CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Budget customer service is what you should expect
Day 1 of the 7 day Safari with Jockey Tours my husband and I were picked up from our hotel on time where we were then taken to the head office which is downtown Nairobi, very busy and no parking. My husband told the driver (Peter) that I had medical issues with my back and then he was then pushed off to pay the remainder of the safari, leaving me at the 4x4 with our luggage. I was immediately told that one of my suitcases would not be accommodated and needed to be left behind. I was then forced to make fast decisions on my luggage and had no room for my special order pillow and my TENS machine (all needed for my medical conditions) settling on my much smaller heating pad and blister packs of medications that I absolutely needed for my back/neck issues. We then head out with Peter and the 7 others ( although all Jockey Tours advertising we read for the 7 day tour said MAXiMUM 6 ppl on tour) maybe if it was only 6 I could of brought all my needed medical equipment……..
Peter and the 7 tourists continue onto the roughest road I have ever been on while driven in a 30plus year old 4x4 Land Cruiser that the seat my husband and I sat in had metal springs which was felt through the worn out padding, my lap belt buckle would only 1-10 times properly latch and the truck had no shocks anywhere on the vehicle as we witnessed the driver on 3 occasions pull over in an attempt to fix the back shocks that completely broke and were dragging. We then proceeded to the night safari at Masai Mara park were during the drive thru the park, Peter who was told about my medical issues managed to hit a bump so hard that it bounced me out of my seat to the floor of the truck where I hit my left hip. Finally making our way to the tent camp, we noticed Peter to be constantly on his cellphone talking to various callers like mama and luv as I was sitting directly behind him and could see which were work and others that clearly weren’t. I only bring this up because on the drive back to the camp he almost had a head on collision with a motorcyclist, narrowly missing a fatal collision and this was the first day. Day 2 I had to miss the village walk to rest my bruised hip and sore back, I could go on about numerous other things but I want to focus on the main issues. It only got worse from here and we left the safari on the morning of day 3 after another hideous road was taken as a “short cut “ as Peter described to us because the tarmac was too long to take. This was only revealed after yet again he was reminded of my back issues and that we were done. He tried at first to say the roads to Amboseli were bad but then when he realized we were serious about leaving the tour he then tried to convince us that the roads would be that bad. Fool me once and I was in so much pain that we knew I was done. After staying in bed from the time we were dropped at 1100 until the next morning at 0630 and still unable to walk without bawling, my husband was told we would have to pay $85 USD to take us back to Nairobi to pick up our suitcase then go to a hotel that we also had to pay out of pocket since all the office offered us was a “sorry”. When we got to the hotel we went to pay with a $50 that Peter had given us that morning for a park fee he supposedly had issues getting into and my husband being nice volunteered to put on his credit card and then given cash from Peter instead. The driver (Daniel) hired by Peter and supposedly associated with Jockey Tours said he would not take that specific and only $50USD we had as he didn’t think the bank would take it…. Like I said just bad customer service on every level.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Tarangire National Park by Aruna Marathe
Grossly over rated park. Not worth the visit.
DE
Not a legitimate company !!! - Nairobi Parklands Police Station proved
We believe that Bon Voyage Safaris is a fraudulent company that offers regular tours to four famous National parks in Kenya. They lure people in by offering a luxurious stay at the well-known Mara Serena Lodge in the Maasai Mara as part of the itinerary. They then increase the deposit from 50% to 75%, claiming that all hotels and itinerary have been confirmed. However, upon arrival in Kenya, all accommodations are changed to extremely poor quality hotels. They falsely claim to be working on behalf of the government to extort park fees and service charges from customers without providing any receipts.
Despite customers' objections, they constantly change the itinerary and accommodations. For example, they may charge customers $600 for a three-day pass to Maasai Mara National Park but only allow entry once, continuing to scam money from customers. The overall experience is extremely poor.
When customers try to report this company to the authorities, the police discover that the company's address (The Urban Queen Properties,S.K offices suit B5 on Google) and phone number are fake. The company does not exist. The Nairobi police called each and every one of them, but none of them exists. These telephone numbers are +254 114 192199, +254 797 922062, +254 105 167866. Alle this information is proved by Nairobi Parklands Police Station.
It is important to warn everyone not to choose this fraudulent company.
VN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Broken car, bad planing, have to pay extra cost for hotel
Terrible experience with this company. Our safari was plagued with issues. The car broke down on the first day, forcing us to wait for hours. We had to arrange our own rescue and pay for it. The car was still broken the next day, delaying our pickup by 9 hours and causing us to miss the migration. We also incurred unexpected costs at our hotel, which the company promised to reimburse but has yet to do. I strongly advise against using their services.
VN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Irresponsible tour company
Our safari trip with Best Price Tours LTD turned into a nightmare when our vehicle broke down in the middle of the night in a remote area. We were left stranded in the wilderness with no assistance from the company. The staff showed a complete lack of concern for our safety and well-being. This was the most terrifying experience of my life. I would strongly advise against booking any tours with Best Price Tours LTD.
PT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Disorganized safari
Disorganized safari, the guide didn't explain almost anything, poor vehicles, they join people that booked budget camping with people that booked mid-range lodges in far away places so there are a lot of wasted hours that should be instead used in the game drive. Absolutely terrible.
VN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Worst Safari Experience. The car provided was old, rickety, and almost fell apart.
Our safari trip to Tanzania, which was supposed to be a dream adventure to witness the Great Migration, turned into an absolute nightmare. From the start, the trip was a disaster. The car provided was old, rickety, and almost fell apart before we could even reach the Serengeti. We were left stranded in the desert at night, with no help from the tour company. We had to call for rescue.
The next day was equally disastrous. Our driver tried to fix the car but failed miserably. We spent hours arguing with the tour company, but they offered no real solution. Frustrated, we had no choice but to switch to another tour company to salvage the rest of our trip. We ended up planning everything ourselves and demanding a refund from the original company.
And now, to make things worse, the company has gone completely silent. Despite originally agreeing to refund us, they have not returned a single penny. We’ve been waiting for far too long, and their lack of response is unacceptable. Until we receive our refund, this review will remain as a warning to others: Avoid this company at all costs!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Worst experience
I was overcharged, with an extra $600 that shouldn’t have been included. I booked a private tour but was almost put into a group tour instead. I signed up for three days of game drives, but only two were scheduled. After already paying for the transfer from Masai Mara to Nairobi, I was charged extra upon drop-off. The driver for the transfer from the hotel to the airport didn’t show up on time and there was no communication. None of the pre-booked arrangements were acknowledged until I provided evidence and pointed out the issues myself.
The only person who handled things professionally was Daniel, who guided us in Masai Mara. He was punctual, dedicated, and provided us with a truly memorable experience in the national park.
US
Experience level: first safari
horror experience of Safari tour from Johannesburg to Kruger round trip
I’m glad the world gets to see the exact treatment and type of service you provide with the name calling. Now I’m presenting my email copy of communication.
1. Pickup time was between 8:30-9:00 AM communicated. I took responsibility for coming down late at 9:10 AM, before exchanging pleasantries I sincerely apologized to AL for coming down late.
My Airbnb host was late and that delayed us. It was only after my apologies that AL got down from the car to assist with our bags. Mind you readers we were physically challenged healing from leg injuries. The 2 of us on this trip. So we were really looking forward to a smooth trip. You will see a picture of the luggage in front seat.
2. Read the previous comment and then continue here, by 5 minutes into the ride we smelt the smoke and my companion turned and confirmed it was indeed coming from the car (exhaust and boot). AL said he just got the car from a mechanic shop and it was an oil change and the old oil was burning off to let the new oil kick in. I honestly don’t think if this was possible to conjure that in my wildest dreams I would have. At this point you reading this would have lost your cool and say why didn’t we get out, that’s our 1 regret and we learnt.
3. If able I will share a video of us in the car cloudy atmosphere because of the smoke. Winding up without a/c or winding down the window did not help neither did masks.
4. If able i will share a brief video of us trying to eat the breakfast we bought at the stop spot and you can hear how nasal my friend sounded and distraught.
5. Even after wasting time, I’m talking hours which pales in comparison of 15-30 minutes I tipped AL R100 or R200 can’t recall the note I picked because I genuinely thought he was dealt a bad hand from the mechanic and we all could use a pick me up. Plus he said he called the hotel to give us ground rooms because of our legs.
6. The $100 = R1,775 already paid as 20% wasn’t refunded to us. We chucked it as a loss. Let’s do a breakdown. At the hotel we discovered they had a banner for R895 per night, Kruger entry is R450 or R495 as on the sign while leaving. For the record we had no problem paying as the link for payment came in at the stranded location point, at that point I was very suspicious but still kept an open mind.
7. I will share a picture of our box when I got to Cape Town and discovered that the Deets spray I used to keep the bugs away, I sprayed a square parameter around our boxes to prevent the roaches or bugs from getting into our bags. I sprayed the bed, under bed, sink where the line of ants were coming from.
8. The receptionist when we got in before going to the room & gave a brief experience decided to gift us a breakfast pack, told her we didn’t need it, we came prepared with meals ourselves and we ended up giving this to the tour guide at the rest stop. For every turn we were sharing this incident as it was happening. We came out to front desk and there was no one there to report the room’s condition after settling in. We were so numb and traumatized from the day we went to bed hoping for a better day next day.
9. We had pre-booked hotel reservations cancelled and paid flight for next day cancelled. It was business class flight I only get a partial refund from saa.
10. We paid business class/ flexible highest rate flight to be able to get out of Johannesburg. This was unplanned cost of R12,000+. My friend lost her initial joburg to Cape Town flight refund completely.
11. We paid the Good Samaritan that got us out of that forest and the transfer driver that took us to the airport a total of R3,500 (tip included). The transfer driver mid drive changed the price on us while in the car from R833 to R1800 (R900 per person because the car owner said that’s what he should collect since we were heading to the airport instead of paying to drive back to Johannesburg. This is not affiliated to the diamond agency but I wanted to mention we would not have been in any of these situations if you provided a good service.
12. At the point of GS finding us a transfer, we encountered the Ali driver who drove us from stop to hotel & heard he was not paid and your excuse was you had a bank error and would send his transfer fees later. AL had already left after giving us our bags if not the driver would have met up with him for his money.
13. When it was obvious that we were missing our sunset, we communicated our expectations. Original plan Sunset and Sunrise drive. New plan, We gave 2 options as compensation and AL said he talked to mgt. That included Mozambique and Bylde Canyon. We told AL at the stop and trusted he was communicating this to the mgt. When Ali came to pick us up and we asked can we head to Mozambique and he said no, we did not push further but started understanding they were indeed playing us.
14. The tour video you will hear the man seated close to me telling the tour guide to stop the car so we could take pictures or enjoy the game drive. As far as we understood sharing the tour car with others wasn’t the problem. For the record the other passengers in the open car were from different tours, and were not staying at the hotel we stayed. The problem was putting us in a cramped car, I only could put the phone behind my shoulder to try and capture anything, the dishonesty in putting us in a car for an all day tour without our consent. Lying on picking us up from Break location. Lying the pickup was going to happen in the 2nd break location only to discover that location had no signal or internet service. The tour guide had to bring us back to the 1st point of rest where the lies continued.
15. The snip below show the mgt was updated in whatever story by MIC of our decisions. They ignored it because they already pre-planned to keep us stranded and have to journey back to Johannesburg late at night.
16. We reserve the right to change our mind, not only for risk to our health but also our safety when a service promised is not delivered. That’s where the shock factor came because for everything that happened we were cordial even when if felt like we could just loss composure we didn’t and when we managed by the grace of GOD to not be at your mercy that shocked you most.
It is clear there was ill intention, bad transportation, to make us miss the sunset drive and hope we weren’t going to speak up? Or demand a better service?
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Complete lack of professionalism and unethical practices
My family and I had high hopes for our 12-Day Best of Tanzania and Kenya Safari (Mid-Range) tour, booked with Africa Marvel Tours from August 16 to August 27, 2024. After extensive research and saving up for this dream trip, we were excited to explore these incredible landscapes. Unfortunately, our experience was nothing short of a nightmare, largely due to the agency's complete lack of professionalism and failure to deliver on their promises.
We paid the full amount to the agency per their requirement, 30% at booking in January and 70% in July, three weeks prior to the trip, expecting everything to go smoothly. Instead, the agency repeatedly failed to pay park fees, accommodation costs, and even our driver’s wages on time. This led to multiple delays, forcing us to sit idle for hours, miss game drives, and even skip two parks altogether. In total, we wasted over 16 hours waiting on payments to be processed.
Here are the major issues we faced:
1. Border Delay: On Day 4, we were stuck at the Kenya-Tanzania border for 1.5 hours because the agency hadn’t paid for park tickets, gas, and driver fees. This caused us to miss the Lake Manyara game drive.
2. Ngorongoro Crater Issues: On Days 5 and 6, our schedule was delayed, and we were stranded for 5 hours waiting for the agency to cover Ngorongoro park fees. Due to these delays, we had to cancel our Serengeti stay and move to a camp near Ngorongoro, which was arranged at the very last minute after we had to argue with the agency.
3. Masai Mara Payment Problems: While our driver provided outstanding service during our Masai Mara visit, he later told us that Africa Marvel Tours hadn’t paid him. He had to cover the expenses from his own pocket. He is a freelance tour driver, hired by this company for our trip. The agency continuously promised him reimbursement, which never happened.
4. Accommodation Issues: On Days 10 and 11, we were held in the lobby for hours at different lodges due to unpaid balances by the agency.
5. Final Day Misery: On our last day, we spent a total of 7 hours waiting in a restaurant parking lot for the agency to deliver a meager $135 refund to me and to pay my driver. The agency representative claimed they have no money to pay the driver because they are experiencing some cash flow issue. He eventually signed an agreement to pay our driver 98800 Kenya Shillings =1, 035 Canadian Dollars by September 5, but to this day, no payment has been made. We missed our Nairobi Park visit as a result. We also missed Elephant Orphanage visit because the agency failed to book it in advance.
Our driver went above and beyond, often covering expenses himself to ensure our trip wasn’t completely ruined. He truly tried to salvage our experience, and it’s devastating to see him suffer such financial loss and disrespect from the agency.
I have reported Africa Marvel Tours to the following organizations. These organizations have the right to investigate them and make corrections. Despite all my frustration and stress during my trip, my biggest concern is whether our Driver can get his money back.
• Kenya Association of Tour Operators (KATO)
https://katokenya.org/consumer-protection/
• Kenya Tourism Board
https://ktb.go.ke/
• Kenya Tourism Regulatory Authority
https://tra.go.ke/
Please carefully select your safari tour agency. No one should go through what we experienced.