35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Disorganized and Poor Customer Service
We went with this company on back to back days…1 in Zanzibar and 1 in Kenya. On day 1, we were supposed to swim with dolphins and sea turtles. We were also supposed to have time to explore Jozani Forest. Instead, we spent most of the day in the bus (2+ hours of it were with it not moving). We had a short stop at a beach, but were told we had to make it quick to make it to our lunch reservation at The Rock Restaurant. We were assured that we would get a chance to swim with dolphins and sea turtles afterwards. While the meal was nice, it was very disorganized. After the meal was over, it took Marl approximately an hour to settle up the bill with each person in the group. Rather than spending an hour at the restaurant, it ended up being 2 hours which further pushed things behind. We were then told we wouldn’t be able to stop for dolphins because it was too hot for them. I found out later friends of ours with a different company did swim with dolphins. We were then given a choice of aquarium to see the sea turtles, Jovani Forest or go straight to the cruise ship we came in on. If we chose the turtles, we wouldn’t have time to swim with them. We chose Jovani Forest. We only had 20 minutes there due to the disorganization. We had to stay close by due to the short amount of time. Luckily, we did see a few monkeys. So…our group of 4 spent over $400 for a glorified meal, 20 minutes at a forest that we didn’t get to explore much of, and hours on a hot bus.
Since the company is from Kenya, we gave them the benefit of the doubt. We expected the next day to go smoother. We got off the ship and made our way to the Jeeps. We were told before the day started it would go smoother. We were told we would load up the jeeps in order of arrival and each jeep would leave immediately once filled. Did that happen? Nope. We waited an hour before getting started with the long drive to Tsavo East. Once there, we had to wait another hour and a half to get in because of “system error”. Even though there was a “system error” there were still other people going into the park who were with other tour groups. The safari itself was nice. We saw lots of animals. When it came time to leave though, I’m pretty sure our driver got lost. We didn’t leave the park until nearly an hour after the rest of our group had left the park. A lunch at Voi Lodge was supposed to be included. We were supposed to go to Masai Village. All of that was cut out.
Everything that went wrong on both days always had an excuse that was blamed on someone or something else rather than taking responsibility for their mistakes or their miscommunication. There was no attempt to reconcile what was promised to be included but wasn’t. There was no offer of a partial refund for the things we were supposed to do but didn’t get to do. We felt like we were taken advantage of. We felt like we were lied to. We felt like we were scammed. This is a company that I highly recommend others to AVOID!
BE
We felt that there was no organization, no professionalism!
We were a group and we all have been very disappointed the 2 days
First one in Zanzibar and the second d one in Mombasa !
Really bad organization !
Most of the people in the group want to be reimburse !
Very bad company sorry
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Bad Experience
Bad Experience, I will not come here again in my whole life.
SE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We are so unhappy with our trip!
We are so unhappy with the trip! The car had problems at least 5 times, the suspension broke, the car could not be started, problems with the oil, overheated tires.
The WORST thing was that we feel that the owner Calvin scammed us out of money too!!
SE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We feel scammed by this operator
The experience was terrible. From the actual Safari where the poor planning and condition of our SUV made us miss big part of the safari. Furthermore, the company hadn't paid for the gate fees (1000 USD) and made us pay to get out of the park. We also had to pay for our hotel stay that should have been included. All of these money we have not seen yet. I would not book again!
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unreliable and unprofessional operator who doesn't stick to the marketed quote
Beforehand we did enjoy exploring Kenya and its wildlife. The parks (Ambosseli, Lake Nukuru and Masai Mara) were clean, astonishing and we had a great time discovering and learing about all the animals.
Nevertheless we would never recommend a safari with Kennafrica Adventures again because of our experience.
First of all the provided guide wasn't well-suited for the job. He couldn't provide any information about the nature or wildlife - he just kept on repeating every information the driver had already given us. Even worse he was basically having a wonderful vacation on our expense - having us take pictures of him, joining in on every adventure and even sleeping during safari (his working hours). We even told him that it was bothering us but there seemed to be no self-reflection.
The booked tour (quote) and the actual tour were two different things, we added some comments in the quote, as you can see in the photos. The worst part was that the fifth day of safari fell completly out. Without further notice Kennafrica Adventures decided to cancel the planned game drive. Because of this we missed out on a whole lot of possibilities to get to know Kenya's wildlife and nature.
As we addressed this issue we felt that Kennafrica Adventures used petty excuses and basically didn't handle the situation at all to our satisfaction. There was no support from our guide - he just handed over the phone instead of dealing with the situation or coming up with a solution. After discussing the issue with the company's manager for about 2-3 hours in the evening we negotiated a refund ($125), nothing compared to the lifetime experience we were missing out on - up to today we are still waiting to get this money back.
On top of that we agreed to at least go to a Masai village on day five, which was according to the quote already included. Arriving there we had to pay an entrance fee ($40) - again no support from our guide. He just assured us that we will get this money back with our refund - as said before we are still waiting.
The manager now even blocked us on WhatsApp and won't answer our mails. We are highly consindering to take legal actions against Kennafrica Adventures.
The only reason we regret giving a one star rate is our driver, Mungai. He was an exceptional tour guide, who taught us a lot about the nature and its wildlife. We even learned some Swahili. He made this whole safari worthwhile. We would always come back to do a safari with him but never if it's operated by Kennafrica Adventures.
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
I'm not a happy camper
Promised helicopter over Botswana….never happened
Promised 2 different luxury camps in Botswana..never happen.
One day before going to the first camp they switched and sent us for 6 days at a cheaper camp. Even the manager at the camp said it was strange and unheard of for use to be there for 6 days.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I think Mack is a liar and a thief.
Myself and my partner booked this tour as one of our bucket list holidays. Communication was poor in itself but we did at least manage the safari. We paid an additional 1000 US dollars to do a hot air balloon ride. The safari guide was not helpful and did not want to tell us about anything and we kept having to wait for long periods to get through entrances etc because he claimed he did not have the money from Mack. We can now believe this. Our hot air balloon got cancelled due to weather, the separate company were amazing, refunded Killi holidays straight away and still let us stay for breakfast. It has been since august and we still have not received our refund despite daily messages being sent. The hot air balloon company have proved the money has been sent to Mack and he keeps making excuses and telling us to chill. This is now 6 months later and he is still telling us lies and not returning our money. DO NOT TRUST THIS COMPANY.
Terrible!!
DO NOT ruin your Safari! and I suggest anyone considering using this company DO NOT PAY A DEPOSIT. From the initial planning stages, to the final day of our trip we came across issues. They changed the lodge for a tent the same day we arrived.
While all the other guests were able to enjoy early morning and afternoon games(obviously using different companies) we spent our days driving long distances from one place to another and ended up doing only one & half day safari instead three(we paid for 3 days).
On the first day our driver picked us from the hotel at 9:30 am, we drove until 5pm, and we were told there would not be any safari for the first day. whole afternoon was wasted!Is it because the agent want to save the money for entry fees and parking fees for the first day?however, we were charged for 36h Masai Mara safari we barely did 12h.
The same things also happened in the final day. We drove in a lost place in Amboseli, no other companies were in the place we were!!!coincidence?!? We drove in circles for more than 2h without explanation!!
Poorly organised! Picnic food was not provided day 2 and 3.
I never left a negative comment, But this time, I have no reason to be positive since our holiday have been ruined by this company.
I would not recommend using this company to plan your safari, USE SOMEONE ELSE!!!!
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The trip in Uganda and Kenya with Yaneta Safari was a terrible bad experience.
The trip in Uganda and Kenya with Yaneta Safari was a terrible bad experience.
The only positive aspect was our driver in Uganda; Moses was a perfect guide, he always did all the best to meet our desires and expectations.
We did with Yaneta a 5 five day tour in Uganda and 7 days in Kenya where Yaneta involved Big Time Safaris as a partner. We booked the trip in february 2023 and we have paid everything as stipulated in the contract with Yaneta.
The trip had already some issues in Uganda, but it became a terrible nightmare in Kenya.
1) the first night in Uganda two out of four rooms did not have a private bathroom instead in the contract it was specified that a private bathroom would always be guaranteed; we did not receive any refund for this.
2) They booked our flight to Kenya probably at the last moment so we had to fly at 3am, as a result we didn't sleep in any hotel, but we didn't get any refund
3) when we arrived in Kenya the Kenyan agency told us that Yaneta had not paid for our trip; we immediately wrote to Yaneta who replied that Big Time Safaris had increased costs at the last moment, Yaneta however did not want to give them more money and therefore had decided not to pay this difference.
4) Big Time Safaris blackmailed us: pay cash now the difference or we take you to Nairobi and we stop the tour
5) Yaneta asked us to pay because they were economically in difficulty in that moment and asked us to trust them that we will have receive a refund in short time; we had no choice
6) We had to pay to finish the tour, but in the meantime we missed a safari in the Masai Park and did not receive any refund for that either; the cost was $80 per person.
We found ourselves in a terrible situation, forced to pay and treated very arrogantly.
Yaneta wrote me in October to be patient that they would have sent us a refund, but now a new year is arrived and we have not receive any pay back.
We have also thought that the two agencies had organized a scam to extort us further money.
A terrible nightmare !!!