35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Stay well clear of this company and anything associated with the Vimic group.
This company and the individuals involved are utterly dishonest and disingenuous, and I found out the hard way. After spending a considerable amount of money on this safari (almost double of the others sharing the Jeep) I never got what the safari had been sold as. On more than one occasion I was left with no pre booked accommodation and had to arrange my own. I was told by Victor and Maurin that I would be reimbursed....which has still not happened and this was 2 months ago, the last time I emailed asking the whereabouts of the refund I was told to “be patient”. I was a female travelling alone and I was lucky that my travelling companions who I’d met along the way had my best interests at heart and made sure I wasn’t left in a vulnerable situation, which was never something Viktor ever cared about. On one particular night I was driven around different campsites by three men looking for accommodation that could fit me in, after 3 hours in the dark with no food and no toilet stop I eventually was placed in a chalet with no running water or lights. On the last day, and by now I thought things couldn’t get worse, I was told by the Jeep guide that my park fees had not been paid and so I would have to wait for Viktor to arrive and he would take me himself. Thankfully the other tourists thought this was unacceptable and when Viktor arrived we all insisted that he gave me the money for the park entrance so I could continue with the group. I wouldn’t of left anything or anyone with Viktor as he had proven himself to be an untrustworthy individual and I realized my safety was not something he concerned himself with. So while I “patiently” await my $400 refund I would like to offer my experience as a cautionary tale. Please feel free to ask for more information as I will be happy to help and ensure he is prevented from profiting on his dishonesty.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Disappointing....waste of money... major let down!!!
Having come close to the end of my tour in East africa, and having had an amazing time, i couldn't leave without visiting the masai mara. So I enquired about the 1 night 2 day tour with safari line defenders, Rose was helpful at that time and gave me lots of details about the tour regarding timings and what I should expect. Pleased with the information I had received I booked the tour...only to find out everything she had told me was a lie. She had basically falsified the details just to make a sale. She claimed the game drive would be 12hours over the 2 days, which I thought was a bit of a stretch for 2 days but it's her job she knows best, right?. No, We drove for a maximum of 3 over the 2 days, so much time was wasted waiting around. We arrived at the campsite on the 1st day at 3pm ( although Rose said we'd be there for 1pm) and we waited around wasting time for the driver to take us on the drive at 4.30pm. Inside the masai mara, the driver didn't make an effort to point out any animals or provide information about any of them. After 2hours of driving we returned to the camp...disappointed is an understatement of what I was feeling at this point, but I had the following day to look forward to. Come the second day we were ready to leave as requested at 6.30am. We made our way to the mara, drove around the same area again with not much of interest. The driver had told me the night before I would have to change groups, as the group I was with was not return today so I had to join a different group to return back. So he rang another driver to find out if I could get into their vehicle... in the middle of the masai mara I had to get out of my vehicle an into another. So the tour/ nightmare continued so we drove around spotting some lions n cheeters on the way. At 8am the driver said we will now drive back. I was shocked I had paid a grate deal of money for this?? So we returned. The driver was to drop each of the group members back to our hotels, I said I wanted to go to the office as I wasn't happy with the tour. He decided to make a phone call to let the office know. Personally I think it was to forewarn Rose about how i felt. On arrival at the office, surprise surprise Rose was nowhere to been seen. The guy at the office said it was Rose's sale so he couldn't do anything and said Rose would call me that evening ( I was flying out of Kenya 5am the following morning). The evening came and went and I received no form of communication from Rose. I wasn't going to miss my flight so I packed my bags and returned to the UK. Rose did message and her resolution was to offer me a free tour the next time I came, I wouldn't be returning to Kenya any time soon to a couldn't take the offer, I told her. I requested a refund, but she refused and said I had to email the director of the company about my complaint, which I did. Did I get a response? No, no surprise there.
All in all a very disappointing experience and waste of money. I wouldn't recommend this tour company to anyone. If you want to experience a real game drive don't use this company.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Dreadful
Thank you for your reply to my son Mathias regarding his review. In response, I have every email and communication between me and Falcon Safaris and am more than happy to go public with them.
1. When I booked the days at the hotel, Patrick Manyika confirmed the booking. Fact. I confirmed when I had paid and asked you for confirmation that you received payment. You did NOT request proof of payment at this time. Fact. You did not reply to my email of 12/12/17 that you confirm receipt of payment. Fact.
2. I recontacted you in July to check all was well. Fact. The first email I got back said that all was ok with the booking. It was 2 days after this you said that you could not find the payment. By this time we were in Zimbabwe with no ability to contact my bank in U.K. Fact.
3. We have been the ones that have done all the leg work in this. Gertrude has simply responded to emails. We have provided proof of payment, more than once. Fact. Our bank has contacted your bank, your bank has not responded.
4. I have more than once requested your formal complaints procedure details and these have not been provided. Fact. This is why we have gone public because Falcon Safaris have made no proactive effort to resolve this issue.
5. You have just hoped we would give up and go away and accept an over £1000 loss. Not going to happen. We paid once in full and then had to pay again to ensure a booking.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Ripped Off!
Do not use this company, it is no longer reputable! We booked a Safari through them in Oct 2017 and they kept our deposit and didn't provide the services advertised. We lost £'000's and had to pay someone else when we arrived in the country, causing my family great anxiety and delay and ruining our holiday. I believe the owner in Ibrahim Kalule - do NOT trust this man, he is a criminal!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolute Rip Off
Do Not Book With This Group!!!!
I booked the 3 day Massai Mara safari with this group, paid in advance, and they left me stranded at the hotel. I tried emailing, texting, calling, and Facebooking them with no success. The hotel I was staying at tried to contact them, as did the lodge I was booked into for the safari. I have tried to contact them in a variety of different ways over the last 10 days with NO response from them.
Don't book with this group.
Awful service and stolen money
Warning! Do not use this company at all or risk losing a lot of money. They have stolen over £1000 of our money and refuse all forms of contact - and have done for the last 3 months. Do not trust or use them because our experience is truly awful and we are significantly out of pocket. They do not follow through on bookings after payment!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Despicable. Taken double our money.
Falcon safaris are appalling. We booked with them months before we left for Zim. Whilst we were away, we received an email saying that they had not received our money. We then had to pay for another room in a different hotel so they would hold a room for us. They have offered no help in tracing the money, despite or bank being able to trace exactly where it has gone. They have offered us no help whatsoever. In addition, their tour operators tried to sell us mor experiences in our pick up from the airport - clearly trying to make more money from us. We have been changed double for our holiday and no one from this company will contact us. Absolutely shocking.
Do not use them.
SG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Dens Safaris: avoid at all costs!!
This is an honest and complete overview of my encounters during my trip with Dens Safaris in Zambia from Sept. 1-16, 2017, which I hope will provide a meaningful insight into the practices of this company for future clients.
My itinerary was arranged and paid for back in December 2016. Initial e-mail conversations with Denver Mbewe, the owner of the company, went smooth but further questions a couple weeks before my flight to Zambia went largely unanswered. These were critical questions related to the visa requirements, malaria pills etc. I sent a few e-mails and even a message on their Facebook, which was read but never answered. The only reply I received was that I was going to be picked up at the airport and someone would be waiting with a sign with my name on it.
My personal driver and guide in South Luangwa was an unexperienced young guy aged 24 (the youngest guide in the whole national park) who was clearly not used to dealing with customers. On the second day, I was told by him to repay my park fees for my entire stay at South Luangwa, totalling $250, which I already paid in advance 10 months ago as part of my all-inclusive package. I did not receive a satisfying answer on the phone by the office manager as to why this happened, but decided to go ahead and pay in order not to waste too much time.
I was driven around the park in an old safari vehicle which had issues with the engine radiator, which repeatedly overheated. Over the course of 4 days we used up to 3 different cars, all of mediocre at best quality. To make matters worse, my guide did not even have a radio with him on any of the days he guided me and also forgot to pack water and a cooler box during many days.
On the day of transfer from the Mfuwe to Nsefu sector of the park, my guide informed me that he was going to pick up a friend of his. I was not provided with any explanation who this person was and why he was joining me on my private safari. I assumed he just wanted to catch a ride from Mfuwe to Nsefu and we were going to drop him off once we arrived in Nsefu. Upon arrival in another bush camp, it became apparent that my guide was not at all familiar with the Nsefu sector, which is why he took this guy with us, although also he had to admit he was only partly familiar with that part of the park. During one of the game drives, he thought it to be a good idea to throw some large branches at a baby crocodile (twice) so it would move and I could get a better picture of the animal. I immediately told him that this was unacceptable.
Citing obvious safety hazards, the owner of the bush camp rightfully decided to send my guide back home. She also shared with me some stories about other Dens Safaris customers she had received in the past months who were anything but happy. She herself was only briefed about my arrival a couple days before, and thought I was self-driving to the park. She then kindly proposed me to use one of their guides who was a qualified professional South Luangwa guide. The difference in the quality of guiding was stark: the number of sightings went up and I felt much safer given his possession of a radio and plentiful water and food supplies. Because of the last minute change in plans, I had to join another photographer during most of my game drives in Nsefu, and I also had to give up on all day game drives as the other guests at the bush camp paid for morning and evening game drives. Therefore, I did not get what I paid for, which was strictly a private trip consisting entirely of full day game drives.
After my stay in South Luangwa, I flew to Lusaka for a transfer to the Lower Zambezi national park. After waiting for half an hour, Denver and his office manager picked me up and drove me towards Kiambi lodge. I repeated the issues and concerns I had been facing throughout my trip, which I also e-mailed to him a couple days before. Denver acknowledged that mistakes were made but did not come up with a proposal for compensation and left me at Kiambi without communicating how he would work this out in time before my departure back home.
In Lower Zambezi I stayed at the Munyemeshi River Lodge, a self-catering lodge were I seem to have been the only guest. The lodge was under renovation and there was hardly any staff around let alone any convenient amenities: no bar, no restaurant. My first room did not have warm water in the shower, and in fact there was hardly any water coming out of the shower head. I then had to go to another room where the shower was leaking. I stayed here during the second day with two other disgruntled Dens Safaris guests, who did the full two-day canoe tour. I dropped out after half an hour during the first day as I did not feel comfortable nor safe in the water which was infested with hippos and crocodiles. The couple mentioned to me that they had to find another guide the day after given that the first one was to drunk to wake up in the morning, which confirmed my belief once again that my safety had indeed been at risk.
During the first day game drive I was driven around by a guy who was clearly not a professional guide. His command of English was poor, he hardly spotted anything and was unable to answer my questions about the wildlife. What was worse is that he stepped on the gas and increased the speed of the safari vehicle when there were elephants blocking the road. The elephants were clearly in distress and some of them initiated mock charges at us. This happened at least three or four times and I told the driver this was unacceptable and unprofessional but he didn’t care to listen. When animals associate humans with danger, this will lead to fatalities and the end of the tourism industry in Zambia.
I decided that I could not tolerate any further risk and stayed at the lodge during my last day, although another full day game drive was on the itinerary. By then I was sick and tired of the unprofessional and dangerous treatment I had received and thus had to end my trip disillusioned and disheartened.
In summary, Dens Safaris makes you pay premium prices for subpar guidance using the cheapest people they can find, which has severe implications for your wellbeing and general safety. Therefore, DO NOT book with this company and spread this message as much as possible to prevent future malpractices.
Sammy Six
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Dreadful experience in Victoria Falls and dreadful customer service
In honesty, I would not touch this company with a barge pole. All they had to do was book three nights for us in Victoria Falls and they could not do that. We booked 6 months in advance, paid in advance, had the booking confirmed in advance and when I checked just before we left, the booking was confirmed... once we had left and were away from phones and home internet, we were contacted to say they apparently could not find a record of payment. In order to keep the booking for a bank holiday weekend, we had to pay again. After three months of trying to get our money back via formal routes, we are getting no response from Falcon Safaris. We had such a lovely time in Zimbabawe with other people and companies, until the final phase which should have been well managed by Falcon Safaris but it was not. Would never use them again and strongly say the same to any friends or family. Dreadful
Truck unbelievably uncomfortable. Transfer didnt eventuate Joburg & Sunway refused to pay us back!
Wrote a long review to Sunway but they never even replied!
Happy to take your money but no after sales service.
Bus unbelievably uncomfortable, hot & seats terrible.
Food not great.
Wouldnt refund our transfer despite saying they would - waited Joburg airport for an hour & gave up!