CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceeded Expectations
Communication with Karibu was easy and straight forward. Efficient pick up time when they told us they would be there at 7am, they were even a bit early. After going to their office and getting everything ready we were able to leave around 9am. Isaac our driver was awesome, very knowledgable and courteous. Whenever our group wanted to stop, he would stop. His eyesight to pick out animals is also amazing! He was ready to answer any questions we had about different animals. Lodging was great and better than I was expecting with proper beds in our tent and a bathroom+shower. Food was often served buffet style with a couple packed lunches in between. Everyone was friendly at our camp. Overall, a score of 11/10. I think it could only be better during the Great Migration!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A total wreck
Before booking this tour I had some communication with Robert. I clearly asked if Karibu had a tour on my dates and he said it did. On my arrival date I went to the office, paid my balance and was subsequently sent to a car that would shortly transfer me to join another group with another company. Karibu never contacted me again.
At a transfer point myself and two other passengers joined a group of 6 other passengers for a total of 10 people (9 tourists plus the driver) The vehicle was so full we all had to sit with our own luggage and supplies between our legs and on our laps as the small space in the rear of the vehicle was woefully inadequate. Despite the fact that the tour was supposed to be maximum 7 people with everyone being offered a window seat and rooftop space, for the long drive to Masai Mara, the first evening game drive and the second day morning game drive we were 9 cramped passengers with three people having to use flimsy extension seats in the middle of the bus (ie. no window seats) and not receiving good views. After 2 passengers left after the morning drive it was still not possible for all 7 passengers to have a window seat and rooftop space as promised as there was only window space for 6 in the back. If you sat in the front of the bus with the driver, there was no rooftop space and you were situated lower.
At the camp, no towels were supplied to us. I only mention this because a few days before I left home I wasn't sure if I needed to bring my own towel so I e-mailed Karibu to see if towels were provided at the camp sites. They told me they were so I didn't pack one. I don't know if this was a lie or because the company they dumped me with used a different camp site with different standard.
On the third day I was supposed to visit Lake Nakura. The night before I reminded the driver since all the other passengers were going to Amboselli. He said he was aware and that I would be dropped off at a transfer point. After we left Masai Mara on the third day, I again reminded the driver about my transfer to Lake Nakuru. His reply was "You are not going, you will be going to Amboselli with us because there is no tour group going to Lake Nakuru today" There was no discussion with me at any point prior to this and had I not said anything to the driver, I don't know when they were planning to tell me. I asked him to call my tour operator (Karibu), but he refused saying this is what his boss had told him and that he was driving now and couldn't call (this despite the fact that he later picked up his phone while driving multiple times). I called Karibu's office on my personal cell phone which was very expensive as I did not have a local SIM card. Robert picked up and was very well aware of the situation. He suggested that they could refund some money which really wasn't a good option for me. He then said I could still go to Lake Nakuru on my last day instead. This would have meant backtracking a very considerable distance and spending about 12 hours in a car to go from Amboseli to the Tanzanian border to Nairobi to Lake Nakuru. It was never a real option as an evening tour at Lake Nakuru would have been impossible. I ended up taking an extra day in Amboseli, which is not something I really wanted to do as I felt one full day there was sufficient. What makes this even more frustrating is that the group that I joined for my second day in Amboseli had been in Masai Mara the previous day. If Karibu had communicated with me that going to Lake Nakuru was not be possible BEFORE I left Masai Mara, I would have much rather preffered to spend the extra day in Masai Mara.
Karibu failed miserably both in terms of communication and in terms of delivering what was promised. When my trip ended I wrote them an e-mail describing my experience and asking for a manager to respond. No one ever did, but after what I experienced, I really wasn't expecting anybody to. A complete disappointment.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Drnnis was amazingly informative of people, land, habitat, and wildlife, as we made great memories.
Everything in our safari was comfort and safety driven. Excellent service all around.
SE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Cool name + amazing experience
We found Flash McTours through an older article on the guardian. The article named all the key words for us; "safe", "helpful" "knowledgable guide" + they had the coolest name of them all. And well, it was on the guardian so we figured it actually existed, which is scary since you pay (half) upfront from another country.
Anyway, Peter helped us tailor a safari trip that went from Nairobi (Patrick, the amazing guide, picked us up at our AirBnb in Karen) through the not very Swedish landscape, to Amboseli. We had one night and two game drives there. Then we continued to Tsavo West for one night and had one last night at the unbelievable "Voi" hotel. The food is overall the only bad part, but the views and the game drives way up for it, and ofc the food has nothing to do with Flash McTours but the hotels, which you can change if you pay more. All in all, we loved it all so hope this review made you book a trip with them, and ask for Patrick as your guide, he'll make it a good trip!
NL
under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our gids, Fortune and Shebby, were the niciest we could wish for!
Difficult to say, because we were with a school project "Global Exploration". And we weren't really informed about the safari because our teachers didn't tell us.
DK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The perfect Safari tour
We had a great safari trip with our excellent guides Adam and Ryan.
NL
under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Had an amazing time
The communication was very good, the best service. Nice area and Made stops at good times
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Amazing trip up Kilimanjaro with great team!!!
Thanks so much for leading an unforgettable trip to the great mountain Kilimanjaro and make our dreams become a reality. The trip was excellent, and was more than we could ever have imagined. We are very happy about the things went. We recently completed an African trip with Karibu Adventure, and was absolutely floored by their amazing level of service. All Tanzania people were so kind. It was a really pleasure and we are now evangelizing all our friends to fly to Tanzania and visit the parks with Karibu Adventure.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing Experience and Service!!!
I have done a good amount of traveling with different tours and groups and this one has blown the others out of the water.
From the first email correspondence from safari coordinator- Vera, I knew we would be in good hands. Communication was EXCELLENT- which is extremely important when you're trying to book trips across the ocean. I asked a thousand questions even up to the day before excursion and always had everything answered almost immediately.
The big difference between this touring others was evident almost immediately. We were picked up on time by our driver, Thomas- actually he was early and waited for us to get ready. We were driven to the port, while Thomas took care of the border crossing. When we waited for our boat I was really disappointed to see many people joining us (always like private intimate tours), but to my great surprise they were just crossing the river to Botswana and going their own direction. My husband and I were the only ones on the boat for Luciano Tours, we were picked by a private car and taken to the border and office. I could continue to go on in detail about everything but it all boils down to EXCELLENT. It was 5 star service the entire time, from pick up, safari, lunch, and going back.
Our actual safari was only us and 3 other people - since there were limited people we got to decide to where to go and what we all wanted to see. We would constantly pass jammed backed jeeps with so many people.
For lunch we went to a 5 star resort buffet- and we saw many different tour groups-- HUGE groups-- which I felt make you lose the entire beauty of the safari.
Since we were a small group our water safari was on a small boat , which let us get so incredibly close to hippos and elephants. We saw the big ferry like type boats with the big tour groups-- not our style, too loud, too many people-- the animals usually were scared away by them.
There are not enough good things to say about Luciano Tours. I recommend their company to everyone traveling to Zambia/Zimbabwe/Botswana. I look forward to future travels with them!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The best safari ever!
My sons and I booked a 3 day 2 night safari in Chobe Park, Botswana. Saying it was amazing is not justice to this incredible experience. Luciano Tours arranged the safari. We saw lions, wild dogs, elephants and about every animal we hoped to on this trip. Our camping was in tents and everything was provided. The food was fantastic and we couldn’t be more thrilled with the trip. Our guide Percy was excellent in finding the animals. We took more than 1,000 pictures. Certainly a once in a lifetime experience.
