Open Africa Safaris
- Located In:
-
United States
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2008)
- Member Of:
- American Society of Travel Agents
- Tour Types:
- Budget & mid-range tours that, when possible, use accommodations owned and operated by them
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $75 to $500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CA
Email Violet | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Terrible. Worse vacation ever. John Williams scammer.
I had the worse experience with John Williams. We landed in Serengeti to find out the parks fee was not paid nor the hotels. I can't even write down my thoughts because I'm so upset with the whole situation. I trusted John. Pls guts be careful about this agent.
US
Email getaway260528 | Experience level: first safari
Shady business practices and scam
John Williams and his partner in Tanzania, Dilunga, cannot guarantee itineraries that are booked. I booked and paid for my safari tour and ended up with a join in tour group that did not book the same tour I paid for. Only upon arrival to Kilamanjaro was I informed that my itinerary changed. Also, no one met me at the airport for the transfer. Total BS and scam.
UA
Email Volodymyr | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Stay away from this travel agency
I had a terrible experience of a 6-days safari, booked through the Open Africa Safaris.
All that it's representative John Williams said about the tour, was a lie.
In particular, I asked the following questions before paying:
1) Will all six-day safari be the car of your company and run by your employees?
Yes, all six days will be operated by our company's vehicle and employees.
Will there be a safari in mixed with other companies car?
No, all customers will go under our company but from different places ..
But in fact I was attached to a mixed group of tourists from different companies with different programs. The trip took place on the cars of various guides-freelancers. For six days I was transplanted into 4 different cars. None of these machines had the mark of Open Africa Safaris. Two of them did not have a promised chargers, no working fridge and no promised Coffee boxes, Wildlife books and Maps.
2) Do you provide a sleeping bag and a tent?
Yes indeed, we provide all camping equipment including, tents, sleeping bags, mattresses and pollows for each client.
But in fact nobody from our group took sleeping bags for two nights in a row. Only the mattresses and the dirty torn sheet with a dirty blanket. The next night was given only to the mattress itself.
3) Does the safari program have a visit to any river?
Big chences, yes and good news is that our driver will try his best to make sure that you see the wildebeest migration in Serengeti NP.
But in fact in fact neither migration nor rivers have been seen.
4) Do you already know the number of people in the safari group to which I will join?
You will join 5 more people, so total will be 6 people in the vehicle for the trip.
In fact, two days in the car there were 7 tourists, and I had to sit near the driver without a rooftop.
5) Open Africa Safaris is not ASTA member. Information on this site is false. You can check it on ASTA website.
6) But the worst was not even the above.
Day 1. At the entrance to Tarangire, we lost an hour, since the fee for entering the park was not paid.
Day 2. At the entrance to Serengeti, we lost two hours, as the entrance fee to the park was not paid again. Another hour we lost because of a car breakdown (the battery was down, not some force majeure). Accordingly, there was no game drive this day.
In the evening, we found out that there are no sleeping bags for us. Every other tourist from other companies in camp had sleeping bags.
Day 3. Sunrise game drive until 11:00. After that the guide said that entrance fee for second day in Serengeti not paid and we cannot move on game drive around the park. The half of day was held at Serengeti Airstrip near the payment office, waiting for payment, which was never done on that day. The evening was held in the ranger's office by filing applications and explanations. The half of night was at the police station.
Lost a day, no gaming drive. There are no sleeping bags again, only tent and mattress. Very cold.
In addition, it turned out that in one car three groups of people with completely different itineraries on the next day.
Day 4. Got a short game drive only at 12:00, after which there was a road to the camp near Ngorongoro. They submerged me into another car as a seventh tourist, in which I was sitting near driver without access to rooftop.
Day 5. Still in car as 7th tourist without rooftop access. Lost again 40 minutes through unpaid entrance to the Ngorongoro conservation area. They brought to the camp already at 15:00, that is, the half of day of the safari was lost.
Day 6. I began game drive only at 11:30, because there was no group to which I could join this day. As a result, they sent me a separate car, but they did not even give me water with me. Already at 14:00 I was back in the camp.
Besides, I was never in the evening, but even during breakfast I did not know which guides and cars I would go to safari that day.
When I wrote to John Williams about a refund for at least a lost 1 full day, he replied that he did not have the money and that I would contact a the subcontractor with whom he shared me and who actually carried out the safari, which I do not even have contacts with.
IT
Email alice | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
ATTENTION IT IS A SCAM! terrible experience
We booked 11 days of safaris with John William of open africa safaris for September 2018. We have been in touch with him for two months (email and whatsapp) and we never thought we'd find out what happened to us. We found good reviews about this tour operator, we trusted on him and we payed him in advance for the total amount of the safaris for our honeymoon (4600 usd). Once we arrived in Kenya he asked to anticipate 2000usd because of transfer problems with the promise of an immediate refunding. He send us a request of refunding by square, however the day after he cancelled the operations without telling us anything. In the following days he asked us other 300usd to continue our tour. Moreover he booked some hotels but he never payed, so we had to anticipate other money. Lie upon lie he destroyed our honeymoon. Once in Arusha we tried to find his office but IT DOES NOT EXIST! Fortunately the tour operators East African exotic safaris (Manager Raphael) and big5 Vojage (Manager Dilunga) helped us to not spoil out trip. They organized safaris for us despite they never get money by him to take care of our trip. They were angels for us. Excellent people in contraposition to the fraudulent open africa safaris. I will be always grateful to them.
I know that my review will sound unique compared to the old reviews but unfortunately this is the reality. Another young traveler can testify because she faced the same problem as us. We are now reclaiming our money and do our possible to avoid that other guests will fall in the same scam. For any further informations please contact me privately.
US
Email Anne | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Bait and switch by open africa
I was sold a trip with upgraded accommodations, then placed on a budget trip. First i was told the places we were staying were equivalent to my promised itinerary ( which i had luckily printed and brought with me). When i was able to go to the websites of places I’d paid for, and could see how untrue that was, i asked to be ensured i would be at paid spots going forward, i was then told that one place full the night i should be there and another having robberies. Both disputed by those places when i did go there, and patently untrue ( full site only half full when i there on planned night; no signs of repaired tents at place “ with robberies)
It was really unpleasant to have to argue, A Lot, while being repeatedly told lies, in order to get mt paid acccommodations for last two nights of six. When i contacted open africa on return, to request some refund for the two nights i was seriously downgraded, i was told by open africa’s john william that the leader of the tour group i was subcontracted to ( i saw the paperwork that our group used to enter the Serengeti, name was not open africa) that I had said i was happy with my trip , and then never heard from John again, despite contacting him.
So, buyer beware, Tanzania is fantastic, this tour operator not so much
Reply from Open Africa Safaris
Posted on Nov 4, 2017Hello Anne,
You purchased a 6 day safari package, which had mixed accommodations, Mid-range and budget camping at Sun bright camp. However, a day before your tour, we received a news from our local guides in that area saying that the camp was not safe at that time to have our clients stay there. As a company, we take our customers' safety and their belongings very serious, in another hand our customers' safety comes first. After we received the unsafe information from our local guides, we decided to have you stay at Panoma Camp for two nights, where you received the same service and camping equipment that you were supposed to receive at Sun Bright Camp.
After your trip, you contacted us seeking for a refund of the two nights that you didn't spend at Sun Bright. We explained to you that it was not safe to go there but for your own reason maybe you didn't believe us. We also told you that the service and camping equipment that you were assigned to use at Sun Bright Camp were the same as Panorama Camp. After we received your refund request, we went through your trip and the package you purchased, but we did not find any reason why we should refund you. We couldn't refund you because, you completed the number of days you signed for, and therefore you received the same accommodation service because from Sun Bright Camp to Panorama Camp did not make any difference in accommodation service. As a Company, we had and will always do our best to provide the best service to all customers and this is why about 99.9% of our reviews are positive and 5 stars.
US
Email Emmanuel korosso,Houston,Texas. | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
amazing experience with great services from the expert Tony montana
I will recommend anytime to anybody to use open African safaris for all your trip and adventures,they are well organized,they communicate well,great people,well experienced.wwe were able to see all the animals at a very close distance,they also provide lunch boxes very delicious.going back this Dec for tarangire and Serengeti trip with open African safaris.will highly recommend anyone to book your trip through Open African safaris.Tony Montana gave us a great time.
Email Glyn | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Thieves
The safari was wonderful but we can never get over the fact that we were robbed by someone called John William. We were told the company was having trouble transferring money from America for the park fees and asked to take some money out which we would get back on our return.
Luckily we couldn't get out the full amount as, despite a number of promises, we are now £400 or so worse off.
Do not book with this company.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful safari experience
We recently completed a 5 day safari with Open Africa, and it was a truly memorable experience. As other reviewers have mentioned, Anton is a great guide who has a deep knowledge of the land and wildlife, and worked tirelessly to ensure we saw everything we wanted to see (big 5 checked off!). He is experienced, friendly, and just the person you want to lead you on safari. A gorgeous sunrise with giraffes in the foreground, having breakfast amidst the incredible migrating wildebeest herd, and watching lion cubs playing in the sun were just some of the highlights of our trip. We also had guide-in-training Sam along with us, and getting to know the 2 guides and hearing their stories were highlights in themselves. Above all of that, John is extremely responsive to emails and communicated closely with us from the moment we inquired about the safari, all the way to after the trip. While we experienced one or two logistics issues while on the trip, John was quick to help resolve them afterwards in a professional manner. (Make sure to double-confirm the flights and itinerary before hand!) I would recommend Open Africa to anyone who wishes to visit Tanzania for a magical experience.
US
Email Jamie | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Do NOT Book with This Company!
Do not book with this company! The principal, "John William" runs a scam operation - possibly in connection with others. He'll take your money and then tell you shortly before your scheduled arrival that his company is in financial trouble BUT there is another safari operator who can help - IF you pay again for the trip. Also, "John William" will tell you that he made mistakes in the day-by-day activities list that he sent you so, sorry, but you have to pay your own way, for example, to Zanzibar from Tanzania. And, oops, there is an extra safari day listed by mistake so you’ll need to find something else to do on that date at your expense. "John William" (I don't believe it's his real name!) is a liar and a scammer. Also, by the way, when he says he's "booked" a reservation, it does not mean he's paid for it. I've been told that he runs his bogus operation from the United States. After cheating so many people out of money, his website is still active as he's trying to swindle as much money out of folks that he can before he's carried off in handcuffs.
If you already have been victimized, contact your charge card company, the police, and Elly Maturo (+255 713 230 134), [email protected], from the Tanzania Cultural Tourism Program.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Special Experience!
We did a 4 night 5 day safari through Open Africa Safaris and had a fantastic time. From start to finish John the owner was excellent. Note only that he was helpful and made us feel very welcome , but he is also a true gentleman. In fact, he even changed our flights for us while we were on our safari.
On our safari our guide Anthony was very friendly, knowledgeable, open minded, and very experienced. He has visited in the USA 3 times, and so spoke great English and nothing was too much trouble for him. He did everything he could to make our safari experience special. The meals we had , cooked by Joseph , were also very delicious and we had plenty of food all the time.
Overall we had an excellent Safari experience seeing everything we wanted to see and would have no hesitation in recommending this Open Africa Safaris to anyone.