NO
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Read all 1 star reviews. They are TRUE!! Do not book with ISIA!!! WARNiNG!
We paid extra for a pick up from the airport.
They didn'¨t show up. We had to find another a taxi driver in the middle of the night.
The next day we had to hunt ISIA down by phone with the help of the hotel manager.
The trip started 5 hours too late because of this.
We had paid USD70 for an extra event. We didn't get to do this event and still after 4 months we haven't been refunded. I waited this long before writing a review to give them a chance to make it good.
They answer emails sometimes and sometimes not. Lies and stalling. In the beginning they said that they had made the payment but that it will take a couple of weeks before we would see it on the account.
The guide wasn't too interested in talking about animals. He just wanted to drive to get to the next camp and start driving a bit late every day.
He had good contact with other drivers to find animals but that was about it.
In the end he and his boss tried to pressure us to pay USD20 per day in tips and said that this wasn't optional.
You don't need to pay for an expensive company like ISIA!
All companies drive around and talk to each other. Just be sure to get a driver who have been driving for at least 5 years or so. This because a rookie might wreck the car and you will lose time.
There is a million companies out there.
Check what areas you want to go to and what camps you want to live in. Then contact any company but NOT It Started in Africa!
You have been Warned!
CA
Disastrous Train Booking (Daud John Kiango)
I attempted to arrange for a train ticket from Mbeya to Dar es Salaam with Daud John Kiango after he responded to an online inquiry I had made through the website http://tanzaniasafariszanzibartravel.org (which I found through a link on the train travel site seat61).
I took the chance on Daud and paid $75 in advance for him to book me a ticket, which I was to pick up at the Mbeya Tazara train station. However he never followed through and after spending two frustrating days at the Mbeya Tazara booking office I was never able to get the ticket which I had paid Daud to procure for me.
I was forced to take a bus to Dar instead and Daud promised me a prompt refund. He of course never processed a refund but did send me several incoherent emails, presumably meant to confuse me.
I would avoid this company completely.
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
I am due to go on safari in a few days and It started in Africa have stopped responding to requests
It started in Africa has gone bankrupt and has not communicated to us and we are booked to leave in a few days. I stupidly paid my deposit in cash transfer. Any tips on how to retrieve my money would be gratefully appreciated. They have disabled their facebook page!
Many thanks, Amy, Joey, Georgia (11) & Dylan (10)
PT
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Big let down
Our report would mirror Susie and Jonny´s from last Sept. The company never paid Foxes for our three camps, and we were left in the 3rd with the threat of being charged yet again for a holiday for which we had paid fully 4 months previously. It would certainly seem as if they have a cashflow problem. We tried to help, ringing both Pure Safari and Foxes (both based in UK while we were in Tanzania) but despite various implausible excuses from PS I do not believe that our payment has been transferred to the owner of the camps. Beware of using this company.
Thiefs
I have reviewed this co already but have been back and forth with them in regards to our stolen deposit the lastest email stating they are selling their assets to pay us back.... Now not hearing from them
We have now booked another safari....do not go near this co
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
be careful don't choose this liar company
I booked a 5days safari with this company. Until the first day, they told me that the safari was postponed to the second day which means my tour had to be shorten to 4days! Then the last day, they made me miss my flight and only buy me a new bus ticket instead of a flight ticket! They don't give me the refund for the missing Day of the safari because they said they accommodate me for the missed flight and the bus ticket is the compensation! Do you think if it is accapable? It's their fault that I missed one day safari and my flight, then they mix the problems to skip the compensation!
Edward Wilson, the owner used the old trick to steal money from the clients. If you are rich and don't care contribute money to this company, please choose Global Adventure Safaris!
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Avoid Faustin tours
We (my boyfriend and I) booked a full 5-day Mikumi /Selous safari package tour with Faustin. We agreed on the price and paid Faustin the whole amount in advance. We never received a bill, although we asked several times for it! After paying, he told us, that he wasn't accompanying us for the trip, leaving us with an odd driver, who couldn’t speak English. Even though we had many negative incidents with the driver, the peak reached on the last day of the trip, when the driver never turned up at the hotel to bring us back to Dar!!! Even the people from the hotel and the local guides were shocked with this behavior.
Faustin’s organization was not well planned at all. For more information please read my boyfriend’s (Kosta) review below!!! We never heard from Faustin during the whole tour and are a bit shocked with his response. He uses fake facts/information to respond to honest feedback from customers. Faustin response doesn’t add up. We booked a full package tour from the beginning (pickup Dar + tour + dropoff Dar), not only a driver and a car!
Our trip was never about the money, we had the money, it was about the service. We flew to Tanzania for safari, of course we had the money!!! We are not his friends to ask for favors.
Looking at his negative reviews, his response is always the same. Faustin blames the customer by responding that the customer had no money and he -Faustin- tries to help making a tour possible. Which in our case was not true. He never offered help in any way.
We do not want such an incident to happen to anyone else, that’s why we really not recommend Faustin. If it would be possible, we would give him zero stars.
I bet he is going to respond to my review also negative.
Be very careful booking your safari by him.
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
attention scam edward wilson
“attention scam!!!
edward wilson from the glogal adventure safari did not return to us 250$,
we ( me and my wife) booked with Edward Wilson a package safari ( 4 days in serengeti ngongoro Lake manyara 640$ each) +kilimanjaro ( 2 days 250$ each).
after the end of safari edward delayed our kilimanjaro trekking of one day without asking it in advance to us. for us it was not possible to start the trekking with one day of delay as we had already bought the flight to Zanzibar.
at this point we tried to speak with him, call him and text and we finally met him (one day after the end of our safari). He refunded us 250$ on that day telling us that he was going to return the remaining 250$ the week after.
we then tried to contact him plenty of times called texted him but no reply was received and his phone was off.
no return of 250 was given!!
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Avoid this guy!!!
Attention, be very careful with Faustin!!! I can't recommend this tour operator at all!!! We have never experienced such a disaster before. The tour was a nightmare!!! The organisation was terrible.
The driver left us in Mikumi at the Hotel, on the last day returning back and disappeared into thin air!!! Faustin and driver would not pick up the phone since then! We were left alone and had to go back by ourselves to dar!!!!!!!! Luckily it was not our day of the departure, else we would have missed the flight back home!
We reported this incident to the Police and the Tanzania Tour Association as well as the National Park Administration!
But let me tell you the whole story...
...My girlfriend and I, booked a 5-day Mikumi and Selous private tour. Faustin was recommended by friends, who made a 9day luxury safari. Faustin and his driver John picked us up with the car ready to start the tour. Once we paid him the full amount cash (by the way we never received a bill) he left the car telling us that he is not going to join the tour with us. If we knew before, we would have canceled.
Alone with the driver we soon realized, that John wasn't speaking English at all. Luckily my girlfriend is from Kenia and speaks Swahili. Even though John was not talking to us, he was just driving like a robot. No conversation, no stories, no jokes, no social interaction. In fact, he was texting all the time and even stopped to handle some private business while we were waiting for him in the car. Being scared of getting a fine he drove 40km/h although the speed limit is 50km/h. Can you imagine how long a 5-day-trip can get with someone like that!
John was just the driver, he had no clue about the daily planned program. He asked us, what to do next, instead vice versa. We had to coordinate the trip with the local guides ourselves, who were also shocked with Johns behavior. He littered in the national park. In the national park, during safari he jumped many times out of the car while talking on the phone, although advice differently by the guides as it is forbitten by the rangers. He scared away animals and spoiled pictures. He had no patience and was bored quickly. At some point, after a long wait, trying to get a good pic, he decided to drive off. At this point I lost my calm and had an argument with him. Because he didn’t understand English, he thought we insulted him.
A regular (taxi) driver with no safari experience would have done the job with more passion and care.
We booked a regular tour, but Faustin delivered less than promised. He cut our program short. He is profit oriented but delivers a really bad service and showed a very unprofessional behavior!!!!!!
During the whole tour, he never got in direct contact with us, although we expressed some concerns. Maybe he will do that now, through this platform. I'm curious to see his response.
After the driver dumped us in Mikumi, locals told us, that Faustin is known for this tricky behavior. He owes local guides/drivers money. He doesn't pay them their full salary.
If you are thinking of doing a safari-tour check the safaribookings.com for the best rated company. I strictly advise you not to ignore my review.
CN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
This company has no lience and the manager is a lyer
the company is "the global adventure safaris", http://www.globalsafaris.net/
kindly pls find the information we found on your website.
The contact person is Edward Wilson, yestoday we call the police and TTB and they found out he had treated some Spanish last month. And he haven't Lience and office!
We pay all the money total 2800usd to him but he never arrange any safari for us, and even treated us to pay extra 1570 usd.
Now Edward said he spend all the money and couldn't refund them to us.Pls kindly help to check this company and solve this problem.