CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Don’t choose Seven by far as your Kenya tour agency
This was an extremely disappointing service experience. Shocking, Unbelievable,infuriating and even desperate.
Seven by far is an untrustworthy, extremely unprofessional company that only good at avoiding responsibilities.Complete lack of credit and integrity. I strongly advise everyone to never choose seven by far as your agency to Kenya and Tanzania. They will ruin everything!
Imagine what kind of experience it is when you are in a completely strange environment, in a strange country, without any preparation,BUT can't reach your travel agent.We felt so helpless!They didn’t even pay the accomodation money to the hotel!We certainly had the ability to take the initiative to resolve some of the issues, and in fact we did, under duress, because if we didn't act, our entire vacation plans would go down the drain. But what about our pre-agreed contract? We gave an offer and you accepted it, and since you accepted it, it means that you should have the ability to arrange everything within the budget, right?No one forced you to accept it, we paid for it, but then you played the disappearing act and just left us four girls in a camp that was downgraded without any prior notice. Instead of being able to enjoy our vacation and have fun every day, we have to act as seven by far’s employees and solve THEIR business problems. May I ask if Seven by far will pay us a salary?
The truth is that there was already an sign of this during the pre-negotiation of the trip and budget, and after we paid the deposit, SEVEN BY FAR's attitude took a 180 degree turn, Mr.Sylvester blocked me on WhatsApp,just to intimidate us into thinking that they were going to run away with the money at any moment, what a ridiculously childish act! Unbelievable!
During our travels in Africa, seven by far repeatedly defaulted on payments to our partner companies, drivers, guides, and hotels, causing our trip to be irreparably affected. (FYI this is not the first time seven by far has done this.) There was even fake money involved, I am speechless.Not mention that they downgraded our accommodation many times without any prior notice.
When we finally met with the person in charge of seven by far, the lady promised us that she would compensate us, and then we also negotiated the amount of the payout on WhatsApp (although the amount could hardly make up for our loss), but after all this time we still haven't gotten the money, and Mr.Sylvester would only say over and over again that it's being processed, so please bear with them.
So one of us posted a bad review on safari booking and guess what?Mr.Sylvester quickly contacted us and said no more compensation. Haha! What a shameless and unrepentant businessman!
You are a shame of Kenya.
US
65+ years of age
I would never use Catz Tours ever again!
I booked a 1/2 day Jewish tour of Johannesburg with Annekie a few weeks ago. Company accommodated by moving tour up one day. After an hour, guide acknowledged he knew virtually nothing about Jewish community in Johannesburg and had never conducted Jewish tour. I then terminated tour but paid in full. Guide graciously said I should not pay if I didn't get what I contracted for. I asked him to talk to Annekie. A few hours later she doubled down, kept the money, and said she never had complaints about the Jewish tour. I no longer believe this was misunderstanding, I believe it was dishonesty. I would never ever use this company. Beware.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Updates after previous post: They kept LYING and NO WAY to refund you
It took us 2 months to back and forth negotiate with Seven by far for the refund after the nightmare trip. After we reached agreement on the amount, they used all the excuses to delay the refund and finally AVIODED our calls/msgs. We shared our experience here with 1 star rating(Refer to our previous Post for the details " For your own safety and money worth, DON'T choose this fraud"), then they IMMEDIATELY send message to us to inform that they CANCELLED our refund because of the 1 star rating post.
They lied all the time. In the trip, they kept saying whatever missed in the trip, they would refund, but they did not. After the trip, they agreed on the refund and kept saying they were processing it, but they did not. Now just because we were TELLING THE TRUTH to disclosure their terrible service, they were mad on and don't refund us.
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
They ruined my safari
Attention! do not go to any of these safari agencies (Kilimanjaro Adventure Safari Club, Kima, Safari Moja Matata) especially not to Mister Thomas. I think they are scammers.
We paid Mr. Thomas 3800 USD to have a 8 days safari, at the end of July 2023: Serengeti, Lake Natron, Olduvai Gorge, lake Maniara. Starting from Arusha. He promised us the new car which pics he sent us by whatsapp when we contacted him, but a very old Toyota was used for our safari. The car was very very old and dangerous and Mr Thomas put us in a very serious DANGER and RISK for our LIVES! AND HE KNEW IT. That was a criminal way to work with people.
First of all, we paid Kilimanjaro Adventure Safari Club; the safari program was by KIMA company, and to enter the parks the name of the company was Safari Moja Matata. We don't know what happened.
The Toyota Prado sx 30 turbo (plate T457 ANR) had very worn tyres, left windows and doors didn't work (we can't get out of the car, we can't close the windows when the road was dusty), brakes didn't work and produced smoke and bud smell, brake fluid came out from the left front wheel, rear shock absorbers didn't work so the car skided dangerously and the engine made strange noises. The car was very very dirty and rusted. The driver (Juma) had to drive very slowly because the car swerving when improved the speed, so we lost a lot of time for visiting the parks. We were very afraid for our safety.
After a day driving, we wrote and phoned to Thomas to ask him for changing the car for a better one as those in the picture he sent, but he said it was the only avaible car. He said the car was ok, but it wasn't at all.
In fact, on 25th July one of the bald tyres broke. They mount the spare wheel but he broke after 20 meters! The spare tyre was very bald too.
We stand on the road for hours to wait for new wheels. I called Thomas to protest, he said we was right and he would refund us for that day, but he didn't it. That was the last time he answered at calling or sending messages.
Finally Thomas sent a private car that carried us to Lake Natron but we arrived in late and we had only 2 hours to visit the side in a great hurry.
By night, the driver Juma arrived to Natron with the same old car again and 2 new tyres and we continued the safari on the same old car.
The safari continued driving always very very slowly and we always must wait 2/3 ours for the payment for entering the parks because Thoms were always in late in that. We lost a lot of time every time.
On 27th July in Serengeti the brake fluid came out from a wheel that made bad noises. So we couldn't arrive to Serengeti Central and we had to pass the first night in another camping near the border of the park. Because of the slow driving and the in late payments we arrived on 28th July to Olduvai Gorge only 1 our before the closing! INCREDIBLE! We have no enought time to visit all we wanted.
On 29th July, during descending Ngorongoro slope, brakes caught fire! The company put us in a great danger! We could have a serious accident during the deep descent. A lot of other drivers stopped to advise us about the dangerous situation.
On the way back, climbing the Ngorongoro slope, the car stopped because the engine produced smoke. We all pushed the car trying to restart the car unsuccessfully. Another car gave a ride to the top of the slope. The old and dangerous car broke definitely and our driver left it in Ngorongoro.
We remained with no safari car, and we continued our safari changing different private cars for the remaining 2 days with great discomforts and delays, while you disappeared at all!
On the way back to Arusha we went to the Arusha Tourist & Diplomatic Police station to make a report to the police.
The police said that surely one of the three safari companies was a fake.
Our safari and our holiday are ruined, and we risked our lives!
After the report at the police, Mr Thomas promised to refund us 1500 USD, but he disappeared without doing it.
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Terrible experience
Attention! do not go to any of these safari agencies (Kilimanjaro Adventure Safari Club, Kima, Safari Moja Matata) especially not to Mister Thomas. I think they are scammers.
We paid Mr. Thomas 3800 USD to have a 8 days safari, at the end of July 2023: Serengeti, Lake Natron, Olduvai Gorge, lake Maniara. Starting from Arusha. He promised us the new car which pics he sent us by whatsapp when we contacted him, but a very old Toyota was used for our safari. The car was very very old and dangerous and Mr Thomas put us in a very serious DANGER and RISK for our LIVES! AND HE KNEW IT. That was a criminal way to work with people.
First of all, we paid Kilimanjaro Adventure Safari Club; the safari program was by KIMA company, and to enter the parks the name of the company was Safari Moja Matata. We don't know what happened.
The Toyota Prado sx 30 turbo (plate T457 ANR) had very worn tyres, left windows and doors didn't work (we can't get out of the car, we can't close the windows when the road was dusty), brakes didn't work and produced smoke and bud smell, brake fluid came out from the left front wheel, rear shock absorbers didn't work so the car skided dangerously and the engine made strange noises. The car was very very dirty and rusted. The driver (Juma) had to drive very slowly because the car swerving when improved the speed, so we lost a lot of time for visiting the parks. We were very afraid for our safety.
After a day driving, we wrote and phoned to Thomas to ask him for changing the car for a better one as those in the picture he sent, but he said it was the only avaible car. He said the car was ok, but it wasn't at all.
In fact, on 25th July one of the bald tyres broke. They mount the spare wheel but he broke after 20 meters! The spare tyre was very bald too.
We stand on the road for hours to wait for new wheels. I called Thomas to protest, he said we was right and he would refund us for that day, but he didn't it. That was the last time he answered at calling or sending messages.
Finally Thomas sent a private car that carried us to Lake Natron but we arrived in late and we had only 2 hours to visit the side in a great hurry.
By night, the driver Juma arrived to Natron with the same old car again and 2 new tyres and we continued the safari on the same old car.
The safari continued driving always very very slowly and we always must wait 2/3 ours for the payment for entering the parks because Thoms were always in late in that. We lost a lot of time every time.
On 27th July in Serengeti the brake fluid came out from a wheel that made bad noises. So we couldn't arrive to Serengeti Central and we had to pass the first night in another camping near the border of the park. Because of the slow driving and the in late payments we arrived on 28th July to Olduvai Gorge only 1 our before the closing! INCREDIBLE! We have no enought time to visit all we wanted.
On 29th July, during descending Ngorongoro slope, brakes caught fire! The company put us in a great danger! We could have a serious accident during the deep descent. A lot of other drivers stopped to advise us about the dangerous situation.
On the way back, climbing the Ngorongoro slope, the car stopped because the engine produced smoke. We all pushed the car trying to restart the car unsuccessfully. Another car gave a ride to the top of the slope. The old and dangerous car broke definitely and our driver left it in Ngorongoro.
We remained with no safari car, and we continued our safari changing different private cars for the remaining 2 days with great discomforts and delays, while you disappeared at all!
On the way back to Arusha we went to the Arusha Tourist & Diplomatic Police station to make a report to the police.
The police said that surely one of the three safari companies was a fake.
Our safari and our holiday are ruined, and we risked our lives!
After the report at the police, Mr Thomas promised to refund us 1500 USD, but he disappeared without doing it.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Proceed with Caution
Think twice before booking!
Unfortunately this did not turn out well. We haven't been to Kenya yet so our experience with African Mosaic Tours has made the last week or so very stressful and manic.
At first, Max, the CEO, was friendly, very quick at replying and put together a safari pack we were happy with. We sent across our deposit to the link that Max provided, he confirmed he had received it and we were set to go. Happy days! Or not…
I messaged Max last week to update my contact details and he came back to me in his usual quick response time but on this occasion accused me or being a fraud, that I was playing a “ game “ and that they have never used that payment option before, therefore, he has not received our deposit. My partner called him but he was aggressive and rude to her on the phone and he has now ceased communication with us and appears to be ignoring emails from other people who are trying to get to the bottom of this. We were, and still are, baffled as to what has happened here. What boils my blood is his outright lying. Everything he denies is in the email communication between us. I have the payment link, I have payment confirmation and I have a screen shot from Max showing my money in their account.
It doesn’t look like this is going to be settled through Max and African Mosaic Tours since they’re ignoring emails so I am going to have to find the answers through other routes. We have since booked another safari which just looks incredible but I would very much like my 1700USD back from this company.
Think long and hard about booking with this company. I’m sure they do and have provided safaris in the past but if this experience has happened to me then it can happen to others too.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
For your own safety and money worthy, DON'T choose this fraud
I and my friends (4 persons) booked the 14 days Kenya&Tanzania trip(Sep 10 - Sep 23), and the whole trip became a nightmare since Day 6 until the end. Below are what happened to us, which might happen on you too. For your own safety and money worthy, NEVER EVER choose Seven by Far.
1. Became the hostage in the wilderness:
Seven by Far outsourced our Tanzania part to the local tour agency without telling us, and had payment issues with the local agency. The local agency refused to provide the service unless they received the full payments from Seven by Far. During the time, Seven by far just left us there. We had to communicate and negotiate with the local agency and pushed Seven to talk with THEIR OWN agency. They had the same payment issues with the Safari camp, the camp hold us there because they also did not receive the full payment. Instead of sending money to the camp, Seven asked us to pay the rest by our own and said they would refund us at the end of trip. This mess last 4 days and we lost 5 safari drives in Serengeti and had to change our rest of trip. In those 4 days, we were sucked there in anxiety and nervous and had to keep calling Seven by Far to resolve their own payment issues, but they just left us there. At the end, the Camp argued with Seven by Far and finally got full payment and allow us leave, and we paid by our own to the local tour agency to move our trip forward.
2. Never notify you when they made change in your trip:
They changed our accommodation from North Serengeti to Central Serengeti without any notification, downgraded from Rive Camp to Ikoma Camp for 2 nights, also downgraded the accommodation from AA lodge(4 stars) to the Kamala camp(1 star) for 2 nights in Amboseli. After we called them, their explanation was the original accommodations were not available. But should you notify the customers in advance instead of directly throwing the customers to a place they never expect?
3. Same story again, suck in any place you never expect:
In last day, Seven by Far booked the local driver to take us to the airport. Same story again that the local driver said they did not receive full payment so they would not provide us the transportation to the airport. We called Seven by far multiples times, they can't resolve it, then we paid our own to catch the flight.
4. Refund?
2 hrs before our flight, they showed us a paper and said they would refund. Since we were back from the trip, we spend 1 month to negotiate with them and finally reached agreement on the refund amount $1857. Then another round battle start, they kept saying they were processing the refund but until today(Nov 24), we did not receive even 1 penny and they become unreachable.
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Irresponsible; callous; unapologetic; indifferent to fact we paid for a service he could not deliver
Sold safari itinerary that proved to be undeliverable.
Driven in land cruiser with several major defects, many of which were significant safety risks.
The most harrowing part of the journey was during 14-hour drive from Makumi to Selous (which should have taken no more than 7 hours).
Just after 7pm on this drive, the headlights on the vehicle failed. It was dark and very remote where it happened.
The road was potholed and riven (a truck had been stuck in the mud earlier and we had waited an hour while villagers dug it out before we could pass).
The driver resorted to holding his mobile phone out of the window in his right hand,to shine the light from his screen on to road. His left hand held the wheel and he drove one-handed, with very little light from his phone, with hazard lights on.
The journey was completed agonisingly slowly in this dangerous one-handed fashion.
Because of the rain, it was also hard to distinguish the road from water on both sides.
We both thought we would die.
The following day we saw Steven, the company owner, at the river safari where he was with a group (from the hotel where we had been staying). He was in a more superior vehicle.
We were rightly angry. We tried to tell him about some of our experience of the tour, but he offered not one word of sympathy, still less any apology or acceptance of responsibility.
When we said our lives had been endangered, he said we should take it as an adventure! I am in my 70s and my wife is nearly 70. We do not need this kind of adventure at this stage in our lives. We are well-travelled and had ‘slummed it’ in our twenties.
When my wife mentioned that the hand rail came off when she held on to it as the vehicle tipped at 45degrees going through a rut, Steven said that it was probably because of her weight!!!
We pointed out to him that it was his responsibility to provide us with a vehicle that was fit-for-purpose. He responded that it was the rain that posed a problem to our journey having taken so long.
This is just an account of the worst part of the tour.
We bought a 4-day safari (84 hours) but spent spent a total of 31.5 hours travelling in the vehicle, with a mere 8 hours on actual safari in the two parks, Makumi and Selous.
We paid USD1800 and were provided with an unroadworthy, not fit-for-purpose vehicle.
The accommodation was changed at the last minute on the first day and we were put up in a place with no fan, air-conditioning or hot water.
The accommodation at Selous did have a fan, but no hot water for a shower after our gruelling journey or for an early morning shower. (They did provide hot water later in the day but no hot shower before our walking Safari before breakfast.)
It was a terrifying experience.
Clearly not value for money.
TW
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Terrible
I think Seven by Far Tours is a cheat agent. They didn’t apply VISA for me, so I can't get into Kenya. They promised me they would return my money 1795 USD, but they always said they were processing now. It has been three months, I still haven’t gotten my money. If you want to go to Kenya Safari, don’t consider this agent. I think they are cheaters.
CN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A terrible company and one that all travelers should beware of
I have always thought that the second-selling travel agency on SafariBooking has basic service guarantees,！
but I am wrong!
The trip was very bad. I changed three cars and three drivers in a row on the road. I didn't have any notices or reminders before, which made me feel at a loss, and there was no apology and explanation afterwards, especially the last driver was not prepared any water for us and we were all thirsty and unbearable, and we couldn't buy any water. The most exaggerated thing was that the driver was unwilling to take me to the airport. The 7-day itinerary included the last delivery to the airport. He asked me to call Uber by myself!
All future travelers！
please don't be blinded by the so-called sales volume and are blinded by more than 1,000 comments, choose this company carefully, and choose a travel agency carefully!