CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unsure solvency of the company - Definitively not a care free safari!
First of all: this review has nothing to do with the beauty of Kenya and Tansania nor our personal tour guides or cooks (they have been super helpful)! Both countries are beautiful and their people have been exceptionally friendly and accommodating!
However, if you want a carefree safari tour in which all bookings/reservations/parking fees are payed in advance (as discussed and payed for) then we suggest to book with a different company. We cannot express how disappointed and frustrated we were in regards to the organizational skills of Kenya Walking Safari's (KWS) management. It caused us many nerves/patience and most of all time during our 10 day safari.
In order to be fair with KWSS we would also like to say the at the end of our tour KWSS compensated us with approx 5% of the tour price for lost time and wrong calculations.
Anyway we would like to explain what happened:
We booked our safari tour in April 2016 for our trip in August 2016. We had extensive contact with KWS which gave us confidence because they were always very responsive and answered all of our many questions. We payed well in advance (a good amount of money!) and expected that all accommodations/services/park fees would be payed/booked for us in time for our arrival.We are very well aware that we can come across unforeseen circumstances and that flexibility is required. However only to a certain extent.
During our tour we encountered four issues which we would like to explain for others in more detail:
The first issue we encountered was during our first lodge in Maasai Mara. Taking KWS's suggestion, we swapped 1 day in our tour due to ongoing animal migration in the region (adding 1 day in Maasai Mara and take 1 day off from our Tanzania tour).This was a good idea because we were able to see the river crossing. However, we didn't receive the same standard room we booked for originally.We wrote KWS a mail to see how to proceed (since there was a clear down grade on our room).They didn't reply to us until the end of our safari tour.
Second issue:after wonderful game drives in Maasai Mara and a great time at Lake Navaisha we headed off for a very long drive (8h) to Amboseli National park. According to our itinerary (which was reconfirmed verbally and on print during our face to face briefing in the Nairobi office) we were booked at the Kibo Lodge (high class safari lodge). We were then surprised to hear from our tour guide that he had just received a text message from the office saying we would be spending 2 nights in the AA lodge instead of Kibo (another down grade as they have different room rates). Apparently Kibo was fully booked due to government officials.We decided to see for ourselves and were more surprised to hear onsite from Kibo lodge that they did have available rooms and no government officials! We of course did not take the room in the AA lodge and insisted on taking a room in Kibo (according to our tour program we had payed for). We then found out from the hotel manager that they no longer accept KWSS clients because the company has outstanding payments. We (including our tour guide) tried to call the KWSS office many times (including the "hotline number") because this was a situation we were not going to accept. We were not able to get the manager of KWSS on the phone and waited 4 long hours until we reached someone from the office.They suggested that we pay the 2 nights ourselves (400$) and we will get a refund. Obviously, after all that we had heard and experienced we were not ready to pay ourselves. Due to the kindness of the Kibo hotel manager and our persisting tour guide we were able to check in at 8.30 pm. KWSS had promised to send the money to Kibo the next day, which they then did the next afternoon.However, low and behold,we encountered another group from KWSS on the second night at Kibo. They had the same problem! Unfortunately they weren't as lucky as we were and had to go to another lodge.
Third issue: after transferring from Kenya to Tanzania,we slept a night in Fanaka lodge to be ready early morning to go to the famous Ngorongoro crater.We were supposed to depart at 8am.However, our tour guide told us that there was a problem because KWSS had again not yet sent the money for our accommodations and park fees for Tanzania. KWSS's Tanzanian business partner, contacted us and suggested we pay 440$ and KWSS will refund us as soon as the money has been wired (apparently there was a technical problem so money transferring was not available). As you may guess, this was not an option for us.KWSS's credibility was non existent. So we called the KWSS office and were surprised that they actually picked up the phone. However this wasn't very helpful and the Tanzanian business partner had to borrow the money from his relative (!) so we could go on with the tour.We waited for almost 3 hrs until we were able to leave.
Fourth issue: after all that had happened, we decided to cross check our past accommodations and realised that KWSS had double calculated the first hotel night in Nairobi. By the way: don't accept a booking at Henessis Hotel.This is a shabby hotel which by far did not meet the standards of our other accommodations. This could have been an honest mistake but we decided to list all the issues we had during our tour for full transparency.
To come to an end: After many emails and involvement of a 3rd party, KWSS management was cooperative and quick in refunding us (after we finished our tour) for wrong hotel accommodations and lost time (several hundred dollars in total).
In short:
- If you want to do a safari tour do it definitively in Tanzania and Kenya - people (incl. tour guides and cooks), nature and food are amazing!
- If you are looking for a carefree package KWS is not the best option
- If you insist and put pressure on KWSS you probably will get refunded for issues, however we believe this only worked for us because we involved a third party
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
not living upto the promise
we booked selous game reserve 3 days tour with them .. 7 adults 4 kids ..
first thing .. leina was very quick to respond to any queiries .. she collected the payments from me from my place and was swift with responses ..
but from the start of safari the service looked glitched.. first day one vehicle arrived and we had to wait one hour for the second vehicle
after reaching the camp we had booked 3 rooms 3rd tent wasnt ready even after 3 hours of arriving and when the tent was given it was clearly a makeshift arrangement as the camp looked overbooked.. a tent of 2 was turned into tent of 4 with extra beds cramped in it with no mosquito nets.. they gave us a better tent next day but out of 2 nights one night was wasted and our mood spoiled
on 3rd morning we didnt want a walking safari instead an extra game drive but drivers werent informed about it so we had to inform drivers on our own and then they rechecked with the company.. it was all messy
on whole 3 days or even after the safari the tour operator didnt call even once to ask how were we doing or were the arrangements fine..
on last day she called me and asked for an extra 40 usd .. she said my wife ( who is tanzanian) didnt present her ppt on the park gate so she had to pay her full fees .. i told her nobody asked me for any documents and my wife was carrying her passport with her all the time .. if asked to present the passports it was on hand .. it was a communication mistake between them and the drivers which she was trying to put on me and extract money ..
last day the drivers were told not to give us lunch .. i said the lunch is included in package .. so the drivers arranged a lunch in completely horrible place where none of us could manage to eat.. we had carried foodstuffs with us that came handy
so with msafiri travels the experience was horrible.. i wouldnt advise anyone to go with them .. i have been on safari before and some people provide much better service
on the positive side Butembo selous camp was very cosy .. it gives u a great feel of jungle .. and the walk from restaurant to tents is like walking in real jungle .. ameneties are nice .. tents are good .. exceptionally clean hygenic and in great shape .. its real luxurious..though in summers a fan would be handy in tents as it gets very hot during summers..
the staff was super polite and saw to every demands of us..
food was average .. but in a camp which has only 7 tents u cant expect a buffet .. they had limited menu in dinners but it was fine ..
the drivers peter and ramdani were fabulous .. specially peter was so fearless .. they werent at all tired of driving whole day to try and spot animals .. they really went out of the way and made this trip memorable .. were also very polite and friendly
over all we had great time due to the camp and drivers .. hence 2 stars to msafiri for providing us this camp and drivers .. or else there isnt much about msafiri to recommend
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
OK but lots of room for improvement
Value for money is only moderate. I found their tour preperation was not adequate, leading to a car break-down which cost us several hours. Not good when your time is limited. Some more time was wasted in a Police control, where it turned out that the car did not have proper insurance with some documentation missing. The driver was definitely striving to do his best, yet he was not qualified as a guide during our game drive. Fortunately and by chance we had a local helping out, otherwise we would have missed lots of interesting sights and information.
Disastrous Kafue
I am afraid to say, our trip to Kafue was a disaster in terms of game, very little to see. I think when the new North/ South road was built I think most of the game was eaten/killed, we saw more game in Pilandsberg game reserve.
It was a real pity, next te we will try South Luangue.
IT
Safari in tarangire
the safari tour was very well organized and our guide/ driver Godfrey was exceptional. but unfortunately the tour finel the head of the agency has not complied with the agreements by refusing to transport us in the agreed point. little seriousness.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Do not use Tembea East Africa
Never use Tembea East Africa Safaris out if Nairobi. What should have been a once in a lifetime, carefree trip turned into a stress-filled experience as a result of the firm's poor cash management, incompetence and the deceitful customer service. In the end to continue with our trip I had to pay over $850 in additional costs to cover their admitted mistakes and they have not refunded me. From my perspective they have stolen cash. Full story below.
We recently returned from an 8 day safari tour in Kenya and Tanzania through Tembea East Africa Safaris. Throughout the planning process the owner operator Issa S was helpful and responsive. As required bY Issa we paid our deposit well in advance of our trip to secure our lodgings and park entrance reservations. Two weeks prior to our arrival we confirmed our trip and wired the final payment. Although we were met at the airport and taken to our first night's accommodations we had considerable issues with Issa as the trip progressed.
We did not have the luxury accommodation reservations in the Masai Mara park as contracted and only learned of a change while en route to an inferior substitute -AA Lodges- (our room had no hot water, the lock on door was broken, the toilet in the room didn't flush, and the pool was out of service). When I told him I was not happy with this change Issa said he would call and make reservations for us at the contracted Mara Sopa Lodge. He ultimately called and said there was nothing he could do since he called but they weren't answering their phone. Unlikely story? We ended staying two nights in the inferior lodge.
Things deteriorated further when we were at the entrance gate of Serengeti Park. Issa had failed to deposit the appropriate amount of cash required in advance and after more than 2 hours waiting at the gate for resolution, the only solution was for me to use my personal credit card and charge $400 for one days entrance. Both the guide and I reached out to Issa several times by phone but after our initial discussion where he blamed the problem on the "banks being closed on Sunday" and not that he failed to deposit the cash on time, he simply refused to pick up his phone. We missed our evening safari drive and arrived at our camp late, frazzled and $400 lighter. No money was available the next day in time to pay day two fees so we spent additional hours riding to various entry points (taking away from our safari time) and ultimately I had to pay an additional $400 in park fees. Issa sent an email apologizing and told me he would meet me at the Kenyan border upon our return with $800 in cash.
Things got worse upon leaving Serengeti to enter Ngorogoro Crater. He again delayed cash arrangements so we needed to wait at the entrance 2 hours until the transfer cleared. Unfortunately he didn't deposit the correct amount and because of the park payment system we could not use cash or credit card to make up the difference. As a result we waited another several hours at the entrance for the transfer. Because of this delay we were only able to spend 2 hours in the park (versus the 6 hours scheduled) and missed a good portion of our safari drive that day in the Crater. Everyone in our party was disappointed since this was a key part of our trip. Again, Issa refused to respond by email, text or phone in spite of the guide's and my attempt to reach him for some explanation. To add insult to injury we arrived at the Ngorogoro Farmhouse for our overnight and they couldn't find our reservations. They ultimately came back and said that reservations were only made that day so we were initially not on the list. Luckily they had accommodations.
We did make it to the Kenyan border the next day but Issa was not there with the money. He sent an email apologizing and said he would meet me in Nairobi at our hotel with the cash. Our last day at Amboselli went well but upon checkout there was a cash shortage and for us to leave at a reasonable time to return to Nairobi (5 hour drive) I once again had to personally charge $66. I was now owed $866.
I was obviously angry with Issa and his lack of professionalism in managing this safari trip. When we arrived at the hotel (6:30 pm) he was not there. He finally answered his phone and when I confronted him about these issues and his absence at the hotel as promised he said he would be there shortly with the cash refund and we could discuss. We waited until 8 pm and he never showed. His guide, the hotel clerk and I tried to reach him. He simply let the phone ring and then would not pick up. He eventually emailed me around 10 pm that he didn't show because I was too aggressive when I spoke to him. He guaranteed that I would be refunded the $866 by the time I returned home.
I have been home for more than a month and have received numerous emails from his finance person Damien assuring me that I will receive a refund. After reading comments on Trip Advisor (and Damien's recent silence) it is apparent that no refund is forthcoming.
I need to be fair and say that the trip was saved from total disaster because of the knowledge and professionalism of our guides, Abraham in Kenya and Dennis in Tanzania. When we were on safari rides they were excellent, answering all our questions and seemingly blessed with a sixth sense to ferret out the animals. We have no complaints on that end.
Issa is an obvious incompetent who lacks professionalism and unless I get refunded, an obvious crook as well. He never offered any sympathy, apologies and definitely compensation for the downgrade in hotel and for our time lost from our safaris because of his failure to transfer adequate funds for hotels and park fees. We planned a long time for this very costly trip and were very disappointed with our decision to go with Tembea. Do not make the same mistake.
I am glad to answer any further questions on my experience.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Was supposed to be luxury but was not
We wanted our safari to be luxurious and pay for the level that was just below highest luxury. Considering we paid $30K USD we felt we did not get good value for our money and they did not do a good job booking us in "luxury" accommodations. The first camp in Okavango Delta was nice and the food was excellent but it was still not luxury. The second locTion in Chobe was an absolute disgrace. It was a hotel that served a buffet for all three meals. This is NOT luxury at all. The activities at Chobe were not good either. The third camp we went to in Victoria Falls was Elephant Camp and again it did not meet our expectations. As well Zambezi did not book many activities for us so we had one full day of no activities. OverLl we were not very impressed and did not feel we got good value for our money. Especially when we found out what the cost per night was of the camps we were staying at when you could have booked them yourselves! I wouldn't use them agIn.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
miscommunication with a single traveler
So first of all, I have been on 2 other safaris. This wasn't my first.
So to begin, I chose ACZ because of their good reviews. Also, John was very communicative and helpful before I went. He answered all of my questions in a timely manner and seemed professional. I traveled as a single so I was nervous about this but John eased my fears.
I was supposed to stay at the Lenchada camp with the group but there was a mix up. I assumed John would have put me in a single since he knew I was traveling as a single. He did not. I didn't want to share a tent with strangers. It wasn't clear in our communication beforehand that I would be made to share a tent with strangers. In fact, they wanted to put me in a tent with 3 other people! No. I didn't realize this would be like a hostel. So they sent me to another camp where I spent a night in a single. But it wasn't a good situation since I was separated from the group. I think John should have admitted his error (instead he argued with me about it) and arranged for a single at the correct camp. He didn't. The next day our driver told me I'd have to stay in the other camp alone again- and I got very upset. Finally, they let me stay at the correct camp but I had to share at tent. I was so tired of arguing I agreed to it. This all left me very disappointed, though. What bad customer service!
Our driver was below average as well. On my other safaris the drivers engaged with us, told us lots of facts about the animals, and were very friendly. This driver only spoke to us when we asked him direct questions. He seemed bored. We got minimal information out of him about anything. While driving he never gave us an itinerary, didn't say when we'd stop to use the toilets, eat, etc. We would just stop and then he'd tell us what was going on. Some advanced notice would have been good. He also talked on his phone constantly while driving and this felt very unsafe, especially on the roads in Kenya. He was good, however, at bringing us to see the animals. He gets 4 stars for that. But his attitude was definitely below average.
The food at the Lenchada camp was good and the place as a good deal for the price. I would stay there again. The highlight of the trip were the other members of my safari.
Single travelers- make sure you are clear about what you are paying for.
was not Impressed
Nothing to say much but it was very unfortunate experience
SA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Guide, Terrible Accomodations
This review is to be a negative one.
I hope they take this feedback and try improve their communication and their services.
My family (my wife and my 2 daughters) experience, in terms of activities were good.
We owe that to our guide. He is an excellent guide and very safe driver.
There was one other person. I didn't know what the other guy did till the last day.
There were discrepancies in the itineraries. What we were promised was different what was delivered.
We never did the early morning and the evening game drive.
Time gap between the departure time from Masindi Courtview hotel and the actual Rhino walk was more then 6 hours. Nothing to do for 6 hours. We just sat around did nothing.
From the very first night, accommodations were substandard, despite much better accommodation availability nearby properties. They communicated and promised to us that our accommodation in Ziwa Sanctuary would not be a budget accommodation.
We spent the entire night awake with mouse and rats running around us. There were literally hundreds of live bugs and mouse droppings on the sheets.
We are still so upset about this which I am considering in taking further actions.
Food options, well there were no food options at Parkside lodge. We ate whatever they made. One main course. That's it.
To be fair, Courtview and Ziwa had food options.
We've paid a premium price expecting premium service. Our guide/driver was outstanding. Other than that it was terrible.
After I've learned what the charges were in the hotels and permits and entrance fees, the profit margin was significant. They basically put us in the cheapest and dirtiest places to make that profit.
Our bad experience with accommodations and food would not take away the joy and pleasure we had by learning about Ugandan people and culture. Kindest people we've ever met during our travels.