IS
50-65 years of age
Beware
Beware! Don't trust this company by sending money ahead of your journey.
We paid in full one month prior to departure and then the manager Alpha Malinda started spinning his web of lies about new taxes and fees, he even was cheeky enough to try to convince us that 18% VAT been added by the government on June 1. 2017 all though everybody is aware of that it came in on July 1. 2016. We even had one of his subcontractors to contact him on our behalf and then he asserted that we had bought our trip prior to July 1. 2016 so we were supposed to to pay this extra 18%. Our receipt is dated January 27. 2017.
We took off 3rd of September and soon it was very clear to us that the money we sent had been spent on something else then our accommodation and food, every morning we started with bargaining with him trough our tour guide since Alpha was in Australia at the time. When our guides were totally out of money we took over budgeting and paying for gas and everything else and with their help we managed to book the rest of the tour as it had previously been scheduled. We ended up with total cost that was about 45% higher than Alphas offer.
The four tour guides we had were very helpful trough all of this and we had a really good relationship with them, it's such a shame that they are working fore a shitty company like this.
Any further information I will gladly give in PM.
NL
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Terrible experience, Seka gave us a lot of trouble
Do not book with this company! We had a terrible experience with Taste of Afrika for our five day safari in Tanzania. First of all they mixed the dates up. When we arrived and called they knew nothing about our booking, even though we had paid a deposit. Then on the morning of our safari they told us we weren't going that day, but the day after. Instead the offered us a coffee tour, which was very boring. Then they were going to send us to the wrong national park. When we told them that we booked for another park they send us with very last minute with a different guide. We had to join our original guide later that day, but our guide refused to bring us there initially. When we insisted he became very angry and unpleasant. We tried to bargain for a discount for the inconvenience and after a long discussion we were promised a discount of 400USD. But then later that day they denied this promise and threatened to skip our last day if we didn't pay up. Especially Seka, the owner, was very unpleasant to deal with and made a lot of mistakes in communicating with us.
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Do not book with Ancient Wild Safaris
What was meant to be an amazing experience was tainted by our experience with Ancient Wild Safaris.
Fortunately we didn’t let the complete lack of management ruin our trip however it added an immense amount of stress to what was meant to be a relaxing break from work.
There was not a day that went by that I wasn’t worried about the next part of the journey and spent my time trying to get in contact with you or information from you.
I had started to get concerned before we left when I had to continually chase up the details and request copies of tickets and bookings. We were assured everything was in place and that a file of the printouts would be provided in Nairobi. It wasn’t.
1. Our 1st driver thought he was taking us back to Nairobi and it wasn’t until he asked how many days we were staying in Nairobi after Amboseli that he called and was made aware he was driving us to Lake Nakuru
2. After chasing and chasing on the booking receipts we needed one of your team met us before we flew to Mara and promised that we would get a copy of the remaining documents we needed at Neptune. I made it clear at this time that I was not happy and that you should be making sure I had them emailed to me
3. Our 2nd driver who was meant to pick us up from the airstrip didn’t show up - he had been sent to a different airstrip
4. The Masai village experience was terrible. We paid the 100 USD each and then they tried to charge us 450 USD for souvenirs. They then also asked for money for their school. All in all it was a 600 USD excursion and not worth it one bit.
5. Our 3rd driver was not aware of when we were flying out to Zanzibar and neither were we as we still didn’t have any flight details
6. I called and emailed a number of times once we reach Ngorongoro as again there were not details as to our flight the next day
7. Your manager on the ground in Tanzania said he would meet us before we got to the airport. He didn’t. He then asked us to come to the office. He then called and said he would send someone to the airport. 20 mins later still no one. The driver called again and he then said he would send ticket numbers through. Another 20 mins and no ticket numbers. The driver then called back again and was told to take us inside even though we had no tickets to show the security.
8. We then arrive in Zanzibar and there is no driver - we have to pay 60 USD on top of what we had paid you for the transfer and arrange a driver ourselves
9. We then get to the hotel and they ask for our booking voucher which we didn’t have as we still had not been provided any details in paper or email form
10. The new contact in Zanizbar, Kondo, then called and was at that time the 1st person who had actually apologised for any of this - there had been no apology from Mike and his team at Ancient Wild Safaris only excuses and blame pointed to the Tanzania operations
11. Kondo again apologised as he was not able to get us the VIP seats that should have been booked for us on the Ferry on the way back - if this had been organised properly and booked when we paid our deposit then we would have had the VIP seats we wanted
12. Thank fully there was a man with a sign to meet us in Dar es Salam which was a relief……this was no thanks to Ancient Wild Safaris but to Kondo and his company who had taken over managing the last part of our trip.
CA
They stole our money
We booked a 7 day safari with ISIA. We have received word that they have gone bankrupt and they are not being honest and returning our money. I have tried to contact the owner numerous times and no response. HAs anyone else heard from them or understands how to get money back?
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Do not use this company!
The jeep broke down and, even once 'fixed' (after we were forced to wait four hours!), the vehicle needed regular pitstops on the way back to our hotel for OIL(?!) top-ups in the steering fluid! Even our driver said the jeep was not fit for purpose. We were told that lunch and drinking water would be provided but they weren't- we had to pay for our own meal and that of our driver. We barely saw any animals at Saadani National Park. Our driver told us Alberto should have advised us of this at time of booking but he did not; he was only interested in taking our money. It's no wonder he has a string of failed businesses behind him. I have emailed him several times to resolve the problem but he has since ignored me and blocked me from his Facebook business page so I am unable to review and share my experience. Looking at the dates and the positive nature of the existing reviews on his Facebook page, I suspect he asked his friends to review him, as apposed to genuine customers. He is a con man! Avoid this company!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very disappointing safari company
This was a very disappointing safari due to Noah and our guide. Noah added fees once we arrived in Kenya and charged us multiple times for pick up from the airport. He also did not give the guide information about the length of the safari drives we had paid for or the entire last day of our safari. While the guide was friendly, he did not point out many animals and was not able to show us where we were on maps of the Mara or point out any landmarks that are easily found on a google search. He said he had been a guide for 5 years and worked at a lodge in the Mara for over 10 years prior to becoming a guide. He would not take us to the Mara triangle or southen part of the Mara due to mud and the length of the drive but guides for other guests at our lodge were safely driving throughout the Mara. This safari did not live up to expectations Noah had promised. The guide put in very little effort. We paid admission to Enter Thompson Falls at the bottom and walk up a path to the falls. The guide took us to another location which appeared to be free. We have had wonderful safaris with other companies.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Zanzibar trip
Please do not book with bonfire adventures.
We did not get our confirmation till the night before, having paid 3 days in advance.
The packages offered on-line did not correspond with the actual package I.e. sunset cruise dinner was a watermelon, cocktail never materialised.
They sent us a text message the night before departure, advising us that we were booked on a .m. flight with no flight details.
There are other your company operators who are more reliable out there.
Do not waste your time with bonfire adventures.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Too much driving
My wife and I did the 8 day safari with Wildebeest safaris and it was the worst vacation experience we have ever had. The itinerary is not very detailed and we had no clue we would spend sooo much time driving from park to park. 6hr drive, 9hr drive, day off, 11 hr drive, day off, 5 hr drive, 8 hr drive, and 7 he drive is what our 8 day safari consisted of. The guides were good and the accommodations were good, however this much driving completely ruined our experience and I would never do it again. There was two days we were supposed to do 2 game drives but we didn't do any since it took all day to get to destination.
TH
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Lot of Lies & bunch of frauds even the new management
I have booked the safari with another of my friends to go to Uganda through this tour agent & Damien asked us to pay fully to book the hotels & Gorilla permits as it is high season. We paid since December 2016. And when we ask for the Gorilla Permit he send only the booking. Without paying for the permit it is not valid. And the hotel reservations also didn't send. When we ask around April, the new management Patel Shah replied us after many follow ups that they are having difficulty in booking & if we can help him by paying $1950 he can confirm the booking. As we refused him he came back that he was able to get discount from the vehicle & now the amount is 1550. Evangelina the girl whom I have been WhatsApp from the beginning confirms that Patel is genuine & we decided to pay $1550. At the end they couldn't arrange our tour as the hotels now providing any credit facilities. So at the end our trip is cancelled & i couldn't get my air ticket refunded as well because till last minute Patel was saying that they will arrange it. And then we ask to refund our money he send e-mail that it will be refunded. But till now no refund or even no reply to our follow up e-mails or WhatsApp chats. They put the blame to Damien, but not only Damien, this new management Patel & also Evangelina are running a fraud business, misleading their customers & to steal money from the customers. Do not trust this company or the new management as well.
Victor Godwin. Thief. Liar. Conman. Avoid at all cost.
I can sadly see that we are not the only ones who have been conned by Victor Godwin. Here is the trick. Consider yourself warned if you book with him.
You will agree safari itinerary and you will pay in advance, all inclusive. When you go on the safari, Victor will call you and ask if you could please pay for park entry fees or for upgrade of accommodation. He will promise to reimburse you once you get back to Arusha. Now the problem is that the drivers do not have funds for the park entry fees so you have no other option that to pay or not enter the park. Clever right. And yes, of course he does not refund your additional expenses.
On our trip, we were six people whilst another car had thre people. On the first night, we stayed in a different hotel than agreed. We went along with that. On the second night, Victor called the other party and ask them to cover additional expenditure for upgrade of accommodation, not upgrade for them though but for my family. So he played the parties against each other. He did the very same thing the next day where he called me asking me to cover an upgrade for the other party. He asked for $600. The following day, he called me again asking us to cover the entry fees to Ngorongoro, again $600. I refused. He called the other party of course with the same request. We briefly discused between our two parties and agreed that one from the other party would cover the entry fees. This was to ensure that none of us would end up having thousands of dollars to be refunded, again it was $600.
It is now five months since our safari. As I live in Tanzania, Victor has not been able to simply disregard my calls, SMS, Whatsapps. He has again and again promised to pay. Each week, he will make that promise and then find an excuse. He is nothing but a frail little liar who should never ever be trusted.
Also note that Victor is not a member of Tanzania Tour Operators Association. This essentially means that they are not able to help any customers who might have problems with Victor. Another reason for staying completely clear of this guy.