Taking you to the exotic African wild!
Morning Star Tours & Travel
- Office In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2018)
- Member Of:
- IATA, KATO, AMREF & TOSK
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $134 to $806 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
US
Email Rozhan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Responsive and good service
We did two safaris in Kenya with Morning Star Tours. One was a four day experience in Tsavo East and West. The other was a seven day experience in Amboseli, Nakuru, and Masai Mara. When planning this safari, I spoke with Dennis. He was very polite, helpful, and responsive. With his help I was able to curate a safari experience that included everything that we were interested in. Huge shoutout to our first driver Julius for making our experience unforgettable. He was kind and tried to help us spot as many animals as possible. I felt like Julius went out of his way to make it an amazing time. Our second driver Alex was very knowledgable about the parks and answered all our questions about Kenya. He also knew how to navigate the parks very well. I do have to say that the drivers are more focused on driving rather than being a guide, so keep that in mind. We did a private tour with the 4x4 land cruiser, which I recommend over a van. The vans get stuck sometimes and we even had to pull one out of the mud. There was a lot of driving involved because we saw so many parks so plan accordingly. We enjoyed the food as all the places offer a buffet style meal, so there are plenty of options to find something you enjoy. One important thing to note about the airport is that we thought we could arrive early and stay until it was time for our flight to leave. However, they will only let you in the airport about 2-3 hours before your flight. There is a cafe outside the airport that you can sit at, but it is uncomfortable and the wifi did not work well. Unfortunately, we did not know this ahead of time so we could plan accordingly. Overall, our experience was great, we got to see most of the animals we wanted and for a competitive price.
CN
Email lingwang | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Morning Star is a big cheater.
Morning Star is a big cheater. They owe me a total refund of $8,372 which hasn't been returned yet. During the process, they kept telling us that they would transfer the money to us, but they kept delaying it. It has been almost a month since the trip ended, but we still haven’t seen the remittance.
I would like to ask if this company still has any integrity and if it is so difficult to bear its own mistakes. Why should tourists pay for your so-called hacker mistakes? This is outrageous.
Reply from Morning Star Tours & Travel
Posted on Nov 20, 2024Hello,
We would like to take a moment to address the concerns raised in the review mentioned above.
Our client, Lingwang(the same group with Shi and Junjie/Marshall Ding), had booked an 8-day Kenya Safari, starting and ending in Nairobi. Due to unforeseen failures with our banking systems, our clients faced unexpected challenges while checking out of the hotel, which forced them to pay the outstanding hotel balance. We fully understand how frustrating this situation must have been for our clients and sincerely empathize with the inconveniences they experienced.
To ensure that they did not miss out on their game drives, we suggested they pay the park fees directly with the assistance of the driver-guide, assuring them that we would refund these costs as soon as our banking systems were stabilized.
Our technical team has worked tirelessly over the past three weeks to resolve the issue, and we are relieved to share that we have successfully processed a full refund for our client.
It saddens us to see our clients dissatisfied, especially when we strive to provide memorable experiences, as evidenced by other client's feedback.
We are committed to learning from this incident, and the following actions have been taken to ensure a similar situation won't happen again in the future;
1. Transitioning our banking operations from the current bank to a new bank.
2. Adding an additional signatory to our banking operations.
We want to assure you that this situation is taken very seriously, and we remain dedicated to providing all our clients with the attentive service they deserve.
Thank you for your understanding and support.
CN
Email Matt | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unfulfilled refunded after 1 month due to their mistake
Our recent 8-day trip to Kenya and Tanzania with Morningstar was far from the unforgettable adventure we’d hoped for. Starting from Tanzania, everything went wrong and they still own us a huge number of money for nearly a month. They promised to refund next week everyday, but still seeing no money yet. And we even got a message from him saying we are NOT PATIENT!
In Tanzania, we had to pay for multiple services, including park fee, transportation fee, etc, twice, losing 2 half-day of safari due payment not done in advance. Despite reassurances from Dennis, Morningstar’s owner, promised refunds for these extra expenses never received. Further more, Morningstar has no direct staff in Tanzania, so they rely on a partner agency, which resulted in poor coordination and minimal support.
Having made our full payment two weeks prior to departure, we trusted that all fees were covered. However, upon arrival in Tanzania, we learned that key expenses, including park entry and transport, hadn’t been paid. Faced with the risk of being stranded, we had no choice but to cover these costs ourselves. Dennis blamed the missing payments on a hacked bank account and again promised a refund once we returned to Kenya—a promise that remains unfulfilled 25 days later.
While our guide Caleb in Kenya was experienced and dedicated, Morningstar’s overall handling left us disheartened. The lack of support, broken promises, and financial inconvenience made what should have been a dream safari a frustrating experience. Sadly, I cannot recommend Morningstar based on our trip.
Furthermore, I don't know if there’s anything related to racism or not, but I do find that reviews from other countries are great, they did not had to experience paying everything twice, while many Chinese tourists report money loss without timely refunds.
We do sincerely wish that the excuse from Denise is true and he will refund as he promised. Please get us the refund ASAP. If so, the whole trip is a memorable experience with MorningStar.
Reply from Morning Star Tours & Travel
Posted on Nov 20, 2024Hello,
We would like to take a moment to address the concerns raised in the review mentioned above.
Our client, Matt ( same group with Becky), had booked an 8-day Kenya and Tanzania Safari, starting and ending in Nairobi. While the first four days of the safari unfolded beautifully, our clients faced unexpected challenges as they entered the Serengeti due to unforeseen failures with our banking systems. We fully understand how frustrating this situation must have been for our clients, and we sincerely empathize with the inconveniences they experienced.
As soon as we became aware of the issue, we immediately prioritized communicating with our clients. To ensure that they did not miss out on their game drives, we suggested they pay the park fees directly with the assistance of the driver-guide, assuring them that we would refund these costs as soon as our banking systems were stabilized.
Our technical team has worked tirelessly over the past three weeks to resolve the issue, and we are relieved to share that we have successfully processed a full refund for our client.
It saddens us to see our clients dissatisfied, especially when we strive to provide memorable experiences, as evidenced by other client's feedback.
We are committed to learning from this incident, and the following actions have been taken to ensure a similar situation won't happen again in the future;
1. Transitioning our banking operations from the current bank to a new bank.
2. Adding an additional signatory to our banking operations.
We want to assure you that this situation is taken very seriously, and we remain dedicated to providing all our clients with the attentive service they deserve.
Thank you for your understanding and support.
CN
Email Junjie/Marshall Ding | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Shocking Experience with Morning Star - Held at Hotel Due to Unpaid Bills
On the final day of our African safari tour , we experienced an unacceptable situation with Morning Star Travel Agency. At check-out time (8 AM), the hotel staff informed us that Morning Star had never paid for our stay, despite us having paid the full tour amount two weeks before the trip.
After two hours of unsuccessful attempts to contact Morning Star (our agent Alice became mysteriously unreachable), we were forced to pay $4,532 out of pocket for the hotel bill to avoid missing our afternoon flight. This was the second time during our trip that we had to cover Morning Star's unpaid fees, following a $1,600 payment we were forced to make for Masai Mara park entrance fees.
Most concerning facts:
Morning Star had received full payment from us two weeks before the trip
Their agent disappeared when the payment issue arose, only to reappear after we paid
One month has passed with no refund or explanation
I am sharing this to warn others about Morning Star's practices and will continue to pursue this matter until I receive a full refund.
Reply from Morning Star Tours & Travel
Posted on Nov 20, 2024Hello,
We would like to take a moment to address the concerns raised in the review mentioned above.
Our client, Junjie/Marshall Ding(the same group with Shi and Lingwang), had booked an 8-day Kenya Safari, starting and ending in Nairobi. Due to unforeseen failures with our banking systems, our clients faced unexpected challenges while checking out of the hotel, which forced them to pay the outstanding hotel balance. We fully understand how frustrating this situation must have been for our clients and sincerely empathize with the inconveniences they experienced.
To ensure that they did not miss out on their game drives, we suggested they pay the park fees directly with the assistance of the driver-guide, assuring them that we would refund these costs as soon as our banking systems were stabilized.
Our technical team has worked tirelessly over the past three weeks to resolve the issue, and we are relieved to share that we have successfully processed a full refund for our client.
It saddens us to see our clients dissatisfied, especially when we strive to provide memorable experiences, as evidenced by other client's feedback.
We are committed to learning from this incident, and the following actions have been taken to ensure a similar situation won't happen again in the future;
1. Transitioning our banking operations from the current bank to a new bank.
2. Adding an additional signatory to our banking operations.
We want to assure you that this situation is taken very seriously, and we remain dedicated to providing all our clients with the attentive service they deserve.
Thank you for your understanding and support.
CN
Email SHI | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It's really a terrible experience! We feel that we have been cheated !!!
Before our trip to Kenya on September 28th, we had paid the full amount for the tour. However, on the morning of October 5th, the last day of our stay, we were informed by the hotel that Morningstar had not paid them, and therefore we were not allowed to leave. We were forced to stay at the hotel for nearly 2 hours. During this unexpected situation, our contact person Alice completely disappeared and refused to answer our calls and WeChat messages. In order to catch our flight back home, we had to pay nearly $4500 for the hotel fees in advance. But right after we paid, Alice showed up and claimed that she had an emergency and would refund us later. Out of trust in this company, we kept communicating with them actively after returning home. But until today, we haven't received any refund, and the people from this company are full of lies! They said the refund had been sent to us at one moment, and then claimed they needed to confirm the specific details of the expenses with the driver at another moment. They always put off giving us the remittance receipt! We also confirmed with the bank over the phone that we hadn't received any remittance information.
If you don't want to advance payment for a fraudulent company and don't want to be helpless in a foreign country, please don't choose this company. It's really a terrible experience!
Reply from Morning Star Tours & Travel
Posted on Nov 20, 2024Hello,
We would like to take a moment to address the concerns raised in the review mentioned above.
Our client, Shi (the same group with Lingwang and Junjie/Marshall Ding), had booked an 8-day Kenya Safari, starting and ending in Nairobi. Due to unforeseen failures with our banking systems, our clients faced unexpected challenges while checking out of the hotel, which forced them to pay the outstanding hotel balance. We fully understand how frustrating this situation must have been for our clients and sincerely empathize with the inconveniences they experienced.
To ensure that they did not miss out on their game drives, we suggested they pay the park fees directly with the assistance of the driver-guide, assuring them that we would refund these costs as soon as our banking systems were stabilized.
Our technical team has worked tirelessly over the past three weeks to resolve the issue, and we are relieved to share that we have successfully processed a full refund for our client.
It saddens us to see our clients dissatisfied, especially when we strive to provide memorable experiences, as evidenced by other client's feedback.
We are committed to learning from this incident, and the following actions have been taken to ensure a similar situation won't happen again in the future;
1. Transitioning our banking operations from the current bank to a new bank.
2. Adding an additional signatory to our banking operations.
We want to assure you that this situation is taken very seriously, and we remain dedicated to providing all our clients with the attentive service they deserve.
Thank you for your understanding and support.
Email Dan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A truly unique experience, a perfect trip
We had an amazing trip with Morningstar doing 8 days/7 nights across Kenya.
Prior to the trip Joy was always prompt to reply and provide us with any relevant information. The whole process was very professional and felt well organised before we arrived.
Our guide, Willy, was fantastic - he always seemed to manage to position the vehicle in the right spot for where the animals were going to head. He moved along at our pace and had a knack of sensing when we might have needed a little more or a rest.
We saw every animal we wished to see - all of the big 6, ugly 5, wild dogs and more. Willy’s experience in knowing the regular routed of the animals and their behaviour was invaluable.
We had regular contact from Joy throughout, and Willy was also available on WhatsApp in the lodges when we were out through the week.
The land cruiser was spacious and comfortable, it had sockets to charge cameras/phones and reclining seats for the long drives between parks.
We feel we got fantastic value for money, all of the accommodation was of a high quality. The food throughout was varied and delicious, we never went hungry - my partner is a vegetarian and was well catered for at every hotel, with multiple options.
I wouldn’t hesitate to use morningstar again, and we certainly hope to return to Kenya with them again in the future.
CA
Email William | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Morningstar is professional, punctual and well organized
Morning Star is a great tour operator, they are professional, punctual and well organized. Wanja our travel agent answered all our questions before our trip to Kenya even those not related with the tour itself. Willy our guide/driver is well experienced and knows how to do his job. The first day he asked us what were our expectations and we said we wanted to see all the animals even the rare ones and that's what we got and more thanks to Willy's knowledge and a bit of luck :). All our trip was well organized from the first day to the last and we got to see so much in such a short period of time. If you are asking yourself if you should do a private safari with a 4X4 Landcruiser just do it pay the extra money you're not gonna regret it. Wanja and Willy at Morning Star are exactly what you wish for to make your safari full of magical long lasting memories. Thanks again guys.
Email Mike | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic honeymoon safari
We would like to thank Joysharon for organising the most wonderful safari for our honeymoon. Everything was planned so well but there was also some flexibility in the schedule which we appreciated - we really felt our trip was personalised for us. James was a knowledgable and amusing guide who kept us entertained for the driving between safari parks as well as being a fountain of knowledge on all the animals we came across. A particular highlight was when a herd of elephants with their young calves were grazing round the car! We can’t thank both of them enough
DE
Email Daniel | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Reliable, highly professional tour operator.
We just did a 2 day / 1 night Safari to Amboseli National Park as part of a stopover in Nairobi. Whole experience with Morningstar Tours was awesome. As a family with 2 children (5 and 7 years old) we had many questions which were all taken care of by Carolyn who was extremely attentive and speedy in her replies. All arrangements / promises (e.g. car seats) were kept as aligned. Our Guide Glenn, who picked us up from our Nairobi hotel and was also doing the game drives with us (one in the late afternoon, one in the early morning) delivered a Glenn-tastic experience. He knew exactly where to drive to in order to catch the best views and pictures. Having such a knowledgeable guide with lots of experience really makes a difference. He's certainly an asset for this company.
Wrapping things up, if you're planning to do a Safari and are shopping for a tour operator: Go with Morningstars and ask for Glenn. If you've the opportunity to add a stop-over to your Kenya Airways flight (as we did): Go for it! ;)
CN
Email yang | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
good service
This was our first time in Africa, and overall, the travel agency's service was very good. If the driver had a better attitude, our experience would have been even better.