Tanzania Safari Specialists
Bobby Tours Tanzania Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 1976)
- Member Of:
- TATO & TTB
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $400 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
FR
Email Sonia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
If you can avoid this company, do it - it will be better for your Tanzanian experience
We booked a safari for 3 nights and 4 days in October 2018. The tent they provided had holes all over and water came inside when it rained. Poor equipement for everything. Food was great though.
To sum up our experience (with the management, not the drivers), if everything is ok then alright, if a problem occurs then it's your loss.
We had a faboulous driver, he showed us many wonderful things, and always went the extra mile to show us what we wanted and caring for us when one of us was sick.
But the management of the company and mainly from the manager : Kassim Abdallah, was one of the worst management I ever seen. The company gave our driven a broken car, that stopped several times during our trip. Every time, our driver tried to fix it (and sometimes paying with his own money!). But what was supposed to happen, happened eventually. On our evening in the Serengeti, the car broke completely. We had to push the car to make it start again, which worked at first, but then it stopped again and for good. So we waited in the car for half a day, in the middle of the wildlife, while our driver was left alone by the company to find a solution for us. Our driver finally found a fellow driver that was able to bring us to our camp for the last night but we never saw our driver again.
We requested the same driver for our last day but they sent another one anyway. What was worse is that the manager, Kassim, did not event try to get in touch with us to keep us updated and to ask us if the arrangments made were ok for us. We were left waiting, not knowing what would happen since our cook did not have any news, and did not speak english enough to explain even if he knew. On our last day, we asked the new driver to take us to the office to speak with the manager but when the new driver called him, we overheard him ordering not to bring us to the office and "offer" our ride back to the airport.
Client service = 0. If I could go back, I would have paid more instead of saving money and be treated as badly as Bobby Tours treated us.
Reply from Bobby Tours Tanzania Safaris
Posted on Nov 27, 2023We sincerely apologize for the difficulties you faced during your safari with us, Sonia. Your feedback is important, and we deeply regret any inconvenience caused. We are addressing the issues raised to enhance our services and customer communication. We appreciate your patience and understanding.
Dirty tent. Vehicle breakdowns. Terrible ending.
I went on a 5-day safari with Bobby Tours. Price was comparable. It's run by Bobby's son Kassim who appeared nice at first but turned out to be an arrogant pr*ck. The tent isn't the canvas ones like the other outfitters. It's a big "Costco" one with holes and has that bad old tent smell. Their main campsite is run down and only one shower works and it's pretty bug infested (though I find that interesting). The vehicle broke down several times too. Anyway, we finished the 5 day safari early because Lake Manyara is an easy 2 hours on the way back. I asked Kassim if we could do a day trip to see Kilimanjaro in a car on the 5th day instead, paying for the extra fuel costs. Instead of politely declining or offering an arrangement at an extra price, he just YELLED (RAGED) at my girlfriend and I on the phone. I asked him if there was a bus to Moshi, only an hour away. He then told me he didn't know - ironic since he's a tour agent that advertises Kilimanjaro treks - and that getting there would cost $100 in a taxi of van one way. Fortunately, my Airbnb host saved the day and took us to Moshi for free, and I hopped on a bus back for $2. In short, Kassim ruined our trip of a lifetime. Once he gets your money, you're useless to him. Don't give business to this entitled brat and avoid Bobby Tours.
I went on a 5-day safari with Bobby Tours. Price was comparable to others. It's run by Bobby's son Kassim who appeared nice at first but turned out to be an arrogant pr*ck. The tent isn't the canvas ones like the other outfitters. It's a big "Costco" one with holes and has that bad old tent smell. Their main campsite is run down and only one shower works and it's pretty bug infested (though I find that interesting).
The vehicle broke down several times too. Anyway, we finished the 5 day safari early because Lake Manyara was an easy 2 hours on the way back (probably worth skipping if you're going to Serengeti). I asked Kassim if we could do a day trip to see Kilimanjaro in a car on the 5th day instead, paying for the extra fuel costs. Instead of politely declining or offering an arrangement at an extra price, he just YELLED (RAGED) at my girlfriend and I on the phone.
I then asked Kassim if there was a bus to Moshi, only an hour away. He then told me he didn't know - ironic since he's a tour agent that advertises Kilimanjaro treks - and that getting there would cost $100 in a taxi of van one way. Fortunately, my Airbnb host saved the day and took us to Moshi for free, and I hopped on a bus back for only $2.
In short, Kassim ruined our trip of a lifetime. Once he gets your money, you're useless to him. Don't give business to this entitled brat and avoid Bobby Tours.
DE
Email Tina | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Worst Management, broken cars!!!
We booked the 4 Day Lodge Safari (Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater).
Our dream became a nightmare!
The Management is the worst I have ever had. On our first day we arrived at the office and the Manager Kassim already yelled at me because I didn’t pay cash and asked to pay by credit card. Then the tour started with an old car (dirty seats, no air condition, broken seatbelts and only 2 windows which could be opened). On our first day the driver had to fix the car twice. On our only day in the Serengeti the car broke down completely. The driver tried to manage everything. We’ve been standing around 4 hours in the middle of the Serengeti. Then the driver arranged a ride to the visitor center for us. There we’ve been waiting another 5 hours. The whole time we didn’t hear anything from Kassim. After calling him and asking what is going to happen because it’s been already 5pm and it normally took us around 2h to get to our accommodation. He apologized for the delay. I told him that this is not a delay! Because of the bad road conditions it took us 4h instead of 2h. So we had to drive 2h in the dark. This was not responsible. Animals had been on the road and we jumped and hurt ourselves because it was not possible to see the humps ahead. So the trip turned into a nightmare.
But it’s not the fault of the driver. They do their best and they have all the work. It’s simple the responsibility of the management to organize a good and safe! trip. But as the others already said he doesn’t care about anything (Customer, car, driver) once he got his money.
If you wanna have a once in a lifetime experience don’t go with this company!!!
Reply from Bobby Tours Tanzania Safaris
Posted on Nov 27, 2023We genuinely apologize for the challenges you encountered during your safari, Tina. Your feedback is invaluable to us, and we deeply regret any inconvenience caused. Since your incident, we have diligently worked to address and improve various aspects of our services. We appreciate your patience and understanding.