Bonfire Adventures
- Located In:
- Size:
- 100-250 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $550 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Jill | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great 3 Day Safari with Bonfire Adventures at the Mara Sopa Lodge!
This review is specifically about Bonfire Adventures & the Mara Sopa lodge. My friend and I booked a private, custom 3 night/4 day safari with Bonfire. The regular package is 2 nights, 3 days, but since we were traveling from far away we wanted an extra day. Bonfire is a Kenyan based (and owned company) that plans safaris & other excursions. They offer many lodging options, from budget to luxury, so there's something for everyone.
We live in the United States. Bonfire was very responsive over email and priced out the package. I was in Kenya for work, so I went to a Bonfire office to pay via credit card in person, which cost an extra 3%. Right now, the only other option is to do a direct bank transfer to their account (which I did not want to do from the United States). Hopefully, Bonfire will have an online credit card pay link soon. But, everything worked out fine.
Our guide, Duncan, was wonderful. He picked us up in Nairobi and drove us the 5+ hours to the Mara. We did 2 bathroom stops (on the way out and in). Bring snacks and extra water for the journey! It's a little bumpy at the end, but it's so great to see what Kenya really looks like.
Duncan was professional and polite and very knowledgable about the animals and plants of the Mara. We saw so much wildlife! He was very patient with all of our requests to take photos. He had a great eye for the photos himself and even helped us set up some sunset and animal shots.
We stayed at the Mara Sopa lodge, the most "hotel" of all the options on that side of the park. It's beautiful and comfortable, especially considering how remote the Mara is.
The Mara is a magical place and I highly recommend it.
Email Olivia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Dishonest and Disorganised
We booked with Bonfire Adventures for a 3 day trip to Mara Maasai and after our experience would not recommend Bonfire Adventures for the following reasons.
1. Disorganised.
Bonfire were highly disorganised. I felt as if I was doing most of the organisation and I was trying to organise their agent to book things for us. I had to repeatedly follow up with them about if they had made the booking and what time we would be collected to start the Safari. They only confirmed who was collecting us at 7pm the night before we were due to leave at 7am the next morning. They asked us to let the driver know where to collect us from even though we had already provided them with that information more than a week in advance.
2. Dishonesty
We asked them for a quote as to the cost, which they provided to us. It wasn't until after we paid that they informed us that they had quoted us the residents rate rather then non-residents rate and would have to pay more money. I have a very English first and surname so I have no idea why they would assume that I was a resident. They then said that I should have known that it was the residents rate as they had charged us in the local currency rather then US dollars. I asked them to return my money to me as I did not want to pay extra as this would make the safari significantly more expensive. It was only at this point they said that they could actually offer it to us at the residents rate.
Perhaps more disappointing was that they were dishonest with money. I sent them the money for the Safari and paid the bank fees. According to my calculations I unintentionally underpaid them 700 KES (Approx. 7 USD) due to the different the conversion rates. However Bonfire said that I had underpaid them by 5,600 KES (Approx. 53 USD). When I questioned this they said the difference must be due to bank fees. I went back and checked that and in fact I had already paid these fees. I asked for further proof of exactly how much they received in the transfer but they only provided an internal spreadsheet, but nothing from their bank. I have asked them to provide me with a way to pay the remaining 700 KES and am waiting to hear back from them.
3. Driver
The driver was also disappointing as at the end of our Safari we were dropped off at Lake Naivasha. He put pressure on us to pay him to drive us back to Nairobi after we were finished at the lake in a few days time. He asked us to pay him $120,000 KES and told us that we wouldn't get anyone to drive us back to Nairobi for less then $100,000 KES. We phoned a great driver we had previously used in Nairobi who immediately suggested a much more reasonable price of 70,000 KES and didn't pressure us at all to go with him.
They also ask to do a client feedback form which you then return to the staff who you are assessing so its difficult to give honest and open feedback in these circumstances.
I had a terrible experience and poor customer service. My booking was mishandled.
I live in the USA, I asked my sister to book a 3 day trip to Masai Mara for me. She was sent an email with options. We opted for the promotion bornfire adventures were offering at the time. We were not give much details of the place, no brochures or the name of the place we would be staying. The email said "Masai Mara budget tented camp" my goodness! I have never in my entire life seen such a filthy place by name
"manyata camp" Molded tents, dusty beddings, stinky pit latrine welcome toilets,flies all over the place not to mention the filthy bathrooms. When I asked to be upgraded I was told to cancel my booking and start a new one paying at a 100%. I opted to check out soonest, I was told that was going to cost me because I was inconveniencing other guests in the vehicle. I had 2 small children, I was left feeling helpless and forced to put up with the crapy place for 3 day. When i complained, I was told I had a personality issue because nobody else had ever complained of the place. I have pictures of the place.
Awful Customer Experience
While the tour to the Masai Mara and the lodge where we stayed was very nice, my experience with Bonfire Adventures as a customer has been quite a disaster from the beginning till the end.
Here is why:
- First the company forced us to pay the entire amount of the safari upfront while no other safari company has ever asked for that and leaving us with absolutely no guarantee and no leverage
- Secondly our driver was unresponsive at the time of the meeting and ended up showing more than hour late without even apologising. This led us to be stuck in traffic for hours when our drive could have been much shorter if we had departed on time.
- Thirdly when we showed up for the first time at the gate of the Masai Mara park the network did not work and we could not pay by credit card. Our driver almost blamed us not to have cash for the entrance fees while the company had told us we would have to pay the entrance fees by card and we had to negotiate to be able to get in.
- Fourthly, we were charged for our lunch on our way back to Nairobi on the third day while the safari package indicates a Full Board for the three days (the itinerary even mention that you will only go back at 4pm to Nairobi - way after lunch time) and never mentions any extra cost for this last lunch.
- Lastly and the most annoying, my luggage was lost on the way back to Nairobi and the company did not provide with any type of compensation while the luggage was under their responsibility. The only excuse they could come up with was "this has never happened before" which of course does not help solving the issue at all.
Therefore I would strongly advise against using them for any type of safari of excursion.
Excellent, exceeded my expectations
Well coordinated. I would like to comment tour consultant by the name Real Munyiva. she made my bookings easier with all required information i did not have difficulties. the transfers were made on time with no delay. will use again
Email Julian | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Zanzibar trip
Please do not book with bonfire adventures.
We did not get our confirmation till the night before, having paid 3 days in advance.
The packages offered on-line did not correspond with the actual package I.e. sunset cruise dinner was a watermelon, cocktail never materialised.
They sent us a text message the night before departure, advising us that we were booked on a .m. flight with no flight details.
There are other your company operators who are more reliable out there.
Do not waste your time with bonfire adventures.
Email Jonathan | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Masai Mara 3 day (but only 2)
Simba Oryx lodge and Mara itself are superb. Bonfire are either dishonest or incompetent. We paid for three days safari but, on the third day, the driver just took us home. We also gave the driver park fees to cover the third day. We are following this up with the company so will update this site if we get a refund, apology etc.
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Email KIKI | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Dishonest,Disorganized,Ripoff,Old Worn Out Tour Van .
Avoid SILVESTER at all costs . He is supposedly the SENIOR TOUR CONSULTANT at one of their Nairobi branches .He does not reply emails ,texts and when i confronted him he said he didn't receive any emails . Luckily we got a different Consultant Terry who booked us our safari to MasaiMara and Mombasa .Bonfire didn't honor the price quotes they had stated earlier and their reason was the prices have changed .The price quotes on their website are wrong . Hotel transfers from train station in Mombasa was a disaster .Anyway Terry did her best and she was warm and welcoming . Martin was our driver and tour guide . He was excellent in everyway . Its sad he works for such a disorganized company.Avoid this tour company if you want to enjoy your vacation .May be pay a little more elsewhere for your own comfort and peace of mind. SHAME ON YOU BONFIRE!
Email David Godfrey Newman | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good
Would like to thank Betty at the booking office. Our Driver Philip was one of a kind conversant with the Nairobi National Park, friendly and knows most of the animals characteristics as id working with the Park. Pick up w as on point. Thanks Philip and Betty. Thanks Bonfire adventures
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Email Chique | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very disorganized
We booked a short trip to Mombasa using the SGR. When we got to the Miritini station all the people who had booked with Bonfire we're herded to one corner. Most of us had no transportation to the hotels. Where a bus finally showed up, 2 hours late, it broke down at the parking lot! They eventually put us in 3 separate taxis after much complaining. We wasted about 4 hours that counted as part of the first day of the trip.