MAMU TRAVELS TEAM
Mamu Travels and Safaris Kenya
- Office In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2006)
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $50 to $1,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Ura | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Worst experience
I was overcharged, with an extra $600 that shouldn’t have been included. I booked a private tour but was almost put into a group tour instead. I signed up for three days of game drives, but only two were scheduled. After already paying for the transfer from Masai Mara to Nairobi, I was charged extra upon drop-off. The driver for the transfer from the hotel to the airport didn’t show up on time and there was no communication. None of the pre-booked arrangements were acknowledged until I provided evidence and pointed out the issues myself.
The only person who handled things professionally was Daniel, who guided us in Masai Mara. He was punctual, dedicated, and provided us with a truly memorable experience in the national park.
US
Email Setareh | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beware: worst tour operator
Beware of Mamu Travels - they are truly the worst tour operator I have ever encountered in my decades of traveling! Mariam, the owner of the company, was very responsive in the beginning, sending through a full quote quickly after my initial outreach. She seemed very thorough in her communications and continued to be responsive after I pre-paid for our safari in full (nearly $3000 for two people). Then, the week of our safari, she went completely dark. She didn't send through a final itinerary so we had no idea who was picking us up, when they were picking us up, their name or contact information - NOTHING! We emailed and messaged her before our pick up date and she was completely unresponsive. We got ready for our pick up the morning of our first day and no driver came. The main phone number for the company listed on the website, which was Mariam's number, was completely offline - no one would pick up or see our messages on WhatsApp. The only way we were able to get in touch with someone at Mamu was through the Safari lodge reservation desk, which happened to have another phone number for the company. That new person, Patronilla, picked up but had no records of our safari or our itinerary because she did not have access to Mariam's files. She said she herself could not get in touch with Mariam. After much struggle, she was able to convince the transfer driver to come back and get us (he said he apparently came at 6:00am and waited 30 minutes for us but the hotel front desk said that was a lie). When he picked us up, he couldn't tell us much about where we were going, just that we were going to meet the safari driver. When we got to the original meeting up point, a run down gas station in a very run down part of Nairobi, the safari driver had already left! So now we had to chase the driver around the outskirts of Nairobi, culminating in us speeding down a cliffside road to finally catch up to him on the side of the road. When we finally got to him, he broke the news to us that Mariam had not sent him the nature reserve entrance fees ($800 for two days for two people, which we prepaid) so we would have to pay him cash and get reimbursed by Mamu. For her part, Patronilla sent us a note that the company would honor the refund, but unfortunately, no one from the company had access to the bank accounts except for Mariam, who was still missing, so the refund could only happen when she came back online. Well, we completed our 3 day safari, which was great, especially the lodge Emayian as well as our safari driver, Charles, but Mariam was still missing the entire time. We checked in again a couple of days after, but her team said she was still missing, so we just ended up doing a chargeback through our credit card company. Needless to say, this was the most AWFUL travel experience of my life and I caution everyone before working with this incredibly unprofessional company that will put you in stressful, dangerous situations!