20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lost $3K USD to the company - I recommend you stay away like the plague
TLDR: In my opinion Amani is a professional liar and it shocks me as to how he has been given 5 star ratings on this page. He collects the full tour's payment upfront but fails to deliver parts of the tour and pockets the cash for himself. We have many instances of Amani confirming the money will be refunded for the parts of the tour that could not be arranged, however we have yet to see the refund come through. We have been scammed of $3k USD and have filed a police report and are in conversations with the regulatory bodies in Tanzania requesting for aid in recovering this money. I am writing this review to create awareness of this premeditated disgusting scam that all current and future travelers should stay away from. Screenshots attached.
Tour Details
Tour Operator: Amani
Company Name: Kipok Africa Adventures
Tour Dates: August 17 - August 23, 2024
Booking and Payment Summary
I paid 50% of the total package fee ($4,285 USD) prior to the start date, with the remaining 50% paid in cash on August 17.
We were asked to pay an additional $550 USD in cash for a night game drive and a visit to a Maasai village on August 17. These activities, however, were never delivered, and the hotels confirmed that night game drives were not possible. Amani definitely knew this and yet promised to deliver a night game drive, indicating a beginning of the scam.
Daily Itinerary & Incident Summary
August 17 - 19: Amani Mara Camp, Masai Mara, Kenya – No issues; services provided as agreed. However, the night game drive and Maasai village visit, for which we paid $550 USD, were not delivered.
August 19 - 22: Kubu Kubu Tented Luxury Lodge, Serengeti, Tanzania (Screenshots attached)
Before our arrival at Kubu Kubu, Mr. Laizer informed us of a payment issue on his end and requested that we pay the hotel directly for our three nights. He assured us we would be refunded at the end of the tour.
Despite repeated follow-ups, we have yet to receive this refund.
August 22 - 23: Neptune Lodge, Ngorongoro, Tanzania – No issues; payment covered as agreed.
Incident at Ngorongoro Park (screenshots attached)
Upon arrival at Ngorongoro, Mr. Laizer cited a “technical issue” with his payment to the park and instructed us to pay the park fees directly. We complied, incurring additional costs.
Between these incidents, the extra payments totaled $3,076 USD, revealing a consistent pattern of fraudulent requests for money. We had already paid the tour fee in full, and the additional payments were unjustified and based on false pretenses.
I am sharing this to alert other travelers to the fraudulent practices of Amani Laizer & Kipok Africa Adventures. Please be cautious and consider other, more reputable safari operators. I would be giving 0 stars if I could.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
This guide abandoned us on Day 2 of our safari, I recommend you beware
My wife and I (from Sydney, Australia) organised and pre-paid USD 6,750 in late 2023 for a primate safari tour with Explore Uganda with Dan for a trip in August 2024, We booked with Explore Uganda with Dan based on their 71 fantastic 5-star Trip Advisor reviews over 8 years, and on the basis he was a fully registered guide company with the Uganda Tourism Board.
We arrived in Uganda on 5 August and the tour commenced the next day. The tour included three expensive full day habituation permits for gorillas, chimpanzees and golden monkeys (this totalled USD 3,500 of the total USD 6,750 we paid Dan and we paid him those monies way back in November 2023 so he could make sure he obtained the permits which are hard to get).
Daniel (the owner of Explore Uganda with Dan) picked us up from our Kampala hotel and we had a long 7 hour drive to Kibale NP where we were going to do the chimpanzee habituation tour the next day. We arrived at the car park at 6am the next morning and Dan was not there. He had left us a voicemail at 5am saying that there was an issue with the permits and he was driving back to Kampala "to fix things". I eventually got onto Dan that evening on WhatsApp and he said he was nearly back at Kibale NP and that things should be OK - he told us to be at the car park at 6am the next morning. We turned up again at 6am and Dan was not there again. This time he had left us a voicemail at 4am saying he was extremely sorry but he could not continue our tour, that he was headed back to Kampala, and that he would refund all our money paid (note: he has not paid us back anything 6 weeks later). So he just abandoned us at the Treetops hotel in Kibale NP with no transport and no accommodation (Treetops hotel was full up that night and beyond). We spoke to several experienced guides at Treetops that morning that were looking after their own clients , and they were in disbelief that Dan could just abandon us at the start of our tour - they had never seen anything like it in all their years of tourism in Uganda.
Dan did eventually admit to us that he had bought our three habituation permits on the dodgy Ugandan secondary market for permits, and that he had been sold fake permits. He obviously then couldn't rectify the situation, panicked, and then just abandoned us. We understand that the Uganda Tourism Board which is the body that licences and regulates operators like Travel Uganda with Dan, will soon revoke his tourism licence. We now know of three other couples that Dan ripped off for large sums of money that he did not complete tours for. It seems that unfortunately our tour was the start of when it all fell apart for Dan.
Thanks for reading through our long, sorry tale, and please do not use this disreputable operator.
CA
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent Company to plan your trip to Tanzania
Cornelius from Safari Africa United planned the perfect trip for us. We had done four safari's in Africa before so we had a wish list which Cornelius managed to highlight everything we had wanted to do.
We wanted a ten day safari so from the beginning the price was as advertised. We chose a mid-range accommodation and it was perfect from very luxurious lodges to tented camps where you could sit on your deck and watch herds of animals graze past.
The meals served in buffet style offered many choices. The camp staff were amazing singing when we arrived, sometimes for dinner entertainment and always for our departure.
This was the first time we had witnessed the migration across the Mara River. It was a sight and everything we could have hoped for. We were very lucky and saw five crossings.
If we are able ( in our 80's ) to do a sixth trip we would again ask Cornelius from Safari Africa United to plan our trip
Thank you to Cornelius, Safari Africa United staff, the amazing camp staff that took such good care of us - you all. made this a most memorable visit to an amazing country.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Nyerere National Park by John Anderson
Stunning place and abundance of wildlife
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Kruger National Park by Oliver Mueller
Very dense Bush, good sightings in October due to dryness, small animal groups, good variety of animals
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beautiful destination, culture and people surrounded by spectacular wildlife.
Fantastic time with Bujo tours who created real memories for our family in Tanzania. We were a family of 5 (including 3 teenagers 13 to 15) travelling from London in October 2024. We had 3 days including River, Game Drive and Walking and couldn’t have asked for a better experience in a beautiful country full of fantastic people. We saw everything Elephants, Lions, Zebra, Hippo, Impala, Hyenas, Hogs and so many more animals and Birds, too many to list. The weather was fantastic high 20s everyday. Go and enjoy. Thanks guys. The Anderson’s UK.
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
We experienced a raw, scenic beauty driving through the deserts and wildlife rich regions of Namibia
From entering Namibia at the Orange River, to The Fish River Canyon, Sossusvlei, Grootberg, Etosha and Kalahari, we enjoyed unique landscape and wildlife experiences. I can highly recommend Namibia as an incredible country and destination.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
We had a wonderfull time - beautifull views, wonderful game viewing, good food and company
The park was amazing and the lodges and staff made the expeirience wonderful. We had a really good time, one of my best safaris in Africa
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great experience and lucky with animals in Klaserie Reserve
Can really recommend the Panorama Route, Oliver's Boutique Hotel, Elephant Whispers, Seronera Croc Farm & the very nice Simbavati Waterside Lodge for Parents with Teens, as they have a Villa with 2 Bedrooms, excellent personal service and cool game drives.
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Awesome experience
Our recent trip to Uganda could not have met our expectations more. The country has well deserved the title of ‘pearl of Africa’, the country is impressive, the landscapes are spectacular and having an endangered wonder like the gorilla cannot be a greater attraction to visit it. If you add to that the possibility of seeing chimpanzees in their habitat, lions, hyenas, leopards, etc....
On the downside is the infrastructure, access to Biwindi Park is poor, something I think the country needs to improve. Nor is it perceived that the money paid to enter the park goes directly to the local communities.
Regarding the operator, I can only recommend it highly: East African Jungle Safaris, Ruth was attentive to all our needs and the accommodations are of excellent quality, the food too and the driver/guide assigned was very good too, thank you very much Ruth!!!!