US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Scam Alert. Francis Otieno (Holgger) is a 1 person tour company with a fake website. He scammed me!
We just concluded a wonderful 7 days in Kenya. Its a beautiful country with amazing wild life - but I want to raise a scam alert in case you run into the same tour operator/rental agency. We chose to rent a 4x4 with driver in Nairobi to have a 6 day Safari to the Masaai Mara and Naivasha before returning to Nairobi and flying back to the USA. I worked via email and phone to book a Toyoto Land Cruiser from a guy named Francis Otieno (Holgger) from "Adventure Dragon Safaris". I later find out that "Holgger" (a 1 employee owner) also shows up in Trip Advisor as @holggeropondo faking to be a traveler!
But I took a look at the website below, and since there were no alerts I went ahead with the booking.
Here's what happened:
- Francis (Holgger) was proactive and (overly) friendly via email and whatsapp phone convincing me he was legitimate.
- He requested a 25% advance payment for the rental of a 4x4 on booking via PayPal (that I paid)
- When I landed in Nairobi, at the time of getting the 4x4 he revised his price and requested an extra day of payment AND also requested a $150 "insurance deposit" that he said he will pay me back on return of 4x4
- Being in a new country, I trusted him and paid up BOTH incremental $ requests.
When I finished the Safari, he conned me from paying back the $150 deposit. (He kept telling me that he had initiated deposit return via Pay Pal, but he was lying). He also lied about the 4x4 being a newer vehicle with AC. Infact, I later find out he doesnt even own any of the vehicles on his web site - that he rents the car and driver from a different company/3rd parties, fronting himself via a fake website.
Please BE AWARE.
I have benefitted so much from Trip Advisor that I feel obligated to inform my fellow travelers so you can be carful. Like I said, 99.9% of Kenyan are GREAT people - and I tried not to let this one bad seed spoil my wonderful vacation! I am also reaching out to the Kenyan travel association authorities to let them know so they can take appropriate action again Adventure Dragon Safaris and Francis Otieno (Holgger).
Good luck and Happy Safari'ing!
Book Days Safaris Adventures at your own risk.
...i booked the tour 24th Nov 2017 with Kshs 22,750 for 22nd to 25th Dec. 6 Days to the tour, i received an email to clear the balance. I insisted on getting to know about the quorum. 2 days to the trip, i was told there was no quorum. we asked for next available which she said it was full. we never went to the trip: very disappointing coz i had booked for more than a month and it should have been communicated on time about quorum.Our anticipated and planned safari was aborted without prior communications. From a previous Trip, the services are Terrible, communication is poor, Customer care is pathetic.
Up to now am still requesting for refunds which had not been facilitated.
Am still waiting for the refund: All i get are empty promises.
I believe if there was no Quorum, she should have communicated on time so that we can get refund and book from another company.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Don't book your Safari in Tanzania at this company, they failed completely!
We booked a safari by Vimics Group (part of Wellplanned Safaris) in Arusha, Tanzania. We found them on this website. We like to place a negative feedback about their company. Hopefully you will remove them from your website so other people won't have the same bad experience. The organasation failed completely. They put us together with two different groups, so the car was filled with 8 people, when they promised 5 instead. The hotels and accomodations where in 3 different places, so we spent each night driving to 3 different hotels. This took us about 3 hours each night because they where not close to each other. The same problem started in the morning when we had to pick up everybody. Because of this we started our safari at 9:30 each day instead of 6 am. like they promised us.
Also we booked a 6 day safari trip and the only planned 5, so they last day they had us wait for 2 hours, and finally a taxi picked us up to do a safari ( in a taxi !?) when we roads required a 4x4 car. We had to wait at least an hour for every gate because the paperwork was not in order. Other safari cars only waited about 2 minutes at the gate so this was not normal. Finally we made a complaint to Victor ( owner of Vimics Group). He promised us to refund $100 dollars. We still haven't received this money. Every promise they made didn't happen so I don't think they deserve to be on this website. I hope we can save others a bad experience.
ES
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
The worst experience of my life in Africa !!
An authentic deception. I felt cheated by this company. It was my first safari in Africa and had a lot of illusion but the bad management and planning of this company did that our safari was turning into a nightmare. The manager of this company was called Mogakolodi Serumola. An authentic disaster. He never faced the consequences opposite to the quantity of problems that we had: it gave to us a torn land cruiser and left wire drawing us in the desert of the Kalahari for hours. It took us show restraint, breakfasts and dinners that were included in the trip. It gave to us camps that were not the approved ones (some without water). It took us games drives in spite of having paid them. It made pay the income to a companion to the park Chobe because he said to us that it forgot to do it and to never return the money to us. But the worse thing happened in Khwai where his driver left wire drawing us in the middle of the night in the sheet and we had to sleep in the hut of a few ladies since it was not capable of finding our camp.
An authentic shame the management of this person.
ES
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
THE WORST SAFARI IN MY LIFE !!!
Hi,
last october a group of friends were in Bostwana for 2 weeks. We selected this company, Bush Baby Calls, because the price was good (Ultimately the cheap thing works out expensive) but our problems started in the first day in vic Falls when the manager of Bush Baby Calls received to us in the airport. He wanted only the rest of the money and then...he disapear!!
In short, we lost many breakfasts, lunches and dinner in spite of we pay for full board. Futhermore, the manager, Mogakolodi Serumola cheated on us several times: the land cruiser that we used was broken, he promise to us repair it however I didn´t it; we losed several games drives and he promised to us to do night games drives and we didn´t it, we pay to take shower inside the tent but he didn´t it, we had to apy the park fees in some parks and he told us that then he did the transfer to us but he didn´t it... The manager was terribe, a completely liar. Our safari was a full nightmare. I have done safaris in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe and it had never suffered anything similar as with this company. His manager was a coward. He never help us. In spite of the fact that in Khwai his driver left wire drawing us in the middle of the bush in the middle of the night and one was because he was not finding the camp.
If you want to enjoy a safari do not contract with this company.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
VERY BADLY SERVICE!! MANAGED BY AN INCOMPETENT MANAGER!!
Our dream began on October 23 but soon it turned into nightmare. We were a group of 6 persons to a safari of 13 days with this company and felt deeply defrauded specially for his manager, Mogakolodi Serumola, an authentic liar and swindler. I am sorry to say it this way, but it took us show restraint, it changed his camps, deprived us of games drives and it never faced the consequences. Always it was hiding and evading responsibilities. It is not possible to treat the people who pays of the form that this person did. This company should not be promoted without a supervision thoroughly. I have done already many safaris in Africa and it had never lived not equal at all. In a evening game drive safari we could not sleep in our camp because the guide was not finding it and ended up by sleeping six members of the group in a floor of a small boma of the local women without food or water and the manager was never facing the consequences he nor returned to us the money paid for the not received services in spite of the fact that he said to us that it would do it. One defrauds total.
..Very poor services
....communication is pathetic, services are pathetic, you book a tour:you will get disappointed. You may not go...Don't book any trip with them.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Changed itinerary in the morning of the tour.
We booked a 4 day safari with two nights in Seronera, Serengeti. They changed the itinerary in the morning when the safari started. We ended up having 1 night in Seronera and therefore no full day in the Serengeti. This way it is cheaper for them as we spent the first night outside the parks, that is why they did it. Given this change we wanted a discount of around 100$. They said we can have 20$ discount and if we do not accept we can have all the money back and leave. That was in the morning when the safari should have started. They could well have informed us the evening before when we paid, but they did not. As the choice was between no safari and changed itinerary we decided to join. The car was the oldest moving thing you can imagine and broke down in the middle of the savanna. They did not have tools with them to repair it. They did not have walkie talkies to call somebody for help. They did not have a rope in the car to tow away the car by another bypassing car. Imagine you get stuck in a water hole? In the end they repaired the car with the leather-man of another tourist who was in a car which stopped to help us. We ended up missing the last hour of our late evening safari because we had to bring other passengers to their camp. As we were very lucky we ended up seeing all the animals the next morning, but that was really pure luck. The parks are great and the guide was very friendly and did his best given the means he was given by the company. Again this was pure luck, all the other guides of the same company seamed not very competent. Food was ok. The overall organization done by the company was horrible. We booked with Trip Advisor Africa Safari, but basically this internet companies are selling their costumers to a Tanzanian operator. Ours operator was Sandland tours of Abraham Shaidi. The itinerary change was apparently the fold of Trip Advisor Africa Safari and its owner Seth Vincent. The bad equipment of the car is the fold of Shaidi. So even if you book with other companies ask for the operator and check its reviews.
ES
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A DISASTER OF SAFARI COMPANY!!
A sorrow punishes our safari in Bostwana. It is a wonderful country but this company, Bush Baby Calls, is an authentic disaster. A total incompetence beginning for his manager, Mogakolodi Serumola, who far from helping ourselves did that our experience was an almost a hell. It took breakfasts from us, show restraint, you have dinner, it changed the housings, some of them were lacking even water to have a shower. It made us pay income to parks in spite of having them full. It tried to take us one day in Chobe and the worse thing is that always he was hiding and it was never facing the consequences. For not saying that one day in the Okavango his guide was not finding the camp and we had to sleep in a few huts of a few villagers. In end, an authentic disaster and the manager the incompetent person.
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
THE WORST SAFARI COMPANY EVER!!
We pay to this company, Bush Baby Calls, for a safari of 13 days, 12 nights and it was the worst safari that we have never done (and already we have done several). We had many problems of logistics and his manager, Mogakolodi Serumola, never helped us. Only it worried about receiving the money. It took breakfasts from us, show restraint, you have dinner, housings in campsites foreseen, it made us pay income to park of our pocket, took us game drives... an authentic shame. Even one night his guide left wire drawing us in the middle of the bush because he was not finding the camp and we had to sleep in the huts of the local some. And the manager never faced the consequences. An authentic calamity of company. A misfortune could have happened for his pathetic management of the safari. An authentic swindle of company.