35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An experience of a lifetime that got ruined…
Pros:
They can customize packages for your needs.
Affordable to an extent (Don’t forget to bargain though)
They also do safaris in Uganda and Tanzania
Cons:
They do not deliver what they promise.
There is a vast disconnect between the Guide/Driver and Mr.Otieno. The guide controls what you do on your trip. We missed 3 (2 evening (1 Amboseli, 1 Mara) and 1 morning at Nakuru) game drives and one was shortened (The last morning at Mara) as the guide was in a hurry to get out of the park. We did phone and also email Mr.Otieno to get things sorted however, nothing worked. He kept on promising that all will be right and as per the promised itinerary however, the guide kept doing what he wanted. The guide/driver (Anthony) who took us around for 7 days was experienced doing the same thing for 17 years however for them, it’s business. The guide started throwing tantrums as we spoke to Mr.Otieno regarding the game drives that he refused to take.
They fail to understand the needs of customers. In my case, we were 4 wildlife enthusiasts in a single vehicle; all disappointed with the way we were treated. Kenyan wildlife was my dream come true with this trip however, the guide ruined it (He and his tantrums).
I would still have rated them a “5” if they could just stick to what was promised as per the itinerary.
Dear Mr.Otieno, You must start understanding what people look for and deliver what you promise. This is a business for you; however, for us travelers, it’s a dream to plan and execute something like this.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The Wisconsin Dells of Safari operators - a bit of what was promised, but not much. Disappointed.
My wife and I completed the 5 day Kruger safari. We are seasoned safari tourists and have been blessed to go on safari in Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. We have never been left dissatisfied until now. The accommodations were fine and the food was as well. But that’s not why most of us go on safari – it is the game drives after all.
Every game drive was shorter than advertised. Day one night drive was two hours instead of three. Day two four-hour Bush walk was just one hour of bush walking. When we got in the vehicle, we were told it was really just three hours including drive time there and back but overall it was about 2.5 hours. Worse, the 3 hour afternoon game drive started an hour late and was only two hours. Also, how many tourists who spend thousands to come all the way to South Africa really want to receive a pitch to allow elephant culling when they are viewing elephants? We've gone from 600,000 elephants to 450,0000 in seven years according to the 2015 Great Elephant census across the continent. We are in the midst of elephant genocide. We see our first elephant and the arrogant young guide starts talking about culling them and feeding the meat to local villages. Not exactly what we expected to hear. Day three - all day at Kruger National Park - no complaints. But geez, we thought this was a 5 day Kruger trip. Only one day was spent there – the rest in reserves, some of which allow hunting. Day 4 - a major disappointment. The Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre did not espouse conservation. In addition to culling and legal ivory sales, we were told that rhino horn should be legalized to discourage the black market. Really? Rhino horn? I still can't believe we heard that. Back to Mark's Camp by noon. Yummy lunch. But no afternoon game drive. Our itinerary showeda 3 PM drive. Nope due to reserve restrictions, it was a 5 pm drive. Actually 530 as driver had to wait for more customers coming in from Johannesberg. Big difference in night drives versus day drives – photos aren’t good at night, and many animals are stressed especially since it is a hunting reserve. This last drive was also just two hours. Driver didn’t speak to us, and drove incredibly irresponsibly into a thicket of acacia thorn trees in the dark. I was actually injured and had to get antibiotics for a needless eye injury. Last day we spent $400 to spend the entire afternoon at Mark’s Camp. Pathetic. We did our own bush walk that was longer than the ones Viva did. And we didn’t need guns.
My advice is focus on quality game drives. No bait and switch on what you advertise. There are far better safari companies in Africa. I highly recommend Kenya’s Gametrackers for a genuine safari experience or any Exodus trip. Very disappointed. Emailed owner of Viva safaris and no resolution. Don’t get suckered.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Tanzania part of the trip was a disaster
There was no driver at Tanzania border for us. The group before us also had no driver show up. The company would not tell us what was going on, and eventually would not answer any of our our calls. So the communication was horrible. We had to spend the night at a hotel by the border and pay for it ourselves (they say they will reimburse us). The next morning, they said a driver would be ready by 10am, but we sat around outside the hotel until 4pm with no word from the office. They were ignoring every call. We were finally met by a taxi driver who transferred us to another driver in Arusha and we had to drive at night to reach the hotel at Lake Manyara at 9:30 pm. As I write this, we are sitting at gate to Manyara Park where we have been waiting for nearly 2 hours, because Kenya Walking Survivors has not transferred money to the Tanzania company so our driver cannot get us in the park. We have no idea how much longer we will wait. They seem to have forgotten to make the necessary arrangements and preparations for our time in Tanzania. Park will not take my credit card because we are in a tour van. So we have lost 2+ days and morning light for photos. We are very unhappy now, and feel that we are wasting a lot of time with only a few days left in Africa.
Our Kenyan driver was very nice, and the Kenya part of the trip went smoothly. Oddly to me though, on the first day we were picked up, driven to office to pay last half of cost, then to get gas, and then to pick up water. It would have been nice if they had gotten gas and water before picking us up. They had half of the money up front. Our lodgings were nice and the Kenya part went well. I was not expecting the very long long drives on bad roads between the parks. It usually took all day (6-9 h) to go from one place to the next. The law does not allow driving tourists in the dark, so we used up lots of daytime to get from park to park. However, that is the nature of traveling in this area.
Our main problem has been the horrible experience getting into Tanzania, and getting into the park this morning has been just as bad. Horrible communication, and nothing has been prepared beforehand.
AR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very bad vehicles, old and poorly maintained and terrible guide.
The attention of Alex and Denis is excellent and they try to fulfill everything promised.
The problem is the vehicles used for the zafari, old, poorly maintained, they break halfway and lost hours on the route with mechanics, as if it were not enough to finish the arrangement I had to pay for the repair with later refund of money . Even there are mornings in which you have to push the vehicle because it has exhausted the battery. This means that the itinerary can not be fulfilled, and late arrivals to destinations are reached.
But even worse is the guide in Kenya (Paul) is lousy, has a bad predisposition to explain, is rude, does not even have a bottle of water to facilitate, which was committed in the contract. And of course he does not have binoculars like the rest of the guides.
The place is wonderful, but my advice is to hire another company to be able to enjoy without suffering these inconveniences.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A HUGE disappointment. Don't waste your money on this tour!
While looking in to this tour I was excited about the advertised "We shall be on the lookout for the endangered Sable Antelope, Elephants, Giraffe, maybe Leopard, civet cat, monkeys, shrews."Unfortunately this was far from reality of the situation. After further talk with locals we realized that there have not really been animals in the park for over 5 years or more. I felt like I was taken advantage of with this "tour" for $300 USD for two people.
The planned itinerary: "At the Shimba Hills National Reserve proceed for a morning game viewing drive. We shall be on the lookout for the endangered Sable Antelope, Elephants, Giraffe, maybe Leopard, civet cat, monkeys, shrews. For the bird watchers, more that 100 bird species have been recorded including Ostrich, Eagle, African Hawk and Honey Guide. We shall further explore the Shimba hills on foot where accompanied by our guide, we shall walk on the Shedrick Falls on a 1/2 hour hike as we marvel at the water cascade. We shall later stop for lunch at the Shimba lodge where we may have an option to take a nature walk around the tree lodge or simply enjoy the surrounding views from the balconies of the lodge."
What actually happened:
We were picked up on time by our kind guide Ali. He was very nice and did a wonderful job all day. He was basically the highlight of this poor tour. The morning game drive was very telling of the lack of animals present in Shimba Hills. Once entering the park we drove for about an hour to the walking destination and literally saw only warthogs. No monkeys, antelope, or even birds really. Our driver pulled over because he thought he saw a chameleon, thats how desperate he was to find animals for us to see. This was the first sign that the day was not going to go as planned.
Once we arrived to the walking destination, we were talked to by the Park Rangers and informed that this was was very strenuous walk and be prepared to be walking for about 2 hours (not 1/2 hour as advertised). The walk was beautiful and scenic of trees and water, but of no animals. Also, as a tour company, you should be more upfront with your customers of the type of walk that is going to happen. There were so many stairs and even walking on small slippery stones up a hill at one point. While this was fine for my husband and I, we had no idea that this was the type of activity that we should have expected, not to mention the vast difference in walking time.
Then on to the lunch destination. Another huge red flag in the state of Shimba Hills. Once arriving to Shimba Lodge we were met with no electricity in the ENTIRE lodge. While this was not a huge deal, when it came time to pay it was. My husband had to walk out of the lodge and hope to get service to pay the pill. The only person working at the Lodge was our waiter and he had informed us that there were no other guests at the Lodge at all. There were no other people in the restaurant either. It was literally silent. It was honestly creepy, and not the place I'd like to have lunch on a tour. The food was deceit, but not great.
We decided to cut our "tour" short after lunch. It made more sense to us to go enjoy the beach that drive around in an EMPTY park for another few hours. I was honestly so incredibly disappointed in this "safari." I feel as though I was scammed. We were promised a lot in the description of the tour and the experience fell very short. There were no animals. Literally we saw more monkeys and birds outside the park than in. I feel you as a company should EXTREMELY revise the description of this tour as well as the price. I was lead to believe by your website and Lilian that this tour would be something very different that what it actually is.
As someone that has been to many safaris/tours in Kenya, this was by far the WORSE experience. Sadly because of this experience I will not be using this tour company again as well as warning my friends. What a waste of $300 USD as well as a full day of my vacation.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Safari but Problematic Management
The safari, in and of itself, was great. Our accommodations were good, our driver/guide George was fantastic, and the parks were unbelievable. The only negative about the safari itself was there was too much driving -- no matter what company you use you should confirm driving times before signing up.
My gripe is with how our safari was managed:
1 -- The order of parks that we visited was switched last minute and without my approval. I found this out after I sat down in the jeep on the first day. This is totally unacceptable. James and I even discussed this option months before and decided against it. This is bordering on breach of contract.
2 -- James's communication left something to be desired. At first, James was super prompt, always responding within a day. As we closed in on the trip, he took multiple days to reply to different questions, and when I asked the name of our driver he didn't bother replying. This all left me sketched out and worried that we were being scammed.
There's too many safari operators out there to bother with a company like this one...
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Just dubious, corrupt u. unorganized.
A good safari with a very good guide ..... But I can not understand why twice the accommodation is changed, I have to pay more and then get a lodge whose standard is lower than the other. Very bad organization and not even an apology. I will not recommend this organizer.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Stressful experience
In the beginning the communication was very good. But on asking for confirmation of hotel packages as agreed, there were mistakes. Then again mistakes in the invoicing. I had to correct them. Then wrong dates & information on vouchers sent. Which I had to request correct on. Had to chase them to confirm bookings with other suppliers of our trip that they were handling. All payments were supposed to be in USD. But it changed & half the payments were then requested in ZAR. Paid our deposits & then after our final payments, the company stopped communications. Even after many phone calls & emails, requesting information & corrections, still nothing! Two weeks before the trip we had not received any confirmations or information from them for our South African part of the trip. A week before leaving, I had to contact ALL the suppliers directly for confirmations, addresses & departure information . Extremely stressful not knowing if everthing had been pre paid or even booked, when we boarded our flights from London to South Africa. A total shambles!!
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Low capacity to provide good services
This tour company is misleading and does not stand upto the commitments it’s promised.
They portray an incorrect picture inspite of knowing client expectations and mislead them by lies. They do not have capacity of good and professional services. Once you’ve paid and are on the tour they do not respond to any of your concerns. They portray a different picture and provide sub standard services.
Also they withhold information which comes as a surprise later on the tour and which is disappointing while you are there and stressful as well.
It’s a marketing gimmick and if you do go ahead with them still make sure to put everything on paper. Example
Food
Conveyance
Itinerary
Professional guide
Accommodation expectations
Be clear about everything they don’t stand up to their commitments.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
VERY LATE!!
We were told to arrive by 6.30 which we did but we ended up leaving 2 HOURS later!. Honestly that was not at all interesting. Waiting for two hours just because people are late.
Bonfire should have a 30minute caveat/rule.
You arrive later than 30min you forfeit your trip.
Its unfair and RUDE to keep 15 people waiting for 2hours for 1 person.
Very dissapointing. 2stars because of this bad experience.