65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Bogus Company
This so called company are not tour operators - they are fraudsters and we have reported them to the Kenyan Tourist Police who are looking to arrest the man behind the scam - Paul Muthangya.
Remove them from your site and be more diligent as to whome you promote.
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
do not book with this company !
We are a victim of African Circuit Safaris (Paul Muthangya). We booked a 5 day safari in Nov 2015. And paid a 50% deposit in Dec 2015.
On July 16 2016 we mailed some questions to Paul on the safari trip but since did not receive any reply. After the mail we tried mailing him again and calling him without success. We also checked if the 1st night hotel in Nairobi was booked and it was not booked. Later we heard from Jeffrey Howgate's case (see previous review) that the office of African Circuit Safaris does not exist (anymore?).
SafariBookings.com was helpfull but can not prevent this kind of fraud.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Don't use this agency!
I booked via internet a 3-day-safari with Amani Tours and Travel for me and my two daughters. One month before the trip starts I transfered 50% of the payment as deposit and the rest of the payment I payed cash when we arrived Tanzania.
On the evening before the trip should starts I got an email that the safari is cancelled... From this moment I couldn't reach Daniel/Donald??? and I'm still waiting for my money...
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Do not book with this company
Do not book a tour with Seven Wonders in Arusha. In all of my travels, it was the worst experience I’ve ever had. This is not just a post about a bad tour company, this is a safety warning to all travellers – please do not use this company.
My boyfriend and I booked a safari to the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater for 3 days and 2 nights. Our cook was great, but our guide was awful. We shared the safari truck with two lovely French ladies, and we were all told that the guide spoke both French and English – but he didn’t speak either (other than a few basic phrases), which made communication very difficult.
He couldn’t tell time, and kept telling us to get up for breakfast at 2:00 am (which we actually did the first morning!). He was very disorganized and always late, which decreased the amount of time we got to spend each day in the national parks. We had to set-up and take down his tent each morning to try and speed up our departure time, as he didn’t know how to. He didn’t spot one single animal our entire trip! And when we spotted them he would drive past more than half of them. And on our second day when I spotted a leopard, and we requested to park for a better view, he kept driving and said that we had to go home for lunch, yet proceeded to stop for antelope!!! We’re not usually picky with driving, but he was honestly very unsafe and came close to hitting walls, trees and animals on the road on multiple occasions. He was always on his phone in the truck, and when he wasn’t talking on it he was taking creepy pictures of the young French girl (trying to disguise them as selfies). He made the experience so bad that it brought the French ladies in our truck to tears - they called Seven Wonders several times to complain and to try and get a replacement guide, but the manager of Seven Wonders yelled at them over the phone and called them “liars” and refused to compensate them in any way.
As if this wasn’t bad enough, on our last day we were scheduled to visit the Ngorongoro Crater. Our guide had forgotten to pay our tickets for entry the night before, so we were late entering and late leaving the park. Our guide on exiting the inner gate of the crater told us that we had to pay a $70 USD fee per person for exceeding our permit time. We explained to the ranger that it was our guide’s fault because we arrived late, and the guide lied and said that we had threatened to fight him in the truck (3 small girls and 1 guy vs. 2 grown men!), and that we had made him stay late. When we tried to exit the last gate of the park in a taxi, we were detained because the fee had not been paid. The head park ranger agreed that Seven Wonders should pay the fee, and he arranged over the phone with the manager the he should mobile transfer the money. He never did, and as a result we were kept at the gate until after dark before being allowed to finally leave at 8:30 pm (after waiting for 5 ½ hours).
The next day, we were approached at our hotel in Arusha by the manager of Seven Wonders, along with a group of 5 other men. He told us we needed to pay him the $140 USD. We tried to calmly reason with him, but he was simply aggressive and rude, and accused us of lying. They wouldn’t leave, and harassed us until we asked for the police to be called. The police warned us that these men were dangerous, and that they believed that if we didn’t give them what they wanted they were going to hurt us. The police were unable to charge them unless they did first harm us, so we filed a police report and had to be driven to a hotel outside of town where we were safe.
Please be warned – these are bad people. Do yourself a favour, there are many other tour companies you can choose from.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Scam don't go near them
I booked with trips without borders for a part of our honeymoon. I paid some of the money in a wire transfer from the UK. They sent very credible sounding emails and a contract and I was in touch with them right up until my arrival in Kenya. Now the phone number they gave me doesn't work, they are not responding to email and I am reporting them to the police.
DE
be careful - wrong itinerary
I'm so sorry, but be careful. You can't trust the company.
The itinerary was wrong (5 days Mt Kenya, 2 days Samburu NP)
and you can't trust the stuff:
I left my luggage in the office, and after the Climbing, I missed my electronical values.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Attention! Lilac Adventures is untrustworthy and unreliable!
For an amount of nearly 6.000 USD, payed in advance for a safari in
Uganda supposed to start in March 2016, Lilac Adventures did not provide ANY of the services promised. Due to
negative reviews by former clients, we asked Lilac some time before the safari was
scheduled for details of the accommodation bookings and for copies of
the Gorilla Permits. The only thing they came up with were ever more
phantastic excuses why they allegedly could not provide us with any of
the documents requested. Therefore we contacted all the lodges ourselves and asked for bookings done by Lilac in our name - there were none. Being confronted with this, Lilac began to run out of
reasons and finally had to admit that 4 months after receiving
our money they had not prepared or booked anything. They also admitted that they would not be able to conduct the safari but did not give any valid reasons for that. At this point they
promised us a complete refund of our money - half a year on, we have not received anything.
So please do not make the same mistake we did, and especially do not
believe a word when they try to coax you into booking: they will go to
great lengths in trying to explain why they could not deliver the
services they were paid for by us and will give different reasons for this (delays in
the financial / banking system, political instability and / or unrest, etc. etc.), or perhaps they offer that you pay only a deposit (f.e. 20%) in advance. But please be aware that they are
completely untrustworthy and very likely they will just take your money without rendering anything for it.
RO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Terrible experience with Amani Tours - 3 day safari in Mikumi
Our biggest complain is that we've payed the Mikumi park entrance fee - $ 150 in total ($ 75 per day) in addition to the entire trip, which was $ 900 ($ 450 per person). The park fee supposed to be included and Daniel promised us that he will return the money, but of course that did not happen. And overall service was not as described. The trip was in a regular van, not a 4W Jeep as on photo. The accommodation was outside the park, not as described.
IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
An absolutely horrible experience.
Hi, I had booked a tour with them in 2014 for a 26 day tour to Botswana. I had paid a sum of $30,700 to them. Unfortunately, I had visa issues and due to that the agent said he will adjust it next year and also the fact that he will apply the visa from his end. Next year, we waited and waited as we had sent all documents to him, but the visa never came in 2015 also. When I went to the embassy again in 2016 as so much of my life savings was stuck, I was shocked to know that he had never applied for my visa to begin with. I was informed by the immigration officer that he has clearly cheated me. I wrote a safari review and due to their intervention, he decided to adjust my holiday again next year. Finally my visa came in July 2016 and Calvin Machekano of Love Africa Safaris said that due to non availability of lodges, he will have to book new lodges and took an additional $8615 from us. We really didnt have a choice as $30700 was already given to him earlier which now brought the total amount to approx $40,000.
I am a photographer and had requested a landcruiser for myself. Anyway after arriving there, much to our shock, a 30 year old broken vehicle with no floor and holes and a ten inch platform to sit on and totally open from all sides was provided to us by his representative and guide, Steven Bond Mubi, which we were expected to do our surface transport to various parks (some of them 6-7 hours away) as well as safaris for the next 25 days. Upon concern, we were threatened by this guide that he will not go with us. But as a woman, to travel on highways in such a vehicle when we had paid for something else was unacceptable. Upon contacting Calvin of Love Africa Safaris he failed to do anything about it and insisted that we go in that vehicle with the same guide who was very temperamental and kept threatening us. We absolutely refused to go in such a vehicle with a guide, who according to local sources suffered from some mental problem and was thrown from South Africa four years back. He came with an accomplice called Prince the morning we were to leave for the KHWAI concession in this beaten down vehicle and both of them threatened us. We were clearly now scared for our lives as with two of these characters going on a highway was impossible. We contacted the agent who refused to take our calls anymore. The guide, Steven Bond Mubi thereby left us and our luggage on the roadside and left.
We were left with no reservation, no hotel and no transportation on the roadside in a strange country. After 6 and a half hours of waiting in the sun we finally got accommodation in Airport hotel, Maun, where we spent the next three days trying to book our return journey, shocked and disappointed. After having given this agent $40,000 we just didnt have any money to hire another agent to finish our holiday. While we waited for our tickets to be rescheduled, we met with the police, consumer affairs and Botswana embassy people, who on initial investigation found that not only had he cheated us but also pocketed our $30700 and the new amount of $8615 was all for fresh bookings. We had to let go of all ur money and the entire holiday. We had to spend an additional $1000 to change our tickets back home. We have lodged an official complaint and have a letter from the embassy of Botswana as evidence. All terms and condition, including safari vehicles pictures and what vehicle was given to us - I have all the evidence. A 400 page complaint has been sent to all concerned authorities. I just want to warn everyone that never to go with this agent or his guide. I have lost all my life savings and came back empty handed. Besides this $40,000 international tickets cost us an additional $5000 . We not only lost a lot of money but also the experience of a beautiful country. As pointed out by the police commissioner of Maun, Calvin Machekano of Love Africa Safaris along with his associates, Steven Bond Mubi & Prince did this deliberately and robbed us. We have filed an official complaint of fraud and cheating against them. Please note that we have all evidence and acceptance letter by the police and consumer affairs Botswana.
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Horrible Tour Company, Horrific Experience, Very Negative.. The Two LadiesScam Artists.. Stay AWAY!
The two ladies are rude and unqualified to complete tours. Tours are not properly planned and horribly exectued. You will pay everything accommodations that are 20 USD a night, will be charged 200 USD!!! Your 4x4 will break down, and be replaced by an older 4x4. When stranded on the side of the road, both ladies will not be contactable, and when you reach them, they will say "Let Me Tell You Something..." and make excuses on why the vehicle is poor condition and say hang up the phone on you. You will wait for hours in the heat on the side of the road, or late at night on rainy wet dangerous roads. Your life will be in danger and your safety and security will be compromised. They will change the itinerary with out informing you and or contacting the driver. And when asked questions, they will not be reachable again or they will yell at you on the phone and then shut the phone and turn off the device, leaving you stuck. There answer will always be "Let the driver figure it out, I am driving" or shut the phone when you are serious distress. They will rob you of such an incredible country with so much to offer. They will not know the location of specific activities, they will overcharge you and say "No" after yes earlier was already confirmed. I cannot imagine a tour service company can talk to a customer in such an extremely rude way. They are not able to adapt to changes in the scheduling based on weather, and roads and conditions and will say "If you miss the activity you will not be refunded and it is your fault." There idea of tour operator is simply booking the accommodations, overcharging, and leaving you fend for yourself. Overall, I wasted the best experience of Uganda, which is an amazing country. While I understand that no tour is perfect and mistakes happen, I do expect any company to try to make things right in the end, and not yell and scream at the customer and especially hang phone up on you while stranded because of a hazardous vehicle. I found their lack of integrity on the follow up shocking. And I'm sad because we were psychologically treated like second class citizens and missed what Uganda has to offer.