NL
Nice safari
The safari is really great, only one day of game drive is not that much though. The food was good, the drive between Dar es Salaam and Mikumi pretty long with a guy who hardly spoke any English.
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great guy, bad businessman
The first week on the Kilimanjaro was great, i can't complain. But then for the safaris they told me there was a problem because other people had cancelled last minute so I had to find a new group and pay 1300 dollars again, but they promised to give me that money back.... 3 months later and i am still waiting!!!
NL
under20 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Nice view but poor guides.
We booked the Ndere Island Tour, of one day. Although the views were amazing, we had issues with the tour guides. We were on a boat for quite a long time and were very curious about Lake Victoria, but the guides seemed not interested in us and mostly kept to themselves, which was okay since it was early in the morning and not really part of the tour. However, we had to stop to pay parkfees to the Kenyan Wildlife Center, where our Hallmark guides started to argue with the employees about prices. We got a great but annoyed guide from the KWC and he showed all of us around on Ndere Island. Once again, nice views, but our own guides were having a vacation too: they made plenty of pictures of both the view and us, and seemed to be there for the first time. There seemed to be a rush and in high tempo we walked across the island at noon in full sun. Requests to rest or even look for more animals than the ones we bumped into were not taken seriously. Afterwards we asked to see hippos as they said they would do, but they laughed us off. Long story short, we paid a lot of money for our guides to basically have a tour too, next time we will just book at the Kenyan Wildlife Center and do without the Hallmark guides!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good timewise
Time keeping... The staff responded in good time and communicated in detail and in a timely manner whenever information needed was to be relayed
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Striving but Lots of laissez-faire
I was on a trip to Mombasa organized by MAS. The set activities were fan with reflection of value for money. However, Communication was extremely poor and this got us into un called for long delays and fatigue that at times took out the joyous moments.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
3 night safari in Ruaha
The initial communications with Wild Gaze was efficient. Emails were answered promptly and questions where answered clearly. We booked a budget safari staying at the Tanapa Bandas in Ruaha National Park. While the bandas where clean, confortable and well located it was not made clear that there would be no options of food and we would be served the same thing everyday. While it was adequate it was not very tasty. The safari truck was comfortable and had plenty of sockets for charging electronics. Our guide, Ben, was accommodating, a careful driver and appeared knowledgeable. Overall a good experience and we would book with them again.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A responsive operator yet to improve on value for money
We did a 3-day tour to Gombe national park to visit the chimpanzees.
The planning and organization was very professional, with very fast responses and someone was expecting us when we arrived.
Once in the park, the accommodation was as expected - mid-range tents - far from the premium and cleaning standard you may get in other Safari experiences.
The experience in the park was great. We got really close to the chimps, while respecting their boundaries and always well guided by the local experts. The staff was also great and food was very good.
Our rating of 3/5 stars is based on two main elements:
1) On the second day (out of 3 days program) we arrived at Kigoma at 4pm. First the driver left us in a wrong hotel - we’ve noticed that and finally were redirected to the one that had been communicated - Sunset Vista Hotel. Secondly, at Sunset Vista Hotel we were put first in a very small room with a tiny toilet and wifi internet wasn’t working. Joshua, the operator manager, was responsive to our complaint and came the hotel to upgrade us to a better room. The improved room was still far from the expectations over mid-range on European or Serengeti standards.
2) The overall price of 350 USD per day is clearly overpriced - as 1st you profit only 2 out of 3 days, as the 3rd day you travel early in the morning back to Dar. And 2nd, you’re paying luxury daily rates when comparing to Serengeti, while getting a mid/low range service.
Overall we were very happy to see chimps from very close and Joshua was very professional and responsive.
We hope this constructive feedback improves the overall service delivery for future travelers.
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Motto Tours and Travels gave us hard time during our Kenya visit
Hello,
We traveled to Kenya for a safari from July 18th to July 25th, 2021.
While the price is attractive and the contact person (Paul) spoke impeccable English to ensure we felt comfortable, the on-field performance had many ups and downs.
The properties that Motto had chosen were for our stay were beautiful. However, the vehicles brokedown 5 to 6 times during the 5 days of Safari.
We were 4 families and had chosen 2 large land cruisers. Both the vehicles broke down alternatively every day.
Mr. Paul did not pick up our calls for almost an hour on the last day when we had to catch our flight. The Nairobi airport was around 150 km away from Naivasha. We had a few stressful moments while at the same time we enjoyed the properties and the sight of majestic wild animals that we got to see in Kenya.
I highly recommend visiting Kenya. However, get a better tour operator.
Regards
Harish Dunakhe
Dubai
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
They were professional, insightful and made the tour enjoyable.
The staff at First Class Africa were very professional and hands-on with everything concerning my trip. From the very first time I reached out they helped me with getting my accommodation and all the necessary payments and documentation I needed for my stay in Tanzania. They facilitated my safari drive at the Serengeti National Park as well as my tour of Zanzibar island. Their service was impeccable.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Safari experience with Paul
I booked with world Escapes back in December for a three week holiday in Kenya and Tanzania which included a Maasai Mara Safari, a stay at the beach resort at Karafuu in Zanzibar. We also toured other smaller towns in Kenia including Lake Naivasha and lake Nakuru. All I can say is that Paul and his team at World Escapes not only gave us the best price for the safari but also A1 service. They took took care of us right through our stay in both Kenya and Zanzibar. Mohamed was our guide in Zanzibar. He organized our tour of Jozani forest and to see the dolphins.
I however would not recommend traveling in a minibus. We wish we had been briefed earlier about the state of the roads and Type of car to use.