Asseri the founder with clients at Ngorongoro
Orongai Africa Safari
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2013)
- Member Of:
- Tanzania Tourist Board
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $145 to $750 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CH
Email Alex | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
DON'T TRUST THEM
In January I enquired Orongai AS for a 5 days safari for late July. Since the beginning, I required to book ONLY lodges from the Serena Hotel Chain with an HB meal plan and to buy the flight from Arusha to Zanzibar for which I already had a reservation. The proposed program for the safari was meeting all my expectations and therefore I paid 50% of the total bill to confirm the trip (with 6 months advance).
FIRST SURPRISE: in June, after my request of details about the baloon trip that was listed into the proposed plan, we discovered that this was actually not included in the price I agreed (and already paid) but was an extra, costing "only" 510 US$ per person!!! After many e-mails back and forth with Martha, where I also proposed to pay 50/50 their mistake, I finally end up talking with the owner of the company (Mr Asseri) and I accepted, to pay the extra 510 US$. After we arrived in Tanzania, we were transfered to the first hotel where the Orongai rapresentatives showed up with more than 2 hours delay to the agreed breefing.
SECOND SURPRISE: checking out from this hotel, I discoverd that the meal plan was not HB as per the plan accepted by me and I had to pay 25 US$ per person for the dinner.
THIRD SURPRISE: the off-road car for the safari was a 30 years old Toyota Land Cruiser (much older than any other car we meet during the safari) with (probably) a few MILLIONS miles story: fortunately we had no mechanical problems (and this is a real miracle, considering the treatment this veicles receive) but the level of confort of that car was really poor.
FOURTH SURPRISE: we started the tour and we discovered that the plan was shuffled and instead of the agreed Tarangire-Ngorongoro-Serengeti sequence we would follow a Ngorongoro-Serengeti-Tarangire schedule.
FIFTH SURPRISE: despite my cash paiment for the ballon trip, they didn't succeed in boking that experience.
SIXT SURPRISE: when we were in Serengeti, we discovered that our hotel for the next 2 nights would have been a tented camp (and not a lodge as agreed).
SEVENTH SURPRISE: on the last day we discovered that the flight we were booked on was not the 5:10 pm one I originally requested but a earlier one (3:15 pm).
Based on this, would anyone trust them??
PS1: looking at other feedbacks in this site, looks like I'm not the only one having had this kind of disturbing experience with Orongai AS: probably the blame is not to be put on me
PS2: the only good thing of this safari were the guide (Gabriel) and the driver (Francis). They exceeded all our expectations under every aspect: nice and polite, skilled and commited
ES
Email LARA | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We don’t recommend orongai at all!
The safari itselfs was fine, because Frankly, the guide is amazing! But we had many problems with Orongai. When we arrived to arusha they changed the payment method, ALL the hotels and the itinerary without asking or inform us. The last day we spoke with the manager and he said that was unusual, but reading the reviews we think that they usually work in that way. We don’t recommend work with orongai because you can’t trust them if they are changing everything without inform you in advance and you can’t do anything. We had the feeling that they were cheating us all the time!
OM
Email Gillian | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
No booking, harassed for 2 days, and ended up paying 3,500 US$ for camps we belive not as good!
We booked our family safari in April for 9-16 July a 6 night safari and it was confirmed by Martha and a deposit sent. We chose Atua Enkop Africa Luxury Camps which Martha confirmed.
Two days before we left we thought we would check that the bookings in the camps were all OK as I read an article that said there were some operators in Tanzania that were not reliable. We contacted Atua Enkop Africa Luxury Camps owner of our 3 camps and were advised there was no booking. We immediately contacted Martha at Orongai and then started a catastrophe where she blamed Atua Enkop Africa Luxury Camps and that the booking was there. Martha said she would sort it so we flew to Kenya.
On arrival we went to the hotel we booked initially on our own and met Martha and found indeed we had no camp bookings and it ended after two stressful days of Orongai telling us nonsense and upping the price all the time and time running out and no option that we had to stay in totally different camps and had to pay Orongai another 3,500 dollars. At this late stage booking on our own was not possible and we were there so we had no choice.
On our return home I contacted Atua Enkop Africa Luxury Camps and they reconfirmed no booking was ever made and they had never heard of Orongai Africa Safari. At the best Orongai Africa Safari are incompetent and at worst and what we believe they are absolute crooks and a disgrace to the Kenya Tourism industry.
Reply from Orongai Africa Safari
Posted on Sep 2, 2018Dear David, as always we do appreciate our clients feedback after Safari. Please explain to our readers how we tried to fleece money out of you. We are really ashamed after all the negotiations we did with the hotel in order for them to extend good rates to you. We also went ahead and upgraded your transportation from Minivan to Land Cruiser at no additional charges. We had done bookings with the hotel please do not mislead our readers again. As earlier explained to you on email, You call the hotels from home and their extended to you rack rates and that what you wanted us to pay . No company accepts those terms. As per the additional charges this is due to the upgraded accommodation and this was the charges ,you wanted to be in extra luxury camps and as always comes with a coast
And if you have looked very well no profit was insured by orongai for your trip it was all expenses for your trip
Kindly correct your review since you know very well this was a mutual agreement since you broke the agreement by booking online and causing price increase and yet you were not even able to pay
We apologise for any inconveniences caused on our part
Regards
Joshua
US
Email AJ | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Poor management, did not follow itinerary, rude, Great driver
I recommend looking ELSEWHERE before booking with Orongai Africa. I am not one to write bad reviews but my poor experience with them warrants such review.
I priced out many safaris prior to booking and specifically requested going to Lake Manyara weeks before booking with Orongai. They agreed to this and I paid a deposit down for a 5 day, 4 night safari. One week after paying for half of the trip, they sent an email with what looked like the same itinerary as we agreed upon. What I did not realize however was that they deleted Lake Manyara (despite our initial request and agreement) from the last day without discussing this with me at all. After arriving in Tanzania from Kenya (which I will give them 1 star of credit for because they were very accommodating to picking me and my significant other up from the border which was very helpful), we had to pay for the second half of the trip. We attempted to pay via paypal with a credit card which "did not go through", so I sent a second payment through paypal. Essentially, we paid 1.5x what was originally agreed upon. I have now been back for 4 weeks to the USA and despite emailing multiple times, we have yet to receive a refund for the extra half trip we paid for. I hope we get our money back soon.
Not only is their management rude sending snarky emails back and accusing us of not tipping our amazing guide (for which I take a lot of offense to because we tipped him extra for how great his knowledge and sense of humor was), but they are UNTRUSTWORTHY for changing itineraries AFTER money was already paid.
I highly recommend looking elsewhere before booking with this company. Save yourself the headache of being accused of being a bad person inappropriately.
On a side note, if you do come across a safari guide named Issac. He is really great and gave us a good experience on 4 out of the 5 days of the safari that the company took us on. The 5th day, they stated we had "used all of our money up" and could not go on the last day of the safari before the airport. Such a disaster.
Reply from Orongai Africa Safari
Posted on Apr 8, 2018Thank you for this email
We at orongai Africa Safari we apologise if we caused any inconvenience to you AJ and your girlfriend .
Its true you requested for the refund from Paypal but Paypal proved that the refund was not genuine since .We provided you with all the services as per our contract .Hence Paypal could not issue you the refund on basis that they did their research and were able to prove that you were in those national parks and the hotels as per the contract .
We were willing to refund you the money since our clients satisfaction is our priolity but Paypal was able to solve the case for both of us in a fare way ,
I would like to give you a complementary in future so as to make up for any conviniences
But its not true that you were given bad services by ORONGAI AFRICA SAFARI KINDLY CORRECT THAT .You know that its not true
Thank you for your honest review
Email Alex | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Bait and Switch Scam - AVOID
We booked a 12 day Luxury+ tour through Kenya and Tanzania with Orongai. Despite Orongai confirming all the lodges were booked and paid for (included a number of the high end luxury AndBeyond lodges), itinerary we were promised was nothing like what we got. After 4 days of the 12 days, we cancelled the trip in the middle of the Masai Mara due to serious safety concerns and made our own arrangements to get home. We have never received a dollar of refund from Orongai despite multiple attempts.
Some key experiences:
- The vehicle provided was an old and unroadworthy 2WD van completely unfit for driving through national parks. Side door did not open from the inside, so you couldn’t get out without being let out from the outside. Driver was not a qualified safari guide, but a Nairobi taxi/van driver.
- We had our accommodations changed last minute or without notice from high-end luxury lodges to cheap tent accommodation. After this, we called ahead to the lodges booked according to our itinerary, and only 3 of the 9 remaining nights had been booked. Orongai was unable to be contacted and dismissed emails requesting the confirmation of bookings. We were stuck in the Masai Mara without knowing where we would be sleeping the following night.
- On the second day, we were forced to leave the lodge at 6am, missed the planned game drive, and had to sit in the unairconditioned van for 8 hours till we arrived at the next lodge. We had to use a pit in a village for a toilet break, which felt far from safe. When we arrived at the lodge, they had no record of our booking and hadn’t heard of Orongai. After an hour of the driver trying to contact Orongai to find out where we were staying, we then had to spend another 3 hours in the van to drive to a grossly inferior tent camp on the other side of the Masai Mara.
- Attempts to contact Orongai to confirm our lodgings and provide booking vouchers were futile. At this point, we discovered from reviews that others who had booked this trip had been held against their will, demanded more money be paid for fuel concessions, park fees etc, extorted, made to miss international flights and been in serious car accidents. Note: we couldn’t get out of the van from the inside!
- We realised at this stage that not only had we been completely scammed on the promised accommodation, activities included and itinerary in general, but we were not safe remaining on the tour, and informed our driver we would not be continuing. He became distressed and seemed petrified of what might happen to him if he did not deliver us to the Tanzanian border the following day. This only reinforced our fears, and we had another lodge come to pick us up as soon as possible.
We have been unable to get any refund from Orongai, and since the trip, I have experienced a large amount of serious fraudulent/scam activity on my email and personal accounts. This may be unrelated to Orongai, but seems more than coincidental.
I am sure if we continued the trip, this review would likely have far more sinister content. Glad we got out safely, despite out of pocket a very large some of money.
Bottom line: AVOID. Book your dream trip with a reputable travel agent.
ES
Email José Luis | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Beware of Orongai Africa Safaris!!
...and beware particularly of the Sales Manager Martha and her tricky and confusing invoices. We enquired them in December for a 7-day safari in Ndutu/Serengeti Area for late February during the calving season. They answered immediately with a nice trip and a very appealing price so we finally hired them. The offer included a trip back to Arusha from Seronera by airplane. We were asked to pay a 30% in advanced and we did it. But when arrived to Arusha to start the trip we were asked to pay an extra cost of 650 USD per person (a 30% more!!!). This extra was not included in the total amount written in the invoice. Also, the flight back to Arusha had been changed to optional (the word “optional” never appeared in their offer) and had to be payed apart. They said that as this additional money was for hotel bookings it should not be included in the total cost, which is a ridiculous argument. Shocked we were by the surprise, we refused to pay that extra cost as we believed we had been cheated and then started the discussions. Arguing with Martha is like a toothache. Her head is hard as solid rock and it was impossible to make her understand that any money the client should pay to the operator MUST BE included in the Total amount of the invoice. Her explanation was that since the 650 USD PAX was for hotel bookings that money is not for Orongai!!! Fortunately, we called the Spanish Embassy and they put us in contact with a Spanish Arusha resident tour operator (Special thanks to Angel Pujol of Itaka Safaris) that helped us managing the situation. With his advice and after long and extenuating discussions we finally reached an agreement: we payed 200 USD PAX and they lowered the grade of the lodges. At the end, the Safari was performed under the new conditions although we had to visit some filthy accommodations and eat some uneatable picnic. So, my advice is to hire some other operator (there are many of them) to avoid troubles.
Reply from Orongai Africa Safari
Posted on Mar 16, 2019Hello JoseLuis
I WOULD LIKE TO START A CAMPING AGAINST RACISM BECAUSE THIS IS PURE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF AFRICANS (This clients did not want to pay the whole amount because their threatened us to write a bad review on our platform and called us un civilized monkeys in Spanish without realizing one of us was able to here them
''IS THIS NOT FARE THAT YOU WANT TO BE TAKEN ON A FREE SAFARI JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE ABLE TO WRITE A REVIEW AND DESTROY A COMPANY REPUTATION ON THE INTERNET ""
How can something that is written on the invoice some months before the safari not be correct ,?? how can you expect not to pay 650$ 9 persons and expect the company to pay for you that so unfair to any business ""
THIS IS NOT A REVIEW BUT PURE ,,HATRED TOWARDS AFRICANS JUST BECAUSE WE DID NOT GIVE INN to your DEMANDS
Thank you for your review we always appreciate reviews on our platform ,""You have Quoted beware particularly of the Sales Manager Martha and her tricky and confusing invoices." Kindly note i think Martha is very good in her job and just because you did not want to pay for your safari according to your invoice that why she was not able to let you get away with it ,
1.a million travelers get this invoices and their always pay as per the invoices with no trouble at all their ask questions before payment if their don't understand anything before payment and that how every normal person does ( Be honest you asked this questions before the safari and your tour reader confirmed that the invoice was okay )
2, Why take advantage of not paying 650$ per person 9 persons and expect the company to take you for safari that does not make any sense to anybody
3 ,You tricked the company by calling the guy from ITAKA Safari who was to pretend to be the Ambassador of Spain( (I THINK NO AMBASSADOR OF SPAIN OWNS A SAFARI COMPANY IN AFRICA PLEASE STOP LYING )
only to realize he wanted to take you for the safari and he could not take you because he said and i quote the ''amount is not enough you have to pay 1000$ """"more' and that when you released he cant help you (he was even more expensive than us that your fellow Spanish!!! he was not willing to take you on safari without enough money but pleaded with us to accommodate you in our company can you see that this is funny ,if your safari payment were enough to go on the trip why didn't you go with him he was a tour operator and you hand your money in cash '''////
3 , i think you have missed a point that you were taken to the tourist police where the police clearly indicated that the invoice was very clear and that you should pay the full amount since no one was able to take you to a free safari without paying the rest of the amount ,if the company was found at foult the police could have concluded you go on the safari as per your agreement but again there was nothing wrong with the invoice
4 And kindly note its was you were unable to pay ITAKA SAFARI the amount he demanded to take you for the tour that you came back to the company and the solution was found that you will have to go to the safari according with your budget and the company took you to a safari of a live time see the attached photos and also the agreement you signed at the police station because police so that you were you were trying to con us because our guide Fredrick who was able to speak and also here Spanish assisted and i think you traveled with him and found that he could speak fluent Spanish
5
Kindly don't mislead our leaders just because some reviewers in the past have written you want to damage our reputation by this in fact we are going to give all our clients 15% discount on every booking made after this review ,that because we value our clients more than the our profits
6 , Kindly note Africans now their have gone to school so you can not confuse us that we don't understand invoices and it does not mean you can take advantage of the situation because you threatened to write a review if we don't give you a safari for less money ,Kindly i Would request you in the future don't do this inhuman act to anybody even if we are Africans it does not mean you can take advantage of the situation please
We apologize for any convinces caused to you regarding this matter but i think appreciating Your Guide ASSERI AND FREDRICK WHO WERE WITH YOU ON THE MOST AMAZING SAFARI THE COMPANY HS EVER MADE IS GOOD
We are very happy with this negative reviews because we learn from this reviews and we improve our services remember this one of the most tour operator in Arusha because we don't remove our bad reviews like others do we want our clients to read them and avoid this mistakes in the future we appreciate you and value you this shows we are human and we all bound by laws '''
EC
Email ESTEBAN CELI | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
THIEFS LADRONES TOTALES
ARE THE REAL THIEFS , SCAMMERS, LIARS AND MORE, BE CAREFULL
NL
Email Hhhmmm | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Scam
We booked with them based on a friend’s recommendation. We booked for 6 days, and we booked a balloon ride. Upon arrival we discussed the planning. However on the balloon trip it was weird they said we had to go to the balloon center when we got in the Serengeti. And make an appointment. Serengeti was day 3. So we visited some parks and upon arrival at the Serengeti it was already weird. We had to wait 2 hours for cash. So we go in the park and ask our driver to go the balloon centers. He confessed that everything was booked months in advance. Okay fine, but then we expect the money back as they didn’t book it. So on our ride back to the airport we would meet the owner. He stalls it, making us wait an hour and almost missing our flight. He didn’t want to pay/didn’t have the money. So we were scammed out 1000 usd. Before flying out of Tanzania I emailed the firm for a compensation. After some pressure from my end they agreed to pay in installments. 4 installments of 250$. The first 2 went fine, the 3rd took 4 months and the last one I am still awaiting. For over 6 months. They said they could not pay the last installment due to cash shortage but that was 6 months ago. Since then they are not replying on emails.
So DO NOT BOOK ANYTHING WITH THIS FIRM. THEY SCAM YOU AND ARE PROBABLY BANKRUPT.
TR
Email Betsyada | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The hotel was changed to a very bad one with no info ,no resv made for the night we arrived,norefun
We planned, communicated through mail, skyp for months.
We told our expectations and hotels we wanted very clearly,many times.
The day before our arrival, upon our call to the agency learned that the hotel at Zanzibar wasnt available, it was changed to a place which is like a hostel.After a 7 hr flight,2 hr drive, we arrived that place at 4 midnight and found out that no resv made for that night.We paid the sama amount that was told, eventhough it was a ver bad cheap hotel, no refunds was offered.
We were not given any proper info about the road conditions and distance in terms of hours, between parks
So the trip was very tiring and far below our expectations
Reply from Orongai Africa Safari
Posted on Sep 2, 2018Hey Besyada
We thank you for this review and we apologise for not getting good accommodations in Zanzibar this was due to the cap putted up by Z hotel that no less than 3 nights booking is accepted ,and as you can remember we offered to give you Verde hotel 5 star in Zanzibar but you declined this off by Cero and i Quote that was not your style and we hand to look for something simple in Nugwi beach ,
We were surprised that it was not up to your expectation and we apologised for that inconvenience caused in Zanzibar ,as per the road safari we send the itinerary early so as to read and check the distance between one park to another and if you have any question you ask in advance ,and as you all know the roads to National parks are all rough roads this is done so as not to interfere with the Ecosystem of the nature
Apologies on our part
DE
Email Elke Krämer | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful Safaris
Orongai Africa Safaris is a young company.
Despite all this, Asseri, the founder of the company, is an experienced guide.
I have known him for 7 years.
Not only once could I spend unforgettable days in Tanzania under his guidance.
A perfect organization with great attention to detail made the safaris to highlights in my life.
It was always possible to express wishes and to plan and carry out the safari as I wanted.
Asseri is a great guide, reliable and always in a good mood.
On the safaris I received from him a lot of information about Tanzania, the unique landscape and the wonderful wildlife.
You can feel his love for his homeland and his profession.
So I also learned to love this country and to be enthusiastic about it.
The company is definitely recommended.
The value for money is right and the recommended accommodations are perfectly selected.
Orongai Africa Safaris - always a great experience!
See you in Tanzania, maybe soon again!
Dear Asseri, dear Martha, I wish you all the best!