CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Deceptive. A con and possibly a scammer.
We booked a 3-day tour for 2 to the Maasai Mara for 1120 USD through Lucy Njeri's Splendor Holidays. This included Park entrance fees, private driver and accommodation. Everything was paid as agreed on time.
All was well until we got at the Park gate on Dec 13 when we were asked for receipt for the entrance fee which Lucy was supposed to have given to our driver. She had not issued one. Assuming it was an oversight on her part, we paid again 320USD for two of us for the 2 visits to the park.
I tried reaching out to Lucy with no response. It must be noted that up until that moment, she was was quick to respond especially when part of a payment was due. She could not take our calls, nor the driver's. Our multiple text messages went unanswered. We had other people reach out because it was clear she was ignoring our calls/messages. We hoped that she'd respond to theirs since she does not have their numbers. We were right. She responded to one of them with some shady story that she'd been mugged while depositing cash in her Mpesa account. I call it shady because we did not have to learn about that from other people. Not even her driver knew about it!!! She was ignoring his calls too.
Anyways she told that friend of ours that efforts were underway to issue a refund to us. She did not tell that to us. Days went by with no word from her despite numerous attempted phone calls.
Finally on Dec 15, after multiple calls and tests, she sent a copy-and-paste response she had sent to that friend of ours earlier with the same excuse. We kept asking her when the refund would be issued we never heard back.
We are now back in Canada unsure how we will get our money back. This has left us feeling scammed and deceived. We were referred to this lady by our close friends and up until that moment we were happy with everything. I don't know what else to call this other than what it is: scam, deception, theft and grossly unprofessional.
I will complain to any authority that can resolve this because it is not OK for our vacation to have this awful ending. Other vacationers please be warned!!
IE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Lying Cowboys
Kenya bush expeditions lied to me and my local guide about available tickets for the Sheldrick Trust tour for the 20th of December.
On enquiry they said they had 7 tickets available and we only needed 4. They asked for an email to send the payment link and we were slightly skeptical so we offered cash on the day which they agreed.
They charge $50pp US for the tour and the price is actually $15pp from Sheldrick. All they offer extra is pick up and drop off.
On arrival to the Trust, we pulled over and the driver said we had to wait. After questioning he said that we didn’t have tickets and we are waiting to see if there are any no shows. There were 6 other operators engaging in the same activity. Imagine if we had paid online prior!
Absolute cowboys! Sheldrick trust informed us that they are fully booked until the 6th of January and all bookings should be done through them. This company still offers available tickets every single day for the tour, complete liars.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Bonfire Adventures support scammers
Visit Masai Mara, but NOT with Bonfire Adventures.
DRIVER/GUIDE TOOK THE TICKET MONEY FOR HIMSELF.
I ordered 3 days safari in the private car during my few days stay in Kenya with pickup from Nairobi. On the 1st day driver/guide stopped the car at a certain distance before the park entry gate and informed me that the entry fee can only be paid in cash. He mentioned that card terminal is broken and Bonfire should inform me about it. When I proposed we can go together and buy tickets he said someone should stay with the car. When he was back, I asked for the ticket and… surprise another failure, ticked machine is broken and that I will get the ticked on the exit two days later. When I messaged bonfire office asking if this is normal, I only get the info that they will check this and that was the end of communication. Two days later at exit I asked to stop at the gate to ‘take some photos’. I asked at the counter about card payment and the clerk told me ‘it’s working all the time, every day’. When I confronted back the driver he said that clerk is lying and he promised me the ticked when we will arrive back to my hotel. At the end he was trying to give me a ticked with someone else’s name on it and with the date from previous month. Clear scam were driver keeps entry fee for himself and no ticked is issued.
3 DAY RIDE IS ACTUALLY ONE DAY RIDE. POOR CAR CONDITION
Itinerary is more or less like this. First and last day is ¬6h drive from and to Nairobi. Rest of the time should be the game ride.
What I get in reality was 2h ride on day 1 and full day ride on day 2. Day 3 was just rush ride to the gate without even opening the roof. I can say only day 2 was game drive however the driver didn’t even know how to use 4x4 (other guides were trying to explain this to him) and therefore we lost some time rolling in the mud and taking d-tours. Car also had several issues, engine was going out frequently, wipers were not working, driver had to stop and use bottled water to clean window, overall problem with electric, no radio and antena. On top of that Day 3 was real failure, driver proposed we will first take breakfast in the lodge and then do the game ride. What really happen after breakfast we rushed to the exit without even opening the roof, it took 25 min maximum. There was no game ride on that day. On the way to Nairobi, driver almost killed a pedestrian because he was overtaking other cars using roadside!
BONFIRE OFFICE COVERING THE SCAM
After my return I escalated all above concerns to the bonfire office, only after several emails I got response that they will reimburse half of the entry ticket price, less than 5% of total price. Till today after 4 months I didn’t get any refund, all I was getting for the first month were excuses that I have to have local bank account or that driver can bring cash to the hotel (they know I’m a tourist and not leaving in KE). When I told bonfire they can reimburse the same way as I paid, this is credit card, I got well known response, reimbursement to cred card is broken :D:D:D
Apparently scam with no issuing entry ticket is common, however bonfire supporting this and trying to cover this up is way below any standard. I have all pictures of fake tickets or email exchange with excuses.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Richard is a thief, do not trust this company.
This is NOT a safari company, it is a huckster with a website. Richard insists on money wires in advance but then doesn’t deliver on any of his contracts. He offers nothing but lies, abuse, and third-rate accommodations. After scamming my group for thousands of dollars, I am infuriated to see that people are continuing to try to book tours through him! DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER CALLING THIS COMPANY unless you want to lose money and have your trip ruined. We had to pay for almost our entire trip twice since he took our money but didn’t pay any of the parks or hotels we were supposed to visit. He belongs in jail, I’d love to know how he got out, but hopefully he will end up back there soon enough.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Thieves
5 Day Kilimanjaro Climb: Nov 2021
Pro-cheapest price, plentiful food, terrific guide
Con-employee who arranged booking insisted I give him the tip money for guide and porters up front rather than allowing me to distribute the money directly to them myself during or after the climb. Upon return from the climb, the employee gave my tip money to the guide. However, the money was not the same as that which I had given to the employee. The denominations of bills were smaller and it appeared some money had been removed. Would not recommend this company as it seems the office-based employee who handles bookings is stealing some of the tip money from the guides and porters who do all the actual hard work on the mountain
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
2 hours late and ripping me off
Booked a day trip to Arusha NP with Seka from Taste of Africa. The guide was supposed to pick me up at 7.30, but at the agreed time there was no one to be seen. No one from the company was available until I got a call from Seka at 8:55 AM. He told me that there was a problem, but that it was solved and that he would come in half an hour. At 9:25 AM I was finally picked up by Seka and the guide, after which we still had to leave for Arusha NP.
Seka left and I continued with the guide and we were only at the park well after 11 o'clock, where we then also had to wait at the entrance because the entrance fee had not yet been paid...
We had a nice day and the guide did his best, but was not very experienced and often busy taking selfies. He didn't know the answer on many questions and didn't know the animals very well. He also said that unfortunately this was not the first time that Taste of Afrika was late, because the owner was a drunk and often overslept.
We nearly ran out of time to see the entire park, but luckily we managed to do so in the end because the guide drove very fast.
I didn't get a discount on this day trip, but could get a discount on another day trip. However, I got the same price as quote as I've had before, so Seka wanted to rip me off again.
I would definitely not recommend Taste of Africa.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Money makers only profit oriented
These guys are just money makers. Did the one night safari trip and it was ridiculous. Arrived way too late at the park so we had only 2h game drive. Slept in a tent which doesn’t even has a light switch. You had to screw the bulb to switch on/off the light. Then morning game drive was also just 2h saying the driver needs to be on the road back to Nairobi by 9am. Maybe for unexperienced Tourists fun but I have lived in EA for more than 4 years and did many safari before. This was mos def the worst of all. They just make a lot of profit saving every shilling they can regarding service. Food was cheap local food (rice, beans, posho, goats meat) and all other services also ridiculous. The game drive was also only very semi professional. Anyway if you want local African experience, go for it but the price is definitely way to high for what you get.
SG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The owner lies a lot and even now he is lying.
We have spoken with the platform master and he has suggested to give an update so here goes:
First, I would like to address the issue of refund. As mentioned, the agreement we made at the police station was for Haron’s African Sunset Safari to make a FULL refund BY 19 SEPTEMBER 2021, please refer to the attached. Haron only made his first partial payment on 28 September, second partial payment on 22 October. And as of today, 6 November, the FULL refund has not been received. Can you imagine after all these mistakes and injustices against yourself, Haron had the audacity to tell you to bear transaction costs when refunding you? Especially when he had a chance to repay you in person (and avoid these fees) but he chose not to. Because of this, we waited an entire day (until 9pm) at the police station - while we are on holiday.
Next, I would like to bring your attention to his responses to our reviews.
The person supposed to do ground handling in Tanzania had some problems…
(RESPONSE: We have proof and voice recordings that Haron was in cahoots with the Tanzanian middleman and tried to cheat the Tanzanian agency. We even found out about Haron’s threats because he was exposed. He is a manipulative and scary man.)
We did inform them of the only two hotels we would change more than a month before they travel…
(RESPONSE: To be precise, we certainly were not given more than a month’s notice. We were notified of the latest change (13 Jul) to one of the hotels 3 weeks before our trip. Not forgetting to mention the last hotel which Haron insisted to have booked, but when the officer called the hotel at the police station, they confirmed that payment WAS NOT made. We spent our last night scrambling to find another hotel to stay in because of Haron’s lies.)
There are so many lies Haron made that we can’t even list all of them.
It is telling when a tour operator responds to every bad review with rebuttals of their innocence. African Sunset Safaris is one such operator.
It is also laughable that this is the first sign of apology from Haron to us and it only comes when he is replying to a bad review instead of expressing his remorse sincerely in person, he is clearly putting on a show.
Haron, we know you are reading this. As the owner of an agency, please have the decency to reflect upon your actions. You owe us an apology and of course the balance of the refund. With that being said, do not expect us to take down our reviews as the agreement has been void by you.
Of course we can take failures, not everyone is perfect. What we cannot take is when it is happening everyday of the trip and the owner ignores you when he can’t find an excuse for his actions.
Of course, attaching a photo of the agreement he made with us to get away from the police station that day. That should serve as proof and give anyone reading this enough warning to steer clear.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Did not deliver on what we agreed
In terms of value for money this was a big mistake. Driver's attitude was unpleasant for most of the trip. An unsatisfying trip overall. Considering this was my bucket list trip you can imagine how disappointed I am.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Thiefs and liars
Going on safari was a lifetime dream of mine. When my husband finally agreed to embark on this adventure I could not be happier. We had used African Adventure specialists and were excited that we were allowing an experienced company create our itinerary. My husband specified which lodge he wanted to stay in as well as his expectations and we thought the rest would be taken care of.
During our trip we started questioning the total cost of our trip because it was off season as well as the prices seemed outrageous compared to people we were talking to who had similar trips planned as us.
We started investigating and speaking to hotel managers and lodge owners and when they saw our furry they all printed out the exact invoices as well as the transfer amounts made by African adventure specialists.
After receiving all the invoices and transfer statements we realized that we had truly been taken advantage off and we were way too trusting.
African adventure specialists overcharged us $9,654.
On top of that, after we had confronted them, instead of making it right they proceeded with fake promises and then completely ignoring us.
The last day of my trip was spent waiting at the lobby of the hotel for “proof” from African adventure specialists and after reassuring the hotel they were on the way nobody showed up.
It’s been two weeks of running after someone to get some answers and there is no responses.
I would never recommend this company to anyone if you don’t want to be robbed..
I’m sad that my dream trip had to end this way.