20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Afrishare Beware!!
Our 5-day safari in Serengeti National Park was deeply disappointing due to serious vehicle issues that severely impacted the experience. Two out of the five days were lost to repeated car breakdowns. The vehicle provided was in poor condition, unsafe, and unreliable for long distances on safari terrain. Instead of exploring and viewing wildlife, we spent hours waiting for repairs.
This loss of time significantly reduced the value of the trip and caused unnecessary stress during what should have been a once-in-a-lifetime experience. A safari company should prioritize guest safety and dependable transport, especially in remote areas. Unfortunately, the condition of the vehicle and the repeated mechanical failures made this safari far below acceptable standards.
In addition, the Tour Operator of Afrishare Ibrahim, treated us with a lack of care. His exchange via messages was rude and disrespectful. His inability to show a level of understanding and care for what had happened was shocking.
The only shinning light was our guide Deo, who tried his very best to manage the situation and tried to ensure we experienced all the safari had to offer with the limited time.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very Disappointing Safari Experience
Unfortunately, our safari was heavily impacted by technical and organizational problems.
On Day 1, the taxi was late and had a flat tire. In the Serengeti, we lost several hours and arrived at camp late.
On Day 2, the vehicle had repeated battery problems and got stuck multiple times — we even had to push the car ourselves. We lost almost the entire day.
On Day 3, poor time management caused us to arrive very late at the airport, and I almost missed my flight.
While the company blamed heavy rain, many issues were clearly related to vehicle condition and organization. I effectively lost about 1.5 out of 3 safari days. They refunded wanted to refund $15 I spend while waiting for the car to be fixed. This is crazy. What about the lost safari time.
I would not recommend this safari company to anyone.
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Disappointing and no follow up
7 months ago
TRAVELLERS BEWARE OF BOOKING
Where do I start? So we went on an amazing African Safari that we booked with another tour group . It was amazing. The flights the transfers the food the value. Everything was beyond our wildest dreams . My husband wanted a 5* Beach experience for 6 nights on a beautiful white sandy walking beach where we could be spoiled a little after the early mornings and long days on safari. As we hadn’t had a honeymoon after our recent wedding my husband Booked Dream of Zanzibar. Location was perfect for the excursions we wanted to go on , the beach was also what we were looking for ,premium food and drinks and service. After finishing our safari in Arusha we stayed the night before catching flight to Zanzibar. This is the email I received from Paradise & Wilderness -
*Trust this email finds you well,
Please be advised that we have just have just received word that some of our rooms are under maintenance this week at Dream of Zanzibar and have been closed, so we are unable to accommodate your booking at Dream of Zanzibar from the 12th - 18th Feb 2025, however we do nit want to leave our guest stranded so we have secured accommodation for you at our sister property - Reef and Beach resort, in our New Ocean Front Rooms for the duration of your stay.*
We booked it May 2024 and paid in full Jan 27 at which time I would think they would have had an idea the room was not available.
Upon googling the new accommodation the Reef & Beach was a 3*- we were less than happy. I spent the day researching other accommodations to no avail. We did appreciate they put us somewhere but it was no where compared to what we booked and paid $$$ for.
The resort was 20 min further from the airport and stone town. Upon arrival at reception it was old and worn we were not greeted with enthusiasm and that’s what began the downhill experience . There was no white sandy walking beach . It was a seaweed farm for a beach and upon the tide going out was all rocks. The room upon entering had a foul smell. They moved us to a recently cleaned room and after 6 hours it too had a nasty odour. Something with the new rooms. We met the manager Deborah -who I can give a raving review about she went above and beyond to help better our experience but at the end of the day you cannot make a 3* resort into. 5 * I can go on and on about all the things that transpired but there is no need.We spent more money elsewhere on the nicer beach, taxis back and forth and for meals at other restaurants as the food at the buffet was less then enjoyable ,after 11 days of safari 5 * food.
At the end of the day we were not compensated for the price paid and what we received and the terrible experience.. We both own companies and understand things happen however the person we were communicating with basically humoured us with some communication and made many excuses as to why the company had not gotten back to us, until she ghosted us completely. Not sure if the company even knew about our complaints. I did try different ways to write emails but have never heard back from anyone else in this Company. We were never rude or nasty in any of of emails but a-matter of fact that we expected some kind of compensation. Nothing. She even asked for our direct deposit info. This happened in Feb and we communicated until May 1 it is now July. We are very well travelled and have never dealt with a company that would treat it clients like it doesn’t matter. I have never written a negative review or had the need to, but decided I would let the company and future clients know of our experience . Needless to say our experience in Zanzibar was very disappointing.. Again I want to commend the Manager Deborah for going above and beyond she was the ray of Sunshine!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
My advice to you - don't book with Wiinroots Adventure
While I definitely recommend going on a safari, I encourage you to NOT book a safari through Wiinroots Adventures.
We booked our safari 2 months in advance & paid in full over 2 payments. 2 days before our safari Wiinroots reached out saying that their former employee had underquoted us by $2,000 USD & sent over an invoice requesting the additional funds. We responded saying that this was outside of our budget, but they once again requested that we top up the funds. When I spoke with Kenneth on the phone and requested a refund for everything since we were underquoted by so much, I was assured that everything was already paid for & setup except a hot air balloon ride. Because it seemed everything else was all ready to go, we decided to proceed.
Fast forward a few days into our safari, we are stuck at the gate outside the Ngorongoro Crater for 3 hours because our tour guide's boss reached out & said that Wiinroots still owed the company over $1,200. Once again, we were told everything was all set except the hot air balloon. We reached out to Wiinroots who responded to one of my messages and talked to my boyfriend & the tour company on the phone. He said he was about to wire over the money.... He never did. And stopped responding to all of us. This left my boyfriend and I with no other choice but to pay these funds out of pocket to be able to get into the Crater, pay the tour guide & finish the rest of our safari!
Once again, I definitely recommend going on a safari! We visited Maasai Mara National Reserve, the Serengeti & Ngorongoro Crater! HOWEVER, please do yourself a favor and DO NOT work with Wiinroots Adventures. I'm very disappointed by how they handled everything.
NO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Terrible customer service.
We believe we have been scammed by Kima Safaris. We had planned and booked a trip in the start of november 2025, but due to problems regarding the election in Tanzania, Steven told us to cancel the safari due to safety. He told assured us that all the money would be refunded, but to this day (23.02.26), nothing has been refunded. They still owe us 4600USD.
In the beginning he would answer my calls and messages, and told us that he would pay by the end of the month etc. but everytime the date he said he would pay us back was due, nothing was refunded. Now, he wont even pick up the phone and answer my calls or message me back, so we believe they have scammed us and would strongly reccomend everyone to stay AWAY from Kima Safaris Tanzania.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trusting them ruined my dream safari
I booked a private safari trip with them and paid the prices for upper mid-range to luxury level of accommodations. In reality we were given budget accommodations with very bad quality of service and rooms. During reservation phase, they stated that the vehicle would have on-board wifi but it was not there. They also overcharged for all the park fees by almost 33% and when I asked for clarification they just said I already paid so there’s nothing that I could do about it. So please ask for clear breakdown in the beginning before making any payments and if possible, don’t go with them. When I asked for my AMREF Maisha coverage card, their reservation agent, Jackeline, tried to gaslight me and said that only Kenya side operators share the cards and Tanzania side operators don’t share the card, which is wrong as per the AMREF website. So I think they didn’t buy AMREF insurance even though I paid for it. Also their drivers are freelancers so who you will be assigned is completely random and can either be fine or completely disastrous depending on your luck. Also they are buying reviews on sites like tripadvisor to prop up their ratings.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
They misssold the 3 day Saadani Park trip.
Kisangara Tours sent us an itinerary with photos of 5 star accommodation with a pool and we were booked into 1 star accommodation with no pool, very limited food choice, the 4 wheel drive was not as per the itinerary and the safari guide was disinterested and unreliable.
FR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very dishonest company — I do not recommend booking with them.
We booked a one-day safari to Mikumi from Zanzibar two months in advance for the 18th. On the evening of the 17th, when I contacted them to ask what we should bring, they casually informed us that they had moved our safari to the 19th due to weather changes and other guests being rescheduled. We were never informed beforehand and were simply told there was no availability left on our original date.
It was very difficult for us to move our plans to the 19th, so we requested a refund. First, they said we would only receive 25%. After I spoke with the manager, she assured me we would receive a full refund. Minutes later, we received another email saying management had decided on 40%. After that, the manager stopped responding entirely.
In the end, we were forced to go on the 19th despite the logistical difficulties. The safari itself was great — but only because the guide they hired was excellent. You can easily book with other companies that use great guides as well.
Poor communication, broken promises, and very unprofessional handling of refunds. Avoid this company.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Not reliable.
This is a follow-up regarding a review I posted here in December 2025.
I am still trying to recover the $10,000 that I mistakenly transferred to Mr. Karema of Expeditions Maasai Safari in Kenya in June 2025. In January 2026, I received $1,000. Mr. Karema stated that he would continue making payments. I sent him a payment agreement last November, but he never signed it.
I have continued requesting the remaining balance; however, he has once again stopped responding. Unfortunately, he remains unreliable, and I can no longer trust his word.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I would advise you don't choose them if you want to have a good experience
I had a horrible experience choosing this operator. Initially, during the reservation phase, they promised me a great experience and in reality, I had a terrible experience going with them.
Sketchy Org: First of all, they are not member of the TATO(Tanzania Association of Tour Operators), which I did not know about before I tried to register a formal complaint against this agency. It is recommended that tourists go with TATO members for safety against fraud, and other bad experiences. So please choose an operator which is a TATO member atleast to save yourself the trouble that I have faced.
Unprofessional Driver: The guide, Kim, was extremely unprofessional. He kept on making food related jokes when pointing towards animals and also constantly kept on making sexist remarks degrading females which was really disgusting. During long transfers between the borders and the roads, he started to play loud music which was pretty annoying. Even after asking him on many occasions to stop making his cheap jokes, he kept on making them throughout the entire safari which ruined the experience. Also, during the reservation phase, I had it confirmed that Matey will be our guide but when we arrived at the border, we were surprised to find that Matey had not come and instead Kim was there. This was a big red flag and beware of their stunts like this.
Low Quality Accommodations: I had some concerns initially with some of their accommodations based on google reviews and research but they assured the accommodations are top quality and nothing to be afraid of, but in reality they turned out reality bad. They offered us Tloma Lodge in Karatu for the stay after Ngorongoro crater and we were bitten by mosquitoes whole night in that lodge. The staff was really unprofessional.
Horrible Picnic Lunches: They also don't buy lunchboxes unlike other operators and save the money. The quality of lunches we had everyday were really horrible like cold pasta, fruits that were starting to rot already, cold potato fries, and 1 tiny piece of cold and soggy fried chicken per person. Please confirm with your operator in advance what lunches you will get if they offer you picnic lunch.
Fraudulent Breakdown: After the bad experience when we asked to show the breakdown of the costs, the numbers they sent were all over the places. First, we had paid for 6 days of safari car with unlimited mileage but they again added an extra charge for transfer which was within that 6 days. Also, they showed park charges which was almost 33% higher than actual park fees. Also they did not buy us AMREF insurance policies which they promised and charged us to include. The reservation specialist confirmed that operators get special prices for booking accommodations which are much lower than the ones available online or through direct booking with the hotels and camps. But in the breakdown their prices were all higher than the highest prices that you can find on the direct websites or booking platforms. When I asked to justify the areas of concerns in the breakdown, they just said they don't need to justify because I agreed to pay the amount initially. So please ask detailed breakdown in the beginning from all your operators before making the payments.
Overall they ruined my honeymoon experience so totally do not recommend them for anyone. They charged a lot because we wanted private tour and in return we were provided bad accommodations, horrible food, unprofessional driver, and no resolution or support when we raised the concerns. Please save your money and time and go with a more trustworthy operator.