safari in Masai Mara
Budget Holiday Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2006)
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $800 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
US
Email Eric Buscher | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
DO NOT USE - THIS COMPANY IS DANGEROUS
I used Budget Holiday Safaris and I have to say not only do I not recommend them, I would warn you from using them. I booked an 11 day safari with them in Kenya and Tanzania. They did not tell me that they don’t handle the Tanzania part but partner with a different agency, Sandlands Tours. I only found out while on the tour and when I googled Sandlands, I found there were a number of customer complaints about them. If they had told me upfront I never would have used them.
In Tanzania, Sandlands switched drivers while we were staying in the Serengeti. The original driver took all our paperwork and didn’t pay for our time in the park, and when we tried to leave, the park tried to get us to pay over $2500. Sandlands was refusing to pay. Rather than pay ourselves, we called our embassies, who had to put pressure on Sandlands . We had to stay an additional night without food or lodging, and had to sleep in the car with water buffalos and lions roaming around the car.
When I contacted Budget Holiday Safaris about this issue, their response was just that they would speak to the manager. I emailed them several times after that and they never bothered to respond. It was only when I emailed them that we had contacted the embassies and that I was going to report them as a scam to my credit card company did they bother to message me back, asking me to not do any damage to them. No concern over the situation at all.
The next day, because of the pressure that this was turning into an international incident, Sandlands relented and paid. However, Budget called me and wanted me to continue on the tour with this company. I told them I no longer felt safe and refused. Other people in my tour got calls from their agencies demanding they continue the safari or else they would be breaking their contract and would be held liable. One woman burst into tears from this.
Other problems:
• When we tried to check into our hotel in Arusha, they claimed we hadn’t been booked in and wanted us to pay for our rooms. They claimed we would be reimbursed. When we showed them our forms, they magically found our names in the registration book. This hotel also is the office for Sandlands.
• They would consistently put more people in the cars then the maximum promised for the tour.
• The vehicles lacked most seatbelts. We had several break down while on the road. The final car had broken windows and no seatbelts and felt extremely unsafe.
• We weren’t given meals several times during the trip.
• When concerns or issues were directed to Budget, they were dismissed or ignored. Once they just straight up lied to me.
While Sandlands was the primary agency in Tanzania, they were acting in full cooperation with Budget Holiday Safaris. Neither agency has made any move to apologize for the experience or to make any kind of compensation or restitution. I believe Budget to be fully aware of how Sandlands conducts business in their name, and therefor they must approve or condone their actions. I believe that the actions of these two companies are dangerous and if people continue to use them, someone is going to be seriously injured.
Reply from Budget Holiday Safaris
Posted on Sep 11, 2018We apologize for the hiccup that occurred on day 9 of safari as only one day of safari was remaining. Day 11 is usually for travelling back from Tanzania to Nairobi, so no visit to National park.
THE FIRST PHASE OF SAFARI WHICH THE CLIENT DID NOT MENTION WAS PERFECT AND AS PER ITINERARY.
We really tried our best to avail our services and we feel the client is unfair to say we are a dangerous company and are in business to injure people.
Tanzania safari, we always do with agents as Kenyans are not allowed to own permanent offices in Tanzania. We have been working with Sandland Safaris for over a year now and we had never had a problem with them. We always get good services from Sandland until this time. We have followed the matter and tried our best to understand what really happened.
In Serengeti after the change of guides, which is very normal when doing a group safari, there was a hiccup in handing over and the first guide left with the stamped entrance fees and second guide couldn't exit the park. This brought about the delay which led to the clients spending a night in Serengeti instead of heading to their last destination. The clients were taken back to the campsite, where they had slept on the first night and provided with the same food from before, which they refused and chose to sleep in the car, and yet they were doing camping all along, from day 1, why were they not attacked by lions? The camps and campsites are government grounds protected by park rangers of the various governments.The locations are also areas that have been allocated by the government, and are very safe. We tried to resolve the issue that arose in Serengeti from Nairobi and Arusha but Sandland safaris turned out to be a company that could not be trusted anymore.We do not condone the events of this safari, nor do we support what Sandland Safaris did, as our primary goal is to give our clients a good experience. As a result of this, we have terminated our contract with Sandland safaris and have partnered with a different agency.
We sincerely apologize to Eric and his partner and assure our future clients that we are still committed to ensure we give the best services.Choose us and definitely, you will always share a different experience from this.