IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
KWSS IS JUST ANOTHER NAME FOR THIEVES AND CON ARTISTS
This company is just a bunch of thieves running a con game. Apaprently they do this every year. take bookings and then run off during peak season. i mean what the hell ? I just got to know today that they have conned even some local hotels in nairobi. for anyone interested, here's the link to the local news about this thieves.
https://www.nation.co.ke/news/Duped-and-dumped--Pain-of-tourists-in-hands-of-fake-agents/1056-5231206-tx2h8d/index.html
We paid 2000$ and now i am sure we are not seeing it ever again. We are now spending more to book another company. I hope these criminals get caught and spend the rest of their lives in prison for being such frauds !
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
What else can I add?
Everything that has already been said is too true. I too have been scammed by this company. I've lost $2,000 which was 1/2 of my original deposit. I did receive 1/2 of my money back, but it took 10 months and what seemed like hundreds of emails. Unfortunately for the latest victims of Mr. OT, I don't think you will see your refunds. I booked my trip based on the positive reviews on this site and Tripadvisor. This is unfortunate for the honest tour operators.
SG
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good but can be better ...transparency is the key !
When we decided to experience the much famed African Safari, stumbled upon the online market place “Safari Bookings” which has thousand over African Safari operators offering either standard packages or some of them can customise according to traveller needs. It is quite overwhelming to choose from the list of operators – in spite of applying certain preferences. We wanted to cover Masai Mara, Serengeti, Amboseli, Ngorongoro and Lake Nakuru. We saw the standard packages from 3 operators offering these and one of them was TripAdvisor Africa Safaris. We usually rely Trip Advisor reviews but we couldn’t find any review for “TripAdvisor Africa Safaris” which created a suspicion if this could be a scamster operator. But their itinerary was definitely better than others we compared; while Safari Bookings assured that they do verify the tour operator licenses, they cannot guarantee things cannot go wrong with the operators listed under their wings. So we took a chance with TripAdvisor Safaris as Vincent Seth assured us that we wouldn’t regret taking up a package with them. I should add, we mentally prepared ourselves to expect some disappointments based on the past reviews and hoped we weren’t one of those who had to face severe disappointments. Our 11 nights 12 day (Jul 13 - Jul 24 2019) African Safari in Kenya and Tanzania definitely met our expectations though we there were some items of the itinerary had to be skipped – the distances between the national parks are very large and it is not possible to jam pack so many. We had to skip the baby elephant and welcome dinner at Carnivore on day 1 – this I guess depends on the arrival time. We had to skip the Hells gate national park on day 3 so that we shall be able to reach Masai Mara before the stipulated park closure time. Our major gripe is about the accommodation in Masai Mara – we were put up at Sun Lodge which is very far off from the game viewing areas, though it is located inside the park. While the location of the lodge is exotic, the difficult terrain and the long drive makes it very a very demanding. Contrary to the itinerary we were booked for 3 nights here and we were the only family in the entire lodge – that made us wonder if Sun Lodge was so infamous such that even in peak season no one prefers it. I guess this was booked pretty cheap compared to any other lodge in Masai Mara. But it would be bad on my part if I don’t appreciate the service of the most friendliest staff I ever came across in Africa and the sumptuous dinner they had prepared for us. It would have been perfect if not for the difficult terrain and long travel to the park every day. The game drives in all the national parks were very good; the guides were knowledgeable, pleasant – Jacob in Kenya for Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru and Masai Mara; Ezekiel for Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire and Richard for Amboseli. Lion Hill lodge at Nakuru, Kati-Kati tented camp in Serengeti (best experience of the entire trip and sumptuous dinners), Ngorongoro Wildlife lodge, Amboseli Sopa Lodge were all very good and matched our expectations; again in Tanzania, we had a terrible experience at the Twiga camp site – this was not as per the itinerary and a rundown place; food was not good as well. We were supposed to travel to Tarangire and accommodation was Tarangire Safari Lodge but ended up in this Twiga camp site. The border transfers were smooth with the drivers/guides waiting on time – I was quite apprehensive if things would be smooth after reading some experiences. Overall except for the accommodation mess up in Masai Mara (since it was 3 nights high level of inconvenience) and 1 night at Twiga camp site, we had an excellent gaming experience. I am thankful that Vincent made sure that the gaming drives were good, sent us reasonable drivers/guides and most importantly border transfers were smooth with the drivers waiting there on time to receive us. Vincent Seth seems genuinely interested in improving the quality of tours he offers; he can definitely achieve that provided he tweaks his itinerary not to over promise and to be transparent about the accommodation if in case its different from that of the itinerary. One more vital point is to communicate the agreed itinerary to the drivers/guides and stick to it.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Scam
Exactly one year after we booked a 10-day safari and two weeks before it was to begin, we got an email saying that the services could not be provided. Calls said phone service was disconnected and emails went unanswered. I filed a complaint with my credit card company and hope for good results.
I am grateful that we lucked out and found out before our trip. I rebooked with a different company and we leave in a week but am nervous after my KWSS experience.
I hold Safari Bookings responsible for sponsoring such a scam company. Service providers should have been fully vetted and investigated by them before offering their service to customers.
Safari Bookings must follow up on their end and pursue prosecutions against KWSS!
If anyone has information on where to report this in Kenya please let me know.
This is outrageous and a black eye on the country.
TH
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I paid $2985 in full for my trip on May 18, 2019. and now I can't contect them
I paid $2985 in full for my trip on May 18, 2019. KWSS also confirmed our contract on June 18, 2019 and has sent me detailed itineraries, including the name of accommodation, telephone number, address and other information, as well as invitation. and Then I applied Visa Kenya and vaccination. I look forward to Kenya with KWSS. On August 8 (80 days after I paid) KWSS suddenly sent me an e-mail informing me that it was cancelled for technical reason, not for political reasons, Ebola virus, terrorists reasons.That is to say, KWSS has made the mistake and should responsible for it. So I sent 2 E-mails to KWSS and try to get the refund but I can't contect them at all.
IN
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Quite reliable Punctual, Stay as per the program sent by Martha. Guide Joseph was very enthusiastic
Communication was prompt and Martha was always available for telecom. Last day we could have gone for half day Safari as per the program. Food at all the lodges except A A Lodge Ambosali was good. Sopa Lodge at Naivasha was the Best. A A Lodge Masai mara was good.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
We received same email as others about technical difficulties for September 2019 8 day safari for 4.
if you paid by credit card, you can try to get refund from credit card company by claiming paid but services not provided. It is a shame he would steal all this money after good reviews on this site and trip adviser. We have had no response from tour since giving information for refund.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unbelievable experience and you will help the community!
I just got back from a 7-day safari with Great Pelican Safaris and wow! We saw everything: leopard with her cub, wild boars playing with each other, lions mating, and even from afar, the black rhino chilling. There aren't enough words in the dictionary to describe how wonderful our guide, Sunday, was. My sister and I both travel a great deal and we both agreed that Sunday was probably the best guide we've ever had. He knows EVERYTHING! There wasn't a question he couldn't answer and he answered in detail. He was also an unbelievable spotter. He would be driving and all of a sudden stops, points out into the field at a spot like a mile away, and says "there's a cheetah lying down in the grass" and we're all like "where?!?!" Sure enough, with the binoculars, there was a cheetah laying there. Or he would spot an animal miles away and would be able to differentiate if it is a male or female. It still baffles me how he can drive, teach, and spot an animal all at the same time. He was also very good about getting you up close to animals so you can get the best photos (we had lions walk by our car). I came home with so many Instagram worthy photos!
We even visited 2 tribes - Maasai and Datoga. Don't skip this - it is truly a unique experience. I also liked that when we visited the tribes, we were the only group there. When we drove off, we passed another Maaasai tribe and saw a bunch of tour cars parked outside - no thanks!
The owner/guide of Great Pelican Safaris, Trey, also came along with us. During this trip, I found out that he had moved to Tanzania so he could support the orphanages there and thus, the reason he started Great Pelican Safaris. A chunk of the proceeds goes to 2 orphanages that he supports. Unfortunately, a lot of big tour companies don't always give back to their communities so it's comforting to know that not only am I getting one of the best tours, I am helping their community indirectly as well. At one point when we were given a tour of the city, Arusha, some kids ran up to Trey asking for food. Being the kind hearted person that he is, he bought them a bunch of bananas.
I can't say enough about this wonderful company. Save yourself the time and book Great Pelican Safaris! You won't regret it.
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience, 7byFar give me amazing moments!
Before booking the 6 days safari Hakuna Matata i called many times Mr. Sylvester to clarify some points, and he was very helpfull! When arrived in Kenya, he pick me up at the airport and took care of all the details.
For the safari itself, it was amazing, our driver Charles was amazing, he has a huge knowledge about Kenya, it's animals, history and is someone very kind and always smilling. The safari was not in rush, we took our time, the guide bring us to very nice places, he knows every park in details.
In Amboseli, the Kibo Camp is amazing, it's much more than i was expecting, the tents, the personnel, the location and the food...
In Nakuro the lodge is inside the reserve and very nice too!
In Masai Mara, first we arrived at Sopa Lodge, where i had the booking confirmation for 2 nights, but they overbooked, and wehn we arrived could stay just one night. 7 by Far Managed to find another lodge, this time Ikeliani, it was amazing, the experience of being in a luxuty tented lodge in front of the river was amazing! We could hear hienas during the night! In the last moment i changed my plans and requested if possibel to return from Masai Mara by plane to Nairobi, again 7 by Far managed to get me a ticket and received me in Nairobi.
Thank you for all the 7byFar team, to take care of me, and always trying to make us happy!
I really recommend the company, and for sure will use it again!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great for families!
Sperito was easy to communicate with. He was prompt with replies for questions we had. He made the experience so easy! We just had to get there and he did the rest. There was always plenty of bottled water in the van. He was great with our children and they felt very comfortable. He was very accommodating even when we needed to change our itinerary a bit. We had an amazing time traveling through Uganda, going on safari, zip lining, quad biking, and relaxing at Wild Waters Lodge. The experience and the professionalism of Pamoja Tours and Travel was excellent! We will definitely be back.
