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 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.
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.
Email Dan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A truly unique experience, a perfect trip
We had an amazing trip with Morningstar doing 8 days/7 nights across Kenya.
Prior to the trip Joy was always prompt to reply and provide us with any relevant information. The whole process was very professional and felt well organised before we arrived.
Our guide, Willy, was fantastic - he always seemed to manage to position the vehicle in the right spot for where the animals were going to head. He moved along at our pace and had a knack of sensing when we might have needed a little more or a rest.
We saw every animal we wished to see - all of the big 6, ugly 5, wild dogs and more. Willy’s experience in knowing the regular routed of the animals and their behaviour was invaluable.
We had regular contact from Joy throughout, and Willy was also available on WhatsApp in the lodges when we were out through the week.
The land cruiser was spacious and comfortable, it had sockets to charge cameras/phones and reclining seats for the long drives between parks.
We feel we got fantastic value for money, all of the accommodation was of a high quality. The food throughout was varied and delicious, we never went hungry - my partner is a vegetarian and was well catered for at every hotel, with multiple options.
I wouldn’t hesitate to use morningstar again, and we certainly hope to return to Kenya with them again in the future.
CA
Email William | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Morningstar is professional, punctual and well organized
Morning Star is a great tour operator, they are professional, punctual and well organized. Wanja our travel agent answered all our questions before our trip to Kenya even those not related with the tour itself. Willy our guide/driver is well experienced and knows how to do his job. The first day he asked us what were our expectations and we said we wanted to see all the animals even the rare ones and that's what we got and more thanks to Willy's knowledge and a bit of luck :). All our trip was well organized from the first day to the last and we got to see so much in such a short period of time. If you are asking yourself if you should do a private safari with a 4X4 Landcruiser just do it pay the extra money you're not gonna regret it. Wanja and Willy at Morning Star are exactly what you wish for to make your safari full of magical long lasting memories. Thanks again guys.
Email Mike | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic honeymoon safari
We would like to thank Joysharon for organising the most wonderful safari for our honeymoon. Everything was planned so well but there was also some flexibility in the schedule which we appreciated - we really felt our trip was personalised for us. James was a knowledgable and amusing guide who kept us entertained for the driving between safari parks as well as being a fountain of knowledge on all the animals we came across. A particular highlight was when a herd of elephants with their young calves were grazing round the car! We can’t thank both of them enough
DE
Email Daniel | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Reliable, highly professional tour operator.
We just did a 2 day / 1 night Safari to Amboseli National Park as part of a stopover in Nairobi. Whole experience with Morningstar Tours was awesome. As a family with 2 children (5 and 7 years old) we had many questions which were all taken care of by Carolyn who was extremely attentive and speedy in her replies. All arrangements / promises (e.g. car seats) were kept as aligned. Our Guide Glenn, who picked us up from our Nairobi hotel and was also doing the game drives with us (one in the late afternoon, one in the early morning) delivered a Glenn-tastic experience. He knew exactly where to drive to in order to catch the best views and pictures. Having such a knowledgeable guide with lots of experience really makes a difference. He's certainly an asset for this company.
Wrapping things up, if you're planning to do a Safari and are shopping for a tour operator: Go with Morningstars and ask for Glenn. If you've the opportunity to add a stop-over to your Kenya Airways flight (as we did): Go for it! ;)
CN
Email yang | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
good service
This was our first time in Africa, and overall, the travel agency's service was very good. If the driver had a better attitude, our experience would have been even better.
CA
Email Joanne | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolutely amazing experience
In mid-September my friend and I did a private 5-day ultimate Kenya safari with Morningstar. Over our 5 days we travelled to 3 locations - Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Lake Nakuru and Masai Mara. It was a lot of driving but well worth it because each location provided something different. What we didn’t see at one location we saw at one of the others. By the time we were done, we saw all of the big 5 plus lots of other amazing animals. Our favourite location for animal viewing was Masai Mara. So much to see. We also did a sunrise balloon ride here. Highly recommend that. We chose to stay in tented camps rather than hotel rooms which was a really good decision. Our favourite was The Cliff in Lake Nakuru. It was definitely a 5 star resort. Gourmet food and the “tent” was to die for.
Our guide, Alex, was absolutely amazing. With 10 years experience, he was very well connected and was in constant communication with friends and colleagues sharing information on where certain animals were so we wouldn’t miss seeing them. Thanks to this network we managed to see 5 different leopards on our last day!! Alex obviously likes what he does. He was right there with us taking pictures and videos, which he shared with us at the end of our tour.
I highly recommend Morningstar, and suggest you ask for Alex if you want to be well taken care of and ensure you get the best experience.
FI
Email Tommi & Inka | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Dependable, with excellent service, and they really put in the effort to make our safari memorable.
We enjoyed every bit of our 4-day Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Naivasha private tour.
All our requests were taken into account before and during the safari, even vegan food was arranged at every meal. Communication was smooth and easy with Carolyn the whole time.
Our guide and driver Augustine was a true professional, knowledgeable about the wildlife and skilled at spotting animals. He was a genuinely nice and fun guy to be around, making our experience even more enjoyable.
Overall everything went better than well and if we get a change in the future, we will book safari again with them. Recommended!
SG
Email JB | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience overall
Overall, it was a fantastic trip.
Pros:
We saw lots of animals. Our guides in Kenya, Alex and Rino, and our guides in Tanzania, Jackson and Tony, were very helpful. They helped us spot many of the animals and helped us find good spots to video and photograph them.
We saw over 60 species of animals, including 28 mammals and 37 birds.
The tour guides were also very knowledgeable and were very familiar with all the animals in the safari.
We got to see a lot of different parks during the trip and many different landscapes.
Cons:
Some of the accommodation were very basic. We stayed in tents with no locks, and very limited amenities.
There was no air conditioning in the rooms. The air conditioning in the car also could not be used because of the dust in the safaris.
We spent a lot of time on the road, and the jeeps can be somewhat old, so they are not the most comfortable.
Overall, it is an extremely unforgettable trip that is very worth going at least once in your lifetime. Just be prepared for some discomfort along the way and embrace the nature.