CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
So many Possabilities.....
This review should be read in conjunction with Clives’s review posted in February 2015—he and his wife were the travelling companions with me and my family (wife, daughter and son). https://www.safaribookings.com/or5815
I have delayed in giving a review of Eastco in order for my mindset to become more objective as Clive has pretty much given an accurate outline of our experience with Eastco plus I was interested to see if Simon would make any contact with us to see what our view was. It is now September and we have not heard one peep from Mr. King although I expect he might have a response to my comments here.
My view of the trip was similar to Clive’s and I back him completely in his version of the events as they unfolded. I will ad that on the face Eastview’s proposed itineraries look pretty good—lots of “game drives” shown, nice mix of mid and very nice accomodations, etc., but what the itinerary doesn’t reveal is that many of the “game drives” are simply long drives over rough and dusty roads to get from place to place with little or no gave evident. The use of Ol Tukai lodge puts you several hours out in a virtual desert and fills in a couple of days there with”cultural” activities involving hot walks to neighboring village and school—I have no problem with learning about local cultures but we specifically stated in our work up that our primary interest was game drives and game viewing.
Boundary Hill lodge, which is a beautiful place to stay, is again a long drive to get to and from with little game in its immediate area so more long drives to see game.
We had specifically planned this trip to coincide with the wildebeest birthing stage of the great migration and clearly set this out when planning the itinerary with Mr. King—no luck, the migration moved faster than expected and had already passed the location of Eastco’s tent camp and lodge accommodation placing the main herd several hours drive from where we were staying—no opportunity was presented or even available to us to change itinerary to accommodate because the Land rovers were broken down.
We had also specifically asked for 2 days in the Ngorongoro Crater—we got one day and one of the accommodation nights was changed to a much cheaper location—ostensibly because the more expensive lodge was full and we didn’t book soon enough—yeh, right!!
The last few days of our itinerary were spent at replacement (read Cheaper) lodges and we were offered no explanation or refund.
We did see a good selection of game but not what we had hoped and planned for—this safari was not good value for the money—which was quite embarrassing for us as we had made the selection of Eastco based on the reviews we had read prior to our trip and our e-mails with Mr. King. We advised our friends that Eastco had good reviews and they went with our suggestion--too their dismay I am sure!
We quite agree with Clive’s assessment that Eastco is a second rate operation and we do not recommend booking with them either. My daughter was quite upset by the "hostage incident" and my wife and I were disappointed with missing the birthing. Mr. King's operation appears to be running so close to financial difficulties that there is little or no room for any flexibility once you are committed to the itinerary--but yet there is no problem in shifting accommodations to cheaper venues with no explanation (or refund).
SG
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Book at your risk
I booked and paid for a 15-day joint safari with Kapalondo Expeditions based on an itinerary and cost proposal received from them. Two days prior to my departure, I was advised that the the other members of the joint safari had cancelled, and that my itinerary would change. I did not agree to the revised itinerary, and requested to stick with the original itinerary or receive a refund. The night before my departure, Kapolondo Expeditions agreed to run the original itinerary at the original cost, with two accommodation changes. However, subsequent to my arrival in Africa, further changes were made to my itinerary (one destination was completely cut out) and my accommodation (downgraded from luxury to mid-range or budget) without my notice or consent. There were days during my safari when I did not know where I would be staying that night or in 2-3 nights' time, which was highly unsettling. Whilst I understand the economics of the situation (a joint safari effectively became a private tour, although at no fault of mine), it was handled completely unprofessionally, and at no time were efforts made to respond to/address my concerns or give me any options to change/upgrade my accommodation (even at extra cost). In addition, Kapalondo claims on their website to be a member of the Tanzanian Association of Tourism Operators (TATO), but when I called TATO to seek help during my safari, I was advised that they are not a member (you can verify for yourself on the TATO website). All of this trouble aside, the game drives were excellent and my drivers in Kenya and Tanzania were informative, friendly, helpful and made every effort to turn an unpleasant situation into a positive one. My safari would have been perfect, if not for the complete unprofessionalism of the operator. Based on this experience, I cannot recommend Kapalondo Expeditions.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
not worth it. not good value for money
Sunway Safaris is highly disappointing. saying that, we did see majority of the animals, and the main tour guy was great.
disclosure: below is our opinion only, and we communicated it to the company and they promised to address these for the next tours. offcourse, it doesnt help us.
- lunches were predominantly can food. for 1500 Euro per person, one can provide better food.
- the vehicle is too small for 12 people. we were only 9 with an extra guide (3 guides) and it was cramped. one can use bigger vehicles, particularly for these large distances.
- perhaps the most annoying thing is the mus-information. game drive in Krueger, was literally only drive from point A to point B on our route. we didnt really have the game, off the sealed roads as one promised. we just moved up to Zimbabwe, and whatever we saw - that was the game. the game drive in Chobe, was offered to us for 400 Bula, but when we went to reception, suddenly the price went to 320. Finally, there was no option for night safari. we were promised it in Khama Rhyno and Krueger (itinerary based) but we didnt actually have the option when we were there.
In 2 of the camps there was no hot water - although promised (great Zimbabwe and i forgot the 2nd one)
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Never shows up on time
I was very disappointed with Falcon Safaris. When I booked these activities I was under the impression that Falcon Safaris worked closely with our concierge at the Royal Livingstone. Every voucher slip that we had told us a time to be ready, and we were always ready at that time. Unfortunately Falcon Safaris was always at least 45 minutes late. It literally happened 4 times. The concierge was always in disagreement with Falcon Safaris and I felt that we paid the price. Would not recommend Falcon Safaris to other guests of the hotel.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Stressful Safari
We went throught Absolute Holiday & Safari To book a 6 days safari going arounf Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli.
At first organisation seemed good, David our contact was very nice and answer all our questions (and we had lots of them). When arriving in Nairobi, we went to the office (discovering Absolute holiday & Safari and Big Time Safari are located in the extact same office) and David explained to us the schedule of the Safari in details.
For our first day, instead of leaving Nairobi befor 9am we were delayed until 10 am, going with the driver pick up food and oil....
We were 6 people in the van at that time: 2 coming from Absolute Safari, 2 coming from Big Time Safari and the other 2 coming from Savannah Jamboree Travel. The bus was managed by Big Time Safari but what I understood is that many budget companies work together in order to incease occupancy rates of the vans.
Then going to Masai Mara, we saw lots of animals as it was migration season, the schedule was nearly respected, we were all very happy.
After we were inroute for the Lake Nakuru park, stoping at Lake Naivasha our driver tell us he has to pick 2 people more, with no more explaination I call our contact David (we had local sim), he is not aware of such things and is not at the office, promising to contact me again, it is around 3pm at that time. 3 people come back with our driver, the mini van is now full and we are supposed to end our safari with them, 3 and half more days to go at that point.
Calling back David, he is very nice but does not give me any answer he has to deal with personal matters first and then will go back to me.....
We all go the Lake Nakuru for diner, throught our driver we call the transport manager of Big Time Safari (Alfred) and the president (John) to tell that was not the agreement, indeed in one of our email we ask David how muck people max will be in the safari, and his answer is very clear, 7 max. Big time safari does not want to hear anything, saying to us that if we are not happy a car will come pick us up and we will leave the safari without any refund, nice people!
Finally around 9pm David goes by the office, 6 hours after the first phone call... He says every thing fine and tomorrow we will have another mini van to do the game drive and respect previous engagement.
The day after, nothing is there, we do game drive with the 9 of us....
Going back to Nairobi (you have to go throught Nairobi in the itinerary), another minivan is expecting us, so we are all happy again.
If you want this company to respect their engagement it's very hard because once you began the safari you already paid the all amont so you don't have a lot to bargain with and somtimes the drivers completely refuse to call their office so if you don't have a local sim, your stuck. Also, the drivers are always trying to reduce the game drive schedule so you have to argue with them again and again for them to respect previous engagement.
I would defenitely not recommand this company if you are looking for zen holidays.
Be carreful when choosing your Safari, I'm now very sceptical of having good budget safari.
TR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
I wish I had the chance to go back and change my choice of tour company.
Very poor guide, very old car. We did not feel welcome at all. Unsatisfaction from the beginning to the end. Tanzania is a heavenly country and deserves to be explored with a better company in professional hands.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Skeleton Coast National Park by Michele Bartlett
Miles of mist covered coast with nothing to see. Terrible weather. Boring
US
20-35 years of age
Beautiful Mountain on its Way to Ruin
Mt. Kilimanjaro is, needless to say, a pretty unique place on earth. Unfortunately, Tanzania runs it more like an amusement park than a place to be revered for its national beauty.
As the camps get more crowded closer to the summit (the trails merge) they get progressively worse. Tour companies do not treat the place very well. Trash is abundant around all the campsites, and the vegetation is trampled/abused all around, I suspect, not by the toursists themselves, but by the 3+ crew members typically accompanying each tourist.
Most disappointingly, human waste policies are almost non existent or just not followed (no bathroom business within 50m of a trail, for example.) Outside of camps, every few minutes, you will pass a spot that smells like the national pee-corner, or a spot with enough used toilet paper to cover a kitchen table. Really detrimental to encounter this so frequently in a place that I'd hope to see as pristine as possible.
Unfortunately, the camp toilets are not much better. In a year of living in Tanzania, the large public toilets with tile floors are the worst smelling restrooms I have encountered anywhere in this country, and of any public park anywhere in the world. The small wooden ones over a pit are pretty standard bush toilets, so they're ok.
I realize that this sounds like a prissy white guy from a developed country has his panties in a bunch because things aren't squeaky clean in Africa, but I relish the "roughing it" experience one can find camping or traveling in less-developed parts of the world. I'm no stranger to gross or inadequate toilets, but I was pretty disappointed in what I encountered in such a world-famous park that supposedly hosts luxury trips. Nothing luxurious about stepping over human feces on your way up the mountain (literally happened).
These two things (trash and sanitation) really deflated my experience of an otherwise incredible trip. The company I went with did everything in their power to make it fantastic, and its sad that my only grievances are with the park itself. The ecosystems you pass through and the views from some of the camps are stunning, and 19,341 feet does feel pretty cool.
But its absolutely not worth paying Tanzanian Natl Parks the fee they extort from visitors for a park that's so poorly maintained. You could have an unreal three week vacation in SE Asia for the same money, without (ideally) hiking through a sewer. If you're dead set on climbing a mountain in TZ though - Mt. Meru is incredible and Mt. Hanang is really cool too. Cost you about 1/6 the money for Meru, Hanang less than $100. Kilimanjaro, is unfortunately, overrated.
NO
Search for Moley
Im looking for a ranger with the name Moley? I hope he is still at Ruaha? Im a friend that worked with him ? Can you please ask him to contact me via mail?
Kind regards
Rudi from Makalali Game reserve?
US
Review about Hell's Gate National Park by PeeBee
Hell's Gate is a fantastic park, but not for safari. Take a guided tour of the gorge, climb Fischer's Peak, take in the scenery. But if you want a game drive head to nearby Nakuru National Park.