Big Time Safaris
- Office In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2006)
- Tour Types:
- Small & medium group tours (Budget & mid-range)
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $450 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great safari but the driver and car could have been better
I went on a three day Masai Mara trip and the Masai Mara is just awesome. But Tom, our guide: 1) had a pretty old minivan, what made it bumpy sometimes, 2) was distracted on the phone many times instead of looking out for animals and 3) everyone was promised a window seat but we were 9 people the last two days so the van was very crowded.
I know there are other more encouraged drivers with better cars at big time safaris. I would not recomend a safari with this guide (ok maybe he had a bad week... but still...)
US
Email Franseca | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Dissapointing
We chose big time safari for our Safari on the class called budget mode so of course we did not expect great luxuries but unfortunately we had so many problems we wanted to share the experience.
The total days of safari were 11 days.
The worst episode was the second day in Serengeti where the car just broke down, old jeeps are used and you will have many chances that this will happens to you. The whole day was lost and nothing was seen that day.
After the Safari was over once in Nairobi we did complain at Big time safari offices to get some compensation as the service offered was not given to us.
The manager, John, was careless and unprofessional as he was more interested in what was happening on the TV than on our complain. He made us waste a lot of time in the office for nothing. The discussion ended up telling us that under his point of view we were not humans as we did not understand his problems and than worst would have been to die in the safari. Once he has your money in his pocket his behavior changes he won't call you back or he will tell you he is busy in some meeting.
Other problems we had was the guide in Tanzania was bad no interest on us. The camp in Amboseli was dirty and no mosquito net was given in one of the beds.
The picnic meals very poor some of the days.
In summary the safari was ok because the landscape and the animals are great but sure thing we would chose different company for a safari.
DE
Email Daniel | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
3 day Masai Mara
We got picked up at 6.30 am and went to the office of Big Time. But the thing they do is that all the companies try to fill up their buses and so we were driving for probably four more hours through Nairobi to pick up people from other companies. This caused us then to arrive at the camp so late that we couldn't go out for safari anymore. The plan was then to start the next day really early with breakfast at 5.30 to compensate the missed time and to see the sunrise. But this didn't work out because there was no breakfast until 6.15am so we also missed the sunrise. The rest of the day was really awesome, we saw a lot of animals and the Masai Mara national park is really worth a visit. When we asked in the evening for water they told us that there's only 1 liter each per day and in my opinion this is too less if they say that water is included!
On the third day we actually made it to see the sun rise and left to Nairobi at 8am and arrived at home around 4pm. Besides that we had a driver who wasn't speaking at all to our group and was racing all the time so that we were just shaking in the bus the whole time. It would have been nice if he would have explained sometimes things about Masai Mara but at least he knew the ways there very well.
So I definitely would recommend to go to Masai Mara National Park but in my opinion not with the Big time company. Probably spending more money would be worth it.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Trip, But Very Unprofessional
First I'll start by saying that we had an amazing trip, saw many animals, our drivers were good, and Big Time was much cheaper than the other safari trips that I read about online.
However, I'm rating them a 2 because if you sign up with Big Time, you should understand what you may be getting into. They are slightly dishonest, and they consistently try to get more money from you.
It started by us agreeing to a 9 day safari online in advance of our trip. When we got to the Big Time office, we paid, but they made us pay an extra 5% to use credit card... And they do not accept checks. So they immediately violated the contract we agreed on, but after arguing, there was nothing we could do, because our whole trip depended on this safari, and we had no backup plan. So we paid extra.
Then, we learned that our 9 day safari was actually 2 smaller safaris with travel days in between. And despite the contract saying "all meals and hotels/campsites are included in the 9 day safari price," they made us pay extra for our hotel and meals in between the 1st and 2nd safari. They also charged us $20 if we wanted to use their sleeping bags at the campsite, when bedding was supposed to be included.
Now here comes the most ridiculous part. We were encouraged to change our safari plan by a Big Time manager instead of the one we originally decided on. We finally agreed to do the change. After we arrive from completing the safari, he says that we need to pay extra for changing the route! When this was never mentioned to us before! He even threatened to take the money that “we owed” out of the driver’s paycheck if we would not pay. It was completely unprofessional.
To sum up the experience, the actual safari was wonderful. Our drivers were very nice, and the vans were full (8 person van for safari #1 and 4 person van for safari #2), but we still had great views. However, the management uses too many sneaky tactics to get you to pay extra.
CH
Email Yvander | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Worst experience ever and very rude manager
Ive done over 15 safaris in my life, been to Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Tanzania.This one here, in Kenya, is by far the worst Ive ever experienced!!! Its all about, squeezing out every single dollar of you and delivering the worst customer service ever. Here's my main points why i cannot recommend anyone to book with this company:
- Safety is not guaranteed
* No functional radio during the whole six day trip (see picture below), meaning not able to contact anyone in case of emergency.
* Safari vehicle in a very bad condition (we got stuck once and had to push the car out and that, is in middle of the national park, surrounded by wild animals).
* One screw of the wheel suspension broke during our game drive, so we lost two hours of game drive while waiting until the car is fixed (see picture), not even a glass of water was offered by the company while waiting.
- Not sticking to itinerary
* Left earlier than promised certain parks, to the extent that we missed to spot the leopard. Considering that we had to rush all the time and having problems with the car, i would have at least expected, to give us half an hour longer while seeing something great.
-brought us to different accomodation than planned (cheaper places)
* Changed the itinerary without giving any options
* Skipped certain destinations like Baboon hill and the Rhino sanctuary without giving any reason, was told is nothing special abt it.
* Food and beverages
We got basically every day the same, the lunch packages were just horrible. One juice, a chicken leg, a rotten banana and a sandwich with one slice of cucumber and tomato (see picture below)
- only 1 liter of water per day per person, even during a 8hours game drive and over 30 degrees
Communication:
According to my inetary, I was supposed to stay one night in Naiwasha. After leaving leaving Lake Nakuru, I was told i have to go to Amboseli first and come back afterwards. Obviously i did not agree on that, because it would mean, to have 5hours more driving instead of leisure time. I simply asked to refund me the money but instead of giving me back a 130 $, i only got back 50$. On top of that i was told, i refused to do it. I dont know... but having the audacity to blame me for refusing to finish the trip is just crazy. The company was not able to stick to the plan. First the manager Steve refused to talk to me and then it took them 3 days to tell me how much the refund is. And not once ive been told a sorry from Steve. Even worse he tried to twist the story and that everything is my fault. Honestly thats just bottom of the barrel excuse.
Conclusion:
On this trip, almost nothing went according to the plan and still the company insists, that they didnt do anything wrong. I really dont see any point why anyone should book with this company. The only highlight was Joseph the driver, he did what he could do but he had a lot of pressure from his Manager Steve. We were rushed the whole trip and had to leave several times earlier than according to the itinerary. I just hope this review helps people, not to do the same mistake as me, to book a nightmare trip with them.
CH
Email Yvandee | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Worst Safari ever
Ive done over 15 safaris in my life, been to Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Tanzania.This one here, in Kenya, is by far the worst Ive ever experienced!!! Its all about, squeezing out every single dollar of you and delivering the worst customer service ever. Here's my main points why i cannot recommend anyone to book with this company:
- Safety is not guaranteed
* No functional radio during the whole six day trip (see picture below), meaning not able to contact anyone in case of emergency.
* Safari vehicle in a very bad condition (we got stuck once and had to push the car out and that, is in middle of the national park, surrounded by wild animals).
* One screw of the wheel suspension broke during our game drive, so we lost two hours of game drive while waiting until the car is fixed (see picture), not even a glass of water was offered by the company while waiting.
- Not sticking to itinerary
* Left earlier than promised certain parks, to the extent that we missed to spot the leopard. Considering that we had to rush all the time and having problems with the car, i would have at least expected, to give us half an hour longer while seeing something great.
-brought us to different accommodation than planned (cheaper places)
* Changed the itinerary without giving any options
* Skipped certain destinations like Baboon hill and the Rhino sanctuary without giving any reason, was told is nothing special abt it.
* Food and beverages
We got basically every day the same, the lunch packages were just horrible. One juice, a chicken leg, a rotten banana and a sandwich with one slice of cucumber and tomato (see picture below)
- only 1 liter of water per day per person, even during a 8hours game drive and over 30 degrees
Communication:
According to my itinerary, I was supposed to stay one night in Naivasha. After leaving Lake Nakuru, I was told i had to go to Amboseli first and come back afterwards. Obviously, i did not agree on that, because it would mean, having 5hours more driving instead of leisure time. I simply asked to refund me the money but instead of giving me back a 130 $, I only got back 50$. On top of that I was told, I refused to do it. I don't know... but having the audacity to blame me for refusing to finish the trip is just crazy. The company was not able to stick to the plan. First, the manager Steve refused to talk to me and then it took them 3 days to tell me how much the refund is. And not once I've been told a sorry from Steve. Even worse he tried to twist the story and that everything is my fault. Honestly that's just bottom of the barrel excuse.
Conclusion:
On this trip, almost nothing went according to the plan and still the company insists, that they didn't do anything wrong. I dont see any point why anyone should book with this company. The only highlight was Joseph the driver, he did what he could do but he had a lot of pressure from his Manager Steve. We were rushed the whole trip and had to leave several times earlier than according to the itinerary. I just hope this review helps people, not to do the same mistake as me, to book a nightmare trip with them.
Email Gabor | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Avoid them !!! Robbed on safari !! No help whatsoever!!
Robbed on safari !
Stay away from them if you do not want a nightmare holiday !
An absolute disgrace to tourism and to foreign tourists
We have been robbed under this tour operator in their chooses hotel.
The hotel was guarded with 4 security, our door was locked but still got the door broken damaging the frame and hit the lock out without anyone hearing anything ?!?!?!?!! The theft walked out with our backpack on his back and the other guys £6K camera swinging it in his hand . If you wonder yes 2 of us door got jacked up and no one heard or saw anything.
The owner refused to come and show the CCTV to the police delaying everything! The hotel called HotelCityMax in Nakuru !!
When we finally meet Mr CEO John who by the way is an absolute joke and disgrace to the whole tourism industry and also to tourists! Didn’t even call the hotel or came to see us when the accident happened!
Was half way laying in his chairs while he was bullsh*tting us and lying to us constantly!
The way John was behaving, the posture he was maintaining, the way of his speaking, every single gesture he was making made to us very clear that he absolutely does care and we are just a pain in his a.. at that moment and would say anything to get rid of us.
Several times we caught him to lie about what action he took and how he will compensate us . When we challenged him to prove us somehow that he took actions I.e police report , asking the hotel what happened etc he couldn’t put anything on the table !
I never in my life meet someone like John in such a high position and still don’t care at all especially in a country that heavily relies on tourism!
He was keep telling us for 30 mins how his company operates and all of this filling stories what frankly we didn’t care as we had a bigger issue why we were there and wanted to sort it before we leave the country.
Of course no solution came from him ! Even He was not man enough to give me his business card at the end !
Honestly it was scary to see how much someone who is in charge doesn’t care at all about the 2 theft that happened under his watch and in his hotel from who is in charge !
At the end we have to leave without any paper or whatsoever. He didn’t care if we will return or not as he already had our money and he had no intention to ease up our pain to try to help us . He doesn’t care if you return or not !
Very poor customer service and lack of knowledge, Mr big CEO John clearly has no idea what this business is all about
Dear John let me tell you 1 thing it is all about trust reputation and returning clients !
Do yourself a favour and avoid him and his company!
I would highly recommend Super Eagles ! As I didn’t have any issues with them ! Always super helpful and ready to help Gents with a fantastic customer service who are truly appreciate us tourist visiting their country and would like us to return .
IT
Email Cristina | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
we suffered a very negative experience and a huge lack of care in our regards
We spent seven days in Kenya with Big Time Safaris, and we suffered a very negative experience and a huge lack of care in our regards. We can’t recommend this company for these reasons:
they have increased the price of the tour, we have booked in february, two weeks before our depart from Italy; the increase was of 40% the initial price that we have had to pay cash once arrived
despite the increase they have cancelled a safari included in the initial program
we paid for two days of safari in Masai Mara but we couldn’t enter into the park the second day, because the guide didn’t know the new rules of entrance into the park and changing the order of activities we missed the safari. We asked not to pay the 80$ per person of the second day of safari we didn’t do but they haven’t agreed
they booked a lodge where during a shower one of the group experienced an electric shock
the last day we should have a visit in Nairobi and we had to pay the highway toll for avoiding a queue on the normal road; the guide had no money for paying the toll
AE
Email Gayn Lewis | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Money making scheme
DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS OPERATOR OR GO ON A TOUR TO MITI MING.
They say on the website a maximum of 7 people. At the start of our journey we was 6 which was great as everyone had a window seat and could stand up to watch the wildlife during the safari.
However on day 2, 2 people were forced to join us. Even though we all complained extensively we were told tough. This meant someone had to sit in the front (cannot stand up and only have view of one side - not 360 like all other window seats stood up) and someone stood in the middle (no window seat). We were very cramped up and couldn’t move much. Especially driving over rough terrain in a minivan (not 4x4 with small wheels).
This is a money making scheme so they didn’t have to paid for another driver and view of a minivan for a 12 hour tour. Yes 12 hours with 8 people cramped in a minivan. This is not what we paid for and nothing was resolved.
I will never go back to Kenya again, the people were so rude and any opportunity to get money from you. Tried to make us go to the village for 20USD, go on a 450USD balloon ride and also I boat ride that we didn’t care for the price as we knew it would be expensive.
AVOID THIS SAFARI COMPANY AND CAMPSITE. Join a safari you are going to enjoy and a company that stick to their agreement.
Email HV | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very disappointed
Extremely disappointed with this company. They had good reviews on tripadvisor so I signed up to a safari with this. At 9am I was excited to be leaving my hotel and going on safari. However, it became clear very quickly that I had not been picked up by a Big Time Safari car, but by another company. Big time passed me on to another company without telling me. The company they had sold my trip on to was called Right Choice, and believe me, it wasn’t the right choice. The bus was broken, and it took 9.5 hours for us to drive from Nairobi to Masai Mara. When we finally arrived it turned out that our rooms hadn’t been booked at the camp. Once that was sorted out it turned out that the driver didn’t know what time dinner would be. We went for a terrifying 1 hour game drive that evening. The rain was pelting down and the ground turned into a swamp, and the broken bus (with even less power than these buses normally have) got stuck several times. Fortunately we didn’t end up stuck in the mud in Masai Mara overnight, but between the broken bus and the rain it was more luck than anything else that we didn’t. I cancelled my trip the next morning and returned to Nairobi with a much more professional company. Big Time safari expressed no apology for selling on my trip to another company without notifying me. Nor have they been willing to refund any part of my failed safari.
Reply from Big Time Safaris
Posted on Feb 27, 2015Hello Hillary. Greetings of the day.Thank you for communicating,we really feel sorry for all that happen while on your trip.We confirmed your trip hoping to give you good services and schedule to start your trip with our group which was doing six days.Their flight was delayed and we ended up getting you a group so that we will not delay you too,we did not know this was going to happen and when it happened we were not notified at all.All the decision made including you coming back was not communicate. It happened that there was some wallet which was let at the camp and our camp manage send it to Nairobi.I have being informed that it was yours and when you came for it nobody was aware that you had fallen back to Nairobi.I admit there was poor communication between the two offices.The office is really sorry for this and we really regret having have subcontracted you without being informed.Please it was a quick decision which we though to be the best way but it wasn't. We kindly apologies for all that inconvenience we caused you and letting you down on your holiday.Please if all what happen we are really disappointed and wish such a decision will not be repeated. We are going to investigate this and see what we can do please. with regards Albert