OM
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic people to deal with.
I was in Victoria Falls for a wedding and used Jibha Africa Safaris for various activities when we had free time. My daughter was on a two day safari as well as "walking with Lions" and helicopter rides above the Victoria Falls. My brother in law further went white water rafting in the rapids. All I can say is that Patrick was absolutely outstanding for organising everything in the most professional manner and the experiences shared by everyone in whatever activity they chose to pursue through Jibha Africa Safaris were outstanding. I would thoroughly recommend them.
NZ
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Reliable, great communication, & free airport pick up/drop off. Superb service from 4x4 Uganda
Paul was very to contact by email and arranged pickup & drop off at Entebbe airport for no extra. The 8 seat Toyota 4WD van was reliable and comfortable. A+ service at a very reasonable price.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Dreadful
Thank you for your reply to my son Mathias regarding his review. In response, I have every email and communication between me and Falcon Safaris and am more than happy to go public with them.
1. When I booked the days at the hotel, Patrick Manyika confirmed the booking. Fact. I confirmed when I had paid and asked you for confirmation that you received payment. You did NOT request proof of payment at this time. Fact. You did not reply to my email of 12/12/17 that you confirm receipt of payment. Fact.
2. I recontacted you in July to check all was well. Fact. The first email I got back said that all was ok with the booking. It was 2 days after this you said that you could not find the payment. By this time we were in Zimbabwe with no ability to contact my bank in U.K. Fact.
3. We have been the ones that have done all the leg work in this. Gertrude has simply responded to emails. We have provided proof of payment, more than once. Fact. Our bank has contacted your bank, your bank has not responded.
4. I have more than once requested your formal complaints procedure details and these have not been provided. Fact. This is why we have gone public because Falcon Safaris have made no proactive effort to resolve this issue.
5. You have just hoped we would give up and go away and accept an over £1000 loss. Not going to happen. We paid once in full and then had to pay again to ensure a booking.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Disappointing....waste of money... major let down!!!
Having come close to the end of my tour in East africa, and having had an amazing time, i couldn't leave without visiting the masai mara. So I enquired about the 1 night 2 day tour with safari line defenders, Rose was helpful at that time and gave me lots of details about the tour regarding timings and what I should expect. Pleased with the information I had received I booked the tour...only to find out everything she had told me was a lie. She had basically falsified the details just to make a sale. She claimed the game drive would be 12hours over the 2 days, which I thought was a bit of a stretch for 2 days but it's her job she knows best, right?. No, We drove for a maximum of 3 over the 2 days, so much time was wasted waiting around. We arrived at the campsite on the 1st day at 3pm ( although Rose said we'd be there for 1pm) and we waited around wasting time for the driver to take us on the drive at 4.30pm. Inside the masai mara, the driver didn't make an effort to point out any animals or provide information about any of them. After 2hours of driving we returned to the camp...disappointed is an understatement of what I was feeling at this point, but I had the following day to look forward to. Come the second day we were ready to leave as requested at 6.30am. We made our way to the mara, drove around the same area again with not much of interest. The driver had told me the night before I would have to change groups, as the group I was with was not return today so I had to join a different group to return back. So he rang another driver to find out if I could get into their vehicle... in the middle of the masai mara I had to get out of my vehicle an into another. So the tour/ nightmare continued so we drove around spotting some lions n cheeters on the way. At 8am the driver said we will now drive back. I was shocked I had paid a grate deal of money for this?? So we returned. The driver was to drop each of the group members back to our hotels, I said I wanted to go to the office as I wasn't happy with the tour. He decided to make a phone call to let the office know. Personally I think it was to forewarn Rose about how i felt. On arrival at the office, surprise surprise Rose was nowhere to been seen. The guy at the office said it was Rose's sale so he couldn't do anything and said Rose would call me that evening ( I was flying out of Kenya 5am the following morning). The evening came and went and I received no form of communication from Rose. I wasn't going to miss my flight so I packed my bags and returned to the UK. Rose did message and her resolution was to offer me a free tour the next time I came, I wouldn't be returning to Kenya any time soon to a couldn't take the offer, I told her. I requested a refund, but she refused and said I had to email the director of the company about my complaint, which I did. Did I get a response? No, no surprise there.
All in all a very disappointing experience and waste of money. I wouldn't recommend this tour company to anyone. If you want to experience a real game drive don't use this company.
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Kindness, avaibility and efficiency
We are very happy to write this review, both for the safari played and for the staff we were in contact. We have emailed our safari in the south of Tanzania and we have to thank Elen for his kindness and willingness. We are very pleased with our safari we visited the parks of the South Selous game reserve, Ruaha National Park, Mikumi National Park and Udzungwa National Park, experiencing unique emotions, seeing breathtaking landscapes, getting in touch with the culture and the famous hospitality of southern Tanzania . We also have to thank our Serafino guide who with his sympathy and availability has shown us many animals, even seeing two consecutive days a leopard near us. All the accommodations were near, if not inside, parks. We can only advise Chabo Africa and our "guide" Serafino for all those who want to visit Africa and get in touch with it. A heartfelt thank you to all the staff at Chabo Africa and Serafino in particular.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Experience at least once in life. Making it with Savannah Explorer is the right way to do it
It was great to communicate with them to organize the safari at our leisure. Savannah explorer has arranged us all as planned and I must say that the lodges they selected were beyond our expectations. If I had to choose, I would choose them 100 more times.
Thanks for making our unique and unforgettable safari!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
One of the best tour operator. I will recomend it to everyone, my holiday was fantastic with LBR
Very organised, affordable rates high level of profesionalism with experinced tour guide.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Friendly and ontime,yet flexible to carter customers requirements
So I and My wife just got married and thought I should take my wife to one of the national parks in the country,since she has never been to any. A friend recommended LBR tours to make our honeymoon a best experience.
I liked the fact that they are on time and well organised to deliver customer experience during the tour,Yet very flexible to ensure the customer meets own expectations.I loved the fact that during our tour the Guide(Salehe) Had to extend some more time for us to witness the Leopard taking care of its prey(Impala) to hide it up the tree from other predators.
Another good experience was the safari vehicle that had phone,Tablet and Laptop charging system and refrigerator to keep our drinks cool,top open roof for tremendous view of wild animals and landscapes .
The Guide was another interesting synergy of the whole experience,Very knowledgeable about the animals and environment, friendly and a good communicator in Swahili,English and Spanish.I recommend this Guide(Salehe) for your amazing tour experience in Tanzania.
And lastly we were able to see the live Lilac breasted roller bird that the company bears its name in Acronym LBR Tours,Such a beautiful bird with mixed colours. No wonder LBR is as beautiful as this bird.
LV
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional and very helpful company with great service
We booked our 5 day camping safari with Swala safaris and it was perfect safari experience. It was our first time safari and Rose was highly professional to suggest best options for us. It was well organized, we were picked up from bus station and all our transfers were arranged prior and after safari. We had the best cook possible - Abdela. He is a wonderful and very expierenced cook and treated us very good (compared to other companies seen troughout the safari). Also our driver was highly professional and safe (no issues whatsoever).
Overall I would definitely recommend Swala safaris and do another trip with them if I was visiting again.
SG
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
CATS Africa - Prompt, Experienced, Reliable
When I was looking for a Safari Operator, I sent mail to couple of operators. I got a prompt response from CATS Africa (Joyce, Operations manager) with a response.
The response was specific to my trip and addressed clearly the pickup and drop places time and the schedule.
It had the full program details on places that we will visit and what is included or excluded with options for accommodation.
It also stated my hotel from where I will be picked up, The driver name. There was also an image of the van I can expect for my travel - very transparent.
Later I was asked to pay. A proper invoice was provided to me to make payment along with their Bank details. I transferred money to their bank.
I also spoke to Joyce. Joyce confirmed the receipt of money promptly.
On the day of our trip Patrick ( our very experienced guide) greeted us(Me and my son) on time.
He briefed us and offered water bottle. We had a good travel to our Hotel in Masai Mara ( Mara Sopa Lodge).
On the way we visited the Great the Great Rift Valley floor. A sight not to be missed.
Patrick shared his experiences and we had a good long conversations on various aspects of Kenya.
He was a very kind, nice, friendly and knowledgeable person.
After checking into Mara Sopa lodge, we went for our first days short Game Drive .
It was a great experience seeing the Lions, Elephants, Cheetah, Antelopes, Wildebeest, Impala, Buffalo, etc on the first day itself.
Due to his experience, Patrick was constantly communicating with his "network of people" to know to find the animals.
This is the key to the trip. On top of getting a good operator, you should be lucky to get experienced and efficient guides.
After this first days's trip we returned back to rest in Mara Sopa lodge.
I will strongly recommend Mara Sopa for families and others due to Safely, excellent food ( including Vegetarian food), hospitality.
On Day 2 we promptly started at 6:30 to do a full day drive. Patrick was constantly checking with his network to take to us key points where animals can be found.
We saw - Elephants ( a lot), lions( plenty), Hippos (in Mara River), Hyenas, Banded Mongoose, zebras , Warthog , Giraffe
Saw the beautiful mara river and the points where animals migrate. we had lunch in the middle of the forest. First time and one time experience of life.
Thanks the Sopa Lodges who packed neatly our food and passed to Patrick.
After the trip we returned to Sopa Lodges to rest for the day and had an excellent dinner.
On Day 3 we visited the Tribal village to get to know their culture and customs:- Tribal welcome dance, their houses ( with no lights), houses with shelter for animal babies, sheds for Sheep, cows,
How the fire is made even today with sticks,
After this Patrick dropped us back to hotel. Patrick was an unexpected pleasant surprise to us. Well experienced, very friendly, always jovial and most importantly had the network and connections to know where to find animals.
In short, i will strongly recommend CATS Africa for any trip in and around Nairobi. If you are lucky get Patrick to guide you. I hope CATS Africa have more experienced and good Guides like Patrick.