DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
800$ gone.
In January 2017 I paid 800$ for a Safari, I didn't even go to.
David guaranteed me, personally/on the phone and via Email, that I would receive my refund 100% via Paypal.
Still haven't seen my money.
BE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Riped off. Received a price and paid it. When the tour started we had to pay 2000ZAR more or no tour
The safari tour was good. We paid the tour in December after they gave us a price.They were 1 hour too late for the pickup.
Once in Kruger Mr. Bols called and said we had to pay 2000 ZAR more, or they couldn't do the tour. We were there with 5 adults and 5 children. We could do nothing else and we paid 1500 ZAR more.
This is not honest I have still the emails with the prices they gave. They are dishonest people and don't give them customers.
Ripped off!!! Even Mr. Bols is from Belguim and we to he is not honest. We met a lot of other people in South Africa.
Even if I send emails he didn't respond to them.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Poorly organised, vehicle not as advertised, terrible communication
I did a three-day safari organised through MJ. It was a really disappointing experience in terms of the organisation, and not matching what I actually paid for. I contacted the company afterwards and was impressed by Jackson's swift explanation, apology and offer to partially refund the cost - but after successive emails and excuses from them went quiet, and never actually did refund me, which is a really poor way to run a business.
I am aware joining safaris are liable to be a little slow and chaotic, and I was patient about this - even when I nearly ended up being taken to a different country! But not being provided with the agreed kind of vehicle on the final day made me feel like I needed to officially complain.
On the first day, on arriving in Arusha, I was put on a bus that was going to Kenya - and only realized it wasn't the right vehicle when I was asked for a passport! No-one from the shuttle bus transport company knew anything about a safari. This was alarming, as a solo female traveler suddenly in a different city, not knowing where to go.
After being driven around for a while by a taxi driver who had no clue what was happening, I had to use my international data roaming to get online to find MJ Safaris number, which cost me a further $10. No phone number was provided when booking. I was then taken to the correct hotel to join a safari group, but it was not a great start!
On the second day, I was told to get up for breakfast at 6am. After waiting three and a half hours, we finally left at 9.30am. This was frustrating.
On the third day, again there was a delay at the campsite, as my driver struggled with a card payment. At the entrance to Lake Manyara, we again waited for a further hour - something to do with the card, or it being a Sunday? It wasn't clear. Again, this delay was frustrating.
Worse, however, was that the car I was in was not a Land Crusier 4x4. It was just a taxi. This meant the windows were blacked out, which was not good for viewing animals. There was a sunroof, but of course it was open to the sky. The sun was very fierce, and I had to avoid it to prevent getting sunburnt, which also made things difficult. They did not have any binoculars, which made viewing animals more difficult. You couldn't stand up when the vehicle was moving, as the sunroof was not padded. I also had safety concerns given there were animals such as baboons who might have jumped in! Finally, the vehicle was clearly unsuited for some of the roads/rivers it had to travel on; it was a very bumpy ride, and the driver was evidently nervous about driving through water.
The driver did a really good job, all things considered, but the booking specifically stated it would be a different vehicle.
I was very disappointed by the disorganization of the trip, but especially the fact that it deviated on the last day from the vehicle as advertised and paid for.
MJ Safaris explained when I complained afterwards that all this was because a group had cancelled at the last minute, and so I had been subcontracted out. I appreciate mistakes can happen, and appreciated their response, which offered to refund the cost of the final day. But it was doubly frustrating to be offered compensation and then just to have follow up emails completely ignored.
RO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unprofessional behavior and old cars! Do not go with them!
1st of all I can tell you that you can have a good experience with them but don't risk it.
Part 1. The manager, I think Ibrahim, took us from airport and went to a restaurant, it wa OK.
Part 2 We went to the hotel which had no hot water... Whatever we were going in Safari next morning, he told us that the car will arrive at 8am. It arrived at 8.20 with the problem of windshields. We lost like anotjer 30 mins.
P4 The driver was ok and had the knowledge of the parks (Tarangire and Ngorngoro).
P5 In the first day of the trip it rained in the car, it was during the rain season.
P6 The accomodation in the Manyara Igloo was ok.
P7 CUT TO THE CASE... We should have had another night in that Peace hotel we stayed in the first night. We went to Arusha wit a taxi driver coz' the Safari driver should have stayed in Safari for another day. AND THERE the manager told us that we wont stay at the hotel because président it's in town and there are no rooms left. When I asked him why it wasn't already payed he said that the room was "complementary", not like it was in tha package we paid. Like we should have stayed on the streets if it wasn't so 'kind' to offer us a "technical room" at the Meru Treks offices, with a llt of lound and unclean bed.
DO NOT GO WITH THEM!!!
This guy is full of surpises.
Actally the car broke in the Safari and we stayed there 45 mins...
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Use another company
Africa is fabulous even though Born Free Safaris is not. They charge more than anyone but our vehicle was tattered and had no air conditioning!!! They charge premium prices but use poor vehicles and airlines. They routed me with Kenyan Airlines and every single flight was either cancelled or was very late leaving or arriving. I found out from other travelers that they could have used Emirates Airlines which is a 5 star airline and went to the same places. Born Free uses the cheapest of everything but charges the most. Use another company. I hear Odyssys Unlimited is great!!!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Bait and Switch!
I booked the luxury 4 day safari to Amboseli and Tsavo. I selected specific accommodations and chose this company because they told me we could do an add on to include a trip to Mara Mara for a hot air ballon ride. A week before the trip they contacted me and said they could not take us to Mara Mara. When we arrived the safari vehicle was old and rusty. It was not a Toyota 4x 4 as advertised. On the way to the first hotel I noticed we were going in a different direction than the accommodations I specifically chose. The safari tour booked us in a standard level accommodation. I insisted on the tented cabins we booked as this was a once in a lifetime trip. The tour operator told us it was sold out. The driver took us there and there were plenty of rooms available. The third night the same bait and switch occurred. I had to book a hotel separately and paid out of pocket to stay in one of the hotels that was promised. The safari company has not refunded me and I had to dispute the charge with my credit card company.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Solaris is an absolute fraud, DO NOT BOOK YOUR SAFARI WITH THEM. If I could give 0 stars, I would.
Solaris Safaris is an absolute fraud, DO NOT BOOK YOUR SAFARI WITH THEM.
We booked a 6-night safari with Solaris in Tanzania. We prepaid everything in two installments, as they required, and they promised to provide 6 nights of hotels, all of our park fees, a private car/driver for the two of us, and all of our meals while on safari. In short, they provided almost none of these things and we ended up paying additional thousands of dollars to keep our safari going that has not been refunded to us despite many promises from the company that it would be.
Hours after we arrived, the problems began. Our driver (who was not a Solaris employee, but rather a local guide contracted by Solaris) was several hours late to pick us up because Solaris did not provide the necessary funds and information for our trip to begin. We missed out on a few hours of game drives that day, and Solaris had not organized our lunch for us. Later that evening, our local driver came to find us at the lodge to tell us that Solaris was supposed to have sent him money that evening for the next day but had not yet. We had to call Solaris several times to try and figure out the issue and they wouldn't do anything for us. The next morning, our driver was again several hours late because Solaris kept telling him they'd send money and never did. We ended up having to pay our driver directly for 4 of the 6 days out of pocket on top of what we had already paid - this was required up front to allow our driver to get enough fuel for our 4 days in the Serengeti where there are only dirt roads and no gas stations. We also had to pay for all of our park entrance fees, which were supposed to have been included, plus a balance on our final hotel. We ended up paying another 50% on top of the total trip cost while on the ground in Tanzania just to continue our trip. Meanwhile, Solaris kept telling us everything would be fine and they would sort it out and this never, ever happened. We wasted several expensive hours on the phone with them instead of in the parks doing game drives.
At the end of our safari, Solaris agreed to refund us everything we paid out of pocket and set a date to do so a few weeks later. We never received the refund after several reminders and emails to them, and they have stopped responding to our emails. This company is an absolute fraud. We have reason to believe they embezzled this money for their own personal gain.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
This company misappropriates client funds
The itinerary looked good, with 3-4 star hotels on a 14 day safari in Kenya and Tanzania. The reality was a disaster.
1. The itinerary offered a 4WD. In Kenya, we were given a 2WD van (for 6 of us). Had 8 seats so only room for 2 to stand at a time. Van very uncomfortable and not suited AT ALL to Kenyan conditions. Masai Mara in particular has many 4WD roads only, including the road to the border. Because of the van, we were forced to spend 9 hours going around the park to the border instead of 3 hours through the park. Cost us a day as we didn't get through the border until 6 p.m. and couldn't then drive 5 hours to our next stop in Serengeti until next day.
2. Driver/guide in Kenya was a disgrace. His driving was downright terrifying, and his guiding non-existent. He didn't communicate with us and I didn't even know he spoke english until the end of the second day when there was an accommodation problem. My requests to Solaris to replace the driver and vehicle were ignored.
3. We only stayed in the hotels shown in our itinerary for 5 of the 13 nights. All others were a downgrade, once to a place with no water in showers. Looking on TA, the prices for the quoted hotels was about $300+ pn pp, the ones we stayed in as low as $120. Once in Tanzania, our guide there (fortunately we'd left Joe and his van in Kenya) tried his best to get us accommodated each night, and spent hours on the phone cajoling and fighting with the Solaris office staff. He was terrific and his company Cross to Africa to be recommended.
4. Game park fees, included in our itinerary, were paid in Kenya but not in Tanzania. We ended up more than US$2100 out of pocket as we had to pay our own way in. There have been repeated promises to repay the amounts, but of course nothing came of them.
5. I have reported this company to the Kenyan Tourism Regulatory Authority, and trust that they will soon be out of business. The best outcome would be to see the "Boss" and the directors charged with misappropriation of funds and theft. I live in hope! Sadly, when people ask about our East Africa experience, my response is that Uganda and Tanzania are fantastic, but tread warily in Kenya.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Stay away from Solaris Tours & Safaris, a scam tour operator!!
Thank you Safari Bookings! It’s about time this “fraudster Solaris Tours & Safaris” finally be stopped & be exposed for their fraudulent activities as tour operator in Kenya. We became victims ourselves and only recently. Solaris Tours & Safaris a scam , liars and no credibility at all to be in a position as Safari tour operators. To start with, they will offer you, perhaps cheaper than other operators , smooth itinerary & professionally done & impressive (who would have thought...) but reality is once you paid them full 6 months in advanced for all your accommodations, park fees, entrance fees, etc. when we start our supposedly once in a lifetime safari experience, it was all a nightmare!! Complete & utterly nightmare, words not even enough to describe our disgust with Solaris Tours & Safaris. Angry, understatement! All bunch of liars!!! You’re a disgrace to your own country!! Shame on all of you at Solaris!!! You should be all ashamed of yourselves for giving Kenyan tourism in Safari a very bad reputation. Even your Tanzanian counterpart, who witnessed first hand how you operate your scam doesn’t want to do future business with you . To all unsuspecting victims, please don’t use Solaris Tours & Safaris, not too late yet to save yourselves ....
LT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Scammers! Avoid this company!
I and my husband have decided to use Arise Special Sunrise Safaris services. We have booked a Safari trip in prior, therefore they asked us to send them 480$ as a deposit and so we did. When we have arrived we payed the remaining amount to them. From the very beginning, our trip was disappointing, as we have visited one National park less than it was promised for us. But the worst thing happened in one of the last days of the trip. The guide of the company came to pick us up in the morning and said that there was a problem with our deposit(which we made before the trip) and it was returned to our bank, therefore they are unable to provide us with our last day trip to the national park. So they asked us to pay it again in cash(480$). As we were in Africa we had no possibility to check our bank account, therefore we were forced to pay them extra 480$ as we did not want to lose our last day in Tanzania. Only in the evening, when we got an internet access we check that the money we paid as a deposit prior the trip did not come back to our account, it was paid successfully. We called our guide and is it was the last day of our trip he promised that a representative of the company will come to the airport tomorrow before our flight and will return our second time paid deposit amount. However, he did not arrive and we had no choice but to get on our plane and fly back to our country. As we came back, we have immediately contacted the director of the company Mr. Owailimu Sosthenes Binyakusha. He replied to us that they will give our money back with a bank transfer. However about for a month, we did not receive our refund, he kept on replying that he made the transfer but there were bank problems and so on. Then for the last month, he is ignoring our emails and we have never received our money back. So please be very CAREFUL AND DO NOT USE THE SERVICES OF THIS COMPANIE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOUR MONEY!