AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tony Kapolondo is a fraud
We had a horrible time with this tour operator. A friend and I booked with him for our first safari, planning to see Tanzania’s wildlife in mid-luxury lodges. We also paid him upfront for a hot air balloon tour over the Serengeti.
When we arrived, we were a bit surprised at the status of the car, as we expected a more modern vehicle. The next morning, we were told that we will not be staying in the lodges we planned to stay in according to our itinerary; instead he booked us sub-par lodges for less money, including a two night stay in a tented camp outside Serengeti instead of Serena and Lobo as we originally paid him. He also informed us that the hot air balloon, which we paid USD 550 each for, is not likely to happen. His excuse was that since we changed flights by arriving a day earlier (we informed him of the change 2.5 weeks before our departure, and paid him in full a week prior to that) then it made the accommodations and balloon tour very difficult. Prior to our departure, however, he told me that all the bookings for hotels are done, implying it was based on the original itinerary.
We later discovered that there were no bookings. The first place we were to stay in instead of Flamingo Lodge was not paid for and so we ended up staying in a tiny room with problems with hot water and wifi. Tony did not answer me when I asked him that night on the reason why our ‘big room’ was booked already, even though he supposedly confirmed the bookings beforehand. After that, we moved to Serengeti where Tony told us the tented camp we’d be staying in would be “luxury”. We ended up staying in a tent with no hot water, and no wifi, either. We had serious issues that day, as he told us one thing and gave us something completely opposite. We paid Tony good money expecting a service and accommodation based on what we agreed, but that has not been provided.
All his excuses turned out to be false. On the night before we were supposed to go to Rhino Lodge for Ngorongoro, the driver informed us that Tony told him we’re staying in Karatu, instead. He also told him that we’ll do a short drive in Ngorongoro on our way out of Serengeti stating that there is no availability in Rhino Lodge. At this point we were sick of his lies, so we contacted Rhino Lodge ourselves and found there’s a room available. We informed him of this, and lo and behold, Kapolondo miraculously ‘found’ availability and booked a room for us.
Before we move on to the rest of the tale, before our departure, my friend found a balloon company in Serengeti and contacted them regarding Kapolondo booking. We were informed that there’s no booking in that name. Tony told us he booked with a different company. At the time, we trusted him, unfortunately. When we arrived in Serengeti, we contacted the other balloon operator (there are only two), and they informed by phone and email that there are no booking under Kapolondo name. Tony told us, bizarrely, that he booked under a different name.
His lies continued and he wanted to charge us for the last night in Mvuli lodge, even though it was already included in the itinerary, and he tried to get out of arranging us transfers to the airport. After talking to him, he finally relented and agreed to give us what we already paid him to do. There was no booking, and he had to transfer money after we talked to him.
Tony decided not to hold himself to any of the agreed upon itinerary we paid him to do, and instead he wanted to keep our money to himself without regards to our agreement or the fact that we honored our part and paid him in full well in advance. He claimed he will provide copies of vouchers on the original itinerary, including the supposed balloon tour when we arrived in Arusha, but that turned out to be another lie as we didn’t even see him on our last day. He is a fraud and you should avoid him at all costs.
VN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Poor facility and poor resoponsibilities
We had an unforgettable trip in many ways:
- staff with us are friendly
- but the first day to pick us up from hotel the car had issue so the driver was late 30 minutes
- the company did not consult not give us any advices about the tour they are selling with the weather condition before we decided. When our last day trip was cancelled because the rain washed out the bridge then they played “innocent” and blamed the weather. As a tour agency but they don’t know about the weather of the season and what may cause then they are not professional and don’t know well about their work. We did not received any warning from them
- the chef is nice, cooking well but that is when he cooks. 50% of our lunch box and 50% of our breakfast were sandwiches which I could not eat, I chose to eat other things and sandwiches were the leftover. I know this is not about the chef but that is what the company is able to provide. And normally we don’t eat this kind of food at home bit we know that is what they could offer so we did not complain anything. But I still want to raise my voice on review about this so others could consider.
- office response slowly to give advices to give help when we had troubles on the road. When my driver found down the road was off by rain and he said our trip plan was changed and trying to contact office for advices from morning but until 2 pm we received their phone call to give solution. Same with car broke-down accident, office gave slow response.
- The campsite so call “main office” of Shemeji, the road is really muddy and our car was stuck 2 hours there. The tour agency can’t predict or can’t affect the road in safari but at least they can fix the road at their own place. They should not let the car stuck in mug 2 hours and wasted clients’ time at least at their own campsite. For this, I see they don’t really give their best for the service
- Even though in the “Term and Condition” they wrote: car breakdown is not acceptable but it happened to us and they just blamed for weather and road. It made our trip shorter, more tired, mentally effected by the scare about this risk of life but they tried not to mention about this accident. After all the payment was done we don’t see much any support from management. All they do is trying to protect their own benefit to not refund us the payment we spent for the service we did not receive.
The Safari itself is worth visiting, but Shemeji is not worth chosen for your trip. I don not recommend.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Stole our Money -F*** these guys -Do not trust them!!!
They stole $5000 dollars from us for our Honeymoon - Do not send them money-they will screw you over. They did not provide the safari, and did not give us our money back.
EG
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Bad experience with Bencia Africa Adventure and Safaris.
My wife and I booked a 5 day safari and paid $1700 before tips. They lied about the cost of the park entrance fees which we discovered later. The accomodation was substandard and not what we were promised. The car broke down on our last day and we were delayed for several hours. As a result we had to stay an extra night in an awful hotel provided by the travel agent. On our return to Nairobi Bencia demanded an extra $150 per person. They didn't apologise for the delay or the disruption to our schedule. They refused to bring us to the airport on our return. Despite our insistence they forced us to return to outside their office building. We had requested to be dropped at the airport or at other points along the way even though we were late for our flight. We refused to enter the building as they were demanding extra money from us. Within two minutes eight of their staff blocked the entrance to a nearby restaurant as we had sought refuge there. They aggressively harrassed and intimidated us and were trying to extort money from us. One of their employees picked up a rock and an altercation ensued between him and a customer of the restaurant. We are very grateful to the customers and staff of Sizzler restaurant on the same street. They protected us and helped us to get into our taxi unharmed. We needed to be protected on the way to the car as they were continuing to follow us, as indeed did the employee holding a rock. I would strongly advise anybody not to use this company.
We would greatly appreciate your help in resolving this matter.
Regards,
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Thieves!!!!
I booked a Safary with them and everything was fine until a hotel made a charge in my visa because they didn't pay the hotel when I already payed them all my expenses
I tried to get in contact with them but never answer
Don't book with them!!!
PL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Car crush & stolen money - make sure not to book any trip with It Started in Africa!
The safari with It Started in Africa was a series of bad adventures and lost money.
The trip started with a car crush with a fuel truck in the middle of Ngorongoro conservation area, caused by our car breaks malfunction. It was very dangerous situation, fortunately we managed to continue the trip next day in a new car (even it worse shape), without very serious injuries, but being really shaken up, in pain and with multiple bruises.
Secondly, the problems with financials appeared. Enough though we covered all the fees and permits in advance we were forced to pay again for entrances to National Parks. Not only we had to cover the expensive payments again, but also we were hold on each gate for hours, losing time planned for our safari (above on a whole day that we already lost due to the car accident). Moreover, it turned out that the company did not pay their subcontractors as well, e.g. for our car rental. Therefore, on a final day of our safari we were hunted through the Ngogoro crater by the car owner, who insisted on immediate car return. Instead of enjoying the nature we were forced to participate in multiple arguments between our driver and the car owner about the missing money. The problems continued also upon our arrival to Zanzibar where we had to repay multiple transport fees, which again we already covered by us before.
We discussed it with the ITIA office multiple times and did not receive any attention or support, at certain point the office simply stopped answering the phone or returning emails.
We are also aware that this was not an exceptional case, as during our trip we have met several other groups, who had to repay the fees already covered and like us lost a lot of money.
We selected ITIA as tour operator due to their highly positive reviews at TripAdvisor. Unfortunately, those turn out to be absolutely not true. Not only they stole money from us, but most importantly they did not ensure safety and support during our trip. Make sure you never book any trip with It Started in Africa office.
NE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Kapolondo is a swindler, he took our money for a luxury safari, but we had budget and unsafe safari
We bought a luxury safari, especially because we travelled with a 9 month baby. We needed security and comfort.
But, instead, we had to stay in budget lodge (We paid 4720 USD per person). When we told him we were angry, he did nothing. During all the safari, he didn't respect his contract, he never informs us in advance of change. If he was correct, if an hotel is full, he could inform us and propose us another choice, with eventually another price. We saw Kapolondo himself at the beginning of the tour and he did'nt inform us of the change, even for the first night. He is coward. He made on our back about 100 to 500 USD by night for 4 nights he made a change.
Worst the car wasn't safe, a wire caught fire, we had to stop in emergency but there was not hand brake, we had to run to stop the car with a stone and to put out the fire. We travelled with a 9-month baby...
At the end of the trip, we asked him for an amical settlement. He accepted it and asked us to send an email. we did it, but he never answers.
He didn't organise our trip, the guide didn't know the program. We had to wait 2 hours before entering Segerenti park (while the other cars waiting 30 minutes) because he didn't book the hotel the day before. We did not visit some part of the program.
He didn't inform us that we have 5% visa charge before we paid. But, it's a legal obligation, he must inform the customer before the payment! He didn’t inform us that we have to paid for the luggage for each internal flight, about 100 USD more for the 3 flights.
We will file a complaint against him in court.
65+ years of age
Trek to Kilimanjaro;change of plans; poor decisions;no real interest in clients;unsatisfactory; bad
Not what expected; "ladies group"? I was told on the day "just you" but luckily one more lady otherwise me at 75 and 7 or 8 local men. Route changed for doubtful reason . Staying at Kibo Hut for 2 cold nights a bad decision. No breakfast and a few dry biscuits, peanuts after a 5 hour climb, starting at 5am. Should have been 4 am but guides overslept. Could have reached final summit easily with a good group. Physically fit, no altitude problems just terribly hungry. I am quite small. A fuss at the hotel over security of items left "in Storage". A plan to drive 2 more hours was changed by me. Trauma in Arusha when Tony attacked a man.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
They are terrible. Very poor customer service.
They promise a lot but deliver nothing. What was meant to be a guide was just a rude semi illiterate driver who had no clue about what a guides role is, never mind that we had been promised that we would have the services of an 'experienced tour guide'. Poor customer experience. You do not get value for money. They are big on brand, but zero content.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Changed itinerary in the morning of the tour.
We booked a 4 day safari with two nights in Seronera, Serengeti. They changed the itinerary in the morning when the safari started. We ended up having 1 night in Seronera and therefore no full day in the Serengeti. This way it is cheaper for them as we spent the first night outside the parks, that is why they did it. Given this change we wanted a discount of around 100$. They said we can have 20$ discount and if we do not accept we can have all the money back and leave. That was in the morning when the safari should have started. They could well have informed us the evening before when we paid, but they did not. As the choice was between no safari and changed itinerary we decided to join. The car was the oldest moving thing you can imagine and broke down in the middle of the savanna. They did not have tools with them to repair it. They did not have walkie talkies to call somebody for help. They did not have a rope in the car to tow away the car by another bypassing car. Imagine you get stuck in a water hole? In the end they repaired the car with the leather-man of another tourist who was in a car which stopped to help us. We ended up missing the last hour of our late evening safari because we had to bring other passengers to their camp. As we were very lucky we ended up seeing all the animals the next morning, but that was really pure luck. The parks are great and the guide was very friendly and did his best given the means he was given by the company. Again this was pure luck, all the other guides of the same company seamed not very competent. Food was ok. The overall organization done by the company was horrible. We booked with Trip Advisor Africa Safari, but basically this internet companies are selling their costumers to a Tanzanian operator. Ours operator was Sandland tours of Abraham Shaidi. The itinerary change was apparently the fold of Trip Advisor Africa Safari and its owner Seth Vincent. The bad equipment of the car is the fold of Shaidi. So even if you book with other companies ask for the operator and check its reviews.