MA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Just perfect
what can I say about this wonderful experience?! Kihindo are very professional in every way, Winnie, was attentive to us from the start, and every day asked after us to make sure everything is ok. frankly it's the best experience of my life with an agency. and of course this service would not be complete without the best guides in the world, godfrey and william did everything to make our adventure even more exceptional. their good vibes were just off the charts. we spent 4 days with them, we left them almost in tears. kihindo, you are the best, stay that way and thank you for everything
IE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Possible scam and fraud. We feel ripped off
Be aware, possible scam, fraud and very dishonest people!
Dream holiday turned into a nightmare!
First and foremost TouristLine safaris is not a tour operator but an agency within an office with numerous other seemingly fake agencies all under the names of Fiona, Lilian and some guy going only by the name of Daniel! Among others those agencies include tourist line safaris, absolute holiday safaris and big time safaris!
We be booked a 13 day safari tour through Kenya and Tanzania for 4000usd p.p and paid 30% deposit. After paying the deposit, communication abruptly stopped. We didn't think much of it yet but were already concerned. At no point they provided further instructions and/or asked for hotel name to pick us up etc. We contacted them instead twice to confirm the hotel name for pick up and they confirmed pick up time. When we arrived in Nairobi I again confirmed hotel name for pick up. Among day of pick up after 1h there were still nobody, I contacted them and they said someone just left the office. Half hour later, still nothing. Then apparently it turned out the driver went to a different hotel. Long story short we ended up already 3h late that morning. After paying the rest of the amount the problems started.
They started changing the plans and tried to cut off game drives.
The safari car was in a very bad condition. It was falling apart and my partner even hit her head the first day on one of the many loose nails/screws. She bleeded and got a big bump on the head. The car was filthy, almost all windows broken, no handles, no A/C and so on.
On the second day every 10-15min the driver started checking under the car. He told us apparently the brake oil was leaking.
On the third day in the middle of the road the breaks stopped working, and the driver was then driving only 10-20km/h because he couldn't use the breaks and was looking for a mechanic. We lost overall 3h that day. The next day without any communication or warning he drove into a mechanic shop again and put the car with us inside into the forklift so that the mechanics can check something. We didn't know what's going on. He didn't even ask us to leave the car in the meantime. We were literally left inside the car not knowing how long it might take or so. I was looking at all the other tour cars the vast majority were really good. Only a handful of cars were equally bad
Because of the car we lost multiple hours of game drive.
Also the driver/guide was constantly late in the morning and we were the last to leave the hotel and usually the first to come back. He literally the whole time on the phone, didn't communicate anything with us and even worse, was picking up people and doing some extra stuff despite having a private tour.
Until now we thought it's just bad service.
However, when we were about to go to Tanzania only then we were told that the Tanzania part will be with a different tour company. Something we were not aware of at any stage prior to paying full amount. Once we crossed the border the actual real and big problems started.
It turned out tourist line safari is not a tour company per se but hires different companies to do the safari.
The tour company that picked us up in Tanzania had a completely different plan and way worse hotels. E.g. instead of staying in nysa lodge, rhino lode or sangaiwe lodge which cost around 200-400usd a night, we stayed in octagon lodge and charity hotel in Arusha which costs only 30usd a night.
We immediately started calling TouristLine safaris and told them this is not what we booked and paid for. But they just said that they booked different accommodation as per availability. However this was never communicated with us before. They didn't inform us about all the changes and thus we completely overpaid. I asked for either doing the tour we actually paid for or get a refund for the Tanzania part because this was completely different and low budget. They first said that they will refund but then immediately said that its not possible etc.
The agency in Tanzania was also lying to us and was constantly contradicting themselves. First they said they told tourist line that they can't book the accomodations we paid for and blammed TouristLine. TouristLine safaris at this point stopped responding to us and just said this is now the tour and not their responsibility anymore, we can either do this safari with the changed program and accommodations or come back and loose all the money.
We were left with no choice but doing a low budget safari. We lost overall at least 2 days worth of game drives and stayed in accommodations worth much less.
We started doing some research and found out that numerous tourists were scammed this way. They suddenly change the plan and put tourists in cheaper accommodations blaming one and each other and nobody actually feels responsible. They sell tours and accommodations that they never actually booked or even had.
We also found out that they operate under several different tour agency names.
Unfortunately we feel scammed and our dream holiday became a nightmare. We were left with a tour that was not what we booked and the frustration and disappointment is huge.
We also overpaid by a big margin.
When we arrived back in Nairobi we went to the office and there were different people actually saying that TouristLine Safaris doesn't operate here but after they realized we won't get scammed so easily they started arguing and after 2 hours they agreed to refund us very little amount not even covering the difference of one accomodation. There were so many men in the office and we felt threatened and in danger. We were then forced to sign some paper that we agree not to sue them. It seems this is the way the silence people and keep scamming tourists.
Please guys be aware and don't book from this agency and any other one under the names of Lilian, Fiona or daniel. We are not even sure if those names are real or who we were actually talking with on the phone and in the office.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing 3-day Safari in Nyerere Nationalpark
Me and my friend booked the 3-day safari in Nyerere (Selous) Nationalpark with a boat Safari, Game Drive and Walking Safari. The tour was amazing and we got the chance to see a lot of animals. We saw the 4 animals out of the Big Five, that are living in the Nationalpark. Out Tourguide Isaya was great, he knows the place really well and showed us so many animals, explained a lot about them and tried to give us an unique experience. Most of the time we were completely alone with the animals. Only for the lions, there were a lot of other cars, but that’s because everyone would love to see them so the guides communicate with eachother in case one finds them.
The accommodation was great as well and everyone is super friendly. The food was really good, for the whole day game drive they gave us a lunch box, which was a full meal.
To summarize, this tour is definitely worth it and I would book it again! Especially our tour guide Isaya was amazing and I would love to do a Safari with him again. You will see a lot of animals for sure, while not disturbing them too much.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A once in a lifetime trip with a few issues...
We had a 13 day tour with walking stick tours in August of 2023. Botswana itself is an incredible country with some of the friendliest people, and some of the most incredible wildlife we’d encountered anywhere. All 5 of us highly recommend a trip to the country for safari. Unfortunately our experience of walking stick tours was less stellar.
I’ll start with the good (of which there is plenty) :
- The food that Jo & team prepared for us was absolutely incredible, better than we had In restaurants elsewhere, and all cooked over an open fire! The team were always friendly and happy to help with any requests, we had beer and wine at dinner and no shortage of clean bottled water. We were really well taken care of at camp the entire 2 week trip.
- Prior to the trip communication was good and we were picked up at the airport.
- We had a great guide, Wago. He spoke very good English and had excellent knowledge of the flora & fauna of Botswana. We had a lovely time getting to know him and he got us some truly amazing wildlife sightings.
- Onto the sightings generally, we had great views of lion, leopard, cheetah, even an early morning wild dog sighting - really special.
The negatives:
- Our vehicle (named desert honey badger) was in a constant state of disrepair. We broke down several times every single day, the brakes on the car weren’t functional, and we had to veer off road at points when vehicles approached along the same stretch of road. We were repeatedly told that the car was being replaced or fixed but the issues persisted for the entire trip. This impacted our game viewing and massively impacted our travel time, by the end of the trip we were taken in an alternate vehicle, but this was far too little and much too late.
- Communication on the trip itself was poor, the issues with the vehicle and what was (or in fact wasn’t) being done was never properly communicated to us. We were misled daily about getting the vehicle repaired or replaced, but this never happened. We’ve been on safari before and know how ad-hoc things are sometimes, but this was a step beyond.
- In an attempt to make up for the constant issues with the vehicle we were offered a “complimentary” trip to Victoria falls in place of a game drive as our vehicle wasn’t functional. This was in fact not complimentary, and we paid $500+ for the day ourselves.
Since our trip we have reached out to Phillimon to open a dialogue with no intent for compensation, but we have been ignored. We absolutely loved Botswana and can’t recommend it enough as a safari destination, but we’d recommend you go with another operator instead of walking stick.
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great agency
They are serious, they have a very good quality-price ratio, the treatment is excellent, the safari is spectacular
FR
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Knowledgeable Kenya tours
Had a wonderful time in Kenya. From my pickup at the airport to the safaris in Kenya.
Our drivers and guides in Nairobi were professional and attentive.
Edwin the safari driver and guide was capable of handling any situation with speed and efficiency.
He made sure the 2 week safari though Kenya was flawless and amazing!
I will return with friends and family knowing he will ensure they have an unforgettable and safe adventure.
The large herds of zebra, gazelles, wildebeest and elephants on the first day in Amboseli far exceeded my expectations.
Lastly I must add that many of the accommodations were upgraded to 5 star by Seven by Far!
Date of experience: September 2023
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
He values his clients
They are the best , services great,the tour was massive,I will always recommend world blossom Safari's because they value their customers, I am very impressed by their services
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
He is a good person
Three days refreshening our minds at Murchison Falls National Park.The experience was so massive to the extent that we had to learn new things with our tour guide Araphat from World Blossom Safaris.The tour itself was interesting.The services were provided well
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Breathtaking experience
We had an unforgettable trip to Tanzania, within one day we had the chance to see a lot of animals in Mikumi-Nationalpark.
We booked the safari online, but everything went super uncomplicated, the service of Kihindo tours was outstanding, they helped and supported us with everything. Especially our Tourguide Godfrey was amazing. We could not imagine anyone better! He enriched our tour on a friendly basis with a lot of interesting knowledge and humor.
We would recommend everyone to book with Kihindo.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Extremely on point .
They reached my expectations and beyond it was total satisfaction to me
Everything was on point from the start to the end.I felt the value for my money to an extent of seeing that the operator charged me less.
So I will always recommend everyone to this operator.Thanks alot.Again and Again.
