Team Shemeji Safari Tanzania
Shemeji Safari Tanzania
- Office In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2015)
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $180 to $800 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
CN
Email Trevino | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We believe we are trapped and treaded unfairly
We are 4 friends and booked our trip to Tanzania from 09/24 - 10/4. And we’ve planned our trip like more than half year ago, we are so looking forward to have an impressive and unforgettable trip. But it turned out that we are just trapped and treated unfairly:
1) Request are neglected
during the book，we have highlighted that we need twin room(2 beds in 1 room), and the company had confirmed the request in our itinerary in the email. But it turned out that the company just ignored the request and there are always only 1 bed in 1 room.
During the Serengeti safari, we can overcome the difficulty as there is only 1 night and with the help of receptionist, we finally have 2 beds in one room. Although 1 is king size the other is baby size.
But when we arrived at Zanzibar, there are straight 3 nights! And when we turn to receptionist, he confirmed that there is no request for the room and it cannot be arranged. At the time I called Mirene, our customer service representative from the company, she just said I NEVER request!!!
2) forgot to arrange activities with payment
We booked dolphin adventure and but there no one knows the schedule onsite.
We check with the reception desk, they let us ask the excursions and taxi office. And the office asked us to wait at the front desk today at 6 am….
We just wait at front desk today at 6 am as we are told, but there is no driver, the receptionist tried to call someone to help. And we are waiting half an hour. The driver finally showed up and took us to the North saying the staff forgot to arrange the adventure to us. And because it is too late, cannot take us to the south, which list in our itinerary, he can only take us to the north as it is closer.
3) Payment change without notice
We are informed fully that the credit card payment rate is 2.5%, but when we pay it was updated to 3%. We find the balance is not right and reached out to the company and only when they told us that because the government changed the rate.
4) careless and time wasting
We have reported to the company on 10/1 and want to have a solution of the unhappiness, and till now 11/11 we don’t have the solution. And the reply just keep saying they are contacting accountant (don’t understand why need to contact the person) and asking the same question even though we have demonstrated exactly in the email of what we need and what happened.
the route of keeping letting us down in summary
A. the credit card payment rate rise from 2.5% to 3% without notice until we find the difference. And we accept it;
B. Full of lies: One of my friends reached out to Mirene to help know who is our pickup guy at airport. And Mirene replied she will contact me to confirm. And I never received her email so I have to write to her. And she wrote me back” she never got message from my friend” ( we have both WhatsApp and email record if you need). Again we accept it.
C. During the safari, the room is also only 1 bed. As you may know already. We accept it with the receptionist help.
When we back to Arusha, we immediately write back to Mirene that we are very happy with our arrangement as we want to know the time that pick up tomorrow! And of course, you may need to give credit to wild animals who help erase our unhappiness.
D. And finally our disappointment has reached to its ultimate level in Zanzibar when we step into our room. So I immediately write email to the company but they just keep pulling back and forth.
We truly want to know, the difficulty the company set for us is because we are Asian? or more specifically speaking, we are treated unfairly is because we are Chinese?
Reply from Shemeji Safari Tanzania
Posted on Nov 15, 2023Dear Trevino,
Thank you for your feedback. We want to clarify the situation by discussing every point you mentioned in your review.
1)You have booked a Camping Budget Tent Safari with us, these tents are always equipped with two single beds. As we were not fully booked in the camps during the period you were on Safari, the managers in each camp upgraded you to a Comfort Tent. Our Comfort Tents are all furnished with a double bed and a single bed. We do not have baby-sized beds in our Tents. In Zanzibar, you were also upgraded from a Luxury Room to a Premium Room. In these rooms, there is also always a double bed and a single bed. Our customer service was available for you at all times and you confirmed that everything was to your satisfaction.
2) The dolphin tour was scheduled for 9 am in the morning, as was communicated in advance. However, you were already at the reception at 6 am. For your convenience, our team organized a transfer immediately and a driver was there to pick you up 30 minutes later. As it is impossible to know the exact whereabouts of the dolphin at the time of booking the location of the tour was changed. This is why your dolphin tour took place in the northern part of Zanzibar Island. After the tour, you also verbally told our customer service that the excursion was to your satisfaction.
3)When you made a credit card payment at the beginning of 2023, the payment provider surcharge was 2.5%. This credit card fee has since been increased to 3%, which was also communicated via the last invoice sent to you.
This Safari group contacted us via E-Mail multiple times. They blatantly asked for a 20% refund of the total itinerary price and blackmailed the company, threatening to publish negative reviews on major internet platforms unless we complied with their demands.
As a multinational company with a diverse workforce from more than 25 countries and 4 continents, we reject your accusation of racism in the strongest terms possible. In this testimonial, you also specifically mention our sales team member Mirene. She has been working for the company for several years and there has never been a complaint about her - neither internal nor external. Mirene is a beloved and valued colleague and we strongly disapprove of your criticism and personal attacks toward her.
For your reference, we gladly provide the positive evaluation form filled in by this Safari group.
VN
Email Mariusz Steckiewicz | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Memorable safari with terrible ending
We have booked a 7-day safari with Shemeji. It was our first trip to Africa and the first safari experience, therefore we didn't really know what to expect therefore decided to rely entirely on a local provider. We found Shemeji on the internet and it caught our attention because it had an excellent rating as well the offer matched to what we were looking for.
We believed an experienced service operator would know exactly what they were selling and would assume responsibility for the events happening during the trip. Well, it appeared we were wrong about it.
Firstly, we would like to shout huge thank you and express endless gratitude to the guide/driver Elemes and the chef Isaack, who did absolutely everything and more to make our trip comfortable and memorable. These two gentlemen service was 5-star throughout our entire tour. Always smiling and always helpful, they made our trip successful within all their capacity.
However, what made us give Shemeji 1 start is the company management approach to the problems we faced.
We had to pay 100% in advance, which is understandable but they added 5% to the price if the payment is by a credit card. This is not a standard procedure as in the hotel we were not charged extra to the card payment.
As mentioned earlier, we relied on the local operators, expecting them to know the situation better than us coming from another continent.
Out trip didn't start very well, as the car was delayed on the first day already due to technical problems. The second day the car got stuck in the mud for over 2 hours on the campsite just before leaving for the safari drive.
Not only our trip was again delayed but also a car of another couple whose staff was trying to help our driver. The quality of the car we got was rather poor but we accepted it as we didn't mind the conform as long as the safety wouldn't be compromised. We trusted the company did treat the safety of their clients and the staff seriously.
One part of our adventure was the visit to Lake Natron going from Serengeti. Due to the heavy rain, the roads and bridges were cut off and we were forced to turn back, which resulted in driving again through Serengeti.
We did understand the weather unpredictability and followed the situation without complaints. However, later on, we have learned that Lake Natron, during the rain, is dangerous and we shouldn’t go there. I would think a local company would know that during the rainy season rain comes rather frequently and either shouldn't include this point in their itinerary or would have advised us on the potential risk beforehand. But instead, they have sold the trip without any notice.
Somewhere on the way, it happened that the car got a flat tire, which again we understood and didn't complain about it either.
On our way back through Serengeti the car got seriously broken. Our rear wheel fell off. The same wheel as the one which got a flat tire a day or two earlier. This was a very scary situation as we were driving at quite high speed and we realized how lucky we were that the car didn't rollover.
This accident caused a very long time delay and we have lost an entire day of our planned trip waiting for another transportation to take us back to some accommodation, in addition to quite a traumatic experience of seeing our car's wheel rolling ahead of the car.
Later on, we have also learned that after the wheel was fixed and the car was on its returning way it had broken again, which made me doubt in the technical conditions of the car. Is the company truly investing in car maintenance and the clients' safety or is purely focused on sale and profit?
The last day was entirely lost and the next day was too short to fill it with what we have in our plans. We had to return to the campsite and just spent last night in the same place we started, which was not according to our purchased package. The company offered a visit to Maasai Village, which was the only option to do, even though it was not of our interest initially.
We were never demanding and stayed the entire trip very understanding, knowing that the weather conditions cannot be planned, however, the plans we badly affected and we expected the company to take responsibility for the trip they have sold and at least correct the price according to what we have received.
To our surprise Emma, one of the owners (according to our understanding) rejected all the claims, stating that they did us a favor not requesting us to pay extra for the park fees which we had to drive again through, pushing all the responsibility to the weather conditions.
We were also told that the operator had to pay the accommodation booking fees in advance, even though we have found out that the accommodation places and the tour operator belong to the same corporate group.
This was a very disappointing end of our trip.
From 7 days safari that we paid for, we have received actually not even full 6 days. We experience a very dangerous incident and we were left with the impression that we should be grateful that we were not requested to pay extra. This was not what we have imagined from a professional, 5-star rated tour operator.
The safari was great and the guide and the chef service was top notch but if you consider buying a service from Shemeji you may think twice and pay for everything in advance regardless what the trip brings, as you will be charged and given responsibility for everything that happens during your trip.
Reply from Shemeji Safari Tanzania
Posted on Feb 22, 2020To Mariusz and Phuong,
In your first e-mail you write beautiful words about our company: I quote from your e-mail:
“We are back to Arusha now. We want to thank you for the arrangement of the trip. It was truly memorable experience which we will keep in our hearts forever.
It was unfortunate however that due to weather conditions we had to change the route of the trip and vehicle failure which caused us lose entire day of the planned activities.
We understand this was unintentional, however, it did cut the trip from 7 days to actually 6 days experience. Therefore we need to ask you for the price correction and refund ro reflect the actual value of our trip.”
Only after we have denied your refund due to the fact that the reasons where beyond our control (weather conditions) you and your partner decided to write a most damaging review about our company which in our opinion doesn’t reflect the actual situation.
Our company paid usd 330,- extra in parkfee’s (which we didn’t charge to you), offered an alternative activity for the last day (which you happily accepted) and we gave a free room upgrade on the last night but none of this is mentioned in your review.
We understand your disappointment by we did our best in a fair way for both parties to solve the issues that have occurred. Our team always works hard to make sure our clients get the best experience and we would never put clients in any unsafe situation. We wouldn’t have so many good reviews if our company didn’t work hard and took care of our guests.
VN
Email Phuong | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Poor facility and poor resoponsibilities
We had an unforgettable trip in many ways:
- staff with us are friendly
- but the first day to pick us up from hotel the car had issue so the driver was late 30 minutes
- the company did not consult not give us any advices about the tour they are selling with the weather condition before we decided. When our last day trip was cancelled because the rain washed out the bridge then they played “innocent” and blamed the weather. As a tour agency but they don’t know about the weather of the season and what may cause then they are not professional and don’t know well about their work. We did not received any warning from them
- the chef is nice, cooking well but that is when he cooks. 50% of our lunch box and 50% of our breakfast were sandwiches which I could not eat, I chose to eat other things and sandwiches were the leftover. I know this is not about the chef but that is what the company is able to provide. And normally we don’t eat this kind of food at home bit we know that is what they could offer so we did not complain anything. But I still want to raise my voice on review about this so others could consider.
- office response slowly to give advices to give help when we had troubles on the road. When my driver found down the road was off by rain and he said our trip plan was changed and trying to contact office for advices from morning but until 2 pm we received their phone call to give solution. Same with car broke-down accident, office gave slow response.
- The campsite so call “main office” of Shemeji, the road is really muddy and our car was stuck 2 hours there. The tour agency can’t predict or can’t affect the road in safari but at least they can fix the road at their own place. They should not let the car stuck in mug 2 hours and wasted clients’ time at least at their own campsite. For this, I see they don’t really give their best for the service
- Even though in the “Term and Condition” they wrote: car breakdown is not acceptable but it happened to us and they just blamed for weather and road. It made our trip shorter, more tired, mentally effected by the scare about this risk of life but they tried not to mention about this accident. After all the payment was done we don’t see much any support from management. All they do is trying to protect their own benefit to not refund us the payment we spent for the service we did not receive.
The Safari itself is worth visiting, but Shemeji is not worth chosen for your trip. I don not recommend.
Reply from Shemeji Safari Tanzania
Posted on Feb 22, 2020To Mariusz and Phuong,
In your first e-mail you write beautiful words about our company: I quote from your e-mail:
“We are back to Arusha now. We want to thank you for the arrangement of the trip. It was truly memorable experience which we will keep in our hearts forever.
It was unfortunate however that due to weather conditions we had to change the route of the trip and vehicle failure which caused us lose entire day of the planned activities.
We understand this was unintentional, however, it did cut the trip from 7 days to actually 6 days experience. Therefore we need to ask you for the price correction and refund ro reflect the actual value of our trip.”
Only after we have denied your refund due to the fact that the reasons where beyond our control (weather conditions) you and your partner decided to write a most damaging review about our company which in our opinion doesn’t reflect the actual situation.
Our company paid usd 330,- extra in parkfee’s (which we didn’t charge to you), offered an alternative activity for the last day (which you happily accepted) and we gave a free room upgrade on the last night but none of this is mentioned in your review.
We understand your disappointment by we did our best in a fair way for both parties to solve the issues that have occurred. Our team always works hard to make sure our clients get the best experience and we would never put clients in any unsafe situation. We wouldn’t have so many good reviews if our company didn’t work hard and took care of our guests.
DE
Email Sadaf A | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Avoid in any cost, dangerous car, changed itinerary and rude guide.
Unfortunately, we had a very bad experience in Tanzania that was dangerous, wasted our money and spoiled our holiday. They misled and mistreated us and canceled one game drive. Inappropriate way of transporting cooked chicken and food. Please send me a message to show you all the pictures, videos and emails.
Driver, so called guide:
He drove dangerously to get us out of the park. Though we were supposed to do a game drive that morning, then transfer in the afternoon. he drove almost 70km (all recorded with our app, see below) because he had no permit after 12! He took us to our lodge at 2 and left us there, no apology and nothing.He said speak to the office blankly. The office just told us that he had explained to us on arrival. Bunch of lies and shambles! We paid for the game drive, why did we get a day of just horrible transfer that wrecked our bodies. Trust me, you can’t and shouldn’t drive more than 35! All poor animals in front of us getting so scared and shocked! I felt like a burden not a valuable client.
On another day we had the game drive for all afternoon, coming to the lodge in the evening. Our driver who had lost all his interest and hope of getting tipped, wanted to go back after 2 hours! We told him it is still 14 and he is supposed to go back in the evening. He said it is too hot, and there is nothing to see, there only one road full of Tsetse flies. We said he can take another route and take us to the game drive we paid.
I asked him to stop for the toilet break, he said there is no toilet for almost two hours and he can’t stop anywhere for a bush toilet, so we have to go to the lodge which is 30 minutes away. I showed him the sign for the picnic area which was according to our map 10 minuets away. He said no, it is too far. This was unbelievably unprofessional and inhuman! As we were staying in the park, I gave him an option to take us to the lodge, then we should come back for 1 more hour game drive. That means we should be in our lodge by 17 which means evening. To our surprise he stopped in another picnic area which was less than 10 minuets away. I was shocked how he lied to us, because he had no more interest in being around us!
We saw a lion getting ready to hunt, he said no he is just going to sleep. Though, we met the other tourists in the other car was staying in our lodge and they told us why did we leave? The lion hunted the zebra after we left. He intentionally didn’t want us to see anything! Good luck with the guide/ driver. I would say ask to see their certificate, but you can’t see their attitude until you actually go with them .
We had unfortunately no luck with ours. First he came with a car that was falling into pieces. Then, he got angry when I told him that all our luggage is wet and my clothes, books and electronics are also wet, because the back door is broken.And also after we told him how dangerously he transports the lunch, he didn’t apologiz or offered help. He only stopped and eating and talking with us. Trust me, it was a very difficult time for us. He stopped eating with us, as I mentioned above. Therefore for our lunch break, he stayed in the car, asked my partner to come out and check the bush before eating in the middle of Serengeti. He said there can be lions, leopards or snakes there. Either he was not aware or he just wanted us out of his sight. My partner asked him furiously if he has actually studied wild animals! We felt quite vulnerable and I have never seen anyone with this massive lack of conscience and professionalism.
Itinerary:
They sent an itinerary first and then they said they made a minor change only to the order of the days because one lodge was fully booked which was fair enough. We paid the money as you can see in the picture for 5 game drives, they cheated and only bought the permit for four days.
Getting the money for a game drive and not delivering it, it is not a small change. We didn’t get a new itinerary or any brief that they want to save the money and wake us up at 5 am to kick us out in our lodge at 2 and call it a day! when we complained, he just follows the orders. After 3 days apart from good morning and good night, and get out for lunch, check the bush, that is what he said. Absolute disgrace!
Food:
Our fridge was not working and the door was broken and kept on flying away all the time. We can't believe that transporting food set under the sun, next to the driver, from 6 in the morning to 13, at 37 degree can be healty. How many people have touched that box, juice and banana? He had to eat it by hand, as there is no cutlery or plate! Great job, I had antibacterial gel and soap, because the place he stopped had neither toilet paper nor soap in the toilet!
We had the same story almost every day, until he gave up as well, and requested only vegetarian food. You pay as full board, you get a cooked chicken or chicken sandwich, not hot food and although I told them I am vegetarian when I booked, no one was aware, and every one looked at me with a shock on arrival . So be careful that they never communicated our special dietary requirements.
Car:
We asked them about the car, they said in a good working condition. Look at the pictures and judge yourself . Broken door, broken fridge, no window frame rubber was left, all destroyed and the window was rattling all the way. I will put the videos on YouTube soon! The luggage were stored inside the car, because it all got wet in the back. So, we had only two seats with seatbelts that were not working. Trust me it was a torture. Our driver came with this car that the back door lock was broken and he used a robber band to close it. The rain, dust and the noise drove us mental during our time there. Our luggage was stored in the car, as all our clothing, books and electronics got wet. Well, no apology, of course! Two window locks were broken, so we had only on choice, a seat with a broken window close to all the dust coming in, see the picture below, I swear it was after one hour driving 80 km in the national park, or seat with out working seat belt. Add 36 degree to the image, without window.And my partner had to get up every now and then and close the door! Everything is recorded! We got in the middle of Serengeti, where we have seen lions 10 minuets ago.Although that all other cars in front got passed, because of the rubbish tyres we got stuck more than an hour, until we got rescued. Then he drove dangerously to get us out and not pay the fine, because the permit was till 12.
Communication:
Unfortunately, we are left disappointed and the company hasn't even replied to us after we sent them the pictures and videos of our holiday, plus the emails providing the facts that we paid for one day game drive and got only a horrible transfer.
Before sending the videos and pictures we got this sarcastic reply from Froukje:
She wrote (I’ve spoken to both Emma and Andrew about this situation. I'm very sorry to hear you're unhappy about a few things. I hope to clear a few things. We are in Africa, where the roads are rough and the nature is dusty. We are sorry you were not aware of this. These rough roads also cause the car to to be a bit noisy.)
* This way of sarcastic customer service doesn’t work in this day and age. She added salt to the injury with making us feel stupid and peaky. Of course we know where you are, but we’re not aware of the broken door and the fact that a driver is allowed to drive 80km/h in the national parks. I have got all of it recorded and I have tons of pictures to prove it from the app I used to record the whole way speed and location.
We got an email after Emma saw our pictures on Facebook and our reviews. She admitted, I quote her here, email is available on request:
(I've had a look at the car and after a very busy high season this car should have been in the garage for big mantaintance. It is at the garage at the moment. Issues like the seatbelts should have been solved earlier.What I understood the door needs to be closed in two places which the driver didn't know (normally he drives another car) and because of this it seemed broken and there was extra dust in the car. )
About food transport this was the reply: We are sorry to hear you felt sick. I understand you think it might have been the chicken. We will contact The lodge and let them know what happend and see if they received more complaints about it. We hope you're feeling better now. )
* Lets not point fingers. See the picture of how the cooked chicken was transported in 7 hours in 36 degree, next to the motor, underneath the sun. Yes, the company is there, but you have been brought up and educated in Europe. I don’t want to lecture you for health , safety and hygiene. This is not the lodge fault, let me ask you a simple question, would you feed your children with that chicken?
Reply from Shemeji Safari Tanzania
Posted on Mar 29, 2018We are very sorry to hear you had a disappointing experience. Our company offers safaris of a certain quality standard and we are also very disappointed that your safari did not live up to this standard. We will briefly reply your comments:
1. We are sorry the way you have experienced the guide. We have had very good reviews about him. There has clearly been a lot of miscommunication with the guide. He did not mean to make you feel bad or unsafe in any way.
2. About the itinerary. Because you booked last minute and one of the lodges was fully booked we had to change the order of the parks and lodges. We have informed you about this before safari. The other option was to sleep in a different lodge in Ngorongoro which would be much more expensive. Also going to Lake Manyara on the last day (instead of day 2) was a good solution because you had a flight on your last safari day. We wanted to give you the best itinerary and price.
We have explained to you that you got the exact same itinerary as you booked, only in a different order. For 3 days Serengeti there is a 2x24 hour permit included. There has been no cheating and there was absolutely no game drive cancelled!
We are sorry to hear you were disappointed with this change of itinerary.
The itinerary you are showing in your review is not the one you booked. You received 3 itineraries per e-mail and you’ve booked the 6 days (tented) lodge. In the review you’re showing the 6 days lodge/camping itinerary.
3. On the transit road from Serengeti to Ngorongoro the cars normally drive 60-70 KM per hour. This is not a game drive area. Because the road is so bad drivers prefer to have this speed so you ‘slide’ over the road. When they drive slower the road will feel so much worse.
4. Unfortunately dust during a safari cannot be prevented. With an open pop up roof you get a lot of dust in the car. The parks are very dry and dusty. We also warn about the dust in our pre departure document. Regrettably there must have been some extra dust in the car because of the issue with the back door.
5. About the lunch box. Safari is quite an adventure and the lunch means having a lunch box at a picnic site. There are no cutlery or plates included. We have not heard this complaint before but we will take it into consideration. We have informed all lodges per e-mail about your diet (vegetarian).
6. Communication: on the last day of safari we have spoken on the phone and we have explained to you some of the issues per e-mail. When the driver asked if you want to talk again with our office you declined. After your review on Facebook we have started to communicate again and we were trying to find a solution with you.
7. We have apologized for the inconvenience with the car. After a busy high season we should have taken the car to the garage earlier. We always maintain our cars well, but in this case we were too late to take the car for big maintenance. We will make sure this won’t happen again. We have apologized for this and we have offered you a substantial refund.