JASTRO SAFARIS LIMITED STAFF
Jastro Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2017)
- Member Of:
- Kenya Tourism Regulatory Authority, TOURISM PROFESSIONALS ASSOCIATION & NAIROBI TOUR OPERATORS ASSOCIATION
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $1,200 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
ES
Email Laia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I would advise not book with them
I recommend you avoid at all costs!
Our experience with Jastro was a complete disaster. From start to finish, their disorganization caused constant stress. We faced numerous last-minute changes to accommodations, timings, and pick-ups, leaving us in limbo about where we’d stay or when we’d be picked up next.
But what made it worse was that every change came with an extra charge—surprise, surprise! It felt like they were always trying to squeeze more money out of us. For example, they asked us to cover train tickets for $90, yet the tickets were clearly sold for $30. That level of dishonesty was infuriating.
Communication with them was another nightmare. They made several mistakes with our bookings, tickets, and timings, and when we tried to address these issues, they were dismissive and uncooperative. It felt like we were talking to a wall, and at times they treated us like idiots.
Victor (our admin contact) and Jared (the company director), were THE WORST. Both lied, withheld information, and dodged our questions. Even one of our local drivers, who tried to help resolve an issue with park tickets, mentioned how unprofessional and uncooperative Jared was.
Jastro turned what was supposed to be a relaxing holiday into a nightmare. I’ve traveled extensively and never experienced anything as chaotic and stressful as this. I strongly advise anyone considering this company to look elsewhere. They are dishonest, unprofessional, and frankly, they treat their customers like if we were idiots!
Reply from Jastro Safaris
Posted on Oct 23, 2024Dear Laia
Thank you for your review.
We communicated to you to upgrade to private safari immediately the rest of the group pulled out of the initial plan, and of course the upgrade was coming with an extra charge. You insisted that the company wanted you to pay excess and you were very uncooperative for an upgrade. Finally the company agreed to understand you request and we used part of our mark up to cover up your safari. We believe this was a good thing to do.
Upon arrival, the Euro balance that you paid to our representative was not sufficient(to the balance in USD as initially agreed during costing) because of the rate at that time. He explicitly explained this to you and you group but you were not ready to understand.
The train tickets were marked up to USD 90. You even refused to pay for the tickets.
You were just not ready to cooperate and make the safari successful as we hoped.
We ended up injecting all our profit and even adding more company`s funds to your safari.
Kind regards.
Email Jie Shao | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A wonderful and unforgettable Kenya experience!
We had 8-day travel experience in Kenya which included all: Safari game drive in Masai Mara, Amboseli, Nakuru Lake and hot air balloon in Masai Mara and Diani beach. It’s a comprehensive package. Although tired, it’s very worthwhile. We wanted to thank David especially for his kindness, dedication and great communication as well. He obviously loves his job and provided a very good guide for us. My daughter even said “David is the highlight of this trip”! Thank you! We would highly recommend Jastro!
Email Ryan and Amy | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful tour experience curtesy of our tour guide Dickson!
Now I have to be honest and give a fair review. There are some pros and cons to this tour company. Firstly, we did receive the quote and the initial interactions with Viktor through WhatsApp were good. He communicated that one of our lodges (the one we booked the tour for) was not available on the date we would be there so we discussed this and moved the whole tour back a day making this available. However, communication with Viktor can be a bit hit and miss. When we were paying for the tour we did this in two payments. The first time we used PesaPal which was successful. However, Viktor did not communicate with us that it was taking 5% of the cost so when we came to do this again we were asked for another $100 - this was rectified. However, the
communication whilst on tour (from Viktor) in regards to transfers from airports was sluggish.
For the pros: our tour guide, Dickson was AMAZING! He is the reason I could not give any less than 5 stars. He went out of his way to help us in any way he could. His knowledge of the animals and parks was brilliant and he was very professional throughout. He kept us extremely safe when driving to and from the parks. Dickson is brilliant at spotting animals we had missed and always checked with other drivers where different animals were so we could get a very broad range. We never felt rushed or pressured to move away from an animal. Dickson was always prompt and organised ready for a game drive with plenty of water. He also taught us a lot about the Kenyan culture and is a smiley happy man who is a great laugh.
In conclusion, the tour is a magical experience although there were a few bumps in the road. It is an experience we will always remember and that’s mainly due to Dickson.
CZ
Email Alana | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Brilliant
I want to say thank you to all the team beginning from the Victor, Sylus and the best guide Charles!! Everything was more than perfect I enjoyed a lot , my best safari experience. Victor always was answering my questions via WhatsApp and Charles I think it’s best guide which can be
Everything was very smoothly from the very beginning till the end. Thank you guys I definitely will come back to you
Reply from Jastro Safaris
Posted on Sep 16, 2024Thank you good review, we are really grateful. We are looking forward to seeing you again in Future Alana.
Several things didn’t went as promised, although we paid for it. We are not satisfied at all.
We got a very nice offer, that we accepted and paid all in advance. Tsavo East was skipped at the day of departure. Although that parkeer was paid. The lodge we paid for was, as they say, full. Allthough we booked in february, later us was told that in february that lodge wasn’t full, and we had to stay in another lodge, 18 km outside the park and very poor. Therefor we also missed the sunrise gamedrive. And our time in the park was also less. We had several times contact and asked for an explanation. And there were some more things. Untill now we didn’t get any compensation. We will never book at Jastro Safaris again.
Reply from Jastro Safaris
Posted on Oct 23, 2024Dear Marles
We are a very professional team, having so much experience in the safari industry.
We hired a driver for this job because all our drivers were out on the day you started your safari.
We are really sorry for you having missed the game drive and I wish you could have communicated to us on the spot.
The lodge that we suggested, and even informed you was of the same level as the initially suggested one.
We are very sorry for the mistakes and we promise to correct them.
Kind regards
NL
Email Pascalle | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic!
It was a wonderful experience! I can’t hardly describe how special this was. Everything was well organised; transfers to and from the airport, the safari itself, the guide all week and if there were any problems they were resolved in no time. Viktor (tour operator) and Samuel (our guide) were extremely involved and friendly, very nice. The safari was fantastic, I can't say anything else. I will really recommend this!
CN
Email Qin | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience during 11days in Kenya.
Thanks for my guide Nick giving us an incredible memory in Africa. Me and my son were shocked everyday by the scene we saw. Thousands of wildebeests, the family of cheetahs and lions.Nick is an animal expert indeed.
IT
Email Filippo Bulleri | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Competitive price, pretty good service
Few hiccups here and there, but if you’re able to navigate through that this is a good agency to organize your trip in Kenya.
Our guide (Carlos) was the best
CN
Email Xizi/Samantha | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
high-professional
good. the stuffs really care about us and are very patient. my luggages were left and Victor and Robert helped us a lot.But be careful to check the condition of accommodation and weather by yourself.
AE
Email Annie | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lack of attention to detail
I chose Jastro Safaris based on the fact that it had lots of great reviews. Victor reached out to me after I put in a quotation request and we had a detailed discussion on possible options for our safari. There were initial mistakes in his quotations that I pointed out and he fixed. I suggested places I would like to visit and expected practical advice given that I was travelling for the first time and the tour operator is meant to be the expert advising on what is best. First of all, I asked about travel time between places and was given inaccurate information. For example, I was advised that the travel time between Ol Pejeta to Masai Mara was 6 hours, when it fact it took us nearly 10 hours to make the journey. Next I was promised a stop over at Lake Nakuru which the driver did not do because he said there wasn't enough time. It seemed the driver and tour operator were not communicating. Overall, I would advise all people to ask Victor to spell out what is included in the quotation and what is not. We learned this the hard way. At least 3 game drives that were "included" in my package were not delivered because Victor did not check these details on his end. I was told I could not have a night game drive in Ol Pejeta because we were not staying in the conservancy - according to my original quotation, the night game drive was included. Then I was told I had to pay extra fees at Masai Mara National Park if I wanted to do a morning game drive - which according to my understanding was included in the initial quotation that was shared with me. Each time I raised a deviation from the original quotation, I was told by Victor he would check and get back to me assuring me that he would make sure I got my game drives added on at the end of my tour. However, the follow ups and corrections didn't happen. The follow up for the pending payment at the end of the tour on the other hand was very persistent with no acknowledgment of the need for rectification.
Reply from Jastro Safaris
Posted on Oct 23, 2024Dear Annie Haqq
We appreciate your review.
There was a slight misunderstanding which we resolved and even refunded you part of the amount that you paid.
We kindly request for your understanding and we promise to improve next time.
Kind regards