Our Guide meets some of our clients
Mushra Travel Agency
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2015)
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $35 to $600 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CH
Email AJS | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
CAREFUL! This company, despite written and verbal confirmation, has not refunded my money!!
AVOID BOOKING WITH THIS COMPANY!!!!
CAREFUL! This company, despite written and verbal confirmation, has not refunded my money!!
US
Email Bruno | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The owner of this agency - Michael is a crook and should not be trusted
I booked a 13 day package with the Mushra Agency in November and paid for the tour in full. Communication was perfect until the money was paid. Once that was done, there was nothing to be heard from Mushra. Two weeks before the tour was to start, I attempted to contact Mushra and did not hear from them - I asked Safari Bookings for help and after they jumped in, Michael wrote me an email stating he was an attorney and that the safari business was a side business for him. I cancelled the trip and Michael assured me that the entire amount that was paid would be refunded to me - that was the last I heard from him.
After 5 emails and asking Safari Bookings for help in this matter - nothing, no word from him about the refund. I have currently disputed the entire charge with my credit card company and they are in the process of issuing a refund from this merchant. Safari Bookings informed me that this agency has had their account suspended.
Please do not book with this travel agency as they will take your money and run. Micheal (the owner) is not to be trusted.
Email Takashi | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Be aware!!!! Avoid this travel agency!!!!
The owner of Mushra travel agency Michael Ahabwe Mugerwa is such a untrustworthy!!!!
I am writing this review because I don’t want anyone to have the same bad experience as me and lose any money. Also they shouldn’t be in this business.
If I write about the whole experience I had with this company it would be such a long review so I will keep it simple but still quite long, sorry.
1, Micheal changed the original itinerary on Tourradar because on the first day of the tour no one picked me up from the hotel so the 7 day tour became a 6 day tour and I had to pay for an extra nights accommodation upfront which he has never refunded.
2, The accommodation near to the Queen Elizabeth National Park for the 3 night safari was actually 2 hours drive away from the National park! The first morning game drive we had to leave the hotel at 4am in the morning! So I had to ask to change the accommodation to something closer to the park.
3, They didn’t pay the activity fee on time to my guide, so I almost missed a few of the activities. For example, the chimpanzee trekking and even the main activity of the GORILLA TREKKING!!!!! Which is the main reason I went to Uganda in the first place!!!! I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to meet the gorillas so I had to pay the permit fee of $600 from my own pocket, of course! Micheal has never refunded that money either.
They use a payment system called ‘mobile money’ which supposed to be easy and quick so there are no excuses for them to not complete the money transfer to the guide.
4, During the tour the hotel asked my guide to pay the bill upfront but he didn’t have any money because Michael hadn’t transferred it to the guide on time so I had to pay again! Of course, he has never paid me back for that either.
5, On the last day of the tour in the evening I sent some messages to Michael about refunding all of the out of pocket expenses I had accrued and how much stress he had put me under during this tour. He messaged me back and said ‘my returning day in Kampala is 1st January which is a public holiday so no one is in the office.’ He promised me that he would meet up with me to pay me back when I was back in Kampala!!! There were many excuses to escape from the payment.
6, In the message he said “I am a dishonest person”, “I am taking advantage of them” and he said "he thinks I was treating them like slaves” etc.. Shocking!!!!
I went to Uganda because I just wanted to enjoy my holiday and meet the gorillas not to have extra stress and spend extra money unnecessarily. So please, please, please be careful with this Mushra travel agency and the owner Michael!!!!
I truly hope Tourradar team will investigate my issues and will protect the future innocent customers.
US
Email Pia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Don’t book with this criminal. This tour never happened. He never even showed up.
If I could leave zero stars I would. Michael was very responsive when we were booking our trip but once we booked he was less and less available.
We arrived in Tanzania for our 4 day safari and no one ever showed up. We also have a 3 day gorilla trek in uganda booked with all the flights etc. doubt he will show up for that either. Originally he tried to have us send money through western union, good thing I didn’t and my credit card is going to work on disputing the whole charge.
US
Email Norma B. | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Trip of a Lifetime Ruined
I didn't want to write this and usually let my husband do these reviews but this experience was so horrible I wanted to share it and warn other people not to make the same mistake by hiring Mushra to plan your trip. I don't want to go over in detail all the painful memories again but needless to say, every day we had to spend hours of our vacation time dealing with problems not handled or created by Michaels' dishonesty or incompetence (e.g. hotels we arrived at with no reservations made and having to pay out of pocket to stay, no flights between destinations after this was in itinerary, no gorrila permits after having paid for them in April and personally assured everything was set, etc.) Don't want to relive it but anxiety coming from these things happening every day ruined what was planned as a trip of a lifetime.
US
Email Gary Buffone | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Disappointing troublesome, frustrating and extremely dishonest in his services and dealings with us,
AFRICAN NIGHTMARE: AVOID THIS BUSINESS AT ALL COSTS
Michael Ahabwe Mugerwa of Mushra Travel, located in Uganda, has provided the WORST travel experience in our 35 years of roaming the globe.. After carefully planning out a 2 week dream vacation to Africa with our best friends (costing in the mid-20k range) our dream journey turned into a horrible nightmare as we discovered that our travel agent had run off with our money.
Michael, who had had made a number of glowing promises in his initial proposal and final itinerary and took our our deposits and told us everything had been arranged and reservations had been made. But while on our trip we soon discovered that was not true and that there were no reservations or payments made, leaving us having to pay twice for most of our hotels and activities promised in our carefully planned itinerary (e.g.the surprise of downgraded hotels, canceled flights, two days of gorilla trekking). So our dream visit to East Africa quickly melted into a pool of disappointment, frustration and uncertainty as to what problems we might encounter next.
Initially we tried to give Michael the benefit of the doubt. But after recurring problems over several days it become evident that these were not simple mistakes or accidental errors but were intentional actions by Michael to deceive, confuse and scam us as he had done with prior clients.
As problems kept recurring and we confronted Michael, he either lied, blamed others, and made excuses, all as a way of not taking any responsibility for these problems Being trusting souls, It took us a few days to realize that we had been scammed and did what we could to salvage some semblance of our planned African vacation. As before on our visits to Africa, we found the people to be warm and friendly and the animals and game drives fascinating
Honesty, integrity, direct communication, dedication, are all traits you would look for in a good travel agent and are critical to a well planned and executed vacation . Sadly, these are traits that do not exist in Michael Ahabwe Muge or Mushra Travel. Currently we are trying to recover some of the thousands of dollars taken from us .But that will never restore or change the complete picture. For Michael not only scammed us and stole our money, but more importantly, he broke our trust and tainted our dream of a wonderful African vacation.
Gary Buffone
QA
Email Bill | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Poor communication and questionable integrity of owner/director. Avoid this travel agency.
Did poor job and did not pay for services that had been paid for by us. Would not recommend.
Reply from Mushra Travel Agency
Posted on Jan 8, 2019Hello,
Can you please confirm that you were our client at any point?We don't have any client with your names on our system neither do we have the email address associated with this review.
If you are a genuine client. Please share the following : a confirmation voucher that you received when you booked your safari or receipt of payment issued by our company for your safari.
There is a possibility that this is a fake and malicious review by people who send us requests for payment failure of which we are threatened with negative reviews.
We would be grateful if you can prove that you have ever directly booked a safari with us.
Mushra Travel Agency Team
NZ
Email Susan | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Totally let down, simply heartbroken
Consider very carefully before booking with Mushra Travel, NOT a trustworthy company.
My husband and I travelled to Uganda in October , our itinerary was changed, we weren’t told. We booked as a group, Michael told us 4 other couples were aLready booked on our tour, but we were on our own, not bad you say, but we like to meet people. The tour went reasonably well, although our guide wasnt really interested in us and only did what he really needed to do.
Our last day was to see the gorillas, they messed up our permits even though we booked and paid 10 months in advance. We had to change our flights and extend the holiday by 2 days for them to sort new permits. Our driver repeatedly tried to get cash from us to pay for petrol as he said Michael was not sending him money. Then to end the holiday on a high at 8.30pm on our last night, travelling back to Kampala we were pulled over by armed police who told us they were repossessing the vehicle (and our suitcases) as Michael hadn’t paid the lease. The repossession company turned up and we were faced with 3 men and the police telling us we would not be let go until Michael paid up. Michael would not answer our calls or theirs, what a nightmare!
It’s hard to believe this feedback, especially as most people seem to have nothing but praise for Michael. Micheal promised us a refund of our additional expenses incurred due to their cock ups but we have been home for 2 months and no refund has been received, despite numerous messages being sent. I’m not surprised!
Reply from Mushra Travel Agency
Posted on Jan 8, 2019Hello Susan,
Thank you for the review.
As you mentioned, the gorilla trekking permits issue was resolved and you trekked. Our company does not have control about how permits are issued or assigned. Our interest is usually to get out clients trek as we did for you. We are glad you mentioned that.
As you might be aware, the company has no control over taxation or law enforcement. It is unfortunate that you were pulled over yet it is a general operation procedure that vehicles with tourists are not pulled over. But in a country eaten up by corruption and extortion , anything can happen. We did follow this up and we believe the same might happen to other companies or clients. Our team did all it took and made sure you arrived at the hotel safely.
It would be very nice if you mentioned that we have been in touch with you about your payment which was taken off our bank account. We have no control of how banks settle payment. It would be out of order for us to authorize more payment. The payment was authorized by Michael to cover up for the inconvenience you went through. We still believe it was a positive gesture and we are confident you will receive your payment if your haven't.
Mushra Travel Agency
Email Amy | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Tour cancelled half way through; disgraceful communication throughout
We booked two tours with Mushra: 6 days in Uganda (2 people) and 7 days in Tanzania (3 people) in September / October. Big mistake.
There were so many issues and disappointments it’s difficult to wrap up into a review. To try and keep it simple, I’ve tried to focus on the key areas. Tanzania was the ultimate disaster where we were left fearing for our safety as a result of Mushra’s actions.
The individuals within our group have travelled extensively across the globe for 15 years and never encountered anything like the horrible experience we had with Mushra. We do not recommend their services to anyone.
Communication - things were going well throughout the sales process and all our queries were answered very quickly. However as soon as we paid the money (~USD8000) all communication stopped. To the point where we were unsure if the company really existed and if tours would go ahead. None of our final questions were answered and there was no recognition of final logistical information like pick up locations.
Uganda - although we were told we had the top female guide in the country we struggled the entire trip from a continued lack of communication from both Mushra and the guide (Safinah). Multiple activities had been promised to us as part of the itinerary we paid for but were not included in the itinerary Safinah had been given to deliver (Batwe/pygmies cultural tour, three game drives). When we asked for these things to be corrected we were made to feel that we were being demanding and difficult - when actually all we were doing was politely asking to get what we paid for. This caused us anxiety on a daily basis. In addition, Safinah lacked charisma and energy, it felt she was in a rush to get everywhere so she could hang out with the other guides. On one occasion she dropped us off at a random table in the middle of nowhere to have our picnic lunch. After unpacking our food she said she had to get petrol - over two hours later she finally returned, surprised that we were eager to go do something with our day. These things might sound relatively petty as complaints but they are simply scratching the surface of an overall 6 day experience.
Tanzania - the tour started incredibly well. We were having an amazing time. Our guide was fantastic, teaching us lots about the country and wildlife, we received unexpected accommodation upgrades and were having fabulous game drives. We thought Michael must be putting in extra effort to improve things after our poor Ugandan experience. However, this all came crashing down on the fourth night when we received a visit from the local tour manager. Turns out his small company had partnered with Mushra to deliver our safari tour. Yet, despite us having paid Mushra USD5400 for this component of the trip, the partner company had not received any compensation. Everything was being paid for out of their pocket and his funds had come to an end. He could not afford to continue our tour and Mushra were not sending any money through. Putting aside the fact it was a poor business decision on the Tanzanian partners behalf to commence a service that had no deposit paid, the unwillingness of Mushra to pay the money ultimately compromised our trip and the tour was cancelled by Michael half way through. At this time things really heated up. We received a text from Michael saying the tour had been cancelled - he did not apologise at any point or help us get back to Arusha. The Tanzanian tour manager then created a very distressing situation for us, we were taken to a private location and an attempt was made to coerce us into paying him in lieu of the payment he had not received from Mushra. The way this whole scenario played out was exceptionally threatening and we feared for our safety. With the help of a third party we did manage to get out of the situation and return to Arusha on our own account. At this point we are still fighting for a refund from Mushra of the services not received - however none of this will be taken by us, we have committed to giving this to the Tanzanian company in compensation for their loss. Ultimately we will have lost out on both the experience and expense of half of our trip - all because of Michael and Mushra’s actions.
As mentioned above, we recognise this is a long story with many elements that may make us seem difficult customers. All we can do to mitigate for this is suggest you look at our other reviews and contact us for more information - nothing of this sort has ever happened to us before. Unfortunately it really tainted our overall trip.
We also suspect Michael Ahabwe (the owner of Mushra) will dispute our review. However we have proof of everything that took place and are happy to share more information directly with travellers.
We do not recommend Mushra.
Email Luke | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Gorilla Trek
I'll begin with the positives... I had a remarkable time with the gorillas, I trekked with the chimpanzees, I saw a number of animals in Queen Elizabeth and Uganda is one beautiful country.
I was the only person on my tour, the car was nice and comfortable, the guide Jesse was enthusiastic, and for what I did and saw the experience was great value.
But.... The communication between Michael and the rest of the Mushra team was severely lacking, the moment I'd paid my tour fees communication stopped which caused a great deal of stress from my end. During the tour it was super unorganised with many fees still owed, which almost made me miss my trek with the chimps.
Overall it is what it is. It's super cheap compared to other agency, it's rough around the edges, but it delivered for me.