Leopard Tours
- Located In:
- Size:
- 250+ employees (Founded in 1985)
- Member Of:
- ATTA, ASTA, TATO & USTOA
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $360 to $1,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
SG
Email Rjn | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
uninterested driver
The driver I was with was very unprofessional and had no interest in showing me the true wild Serengeti. I saw more on my last vists in off season then I did in peak season. I did meet others who were having amazing sightings, but our driver was just in no mood to drive around. I felt that he was saving fuel. Also he would never stop in time when I wanted him to t to take a photograph. He did not have any knowledge of lighting either. He would talk back and was rude. It was like taking a driver from a city and sending him on a safari. He claims he has been doing this for a while , but in my opinion he was either inexperienced or uninterested. I would never use nor suggest this company to any of my fellow photographers. This company has just lost allot of business from me and my clients for sure.
Never witnessed such terrible harassment of animals
Just returned from a trip to Tanzania in the Serengeti. Repeatedly witnessed Leopard Tours harass animals. I don't know how a company like this can stay in business.
March 19 - watched a Leopard Tours vehicle drive at high speed directly towards where a cheetah was lying to get it to run for the amusement/photos of another one of its vehicles.
March 20 - watched a Leopard Tours vehicle drive directly into the path of where a cheetah was trying to hunt to allow the solo photographer a better photo opp. The cheetah ended up not getting to hunt that day due to the perceived privilege of this one vehicle. The other 19 vehicles watching that day from a myriad of companies moved angles to get better viewing but never acted like this one driver did repeatedly - reckless and careless.
I'm disappointed and shocked at the blatant disregard for the animals. I had heard Leopard is like this but until I witnessed it myself I couldn't say anything about it.
Reply from Leopard Tours
Posted on Apr 25, 2018Dear Ms. Mende,
Thank you for sharing the review with us, thus keeping us informed of what might have escaped our attention.
We consider the driver's conduct as a serious violation of wildlife regulations. We are completely at a loss as our driver-guides are well trained and are not expected to do this. Our concern is whether you were able to report the driver who was chasing / stalking the Cheetah to the park authorities. This would have done us a lot of service as we are totally against any violation of park regulations. It is however not too late if you could provide us with the registration / plate number of the vehicle so that we can take up the matter ourselves. We are very firm and strict when it comes to conservation issues as our business depends on the protection of wild animals and their habitat.
Leopard Tours is a reputable company and is accredited as such by the game park authorities where we operate. A review like this could be sending wrong messages to the public that the company is not responsible nor caring to the conservation of game parks. That is why we are asking you to provide us with more details to help us identify the driver. We should not allow an individual driver spoil a company’s reputation and undermine our mutual conservation cause.
We can understand your concerns which we also share, but one or two drivers cannot possibly be taken to represent the Leopard Tours organisation which has more than 250 safari vehicles and driver-guides, as the company enjoys great reviews from visitors and high recognition from game park and conservation authorities.
We are investigating to see if we can trace the identity of the driver through our systems. We even wrote to the Chief Park Warden of Serengeti National Park but he has no record of such incident being reported. Your review gives us hope that you will help us in identifying the driver-guide who was seen stalking the cheetah. We would really appreciate if you could provide us with some lead in the form of registration / plate number of the vehicle or video clip to help us identify the driver.
Thank you once again for sharing the review.
Quality Control Department
US
Email Gary Worthington | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Top notch company
On our 3rd safari to Kenya & Tanzania we used the services of Leopard Tours on the Tanzania side (drivers cannot drive in both countries-you switch at 300 yard border transfer station). Our Kenya driver, Joseph, who we have used for over 17 years, dropped us at the border crossing near Arusha and we met with Livingston from Leopard Tours. He was ontime and ready to go. In and out of the border "red tape" in an hour. Next a stop at Arusha hotel to meet company director and sign docs and finish payment. Excellent lunch and we were on our way. Spent 8 days with Livingston and he was outstanding (and we have had a lot of guides over the years). I hope he is still with Leopard Tours because I have a friend booking a trip right now and want to see if he can get both Joseph in Kenya and Livingston in Tanzania. Leopard also booked us into a great tent camp called Lake Masek (run by the Masai) but it has become very popular so hard to get a booking now. Leopard is an excellent company. Their vans are modern & great shape and they handled everything perfectly.
US
Email Myles | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
No concern for the animals or the other tour companies.
Wow. We spent a week on safari and had several encounters with Leopard Tours, none of them good. On several occasions the Leopard Tours would pull in front of other safari vehicles just so they could be closest. Also when a great dusk cloud would be racing towards us and passing at high speed driving in the grasses or any area to pass us , you could always be assured it was Leopard Tours. The best was when the Leopard Tours vehicle drove off road in front of many other tour vehicles and drove right towards a pack of 5 lions. Thus causing them to get up and leave the area because they were about to be hit by the vehicle driven by Leopard Tours. So if you want to be first in line without ever waiting your turn, you have no regard for the wildlife you area there to see, and you have no respect for other people on tour, then this is for sure the company you should book with. Other wise I would steer clear of this company. I have found similar complaints about this company on here, with a reply from the company. But it appears this Leopard has not changed its spots.
Reply from Leopard Tours
Posted on Aug 14, 2018Dear Myles,
We are not totally convinced this is an honest review done in good faith.
Firstly it cannot be true that of all your encounters with Leopard Tours on safari “none of them is good”.
It cannot also be true that “when a great dusk (dust?) cloud would be racing towards us and passing at high speed driving in the grasses or any area to pass us , you could always be assured it was Leopard Tours”. Besides it is not possible to race in the game parks due to speed limits set by park authorities.
While we may take these two comments as offhand, we will need details about the Leopard Tours vehicle that “drove off road in front of many other tour vehicles and drove right towards a pack of 5 lions. Thus causing them to get up and leave the area because they were about to be hit by the vehicle driven by Leopard Tours”. This cannot be happening in the Tanzania game parks. You surely must have taken note of the registration number of the vehicle (photograph or video clip) and we request you to send the details to the game park authorities or even to us for action. We will also need to know in which game park this happened, and the date if possible, so that we can liaise with the respective authorities. In our more than 30 years of operating in the game parks we have had two cases of driver-guides misbehaving and both had to lose their employment with Leopard Tours. We are considered as one of the most disciplined and exemplary tour companies by the game parks in Tanzania and we hope you will come forward with some useful leads to assist us identify the irresponsible driver(s).
We hope this is not some careless review, or worse still a de-marketing effort bordering on hostility. We would need an apology on this very platform if it is some casual, offhand review as its ramification can be far reaching. For your information our type of clientele would never allow a driver-guide to go against park regulations to please them; the scene of a pride of lions having “to get up and leave because they were about to be hit by the vehicle driven by Leopard Tours” is simply beyond imagination in the Tanzania game parks.
Quality Control Department
US
Email Martha | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Our driver/guide, Joshua, should not be allowed to work in this position.
Our driver/guide, Joshua, had no interest in our party of four and was only willing to tell us about Tanzania when we asked specific questions. He sat with us at dinner and when we asked him a question, he would give a short answer. It was very uncomfortable for the four of us. He was mainly interested in the radio chatter (I know that is how the guides pass on information when they spot an animal, but he never turned the radio off). When we asked him to turn the radio off so we could hear the animals in the Serengeti, he did not speak to us again. I believe he should be moved to a different position with the company. We would not recommend Leopard Tours because we felt cheated out of what should have been a great experience by having a driver/guide who was unwilling communicate.
US
Email P. Patel | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Disappointing
My family and I booked travel to East Africa through Leopard Tours and the Krish Group. We traveled from June 25-July 9, 2024. We have had multiple issues during this trip. I have emailed Leopard Tours and the Krish Group several times, with no resolution of the issues, nor accountability.
Specifically, we signed off an itinerary created by Leopard Tours and the Krish Group that stated that we will be staying at Singita Faru Faru in a family suite--and per them, this was confirmed. Instead, once we arrived to Africa, I discovered that we were staying at Singita Sabora in two tented camps. They are both very unique properties, and we had signed off on Singita Faru Faru, not Singita Sabora. I reached out to Leopard Tours and the Krish Group immediately on finding this out and all they could tell me was that there was nothing he could do to rectify the situation as Faru Faru had no availability, and because we were booked a "similar" lodge, neither would do nothing further. This is extremely disappointing as they never took any accountability, nor did they apologize for the error. My husband and I had extended our travels dates (paid extra to change our tickets) and took off additional days from work to stay at Singita Faru Faru - which Leopard Tours and the Krish Group had told us that they had secured for us, however, as stated above, they had not. This felt like the classic "bait and switch."
Additionally, Leopard Tours and the Krish Group suggested we travel to Tarangire. Unfortunately, once we arrived to Tarangire, we came to learn that it was a bad time to travel to Tarangire National Park due to the heavy rainfall the area had over the past several months. Due to the heavy rain/tall brushes we could not see any animals. Even the owner of the lodge in Tarangire stated that the tour companies should have let us know that as he had notified all guests who had booked directly of this.
Lastly, we noticed that there was an option to use open vehicles for safari game rides. We were never given this option when booking the trip. It seems that Leopard Travel does not have any open vehicles. When we asked to change some of our game drives to open vehicles operated by the lodges, we were advised to do it ourselves and pay for the additional cost.
Leopard tours has essentially asked me to contact Krish Group for any issues and has taken no accountability in this matter. The Krish Group has done the same.
Very disappointing trip, service and company. I would strongly advise to AVOID LEOPARD TOURS and THE KRISH GROUP.
NL
Email Hennie Blomsma | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
EXCELLENT ORGANISATION
We made a safari through Lake Manyara, the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro crater with Leopard Tours. Everything was perfectly taken care of.
My profession is photographer and thanks to the excellent dedication of our driver / guide, Basil Thomas, I was able to make the most beautiful photos.
His expertise of wildlife and his enormous commitment to constantly bring us to the best places made it a memorable safari.
Thank you very much Basil and Leopard Tours.
Recommend everyone Leopad Tours and Basil.
amazing safari
We had a wonderful experience with Victor John, our guide from Leopard Tours. Victor made our safari experience full of surprise and nice animals. We did the big five thanks to his “instinct” to find the most amazing animals. On top of that, Victor John was very nice with us and we would definitely recommend any friends or family to take him as a guide that knows perfectly well the animals and the way to find them. So nice enjoying the safari with someone so competent and funny that had become a friend.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Everything was great: well organised from the moment of airport pickup to great guide to the very end of the journey.
BR
Email Vasconcellos,Daniela | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Beyond Expectations
My husband and I had a private Tour visiting Lake Manyara (Serena Lodge), Northern Serengeti (Klein Camp) and Ngorongoro Crater ( Crater Lodge). This was made all by 4x4. Our Guide , Mr Mosses Elias Kapolondo, was tireless to fullfill our expectations.
We saw Wild Life in its Prime. Countless herds of herbivores, Big Cats, Small Cats, Birds, Magustos, Jackals. Amazing Landscapes .We followed the formation (tail,body,head) of the Great Migration , and watched one of the Mara’s River Crossing with all of its action! 3 PARKS we had been, had given us diferent kinds of Safari experience. Mr Mosses explained all about our sightings. An unforgettable life time vaccation!” Serengeti shall never die”.
