IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Broken head and eyeglasses, downgraded to poorer accommodation, standard scams with optionals etc...
We encountered:
- one broken head and eyeglasses
During the exit from the 4x4 vehicle at DINE 45, the driver opened all doors that could rotate 180 degrees and did not secure them. The back door curved and hit the head of my colleague who had already come out of the vehicle and then crash his glasses and he got hematoma on his head. This only happened due to negligence of drivers and guides. We have seen other drivers unloading passengers and holdin the doors in place so that a similar problem would not happen.
- downgraded to poorer accommodation
When we booked the trip, they confirmed our stay (2 days) at Namibia Desert Lodge and instead we were in a campsite with no internet in anything that looked like a tent.
- standard scams with optionals
During the trip we went to a lodge where we were told we could go and watch some wild animals in the cage. They did not let us know that we had to pay for it. Only later, they asked us to pay about $ 10 per person. Everybody in the group was surprised and the guide later said he warned us that we could watch animals "only if we want." But he did not say that if we want we have to pay for it and that this activity is not included.
- a minibus that was constantly drowned
They have been late for more than 1 hour when taking over the hotel for the first day. Explanation: Vehicle problem. I do not know what they did in those hours, but the vehicle we were on for 6 days and over 2000 km was a permanent breakdown and it was not pleasant to stay in the middle of the road with a broken vehicle and the first village 100 km away.
- we were stolen money from the minibus while there was no one around the minibus, only the driver
The last day, only a 2 hours before the end of the trip, we stopped at a lodge for lunch. Until then, the drivers (who is also the guide) was always sitting during the lunch and the dinner with us (group of 7) at the same table. This time not. We were alone in a restaurant inside the lodge, there were no people around. The driver moved away from the group. We left inside the minibus a bag with my colleague's wallet. The money was stolen from the wallet: not all the money was stolen, but only a few large banknotes. We realised this when arrived to the hotel.
I asked the agency to give me an explanation on these issues (and many other things I did not even mentioned here) but they mostly refuse responsibility. I demanded a refund and I told them that if they decided to make a refund, that would be to the account of the humanitarian organisation I will indicate to them. I do not want a refund, but someone who has accomplished this kind of service needs to bear responsibility for it. Apart from the agency I will write more reviews on the internet, it is even more a responsibility of the tour operator (SWA SAFARI).
Sorry for my bad english but I will write other reports on Italian and Spanish (my mother tongues).
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Horrific!
Horrid experience. Victor, is not only a liar but a thief. Poor communication, he didn’t uphold the contract. We were held against our will at a hotel before the bill was paid, which we had to pay again. Though Victor received money for these fees 7-8 months in advance. Payment for the park fees weren’t done by Victor. The hotel accommodations he confirmed in the email were not made upon arrival to the Serengeti National Park. Instead Victor arranged for us to stay at a hostel. My group and I paid $200 US/ night to stay at a wildlife lodge with appropriate accommodations. Victor insisted on obtaining cash payment before the driver will take us on the safari.
This man needs to be reported!
ES
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Not recommendable
After making the reservation 2 months before arriving (in Spain), hotels were full with NO reservation from agency. My trip was 9 days. We had to share rooms 5 nights; we paid for double rooms. After calling the agency, no response. One month later, We are still waiting for a compensation or justification. Baboon is the same company.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
DO NOT USE SHE STEALS YOUR MONEY
We visited Uganda in June on the celebration of my 50th Birthday. All started well until we got to see the gorillas and same as last review no permits paid for and we had two days to pay for and had to pay twice. Again as last review we paid her in January. Then went to see Chimps in Kibale and were staying in a lovely hotel close to chimps but had to move as this was not paid for either! The driver was not being paid and was hassling us for money too which we had no choice but to give him or be left stranded. Bella did come and meet us and gave us same story. We did consider going to the police but trusted her that she would refund us. To date we have received nothing! DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Do yourself a favor and use any other company!
We do not recommend using Ecobushman, Isaac Ouma and Shelley McCarthy if you go on Safari. We paid $568 per day and stayed in hotels that were filthy, had no water, and unsafely locked us in the hotel with bars. Many of the restaurants we ate at were dodgy at best and many meals were cookies on the road. The car was constantly in the shop which caused us to lose over a week of our 5 week trip. Everywhere we went they had trouble accessing our money so this trip seemed to be a lot of waiting for a lot of money. Isaac and Shelley have said that it’s the roads, the banking and Africa’s imperfections. We have never heard of such calamities with any of our friends that have traveled to Africa. Do yourself a favor and go with one of the many other companies available. Feel free to contact us with any questions. [email protected]
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
"World Escapes" nearly RUINED our Africa vacation
"World Escapes & Adventures" nearly RUINED our recent Africa vacation! We paid in full, months in advance, for a camping safari in southern Kenya, transfer to a second subcontracted tour operator in Tanzania, a night in a hotel in Arusha Tanzania, a second safari in Tanzania, then another hotel night in Arusha and transfer to Arusha airport for a few additional days of independent travel. The dates were for August 24th to September 10th 2018.
The first part, in Kenya, which they handled directly with their own staff, was fine. But everything after that was a disaster. They completely screwed up all of the arrangements with the subcontracted Tanzania company and with the Tanzania hotel reservations.
The 'transfer' was supposed to be our Kenya guide driving us to the Kenya/Tanzania border to hand us off to the second guide. But the guide drove us to a restaurant in Nairobi and left us with a second staff member, who then turned us over to a THIRD staff member after lunch, who then put us and our luggage on a PUBLIC BUS and then he LEFT US with no instructions! And once the bus left Nairobi we found out it wasn't stopping at the border, it was going all the way to Arusha! So apparently the plan had changed without us being informed. When we got to Arusha, the bus stopped at a hotel that was not the "Roika Inn" as stated in our written itinerary, and this new hotel didn't have reservations for us. They called the Roika Inn for us and - the Roika didn't have reservations for us either! We ran back to the bus stop and found the driver and he agreed to call "World Escapes" for us (our phone didn't work in Tanzania) and they told him we had reservations at a THIRD hotel, which we had never been told about, the 'Tourist Inn". And if the bus driver hadn't generously agreed to drive us there, we would have been on our own in the middle of the night trying to find a way to get to this hotel.
Then the next day, the new tour company informed us that World Escapes had never paid them for our tour! We got back on the phone with World Escapes and were told a strange story - they had put several hundred dollars of my full payment back onto my credit card on the previous day (I had no way to access my bank records and verify this), and it was now MY responsibility to pay the subcontracted tour company! Good luck accessing that amount of cash in the middle of the Serengeti...
I was able to work out arrangements with the second company whereby I paid for our Serengeti park entry fees using a credit card (the bulk of the amount in question) and then use an ATM to pay them the remaining smaller amount in cash. I would have to check my bank records when I got home and figure out what had really happened with this strange unauthorized "refund" onto my card...
Then World Escapes began avoiding calls from the subcontracted Tanzania company for the duration of the second safari, so the Tanzania company had no idea what hotel they were supposed to take us to after the safari. We called the "Tourist Inn" where we had been a few days earlier, and not only did they not have any new reservation, they told us World Escapes NEVER PAID THEM for the night we had already stayed there!
I was finally able to get World Escapes on the phone on the last day of the Tanzania tour and demand that they tell us the name of the hotel they had booked for us for the final night (and pointed out that I HAD ALREADY PAID FOR THIS!) and asked them to confirm they had paid for transfer to the airport the next day, and there was just a long silence.... and then they said "Let me get back to you". And of course, THEY NEVER CALLED US BACK.
Fortunately the Tanzania company came to the rescue. They own a small B&B in Arusha and had a spare room, and they let us stay for free, fed us breakfast the next morning, and even drove us to the airport for no charge.
The excellent service in Tanzania was from a company called "Hekima Safaris" and I can highly recommend them.
But - DO NOT USE WORLD ESCAPES AND ADVENTURES. The way they handled our tour plans was completely unprofessional, inept, irresponsible, and unethical. AVOID THEM. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
my daughter felt during a daytrip. No Help, no refund for the money for a planned safari.
We paid all safari fees for three persons, five days about 5500 $ in cash and in advance. Because there were a few days before stating the safari we booked a day trip to Marangu-falls. On this walk our daughter felt and broke her arm very difficult. So difficult that the doctors told us
to go back to germany as soon as possible. So we had to leave immediatelly. Our daughter was not able to fly home alone. She still can not move her ellbow, wrist or fingers - six weeks later.
We tryed to inform the owner of kilimanjaro budget safaris immediatelly, but we couldn´t get in contact. So we wrote him and told him, that we were not able to go on safari. He did not respond. After tansanian friends contacted him, his father brought us $ 900 back. Now we contact him
and his father who owns another safari company. The fsather says, William is the boss, William say his father is the boss.
Do not book here or do not pay in advance. You will find no help if there happens an accident - with a guide from this company, while a trip
from this company.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
DO NOT USE - THIS COMPANY IS DANGEROUS
I used Budget Holiday Safaris and I have to say not only do I not recommend them, I would warn you from using them. I booked an 11 day safari with them in Kenya and Tanzania. They did not tell me that they don’t handle the Tanzania part but partner with a different agency, Sandlands Tours. I only found out while on the tour and when I googled Sandlands, I found there were a number of customer complaints about them. If they had told me upfront I never would have used them.
In Tanzania, Sandlands switched drivers while we were staying in the Serengeti. The original driver took all our paperwork and didn’t pay for our time in the park, and when we tried to leave, the park tried to get us to pay over $2500. Sandlands was refusing to pay. Rather than pay ourselves, we called our embassies, who had to put pressure on Sandlands . We had to stay an additional night without food or lodging, and had to sleep in the car with water buffalos and lions roaming around the car.
When I contacted Budget Holiday Safaris about this issue, their response was just that they would speak to the manager. I emailed them several times after that and they never bothered to respond. It was only when I emailed them that we had contacted the embassies and that I was going to report them as a scam to my credit card company did they bother to message me back, asking me to not do any damage to them. No concern over the situation at all.
The next day, because of the pressure that this was turning into an international incident, Sandlands relented and paid. However, Budget called me and wanted me to continue on the tour with this company. I told them I no longer felt safe and refused. Other people in my tour got calls from their agencies demanding they continue the safari or else they would be breaking their contract and would be held liable. One woman burst into tears from this.
Other problems:
• When we tried to check into our hotel in Arusha, they claimed we hadn’t been booked in and wanted us to pay for our rooms. They claimed we would be reimbursed. When we showed them our forms, they magically found our names in the registration book. This hotel also is the office for Sandlands.
• They would consistently put more people in the cars then the maximum promised for the tour.
• The vehicles lacked most seatbelts. We had several break down while on the road. The final car had broken windows and no seatbelts and felt extremely unsafe.
• We weren’t given meals several times during the trip.
• When concerns or issues were directed to Budget, they were dismissed or ignored. Once they just straight up lied to me.
While Sandlands was the primary agency in Tanzania, they were acting in full cooperation with Budget Holiday Safaris. Neither agency has made any move to apologize for the experience or to make any kind of compensation or restitution. I believe Budget to be fully aware of how Sandlands conducts business in their name, and therefor they must approve or condone their actions. I believe that the actions of these two companies are dangerous and if people continue to use them, someone is going to be seriously injured.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very disappointing service
I was dealing with Mary a Bonfire Agent who from the start barely provided me with information and later hiked prices & made excuses to cover herself. Bonfire has lost its quality service and I will never use them again
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tanzanian Nightmare! We're out nearly $12K USD - a year later
We had booked 4 days of Safaris in Tanzania and 5 days at an all-inclusive 5-star resort on Zanzibar back in the spring 2017 for a once in a lifetime trip for my family of 5 to celebrate my wife's 50th birthday. We had prepaid 100% of the cost of this epic adventure up front.
2 days before we were to fly from Kigali, Rwanda to Arusha, Tanzania, we received an email from advising us the It Started In Africa was having serious cash flow issues and lots of unpaid for their unknowing customers. We immediately started making calls to the various hotels, safari camps and airlines only to find out that none had received payments in full with a number not receiving any payments at all.
We were crushed...what was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime turned into a total nightmare.
We had followed up with ISIA when we arrived back home in Canada in late August and was told by Baraja that the Police would send us money starting in September. We were later told that we would be receiving a full refund of $11,995.00 USD. We continued to follow up over the next few months and it was nothing but radio silence. Only when we emailed a senior official at the Tanzanian Ministry of Tourism, cc'ing Baraja, did we get a response in November 2017.
The charade continues with only ourselves to blame for being as patient (and naive) as we've been.
I'm glad to read the positive reviews of late and that no one else has seen their trips destroyed. It's hard to stomach though seeing It Started In Africa profit from this while ourselves and many others are out of pockets in the tens of thousands of $$$.
I'm glad to read the positive reviews of late and that no one else has seen their trips destroyed. It's hard to stomach though seeing It Started In Africa profit from this while ourselves and many others are out of pockets in the tens of thousnads of $$$.