US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Disappointed with the Hwange Day Trip
I would not recommend the Hwange game-drive. It may be better at a different time of year or with a different guide. We did not mind the drive to Hwange from Victoria Falls. We had a very nice driver, but the guide that we had for the game drive was not very good and our vehicle was so noisy that we did not see much except for animals running away. All the animals that we did see were from a distance. It was suppose to be a full day game drive, but it basically ended at lunch time. At lunch time, we drove a long distance (at a very fast rate of speed over a very bumpy road) to the Kennedy Picnic Site. Once there we had lunch while fighting off the many bees and trying to keep them out of our drinks. After lunch, we got back in our game drive vehicle and headed out. We were thinking that we would be seeing more game, but again we drove a very long distance at a fast rate of speed and found ourselves back at the main camp and our game drive was over. Very disappointing.
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Amboseli National Park by Herman
Two cheetahs were spotted and more than 100 cars surrounded them. They were not even able to chase the springboks they spotted because cars blocked their way. This is very sad.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Bad expierence with Malcolm
We just returned from touring Botswana with Malcom.
Our experience with him as a tour guide was not positive.
At every border control post, he neglected to inform us of the procedure and necessary requirements.
This was also the case during the tour, we were not informed about when to take along water, diesel/petrol etc.
His cell phone was also not roamed.
With regards to confronting him with our problems, he was not approachable and dismissive.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Elize
We hardly saw anything that entire trip.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Marginal
I have been on safaris before. This one was reconstituted,since poachers had pretty much destroyed this entire area of animals. It is nice for the government to repopulate the area but honestly it is a big waste of time Very few animals that you will see compared to other safaris. Very disappointing the country however is pretty. Accommodations terrible. The food a disaster honestly go to Disney in Orlando snd take the safari tour. A bus. In 20 minutes you see all the animals plus stay at their hotel the giraffes are right outside your window. This is a poor man’s safari with mainly bugs as the wildlife
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Kruger National Park by Julie Hamlin
Again no rhinos , one lion sleeping, lots of elephants Giraffes and Hippos. Guide was very unsociable and drove around too fast.
BH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Tsavo East National Park by Amira Zaidan
Not much scenery or wildlife
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Leo
Little to see, expensive and repetitive
US
35-50 years of age
An expensive stressful drama-filled two day trip to Victoria Falls - not worth it, won't do again
The one good thing I can say about AfriTrip is they are responsive. But our 2-day trip to Victoria Falls was not relaxing or enjoyable due to the stress and drama that ensued and the total cost was way more than the value we received.
The night before we are to leave we receive urgent messages that our Air Zimbabwe flight from JNB had been canceled and they rebooked us on British Airways. At that point it was an annoyance but not too bad. We had to get up earlier the next morning and switch airlines but still looking forward to our trip.
We land in Victoria Falls airport and the driver was surprised to see us since he thought we were still on the canceled flight! He didn't get the updated info so we were lucky that he was there waiting for others or might have been stuck with no ride. Victoria Falls Hotel where we stayed was okay but not worth the price. It's not a first-rate experience, e.g. the front desk agent forgot to return our passports! That caused some unnecessary stress. The room itself was mediocre.
Now, Victoria Falls itself IS amazing and worth seeing and we quite enjoyed it, just not the rest of the experience. For example, we had a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River that was so touted on KrugerPark.com for seeing wildlife and all we saw was a croc and some birds. I understand nature is unpredictable but I find the sales pitch misleading. Also, the cruise served snacks and drinks yet didn't have proper bathroom facilities! More unnecessary stress.
Now the worst part of the trip is the day before we are to fly back to JNB we get messages that our return flight on Air Zimbabwe has been canceled again! The airline wants to move to us a flight that's 5 hours later. Knowing how unreliable the airline has been we were not going to take the last flight out of Victoria Falls (on any airline) and risk getting stuck in Zimbabwe. How could KrugerPark.com book us on such an unreliable airline! Even after this, they refuse to rebook us on British Airways so, after a ton of back and forth (instead of enjoying our trip), we paid $724 to do it ourselves. They did refund us $322 which they claim is the cost of the flight plus their commission so we are out over $400 additionally.
In total we paid over $2500 for this two-day trip and did not see the value. Both flights getting screwed up, a mediocre hotel, and some mediocre tours. Overall it was a 5-star price for a 2-star experience. The Falls ARE spectacular though!
P.S. If I quickly do the math it doesn't quite add up. We paid over $2100 to the tour company. Based on the refund, flights were $322 each way including commission. Hotel was almost $800 for two nights (yes, quite expensive). Falls tour was $40 retail. Sunset cruise was $106 retail. And we got 6 transfers total which were maybe $100? We even had to pay $60 entry fee for the Falls and $20 for the River ourselves! This adds up to not even $1700 which includes part of their commission so how much are they jacking up the prices to make a package deal?! Knowing what we know now, we would've been MUCH better off booking the trip ourselves.
MY
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Lake Manyara National Park by Vanee Sivasamy
It was very hard to see any wildlife with so many trees and the lake had also caused damage to some of the forest area.