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
CN
Email Shawn | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awful experience, not professional, no integrity
It is quite an annoying experience. I can list three main mistake they maid:
During the trip
1. Change our accommodation during the safari. We were supposed to stay in Naivasha Sopa, also we expected most for the whole trip. However when we arrived in the hotel, they told us no room booked for us. I argued with both the hotel and jastro for one hour and forced to transfer to Naivasha simba. Simba has no giraffe(we want to take photos with giraffes), food is terrible. We even self paid to go back to sopa to have dinner. Every one, including our driver and sopa hotel manager, say they never encounter this before. The only reason is jastro didn’t pay the hotel in required time even though I have paid for everything.
what’s more, before this trip I saw some negative review about they change customer’s hotels. So I told victor several time before the trip to confirm my accommodation and I don’t want to see anything changes. However it still happens and this ruined the whole trip. Sopa is fancy and simba is terrible and they insist they are the same level.
I get 50 dollar refund at the end of the trip at my insiste but this cann’t compensate for anything.
Before the trip
2. One week after we paid the deposit, victor suddenly told me I have to pay more 200usd for each person because he forgot to add first day game drive in massi mara. This is cheating! I don’t agree and so we cut 8 day trip to 7 days, and still make up another 500 dollar.
3. Then I asked victor to list details for my total cash balance in case he made any more mistakes, which turned out to be another nightmare. He keep making mistakes for everything. For the first version, he say the government tax is 3%, but list 800usd more for my hotel cost(not match hotel receipt). After I point out the hotel overcharge, he make that 800usd to government tax, raised it to 6% instead of return back to me. So haha jastro can decide government tax rate?? All under their control and customer has no choice.
The only cons is our guide Jonathon is good. But he also annoyed when they change our hotels and know nothing during the trip, he is also innocent.
All in all, before u pay them, they reply quick and say all good. After the deposit, everything just change. They became robbery and cost u too much energy to argue with them.
I would recommend you don't choose them. They're not professional at all.
(images removed for privacy reasons)
Reply from Jastro Safaris
Posted on Oct 23, 2024Dear Shawn, we appreciate your review and the opportunity you gave us to serve you.
We are a very professional team, very much concerned with good communication and general customer satisfaction.
Than you for recommending our driver Jonathan.
Victor realized that there was an issue on initial costing which was ineligible and could interfere with the services provision, and so he got back to you over the same. Some errors may occur at times and we are all humans so we beg for your understanding.
Just to make you understand, the percentage in question is the government tax on the amount paid through our online payment system.
Sopa informed us of the change at the very last minute and we had to get a solution immediately to avoid inconveniences.
With all that did not go well, we offered you the refund that you requested.
Kind regards
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.
HK
Email Wang | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Bring a very bad experience to us!
1. After we confirmed the itinerary and paid the deposit, we received an email on the day of our arrival to change three hotels, among which Lake Naivasha Sopa Resort, the most expensive hotel, was changed to Lake Naivasha Resort. You can check the price difference online.This was the hotel with the largest difference in price, and two nights were also changed to cheaper hotels and the difference was not refunded
2.Two times early morning safari and last day's lunch all be cancelled,The guide said never be informed of the early morning safari.
Reply from Jastro Safaris
Posted on Aug 30, 2024Dear Wang,
You are one group with Jueru, Miaomiao and one another.
We regret to receive all your negative
reviews despite us working to solve all the challenges that came about during the trip.
1. You were notified earlier about all the changes of the hotels right before you got into the country, so your claim is malice. These hotels were Sentrim to Penety at Amboseli for only 1 night and Naivasha Sopa to Lake Naivasha resort for only 1 night too, and their STO rates served to us are the same.
2. You were too harsh to the tour guide claiming that you were also tour guides back in your country. The guide made several calls to inform the office about this, and the office reached back to you and you apologized. How was the supposed to work efficiently and you did not give room for this.
3. You were demanding for the morning game drivers and you only booked the hotels that were located outside the parks, that was not possible and you did not want to hear that.
We kindly request you to note the importance of proper communication and patience during execution of the safari. There may have been little hiccups during your safari and were were in a position to solve them if you could have given us that chance.
Regards
US
Email Char | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unreliable
I was not picked up at the Nairobi Airport as promised. They did not have me stay in proper lodgings as promised.
Reply from Jastro Safaris
Posted on Aug 30, 2024Dear Ms Challote
1. Our driver was at the aiport waiting for you, he called you severally and you were not picking up your phone. This was not the company`s mistake.
2. We booked for the lodges that you paid for, and you assured us that you were satisfied with them.
3. We refunded you the money you used for hiring the taxi to the hotel, you forgot to mention it here.
Thank you.