DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Bitter aftertaste of being scammed
My wife and me made a 7N/8D safari with KenyaBushExcursions going to Amboseli, Aberdares, Masai Mara, Nakuru and Naivasha in early December 2015. We paid a total of 2780USD.
Overall we made many enjoyable experiences owing to the drivers and the parks themselves, and I really would love to give a better rating. However we have the bitter taste of feeling scammed by KenyaBushExcursions as we did not receive what we paid for in terms of accommodation and transportation – partially due to being dumped on an ultra-low budget safari joining group.
The details
The good:
-Santos was very responsive and accommodating in providing us with a customized itinerary fitting our wishes; pricing seemed OK
-We got to see many animals, we always felt safe and we followed our itinerary (except Aberdares see below)
-Our drivers (Stanley and Jackson) were overall really great guides, very knowledgeable and it was a great time. Especially the drive with Stanley in Amboseli was amazing, Jackson in Masai Mara felt a little bit like working down a checklist (lion check, leopard check, Giraffe check).
The bad:
1.) Scammed by 600USD on accommodation:
5 nights out of 7 nights we slept in cheaper accommodations than what we were quoted
a) In Amboseli we slept 2N in AALodge instead of Kibo Safari Lodge. There is a huge price difference between the two – judge yourself on booking.com of 200USD/ night
b) In Mara we slept 2N in Miti Mingo Eco Camp instead of Rhino. Our specific tent in Miti Mingi was really a dump, dirty and molded (think they also have newer tents though). Though Rhino does not seem hilarious, according to the resort web pages there is a difference of 60 USD/ night
c) In Nakuru we slept in Miale Hotel instead of Lanet Matfam. Lanet is also twice as expensive as Miale.
2.) Overloaded minibus:
For 3 days we were cramped with 10 people in the minibus though we were quoted a maximum of 7 people (so that everybody has a window seat). Believe me that makes a difference if you spend a lot of time on the road and also if you go out for game drives.
Change of accommodation and the overloaded bus were partially caused by us joining on a super-low budget safari by BigTime Safaris for the part of Masai Mara and Nakuru. The other guys only paid 250USD for 3D/2N safari or 400USD for a 4D/3N safari. I understand this is possible only with the cheapest accommodation possible and sitting in an overcrowded bus.
3.) Bad planning around Aberdares/the Ark:
Not having the game drive and rushing through the most expensive hotel in the itinerary was waste of time and money in this itinerary: we couldn’t make a single game drive in the Aberdares as we arrived in the Ark around 5 pm in the evening and already had to leave again at 6 am the next morning to meet the joining group. If we had known that we would have skipped it
4.) Attitude/unprofessionalism:
All of the above wouldn’t have been a drama to me, if Santos would have acknowledged that there were deviations between what we paid and what we received (accommodations!) and if he had provided us with a fair financial adjustment. However, it turned out to be very unprofessional:
a) Santos joined the last day in the car and he provided us with a cost break-down on the itinerary we received, however that was clearly fudged to match again very close to what we paid.
Actually I just noticed later that the devil was in the details, it was inflated in terms of transportation (quoted us 10 days of transportation for being less than 7 days in the car on a 24hour base) and also the quoted park fees were not the amount paid by the driver I know for sure.
b) There were all kind of excuses, such as that he already had to pay tax on the money received, hotel prices were similar (obviously not)…. If I was harsh, I would say that I don’t care, risk of doing business.
c) When they dropped us at the airport it got insulting, I especially remember two phrases “what do you want, you got to see all the parks” and “you are just angry that [the other part of the joining group] paid less than you; you know this is a free market with free prices” –seriously? We simply didn’t get what we paid…
To date, I still wait for a fair offer from Santos, unfortunately no reaction.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
At least once in your life
This was our first safari and will not be the last one. It started in Africa is a quite young safari company in Arusha and already one of the best. The owner, Joao is very kind and support you by email or by phone to organize and plan the trip, trying to match your requests as much as possible at very competitive prices. The rest of the staff is also great, such as Mathias, the office manager, great welcoming from him. There are no words to describe the experience, we visited Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro. All of the them are worth a visit, but Serengeti is definitely the best one, it is exactly like in the movie, the Lion King. In the tented camp you really feel the savana. We have seen hundred of animals, all the Big 5, and very cool scenes thanks to our guide, Michael, what an amazing guy. He is very kind and he can see animals from the top of Ngorongoro crater while driving. You should definitely ask for him as guide. Go for It started in Africa, no doubts.
FR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful experience with Rodrick Ndemfoo
Rodrick took care of us during our 9 day safari trip through Tanzania. We visited Arusha, Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorogoro Crater and the Masai people.
Rodrick has plenty of knowledge he likes to share, has the answers to all your questions, is very good with children (he was very kind to our daughter of 14 and son of 11) and is very pleasant to be around with. He is very cautious, friendly, knows his place if you want privacy with your family and he's big fun when you share a pick nick lunch in the fields. He knows the perfect spots and has the best eyes to point out all kind of animals (while we had to use sunglasses and binoculaires). We met another couple with private guide and they followed us during our safaris because it was even clear to them that Rodrick was the perfect guide!
If you want an unforgettable safari experience ask for Rodrick Ndemfoo.
CN
well planned
The accommodation choice could have been better. Other than that, it was well planned and executed. The van was great for a small group as well. Most importantly, Freddy was trustworthy!
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing 12 day safari in kenya and Tanzania
We loved our experience thanks to Ericks personal touch to the safari. From personaly picking us up at the nairobi airport to making sure we had everything we required during our 12 day safari. The experience was incredible. The drivers spoke english, friendly and well informed. The sleeping was budget with nice confort. The food was very good. Most were buffet. The parks and game viewing was fantastic
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A bit disappointing
2 of 3 activities were great but Falcon was terrible to book with
Activity 1 was operated by Falcon and was a guided tour on the Zimbabwe side. This was the biggest waste of money EVER. We paid $100 a head to have some one read us the signs at the front and hurry us along the whole way. What a waste of money!
Activity 2 was a Dinner cruise on the Zimbabwe side which was really nice but Falcon never gave us a booking receipt and so the operators tried to charge us an extra fee which we shouldn't have been charged
Activity 3 was the Livingstone Isalnd/Devil's Pool lunch tour. Amazing experience which we almost missed out on becuase again Falcon never gave us a booking receipt.
Recommend booking with literally anyone else!
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Chobe gives the opportunity to experience the bush in a river setting and a rich mix of species.
We visited Chobe, whilst staying in Kasane, as part of a road trip from Cape Town to Namibia and Botswana. There has been little winter rainfall this year in Southern Africa and Etosha in Namibia was very dry and dusty. Chobe, with its river location, was, by comparison, green and lush. This results in a varied mix of animal and bird species in a relatively small area.
We completed the whole trip in a two wheeled drive VW Polo, which was perfectly adequate for the majority of the trip and was very frugal on petrol. However, this means that access to Chobe National Park in your own vehicle is not possible, due to the sandy nature of the roads in the Park and the need for good ground clearance. Instead it was necessary to use game drives, which whilst costly, has the advantage of a driver / guide, which gives you a greater opportunity for viewing and photography.
Elephants abound in Chobe and it is nice to see them visit the river in groups for bathing and drinking. Buffalo are also common.
It is particularly important to visit the Park on a boat trip from Kasane. Not only does this give a different viewing dimension but it provides the opportunity to have close encounters with Buffalo , Hippo and Crocs. The rare Puku and Red Lechwe antelope species were easier to see from the boat. The bird species seen along the river are also impressive. Fish eagle, open billed stork and giant kingfisher, being highlights.
Kasane offers a range of accommodation from safari type lodges to bed and breakfast accommodation to suit all tastes. It also has an excellent range of shops, banks, petrol stations and eating establishments. As independent travellers we found it is easy to organise the game drives and boat trips. As a bonus, it is also a good location to visit Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Migration was fantastic
People always told me something about how special the Serengeti Migration is and I just confirmed during my visit to the Serengeti. The park is very huge with low savanna grasses and lots of animals. During our visit I think it was a peak of the season of animals because there were so many tourists just like us in the park and everyone was busy with binoculars and cameras on the roofs of their cars capturing the moments. It was beautiful in deed. The scenery was also very good, weather was good but a bit hot during the afternoon. Food was amazing, of course we took packed lunch and the dinner in the lodge was always superb. Our visit was generally breathtaking.
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Botswana by Laurie Mulrine
We found Botswana an excellent country to visit as an independent traveller. We entered at Ngoma border crossing in the north. The custom staff were friendly and there was no visa charge, unlike Namibia and Zimbabwe. It was then possible to drive through Chobe National Park on the tarred road to Kasane and incorporate some game viewing on the way. We saw Elephant and Southern Ground Hornbills easily from this road. Roads generally in Botswana are excellent, with the main routes now tarred. It is possible to drive long distances, as a result. We travelled from Kasane to Francistown; Francistown to Gabarone and Gabarone to Kimberley in South Africa, in day trips with relative ease in a small two wheeled drive car. Four wheeled drive may be necessary, if you were intending to go to other game parks, particularly those of a sandy nature ( e.g. Kgalagadi and the Kalahari). This would be costly in car hire and petrol. It would probably be cheaper to fly to Maun, say from Johannesburg, and organise car hire from there.
IL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
great company! great guide!
We really enjoy the safari tour with Ilmaasai! good people and great guide.
Our guide was Godson, a very nice, smart and funny guy, he have a lot of knowledge about the animals, plants and the tribes in the area, and he was happy to explain us about everything.
The tour was very organized, good equipment, and they didn't miss anything.