Taking you to the exotic African wild!
Morning Star Tours & Travel
- Office In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2018)
- Member Of:
- IATA, KATO, AMREF & TOSK
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $134 to $806 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
CN
Email Matt | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unfulfilled refunded after 1 month due to their mistake
Our recent 8-day trip to Kenya and Tanzania with Morningstar was far from the unforgettable adventure we’d hoped for. Starting from Tanzania, everything went wrong and they still own us a huge number of money for nearly a month. They promised to refund next week everyday, but still seeing no money yet. And we even got a message from him saying we are NOT PATIENT!
In Tanzania, we had to pay for multiple services, including park fee, transportation fee, etc, twice, losing 2 half-day of safari due payment not done in advance. Despite reassurances from Dennis, Morningstar’s owner, promised refunds for these extra expenses never received. Further more, Morningstar has no direct staff in Tanzania, so they rely on a partner agency, which resulted in poor coordination and minimal support.
Having made our full payment two weeks prior to departure, we trusted that all fees were covered. However, upon arrival in Tanzania, we learned that key expenses, including park entry and transport, hadn’t been paid. Faced with the risk of being stranded, we had no choice but to cover these costs ourselves. Dennis blamed the missing payments on a hacked bank account and again promised a refund once we returned to Kenya—a promise that remains unfulfilled 25 days later.
While our guide Caleb in Kenya was experienced and dedicated, Morningstar’s overall handling left us disheartened. The lack of support, broken promises, and financial inconvenience made what should have been a dream safari a frustrating experience. Sadly, I cannot recommend Morningstar based on our trip.
Furthermore, I don't know if there’s anything related to racism or not, but I do find that reviews from other countries are great, they did not had to experience paying everything twice, while many Chinese tourists report money loss without timely refunds.
We do sincerely wish that the excuse from Denise is true and he will refund as he promised. Please get us the refund ASAP. If so, the whole trip is a memorable experience with MorningStar.
Reply from Morning Star Tours & Travel
Posted on Nov 20, 2024Hello,
We would like to take a moment to address the concerns raised in the review mentioned above.
Our client, Matt ( same group with Becky), had booked an 8-day Kenya and Tanzania Safari, starting and ending in Nairobi. While the first four days of the safari unfolded beautifully, our clients faced unexpected challenges as they entered the Serengeti due to unforeseen failures with our banking systems. We fully understand how frustrating this situation must have been for our clients, and we sincerely empathize with the inconveniences they experienced.
As soon as we became aware of the issue, we immediately prioritized communicating with our clients. To ensure that they did not miss out on their game drives, we suggested they pay the park fees directly with the assistance of the driver-guide, assuring them that we would refund these costs as soon as our banking systems were stabilized.
Our technical team has worked tirelessly over the past three weeks to resolve the issue, and we are relieved to share that we have successfully processed a full refund for our client.
It saddens us to see our clients dissatisfied, especially when we strive to provide memorable experiences, as evidenced by other client's feedback.
We are committed to learning from this incident, and the following actions have been taken to ensure a similar situation won't happen again in the future;
1. Transitioning our banking operations from the current bank to a new bank.
2. Adding an additional signatory to our banking operations.
We want to assure you that this situation is taken very seriously, and we remain dedicated to providing all our clients with the attentive service they deserve.
Thank you for your understanding and support.
CN
Email lingwang | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Morning Star is a big cheater.
Morning Star is a big cheater. They owe me a total refund of $8,372 which hasn't been returned yet. During the process, they kept telling us that they would transfer the money to us, but they kept delaying it. It has been almost a month since the trip ended, but we still haven’t seen the remittance.
I would like to ask if this company still has any integrity and if it is so difficult to bear its own mistakes. Why should tourists pay for your so-called hacker mistakes? This is outrageous.
Reply from Morning Star Tours & Travel
Posted on Nov 20, 2024Hello,
We would like to take a moment to address the concerns raised in the review mentioned above.
Our client, Lingwang(the same group with Shi and Junjie/Marshall Ding), had booked an 8-day Kenya Safari, starting and ending in Nairobi. Due to unforeseen failures with our banking systems, our clients faced unexpected challenges while checking out of the hotel, which forced them to pay the outstanding hotel balance. We fully understand how frustrating this situation must have been for our clients and sincerely empathize with the inconveniences they experienced.
To ensure that they did not miss out on their game drives, we suggested they pay the park fees directly with the assistance of the driver-guide, assuring them that we would refund these costs as soon as our banking systems were stabilized.
Our technical team has worked tirelessly over the past three weeks to resolve the issue, and we are relieved to share that we have successfully processed a full refund for our client.
It saddens us to see our clients dissatisfied, especially when we strive to provide memorable experiences, as evidenced by other client's feedback.
We are committed to learning from this incident, and the following actions have been taken to ensure a similar situation won't happen again in the future;
1. Transitioning our banking operations from the current bank to a new bank.
2. Adding an additional signatory to our banking operations.
We want to assure you that this situation is taken very seriously, and we remain dedicated to providing all our clients with the attentive service they deserve.
Thank you for your understanding and support.
US
Email Rozhan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Responsive and good service
We did two safaris in Kenya with Morning Star Tours. One was a four day experience in Tsavo East and West. The other was a seven day experience in Amboseli, Nakuru, and Masai Mara. When planning this safari, I spoke with Dennis. He was very polite, helpful, and responsive. With his help I was able to curate a safari experience that included everything that we were interested in. Huge shoutout to our first driver Julius for making our experience unforgettable. He was kind and tried to help us spot as many animals as possible. I felt like Julius went out of his way to make it an amazing time. Our second driver Alex was very knowledgable about the parks and answered all our questions about Kenya. He also knew how to navigate the parks very well. I do have to say that the drivers are more focused on driving rather than being a guide, so keep that in mind. We did a private tour with the 4x4 land cruiser, which I recommend over a van. The vans get stuck sometimes and we even had to pull one out of the mud. There was a lot of driving involved because we saw so many parks so plan accordingly. We enjoyed the food as all the places offer a buffet style meal, so there are plenty of options to find something you enjoy. One important thing to note about the airport is that we thought we could arrive early and stay until it was time for our flight to leave. However, they will only let you in the airport about 2-3 hours before your flight. There is a cafe outside the airport that you can sit at, but it is uncomfortable and the wifi did not work well. Unfortunately, we did not know this ahead of time so we could plan accordingly. Overall, our experience was great, we got to see most of the animals we wanted and for a competitive price.
Email Lucy Munywoki | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very transparent
Great experience prompt service and solutions to clients
Very ready to help staff
US
Email Jasmine B | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Had a great Amboseli safari experience
I did the three day Amboseli safari tour with Dennis and Alex and I had a great time! Saw every type of animal in the park, and Alex is a safe driver who knows the park really well. I would recommend Morningstar to anyone looking to do a tour in East Africa.
FR
Email Emma and Anne | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Reliable and friendly safari organiser with maximum flexibility
I found this tour operator online. There are many offers so it can be confusing. I travelled with my adult daughter for our first visit to Kenya which was a safari followed by a few days relaxing by the beach. We chose Kenya because there is no trophy hunting. We booked rather late and were initially looking to join a group. My contact, Dennis, was very reactive to all my questions and flexible with the arrangements and dietary requirements. I was inspired by the proposed tour for just the two of us which included Massai Mara, Nakuru Lake and Amboselli. I really appreciated having the our lovely driver David to ourselves as we could have road stops when we wanted and get all the photo shots we wanted. The lodges were extremely comfortable and the buffet meals were copious. The price was an important criteria for me and in the end it cost me no more than a trip in a group including the flights from France (I booked flights on Ethiopian Airlines via Addis Ababa). If you only have 2 days for safari, I recommend Massai Mara and Amboselli.
IT
Email Sergio | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Professional and top quality with a fantastic human touch
The staff has picked me up at the hotel with their 4WD at the scheduled time in Nairobi and this was the first surprise with three lovely young, smiley and expert guides! We have moved then to Mt.Longonot for a beautiful hike, all together. This was fantastic, the trail, the landscape with the forest inside the crater and we had fun on the way. You will meet some other hikers from Kenya, Europe and all over the world, never too many, but making you feel you are doing something great. Back to the road we headed to a resort on lake Naivasha where we had lunch the four of us together; the food was super and the place probably the number one in the area; MorningStar could not choose a better place.
The boat tour made us restarting a new experience, encountering hippos, any kind of colored birds and the queen of them, the eagle, offering us a unique spectacle by catching a fish after an elegant sky dive just in front of us. Then a walk among zebras, antelopes, giraffes and many others with an expert local guide explaining the nature secrets. Couple of things I have loved and which will make this experience for life; the quality of Service from MorningStar which is really a value, and the passion and highly friendly dedication of the guides. They should be all good, but Alice, Joy and Alex you will never forget them ! professional, friendly, knowledgeable and like you knew them since a long time already :) my thanks to MorningStar
HU
Email Helga | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
reliable and accomodating
We have been on a three day (2 nights) safari with Morningstar Tours to Tsavo West and Amboseli. When looking for possible options for a particular route they had the best price for value, even with the additional fees for staying within the sanctuary at SaltLick. Our guide was Kennedy for the three days and though we had to cover quite long drives, he made sure that we are comfortable all through. The communication form the inquiry all through the trip and even after finishing the tour was with fast responses through the office and big thanks to Dennis for that as well. Kennedy has packed in as much into those three days as possible, also given that bí the end of day two we have been a little overfilled with the zebras and the dust but he listened to us and our asks and accommodated every wish we might have had on the way. Overall it was a great experience and would gladly use Morningstar tours in the future as well if the possibility arises.
LT
Email Aiste | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Real adventures!
We chose Morning Star Tours for safari, because they offered most suitable custom safari for me, my husband and our 4 year old son, moreover, their prices were 30% lower for the same intinerary compared to the other big tour operators.
We were really happy about our guide and driver Alex. We thought he was a newbie (looking very young ;) ), but we found out that he was an experienced guide working in the business for 7 years!
Alex is a really good driver (we felt very safe) and he is an adventure seeker, due to his effort and persistence, we managed to encounter a male lion in one meter distance protecting his resting lioness. What a memory!! And I am not talking about his effort during all the trip to meet all big 5!
He was also very patient with our toddler, who used to get bored during long trips.
Thanks for great experience!
Much recommended!
NO
Email Rena | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Engaged
We joined a 2 day safari to Amboseli, lodging at Ol Tokai. Even though the drought had left clear marked we saw so many animals, even lions! Morningstars service up front, during and after the safari was perfect. Always informative, quick and precise in their communication. The lodge was very nice and the view from the rooms and dining area to the wet land where animals were bathing/eating was nothing less than spectacular.
