US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Do not book with this company or Andrew as you will not get what he promises you.
Andrew is not even capable of setting up a successful timeline for a trip which makes the name of his company ironic and absurd in his case. He cannot be trusted. Andrew did not include all activities, services, and meals as promised for the itinerary we agreed upon for the set price that was established. There were numerous activities and fees he did not book or pay in advance, causing multiple complications. He tried to cheat us out of several things to keep as much money for himself rather than honoring our agreement. He refused to give us vouchers or contact details for accommodations, drivers, or anything related to our trip after he got our money and we were already in South Africa. He put us in an unsafe and very vulnerable situation on this trip, not to mention caused us immense anxiety. We had to spend our free time trying to troubleshoot the problems he created. We lost hours battling with him trying to pay for things he promised and had to recruit people from our lodges to help us. He scheduled drivers to pick us up at our hotel at the same time we were supposed to be on a boat ride or safari 3 hours away. This caused us to miss multiple activities be they were not scheduled in a realistic way. We were left in the middle of no where without a driver one night and another night we not given the accommodation we were promised and forced to camp in a tiny zip up tent in the middle of wild animals instead of the luxury tented lodge described in the itinerary that Andrew just decided he was not going to book as promised. I could write pages on all the lies and deception this man did regarding our trip. Andrew literally told me that he was going to make my trip painful after he took our money and we were dropped off by ourselves in Kruger NP (when he was supposed to be our guide/driver for 2 more days)and this was the only thing that came out of his mouth that was true. Do not give this company or Andrew any money. Avoid at all costs.
NZ
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Disapponited with overall attitude of company
Booked to go on safari in MARCH 2020 for a 25 wedding anniversary. We had planned to travel but sadly our borders were closed one week before our travel date., sadly being in New Zealand our Borders were closed for a considerable amount of time. When trying to reschedule this safari the price increases were large, some aspects of safari such as internal flights could not be confirmed or prices increase confirmed, we were told a refund was not possible and because they had already paid the various hotels a refund would not be considered. Several times in order to get a response messages had to be left on the facebook page. An e mail was sent to Prime Uganda Safari several times stating the price increase was substantial per person and that we were doing our best to confirm rebooking. In all e mails it would be re iterated to us that it was our fault as we only postponed the safari one week before travel, the International orders were closed one week before our safari commenced so we had very little choice. An e mail was then received stating our safari had been cancelled by Prime Uganda Safari and could not be rebooked so the total cost of our safari has been lost and cannot be rebooked. Whilst the e mails from Cate were polite no consideration was given at all to this mile stone safari that has been booked or the fact that an extra $7000 could not be found immediately to pay the increased costs or indeed borders were closed one week prior to our safari so we had no choice but to postpone. I would not recommend booking with this company at all, sad fact is other people have had their safari's honoured with other companies with no price increases, not the case with this company. Our only way forward is to complain officially. I would recommend being cautious and book internally within your home country as this company have had little compassion or consideration to our covid situation as we are abroad.
IE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Terrible customer service
Our visa arrangements were mismanaged and we were offered no recourse when we weren't allowed on our flight. Terrible company and really rude people.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
basically they are liars
They put 8 of us in a van when the budget clearly said 7 maximum (and 7 is already uncomfortable). Also, far from apologizing, they told us that we had been lucky, that we could have been up to 9 (and they don't care what was in the contract). They also try to force you to go to the Masai village instead of going on an early safari, because for them it is much cheaper, it cost us some very serious discussions to be able to go on safari on the last day (although it also says so in the contract). Do not let an unforgettable experience be spoiled by going with these people, there are many companies that do what they say.
IN
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Dissapointing and Short changed all along the way . Imagine - we were not shown the Mt Kilimanjaro !
I look at all the 5 * reviews of all the satisfied passengers here on this post and wonder what went wrong with my trip .
Im a tour operator from India , and I was travelling with 13 passengers on a 15 day trip of Tanzania and Kenya. I normally use individual partners at all my destinations and make payments after the service is done but got connected to Alex through my Kenya partner who assured me they would take care of the entire trip together professionally and seamlessly .
What happened :
- I promised to show my group the Ngorongoro crater and Mt Kilimanjaro , and we booked our flights to fly out from Kilimanjaro airport . Ngorongoro was ok , but the drivers wasted time the next day and did not give us a proper timing . They then drove us to Moshi - 20 miles from Kilimanjaro and then insisted that we turn back because we might miss the flight ! My passengers were sooooooooooooooooo dissapointed . And so was I .
- We flew to Zanzibar . We were promised a walking tour of StoneTown + a city tour drive of Zanzibar to familiarise ourselves with our surroundings . - There was no city drive . The vehicle didnot turn up . The history guide was very average . Nothing special . He was only keen on getting us to book the prison Island tour with him .
- We flew to Daresalam . We were met by our guide at the airport . Lovely man but almost ignorant . Infact , he admitted that he had only passed out of basic schooling !!
- Mombassa was a good experience . Good , friendly and helpful Guide who took good care of my group - and he probably saved me from the disappointment of my clients .
- Last Stop Nairobi - I was looking to meet up with my partner in Nairobi - the guy who had reccommended that I work with Alex and him , only to be given the sob story that Alex had double crossed him and worked with another partner in Nairobi . His new partner Mr John was also extremely rude and made it like he was doing everybody a favour .
On the last leg to the airport , John tried to pack us off to the airport in dusty safari vans which had just returned from the MAsai . After much talking , he agreed to send us a minivan .
Very dissapointing and short changed all along the way .
I had to take a lot of flack from my clients when we returned home .
DE
Experience level: first safari
Unprofessional
We also had a very bad experience with this tour operator, and are now fighting with the Tanzanian Police to get our money back.
We booked a 3 day safari for our honeymoon for beginning of October, and already had to pay the full amount in June. In September when it came to arranging the pick up, Capture Tanzania started not to answer and not picking up the phone any more, and if someone answered then we just received vague answers from one of the owners and that they will "check". We sent a lot of long e-mails and called them many many times, with no response. We also had to find out ourselves, that no bookings were done for us (neither accommodation nor flights). The two alarming reviews on SafariBookings.com from September unfortunately came too late for us as warning.
The Tourism Police Unit in Arusha has said they are working to track down Capture Tanzania. In our opinion we have been scammed by Capture Tanzania.
Our clear advice, don't pay them any money. Good luck.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Would not recommend to book with this company
Would not recommend booking through this tour company, days out from the commencement of our tour after we had spent $$$$ on flights and travelled over 20 hours in flights asked us for $$$$ more, which we had to neg it down.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
SETH VINCENT IS A CON MAN, AVOID THIS COMPANY
We have had the most miserable Safari experience organised by Seth Vincent.
We booked on a tour of Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru with this tour operator ‘Trip Advisor Africa Safaris’, operated by Seth Vincent.
We have spent our trip being harassed through calls and texts from the tour organiser, Seth Vincent. He is persistently asking us for extra money for previously agreed services and ended up cutting our trip short and not providing half the pre-agreed services. Our hotel was downgraded and filthy.
From further research into Seth's practices, we have found significant volumes of similar reviews of his practices on review websites and it appears he runs unsafe tours and regularly demands money or changes services offered.
This man has sent us 50+ messages, constant calls and leveraged the rangers as well to take us to unagreed places at unagreed times.
Avoid this man and company at all costs
CZ
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fraud!!!
We booked a 6-day climb to Kilimanjaro via Rongai with Mr. Michael Kosani, through our friend from Zanzibar.
We have agreed to pay a deposit of 700 USD (100/per person). However, a few weeks later, Michael requested for another deposit (half of the total amount).
We didn't agree with that, as Michael was requesting more and more everytime we spoke.
After a while Michael had a problem with our friend from Zanzibar, (as they knew each other from before and could not agree on the money split), because of which he decided to cancel the trip. We agreed and requested the return of the deposit as WE WERE NOT THE ONES WHO CANCELLED.
Michael promised to send the of the deposit back, which has not happened up to date. For three months now, he's been making excuses that he's in the middle of a Safari and doesn't have access to a bank. I definitely do not recommend this company because of him.
In case any problems arise, you will find that MR. MICHAEL IS A FRAUD!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Less than 3h of Game Drive for a 2 day tour in Masai Mara - Avoid it!
Terrible experience. I absolutely recommend against the 2 days 1 night tour to Masai Mara as the total game drive was 2.45h for both days. It's simply unacceptable. I have been to daily safaris of 5-6h of game drive.
Some good things though: My guide was great, the accommodation and food were good for being a budget safari.
Tour happened as follows:
Day 1: pick-up at 7am in Nairobi. Departure at 8am. Arrival at camp at 3pm. Game drive started at 5pm. It finished at 6.30pm.
Day 2: pick-up at 6.15am. Game drive starts at 6.45am. Game drive ended at 8.30am. I arrived at Nairobi at 3pm.
The drive from Nairobi to Camp will never be less than 6h and it can be up to 8h,
Take at least the 3 day tour or don't do it!
For respect for your time and well-being it is a brutal waste of time, money and energy don't do a 2 days 1 night tour. It was so frustrating to have ended a 2 day tour at 8.30am! I was shocked.
They never offer to refund partially or offered a discount for another safari.
I cannot recommend Jocky Agency. Avoid them!