20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Worst experience
I was overcharged, with an extra $600 that shouldn’t have been included. I booked a private tour but was almost put into a group tour instead. I signed up for three days of game drives, but only two were scheduled. After already paying for the transfer from Masai Mara to Nairobi, I was charged extra upon drop-off. The driver for the transfer from the hotel to the airport didn’t show up on time and there was no communication. None of the pre-booked arrangements were acknowledged until I provided evidence and pointed out the issues myself.
The only person who handled things professionally was Daniel, who guided us in Masai Mara. He was punctual, dedicated, and provided us with a truly memorable experience in the national park.
US
Experience level: first safari
horror experience of Safari tour from Johannesburg to Kruger round trip
I’m glad the world gets to see the exact treatment and type of service you provide with the name calling. Now I’m presenting my email copy of communication.
1. Pickup time was between 8:30-9:00 AM communicated. I took responsibility for coming down late at 9:10 AM, before exchanging pleasantries I sincerely apologized to AL for coming down late.
My Airbnb host was late and that delayed us. It was only after my apologies that AL got down from the car to assist with our bags. Mind you readers we were physically challenged healing from leg injuries. The 2 of us on this trip. So we were really looking forward to a smooth trip. You will see a picture of the luggage in front seat.
2. Read the previous comment and then continue here, by 5 minutes into the ride we smelt the smoke and my companion turned and confirmed it was indeed coming from the car (exhaust and boot). AL said he just got the car from a mechanic shop and it was an oil change and the old oil was burning off to let the new oil kick in. I honestly don’t think if this was possible to conjure that in my wildest dreams I would have. At this point you reading this would have lost your cool and say why didn’t we get out, that’s our 1 regret and we learnt.
3. If able I will share a video of us in the car cloudy atmosphere because of the smoke. Winding up without a/c or winding down the window did not help neither did masks.
4. If able i will share a brief video of us trying to eat the breakfast we bought at the stop spot and you can hear how nasal my friend sounded and distraught.
5. Even after wasting time, I’m talking hours which pales in comparison of 15-30 minutes I tipped AL R100 or R200 can’t recall the note I picked because I genuinely thought he was dealt a bad hand from the mechanic and we all could use a pick me up. Plus he said he called the hotel to give us ground rooms because of our legs.
6. The $100 = R1,775 already paid as 20% wasn’t refunded to us. We chucked it as a loss. Let’s do a breakdown. At the hotel we discovered they had a banner for R895 per night, Kruger entry is R450 or R495 as on the sign while leaving. For the record we had no problem paying as the link for payment came in at the stranded location point, at that point I was very suspicious but still kept an open mind.
7. I will share a picture of our box when I got to Cape Town and discovered that the Deets spray I used to keep the bugs away, I sprayed a square parameter around our boxes to prevent the roaches or bugs from getting into our bags. I sprayed the bed, under bed, sink where the line of ants were coming from.
8. The receptionist when we got in before going to the room & gave a brief experience decided to gift us a breakfast pack, told her we didn’t need it, we came prepared with meals ourselves and we ended up giving this to the tour guide at the rest stop. For every turn we were sharing this incident as it was happening. We came out to front desk and there was no one there to report the room’s condition after settling in. We were so numb and traumatized from the day we went to bed hoping for a better day next day.
9. We had pre-booked hotel reservations cancelled and paid flight for next day cancelled. It was business class flight I only get a partial refund from saa.
10. We paid business class/ flexible highest rate flight to be able to get out of Johannesburg. This was unplanned cost of R12,000+. My friend lost her initial joburg to Cape Town flight refund completely.
11. We paid the Good Samaritan that got us out of that forest and the transfer driver that took us to the airport a total of R3,500 (tip included). The transfer driver mid drive changed the price on us while in the car from R833 to R1800 (R900 per person because the car owner said that’s what he should collect since we were heading to the airport instead of paying to drive back to Johannesburg. This is not affiliated to the diamond agency but I wanted to mention we would not have been in any of these situations if you provided a good service.
12. At the point of GS finding us a transfer, we encountered the Ali driver who drove us from stop to hotel & heard he was not paid and your excuse was you had a bank error and would send his transfer fees later. AL had already left after giving us our bags if not the driver would have met up with him for his money.
13. When it was obvious that we were missing our sunset, we communicated our expectations. Original plan Sunset and Sunrise drive. New plan, We gave 2 options as compensation and AL said he talked to mgt. That included Mozambique and Bylde Canyon. We told AL at the stop and trusted he was communicating this to the mgt. When Ali came to pick us up and we asked can we head to Mozambique and he said no, we did not push further but started understanding they were indeed playing us.
14. The tour video you will hear the man seated close to me telling the tour guide to stop the car so we could take pictures or enjoy the game drive. As far as we understood sharing the tour car with others wasn’t the problem. For the record the other passengers in the open car were from different tours, and were not staying at the hotel we stayed. The problem was putting us in a cramped car, I only could put the phone behind my shoulder to try and capture anything, the dishonesty in putting us in a car for an all day tour without our consent. Lying on picking us up from Break location. Lying the pickup was going to happen in the 2nd break location only to discover that location had no signal or internet service. The tour guide had to bring us back to the 1st point of rest where the lies continued.
15. The snip below show the mgt was updated in whatever story by MIC of our decisions. They ignored it because they already pre-planned to keep us stranded and have to journey back to Johannesburg late at night.
16. We reserve the right to change our mind, not only for risk to our health but also our safety when a service promised is not delivered. That’s where the shock factor came because for everything that happened we were cordial even when if felt like we could just loss composure we didn’t and when we managed by the grace of GOD to not be at your mercy that shocked you most.
It is clear there was ill intention, bad transportation, to make us miss the sunset drive and hope we weren’t going to speak up? Or demand a better service?
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Complete lack of professionalism and unethical practices
My family and I had high hopes for our 12-Day Best of Tanzania and Kenya Safari (Mid-Range) tour, booked with Africa Marvel Tours from August 16 to August 27, 2024. After extensive research and saving up for this dream trip, we were excited to explore these incredible landscapes. Unfortunately, our experience was nothing short of a nightmare, largely due to the agency's complete lack of professionalism and failure to deliver on their promises.
We paid the full amount to the agency per their requirement, 30% at booking in January and 70% in July, three weeks prior to the trip, expecting everything to go smoothly. Instead, the agency repeatedly failed to pay park fees, accommodation costs, and even our driver’s wages on time. This led to multiple delays, forcing us to sit idle for hours, miss game drives, and even skip two parks altogether. In total, we wasted over 16 hours waiting on payments to be processed.
Here are the major issues we faced:
1. Border Delay: On Day 4, we were stuck at the Kenya-Tanzania border for 1.5 hours because the agency hadn’t paid for park tickets, gas, and driver fees. This caused us to miss the Lake Manyara game drive.
2. Ngorongoro Crater Issues: On Days 5 and 6, our schedule was delayed, and we were stranded for 5 hours waiting for the agency to cover Ngorongoro park fees. Due to these delays, we had to cancel our Serengeti stay and move to a camp near Ngorongoro, which was arranged at the very last minute after we had to argue with the agency.
3. Masai Mara Payment Problems: While our driver provided outstanding service during our Masai Mara visit, he later told us that Africa Marvel Tours hadn’t paid him. He had to cover the expenses from his own pocket. He is a freelance tour driver, hired by this company for our trip. The agency continuously promised him reimbursement, which never happened.
4. Accommodation Issues: On Days 10 and 11, we were held in the lobby for hours at different lodges due to unpaid balances by the agency.
5. Final Day Misery: On our last day, we spent a total of 7 hours waiting in a restaurant parking lot for the agency to deliver a meager $135 refund to me and to pay my driver. The agency representative claimed they have no money to pay the driver because they are experiencing some cash flow issue. He eventually signed an agreement to pay our driver 98800 Kenya Shillings =1, 035 Canadian Dollars by September 5, but to this day, no payment has been made. We missed our Nairobi Park visit as a result. We also missed Elephant Orphanage visit because the agency failed to book it in advance.
Our driver went above and beyond, often covering expenses himself to ensure our trip wasn’t completely ruined. He truly tried to salvage our experience, and it’s devastating to see him suffer such financial loss and disrespect from the agency.
I have reported Africa Marvel Tours to the following organizations. These organizations have the right to investigate them and make corrections. Despite all my frustration and stress during my trip, my biggest concern is whether our Driver can get his money back.
• Kenya Association of Tour Operators (KATO)
https://katokenya.org/consumer-protection/
• Kenya Tourism Board
https://ktb.go.ke/
• Kenya Tourism Regulatory Authority
https://tra.go.ke/
Please carefully select your safari tour agency. No one should go through what we experienced.
SG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Hotel payment issues at Neptune Safaries Lodge
I am compelled to share my disastrous experience with Bestprice Tours regarding their hotel services. We prepaid 100% for our hotel stay, but upon checking out, the hotel demanded additional payment for the remaining balance, which we had already paid in full.
Bestprice Tours provided a series of excuses, claiming that they had transferred the money but it hadn’t arrived yet, or that there were issues with the money transfer. They even suggested that the driver had received the payment but forgot to settle it with the hotel. It was incredibly frustrating to hear these convoluted lies.
We spent countless hours trying to resolve this issue with them, but in the end, we had no choice but to pay the hotel ourselves just to avoid further delays in our travel plans. We were promised that we could claim the amount back from Bestprice Tours, but two weeks later, we are still waiting for our refund.
This experience has been a complete nightmare, and I urge anyone considering Bestprice Tours to think twice. Their lack of accountability and poor customer service have left us feeling cheated and frustrated. Save yourself the hassle and choose a more reliable tour operator!
UY
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
I felt scamed. They did not comply with the agreement
At first Stephen responded quickly and provided me with an itinerary according to my requirements and clearly stating what was included and what was not and the price. I had requested other quotes and made my choice by ranking the number of safaris proposed, a room for myself and accommodations in nature environments. All this in the month of January I also contracted with them for 8 days in Uganda (which they subcontracted to another company) After having sent the signal, I have questions specific to the trip to which Stephen does not answer directly and that is where my distrust begins when I see that there is no transparency and clarity in the communication on his part.
After requesting an invitation letter from both countries for the purposes of applying for the visa, I found out from the Ugandan agency that my room was going to be shared. It wasn't what we had agreed upon. Words come and go, 2 weeks away I am leaving for Nairobi. I don't know what happened between them but in Uganda I was always in a private room. I will go on to detail what was established in the itinerary and I did not have:
- pre and post accommodation. I had pre but no post. I insisted on that, it should have been in Uganda (I paid Pride of Africa, so they had to have arranged it) but I had to pay for the accommodation myself. - They charged me U$30 for the deposit transaction, which should have corresponded to them, (this is stated in our WhatsApp conversation), having already paid the part that corresponded to me here. - the most serious. They took away 4 safaris from me...4!!! One in Masai Mara, another in the morning in Nakuru, another in the afternoon and a night safari in Bothelli (which was the only night safari there was) Instead, on the day we were supposed to have a safari in the afternoon and evening, they take us back to Naivasha and leave us at a lodge at 1:30 p.m. (a place with no park or anything to do), "to rest." ". I'm not going to Kenya from Uruguay for 7 days to rest, needless to say. The day we went to Hells Gate, they gave us 1 hour by bicycle, they did not take us to one of the parts that are allowed to go in the Devil's Throat itself, (they took many people there and it is a spectacular view) and then to drive to Amboselli to get there and do nothing again. When I wrote to Stephen complaining about these things, he always told me about other things and never responded. I told him I felt cheated. The group was 7 people that we had hired from different agencies. The itinerary responded to what they had but my itinerary was different
- The first 2 days they put me to sleep in a room with another person, it was not what was agreed upon either. - It is not my first safari experience. The animals will be notified very early in the morning, 6:30, and in the evening. We always left after 8 am and long before sunset we had returned to the rooms, greatly reducing the safari times. This also greatly reduced the chances of seeing animals. - drivers are drivers, they are not guides. They don't explain anything to you and they don't show anything that doesn't break your eyes either. By the way, they are not at all friendly in their treatment either. - They have a radio in the car to communicate with other cars in case they see animals. One of the safaris left with the radio not working. - on the last day, we were supposed to have a picnic lunch on the way but we rushed it and dropped us directly at the airport - The pack lunch, the times we had it, in my case I am a vegetarian, consisted of 2 loaves that inside had, literally, a very small slice of finely cut tomato and an equal one of cucumber, plus an egg (sometimes) and a banana Although this and eating rice and beans every day is not what worried me. As I said before, I don't go to Kenya for food or to rest.
- the only place we had accommodation in nature was at Amboselly Niati Safari Camp. A very beautiful environment with the stunning view of Kilimanjaro....full of cockroaches that walked inside the bed, through the toothbrush...tremendous I reiterate, everything was very cordial with Stephen until the sign. When I complained to him that it was not what was agreed upon, (especially my insistence was on the safaris) he told me because I was the only one complaining. I was complaining Stephen, I told you at the time and I'll tell you here too, because I was the only one who had another itinerary. It should be in another group, or you should have made it clear to me that there were changes, refunding my money or repairing it in some way. That's why I told you that I felt cheated and I still feel cheated. I am a born traveler and I have been to Africa several times, in conclusion it is the worst company I hired in my life. I have my detailed itinerary and all the WhatsApp messages available to anyone who wants them.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
CON MAN
Joseph is a conman. He only steals clients' monies. Baobab is looking for him to pay a bill of 162,200, clients' monies, that he squandered and did not pay. Joseph is a thief. May God unleash spiritual mob justice on him and heap upon him perpetual shame and disgrace in Jesus' name. Amen. Please ask him to pay Baobab KES 162,200/= now. Do not deal with this Joseph of Royalchoice Travel Limited.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unreliable services
Quite a disappointment!! It's run by a one-man show called Joseph who will ask you for payment in exchange for "a very good package." From the online reviews and his licensed documentation, you would think he is trustworthy. However, trust him at your own peril. Once you pay him the full amount, he will disappear and never pick up your calls. He will not remit your payment to the hotel; we believe he scammed us. Please avoid this Royal Choice travel agency.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Con artist. Scam
We were at Baobab Hotel Mombasa. Joseph did not pay for our hotel stay there. We trusted him with about 400,000. We had to pay for our stay again at Baobab. He refused to pick calls even from the management. He is a wanted man. His case is with the Diani Police Station. Please, please do not get scammed by Joseph.
CN
Full of unhappiness and regret
WARNING⚠️WARNING⚠️There is a fake review in the comments section. If you meet Leroy, it means your entire vacation will be ruined by him，he is a great liar, he is a fraud. He likes to talk on the phone while driving, and his driving habits are very rude and dangerous. You will feel your bones fall apart in the car. During the safari, he didn't work hard at all, just wanted to finish work early and drink beer all night. When driving, he basically went back and forth in the park in the wrong way and circled, wasting everyone's time. Very unprofessional. If he doesn't want to work, he should just quit! There are so many cockroaches in the car that you dare not sleep at all, otherwise the cockroaches will crawl into your eyes, nose and ears! Very bad experience! He will force a five-star review at the end of the project! It's ridiculous! I can only dare to post this review when my flight takes off! They also force Chinese people to tip $10 per person every day, but there is only poor service. It feels like being robbed. I don't want to come to Kenya again! They treat white people with respect like a master, and treat Chinese people like we owe them money，But the fact is that Chinese people pay more than white people. The service attitude is very poor and unfriendly. You can choose any company, but not this one.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Horrible experience with Apodiformes Adventures, can't recommend
We had a very bad experience with Apodiformes Adventures.
The communication and booking process prior to the tour was very smooth, up until it was time to pay the second part of the tour price in cash at pickup. After that, everything changed drastically. First of all, the game drive vehicle they provided was very different from what was promised. It was much much older and extremely uncomfortable. All other game drive jeeps we saw were much more modern & comfortable so we felt that the company tried to save money here, even though their tour is advertised as a luxury tour.
I asked Apodiformes Adventures about this but they ignored my messages!
Our safari guides (which were arranged by Apodiformes Adventures) told us that they only received our booking a day before our arrival, despite us booking several months before with Apodiformes Adventures, which is why they were not prepared for us. Also, our safari guides picked us up in Nairobi & had no idea how to get out of the city, which lead us to drive around for hours within Nairobi, before I had to give them my phone, as their Google Maps did not work properly. I contacted Apodiformes Adventures several times during this & they did not reply.
Also, we were sold a masai village tour through Apodiformes, which felt extremely unethical and like a scam to us. We paid 90 USD for being shown around a village for 10 minutes and later harrased to buy little magnets for 25 USD per piece. Once again, when we contacted our tour operator about this, they did not reply. It again seemed to us that everything goes very smooth up until you've paid the second part of the payment in person at the start of the tour.
The "luxury" lodge they booked for us had no idea we would be 3 people, since apparentely the tour operator failed to communicate this to them, which lead to another problem at room configuration at check-in, which took nearly one hour to resolve in order for us to get the extra bed in an already tiny room, since they had no other rooms available. I've taken 3 safaris in Africa, this one was by far the worst & I can only warn people against wasting your precious vacation with a tour operator that is quite seemingly not taking bookings seriously anymore.