CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Budget should not mean poor quality....
We read many reviews of various companies and chose Karibu because they seemed to offer a very professional service, they guaranteed maximum 6 people maximum per van (so everyone has a window seat) and apparently had good guides (so many reviews said the driver/guides were excellent!). We chose a 7 day safari to Maasai Marai, Lake Naivasha, Hell’s Gate, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli. Unfortunately, we were somewhat disappointed.
Booking, communication with Robert, payment and initial pick-up all went smoothly! Yay! But then…things started taking a downward turn…first, we were told that the planned itinerary was changing because we had 4 people joining us later…no worries. This change ultimately meant we spent more time in the car (so less time doing activities) and almost 2 hours waiting for the people to join. During that first day’s amended agenda, we went to Hell’s Gate park. Our driver/guide Castro kept telling us we needed to rent bikes and that he could not drive in the park…he pretty much dropped us off to negotiate bike prices on our own, it was a rather uncomfortable situation (which quite honestly should have pre-arranged or the negotiating done by him…the guide). Being new to Kenya we had no idea what would have been a reasonable price. Anyhow, we took bikes and rode into the park with a different guide who was assigned to us without any previous explanation. We did love the experience of riding the bikes, but it became obvious that our driver had not been fully honest with us as there were many groups driving through the park and disembarking for photo opportunities. Let’s just say that this first bit of “dishonesty” did not set us up for a relationship of confidence with our guide. Many little things like this kept happening along the way and it just made us uncomfortable and even frustrated at times. In fact, on more than one occasion, so-called “optional” activities were assigned to us without choice nor with any prior information and then the person providing that activity would expect some sort of extra payment, which we were never made aware of before.
That first night we were driven to a hotel that was not in the planning that was sent to us by Robert and when we asked about it, Castro said that the other hotel had called him to say they were fully booked and that we should go to this one. Again…seemed strange but, whatever, we went with the flow. A similar thing happened to us in Maasai Mara when we arrived at a different camp than what was on the planning. Since there were now 6 in our group at this point, everyone questioned the situation and Castro just seemed annoyed with us. He did not exhibit any sort of patience and eventually, in a huff, drove us off to the other camp at which apparently no reservation had been made and we were again put in an uncomfortable situation….we were told by the camp staff that the only tents available were “luxury” tents and that we would have to pay extra. Of course we refused, and after waiting for about 20 minutes…we were all assigned regular tents, although one couple (newlyweds) had to sleep in separate single beds. Just another awkward strange situation. Something similar again happened when we arrived at our assigned camp in Amboseli. Upon arrival, we were told that the reservation for our group had never been confirmed so that they did not really have the correct number of tents for us. So as a group, we ensured the newlyweds had the best accommodation, but that meant that the other two couples ended up with subpar, lower quality rooms (not tents) for their stay there. Don’t get me wrong, the staff at this camp were outstanding and they really did everything they could to make us comfortable (thank you Henry), the problem here lies with Karibu.
We did fully enjoy the game drives though and I must say, Castro was an excellent driver. He got us close to the animals and did everything possible to find them. That being said, he was really not a good guide. I realize this was a budget safari but basic guiding is not hard to provide (having worked in the tourism industry I feel I am well placed to say so). Simple basic information about the animals, people and places would have been appreciated. Common courtesies such as saying “Good morning, how are you?’’ or smiling on occasion do not cost the company or the guide any more and they make a big difference in the client’s experience. On some days Castro barely spoke to us and getting simple information about our day’s itinerary was at times like pulling teeth. We had to ask for water on many occasions and it felt like it was an inconvenience for Castro to give it to us, when it was supposed to be provided. Some days we got a small bottle each, some days we didn’t even get any. On one day, when we mentioned this, we got a snarky response from Castro of “well…did you ask for it?’’. Unfortunately, his attitude made us feel unwelcome and more of a burden to him than anything. We eventually all just pretty much stopped asking questions and tried to enjoy our game drives as much as possible.
There are probably another half dozen situations I could describe here that made our experience much less enjoyable than it could have been (not to mention the vehicle break-down which ended up having us wait for 5 hours for a replacement vehicle….these things happen of course, but it was the poor communication of it all and the lack of apology or any sense of compassion that made it a bad situation or the fact that there ended up being 7 of us in the van and we had to argue to ensure we remained at 6) , but I will limit myself to these.
Again, we saw some amazing animals. The game drives were excellent. But the guiding, organization and communication were very disappointing and quite below even a budget safari standards.
I would think twice before booking with Karibu.
BG
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent
In April this Year Rupia adventure organized for me four days Mount Meru trekking and Lake Manjara, Ngorongoro and Tarangire safari. I decided to come back Tanzania in August and this time Rupia adventure organized for me Ol Doinyo Lengai trekking, Kikuletwa hot springs and Usambara mountain. Everything was excellent organized. Highly recommend Ol Doinyo Lengai trekking and Usambara mountain. This is really Tanzania .Thanks Rupia adventure
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Overall great tour… our guide John was awesome!
Communication was great, good value for your money (Masai Mara tour). Our guide John was fantastic! He’s like our adopted brother now.
Safari honestly was the best part of our Kenya vacation.
Only negative was the actual Safari vehicle. Thought we were getting a land cruiser, but apparently that’s an up grade.
FR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The tour operator Seth is understandable and very accommodating
Trip Advisor Africa Safaris put in touch with the travel agent very easily.
There is a follow-up to know if the agencies have made contact with me.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful time in Safari and Mt Kilimanjaro
We joined the safari tour "Migration Footsteps" for 8 days and also climbing mount Kilimanjaro via Machame Route for 7 days. We had a very great time and unforgettable experience.
For safari brought us to Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater. The Guide is very experienced and share a lot of knowledge about the animals, plants, environments etc. We managed to see most types of animals we wished to and even able to watch the wildebeest river crossing! He can always make the good location and angle to see the wildlife. We did the wild camping during the nights and the tent is always well set up for us to rest. Food cooked by the chef is great and yummy.
For climbing mount Kilimanjaro, the crew is really great again. The guides always assist us to get over all the difficulties everyday and we finally managed to reach the top – Uhuru peak! Again everything are well set up in the campsite and the food is always well prepared timely and deliciously.
Before, after and between the 2 tours, It’s started in Africa also well arranged all the transportation and accommodation which let us get ready and rest nicely.
Overall, I am so glad that I chose It’s started in Africa for this trip. I highly recommend it to everyone who is thinking about a trip in Tanzania!
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
DE
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
It is a country with spetacular nature, very rich in wild life and friendly people.
The visit to Namibia was really a great experience. The wild life is amazing. The variety of animals that we could see was very astonishing and exceed our expectation. Travelling from Twyfelfontein to Swakopmund we could feel the drastic temperature change from 35oC to 15oC. The tour to the Living desert and to the Boat tour was excelent although with cold temperature. The highllights of our visit was the game drives at Etosha and the visit to Sossusvlei with its gorgeous red sand dunes. We were surprised to see how clean is the country during our whole traveling. Aside the roads there was no pollution left by human. Flollowing the advices from our guide, we felt very safe. We are very happy with our visit to Namibia. The tour operator was very efficient and our guide was excellent.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
best destination ever
at first one can think that the prices are elevated, but once you are there you realised that it worth it! every single centime
DE
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Damaraland by Aparecida Kawamoto
Damaraland has a very beautiful scenic. The mountains is great, but unfortunately we have not done any safari, so we could not see the wild like there.
DE
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Etosha National Park by Aparecida Kawamoto
The wild life that is excellent and we could see amazing variety of animals.