especially the Masai Mara, and also our driver Evans did a great job.
To be fair, they have apologized for all the inconvenience, but I personally would not book with them again.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Hillary swapped customers to cheaper tour operator without disclosing this
I spent a good while researching safari options prior to my trip to Tanzania. I chose to book with Suricata Safaris based on their great reviews (#6 of 1,294 Outdoor Activities in Arusha) and accepted the cost as a part of the great experience I was in for. Weeks in advance, I had emailed the company to confirm this tour was going ahead on that day. Hillary from Suricata Safaris confirmed this.
When the tour started, I quickly realised it was not the 5-star treat I had paid for. Another day in, I realised that we had ended up with Arunga Expeditions & Safaris (#674 of 1,294 Outdoor Activities in Arusha) and their rude personnel. When I asked about this, our driver told me to "stop complaining". When I confronted the Suricata representative, Hillary, he said that they moved me to a cheaper operator to save costs.
My experience with Arunga was very poor. There was no toilet paper, no hot water and no WiFi in the camps, and I shared a small tent with two people (I was told differently when I made my online enquiry with Suricata Safaris). When one of our crew fell ill and needed transportation out of the nature reserve, our guide suggested that we need to sort that ourselves.
I ended up getting dinner and 10% of my money back from Suricata Safaris after the tour. This really does not make up for the difference in quality for the two tour operators.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Falsified itinerary and absolutely unprofessional. Highly not recommended.
Their listed Itinerary is falsified. This is the actual itinerary. I made a recap on daily events with full details. Future tourists must be informed accordingly.
Pre-Tour (13/1/2020)
As per itinerary and payment deposit ($930) confirmation we will be picked up from either our hotel or airport on Day 1 of the safari to pay the remaining balance before starting the tour. We made our own plans to be in the country 2 days before our safari tour to explore the city area. We booked our own hotels and driver with plans for both days. On Monday, 13/1/2020, 2 days before the tour, we received a sudden text message asking if we were in the country yet and stating the company (Bluerange Connect) wants to send a driver to pick us up immediately. Bluerange stated that they need to bring us to their office and require us to pay the remainder of the balance $2202.55 + commission in CASH immediately in order to go ahead to our safari tour. They insisted that if we don’t pay in CASH, any credit card charges will take 2 days to post to their account and they don’t have adequate funding to pay for our entire tour without us paying up front. We informed our hotel manager and other honest local people of this sudden issue and everyone said not to fall for a scam, nothing gets done in CASH at last minute. After an hour of stressful debate, Bluerange reluctantly agree to allow us to pay the remaining balance upon our pickup on Day 1 of our tour.
Day 1 (15/1/2020) Nairobi to Samburu
We were picked up from our hotel at 7:30am to go to the office to pay the remaining balance and “briefing”. We were escorted into a small office of a few rooms and two friendly ladies staff took multiple pictures with us and asked to post on Facebook and social media. We then went into Willis Orowe’s office (managing director we were dealing with the entire time). He took a call from other non related business and casually chatted as we sat waiting to pay and be on our way. There was no rush and no courtesy on his end to help us get out of the office any sooner. After we made the payment, they gave us another copy of the same itinerary. We asked if they can quickly point out on the map as to each day’s destination point. Willis had another female staff come in who looked at the map completely confused. We said it’s ok, we can map it out ourselves. She proceeded to reading us the entire itinerary, literally word for word. Finally, we proceeded down to the safari van to leave, not before a few more ladies staff took more pictures of us in front of the van to be posted to social media. After over an hour at this office, we began our drive to Samburu around 10am with our tour guide Ken. We had found Ken through a recommendation on tripadvisor which we need to update them on the actual experience. The direct drive took almost 6 hours. We passed a view of Mt Kenya and asked how tall it is. Ken did not know and said he’ll get back to us (he never did). We were brought to KFC at 12:30pm for lunch which was very shocking as we expected local foods. We didn’t expect anything luxurious but at least good local food which would have been cheaper. After 30 minutes of lunch stop, we continued the drive and arrived at Samburu past 4pm. The game drive was basically driving from the entrance gate to the lodge check-in which was done slowly. We were excited to be in the beautiful park finally and saw an elephant, antelopes and giraffes. We arrived at the lodge at 5:45pm. Unpacked and waited for dinner at 7pm.
Day 2 (16/1/2020) Samburu
We started our morning game drive at 7am. Back at camp by 9am for breakfast. After breakfast, we walked around the little lodge to take a few pictures but we had nothing to do at all and were not allowed outside the gate. The tiny swimming pool was green colored and I would not advise going in. We sat around until lunch time at 1pm. After lunch, we tried to take a nap to kill time as we were still bored senseless. Finally 4pm we went on our afternoon game drive and returned at 7pm for dinner. Ken offered to take us to meet the Samburu people, that it would be nice to see the locals and insist that it was only 2000 shillings per person. We explained that this additional cost was never mentioned to us. We specifically asked Bluerange (Willis) about optional additional cost and received email confirmation with prices (Masai Village $10 pp, Lake Naivasha boat ride $20 pp, Hell’s Gate bicycle $5 pp). Ken insisted that everything is incorrect. He gave us specific additional costs of Samburu village $20 pp, Masai Village $20 pp, Thompson Falls $5 pp, Lake Naivasha boat ride $30 pp and Hell’s Gate bicycle $10 pp. He was unprofessional and firmly insisting that this is just a little extra cost and even questioned if we actually thought things were all inclusive. I explained that I had confirmed with Willis on what is inclusive and certainly doesn’t match what he arbitrarily gave us. We decided to skip both Samburu and Masai Village all together which Ken was certainly not happy about.
Day 3 (17/1/2020) Samburu to Lake Nakuru (6 hours drive with nothing for the day)
After breakfast, around 8am we had our game drive on the way to the gate. We were told that getting to Lake Nakuru will take 6 hours and there will be no game drive that day. Ken advised us that Lake Nakuru is very small and we will get there by evening so there is nothing to see until the next day. The drive was mostly in silence aside from the fact that Ken is on his personal cell phone multiple times per hour. We arrived at the equator around 1pm. The local gentleman did a water demonstration, afterwards offering us a paper certificate for $5 each and or tipping him. After, we had our boxed lunch from the hotel at the bench. It consisted of a very dry piece of chicken leg that caused painfully swollen gums and teeth. Also, a tiny square sandwich of two pieces of bread with mayo and a slice of cucumber, an apple, bag of chips and tiny juice box. After 30 minutes, we continued our trip. We stopped at Thompson Falls for pictures for 200 shillings ($2) per person. (Ken questioned if we wanted to skip Thompson Falls too, implying that we were being cheap since we skipped his arbitrary cost for Samburu village) Locals insisted on dragging us to their souvenir stands to buy things. After 30 minutes, we were on our way. Ken said he needed to find a bank to make a money transfer in order to access the national park tomorrow. We finally found the bank. We arrived at Wagon Wheel hotel around 5pm to check in. Ken said he’ll meet us at 7am to start the drive and left us for the night. We had dinner at 7:30pm at the local restaurant downstairs the hotel, local food was delicious.
Day 4 (18/1/2020) Lake Nakuru to Masai Mara
After breakfast at Wagon Wheel Hotel, we finally got to see Lake Nakaru. Our game drive was from 7am to 11am. We saw a rhino, buffalos, zebras among other antelopes. Then it was more than a 5 hours straight drive to Masai Mara. (Plenty of time for Ken to be on his personal cell phone and us to stare blankly out the window bored) We stopped for 30 minutes to eat our packed lunch from Wagon Wheel Hotel. It was good local food (chicken, pork or beef with rice) however, the portion was just about 10 tablespoons. After lunch, we continued our drive and reached Masai Mara Manyatta Camp close to 6pm. After checking in, we had dinner in the tented camp at 7pm.
Day 5 (19/1/2020) Masai Mara
After breakfast at the tented camp (sausage, beans, eggs, toast), we left to begin our full day Masai Mara game drive at 8am. We were the last ones to leave for the game drive. As stated on the itinerary, during the early hours, it’s best to view game. However, we certainly did not start at 6:30am as others did. We did see four of the big five today including a family of 10 lions which was exciting. This was the one part of the trip where Ken was actually not preoccupied on his personal cell phone and did an amazing job driving to the lions for a close-up view. We did thank him dearly for this. We were taken to the Kenya-Tanzania border stone. Ken stopped the van, pointed and told us to go take pictures. We saw other safari vans where the tour guides walked their tourists around the stone, explaining the history and facts while taking individual pictures for them. Certainly not the kind of guide we got. We asked Ken if he can help us take a picture which he did. He then drove us to an area by the river which we had to wait for an armed guard to escort us around to see hippos and alligators across the river. The walk took about 30 minutes. Ken left us by the river and said a guard will come take us. Other tourists had their guide with them and their guide tracked down a guard to ask to take their tourist group for the walk. Since nobody spoke for us and we were left standing there, we just quietly went along with the other tourists. When we got back however, Ken made sure to remind us to tip the guard. (This was yet another event and expense that was not mentioned prior) We then had a picnic lunch under a tree. The camp had packed us a lunch bag of a tough dry meatless chicken leg, tiny sandwich or mayo and cucumber, banana and boxed juice. After lunch, we continued our game drive, searching for a leopard and seeing more giraffes and amazing animals. Our game drive ended at 5:30pm. We had dinner back at the tented camp at 7:30pm.
Day 6 (20/1/2020) Masai Mara to Lake Naivasha
After breakfast at the tented camp (sausage, beans, eggs, toast), we left around 7am and had a game drive going towards the gate to leave Masai Mara. On the way to the gate, we managed to see a leopard, the big five is complete thanks to Ken. If we think of questions to ask him about animals, he answers them well. Other than that, it was clear he had no interests in any conversation with us. It was a long straight drive of over 5 hours to Lake Naivasha. We arrived at around 1pm to eat our lunch that was packed from the camp. It was yet another painfully dry chicken leg, tiny sandwich of a slice of cucumber, a banana, a hard boiled egg and a box juice. After lunch, we went for the boat ride on Lake Naivasha. Ken now tells us that the boat ride is 1 hour for $20 pp and then there is a guide to take us on a private island to walk around for another hour for $30 pp. He said it will Only be $100 for us both. We decided to go for just the 1 hour boat ride as we had planned before the trip. We were taken to an office with a lady telling us it will be $20 pp. There were no signs or written notice of costs or even such thing as a boat ride. It was all word of mouth. After the boat ride, it was 3pm. I asked Ken if there is anywhere at all that he would like to show us or take us to since he said we were not allowed to walk around by ourselves. He angrily said he wanted us to do the full boat ride and guided walk and since we refused to spend $100, there is nothing to do for us and he is taking us straight to the hotel. He dropped us off at the hotel before 4pm and said he will pick us up at 7am the next day for Hell’s Gate. That was the end of that day, we were left stranded at the hotel with no plans and no considerations.
Day 7 (21/1/2020) : Hell’s Gate National Reserve – 4 hours with rest of the day stranded
After breakfast, we left Taphe hotel at 7am to head to Hell’s Gate National Reserve which was about 30 minutes drive away. When we got there, Ken said the bicycle rentals will be $15 pp. We were outraged in the constant change of prices according to how much he feels like ripping off the tourist. We said he mentioned it will be $10 pp (which is already double the amount that Willis gave). Ken sounded like he was caught giving random numbers and quietly said Oh I told you $10 pp, let me talk to them. (Acting as though he was negotiating with the locals for a price for us). We rented bicycles for $10 pp and hired a guide for $20 to bike with us through the park. The safari van was certainly nowhere near us unlike the itinerary kindly stating that the van will be behind us in case we’re tired. Ken parked the van and went to rest at a restaurant while we biked about 8 kilometers. It was a very direct bike to the gorge which was closed. (there was an accident where tourists were killed during a flash flood and the gorge closed in September 2019 as a result. We had been planning this trip with Bluerange for over two months and Willis did not mention any such closure) We took a few pictures and was on the way back. We were back by the van at 11am. Ken said since the gorge is closed, Hell’s Gate is a very small park and he is not sure why our itinerary claimed we will have a full day there and that there is nothing to do. He drove us back to the hotel by 11:30am and we were again left stranded with nothing to do for the rest of the day. After lunch, we decided to walk outside and not be bored to death. We were told by the hotel staff that we can walk towards town but advised to not go too far for security reasons. We only walked about 30 minutes and turned back before we were too deep in town. We took a nap before dinner as there was absolutely nothing to do.
Day 8 (22/1/2020) Lake Naivasha to Amboseli (6 hours drive)
After breakfast, we left to start our drive to Amboseli. It was another long 6 hours drive in silence since our tour guide was constantly on his personal cell phone or else just not saying a word. We got to Amboseli around 1pm and ate our packed lunch in the car as we drove towards a view point. Unfortunately, it was very cloudy and we couldn’t see the top of Kilimanjaro. Ken drove around to let us take pictures but there were not too many animals out. He was again on his personal cell phone and asked how long we want to stay. He drove us to see the flamingos which we stayed about 20 minutes for pictures. He drove us to our tented camp (AA lodge) by 5:30pm. We had dinner at the tented camp at 7:30pm. This was actually the best dinner we had the whole trip. It was a buffet style dinner but various kinds of delicious local dishes. Even the fresh baked bread with butter was good.
Day 9 (23/1/2020) (Amboseli to Nairobi)
After a delicious breakfast, we left the lodge at 6:45am. We had a game drive on the way to exit Amboseli National Park. Our game drive ended exactly 9am sharp as Ken had mentioned. We drove about 3 hours back to Nairobi and had some traffic when we were in the city. Ken dropped us off at our hotel that we booked in advance. The suggested tips for tour guides are $10 pp / day given that the tour guide does an average acceptable job. Ken does a great job at finding you the big five but nothing more. As a tour guide he is absolutely unexperienced and unprofessional. We were appalled at how he randomly gave us prices and very obviously showed us he was not happy with us declining some suggested tourist traps and left us at hotels stranded with nothing to do. I was unhappily agreeing to giving him the average tips of $20 per day for both of us. My boyfriend however, felt inclined to give him $25 per day even though he was just as unhappy and complaining about Ken ripping us off on additional items. Ken was lucky on this tip. I would not recommend him for any future tours for anyone. If you want to see the big five and be treated like an ignorant tourist getting ripped off, driving 6 hours daily in silence then you can go to him for sure.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The Wisconsin Dells of Safari operators - a bit of what was promised, but not much. Disappointed.
My wife and I completed the 5 day Kruger safari. We are seasoned safari tourists and have been blessed to go on safari in Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. We have never been left dissatisfied until now. The accommodations were fine and the food was as well. But that’s not why most of us go on safari – it is the game drives after all.
Every game drive was shorter than advertised. Day one night drive was two hours instead of three. Day two four-hour Bush walk was just one hour of bush walking. When we got in the vehicle, we were told it was really just three hours including drive time there and back but overall it was about 2.5 hours. Worse, the 3 hour afternoon game drive started an hour late and was only two hours. Also, how many tourists who spend thousands to come all the way to South Africa really want to receive a pitch to allow elephant culling when they are viewing elephants? We've gone from 600,000 elephants to 450,0000 in seven years according to the 2015 Great Elephant census across the continent. We are in the midst of elephant genocide. We see our first elephant and the arrogant young guide starts talking about culling them and feeding the meat to local villages. Not exactly what we expected to hear. Day three - all day at Kruger National Park - no complaints. But geez, we thought this was a 5 day Kruger trip. Only one day was spent there – the rest in reserves, some of which allow hunting. Day 4 - a major disappointment. The Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre did not espouse conservation. In addition to culling and legal ivory sales, we were told that rhino horn should be legalized to discourage the black market. Really? Rhino horn? I still can't believe we heard that. Back to Mark's Camp by noon. Yummy lunch. But no afternoon game drive. Our itinerary showeda 3 PM drive. Nope due to reserve restrictions, it was a 5 pm drive. Actually 530 as driver had to wait for more customers coming in from Johannesberg. Big difference in night drives versus day drives – photos aren’t good at night, and many animals are stressed especially since it is a hunting reserve. This last drive was also just two hours. Driver didn’t speak to us, and drove incredibly irresponsibly into a thicket of acacia thorn trees in the dark. I was actually injured and had to get antibiotics for a needless eye injury. Last day we spent $400 to spend the entire afternoon at Mark’s Camp. Pathetic. We did our own bush walk that was longer than the ones Viva did. And we didn’t need guns.
My advice is focus on quality game drives. No bait and switch on what you advertise. There are far better safari companies in Africa. I highly recommend Kenya’s Gametrackers for a genuine safari experience or any Exodus trip. Very disappointed. Emailed owner of Viva safaris and no resolution. Don’t get suckered.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Got me to Gombe but didn't deliver all of what was promised
Gombe Stream NP is an amazing, magical place. The chimpanzee treks themselves are conducted by TANAPA (Tanzania's national park service) regardless of how you get to Gombe. The TANAPA guide assigned to me was superb.
Gombe Track provided a driver in Kigoma and a cook who accompanied me to Gombe. Both were great and individually deserve 5 stars. The driver stopped by on my night in Kigoma to point out the MV Liemba coming into port, and the cook took time in the evenings in Gombe to help me learn Swahili.
Unfortunately, my overall experience with Gombe Track as a tour operator was marred by two issues.
First, the itinerary I agreed to stated all meals and non-alcoholic refreshments were included. This turned out not to be the case. I was forced to pay for a number of waters and sodas, and on my last day in Kigoma, was told by the "hotel" (see below) that my meals were not included. As a result, I opted to skip two meals (dinner and breakfast) rather than pay for food that should have been covered.
Second, the itinerary I agreed to called for one night in Kigoma at a specific hotel (Coast View). I researched this property beforehand to ensure it was acceptable to me. Instead, without any notice or discussion, I was taken to another accommodation which seemed to be of much lower quality (Aqua Lodge).
Unlike Coast View, Aqua Lodge had no internet/WiFi, no restaurant/bar, etc. While the staff seemed friendly enough and there was a great lake view, my room had only a squeaky ceiling fan that didn't cool the room very well and the poor ventilation allowed outside cigarette smoke in. The bed had a thin bed sheet over over a mattress that wasn't even tucked in. There was a leak in the bathroom that left the base of the toilet in a puddle of water. Finally, I could hear just about everything in the one nearby room that was occupied by a couple who decided to get frisky at 3 am. Needless to say, I didn't sleep much and was counting down the hours until I left.
I should note that my trip to Gombe was initially arranged through another tour operator, who I had a great experience with on another safari. After I had agreed to terms and was in Tanzania, I was handed off to Gombe Track directly. The full payment for my trip was given to Gombe Track. As far as I am concerned, it was Gombe Track's responsibility to be aware of the itinerary/terms and ensure they were followed since it was the company actually conducting the tour.
I paid Gombe Track $900 for 4 days and the last ~22 hours were in Kigoma where I was basically on my own waiting to fly back to Dar es Salaam. This amount did not include the TANAPA fees (park entrance, guide, accommodations at the park, etc.) and airfare, which added more than $600 to the total cost.
$900 should have been way more than enough to profitably cover my (limited) ground transportation in Kigoma, the boat to and from Gombe, 4 days of meals and non-alcoholic beverages, admission to the Livingstone monument in Ujiji, and one night of accommodation in the Kigoma hotel specified in the itinerary I agreed to.
While Gombe Track got me to Gombe and back, and I appreciate that, I now know I paid a lot more than necessary and despite this, I still got less than what was agreed to.
I had been in contact with the owner of Gombe Track via WhatsApp prior to my trip and never heard from him after the trip to see how it went, which was disappointing, especially given the cost. I did two other safaris while on Tanzania, both of which were much less expensive on a per day basis, and both operators were eager to collect feedback afterwards.