20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Avoid them !!! Robbed on safari !! No help whatsoever!!
Robbed on safari !
Stay away from them if you do not want a nightmare holiday !
An absolute disgrace to tourism and to foreign tourists
We have been robbed under this tour operator in their chooses hotel.
The hotel was guarded with 4 security, our door was locked but still got the door broken damaging the frame and hit the lock out without anyone hearing anything ?!?!?!?!! The theft walked out with our backpack on his back and the other guys £6K camera swinging it in his hand . If you wonder yes 2 of us door got jacked up and no one heard or saw anything.
The owner refused to come and show the CCTV to the police delaying everything! The hotel called HotelCityMax in Nakuru !!
When we finally meet Mr CEO John who by the way is an absolute joke and disgrace to the whole tourism industry and also to tourists! Didn’t even call the hotel or came to see us when the accident happened!
Was half way laying in his chairs while he was bullsh*tting us and lying to us constantly!
The way John was behaving, the posture he was maintaining, the way of his speaking, every single gesture he was making made to us very clear that he absolutely does care and we are just a pain in his a.. at that moment and would say anything to get rid of us.
Several times we caught him to lie about what action he took and how he will compensate us . When we challenged him to prove us somehow that he took actions I.e police report , asking the hotel what happened etc he couldn’t put anything on the table !
I never in my life meet someone like John in such a high position and still don’t care at all especially in a country that heavily relies on tourism!
He was keep telling us for 30 mins how his company operates and all of this filling stories what frankly we didn’t care as we had a bigger issue why we were there and wanted to sort it before we leave the country.
Of course no solution came from him ! Even He was not man enough to give me his business card at the end !
Honestly it was scary to see how much someone who is in charge doesn’t care at all about the 2 theft that happened under his watch and in his hotel from who is in charge !
At the end we have to leave without any paper or whatsoever. He didn’t care if we will return or not as he already had our money and he had no intention to ease up our pain to try to help us . He doesn’t care if you return or not !
Very poor customer service and lack of knowledge, Mr big CEO John clearly has no idea what this business is all about
Dear John let me tell you 1 thing it is all about trust reputation and returning clients !
Do yourself a favour and avoid him and his company!
I would highly recommend Super Eagles ! As I didn’t have any issues with them ! Always super helpful and ready to help Gents with a fantastic customer service who are truly appreciate us tourist visiting their country and would like us to return .
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
DON’T BOOK WITH THEM
Purity was the operator that I was talking to by email. At the beginning she was answering quickly to my questions so I decided to book and pay the amount she told me. Once I paid I had to wait since 31st May to 29th June to have my confirmation. I had to send several emails (without answer) and that was feeling like a scam. After that, I had to write her a few days before to make sure everything was fine and that was when she told me the planning had changed “because the government increased the price of the entrance fee”, so we had 1 day of 5 without visit to any park. Even that happened and I was informed two days before arrival, the price stayed the same. When we arrived there hopefully we met the best driver ever, Ken, who was working for another company and took care of us with all his love. The last day he informed us that we were going to change into another car to arrive at Namanga border where we were supposed to take a bus that would bring us to our hotel in Arusha (final destination). We met that second driver at Amboseli’a date. He came driving his van very fast and shouting at us and at Ken. We couldn’t understand anything but finally he left us there without explanation and left driving unsafe. That was a nightmare for us, that were about to lose our shuttle bus and were scared. We had to change into a third van and arrived at Namanga border where we met Abbas, the man that was going to “help” us within there. He asked us the name of the hotel in Arusha and said Arusha wasn’t safe so they will going to bring us our hotel. Finally we took the bus but our destination changed again without explanation as he left us somewhere in Arusha. We had to take a taxi after being in the middle of 20-30 men trying to force us to go with them on their “taxis”, in a very unsafe area. When I reached Purity on WhatsApp she seemed surprised and worried but when I asked for the amount of the taxi she turned the same: no answer, no help, so I had to talk to my lawyer to start a process against the company. Sometimes you go for the cheapest and that turns into the most expensive experience. Think twice before booking…
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Extremely unorganized and I felt they didn’t provide me with the services I purchased
I booked a 10 day Kenya and Tanzania safari. I am well travelled and this is far from my first tour. Overall I found the company extremely disorganized, my first driver uninterested and rude to other guests, and that I didn’t receive the services agreed on without actively being extremely vocal to get them and some I still didn’t get at all.
There are three main reasons I leave a one star review for this company.
1) I had a morning Safari booked for Masai Mara, the night before I hear the itinerary is changed and we are no longer going there. They told me this is because the government changed the rules from 24 hour passes to 12 hour passes, I would have hopped that they could have either purchased passes on the next morning as that is what I had purchased or made it up in some other way. They seemed completely uninterested in doing either. I was in a group with many others on many different tours, none of theirs had this option, I felt like because mine was the only one with this option they decided to not do anything about this.
2) After a short morning safari at Nakuru we headed to Amboseli, however on the way we had to stop at a gas station and wait for over two hours to get an additional two members in our vehicle, this meant we got in very late that night. We later found out the 2 members we were waiting for had just started there drive late that day due to the driver. I would have hoped the company would have either let us stay in Nakuru longer or would have sent the two others in a separate car.
3) When we went for our game drive in Amboseli our driver didn’t have the correct payment options causing us to be delayed. He then asked if one of us could pay and he would pay back, he said it was $4 but turned out it was far more. The fact that this delayed us and the fact that he tried to get us to pay more than he said was very concerning. If my AMEX when through (they didn’t take AMEX) I would have been charged a lot more than I was told.
4) When I crossed the border to Tanzania I was left alone and told a bus would be there at 10:30 to pick me up, already an hour wait after I got through the border. The bus however didn’t come until around 12:30 and didn’t leave until 1:30. It is lucky I had data to communicate with them otherwise I would have been in trouble. The fact that they would never proactively communicate with me or give me accurate times was extremely frustrating.
5) Communication: this was an issue throughout the trip, you would often not know ahead of time what was happening or when to wake up, several nights I would message them throughout the day asking the plan for the next day and they would say “someone will come tell you” but no one ever would even after asking multiple times, then I would have to wake up in the middle of the night and message some more before finding out what time I had to wake up.
6) One day our whole party arrived at the hotel and the front desk told us there were no reservations for us. I never got an answer from the company as to what happened but clearly it didn’t get booked. We then had to spend a bunch of time trying to figure out where we would all stay for the night as there were not enough rooms. Through pure generosity of the other people I was on tour with they decided to all cram into one room so I could have a room as the hotel only had two left. If not we would have been in a very bad situation late at night with a company that had proven they would make you wait a long time and would not communicate well.
That all being said Juma, my driver for the Tanzania portion was phenomenal. I just can’t justify giving anything but one star based on the other factors.
Overall this was an extremely frustrating experience and I would recommend staying away from this company. Hopefully I can save someone the pain.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fraud, stole 200€ from me. Police is involved.
I booked a hike in Bwindi, he quoted me $450. We agreed that I would pay a deposit of 200€ and then the rest would be “paid on the day of the hike”. Too bad the guy the company sent who was supposed to pay the park fees/guide didn’t actually have enough money and he only had cash (UWA does not accept cash). The guy there told me he would refund me the deposit after the hike, as I had to pay the entire sum myself on the spot despite the early booking. His boss then refused to refund me the deposit, claiming that I told him we were “EAC citizens”, even if I have the messages showing I told him we were “EAC residents”. He also claims we didn’t pay the full amount, which is true but we again we had agreed I would pay the rest ”the day of the hike”. And regardless, even if I had paid him everything in advance, we would have not been able to do the hike anyways because he made a mistake thinking we were “EAC citizens” instead of “EAC residents” and the guy he sent only had cash and UWA does not accept cash. I filed a police report and the Ugandan police said they will arrest him, let’s see.
Other than completely incompetent, he’s also dishonest and a brazen liar.
P.S: I told him I was ready to pay his services (meaning help on WhatsApp how the hike worked and the fact that a guy showed up at the hotel and went with us to the UWA HQ) regardless of all the mistakes, but he simply decided to take the 200€ that were supposed to pay the park fees/guide while he did not pay a single cent. This is malicious fraud, simple as that.
FR
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Biwakwango with Kgato Safaris 1/5: To be avoided. Prices top of the lines for services down of range
Biwakwango associated with Kgato Safaris 1/5: To be avoided. Prices top of the lines for services down of the range, or even much less!
Namibia part, rather poor, ensured by Thierry Pagnot, owner of Biwakwango. Very old vehicle without any comfort (rough suspensions, no air conditioning and no comfort equipment available in the fleet of other 4x4s such as refrigerators, chargers, etc.). Very ordinary animal guide (by far the worst on the 4 safaris experienced previously) and does what he wants without taking into account our wishes (we completely missed sites like Swakopmund, according to the people we met at the end of travel). In addition, he is someone who saves money on everything, hence the daily hungry and tasteless picnics, bottled water distributed by droppers (we had to buy it several times) and a problem of Accommodation over the 3 days at Ngepi camp for which we had to fight to get something decent. Other accommodations in Namibia were OK.
But the worst by far was the Botswana part which he subcontracted to a structure with which he is used to working, Kgato safaris run by a pastor named BK. It was truly a nightmare. 4x4 with trailer out of breath, overloaded and with worn tires. On the vehicle side, 3 predictable punctures with, for the first on the 1st day, the need for a repairer waited more than 1 hour because there was no jack in the 4x4. Several getting stuck in the sand with our help to collect branches of tree to put under the tires (no sand removal plate) and to push and even once to transport luggage and equipment a few hundred meters to reach the camp, the 4x4 being in waiting for other vehicles to be towed and get out of this mess (safari on evening canceled due to the late arrival and our tiredness. A fire started in our feet due to the faulty power supply in a fridge and which could have ended very badly. An engine overheated several times which required several stops, culminating in the explosion of the radiator which put an end, before the end, to our journey with this unprofessional structure, to say the least, that is Kgato Safaris and its boss BK. After hours of waiting in full sun (40° in the shade), we were rescued by Tony from Tony Mobile Safaris who we can never thank enough for getting us out of this bad situation and who led us to Kasane is 3 hours of slopes away, despite the 3 clients he was transporting who were kind enough to accept that we join their team. Not from Chobe River but finally extracted from this hell.
The only positive point is that the cook and BK's aide-de-camp, very friendly and always smiling, did their best to make our stay a little less stressful (in particular, the food was very good). Note that the so-called purified water was in fact that of the self-service tap at the entrance to each reserve via a large plastic pipe lying on the ground (another lie from BK).
But the worst part of all that is not there. We could have accepted all these hazards tinged with amateurism if at least we had been able to explore the Okavango Delta as we dreamed of since it was the essential reason for this expensive trip. Instead, to save money, BK and his Kgato Safaris have set up their camps outside areas of interest. For example, for the Moremi Game Reserve, they set up camp for us at Xini Lagoon, more than 20 km of track from the Moremi area indicated on the “Tracks 4 Africa” map. The place was dry and uninteresting while the photos and videos taken by Tony Mobile Safaris clients testified to this magical place that we completely missed. Same for Khwai and Savuti. I didn't take any photos during certain safaris as the areas explored were so uninteresting.
We therefore completely missed out on our trip, particularly in the Okavango, and this, mainly because of Thierry Pagnot from Biwakwango who bears full responsibility for organizing this entire awful trip.
HK
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unpleasant Trip SEP 2023
We planned our trip to Kenya three and a half years ago, but unfortunately due to COVID-19, our trip to Kenya finally took off this year.
We were excited and happy to go on a safari in Kenya. Unfortunately, we encountered a bad travel agency called Seven by Far and the person in charge was Sylvester. As a result, our itinerary could not be fulfilled one by one. In the end, part of the itinerary was not allowed to show up after the deadline. , we disputed and asked for a refund, so that we could complete this unforgettable and unpleasant trip.
The travel enthusiasts who like Kenya, when you choose a travel agent, don’t decide on a travel agent based on ratings alone. I wish you all a happy travel experience.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
7 day safari tour with chaotic organization and downgrades
We did a seven day safari tour organized by African Polecat including Tarangire NP, 3 days Serengeti NP, Ngorongoro Crater, Biking to Lake Manyara and a cultural tour and finally a walking tour at Arusha NP.
First of all, doing such a safari tour is an amazing experience and we can really recommend it - just not by this operator.
We specifically chose this tour because accomodation-wise it offered a nice combination of 3 nights of sleeping in tents in the nature (with animal encounters right in front of the tents!) and then really nice locations at the start and end, namely 2* the jungle pearl resort and 1* karibu heritage.
Starting the first day, we were told, that there would be a change in plan, with Arusha NP at the first day, rather than the last day- which was fine to us at the moment, but then after a very nice safari day we were dropped off at a cheap Hotel in Arusha that was not even on the travel list, costs less than half as much and is badly rated on google maps and booking (3/10!!). A place we never would have chosen or booked ourself. The next day we were mixed with another group and picked up by another driver and guide. We thought we would continue with the initial guide - which was no problem per se - but sad because this way we didnt had the chance to tip the initial tour guide which did a spectacular job explaining all the animal encounters. With the new - suddenly scrambled together - group, the journey continued but we ended up at different accomodations than booked.
After Tarangire we were driven to kizumba camp site instead of jungle pearl (also not as nicely rated, rather basic in comparison). We texted James (the organizer) why this was the case and he said he forgot to remind the driver.
On day 6, we had only a short day at Ngorongoro crater, because the rest of the group and the driver would go on to Arusha for the afternoon, which was not on our plan anymore. So we were dropped off along the way at jungle resort (even then the driver didnt get the right instructions for us; we basically had to make sure to arrive at the right place; even the location didn’t know of our supposed arrival). Any way we lost half a tour day because apparently we were mixed with another group which had a different tour plan.
The last day at manyara lake we were a little bit worried to not reach the planned arrival at the airport in the evening with all the organizational problems. When texting James he ensured us that a driver will pick us up and everything is arranged. When sitting in the final taxi, we thought that now nothing could surprise us anymore, when suddenly the taxi would drive to a place in Arusha and drop us off there, instead of at the airport. After waiting there for 20 minutes a second taxi drove us to the airport. Again without previous communication.
It is indeed a very weird feeling, when you are in a foreign country and half the time you enter a vehicle, you get dropped-off at a random place that was not communicated or agreed on.
Minor inconveniences: no binoculars as advertised, no beverages or alcoholic drinks as advertised, no 3l water a day as advertised, no hot shower water as advertised, no toilet paper (we thought to really expect those things would be a stretch, given the nature of the safari, but still…).
Erika the cook and Amos the guide were lovely and I don‘t feel like they are at fault for any of these problems. It very much felt like a lack of communication and providing organization and information.
A safari tour is very much recommended and a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but I cannot recommend Polecat as operator.
US
Lied to and not refunded
I was given an inaccurate itinerary, and charged for things I should not have been. She made zero effort to rectify her mistake or refund me. Choose any other operator.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
I feel he is a fraudster and liar
Where do I begin.
I wouldn’t trust Seth as far as I could throw him! He has lied to me for the last year and took me over 9 months to get a refund on my deposit after cancelling our trip (took a month for him to accept the cancellation we were told to do for various reasons) even though he informed me of his refund policy of 7 days.
Every email I got from him was false promises and lies. Safari bookings were the only reason we managed to get our money back and I wouldn’t want anyone to go through the stress I went through and the sleepless nights of having to deal with Seth.
I’m glad to be done with him, he lied about everything!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
My opinion is you better use another travel agency.
It was our first time in dubi and When we arrived we were dropped off at the hotel and left to check in the hotel by ourselves. We had a tour for the day we checked in even though we were extremely tired and ended up missing the tour since noone came to the reception to call us down. They just whatsapp you ( yet the hotels wifi was very slow so we received these messages very late) They only wait for you 20 min and leave you .
The second and third tour guides were really good. Congrats to them. The company only gave us activities for the first two days and left the other 4 unattended. During drop off to the airport on our departure we were left to navigate on our own until we reach our take off gate. Generally won't go with them again. I rather book for myself amd go alone. No difference.