20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We have not received a response to.
Greg AdventureFor safari reservations, Greg Adventures is not the best option. The seven of us women paid for our entire trip. sent an email on the day of departure to cancel the trip, offering a refund or a different date for the next year. Seven women, totalling $4,000 each, stole our money.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Does not deliver what is promised
We booked a 3 day Chobe National Park and Victoria Falls Safari for my husband and I and our two adult children. All communication prior was great. Since we were arriving early we didn’t need any airport pickups but arranged to meet on the morning of our first day. Then two days prior the tour operator messaged us that he was having issues providing us with the quality of tour he promised and would like us to cancel our booking through Viator and then just pay him the cash for the tour on the day. There was no way I was doing that and told him so. He kept up with the messages asking us to reconsider all the while I was saying no, I paid for the tour almost 12 months beforehand and couldn’t just come up with over $4000 in two days. I reported him to Viator and asked them to sort it out, cancel him and find us another tour as we were travelling and did not want or need the stress of this. In the end Forche Tours cancelled our booking the day before it was supposed to start, and then Viator did nothing about getting us a new tour. I ended up having to find day trips and we did our own thing clips we my following the tour we were supposed to be on. We were very disappointed and unimpressed by the whole experience and would NEVER recommend this tour company to anyone.
TW
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
dishonest and irresponsible
I strongly NOT recommend you booking your Kenya safari through Twinkle Star or its manager, James.
Based on our experience, he is either financially unreliable or intentionally dishonest — and either possibility is enough reason to stay away.
Here is what happened during our trip:
1. James disappeared after final payment
We booked an August 2025 safari and paid a 40% deposit in November 2024, then the remaining 60% a month before departure. After paying in full, I repeatedly asked James for hotel confirmation letters to make sure everything is OK.
However, he ignored messages, gave excuses, or disappeared for days. Even on the day we flew to Kenya, he still hadn’t provided any official confirmations. I contacted the hotels myself; two replied, but the one in Masai Mara refused to confirm anything unless through James — a clear red flag.
2. Hotel payment was not made
The day we arrived at our lodge in Masai Mara, staff informed us that James hadn’t paid for our rooms, and we could not check in. After almost two hours of calls, the issue was “resolved.”
This was especially frustrating because I had asked James about hotel payments the moment we met in Kenya, and he confidently said everything was settled. It was a lie!
3. Park entry fees were also unpaid
After two days inside Masai Mara National Reserve, our driver told us James had never paid our park fees. The park had only allowed us in because James kept promising to pay “soon.”
On the third day, they lost patience and detained us in the park administration parking lot. They insisted we pay the fees ourselves and even threatened that we might have to sleep in the car. We clearly didn't have that much money on us, even we have that's not our obligation to pay the fee.
We kept calling James but he just ignored calls, made vague excuses, or said he would “handle it tomorrow.”
The payment was finally made the next afternoon after we spent our night in park, and we were allowed to continue our safari.
4. Refund excuses for three months
Because of these incidents, our mood was ruined and we canceled a night safari and requested a USD 60 per person refund that James promised to send. We did not even ask for any compensation for the day we lost owing to the detainment, because James convinced us he is just a business man in financial crisis that time.
BUT Three months later, he still hasn’t refunded anything. Every reminder results in the same empty message: “I will send it by xx/xx, my brother.”
I am writing this review three months after the trip not only because I finally realized he never intended to refund us, but also because during these months, he shamelessly kept asking me to give him a five-star review—as if the refund would magically appear after I helped boost his ratings.
Honestly, who would give five stars after going through all this?
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
This agency isn't very reliable as soon as there's a problem (caused by their own mistake), they do
I used Chenggong for a 3-night private safari. The pre-departure service was good; we agreed on the accommodations best suited to us and our budget.
On the morning of the first day, they showed up on time, and we began the tour. The basic organization was good; I was initially happy with the service offered, BUT THEN THERE WERE SOME UNPLEASANT SURPRISES!
Already 20 days before departure, the agreed-upon price had changed because I'd been informed of the increase in park entrance fees: we'd have to pay an additional $60 per person. Of course, I wasn't thrilled with the increase, but I realized it wasn't anyone's fault, and I paid the extra money. I simply asked the agency to accommodate us with the price, given the already high price we were paying (remember, it was a private safari). They simply ignored this question and pretended nothing had happened.
The first day in Amboseli was fine, until we arrived at Tsavo East National Park, where we discovered that CHENGGONG HAD NOT PAID FOR ALL THE PARK ENTRANCE FEES: we were missing one day of entry, as our lodge was inside the park (and they had recommended it because it was cheaper than others outside the park). After contacting the agency, they began to argue, claiming that it was a new feature of the park that we had to pay for the first day's stay only, due to the price increase on October 1st, for which we had already paid a premium. I don't know whether to believe them; the basic problem is that even if it were true, they should have known, it's their job, AND THEY HAD TO TELL US. They completely ignored it, or pretended not to know. Had we known, we could have agreed to pay more or change our accommodations for one outside the park.
After speaking with Chenggong, they even refused to admit it was their mistake, saying, "It depends on the park." Shouldn't the agency I book through know about it? So, why did I pay them?
In that situation, we had no choice but to pay: the accommodation was already paid for, and by not entering, we would have lost that money too.
I repeatedly asked the agency to acknowledge their mistake and pay them or refund us (at least a portion, to make things easier).
RESULT: WE HAD TO PAY ANOTHER $180 on top of the nearly $2,000 we'd already paid for a package that included "all park fees," but that wasn't the case.
The icing on the cake: at the end of the safari, we were supposed to take a morning train from Voi to Mombasa, but Chenggong, WITHOUT TELLING US, booked the evening train, ruining all my plans. Anyway, once we took the train to Mombasa, there was supposed to be a driver to pick us up from there and take us to Watamu, also organized by this agency. Result: we arrived in Mombasa and not only was the driver not there, he hadn't even told us he was late, so I feared no one would come. It was late at night, the taxi drivers were getting very pushy, and I didn't have our driver's number. Chenggong didn't answer: he had to call a local to get in touch. The driver, who I don't think had even been notified, arrived at the station more than an hour late, laughed in our faces when he saw us exhausted and angry, and drove terribly. Chenggong claims he was stuck in traffic: first of all, if he had been serious, he would have left earlier given the city traffic; secondly, he should have at least told us. Finally, more than an hour's delay is unacceptable after all these mistakes!
We arrived in Watamu after midnight, so even our plans for the next day were dashed.
For days, RIDICULOUS excuses followed, but never a hint of fixing the situation, or even refunding us part of the money we lost due to their mistake, something they didn't properly inform us about. I asked for two weeks straight to speak to the boss, but there was always the excuse, "He's busy, he's at church, you'll talk to him on Monday." BUT I STILL HAVEN'T TALKED TO ANYONE.
Final advice: only use agencies that someone you know has already tried firsthand, especially for such important and expensive experiences. Don't ruin unique experiences like a safari for untrustworthy people like these! Don't even consider Chenggong.
CO
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A nightmare in Namibia
I paid the MHOF agency 76,051,000 NAD for an 8- day,7 night tour,starting on September 26th and ending on October red,2025 It included lodging,meals,safari, vehicle and Guide.At the agency director's insistence,I paid everything a month in advance.two days before the Safari tour was scheduled to begin,the owner contact me demanding inmediate payment of U$2,600 as a condition for the Safari to take place.At that time ,I was travelling from my Countriy,Colombia to Namibia.I did not agree to their request since
I had already paíd everything that has been agreed upon. The manager did not fullfill the agreement,there was brother a vehicle nor guide.of the seven days of accommodation,the agency had only paid for five.
I believe,I have been scammed by the manager ,Mrs Berlinda of the MHOF agency
DE
An agency with a poor service
We booked a prepaid private 9 days safari starting in Moshi. We were very disappointed about their pure operational services. It started that the promised briefing didn‘t take place. They changed the driver on the day of arrival with no information of our safari or any further hard copy. So we got into the situation , when we were to leave the National Park, the rangers didn‘t allow us to leave. They didn‘t find any payment for the fees from Monkey. After two hours discussion with them we paid about $ 500 out of our cash reserve. The driver promised us, we will get the payment asap what didn‘t happen. As we wanted to address our frustration, the manager refused to talk to us. As recently as we put a lot of pressure on them, we got our money back in several steps in TS. There was no proactive service at all. The only positive point was the experienced and knowledged driver. Many thanks for the nice game drives John. Summary: If you look for an operator with good service, we definetly can not recommend.Monkey.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Dishonest company
Don’t book any service through this tour operator. In our experience, we felt scammed — they took our money and did not follow the agreed itinerary. Afterwards, they stopped responding and left us stranded. They kept saying ‘Hakuna Matata,’ which, in hindsight, felt misleading and dismissive.
(automatic translation from Italian)
KR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
He is kind lier
He took me to a different place than I booked. If he had explained things honestly and asked me first, I think I would’ve been fine with the change. But he didnt
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Do not book with this company!
Two friends and I paid thousands of dollars for a 5-day safari with this company. We arrived in Nairobi only to find out that they cancelled on us the day before we were due to leave. Two other people ended up on another safari with us who had the same problem. It has been 5 weeks, and they have not refunded any of our money, nor do they respond to our communications. We believe we have been scammed! Do not use this company.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awful
My wife and I had a safari booked to celebrate our 39th anniversary.
Unfortunately before we could travel our daughter was sexually assaulted and we were unable to go. I spoke with wies who assured me that the worse case scenario was that I would lose my deposit.
After 6 months of being fobbed off Wies now tells me that there will be no refund only a change of dates.
Talk about making a bad situation worse. £10000 lost to a lack of humanity.
Great service