Africa Travel Co
- Located In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 1990)
- Member Of:
- ATTA, TASA, SATSA, ATTA US, SAYTC & SAT
- Tour Types:
- Budget camping tours with set start dates and a fixed itinerary (clients assist with camp chores)
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $70 to $150 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
US
Email Denay | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
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.
Reply from Africa Travel Co
Posted on Aug 25, 2017Dear Denay
Thank you for your review. The crew and your fellow passengers have given reports that contradict the points mentioned in your review. But we do feel that everyone deserves to be heard, we however regret that you did not submit an email to us detailing your complaint, so we could have an opportunity to investigate the matter. We are only aware of a very early morning call to our Reservations Manager, shortly before posting this review. As soon as we receive the feedback forms from the trip and interview the crew, we can follow protocol and investigate the allegations and get back to all parties. We will be sure to keep you updated with regards to the situation. Kindest regards ATC
RO
Email Zsolt Kallos | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lying
The bus was robbed and they took no responsibility. No compensation or anything. Here's what happened:
We stopped at Tubatse Crossing Mall. 2 trucks full of white people on their expensive phones with transparent windows. Even a blind person could spot us from miles. We were parking relatively far from the entrance because the public parking has a height limit that we couldn’t pass. No worries, we can walk a few minutes to the Mall entrance. They say to leave everything on the bus. Why? Because they are going to take care of it while we’re in the Mall. And we do, as they say. I believe most of us did. With only my phone and headphones in my pocket, we go to “hunt” some food in the Mall.
45 minutes later we arrive back. I see some people worried, and I hear somebody saying “Oh my God! Some backpacks are missing.” I was like definitely not mine, the most important backpack where we have ALL our combined documents, cards, passports… That cannot be happening. Then I run up the bus and to my worst nightmare, my backpack was gone. I was running up the other bus, hoping I’m an idiot, and confused my seat but no. It was gone. I come down, I start kicking the metal fence in my anger, and after rage asking the tour operators about where’s my backpack from this safe bus, I’m confronted with what happened.
While we were gone, they left 1 guy alone to take care of the 2 trucks. Trucks where each backpack had at least one laptop or iPad if not more. More than $100.000 on wheels. They thought that it was a good idea to leave a single unarmed man with all this value. And of course, 6 guys came with weapons, threatened him to open up one of the buses, ran up, and took whatever they could. Of around 50 bags 5 were stolen, and mine was one of them.
In the loving memory of my personal belongings that I believe I’ll never see again, here’s what was in the Nomatic backpack:
16” MacBook Pro M1 Pro 32GB, Oculus Quest 2, GoPro Hero 8, JBL Flip 6, Electric toothbrushes, around $1.000 in cash, cables, clothes, and even my favorite underwear.
Total value around $5.000. Still, this is something relatively easily replaceable.
The most painful part was that all of our combined documents with Mila were gone too. And when I say all, I mean it: Both Passports, Residence permit, Driving license, ID cards, 6 bank cards including our corporate one, and even my Albert Hein Bonus card.
We didn’t have luggage for months now to travel light, so I was left there stripped from all my belongings except what I had on me. There were 6 of us affected and 3 of us couldn’t continue the trip to the next country because of the lost Passports. So we couldn’t attend the 10-day