20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Nice gamedrives, excellent driver, bad accommodations, miserable customer service from the office
We’ve been doing a tour for 16 days/15 nights with this company. We visited several nationalparks and destinations in Kenya.
Nairobi-Amboseli-Mount Kenya-Thompson falls-Lake Nakuru-Kakamega forest-Kisumu-Masai Mara-Naivasha-Nairobi was our tour
First of all we can say thanks to our driver and guide Evans, who was very friendly and helpful. We enjoyed all the game drives with him, we were able to spot all of the big five and he was able to tell us a lot about all the animals we saw. He’s very experienced and has a lot of knowledge.
So on the first day in Nairobi we’ve been picked up on time at our hotel and drove to the office to do the outstanding payment with our creditcard. The office wanted to charge us 5% on that amount, which we refused because it was not a small amount and we already paid a lot, it was never mentioned or written anywhere that paying with creditcard will be charged with 5%. If we would have known we would have paid full in advance. We started our program in Nairobi, it was fine and in the evening we arrived at the sopa lodge in Amboseli. The hotel was good and the first game drive the next day was great. On our way back to the lodge our drive told us our program the next to days will change.
There the disaster began, they wanted to fool us the first time. Our schedule was to visit the Mau Mau caves on the way from Amboseli to Mount Kenya the next day but it was not possible due to lack of time (whole day driving). So he told us we would postpone it to the day after and skip a whole day gamedrive/visit in Ol Pejeta Conservancy (Sweetwater Rhino Sanctuary). That’s ridiculous, they obviously really tried to fool us and why was the visit to Mau Mau caves planned anyway, if they now it’s not enough time for it? So of course we’ve been insisting on our gamedrive in Ol Pejeta.
So after the second night in Amboseli we spend the whole day on the road to Nanyuki (Mount Kenya) and arrived at Sportsman Arms Hotel in the evening. Horrible hotel, unfriendly and inconsiderate staff, dark rooms with a lot of broken items (lights, dustbin) and water dripping out of the bathroom light from above. Restaurant also very dark and uncomfortable, staff as mentioned, buffet very small and not tasty at all.
The next day our gamedrive at Ol Pejeta was great but we had to quit in the early afternoon due to one out of four persons was already feeling bad because of conditions of the last night... sad because of the nice conservancy and bad because of returning early to that hotel (we just thought ok we’ll tolerate one more night there).
The next day we went to Nyahururu to visit the Thompson falls, spent few hours on the road and arrived at the lodge for lunch. Already two out of four persons felt bad/were ill due to the last two nights. Lodge was very old and rustical but had charme but could definitely be maintained better, especially the showers.
The next morning we took off to check-in to our hotel in Nakuru and left with picnic lunches for Lake Bogoria which was a nice trip. We arrived at our hotel (Hillside Court) in the late afternoon and took a first look into our rooms and we’ve been disappointed again. Dirty sheets, leaking toilets, dirty towels and so on.
That was the point we decided not to be disappointed about accommodations anymore and just to look forward to get back to the hotels late and wake up early the next morning for gamedrives/excursions.
The next day we had our gamedrive at Lake Nakuru, which was as enjoyable as the other gamedrives! In the evening we had to go back to our hotel, at least the staff tried everything to get us comfortable.
The next day we went to Kakamega forest and finally had a good accommodation again, the Rondo Retreat. Really charming, quiet and in the middle of the forest! After a good night we had a guided walk into the forest the next morning and went to Kisumu arriving at our hotel for lunch.
In Kisumu we decided to upgrade the hotel in advance on our own cost to have two comfortable nights with a day at leisure in between! Later it paid off...
After two nights in Kisumu we took off to Masai Mara with a stop at the soapstone factory in Kisii which was quite interesting. We arrived at our camp in the Mara at dinner-time. The Lechada camp is not maintained well, the mattresses are done, the showers are very dark, dirty, no hot showers, all in all very poor bathrooms, food was okay but the dining hall also very dark. Staff and the Masai have been friendly.
The gamedrives the next two days have been amazing, the Masai Mara is really awesome.
After three nights in the camp we took off to Naivasha and we’ve been really excited about our hotel, the Lake Naivasha Resort was on the program for two nights. Arriving at Lake Naivasha our driver told us we’ll stay in the ‚sweet lake resort‘ which is a totally different price category than the Lake Naivasha Resort wish we found out really fast online, so we told the driver and insisted on to stay in the Lake Naivasha Resort as per program. As we were doing our boatride before lunch, our driver was to sort out with the office. As we came back I had to talk with the boss Lucy from the office for the first time, the lady really told me that the hotel was changed and we’ve been informed about, which was not true and a lie! After me still insisting on us staying in the better hotel as per program she was shouting at me on the phone!!! It was getting later and later so that we even had no lunch and we finally accepted to stay in another hotel called Masada resort, because Lucy was not reasonable and insisting to her lie the hotel was changed and we knew. So we checked in at around 6pm in the Masada Resort without having any lunch (all meals included) and the hotel was also definitely not the same category as the hotel on the program, the hotel that we have paid for! How can a hotel/program that we have paid for be changed?
The next day we went to Hells Gate Nationalpark and had a gamedrive in the morning to back at the hotel for lunch and afternoon at leisure. After another night at that hotel we took off to Nairobi the next day.
We would never recommend that agency to anybody, please be careful!
Our driver/guide Evans Ngigi was really excellent but the Office/the boss Lucy really unprofessional, customer service was very bad or no customer service at all! She tried to fool us with skipping Ol Pejeta Conservancy which is 95 USD per person, in total almost 400 USD. And finally she corned us with our hotel in Naivasha and saved a lot of money (hundreds). This lady is criminal! Sadly we had no chance to react because it was already paid and booked directly with that agency in Kenya.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Thoroughly investigate prior to booking
Purchased a Safari Via a charity. They were very difficult to communicate with, did not have black out dates, once we started nailing down trip, my dates became unavailable, then they became unresponsive, then when I reached out Charity, they all of a sudden had our dates available but then tried to charge us fees to get to the location of more then $8,000. for a few hours drive. They are suppose to be a non profit however in further research, it is difficult to find information about that part. They had not kept up their paperwork and it had just gotten filed a year prior. We have decided not to trust them on such an important vacation. if they can't communicate now, what would we do in a foreign company. Do your research.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Awful vehicle
After checking potential tours and their providers through the African Safari website, my husband and I recently booked a 3 night, 4 day safari tour to Selous and Mikumi with African Sunrise Travel. Their price was USD 980 (incl bank fee) per person +USD40 for the driver-guide, similar to other quotes we received.
Not everything was as described ( e.g., the Mpingo Lodge did not have WiFi), but the vehicle was a modified Landcruiser. However, we needed two vehicles: the first one was ancient (mid-eighties?) and a complete wreck. Rundown, inside and out. No thread on the tyres. Dangerous and not road worthy. It broke down within 15 minutes, and we had to wait for an hour before we were back on the road again with a replacement car.
The second vehicle was also very old but marginally better, at least the tyres were good. However: the air conditioner was not working, and therefore we were exposed to breathe in dust for most of the journey from Dar Es Salaam to Selous and from Selous to Mikumi (I am not referring to the game drives!). Our near new suitcases, other luggage items and ourselves were coated in a thick layer of dust. Nothing worked on the instrument panel. The odometer’s reading was stuck at 467000 km, no idea when that was. The seatbelts were only lap belts and therefore inadequate. There were no hand grips to hold onto.
In short: the tour was uncomfortable, unhealthy and unsafe.
AE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very bad experience
We hired their service for people over 50 to climb Kilimanjaro on the Lemosho route. From the beginning the guides were annoyed because were not fast enough for their expectations. They gave us no kind of support and even treated us condescending. We made the claim to the company but they didn't give us any answers. In short , if you are over 50, forget about this company
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Careful, this guy is a thief ! Big scam
Careful, THIS GUY IS A THIEF ! We made a deposit of 1000 $ for a twelve days safari in Kenya and Tanzania, and the guy never paid the real safari companies we were supposed to take. We had to pay the kenyan company by ourselves, but we canceled the trip in Tanzania. Indeed, Erick, the owner of Ewammanns Safaris never showed up. HE STOLE US 1000 $ and ruined our holidays. We never had the chance to get what we paid for. Never trust him, he is a lyer and a thief ! The only times he turned his mobile on was to ask us the balance of the trip in order to steal even more money. If you want to enjoy your trip, run away !
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Don’t trust him!
While looking forward to exploring the beautiful country of Tanzania, we thought we could use the guidance and expertise of one of the locals. We contacted Arnold, and he presented himself as a local guide and travel agency, with all the right connections and experience to help us create an unforgettable trip.
After discussing our travel plans, Arnold made us pay a deposit 5 months in advance. He needed it to pay for our accommodations and make reservation with several other travel institutions.
One month prior to our departure we discovered that NONE of the reservations in the accommodations where made ( nor in our name, or his) and nothing was paid. After contacting Arnold he came up with a bunch of excuses and promises to make it right. No real explanation. In the end he stopped answering emails or text messages, and no rectifications were ever made. We ended up booking (very last minute!) through another agency and loosing about 2400 USD. What would have happened if we never double checked with the hotels ourselves ?! Arnold may present himself as genuine and authentic, but unfortunately he is a SCAM!
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
We have still not received the large amount of USD we had to provide for unpaid Park Fees
Further to my last review I feel that I now need to update other possible clients that Peter Mapinda has still failed to reimburse the National Park Fees which we had to provide to access and leave the Serengeti.This is despite promises made over the past 5 weeks.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Horrible
STAY AWAY!!!
We were soooo unlucky to have come to this place. The employee who was “helping” us seems very sure about all our requirements and gave us the package that we wanted. However, as soon we’ve started our journey lots of issues started to take place. We didn’t get what was promised in both hotels we’ve stayed in. The safari didn’t include the park fees, which we were not told about and the list goes on...
They were not helpful at all when we contacted them about the issues and in the end it spoiled our trip.
The driver was really good (Philip) but other than that it was a real disgrace.
They should be ashamed
TH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Bad travel agent in Africa
Me and my husband booked 6 days 5 nights safari tour in Kenya with this company. Ms.Regina and Jecton the driver were cheating people.
They changed our itinerary on spot. They tried to avoid to pay for the National Park to save the budget which makes us miss the morning and evening safari.
One day on our itinerary, we have to do evening safari in Amboseli National Park but the driver try to delay the drive to arrive late in hotel because he doesn't want us to visit the park and he can save at least 140 us dollars.
We paid money for safari but we miss two times Safari because of this bad people, Regina and Jecton
Don't use this company if you don't want to disappoint with your Safari experience..
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The company is bankrupt and the owners are liars
Protas Kilongola and Tom Kilongola are liars who will let you down. They did not book the hotels we asked for, lied to our face and have refused to pay money they owe us.
They asked us to pay park admission fees of c.$500 (which we were told were already included) with a promise of paying us back. They have never done this. I have seen bank records which indicate they are almost bankrupt.
Other people have suffered worse than us, so don’t book with them because they will let you down and steal your money.