CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The company could benefit from updating their equipment. Shop around.
Communication was quick but it was troubling that the lodges advertised, one of the reason this company was chosen, were suddenly unavailable once the deposit was made. Even after a change to those accommodations there was a further change. The first and last accommodations were phenomenal but the second was below the standard of any place I stayed in Tanzania despite being called a luxury lodge. I am not sure if the driver was skilled or just very lucky. The speed at which we travelled on dirt roads in my opinion far exceeded the capabilities of the vehicle and placed my safety at risk. It was difficult to appreciate the stunning animals and the incredible scenery while veering across the road avoiding oncoming vehicles who were in their own lane.
NL
Several things didn’t went as promised, although we paid for it. We are not satisfied at all.
We got a very nice offer, that we accepted and paid all in advance. Tsavo East was skipped at the day of departure. Although that parkeer was paid. The lodge we paid for was, as they say, full. Allthough we booked in february, later us was told that in february that lodge wasn’t full, and we had to stay in another lodge, 18 km outside the park and very poor. Therefor we also missed the sunrise gamedrive. And our time in the park was also less. We had several times contact and asked for an explanation. And there were some more things. Untill now we didn’t get any compensation. We will never book at Jastro Safaris again.
GR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Mixed Feelings
So me and my friend , booked a 10 days safari trip in both kenya and tanzania.
That included : masai mara, amboseli national park, lake nakuru and lake naivasha (kenya ) and serengeti national park, ngorogoro crater ( tanzania ) . Food , camps and hotels as well as transportation were all included . The total cost was around 1850usd . For starters, the kenya side was perfect, the driver-guide was always on time and did everything he could to make us have a great time and see as many animals as we could as close as possible.
Then it was tanzanias turn. To begin with , the driven wasnt on time as the hotel the first day when we were in arusha( before going to serengeti) . Secondly, we were supposed to do a 3 hours afternoon drive , before restinf at the camp. Not only didnt we do that but in addition on of the girl with whom we were having the safari , asked for a stop to see some hippos, the driver completely ignored her and continued going towards the camp. The driver-guide didnt seem to know how to drive, we stopped multiple times , during our 3 days in tanzania in order for him to find another driver and help him with his gear transmission. He also got lost multiple times going in and out of serengeti park making u turns every time until he finally finds the way. To sum up to this , at our first night at simba a camp in serengeti, regardless the fact that we have seen fire occuring at 17:00 when we reached the camp at 18:30 and we decided to inform the company( which knew nothing about the fire) we full understood the extent of the disaster. The camp was full of gas due to the fire and it was literally impossible to stay there ,beacuse we were only inhaling gas. After multiple messages and phone calls with the company , they told us that the lodge campa are way too expensive to pay(400 usd per person) and that all other camps were full . The result was that we werr forced to sleep there all night,putting our health at risk by the huge amount of gas he inhaled.
The company told ua that the tanzanian part wasnt run by them, but by another partner , the 7wonders, so they cant practically control all things
After returning back in nairobi, we told the office about how terrible the driver in tanzania was( he was a free lancer with 3 more times in the serengeti park as he told us) and about the fire etc and we demanded a compensation at least for the days we lost in Tanzania. They offered us either a day at the giraffe centre in nairobi or 50usd as a compensation.
Regardless the fact that the kenya part was perfect the real reason about this rating is that when you pay 1850usd for a safari in kenya you are hoping for better solutions when a huge problem appears.
SE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Did not deliver on promises
We went on a six day safari organized by Caren at Nashibe. The parks are of course very nice and one of the lodges we stayed at was excellent (Severin in Tsavo West).
However, In Amboseli we didn't get the accommodation that we agreed on before paying the deposit (one of the lodges were changed to one that we would not have booked if we had known). The pickup was two hours late (which we were told only after calling them from the parking lot). We felt that the driver, whilst driving safely, had very little knowledge about animals and it felt that he did not know his way around the parks. The radio in the car (used to communicate with other drivers) did not seem to work. The description of the safari days in the itinerary included things that were infeasible due to time/distance. For example, for Tsavo East the itinerary gave the impression that we would see the Galana River on our afternoon game drive - which turned out to be 120 km away. At the end of the tour, we had to wait for half a day for the train in Voi. Only after arguing with the driver we agreed that this time was to be spent at the lodge and not at the train station. The final drop-off at Diani Beach turned out to be four hours later than promised.
When providing this feedback to Caren after the tour, she did not respond.
TR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Poor communication, insufficient team spirit
We agreed on a 5-day safari package with Osnet. Our communication was very good beforehand and I had recommended it to many of my friends.
Although the tour started well, problems came one after another during the trip.
On the 2nd day, the Giraffe Center visit did not take place due to lack of communication between Geofrey and the guide. Although dinner was included in the price, I paid for it. The visit to the Masai village also did not take place again due to communication problems. The plan included a Tsavo West and Taita park tour. Our guide suggested to replace East instead of Tsavo West, and I said OK. Again, due to lack of communication between the guide and Geofrey, I had to pay the extra Tsavo East Park fee and fuel cost.
The hotel was not on our plan before the flight on the last day. I asked Geofrey and thanks to him he arranged. He asked 103$ for it and then said he paid himself for cover his excuse, I think.
In summary:
The communication between the team was very poor. Geofrey accusing them, guide and the driver criticizing him, telling he just sitting at the office.
Why I found myself in the middle of unpleasant arguments for no reason? Why did I pay for Park fees, fuel costs and dinner which should be included in the itinerary? Why we didn’t go to Giraffe Center and Masai Village which was also in the itinerary? I spent an hour to explain situations for Tsavo Parks. Why I had to do it on my vacation ?
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Very good guide but lack of organisation and support by operator
First of all: Our guide was friendly and competent, so we spend a pleasant time.
Now the reason for the two star review:
- First of all, we did two gamedrives less compared to the itinerary. This was strongly recommended by the guide since the location of the lodges would not allow to complete the program as it was foreseen by the operator.
- Second, the transport to our hotel after completion of the tour was organized poorly and took several hours more than necessary. After suggesting an alternative transport I was offered transfer by car for 230 US Dollars, more than three times the price charged by our hotel.
- In the morning of the last day the operator approved our request to be dropped at Sala Gate, instead of Voi Gate. Thereafter I ordered a transfer to the hotel. Two hours later, shortly before departure and after I ordered the driver, we were told that a transfer to Sala Gate would not be approved, since the operator did not want to pay the fuel for an extra 150km (of course, the two gamedrives less were not refunded).
- Instead we should rush to Voi, where we were supposed to take a car from Voi to Malindi. So we left the lodge early and skipped the gamedrive scheduled for this day
- Arriving in Voi it turned out that there was no space for us in the car - so we had to wait two hours two hours to take the train to Mombasa.
All in all there was a total lack of organisation and support once the money was paid. The refusal of driving us 75km to Sala Gate was rediculous, considering the price of the safari and the fact, that the operator delivered two gamedrives less than promised.
IE
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Serengeti National Park by Karl Senn
Too many cars and dust, stress for the animals, large distances covered with high speed
IE
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Zanzibar and Tanzania, come, see and lose e all Your illusions
We booked for Zanzibar with 5 days Safari on the mainland (Tanzania). The first thing that we negatively noted was that Zanzibar, outside of the resort, as an Island is very dirty. I was brought up with the saying: If Your poor then at least be clean.
The people of Zanzibar that we met stem mostly from the Mainland Tanzania, they are very friendly, helpful and kind. That is the only really positive point, and in that a very noteworthy one. The organiser of the safari was at all time reachable, kind, efficient and its organisation fine. A light in the dark.
Zanzibar was as dirty as a Garbage dump except the airport and the hotel area. The mainland was far better, but then it has not much to show for.
Then, the different day tours where expensive for what was given, mostly not worth to participate. A 1-day safari to the main land will cover all the tours with exception of the swimming with the turtles.
If You go to Stonetown, don’t expect anything and even then, you will be disappointed!
Serengeti, the high grail of a national parks is very disappointing nonetheless You can see the Lyons and other animals, however You have to prepare for a lot of dust. The drivers call each other where for example a Lyon is and then 30 to 40 Jeeps rally to this point, creating a traffic jam in the middle of nowhere and leaving everybody covered in dust. All the other parks where ok, but Serengeti was a big disappointment, here Tanzania markets its animals worse than in a zoo.
One must have seen Zanzibar and Tanzania to lose one owns illusions. Once in a life time is enough.
PT
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Antonio Alves
Very few fauna and few specimen of animal. Time lost. May be a place to beguin a safari, baut not to finish after Serengueti or ngorongoro
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lack of attention to detail
I chose Jastro Safaris based on the fact that it had lots of great reviews. Victor reached out to me after I put in a quotation request and we had a detailed discussion on possible options for our safari. There were initial mistakes in his quotations that I pointed out and he fixed. I suggested places I would like to visit and expected practical advice given that I was travelling for the first time and the tour operator is meant to be the expert advising on what is best. First of all, I asked about travel time between places and was given inaccurate information. For example, I was advised that the travel time between Ol Pejeta to Masai Mara was 6 hours, when it fact it took us nearly 10 hours to make the journey. Next I was promised a stop over at Lake Nakuru which the driver did not do because he said there wasn't enough time. It seemed the driver and tour operator were not communicating. Overall, I would advise all people to ask Victor to spell out what is included in the quotation and what is not. We learned this the hard way. At least 3 game drives that were "included" in my package were not delivered because Victor did not check these details on his end. I was told I could not have a night game drive in Ol Pejeta because we were not staying in the conservancy - according to my original quotation, the night game drive was included. Then I was told I had to pay extra fees at Masai Mara National Park if I wanted to do a morning game drive - which according to my understanding was included in the initial quotation that was shared with me. Each time I raised a deviation from the original quotation, I was told by Victor he would check and get back to me assuring me that he would make sure I got my game drives added on at the end of my tour. However, the follow ups and corrections didn't happen. The follow up for the pending payment at the end of the tour on the other hand was very persistent with no acknowledgment of the need for rectification.