IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Not the experience I expected.
During the trip, we encountered a rather serious car breakdown. Our driver sent us to the planned lodge with another company, and we lost our entrance to Ngoro Ngoro Park for that evening.
Although we had paid for the park entrance, we were not reimbursed, and above all, our driver and the person who helped us organise the trip not contact us with a phone call or a simple WhatsApp message to tell us how we would be organised the following day. We didn't know if and when the car would be repaired, and we received no information from either of them, even though I contacted them several times to ask for information. They repeat that they will let us know. But no news, till the following morning when driver literally knocked on our door at 6 a.m. while we were sleeping.
He came to pick us up saying he was very tired, and although I fully understand the difficult night he had, I expect the company to send someone else if the driver feels, rightly, tired.
In the end, after we lost our ticket, even though we had paid for it, and received no explanation from the company, the driver asked us for a tip, which would have been perfectly acceptable if he hadn't asked for a specific amount per person per day. It was basically a fee.
I thought it would be useful to talk to Wilberth on the phone and explain that communication with customers is important, especially after entrusting our trip to their company. After a round of explanations, the organizer blocked me on WhatsApp.
I don't think I would ever recommend this company, where the human aspect is completely overshadowed by money.
For me, these aspects are very important. When I travel, I want to be informed about what is happening around me. I don't want to be treated like a piece of luggage.
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very disappointing. Not recommended.
Never saw the Serengeti despite having paid for it and being scheduled. Unfortunately, it was New Year's Eve and the guides were in a rush to celebrate. The facilities were inadequate, and in the end, they even stole our luggage. The worst of the worst.
(automatic translation from Italian)
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good communication
Unable to review for 2026 trip
We place a booking with this company about 18 months from intended travel. Told that deposit would be held in trust till Dec 2025 and refundable.
Booking contracts were submitted.
Carefully read section on NON REFURDABLE deposit.
Unfortunately we had to cancel approximately 11months from trip because of extreme medical issue and the person has in fact passed.
The booking was for group of 5. Almost $10000 was kept. A limited amount was refunded.
However, they stated that they needed to cover fees for cancelled land content. I check the Web site of accommodation and several had a no cancellation fee this far from stay.
When asked for proof of cost they refused to justify this extreme amount.
Yes they need to be paid for preparation of tour, believe this to be extreme.
Travel insurance not taken out at time because of being more than 12 months from trip and told to take out insurance once flights were booked.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Horrible, be careful, it doesn't deliver the service you pay for.
Be careful, they don't provide the services you pay for. The conditions we paid for were not what they offered us once we were there. The water service, supposedly free, was a lie; they made us pay for it after the experience was over. The vehicle for the safari was completely different from the one you see in the pictures before we paid for the safari (the condition of the vehicle left much to be desired, and the one we booked was closed on the sides and open on top, and at no point did they provide us with what we paid for). You pay for a guide, and in our case, he didn't speak to us at all during the entire trip, nor did he offer us water all day (when, in theory, you're paying for a guide and for water during the trip). The only time he spoke to us more fluently was at the end of the safari to tell us his name and show us a QR code to rate him, in an aggressive way, as if we absolutely had to give him a good rating. On our first day visiting the Maasai village, we waited for over an hour, and when we finally arrived, they didn't even apologize. The food service was very poor; when we arrived for lunch, we were given a sandwich... They always under-served us. And they offered no solution. We want to claim a refund, but they haven't responded to any of our messages. We will not recommend Kihindo Tours to anyone we know.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Horrible, disappointing, empty promises
As a freelance conservationist and wildlife photographer, my first trip to Kenya was meant to highlight the wonderful work the Kenyan government is doing to save various wildlife from extinction. This trip was self funded and my way to developing a story/book I could use to show the world how well conservation works when we put the welfare of animals first. Each location I requested to visit had a very specific purpose. Ol Pejeta for their work with bringing back the black and white Rhinos, Masai Mara for the Wealth of wildlife thriving due to conservation and Amboseli National Park for the Super Tuckers like Craig. After reading positive reviews of this company, from travelors who mentioned DAVID numerous time as a great tracker who was great at finding animals, I felt confident that they would be able to give me the safari experience I wished for.. (and honestly, the reviews of David is the only reason I chose Tropical Wild Expedition because I wanted a guide who knew what he was doing and was recommended by so many people)
I expressed to Susan what I was looking for and she assured me her company could fulfill my goal. I ask if I could get this DAVID as a guide. Her response was that I would have to wait til closer to my safari date to see if he was available. I ask if I could request him, I never got a response. Susan was well aware of who I was and what my purpose was because once I booked.. she stated she would save me a window seat as well as a beanbag to use for my long lens.
What I was met with however was completely opposite. The disorganization was more and more profound each day. When told this would be a group joining safari, it was only explained to me I would be joining other people (up to 7 others in the same safari truck). I asked if those people would be from the same company.. I never got a response. I figured how bad could it be, joining others to experience the same beautiful animals of Kenya. Aren't we all there for the same reason? But the reality of group joining Safari was so much harsher then I could ever imagine.
The real reality is there could be 7 additional people from up to 7 other companies staying at 7 different accommodations on the same tours. By having so many different companies staying in so many different accommodations, it made actually having a real meaningful safari impossible. Drivers weren’t trackers as promised.. they were simply just drivers taking people from point A to point B completely ignoring the purpose of the safari. Had I known this up front I would have never gone with this company or group joining.
My experience prior to this safari took place in Kruger Nation Park, South Africa.. Drivers/guides had us in Kruger NP before the sun came up and we stayed during the most active part of the morning (and evening) to ensure we saw as many animals as possible. We took breaks during hottest part of the day.
The Kenyan itinerary sent to me by Susan stated AM/PM Safaries at each park (Masai Mara, Amboseli). But the only time I had a pm safari was the first day in Masai Mara. The other days we were lucky if we got into the park before 9:30am and drove around aimlessly during the hottest part of the day while all the animals hid in the shade. Each day we left the park just as other companies we're arriving for the pm safari and we were always back at our accommodation by or before 5pm.
I had 5 different drivers throughout the 8 day safari. It is my understanding (from previous safari) that safari vehicles are equipped with CB Radios so drivers can communicate with other drivers when a sighting occurs.. 2 of the safari vehicles didn’t even have a CB Radios. When I asked the one driver how he will know where there is a sighting, all he said is he’ll get a call on his phone. First full day in Masai Mara, We sat in a cue for nearly 2 hours at a leopard sighting, only to never actually see the leopard because we sat so long the leopard moved. I knew the leopard moved before our driver by watching other drivers interacting with the rangers ( he never got a call bout anything). When it was confirmed the leopard moved (by the rangers moving as well) our driver just sat there letting the other 50 vehicles behind us to go in front of us. I was in Masai Mara for three days, where I was told I would see every animal.. It ended up being the biggest waste of time never shooting a sunset/sunrise, a leopard, lions, lion cubs, cheetahs, ect. We did find a momma lion take a kill to her babies only be to told we couldn’t follow when other vehicles were.. this happened several times missing prime the photographic opportunity I has stated I was looking for prior to booking.
On our way to Amboseli the truck broke down and left us sitting on the side of the highway for nearly 2 hours. I found out through the companies of the other people in my group that we were getting a new truck. When I reach out to Susan, it took her nearly an hour to say, “the driver is handling it”.., no reassurance, nothing. That’s when I was thankful I was in a group with other companies..
The most devastating memory I’ll have forever, is while in Amboseli for 2 days, I begged the driver to try and find CRAIG (the famous Super Tusker). This was a very specific request I made in my first email to Susan nearly 8 months prior when I asked if I could get David as a driver. I even asked if David could track CRAIG. Well I never got David. Nor did I ever meet Craig because the driver I did get didn’t care. I found out within an hour of leaving Amboseli on way to Nairobi, that Craig was in the conservatory not far from the park. If I could find that out within an hour of leaving the park, why couldn’t the driver find that out before leaving the park when I had been asking him for two days. I woke up yesterday to the devastating news that CRAIG PASSED AWAY in the early morning, just 2 days after I returned home.. I was so close and this company ruined everything.
This company only cares bout making enough promises that you given them your money, and while you are there, they do what they want and you can’t do anything about it. They couldn’t care less fulfilling request and giving their clients the experience they requested.
If you value the money you work so hard to earn and use to go on a safari in Kenya.. DO NOT HIRE THIS COMPANY.. they will take your money, make you promises and give you in return nothing but headache and bad memories. Oh.. and I never got the beanbag either. At this point the bean bag is trivial , I only bring it up so show even the smallest requests get ignored. You would think at least the bigger request we get honored and they weren’t.
If this experience sets the precedent for how tour companies work in Kenya, I will be very hard-pressed to ever return because how could I ever trust another company’s word if this is how they work in Kenya.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Disappoint with Tour Company Update
This is an update to a previous review. My family and I took an eleven day tour through Kenya and Tanzania in 2024. The tour would have been amazing had the owner of Features Africa Journeys, Karanja, been more honest and communicated with us better. Basically once we paid our deposit all communication stopped. While on tour 3 out of 6 lodges on our itinerary were changed without our knowledge. After the second change, which was a HUGE downgrade from what we paid for and extremely disappointing to be there for three nights, I was clear he needed to let us know if he was going to change our last lodge. He agreed. Sure enough he did it again and clearly had no idea where he was bringing us. This is the owner of the company! He drove us around the last park in the dark until he figured it out. The day before we ended our tour Karanja came to me and asked for more money due to increased park fees and lodges. Wow! There is a long story to this situation.
End result is, on the day we ended the tour we (the owner of Features, myself and his financial institution Pesapal) made an agreement to a partial refund. Within 3 weeks of leaving the country it was clear I was not going to receive the refund and Karanja stopped communicating the day we left Kenya.
One year three months later and a very long process I finally received the refund. It took filing a complaint against Features Africa Journeys with the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK), the Tourism Regulatory Authority (TRA), the Kenyan Tourist Police Unit, and my credit card company to resolve the matter. Please, if you are due a refund from a tour company in Kenya and did not receive it do not give up. It can be done. It is not okay to take advantage of a tourist.
Our experience is a shame as we would have had an amazing tour if communications were better, the lodging was what we expected and not downgraded and we were not cheated out of our money. There are plenty of other tour companies to use that are more honest.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I felt scammed !!!! Avoid at all costs!!!
Dishonest!!! I recommend you avoid at all costs!!!!!
We booked a three-day, two-night safari with him, paid a 30% deposit (€800), and haven't heard from him since. He didn't show up this morning for our meeting at the airport either, so we had to buy plane tickets at the last minute and find a new safari in Arusha! We are taking legal action today against this company and Mr. Gadiel Nassary, our contact person!!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
UPDATE : Don't trust Big Apes, neither Peter.
I wrote a previous review months ago reporting that Peter didn't refund my money and Peter replied saying that my refund was scheduled to be processed on that week (refund that was already late) and also left an "explanation" here. The refund wasn't done on that week and I had to contact him again.
I will try to summarize what has happened since my first review on 11/10, almost 3 months ago : He said that he was looking for a better way to handle my refund. He sent me a manually filled in form from his bank as proof of payment and then I was not allowed to send him emails anymore (yes, my emails were rejected and I had to use SafariBookings as an intermediary to communicate with him to ask for updates). Peter filled in the form incorrectly. I received the information from SafariBookings that the funds returned back to his account (SafariBookings had to contact his bank). I was allowed to send him emails again. I sent him another account as another option. He wanted me to fill in the form from his bank and refused to do it again correctly and said my information was distorted in different threads (??????? I confirmed with my bank and the information I sent was correct; the second option I sent was a screenshot from my bank's app, so no risk of being distorted; so ?????). I sent him a third option, a link requesting the payment. He hasn't sent the money using the link. Few weeks later, not a sign of him. Then, Peter wanted to transfer the money using Western Union. One week later, no contact from Peter at all. Then he said the money was at Western Union, that he sent the document previously, but he didn't and that I would have to withdraw my money. After all, I still had to find a Western Union to withdraw my money. This was the better way he handled my refund.
So, after my trip being ruined ... and after waiting longer than the offered cancellation policy time (I asked for the cancellation on 10/04, the offered cancellation policy time was waiting 4 months and receive the full amount; I received the document with the information needed to withdraw my money on 20/12, more than 8 months after the cancellation date) .... and a lot of headaches asking, asking, asking .... and asking SafariBookings for help (I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't have SafariBookings intermediating. I strongly believe that I wouldn't have received my money back) ... my money was refunded. LATE.
Facts and figures :
1) The full amount to be refunded was USD 1,079.24
2) The amount in the manually filled in form from the first attempt sent to me by Peter as proof of payment was USD 1,003.00
3) When questioned, Peter said that the difference (USD 76.24) was bank charges. No proof of payment for this bank charge.
4) The amount I've received from the second attempt was equivalent to USD 920.00.
I didn't understand his intention with that, but Peter forwarded me the exchange of messages between him and the SafariBookings representative, including the name of another client who was also waiting for a solution to her "case study". I wasn't the only one. He also says on the email that some guests are hard to please. After being rude, he failed to keep his word and refund my money within the promised timeframe. Are the guests hard to please ???
This is the customer service provided by Peter, think about if you have an issue during your trip.
As Peter himself said in one of his emails, let's move on to a better future without more hurt feelings. I think he meant my feelings and my bank account feelings. I lost money and time. DON'T TRUST PETER !!!!!! The End !
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Terrible experience
Keep away from booking with safari.com. Absolutely no flexibility in terms of making changes. Lost$3500 with them and communication is so delayed. I had to make schedule changes due to a medical situation (3 months ahead of scheduled dates) and was even ok to get credit for a future trip - they were absolutely not flexible. I would absolutely not recommend them - you are better off with other agencies!!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
DIABOLICAL
DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY
We paid a deposit to AfricanKenyaSafaris for a safari but cancelled on 6 August 2025 after reading numerous extremely poor reviews. We were told clearly that our deposit would be refunded within 60 days.
I dealt with Mary from their customer service team, who originally made the booking. On 21 September, I contacted her to check on the progress of the refund and was told she would follow up with the accounts department and get back to me the next day.
That never happened.
After that, Mary completely stopped responding. I sent follow-up messages on 22 September, 24 September, 26 September, and 5 October with no reply at all.
On 5 October, I contacted another AfricanKenyaSafaris account listed on their website and provided screenshots showing the lack of response from Mary and the poor customer service. I was told someone would come back to me by the end of the day. They didn’t. I have chased this twice since, again with no response.
This has been an extremely frustrating and stressful experience. Once they have your money, communication stops. At this point it feels dishonest and untrustworthy.
Awful customer service, no accountability, and no refund despite promises. Avoid this company.