35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing Safari All The Way
This was my second safari with Africa Flash McTours, this time round with my parents and they were true to their every word. The communication was prompt and clear (Peter's English both written and spoken is very good and clear, something that highlights him from the other operators), the selected itinerary which we worked on together was delivered beyond our expectations. The guides, the hotels stuff were great. I recommend anyone who wish to travel to work with Africa Flash McTours.
US
Simply a fantastic Safari in Uganda
What a great job by Arrive Africa Safari. I would definitely recommend Arrive Africa Safari to set up a perfect Safari for you in Uganda. This company will do everything possible to make your Safari experience unforgettable.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Amazing Gorila and Safari tour
We went to a safari to Bwindi for a one-in-a-live experience gorila trek. That was just the best!
We went for a chimpanze treek as well (awesome) and safari to QENP. Recommended night safari!!
Accomodations in lodge midle average. Perfect for a budget safari with high quality-price rate
Jessica took care of us at anytime from the head office, arranging everything for us. It's important to keep contact with her at anytime.
I can just recommend this guys!
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.
IS
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
4 Parks in 6 Days - Once in a lifetime - Amazing trip
I guess I´m the first to review them here, but hey, sometimes always first, great review coming here!
Impeccable service from Wakawaka Adventures. Here are some details:
I got a recommendation from a family friend, that is how i chose them. First of all their answering and communicating through internet and phone with them was so professional, so speed, so good explaining of everything.
I was so surprised overall with the amount of animals and nature we were brought to. Every park was different than the other, every park with its own special something, quality. I must say the most memorable time was in Serengeti, with the view of the Cheetah mama and her babies, i was felt just paralyzed....of beauty.
Greg our chef! It was so surprising the amount of delicious food he could do for us on this single piece of gas thing where he cooked everything! Sometimes it got a little chilly in the evening and he just took all that away with his delicious vegetable - and other soups that he made for us.
Our guide, Samweli, what to say, his ability to find the animals was scary! Let me just say the other qualities simply:
Punctual
Entertaining
Funny, great sense of humor
Knowledgable
Comfortable
Friendly
I thank the Wakawaka team tremendously for arranging this once in a lifetime trip to Tanzania for us. Highly recommend anybody to go with these guys! Asante
SA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
My new best friends
KWSS offered the complete package from problem-solving to completion. Their organization was prompt, courteous and efficient but most of all reliable. They will certainly be my “go-to” team for future safaris. Thank you for all your support and help over the time we spent with you; it truly is appreciated. Our vacation was exactly what we wanted and we got more than we expected.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Superb service!
We first reached out to two agencies when we were looking to book our trip to South Africa. They didn't really answer our questions and took days to respond. One actually stopped responding altogether and we gave up after 3-4 follow ups. Then a friend recommended Discover Africa. She and her daughter both used them for their separate trips and both were very happy with the service. They certainly did not disappoint. Megan Warrington, our agent with Discover Africa, was... IS amazing! She responded right away and answered all (TONS and TONS!) of our questions fully and clearly. We never waited long for a response and the only things that held up responses were the time difference and both of our office hours. We gave her our desired travel dates, list of activities we'd like to do, accommodation types and a budget (a pretty low one at that) and she made it all happen! She revised the itinerary per our requests several times and seemed happy to do it every time. There were 5 travelers in our group and she accommodated every single one of our requests. They also provide all the information (contacts, tips, etc.) leading right up to the trip for everything we would need should we have any questions or issues before, during and after our trip. The trip itself was unbelievable! They really put together an amazing itinerary for us and we did not have any complications with anything. The lodges were great, the safaris were amazing, all the transfers were on time, everything was just as the itinerary explained it would be. This trip far exceeded our expectations and it was all thanks to Discover Africa and Megan Warrington (and of course our friend that made the recommendation)!
BH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Best African tour ever!
We travelled to Uganda on the 16th till the 23th December and spent the time with Stephen from CUL Tours. From our first contact with CUL tours through this website (safaribookings) we were very pleased with their prompt response and flexibility with the itinerary and accomodation etc. We did a lot of research about different safari tour companies and were obviously concerned about sending money before arriving but this apprehension was relieved once we arrived in Entebbe and saw Stephen waiting for us at arrivals.
We had the most amazing trip, starting with the first night at Rwaboko Lodge on the edge of the Mburo national park. There we saw many animals, and did a couple of game drives. The Lodge was very nice and Stephen knew the managers and they looked after us very well. It was a nice way to break up the trip from Kampala to Bwindi as Mburo is about half way. Stephen is a very safe driver and has a nice Toyota Landcruiser that is ideally suited for game drives and rough terrain. The next day we drove to Bwindi to prepare for the gorilla trekking the following day. Stephen once again made all the bookings for the lodges and we stayed is a wonderful new lodge called Buhoma Community Lodge. This place was not what you would expect from a "community lodge", it had amazing private luxury accomodation, with fantastic views across Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, and the service was second to none. We saw the gorillas with Stephen the next day which was a once in a life and must do experience. After two nights in Bwindi we drove to Queen Elizabeth National Park, and throughout our driving Stephen would provide insights and knowledge about the different villages, wildlife and history of the regions we passed through, and he has a great eye for spotting birds and different animals.
We had two nights in Queen Elizabeth with the two main highlights seeing 8 lions up one tree and a leopard sleeping in the grass, and also seeing chimps in the gorge. One chimp has stolen and leopard cub, we watched it play with it for about an hour.
Overall our trip with CUL Tours and Stephen could not have been better, we had the most amazing trip and felt safe the whole time and would thoroughly recommend CUL Tours to anyone wanting to travel around Uganda. I would be happy for anyone to call me if they wanted more info, or verification about CUL tours. My email is [email protected], and I will reply with my contact mobile.
BH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Experience of a lifetime
Stephen planned our trip to maxamise every activity from the Biwindi mountain gorillas, Kyambura gorge chimpanzee's, elephant and hippo in the Kazinga Channel and the tree lions and leopard of Queen Elizabeth national park. Accommodation was fantastic and the entire experience was enhanced by Stephen's professional approach and pride in his brand. Uganda and CUL tours were the perfect choice.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Avoid at any cost!
While the web-site gives the impression of a real company with full stuff and an office, providing well-planned service to the tourists, this is very far from what we have experienced during our trip
Mr. George Nagol was very attentive during the initial stage when we interacted over E-mail, but once the money had been paid he essentially disappeared and did not answer any of the questions except saying that everything is ready for us.
In fact, when we have arrived to Arusha nothing was ready for us. Our first two days were completely ruined because the “Company” did not provide adequate transportations so one the first day we could not make a trip it to the Masai village (for which we paid $300) because ”the road was bad” and on the second day when we were supposed to do a short trek at 3000m ($600) the van provided by the company (which did not have a 4 wheel drive) got stuck in the mud and instead of trekking we had to push it uphill in the rain. We did not do our trek and got no apologies.
The things got only worse on Day 4 when we went for a hike about 200km from Arusha and were expected to be picked up be a vehicle assigned to us by Mr. Nagol at 1PM. The vehicle was supposed to drive us to the airport to take a flight to Lake Victoria (already paid) The vehicle did not show up on time – and we could not reach either Mr. Nagol nor the driver on the phone. Eventually we made it on foot to the camp where we waited until darkness descended (no light!) and still not being able to make contact with Mr. Nagol. We did contacted the driver and he gave us very elusive answers – first that the vehicle broke down then that he was driving someone else. As it turned out Mr. Nagol has sent the driver with other tourists to NgoroNgoro Park thus getting paid twice for the same service. The driver did show up at 7.30 PM with a vehicle full of passengers, drove like a madman and got us into the accident – only the side mirror was destroyed but a few inches to the right and it would have been a full head on collision at 900mph!
Despite fast driving, we missed the flight and thus the whole trip to Lake Victoria for which we have paid in full. Once again – no apologies!
When we have changed the plans and just decided to drive to Serengeti our misadventures did not end. The car kept breaking down on the hourly basis. A lot of time had been wasted. But far worse than that – at the Serengeti park we had to pay the park fees ($240) on our own since according to the driver the company credit card had no money on it. We were promised a refund and of course did not get it. When we got back to Arusha Mr. Nagol avoided meeting us in a hotel and made up many stories about why he can notget money. In fact we are sure that Kilimanjaro Champion is a one man operation with no office or employees engaged in defrauding the tourists.
While with all our negative experiences we had returned home in one piece, it is only a matter of time before something infinitely more serious happens when unsuspecting tourists like us entrust their fate to Kilimanjaro Champion, especially if they decide to do some serious climbing.