Barack With His happy Client
Congo Discovery Safaris
- Located In:
-
Congo (DRC)
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2013)
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $30 to $800 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Niklas | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Vulcanoe-/Gorillatrekking
Had an amazing time in the DRC. The vulcanoe hike was just amazing. The best experience I’ve ever had. The gorilla Trecking in Kahuzi Biega was also beautiful. You have a lot of time to really enjoy the tours. In between that everything worked very smooth and perfectly organized (transports, sleeping). Barrack is a super nice and funny guy and can tell you a lot about DRC. We spent some time together after the vulcanoehike eating local food, after that we went for a walk to lake Kivu. Beside that I always felt safe. Highly recommend!
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Email Philippe | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Nyiragongo Volcano 2-Day Trek
Barak is one of the best hosts you can ask for in the Congo. He is responsive and knowledgeable and always available for any doubts you may have. He also puts on excellent tours and can hook it up with visas (he is a pro). Couldn’t recommend him enough
IL
Email Sara Ben Ami | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Rwanda, best tour ever...
Thank you dear Barak for such a wonderfull tour all over Rwanda and Congo.
Thanks to you we had the pleasure to experiance the butifull nature and people of Rwanda. I'm sure that without your knowledge and great attitude and patience our trip would not have been such a success.
Your luxary 4x4 car was very comfortable and your driving skills are excellent.
We hope to see you when we shall come to visit.
DE
Email Robert and Bruni | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Congo is a fantastic country to travel! Everything worked out well organized from lovely people!
We did a very interesting city tour in Goma and the World largest Lava Lake at Nyiragongo Vulcano! Very good organization! Everything was done professional! It’s a unique experience!
IL
Email Gali | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A great experience
I really enjoy the trip with Barak and his team! Were really responsible and helpful and made us feel safe and comfortable:) took decent price and was really nice.
IL
Email Nira Madar Zadok | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I really love and enjoyed Barake
It was great!! Everthing fixed. We came to travel Congo the volcano and Safari gorillas. We felt save and peacful when we met Barake and his crew.
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Email Tony | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
This is a scam operation - please avoid
I am truly sorry for not writing this review before as I can see that others have had the same experience as me. I paid them $1000 up front and when Ken met me in Rwanda he told me that they had made a mistake and bought the gorilla permit for the wrong day. Also - since this was a weekend, the banks were closed and they didn't carry that much cash on them. So he requested me to put up the money for a new permit and he would refund me the money later. What choice did I have? I was then taken to the Uganda border and more or less left on my own.
Of course - no money was ready when I returned, and no money was deposited to my account when I got home either. After several weeks of mailing back and forth I contacted the guys behind the site for which the safari was booked. They were very helpful and leaned on CDS so they eventually refunded my money. See - they depend on these sites as the money flow comes through here. If you paid directly to them - God help you. Or - the credit card company may be able to help.
Even with my harrowing experience I wanted to give them the benefit of my doubt as I don't want to take away the livelihood from people, but after reading these reviews I'm certain that these are bad guys that you should just definitely avoid at all costs.
IL
Email Meir Aizen | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing experience
Barack is a great driver and organizer. With his help we, four people from Israel, had an amazing experience in both Rwanda and Congo. Barack is resourceful and well connected. He helped us with many small details along our 12 days tour.
He demonstrated Can Do attitude and was eager to address all our needs. We all feel like we have earned a new friend.
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Email Lisa | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Ken stole our money and is lying about it to other customers
My boyfriend and I booked a 4-day Gorilla and Chimpanzee safari with Ken that was supposed to take place from November 10 – 13. We paid $2608USD upfront for the pair of us for this tour. You can find my boyfriend review about the tour, and the fact that Ken did not provide the services nor a refund below. I am writing this review to warn other travelers that Ken is lying about the facts surrounding the review. We have been contacted by numerous other travelers who told us when they questions Ken about those reviews that he had some sort of excuse that showed it was our fault. We have heard that we actually booked a Congo gorilla tour instead of Uganda, and refused to go to Congo when we arrived. We have also heard it was something to do with ebola. This is a lie. You can see the attached image where we have in writing Ken stating what we were supposed to receive, and what we did not get. We also have a video confession from Ken we are happy to share. Since posting our review we have heard of dozens of other people who are dealing with similar issues with us. DO NOT BOOK WITH THEM! They also have another safari company called Hakuna Matata Safaris.
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Email Brian | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Stole our money - do not book with Ken Rwema or Barack Nari
Congo Discovery Tours / Ken is a con artist - do NOT book a tour with them or send them money. He stole $3,000 from us.
On June 30th, 2019, we sent Ken $3,000 for two gorilla trekking permits. We were nervous sending so much money to a tour operator in Africa but given his reviews we thought we'd be fine. On July 2, Ken assured us the permits had been attained.
When we arrived in Rwanda on August 31st, Ken met us at our hotel and explained that his company had gone bankrupt, that he didn't have our permits, and that he could drive us to the National Park but we'd have to buy permits a second time. Having flown half way around the world we didn't have a choice. He drove us to the National Park and we paid the park $3,000 directly.
Ken promised he would pay us back within 10 days and when the park rangers heard what had happened they made Ken agree to a contract (attached). Of course, we were skeptical. More than 3 months have passed and, unsurprisingly, Ken has not paid us back.
He has an excuse for everything and a new story every day about why he needs just one more day. But ultimately, he is a con man. As per the reviews below, we aren't the first he's stolen from. Do not book a tour with Congo Discovery Tour or Hakuna Matata Safaris - or any tour group Ken Rwema or Barack Nari is involved in (passport attached below).
Since he's the king of excuses - I've attached screenshots to my tripadvisor review of our Whatsapp dialogue, his passport and the 'contract' the Park Rangers at the National Park wrote up when they heard what had happened.
