Africa Travel Co

The group dynamics in the ATC tour is difficult esp. without strong leadership.

Many European tour members and tour guide leader was not very responsive to the needs of people who are Asians or of Asian-descend. They assume all do not speak English well therefore dismiss what we have to say or do not know what we are talking about. But if you a drinker and loud, then your needs will be heard and catered to.
The tour guide leader was not responsive to a safety issue, which made me want to leave the tour early.

Terrible tour company

I booked a 10 day overland safari with Africa Travel Co and I've just had a terrible experience which caused me to leave the tour early.

I came down with food poisoning (probably from the unsanitary cooking conditions) and the tour leader Francis dropped me off in the dark at a gas station in Uganda. I had to call the local hotel to send someone to take me to the hospital. I had severe dehydration and was immediately put on an IV. Francis had wanted me to wait until Nakuru (13 hour+ drive) to see a doctor. Not only was I left alone as a single female in the dark but I was very sick.

The tour itself is budget and gross. Most days are spent driving. A colleague used a much nicer company, Nomad, and had a great time with more stops and activities. Keep yourself safe and use a different company.

Review from a 3 week tour of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in Jan 2016

Review from a 3 week tour of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in Jan 2016.

Before I begin the review of atc, I wanted to make note that many of overland tours are similar in terms of itinerary, food, vehicle, etc. What really makes or breaks the trip are the people. If you have a bad group (whether crew or passengers), that's really what's going affect you the most.

I did not have a good group - a lot of negative people, complainers who really should have not booked a budget camping tour in Africa but they were too cheap to do an upgraded so instead chose to complain about everything.The point of this is, you can't really base your decision to go with a company based on reviews.

Anyways, overall everything advertised in the itinerary was delivered but I don't think itinerary was transparent about the amount of time spent on the truck. It would have good to include approximate distance and time travelled each day would be good so passengers are informed beforehand (not during) of how much time they'll actually be spending on the truck. I would estimate 3/4 of the time was the truck.

The food mediocre Less processed ingredients should be provided and definitely more variety. There should have been opportunity to try local food but there was none, that was hugely disappointing. Instead of buying crappy food from the supermarket, why not take us a local restaurant once in a while? The crew did not eat what we ate for lunch. They would get local food. In one instance we stopped right in front of a restaurant (where the crew ate, yet we were given the same old thing) and ridiculously overpriced souvenir shop (e.g. quote given for a small wooden statue - $400), absolutely ridiculous.

The overland truck was sufficient though had there been more passengers, I definitely would not be happy being cramped on that truck for the amount of time were on there. The truck itself looked/felt dirty but because it's dated and old but the driver did clean it.

Campsites were in good condition and most (if not all) had an option to upgrade, hot water and wifi (though often didn't work) and bar/restaurant. Tents and sleeping mats were durable, good quality, though stinky because you often have to pack them up when they're still wet from condensation or rain.

Aside from the driver, I didn't find the crew to be friendly or approachable. They did not interact with the group and were aloof and to be quite honest had a chip on their shoulder. I felt that we were a nuisance to them and they couldn't be bothered with us, and it often felt they were talking about us in Swahili. I certainly didn't feel at ease with them. I also didn't feel any effort was put into the trip, just the bare minimum just to say they did it. It didn't come across that the leader and cook enjoyed their jobs.Having said that, the cook did provide us with a hot breakfast everyday even if that meant waking up at 4am.

The payment method was ridiculously complicated and unnecessary. It should be the crew's responsibility to ensure they have the required local payment, not for passengers to be carrying US$ for local payment.

However, my biggest complaint is about being overcharged (and feeling ripped off). For one, the prices for the optional excursion were much higher than should have been. We paid $500 (plus tips for the guides, cooks, etc) for 2 days for the Serengetti excursion, yet others I met during my travels paid the same amount for a 4 day tour! In Zanzibar, the spice tour was $40 with ATC yet I got it for $15 on my own (lunch and transportation included) only 3 other pax. All the Zanzibar excursions were double if not triple the prices. The whole point of going with a group was cheaper prices but ATC charges the same or more.

I also don't understand what the local payment went towards. I paid equivalent of $80USD/day. Campsites cost $5 (according to tour leader), the food purchased cannot possibly be more than $15/person/day - even that is a high estimate. Fuel, I'm not sure how much that would be but certainly not $60/person/day. Most days were spent on the bus (no entrance fees or other costs). So what was that money used for?

Hope this helps others in deciding.

ATC 57 Day African Adventure

We have just finished ATC 57 Day Cape Town to Nairobi overland trip, and though the staff on the ground for the most part were very good, the actual organisation of the trip certainly does not provide the best value or experience on the market. Parts of the trip were disorganised, very expensive comparative with other companies, meals paid for were not made available, suppliers used by ATC were slipshod in their attention to detail and expensive.

Booking through On The Go Tours we were informed that there was no way that optional excursions could be paid for in advance, we were therefore surprised and annoyed to find that other travellers on our trip using a Dutch Agent had all major excursions included in the price.

Itineraries supplied by different agents for the tour were slightly different and this caused confusion with at least one out of the three trip leaders we had, and meant last minute changes in plan.

Changes in tour leaders, cooks and driver also meant meals paid for were not provided, and we actually had to pay for a meal at the ATC Nairobi campsite that was included in our package. The new tour leader indicated he would investigate this with the office but no further comment was provided by the tour leader or ATC.

Campsites had been changed comparative to the itinerary supplied and due to not camping inside national park game viewing opportunities were lost. If using ATC ensure that any changes in itinerary do not affect the paid for activities.

Equipment used especially on the first two parts of the trip were "well used" to say the least, and in my opinion the cooks knives on the final part were dangerous to use and unhygienic with handles falling apart.

Optional tours with third party supplies were found to be 25% more expensive than other operators offering better value both at Victoria Falls and Swakopmund, which given the amount of business generated by the overland tours was disappointing to learn. If you use ATC I would strongly urge you to shop around at both these places.

Tour teeshirts out of the four ordered from ATC recommended supplies two in Kampala and two in Vic falls, none were provided as agreed with the suppliers representative, which was very disappointing.

We did go to all the places within the itinerary, and much of the trip was enjoyable, however, if we were to repeat this trip we would use alternative companies which offer similar itineraries. Do not be fooled by the cheap upfront price, by the time all optional extras are included it is certainly no cheaper than going with others who include these in the upfront price.

They are a very affordable overlanding trip company.