IE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Non existent as never got to go!
I have travelled with many travel companies and this is by far the worst experience so far. Extremely poorly organized, no help when in need of emergency assistance and incredibly rude customer service that shouted over me on the phone at me. Due to the poor organization we were unable to go on our trip and there wasn't a cent refunded or credit noted.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
No follow through
I was kidnapped while on a game drive in Queen Elizabeth national park in Uganda. I purchased my tour through natural word safaris and they brokered it out to wild frontiers. No one was at the airport to meet me when I first arrived in Entebbe by myself. I did get to gorilla trek for two days and then the third day I was kidnapped. I was held at gunpoint from April 2 , taken into the democratic republic of Congo, held by four men with machine guns and a fifth man who only had a machete. I was recovered on April 7 by the American Embassy in uganda. My guide was taken with me most likely he was involved & this tour company sold my photos all over the media. They made my incredibly horrific trauma the whole world‘s business. They never followed through on contacting when I got home as they said they would to see how I was doing. like everyone else they wanted to distance themselves from the terrifying experience that happened while I was in there care, or lack there of. They did not provide any security yet somehow I was ,in the media, held responsible for no security being available. since they sold my photos I can only assume that they were part of that propaganda. This company let me take the fall for what happened just outside of their camp with their tour guide. They should have done more, much more when they said they would. The loss to my life , both personally and professionally, Has been in measurable and PTSD my constant companion. Know who your are traveling with in dangerous places. Natural world safaris has tried to victim shame me for reviewing my experience and their deplorable behavior, let’s see what this company does.
AE
20-35 years of age
Tactless
I had the worst experience with Lightfoot Travels. After multiple attempts to contact them for my travel plans, I received no response. To add insult to injury, I then was sent an email informing me that I have been "blacklisted" for trying to get quotes from other vendors. This is completely unacceptable and unprofessional. The service industry requires tact and customer care, but Lightfoot Travels has failed to provide either. I would never recommend this company to anyone and would advise them to stay away.
FR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Mount Elgon Climbing : Company Rep did all to make savings and spoil AA clients
The operator representative made all possible savings on food, water, camping material, transfers.
On arrival the operator rep had no car and we assumed HIS transfer to the starting point when it's OUR transfer that was supposed included. On way back we got transfer after having hardly insisted. We also had to insist to have enough porters, the operator rep trying to save on them letting us transporting our bags when mail exchanges were clear on the subject : only a small walking bag per person and the rest (night and change) by porters.
During the trek was only planned 1.5 l of water per person and per day, rice, noodles, popatoes and .... meat once over 4 days (two of us were vegetarians but all of us have been turned to "carbohydrates-only" vegetarism).
Tents and sleeping bags were not adapted to cold conditions below 0 and nights were nightmares. Tents, ventilated like for savannah and had holes, jammed zips, an arch broken (we repared as we could). Peds and tensioners were missing and we had to fix it ourself. Sleeping bags were very thin and cold and one bag was even a commercial gift printed with a beer advertising !
After complain, the operator proposed that WE would promote them to friends who would benefit of a discount. No compensation for the bad service we received.
RO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lying
The bus was robbed and they took no responsibility. No compensation or anything. Here's what happened:
We stopped at Tubatse Crossing Mall. 2 trucks full of white people on their expensive phones with transparent windows. Even a blind person could spot us from miles. We were parking relatively far from the entrance because the public parking has a height limit that we couldn’t pass. No worries, we can walk a few minutes to the Mall entrance. They say to leave everything on the bus. Why? Because they are going to take care of it while we’re in the Mall. And we do, as they say. I believe most of us did. With only my phone and headphones in my pocket, we go to “hunt” some food in the Mall.
45 minutes later we arrive back. I see some people worried, and I hear somebody saying “Oh my God! Some backpacks are missing.” I was like definitely not mine, the most important backpack where we have ALL our combined documents, cards, passports… That cannot be happening. Then I run up the bus and to my worst nightmare, my backpack was gone. I was running up the other bus, hoping I’m an idiot, and confused my seat but no. It was gone. I come down, I start kicking the metal fence in my anger, and after rage asking the tour operators about where’s my backpack from this safe bus, I’m confronted with what happened.
While we were gone, they left 1 guy alone to take care of the 2 trucks. Trucks where each backpack had at least one laptop or iPad if not more. More than $100.000 on wheels. They thought that it was a good idea to leave a single unarmed man with all this value. And of course, 6 guys came with weapons, threatened him to open up one of the buses, ran up, and took whatever they could. Of around 50 bags 5 were stolen, and mine was one of them.
In the loving memory of my personal belongings that I believe I’ll never see again, here’s what was in the Nomatic backpack:
16” MacBook Pro M1 Pro 32GB, Oculus Quest 2, GoPro Hero 8, JBL Flip 6, Electric toothbrushes, around $1.000 in cash, cables, clothes, and even my favorite underwear.
Total value around $5.000. Still, this is something relatively easily replaceable.
The most painful part was that all of our combined documents with Mila were gone too. And when I say all, I mean it: Both Passports, Residence permit, Driving license, ID cards, 6 bank cards including our corporate one, and even my Albert Hein Bonus card.
We didn’t have luggage for months now to travel light, so I was left there stripped from all my belongings except what I had on me. There were 6 of us affected and 3 of us couldn’t continue the trip to the next country because of the lost Passports. So we couldn’t attend the 10-day
JP
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience excluding tour guide, Mr.Noely
Yes, I and my wife could see a lot of animals including all Big5 in this tour, it was great for us.
We got satisfied with it.
But our tour guide, Mr.Noely, his attitude to us was terrible, he ruined our experience.
We're really regret choosing this tour ant giving Mr.Noely tips.
The biggest reason why we're thinking so, is that he denied our religion.
In a convesation, we taught him that many people in our country believe in Buddhism.
He said to us,
" I HATE BUDDHA."
.....What ?? Why can he deny the religion others believe in ??
If you dislike other religion, you must not tell others that.
(We didn't say anything about his comment because we already understood his terrible humanity at that time, and of course we were afraid that he could abandon his responsibility to let us see animals tomorrow.)
The second reason is, he perfectly blamed his traffic violation on us.
He committed a traffic violation because we didn't fasten seatbelt on back seat of a car, and he had to pay the fine of it.
Then his attitude to us got terrible, drove dangerously with many tsk, and told us anything in a car.
Yes, it's true that we didin't fasten seatbelt, but that was because it's NOT illegal in our country, besides he NEVER told us "fasten your seatbelt."
Finaly, we decided that we gave him money ..... to save our lives and the rest of our tour.
There're so many other reasons why Mr.Noely 's humanity was terrible, but the margin is too narrow to contain it.
According to him, Mr.Noely have a 3 years-old daughter.
You must be an adult, because your child always see how parents behave, listen to what parents say.
HU
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Most horrible organization and client servize management that we have ever experienced
DOUBLE ZERO review if it would be possible!!!
We booked a 3 day safari with this organization to Mikumi. The offer was this:
- 6 hours travel from Dar Es Salaam to Mikumi with lunch then Masai village tour
- full day PRIVATE safari
- full day Udzungwa mountain hiking tour
- 4th day go back to Dar Es Salaam
Drinks, breakfast, lunch, dinners included everything for 1000$ for 2 people (2022 price)
Reality:
- 6 hours trip became 9 hours with really short 20 mins break because we did not want to waste time. Rush to the masai village tour. We signed to the organizer the same night that there are huge differences between 6 hours and 9 hours in a car and on our last day we need to catch a ferry which would not work with this long trip. Asked to change for flight or find some solution...
- next morning it turned out that the Private tour is not private however we booked private tour. Midday I wrote next email about it that basically nothing is the same as in the offer and we would like to find a solution, ask some compensation, or do sg.(dont even talk about the hotel where we were... dirty hot water, airconditioner so noisy that we cant use, etc.) After few hours they wrote back a totally attacking email that everything payed in advance and they will not change the travel for flight because its few thousand dollars. (we asked other guides and they said a 1 way flight to Zanzibar is 120$/person so they didnt even try to ask about fligh possibilities). so generally instead of trying to find solution for our problem they just made nothing. I even asked them to cancel the hiking program and take us back to Dar Es Salaam earlier, give back some money and just forget each other. No answer at all...
- so 3rd day what to do, we went to the full day hiking program. well it turned out that it is only a few hours program, we left the hotel at 8:30 and arrived back to the village at midday (45 mins trip by car). At least the guide adviced a snake farm program that obviously we needed to pay for extra, but at least we could do something. Still we arrived back to the hotel at 1pm... no lunch, no possibility to go out to the village, no activity possibilities in the hotel. basically we could just sit in the bar and drink...
After all of this I have asked some compensation because basically nothing happened on the way that we booked. No private tour, no full day hiking, 9 hours trip instead of 6 hours and really-really-really horrible client service management. So we had soooo much nervousness during those few days... Obiously they just wrote back an attacking email again and thats it. In the last night my wife was even crying because of the organization...
Anyway the qulity of the programs were okey, the guides made really good job, but this is totally not depending on the organizer...
So in sum, DO NOT BOOK with these guys if you are expecting correct client service and programs that you booked and you expect. DONT pay 100% in advance. That was our mistake too, because otherway they would be much helpfull for sure if we pay for example just 70% in advance and rest in the end of safari. For them only the money is important. After they got it, they give a shit about you, does not matter if you are complaining about something.
I hate to write negative feedback, I even offered them that i will not write anything in case of compensation but it seems the reputation is not so important for them in the 21st century... So I really hope that others will not make the same mistake as us of booking safari tour with this organization.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Stress, lies and nature
I booked (and paid) a Safari in 2019, which would happen in 2020, for 5 days including: chimps in Kibale, gorillas, climbing lions safari, and birding in Mabamba Swamp.
Obviously, COVID came and we couldn't make the trip in 2020. Richard (the owner), said that it was OK and that we could postpone everything to 2021, but he wasn't able to return the money. 2021 arrived, and we were not yet vaccinated, so at first, we decided to go but then we postponed again. Richard said that it was okay, with no penalties for postponing to 2022.
2022 arrives and around April I start moving everything for July of that year. We fix the dates, I buy the planes and everything seems to be okey. A couple of weeks later, the first unpleasant surprise, Richard tells me that the gorilla permits have expired, and we need to pay again. Even though he was explicit on the opposite a year before. We were angry, but what could we do, we paid again. Starting from that date, I asked like 6 times during the coming months for an official itinerary of the Safari, with the specific dates and what was included. Richard didn't send anything. A week before going to Uganda, he sends me the itinerary, and it was wrong!! The gorillas were booked for the day I was supposed to leave the country. Imagine my stress, ONE WEEK EARLIER with no gorillas, because Richard told me even in April that we should book the gorillas right away because it gets sold out very very quickly.
He said a couple of days later that everything was ok with the gorillas, but the chimps were not going to be in Kibale, but in Kalinzu. I paid 150$ for Kibale and the fee for Kalinzu was 45$. I didn't receive back any money.
We arrive in the country. The planning (roughly) was:
1-. Arriving + Transfer to Chimps zone
2-. Chimps + boat trip
3-. Safari + transfer to gorillas
4-. Gorillas
5-. Birding + departure flight
First day, everything OK.
Second day, chimps. We were alone in Kalinzu, I suppose because it's way worse than Kibale. Terrible surprise, Richard ask me on Whatsapp to borrow him 500$!!! Something about his mother. WTF I thought. Very angry, I answer him that no, I would not give him any money and he ask again for 100$! At that point, I was equally upset and surprised.
Third day. We arrive at Ishasha, and the guide tells us that the national park is closed because of an injured animal. I tell him that then what about the money that I paid for the entrance and how is it possible that an entire park closes without prior notification causing inconveniences to all the visitors. After insisting a couple of times, he said that we could try on the other entrance. We go to the other entrance, and after a couple of minutes of speaking with the people in the park, the guide comes out of the reception tent of the park with a soldier, and the soldier tells us that it was some elephant in the middle of the road that the veterinaries were healing. Big lie, and the soldier was for increasing credibility, I suppose. We arrive at the end of the day at Bwindi. The accommodation was super amazing, and because of that I was a little bit disappointed because we were supposed to start our day at 8 AM, but the guide eventually changed it to 9, and that hour in the balcony of the accommodation would have been amazing.
When we were having dinner, another terrible moment. Richard WhatsApp me, telling me that we were not going to make it to the Birding because watching the gorillas + transfer to Entebbe is too much for one day. Obviously, I was mad again. I asked about the money, and he refused to give anything back. The only option we had is to drive a long long time during the night for arriving on time. This was a bad option because the driving in Uganda is crazy, and even worse at 2 AM with a guide that has driven for 10 hours already.
Forth day. The guides make sure that we were with the group that would arrive quicker to the gorillas. Luckily, we saw the gorillas early and we started heading to Entebbe. We arrived at our very late in the night and we woke up at 04:30 to make it to the birding.
Fifth day. Woken up at 04:30, went to the birding and then to the airport. End of the trip.
The guides made everything that was on their hands to make our trip comfortable, they drove uncountless hours and were very nice to us, but the owner is a very unprofessional person that made our trip very unpleasant for moments, so I can't recommend him.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Failed to deliver your. Currently taking legal action against them.
Be extremely careful. Use an Abta approved agent. They failed to book internal flights from Nairobi to Arusha.
MX
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Terrible and an scam
Please if you can hire another company, do it…. They made a terrible itinerary for us and we lost 2 days because of them
Do Not recomend