BR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
This company is a SCAM!! BEWARE!!
I did a 15-day tour booked with this company (they also call themselves Cheno Travel Safari Tours sometimes) ant it was just terrible!! They did not follow the schedule, didn´ t put us in the accomodations we were planned to stay. We never had water or lunch during our trips (but we paid for it!). It was just a big mess and we had to argue the whole way of our trip, until a point on the 10th day where our driver just abandoned us in our hotel in the Nxai Pans and never returned. We had to figure out a way to keep our trip by ourselves and they never refund us or made anything easier for us. We are still in touch with the Botswana Ministry of Tourism and the police as well to put these guys out of the market forever! If you don´t believe me, just ask for pictures of their cars and their tourism licenses before booking anything. All tour company cars in Botswana must have the logo of the company on the car door. Just ask to see what they have... We rode on an old honda fit without a/c... you just don´ t wanna any of this in your vacations!
TR
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Take care with the Company Blue Montain Trekking & Safaris
To the Director of the Company
Blue Montain Trekking & Safaris
On 22 May 2018 we visited your office and my wife and me were looking for a tree days Safari. We talked to one of you employee Mr. Ben (Tel. 0721362462) and he gave us information. He suggested to stay in the camp at Rhino camp in a tent. The price will be around 760 US $. We did not talk so much about the price because we knew your official price was about 340.00 US $ for tree days Safari. At that time we did not make our final decision.
On the next day, we decided to go to Safari and came back to the office opposite of Hilton. My wife was a little bit scared from the staying in a tent. Then we asked for a lodge. Mr. Ben maked a suggestion. He said that we can stary in a lodge at Ol Moran Camp. He suggested a price of 1160.00 US $. Finally we agreed to pay 930.00 US $. We paid 100.00 US $ in advance. We have been told that we should pay the rest on 25th May where the trip started. On 25th May, in the morning I have paid the rest, 830.00 US $ in cash and asked for a receipt. He denied to give me a receipt. He has just written on the first receipt (which we have received on 22th May) that the balance has been paid. See the attached receipt. I knew that was not correct. On the way we picked up to german ladies. On the car someone has prepared a regular receipt and gave to these ladies. They paid 30.000 Schlings per Person (300.00 US $).
We arrived at the Ol Morano camp, the driver, Patrick, has dropped us and left immediately. Then we were asking for a lodge. We have told that there was no lodge only tents. I called Ben back and the driver. We could not change anyting. We paid a price of a lodge, however we stayed in a tent.
Finally, instead of 600.00 US $ we paid 930.00 US $. We have been swindled by Mr. Ben. He is one of the biggest liar that I have seen in my life. A guy like that would damage your company.
I am sure that this guy has prepared an official receipt which is probably around 600.00 US $. The rest is in his pocket.
One more story, according to the program, on the third day we should first go to the park for three hours and then back to Nairobi. The driver discoverd a new story and talked about the boat trip on a river somewhere else. Some people agreed but we did not. I didn’t want to wait for other people during boat trip. I told Patrick that we want to go to Nairobi. Underway he had difficulties to arrange a car for us. Finally at the place where we had lunch he has arranged a Safari car. The driver of this car dropped us at a benzin station in Nairoby. Finally with a arranged taxi we arrived at our hotel. Why should we take three different cars to come to our hotel?
Now I am asking you why the driver Patrick discovered a boat trip which was not on program. Does he has some benefits from boat trip? Why did he not drive for three hours to National Park as we have been told?
I would like to leave Kenya with a good impression. However, people like Ben would harm the people.
I kindly ask you to search this process and inform me and compensate the money which I have paid more.
Prof. Dr. Metin Balcı
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Bait and Switch!
I booked the luxury 4 day safari to Amboseli and Tsavo. I selected specific accommodations and chose this company because they told me we could do an add on to include a trip to Mara Mara for a hot air ballon ride. A week before the trip they contacted me and said they could not take us to Mara Mara. When we arrived the safari vehicle was old and rusty. It was not a Toyota 4x 4 as advertised. On the way to the first hotel I noticed we were going in a different direction than the accommodations I specifically chose. The safari tour booked us in a standard level accommodation. I insisted on the tented cabins we booked as this was a once in a lifetime trip. The tour operator told us it was sold out. The driver took us there and there were plenty of rooms available. The third night the same bait and switch occurred. I had to book a hotel separately and paid out of pocket to stay in one of the hotels that was promised. The safari company has not refunded me and I had to dispute the charge with my credit card company.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Use another company
Africa is fabulous even though Born Free Safaris is not. They charge more than anyone but our vehicle was tattered and had no air conditioning!!! They charge premium prices but use poor vehicles and airlines. They routed me with Kenyan Airlines and every single flight was either cancelled or was very late leaving or arriving. I found out from other travelers that they could have used Emirates Airlines which is a 5 star airline and went to the same places. Born Free uses the cheapest of everything but charges the most. Use another company. I hear Odyssys Unlimited is great!!!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Do not use this company even though it sounds a good price
Unable to provide a tour due to no cash flow ..avoid this company for now , not sure if they will recover from their debts but they owe us almost $3000. They also owe hotels and vehicle rental companies a lot of outstanding debt.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We lost all of the money we had transferred to the director Joseph Mafuru , over US$3000.
We are 3 well travelled women and knew of others who had told of good experiences with Africa Traditional Safaris , so we are unsure if the company just experienced financial difficulties around the time of our tour BUT whatever the reasons were of their impending failure , we were kept in the dark for the first few days believing that we were off on the safari to the Serengeti that we had paid US $ 995 each for. On day 3 ,the director Joseph Mafuru met with us and admitted the company had no money and were unable to proceed with the tour unless we agreed to loan them money. The requested amount was US $ 18,000 which was reduced to US $1800 which we guessed was the cost to actually take the 3 of us on the tour we had originally paid him for. We declined and as we had travelled from Australia , decided to go it alone rather than fly away totally devastated. This company needs to be inspected by the Tanzanian Tourist Board ASAP.
HK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Did not get picked up, terrible experience
It all went well before our trip. We got our quote, discussed with the company various information about our trip and pick up time, our number of guests etc... And we were anticipating our first safari experience.
We did not get picked up eventually. We have waited for an entire hour at the pick up spot, but we never saw the guide coming. In desperation, we tried to contact the company through all possible means -- WhatsApp, email, calling their number, and even trying to search for more contact information. All the call numbers cannot be reached, and no reply from the WhatsApp and email whatsoever.
We ended up losing all hope and ran to the town, booking another company in last minute.
We got contacted 3 hours later via WhatsApp, and we were told that the phone of the contact person has been stolen and thus the events that occurred. By then we already agreed to take an offer from another company. We were also very disappointed by the explanation, since we doubted whether it is entirely impossible to inform us via email, something that can be accessed with any laptop computer. We could also be easily found at our pick up location and informed in person, but we never saw that happen.
All in all, it was a terrible experience, and we wish that this would not happen to other travellers.
RO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unprofessional behavior and old cars! Do not go with them!
1st of all I can tell you that you can have a good experience with them but don't risk it.
Part 1. The manager, I think Ibrahim, took us from airport and went to a restaurant, it wa OK.
Part 2 We went to the hotel which had no hot water... Whatever we were going in Safari next morning, he told us that the car will arrive at 8am. It arrived at 8.20 with the problem of windshields. We lost like anotjer 30 mins.
P4 The driver was ok and had the knowledge of the parks (Tarangire and Ngorngoro).
P5 In the first day of the trip it rained in the car, it was during the rain season.
P6 The accomodation in the Manyara Igloo was ok.
P7 CUT TO THE CASE... We should have had another night in that Peace hotel we stayed in the first night. We went to Arusha wit a taxi driver coz' the Safari driver should have stayed in Safari for another day. AND THERE the manager told us that we wont stay at the hotel because président it's in town and there are no rooms left. When I asked him why it wasn't already payed he said that the room was "complementary", not like it was in tha package we paid. Like we should have stayed on the streets if it wasn't so 'kind' to offer us a "technical room" at the Meru Treks offices, with a llt of lound and unclean bed.
DO NOT GO WITH THEM!!!
This guy is full of surpises.
Actally the car broke in the Safari and we stayed there 45 mins...
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Poorly organised, vehicle not as advertised, terrible communication
I did a three-day safari organised through MJ. It was a really disappointing experience in terms of the organisation, and not matching what I actually paid for. I contacted the company afterwards and was impressed by Jackson's swift explanation, apology and offer to partially refund the cost - but after successive emails and excuses from them went quiet, and never actually did refund me, which is a really poor way to run a business.
I am aware joining safaris are liable to be a little slow and chaotic, and I was patient about this - even when I nearly ended up being taken to a different country! But not being provided with the agreed kind of vehicle on the final day made me feel like I needed to officially complain.
On the first day, on arriving in Arusha, I was put on a bus that was going to Kenya - and only realized it wasn't the right vehicle when I was asked for a passport! No-one from the shuttle bus transport company knew anything about a safari. This was alarming, as a solo female traveler suddenly in a different city, not knowing where to go.
After being driven around for a while by a taxi driver who had no clue what was happening, I had to use my international data roaming to get online to find MJ Safaris number, which cost me a further $10. No phone number was provided when booking. I was then taken to the correct hotel to join a safari group, but it was not a great start!
On the second day, I was told to get up for breakfast at 6am. After waiting three and a half hours, we finally left at 9.30am. This was frustrating.
On the third day, again there was a delay at the campsite, as my driver struggled with a card payment. At the entrance to Lake Manyara, we again waited for a further hour - something to do with the card, or it being a Sunday? It wasn't clear. Again, this delay was frustrating.
Worse, however, was that the car I was in was not a Land Crusier 4x4. It was just a taxi. This meant the windows were blacked out, which was not good for viewing animals. There was a sunroof, but of course it was open to the sky. The sun was very fierce, and I had to avoid it to prevent getting sunburnt, which also made things difficult. They did not have any binoculars, which made viewing animals more difficult. You couldn't stand up when the vehicle was moving, as the sunroof was not padded. I also had safety concerns given there were animals such as baboons who might have jumped in! Finally, the vehicle was clearly unsuited for some of the roads/rivers it had to travel on; it was a very bumpy ride, and the driver was evidently nervous about driving through water.
The driver did a really good job, all things considered, but the booking specifically stated it would be a different vehicle.
I was very disappointed by the disorganization of the trip, but especially the fact that it deviated on the last day from the vehicle as advertised and paid for.
MJ Safaris explained when I complained afterwards that all this was because a group had cancelled at the last minute, and so I had been subcontracted out. I appreciate mistakes can happen, and appreciated their response, which offered to refund the cost of the final day. But it was doubly frustrating to be offered compensation and then just to have follow up emails completely ignored.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awful! Honeymoon ruined when it started in africa took payment but did not provide any services
Like many other people who have reviewed, my wife and I had a terrible experience. We booked our trip and paid our deposit to spent the second half of our honeymoon on Safari with them.
Despite the money paid no services were provided and no refund offered. I'm now astonished to find out they are still trading!!
For anyone thinking of booking with ISIA, I suggest you avoid at all costs. Even after reviews appeared online stating they weren't fulfilling the services paid for, ISIA requested a further payment from us - extremely distrustful.