The expert team at Safari365
Safari365
- Offices In:
-
Brazil
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2005)
- Member Of:
- SATSA, Travel Smart Crew & SATIB Safe
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $1,700 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 David | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
I'm not a happy camper
Promised helicopter over Botswana….never happened
Promised 2 different luxury camps in Botswana..never happen.
One day before going to the first camp they switched and sent us for 6 days at a cheaper camp. Even the manager at the camp said it was strange and unheard of for use to be there for 6 days.
Reply from Safari365
Posted on Mar 15, 2024Thank you for your review below, although we were shocked and saddened to read this feedback from a trip you and your son took with us 20 months ago. We have looked into the history of the booking and can see you originally booked with us in 2021 but had your plans changed by COVID. You then rebooked to travel with us in June 2022. From what we can see in the archive from this 2022 trip, after a 2 night stay in Victoria Falls and then 2 nights in Chobe, you were then booked to stay 3 nights in Camp Maru and 3 nights at Amber River Camp in the Delta. These two camps are operated by Okavango Hidden Gems: https://okavangohiddengems.com/. Some time after you booked, we were then notified by Okavango Hidden Gems (in April 2022) that Camp Maru unfortunately had to close and move sites, due to issues with their temporary land lease from the local Batswana owners. They offered to move you to the newer Amber River Camp for the entire 6 night stay, which was accepted by your party. I can then see from the history that unfortunately when you were enroute and actually travelling in June 2022, Amber River Camp contacted Safari365 just before your arrival to state there was an emergency at the camp which had caused their solar power to fail, halting operations. As a remote camp, it meant that had to then close at very short notice and couldn't honour any bookings (this was unprecedented, but operational issues such as this can be a risk in the remote African bush). They offered to move you to a partner property, Kadizora Camp, which offered both land and water based activities, plus offered you a free future stay at Amber River Camp should you ever return to Botswana. Your son graciously accepted in light of their emergency and I can see correspondence from your son to say you were having a great time at Kazidora. In fact I see you yourself wrote a positive review of Kazidora on Trip Advisor: https://www.tripadvisor.co.za/ShowUserReviews-g472673-d8337430-r844801730-Kadizora_Camp-Okavango_Delta_North_West_District.html Unfortunately part of your cancelled Amber River Lodge stay was the cancellation of the 20 minute compulsory return helicopter transfer to the lodge. Our records show however that a hot air balloon was organised instead at Kazidora. And the last email from your son in the middle of your holiday stated: "We've been informed the balloon tour is available to us, so this all has worked well. I am cognizant of how travel remains disrupted due to the pandemic and am thankful you and the Safari 365 team worked to remedy the circumstance to maintain our holiday plans. Thank you once again for your outstanding work." This was on the 13th June in the middle of your stay at Kazidora. I see a staff member then also followed up on the 17th June with your son to check all as well, as you were returning home. It is incredibly unfortunate (and rare) that you had multiple issues with the properties at Okavango Hidden Gems, but these operational circumstances were completely outside of Safari365's control. So again we are really disappointed that you feel duped in some way, and also saddened to not have had the opportunity to address your unhappiness 20 months ago. As for why you stayed 6 nights in the Delta, I cannot refer to the consultant as she no longer works for us, however she was an experienced member of the team, so I can only assume there was a misunderstanding regarding your needs. We go out of our way to make sure our clients have an amazing time and this is reflected in our 5 star reviews on TripAdvisor. I am sorry you were not satisfied in this instance, however we wish you all the best for your future travels in Africa. Kind Regards Safari365