The review below is the personal opinion of Viral and not that of SafariBookings.
Fraudulent Thief- Don’t Risk It
Here are the reasons why choosing this safari option is just not worth risking for your once in a lifetime trip:
1. Broken down cars (ours broke down and needed to be serviced mid-trip). He will try to say this didn’t happen - well, it did, and we have photos and videos to prove it. We had to wait so long before it was repaired.
2. Broken radio, You will be the only car in the park that can't communicate with other other guides in the park (which will severely limit your ability to see wildlife). We had agreed that a radio would be in the car - and he guaranteed this, but told us it was broken after we had driven 5 hours and were in the park so there was no turning back.
3, Tiny windows (like being in a plane), other operators have jeeps with windows twice the size. Im 5'9 and had to hunch to see anything. He will try to say Tanzania requires all cars must be the same model, this is just not true. Look at photos yourself!
4. Philemon tried to put up into a budget lodge after we specifically discussed the lodges we wanted to be in (and had a written contract). We agreed to the lodges and then he tried to make last minute changes to get us in a cheaper one. What a joke!
5. Philemon tried to cut out a full day of our itinerary (we paid for 5 days, but to save money on park fees etc, he tried to persuade us the safari was only a 4 day trip). We agreed to itinerary e tried to change when we were mid way through!
6. Philemon will require you pay in full upfront. And he is very sweet to work with to start, but once he gets paid in full, he will ignore you and you will receive terrible service from him.
There are so many other operators, just dont risk your once in a lifetime trip. We chose this company because of the tripadvisor reviews, but it appears that they may not all be true. While out on safari, we did meet several couples/families who had chosen Leopard Tours and seemed to love it. They had modern cars, working radios, and very intelligent and knowledgeable guides. We cant vouch for them since we didnt use them, but I would try anything else but this!
Really disappointed.
Just don't risk it.