The HTE joburg team
Honest Travel Experience
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2017)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $104 to $330 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
US
Email Tim | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Do Not Use This Company!
In order to write this review, I had to put in a date of Travel, so I used May 2024, but July 2024 was the anticipated time of travel. But I have no tours booked with Honest Travel Experience for July 2024 at this time. That is because of the negative experiences I have had with them in the booking process. In short, I advance the money to book a day trip to Durban during my upcoming trip to South Africa. The trip was never booked, and I have yet to get my money back. This is despite several months of WhatsApp conversations with one of the owners of the company who is named Tye. He constantly makes promises to pay, and has yet to pay. We even had a date certain of April 19 when he was supposed to pay me and he let that day go by without payment. There was always an excuse for why the payment could not be made. Now he just ignores my WhatsApp messages, and I have yet to be paid. I have involved the South African, tourism government entity, and they have reached out to him as well, and he promised them that he would make the payment, but again has yet to pay me back. I have read many many mixed reviews on this company, and while some are good, this has been my experience with this company. So buyer beware. If you do book with this company, I would suggest doing it through a Travel site, with guaranteed free cancellation and refunds. Do not advance the money. They will just take it, and not book the trip that you planned, and leave you hanging. They will act like your friends, but they are not your friends. It is my belief that they are just out to take the money of unsuspecting tourists like myself. While my trip is still planned, this negative experience has definitely put a damper on it, and leads me to believe that no one in the South African tourism industry can be trusted. Also, beware of a former employee of theirs, whose name is Sean. He left the company under spurious circumstances, and now represents himself to be a tour guide under the name of Sky Travel and Tours. He also took my money upfront for tours and merchandise, and as basically disappeared on me. So if you see any advertisements for Tours by him or this so-called company, I would be extremely wary of that also. Good luck, fellow travelers…
US
Email Diane | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Was Far From Honest
We used Honest Travel Experience in Cape Town for a trip in Aquila Reserve. It was supposed to be a private tour. But the owner, Franck, upsold us to a VIP tour, then did not deliver AT ALL. We got merged in with all our cruise passengers, after paying the extra money for a personal tour. After trying for several weeks to contact Franck, I gave up. We felt scammed. Beware!!