GR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Mixed Feelings
So me and my friend , booked a 10 days safari trip in both kenya and tanzania.
That included : masai mara, amboseli national park, lake nakuru and lake naivasha (kenya ) and serengeti national park, ngorogoro crater ( tanzania ) . Food , camps and hotels as well as transportation were all included . The total cost was around 1850usd . For starters, the kenya side was perfect, the driver-guide was always on time and did everything he could to make us have a great time and see as many animals as we could as close as possible.
Then it was tanzanias turn. To begin with , the driven wasnt on time as the hotel the first day when we were in arusha( before going to serengeti) . Secondly, we were supposed to do a 3 hours afternoon drive , before restinf at the camp. Not only didnt we do that but in addition on of the girl with whom we were having the safari , asked for a stop to see some hippos, the driver completely ignored her and continued going towards the camp. The driver-guide didnt seem to know how to drive, we stopped multiple times , during our 3 days in tanzania in order for him to find another driver and help him with his gear transmission. He also got lost multiple times going in and out of serengeti park making u turns every time until he finally finds the way. To sum up to this , at our first night at simba a camp in serengeti, regardless the fact that we have seen fire occuring at 17:00 when we reached the camp at 18:30 and we decided to inform the company( which knew nothing about the fire) we full understood the extent of the disaster. The camp was full of gas due to the fire and it was literally impossible to stay there ,beacuse we were only inhaling gas. After multiple messages and phone calls with the company , they told us that the lodge campa are way too expensive to pay(400 usd per person) and that all other camps were full . The result was that we werr forced to sleep there all night,putting our health at risk by the huge amount of gas he inhaled.
The company told ua that the tanzanian part wasnt run by them, but by another partner , the 7wonders, so they cant practically control all things
After returning back in nairobi, we told the office about how terrible the driver in tanzania was( he was a free lancer with 3 more times in the serengeti park as he told us) and about the fire etc and we demanded a compensation at least for the days we lost in Tanzania. They offered us either a day at the giraffe centre in nairobi or 50usd as a compensation.
Regardless the fact that the kenya part was perfect the real reason about this rating is that when you pay 1850usd for a safari in kenya you are hoping for better solutions when a huge problem appears.
SE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Did not deliver on promises
We went on a six day safari organized by Caren at Nashibe. The parks are of course very nice and one of the lodges we stayed at was excellent (Severin in Tsavo West).
However, In Amboseli we didn't get the accommodation that we agreed on before paying the deposit (one of the lodges were changed to one that we would not have booked if we had known). The pickup was two hours late (which we were told only after calling them from the parking lot). We felt that the driver, whilst driving safely, had very little knowledge about animals and it felt that he did not know his way around the parks. The radio in the car (used to communicate with other drivers) did not seem to work. The description of the safari days in the itinerary included things that were infeasible due to time/distance. For example, for Tsavo East the itinerary gave the impression that we would see the Galana River on our afternoon game drive - which turned out to be 120 km away. At the end of the tour, we had to wait for half a day for the train in Voi. Only after arguing with the driver we agreed that this time was to be spent at the lodge and not at the train station. The final drop-off at Diani Beach turned out to be four hours later than promised.
When providing this feedback to Caren after the tour, she did not respond.
TR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Poor communication, insufficient team spirit
We agreed on a 5-day safari package with Osnet. Our communication was very good beforehand and I had recommended it to many of my friends.
Although the tour started well, problems came one after another during the trip.
On the 2nd day, the Giraffe Center visit did not take place due to lack of communication between Geofrey and the guide. Although dinner was included in the price, I paid for it. The visit to the Masai village also did not take place again due to communication problems. The plan included a Tsavo West and Taita park tour. Our guide suggested to replace East instead of Tsavo West, and I said OK. Again, due to lack of communication between the guide and Geofrey, I had to pay the extra Tsavo East Park fee and fuel cost.
The hotel was not on our plan before the flight on the last day. I asked Geofrey and thanks to him he arranged. He asked 103$ for it and then said he paid himself for cover his excuse, I think.
In summary:
The communication between the team was very poor. Geofrey accusing them, guide and the driver criticizing him, telling he just sitting at the office.
Why I found myself in the middle of unpleasant arguments for no reason? Why did I pay for Park fees, fuel costs and dinner which should be included in the itinerary? Why we didn’t go to Giraffe Center and Masai Village which was also in the itinerary? I spent an hour to explain situations for Tsavo Parks. Why I had to do it on my vacation ?
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Very good guide but lack of organisation and support by operator
First of all: Our guide was friendly and competent, so we spend a pleasant time.
Now the reason for the two star review:
- First of all, we did two gamedrives less compared to the itinerary. This was strongly recommended by the guide since the location of the lodges would not allow to complete the program as it was foreseen by the operator.
- Second, the transport to our hotel after completion of the tour was organized poorly and took several hours more than necessary. After suggesting an alternative transport I was offered transfer by car for 230 US Dollars, more than three times the price charged by our hotel.
- In the morning of the last day the operator approved our request to be dropped at Sala Gate, instead of Voi Gate. Thereafter I ordered a transfer to the hotel. Two hours later, shortly before departure and after I ordered the driver, we were told that a transfer to Sala Gate would not be approved, since the operator did not want to pay the fuel for an extra 150km (of course, the two gamedrives less were not refunded).
- Instead we should rush to Voi, where we were supposed to take a car from Voi to Malindi. So we left the lodge early and skipped the gamedrive scheduled for this day
- Arriving in Voi it turned out that there was no space for us in the car - so we had to wait two hours two hours to take the train to Mombasa.
All in all there was a total lack of organisation and support once the money was paid. The refusal of driving us 75km to Sala Gate was rediculous, considering the price of the safari and the fact, that the operator delivered two gamedrives less than promised.
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lack of attention to detail
I chose Jastro Safaris based on the fact that it had lots of great reviews. Victor reached out to me after I put in a quotation request and we had a detailed discussion on possible options for our safari. There were initial mistakes in his quotations that I pointed out and he fixed. I suggested places I would like to visit and expected practical advice given that I was travelling for the first time and the tour operator is meant to be the expert advising on what is best. First of all, I asked about travel time between places and was given inaccurate information. For example, I was advised that the travel time between Ol Pejeta to Masai Mara was 6 hours, when it fact it took us nearly 10 hours to make the journey. Next I was promised a stop over at Lake Nakuru which the driver did not do because he said there wasn't enough time. It seemed the driver and tour operator were not communicating. Overall, I would advise all people to ask Victor to spell out what is included in the quotation and what is not. We learned this the hard way. At least 3 game drives that were "included" in my package were not delivered because Victor did not check these details on his end. I was told I could not have a night game drive in Ol Pejeta because we were not staying in the conservancy - according to my original quotation, the night game drive was included. Then I was told I had to pay extra fees at Masai Mara National Park if I wanted to do a morning game drive - which according to my understanding was included in the initial quotation that was shared with me. Each time I raised a deviation from the original quotation, I was told by Victor he would check and get back to me assuring me that he would make sure I got my game drives added on at the end of my tour. However, the follow ups and corrections didn't happen. The follow up for the pending payment at the end of the tour on the other hand was very persistent with no acknowledgment of the need for rectification.
IE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Mixed costumer service and drivers
An honest review - We had a mixed experience with Josana Tours. They are a good company when things are going smoothly but their costumer service is poor when there are issues or things go wrong. We booked the 7 day 6 night safari. The communication before the trip with Joseph was great. 5 out of the 7 days were a positive enjoyable experience unfortunately our last two days were not. We had 4 drivers overall - 2 were very good and 2 were not. Jason was an excellent driver/guide - we had an amazing safari in
Massai Mara. Overall the food was okay-some places better than others - we got sick from one of the lunches. Our last two days, we had a very negative experience with aggressive and hostile drivers. Our full game drive in Ambolsi finished 2 and 1/2 hours earlier than others which led to us missing out on seeing lions and other animals. We spent over 1 hour 10minute sitting in a lodge and then an hour lunch break. We had very little time game driving. The driver was also very rude and uninterested. I contacted Joseph and unfortunately there wasn't much done to rectify the situation or a solution provided. He did apologise for the situation the following day but a client in another company received compensation. If I was booking again I feel I would use a different company as there are many in the same price range and they do the same route. We had a mix of companies in our vans. We thought we were unlucky with the situation that took place however in our taxi to the airport we met others who also experienced bad drivers and bad game drives with the same company. I feel the how a company responds to unexpected changes or incidents shows their strenght and unfortunately Josana Tours were very weak in this area, which isn't what you want when booking a trip.
CN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A travel company with no integrity
A very bad trip experience. Situation we met are as follows:
1. We have paid a 30% deposit, and when we arrived in Nairobi, we informed of the change of itinerary. Three of the five hotels in the itinerary were changed, and the price was 1/3 of the original hotel, and the difference was not refunded.
2. Modified the itinerary at will and canceled 3 morning cruises.
3. The driver and tour guide was not professional. Although we had paid a tip of US$40 per day, he was still angry with us when we pointed out that the trip was not in line with the itinerary.
We have also reported the above situation to Chinese tourists through the community Internet. We hope that Chinese tourists will not choose this company after seeing it.
一次体验非常不好的旅行。举例如下：
1. 我们已经支付了30%的定金，到了内罗毕后告知行程变更，行程中的5个酒店改了3个，而且价格是原来酒店的1/3，且没有返回差价。
2. 随意修改行程内容，取消了3次早晨巡游。
3. 司机兼导游不具备专业素养，尽管我们已经支付了每天40美金的小费，但当我们提出不符合行程，他还对我们生气。
以上情况我们也通过社区互联网反馈给了中国的游客，希望中国游客看到后都不要选择这家公司。
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Disorganized
We did a 5 days safari, it was organized very bad. First of all we received the flight tickets just few days before the safari and the tour operator sent us the wrong tickets twice. When we landed at Arusha a guy from the tour operator was supposed to be there but we waited more than 30 mins. The driver for the safari cannot speak English but only Swahili and Spanish (!!) so it was very difficult to communicate. Then, every day we started the safari late because we were in 4 people (two couples) but our accommodations were very far from the accommodations of the other couple, so at the end we didn’t spend so much time on the game drive.
The safari itself was good, people from the tour operator back office are very nice and available, but the organization was definitely not good.
IE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
10 day Safari Trip
Having read the previous great reviews for Shengena Adventure my boyfriend and I were confident in our selection of this company for our safari in Tanzania. However for the 10 day safari package we chose with this company things did not go to plan. Firstly there seemed to be a miscommunication between the tour operator and our guide from the get go as the very first morning we were left waiting for an hour to be picked up as the tour guide went to the wrong hotel. We left it go as we were excited for our trip. The guide was very knowledgeable and patient when we went on game drives. Then the switch changer for the fuel tanks wouldn’t work just as we began our journey to Serengeti. Having received help from 2 locals we got going. Again we let it go because these things happen. One night before what we were told was our hot air balloon ride the hotel said the hot air balloon company (Serengeti balloon safari- would highly recommend!) had our reservation for Thursday not Wednesday. We got onto our tour operator who said it was on Thursday even though our guide had told us Wednesday. We asked our tour operator to tell the guide as he was staying in the local village and not the hotel that we would be at the hotel in the morning not the hot air balloon field. Unfortunately due to lack of service in the area no one could contact him so they left us waiting for 3 hours the next morning to be collected when someone could finally contact him. Again we tried to stay positive even though the only ones missing out was us. That day we also got a flat tire (again it happens) and then the original issue of the fuel changer acted up again because the guide did not put fuel back in the first tank so that meant he had to manually switch the fuel tanks again. Little did I know my boyfriend had planned a surprise proposal in the middle of the Savannah for that afternoon with champagne. He had asked the tour company what could be organized and was offered to purchase a champagne lunch. He had paid a heavy enough fee for permits to go off road and get out of the jeep and the bottle of champagne. My boyfriend told me later that he had been informed by the guide during the day that he can’t go off road as he’ll get in trouble and my bf explained that’s why he paid for the permits. He was told the permits didn’t exist but agreed to help anyway which was nice of him. My boyfriend later showed me the stunning picture of the white table clothed table with an ice bucket and bottle of champagne that he paid for vs what we got- 2 camping chairs with a metal table and a warm bottle of sparkling 0.0% alcohol grape juice. Now the moment was perfect based on the setting and of course the actual proposal but I felt terrible for my bf having paid the extra money for no reason. He had tried to organize the hot air balloon in the am and then followed by that so we wouldn’t be covered in safari dust for the proposal. But based on how the trip had been going we just had to laugh. It was an actual argument for the tour company to give back the money to my bf for the “champagne lunch” even though we didn’t get champagne and the permits he paid for didn’t exist. The jeep then proceeded to break down so many times I lost count. At one stage bf pushed the jeep with 3 other men as it jeep wouldn’t start without a push. The middle console of the jeep was falling out onto the gear stick. We laughed initially at the “African massage” you got because the jeep was so bumpy but when we got collected by the hot air balloon jeep and rode the same roads we just realised how bad the condition of our jeep was. It was still bumpy but nothing like our jeep. The shocks of our jeep must have been completely gone. We completely understand sometimes things go wrong. But the amount of things that went wrong at no stage did the tour operator offer any financial compensation (besides giving back the money for the failed champagne lunch that they basically paid nothing for) as we were the ones that missed out on basically half a day of game drives. We paid a lot for this trip and we work hard for our money. Now we saw all the animals we wanted to see and all the hotels and staff were great so would definitely recommend for anyone to do a safari. However we saw so many different companies so I personally wouldn’t take the risk and go with this one just in case you have a similiar experience to us. Our guide said he was free lance so I would say given a decent jeep and correct information to go by he would be great. He was so informative about the animals and thankfully was able to get the jeep going each time. Not to mention he did go out of his way to drive out on the Savannah for the proposal.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
luxury hotels with indian-like scamming feeling
My tour was a 4 day safari with visit to lake Nakuru and the Maasai Mara national park. I also paid 180 USD to visit some landmarks in Nairobi. The hotels booked were above my expectations,one had a terrific view on the lake.I could see the animals and I had a cultural visit on the Maasai village.I chose one of the most expensive tours, so that I wouldn't need to haggle, yet to my surprise it proved to be the contrary. My driver Tony wouldn't follow our agreement,so I couldn't visit Nairobi and we toured Maasai Mara only one out of the two booked days. He started the tour as late as possible,so we could only take a glimpse of the nocturnal living leopards and lions.Any trial to bring him to reason would result in little punishments (for example I couldn't see how the leopard killed the impala or I had to stay one afternoon at the hotel without safari).Instead of visiting Nairobi,we went to lake Naivasha,where initially it was agreed that I had to pay only 50 Euros yet as we got closer the price reached 150 Euros and when I told him we should turn back it went down to just 3000 shillings paid to his Kikuyu friend for unnecessary guidance services.We were stopping the whole time in different souvenir shops were I had to buy the people drinks and where my driver offered me no assistance in determining what is the fair price for an item resulting in paying double prices as that in the airport even after haggling.During our trip the driver would never talk and if he would, it would be begging for food,tobacco,shampoo,money or giving some false information like trying to manipulate me into double paying for the park fees in lake Nakuru. I contacted the office for help,yet they told me that he doesn't work for them so I should forgive him. They didn't offer me any money back for the places we didn't visit, because of the driver's choice or any link, so that I could share my experience with the world.