Sunstrip Africa Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2018)
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $700 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
ES
Email Christian+Vera | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Horrible, they are thieves
We did a 5 days mount Kenya Hike.
First of all: I am rating the office right now and not the mount Kenya hike. The mount Kenya hike is definitely recommendable and was one of the best experiences we had. Great views, great guides (the guides are freelancers and not related to the office)...a wonderful experience!
But very important! Book this wonderful hike with another (maybe a little bit more expensive) tour operator! Our experience with this tour operator was the worst we have ever experienced (and we are travelling the world for 2 years now). They are robbing you and most of the things they tell you are lies! With this operator you get a reasonable offer and you find yourself paying 20% more than agreed to. Susan seems to be a friendly contact at the beginning and at the end you realize that she only told you half of the truth and lies (if you are not able to pay by US dollars in cash you will pay 10% more than the offer, because the company shifts the financial risk onto the customers, be careful about every "optional" they tell you...it will cost you more than expected...for example the ride back at the last day will cost you 50USD which is not included in the price) they also will make itinerary changes which will affect you with aditional costs without asking you. I really recommend to experience this wonderful hike with another maybe a little bit more expensive company. If you value honesty please avoid Susan and avoid this company, they are thieves.
Reply from Sunstrip Africa Safaris
Posted on Mar 22, 2023I'm sorry to hear that you had a negative experience with us, it was not our intention as we strive to offer the very best to our clients. However, I would like to clarify a few things.
We always strive to be transparent about the costs involved in our tours, and we are not in the business of lying to our customers. We understand that unexpected costs can be frustrating, however all the costs we clearly communicated to you, apologies if you did not get clarity on the costs involved. Regarding the currency issue, we do recommend paying in US dollars as it is the most accepted currency in the tourism sector. We only advise to pay with the exchange rate at the bureau if you opt to pay in Kes, this we also explained to you as well.
Regarding the additional cost for the ride back on the last day, this is clearly stated in our itinerary and communicated to all customers before the tour begins. We apologize if this was not clear to you. When we were calculating I explained to you we use the forex bureau rate which is 147 and I told you that is the rate to buy dollars in all bureaus and I requested we can go and check and you declined to go.
About paying the extra 50 USD the driver informed me that you were not charged any cash and you did not pay for the transport back to Nairobi.
Your program as per the information from the guide is that it was not changed at all you went as per your confirmed safari
The company is not in charge of the exchange rates globally the market rate is very high especially for dollars and Euros. All clients who are opting to pay using a different rate from USD are paying as per the forex bureau rate so we have no hidden rates being used please. We do not use the online rate since there is nowhere it is applicable in the forex bureaus or banks.
The company stood in and gave you free mountain equipments except from the shoes and sleeping bag which you were supposed to be charged since you said you did not have enough cash and we also gave you a discount of 5000 Kes from the exchange rate so you could purchase for the shoes and for the guide tips.
We take all feedback seriously and will use your comments to improve our services in the future. We are glad that you enjoyed the Mount Kenya hike itself.
US
Email Ben | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Bandits
I went on a mount kenya safari and would not recommend this firm at all.
They charged extra when i arrived in the morning and we also ended up paying for items that should have been included (like transport back to nairobi).
Additionally, the pre-trek guidance was awful - they didn't provide an accurate itinerary or a list of required items. This meant we had to buy extra stuff when we arrived. We were also very surprised (and disappointed with the lodgings).
There are better and professional operators available!! From now on I will only use KATO-certified operators!