A life changing Tanzania experience
Afrikakukaye Tours and Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2015)
- Member Of:
- TTB & MNRT
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $120 to $1,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
DE
Email T Weber | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Terrible tour operator. We were threatened during our tour!
First of all I would like to make clear that our guide Simon Yuma was incredible and really made our safari an unforgettable experience! THANK YOU SIMON. YOU ARE AN AMAZING PERSON!
Simon has an amazing knowledge about animals and is able to anticipate their behaviour. We saw so many animals super close, which other groups didn’t. I can highly recommend him and I hope that he will find a better employer in the future and here is why:
The company, which was recommended to us, AFRIKA KUKAYE, seemed small but legit. We actually wanted to book with a smaller company then with a big operator.
We heard many times that on group tours people from different companies were just put together in the same car and everyone having a different itinerary. We said to Remsi that we did NOT want to do it this way. Communication went well and we WERE ASSURED by the owner Remsi Sungwa that we would definitively go with this company.
So far - so good. He confirmed everything. However, 1 day before our Safari was supposed to start, and of course AFTER WE PAYED, he told us that we would be going with another company from his „long term and highly trusted business colleague DAVID MARO owner of KILI SLOPE.
This led us to be already suspicious. On the day of the Safari our cook had to leave the car, because we were getting a 7th person in the car due to an „emergency“ they said. I would rather attribute this to their inability to properly organize a tour.
On the first evening of our Safari we talked to the persons in our group. It turns out that EVERYBODY BOOKED WITH A DIFFERENT OPERATOR AND EVERBODY HAD A DIFFENTENT ITINERARY AND PAYED A DIFFRENT PRICE. Nobody actually booked with Kili Slope.
Furthermore most of us were promised 3 full days in Serengeti National Park. During this evening we were told that it would ONLY BE 48h because that’s the way the permits in the park work. THIS IS THE PERFECT EXAMPLE ON HOW THESE TOUR OPERATORS CHEAT THEIR CLIENTS.
Long story shot: Everyone was very angry this evening. I contacted my „agent“ complaining about this. I was assured that everything will be fine an that I just should enjoy my time.
Next day the 7th person who was squeezed in our car had to wait for another group from Arusha in order to join them. We felt really sorry for him, because he HAD TO WAIT IN THE CAMP INSTEAD OF ENJOYING HIS SAFARI DUE TO DISORGANIZATION of his tour operator. This made us even more suspicious, because we had an excursion to Lake Manyara on the last day of our itinerary (actually this was supposed to be on our 2nd day, but who cares for the itinerary, right???) and 3 persons in our group did not. One girl had lake Manyara in her itinerary but apparently she was not going to see it because she only booked 5 days Safari and was going back to Arusha with the rest oft he group
Next day we got a call from the owner of Kili Slope Tours Mr DAVID MARO the long trusted business partner of RAMSI SUNWA from AFRIKA KUKAYE:
! Please read this carefully. We have travelled many counties and have been on many tours but this was: the Mount Everest of REALLY BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE!!
MR DAVID MARO HEAVYL THREATEND ME AND MY GIRLFRIEND VIA THE PHONE. WE WERE REALLY SCARED AND MY GIRLDFRIEND WAS EVEN AFRAID HE WOULD SEND PEOPLE TO BEAT US UP! THIS IS HOW HE SPOKE TO US!
WE WERE INSTRUCTED NOT TO SPEAK TO THE OTHER PEOPLE IN OUR CAR ABOUT ITINERARIES AND THAT WE HAVE KEEP YOUR quote: „MOUTHS SHUT AND NOT TO COMPLAIN ANYMORE!“
FURTHERMORE HE THREATENED US THAT HE WILL SEND A CAR AND TAKE US BACK TO ARUSHA (I GUESS WITHOUT ANY TYPE A REFUND)
I can only advise everyone who reads this to stay away from Afrika Kukaye and Kili Slope Tours. These guys will treat you like cattle and only want your money. They give a sh*** about you. They do not have the slightest customer service thoughts and will even threaten you if you complain!
We did our Safari in February 2019 but, to be honest, we first wanted to be out of East Africa before we publish this review. We know that these Tour Operator have a network in East Africa and at that time we were still afraid of consequences posting a negative review about them.
I guess this shows every reader how strong the threat to us felt.
So please, do not book with these people!!
Reply from Afrikakukaye Tours and Safaris
Posted on Mar 25, 2019Thank you for the review.
Firstly I would like to assure you the following:
Tanzania is a very peaceful and Safe country, people are very friendly, and very helpful. There can be some miscommunications that may mislead people’s perception about the country, but overall, Tanzania is a safe country, and you should feel lucky to have visited our country.
I'm also deeply apologizing: that you felt threatened and I think this is a reason why you hesitated to share as much honest feedback of your safari when I met with you after your safari. I assure you, our company is legit, fully registered and operates under the laws of the country, in no way we can take chances to threaten customers, violate the laws of the country or undermine one’s dignity and humanity, As much as you felt safe with Simon, that is a reflection of how most Tanzania’s are.
I acknowledge there were miscommunications of how the JOINING SAFARI operates and how it can be, and I believe this was a core source for your mistrust, I also acknowledge that your chef had to move into another vehicle so that another person join the seat in the vehicle, Joining Safaris can utilize all the seats available on the jeep, and we may have a supply vehicle that a chef may come along with to ensure supply of fresh food is available, so I also understanding this as well drew a bit of suspicious thoughts on how the tour was operated. It is also true that some members of your group had shorter safaris, meaning, they only wanted to do few parks and others could join on the way, I believe if this was made clear to you before you made a decision, you would have managed the expectations quite well, I apologize.
We had a smooth communications from the planning stage, and also during the tour through email and whatsaap, I understand your last query while on tour was about hours in the park, of which later you told me you spoke with my colleague and everything was clear and understood and you were enjoying your tour, no problem. Now, in regards to the park hours, of which it is known that the parks permit/tickets last for 24 hours, and you had 2 permits/tickets for Serengeti of which was 48hours ( 3 Days), and your itinerary DO NOT SAY 3 FULL DAY, It is 3 days, 2 night (48HRS).
Your itinerary was;
Day 1-Tarangire National Park
Day 2-Serengeti National Park
Day 3-Full Day Serengeti National Park
Day 4-Serengeti NP to Ngorongoro Crater
Day 5-Ngorongoro Crater floor
Day 6- Lake Manyara National Park – Arusha
Again, I apologize this was not clear to you.
You had a fabulous time: I also have met you after your safari, and you clearly mentioned that you have seen the BIG 5, groups of migrating wildebeest, and many more, the chef, guide were excellent and you really enjoyed your tour.
I am glad you were happy with: The quality of the vehicle, you enjoyed the service of your chef, you enjoyed the service of your guide Simon, and you saw the BIG 5, plus as much animals and beautiful scenery, plus your itinerary for 6 days/5 nights for you went as planned, of which I believe other members had their different itinerary that ended as it said.
I want to assure you that we acknowledge your concern and have taken steps as per below:
1. We decided to suspend the Joining Safari product. We are now proud to only offer Private tours to individuals and group tours until this issue is resolved. The suspension will enable us to to formulate a clear friendly policy that will stipulate all details for clients to read and understand before making contract with us. Conduct investigations, and share the findings.
2. Review contract with partners.
3. Follow up a THREAT incident, and I will email you directly on the report for this.
Finally, I like thank you for your time to share your experience, of which has opened an eye and really enable the next guests to have a smooth and a fabulous safari.
On behalf of the team, Thank you,