US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
"World Escapes" nearly RUINED our Africa vacation
"World Escapes & Adventures" nearly RUINED our recent Africa vacation! We paid in full, months in advance, for a camping safari in southern Kenya, transfer to a second subcontracted tour operator in Tanzania, a night in a hotel in Arusha Tanzania, a second safari in Tanzania, then another hotel night in Arusha and transfer to Arusha airport for a few additional days of independent travel. The dates were for August 24th to September 10th 2018.
The first part, in Kenya, which they handled directly with their own staff, was fine. But everything after that was a disaster. They completely screwed up all of the arrangements with the subcontracted Tanzania company and with the Tanzania hotel reservations.
The 'transfer' was supposed to be our Kenya guide driving us to the Kenya/Tanzania border to hand us off to the second guide. But the guide drove us to a restaurant in Nairobi and left us with a second staff member, who then turned us over to a THIRD staff member after lunch, who then put us and our luggage on a PUBLIC BUS and then he LEFT US with no instructions! And once the bus left Nairobi we found out it wasn't stopping at the border, it was going all the way to Arusha! So apparently the plan had changed without us being informed. When we got to Arusha, the bus stopped at a hotel that was not the "Roika Inn" as stated in our written itinerary, and this new hotel didn't have reservations for us. They called the Roika Inn for us and - the Roika didn't have reservations for us either! We ran back to the bus stop and found the driver and he agreed to call "World Escapes" for us (our phone didn't work in Tanzania) and they told him we had reservations at a THIRD hotel, which we had never been told about, the 'Tourist Inn". And if the bus driver hadn't generously agreed to drive us there, we would have been on our own in the middle of the night trying to find a way to get to this hotel.
Then the next day, the new tour company informed us that World Escapes had never paid them for our tour! We got back on the phone with World Escapes and were told a strange story - they had put several hundred dollars of my full payment back onto my credit card on the previous day (I had no way to access my bank records and verify this), and it was now MY responsibility to pay the subcontracted tour company! Good luck accessing that amount of cash in the middle of the Serengeti...
I was able to work out arrangements with the second company whereby I paid for our Serengeti park entry fees using a credit card (the bulk of the amount in question) and then use an ATM to pay them the remaining smaller amount in cash. I would have to check my bank records when I got home and figure out what had really happened with this strange unauthorized "refund" onto my card...
Then World Escapes began avoiding calls from the subcontracted Tanzania company for the duration of the second safari, so the Tanzania company had no idea what hotel they were supposed to take us to after the safari. We called the "Tourist Inn" where we had been a few days earlier, and not only did they not have any new reservation, they told us World Escapes NEVER PAID THEM for the night we had already stayed there!
I was finally able to get World Escapes on the phone on the last day of the Tanzania tour and demand that they tell us the name of the hotel they had booked for us for the final night (and pointed out that I HAD ALREADY PAID FOR THIS!) and asked them to confirm they had paid for transfer to the airport the next day, and there was just a long silence.... and then they said "Let me get back to you". And of course, THEY NEVER CALLED US BACK.
Fortunately the Tanzania company came to the rescue. They own a small B&B in Arusha and had a spare room, and they let us stay for free, fed us breakfast the next morning, and even drove us to the airport for no charge.
The excellent service in Tanzania was from a company called "Hekima Safaris" and I can highly recommend them.
But - DO NOT USE WORLD ESCAPES AND ADVENTURES. The way they handled our tour plans was completely unprofessional, inept, irresponsible, and unethical. AVOID THEM. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Greater Kruger by DianeB
Just wonderful
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Greater Kruger by Kelly L
Animal viewing at Kruger is very good despite the size of the park.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fabulous and Perfect time of the year.
We used Kruger Park Tours, for our Safaris...Johann was our personal Safari planner.
It was perfect from beginning to end.
I specifically like that we stayed at so many different wildlife preserves and accommodations. Living in Tents in different locations, was magical. Safari walks with armed guides was thrilling.
Going to several location every 4 days is perfect.
The differences are amazing and it makes each Safari experience unique.
My favorite was Sabi Sands with Kruger a close runner up
BBQ dinners in the bush with only lanterns for light. And the fire pit glowing.
The most special Safari Camp was Tydon Safari.
We stayed in the main camp for 4 nights, then moved to the Bush Camp. It is limited to 4 tents with private baths. It is located right in the Bush, with wildlife. It is fabulous. They do not allow small children- for safety reasons. If you are lucky enough to get a reservation in the bush camp...grab it.
DianeB
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Beautiful country, kind people, amazing animal encountering
Meeting gorillas after 4 hour tracking as been a rewarding experience, once in a life experience!