US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Was Far From Honest
We used Honest Travel Experience in Cape Town for a trip in Aquila Reserve. It was supposed to be a private tour. But the owner, Franck, upsold us to a VIP tour, then did not deliver AT ALL. We got merged in with all our cruise passengers, after paying the extra money for a personal tour. After trying for several weeks to contact Franck, I gave up. We felt scammed. Beware!!
KR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tour was different from what I booked
I was looking for a tour sleeping in a ngorongoro campsite. and this was the only one, so i contacted and confirmed the accommodation. but the real tour, we stayed in a budget accommodation which was not where i really wanted. Moreover, other travellers we had tour together paid much less than we paid. I didn't need tour in tanzania cuz i did in kenya for several days. but i wanted to stay in the accommodation and that's why i chose to have one more tour but I wasted of time and money. What's more, I liked the guide but the car was too old that it broke down. and it took a long long time for us to drop off which was the worst time in tanzania.
RS
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Zero star
I hope you guys who are interested in traveling in Uganda find this review useful and won't make the same mistake as me and my friend did. In this review i will share the part of my experience with Karumuna Safaris and it's owner Richard who we believe is a fraud and a thief.
From the first moment i contacted Richard he was very fast in answering my mails and whatsapp messages,which i liked because that is how an agency should behave with clients. I applied for the journey inDecember and was supposed to arrive in Uganda in March!! It was like that until the moment I paid him the 50% down payment which he requested because he wanted to make sure the gorilla tracking permits are secured. The same story was with my friend who applied for the trip one month after me. The moment I paid him the money, no answers no mails, nothing! Every info I needed I had to wait 3 or 4 days for a response i called him and told him this is not professional. I asked him to make me another trip plan because i had less days in Uganda because of my ticket.
He sent me the plan 2 days before my trip and also found a guide for me and my friend day before our arrival. When we arrived and gave him the rest of the money the problems started. In the Lodge in Queen Elizabeth our guide approached us and told us thar Richard had an accident and hit the boda boda (motorcycle taxi) with his car and the motorcycle driver didn't survived so Richard was detained in prison. My friend and me were concerned but as the gorilla tracking was approaching i was starting to be suspicious about everything because Richard couldn't be reached on any phone and they apparently didn't know which prison he was detained and he was the only one who knew where the gorilla permits are. Our guides brother was searching for permits in his office and he was able to find only one permit. This one permit was paid on March 8th the day we arrived! And he told me in December to pay so he can secure the permit. At this point we knew that we were scammed! With the help of our guide Herbert we managed to pay for another permit 700usd because we came in Uganda specifically for the gorilla tracking. Richard was not answering any calls from our guide and the warden in the gorilla tracking office told us that he know Richard and that the chief of tourist operations in Uganda are awared that he scammed people before.
There was a lot more happening which I could write and if anyone is interested in hearing this can contact me.
This is not a fake profile, which he claims on other reviews of people that were also scammed and according to him want to damage KARUMUNA SAFARIS reputation. If you look the negative reviews it was never his fault!! . The ranger in Kibale national park told us that his driver by the name Dona went to Chimpanzee tracking with fake permits left the clients there and ran away with the car keys. If you don't want things like this to happen to you avoid Karumuna Safaris and Richard.
God sees everything, if Richard is really in prison he should stay there. But if he lied about hitting someone with his car in order to get 700usd speaks volumes about him as a person.
I tried to attach valuable photos (the payment of the permit,screenshots of our chats and more) but the site won't publish them, so if anyone needs to see them I can send them.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Stranded at the airport
I wouldn't recommend you use this company. They are not a real tour company and only book you with a different company. I was supposed to be picked up at the Airport. No one was there to get me. I was told to take an Uber. Arrive at the hotel and they wouldnt pay for the Uber. Very stressful situation in a foreign country.
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Pathetic customer service by someone named Morris who contacted me on my WhatsApp
My friend liked the safari combo and I sent $725 as Mr Morris who was in communication with my friend demanded 50% money in advance. After 2 days Morris confirmed he received the money and to my disgust sent me an invoice that he received only $695 where as I transferred $725 on his insistence, moreover this man is also very impolite and talks too much. He had the audacity to suggest I should not ask him and refer to my bank for further details. I am very disappointed as I have already paid and this man did not confirm anything as yet, also threatened my friend that he will cancel the safari which we have asked him to book for us and had already paid 50% money in advance. Totally non cooperative person who has no sense of customer service. I would like to request safaribookings.com to take action against Balu Travels and I will share all the relevant evidence to support my claim.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Worst experience ever, zero competent, zero respect to me, just for the money and tips
One star is for the animals! Don’t book with them, the worst tour guide ever!! The good reviews here are very short, most just says they are nice people, that’s not competent for a guide, you need an experienced guide to know where animals are. OMG where do I even start:
1> the tour guide Joseph, worst guide ever, he’s not even a descent human being. He’s constantly on the phone, talking to others, others calling him, and when we stop I take pictures of animals, he takes out his notebook, either writing down something or on the phone. First I thought he’s talking to others to know where animals are, so I asked him. He said no, he’s clearly doing something else on this side.
2> his knowledge for animal is just non-exist! He doesn’t know what the big 5s are, doesn’t know where cheetah is, he drives to the same area everyday. And you would expect a tour guide tell you a little history about the park, different animals, etc. NOPE, absolutely nothing, he drives quietly and when we see animals he stops, let me take pictures, go.
3> we would spend hours in the car just Joseph and I and there’s no talking at all! Can you believe it! And it’s becoming very awkward so one time I tried to make a conversation, so I asked him “hey what brand of phone people use here in Kenya?”, he goes, “oh you Americans use iPhone! You are rich!”, I was like errr no everyone uses iPhone it’s very common there, carriers give deals, you can get a 24 months contract for a phone. Do you know what he said, he goes "you should sign up for a new contract and give me your phone!" wow wordless… unbelievable. Another time, I told him I want to see cheetah, he goes “cheetah are hard to see, I want $100 tips if we see cheetah.” WOW after that I gave up, i dont want to talk to him at all.
4> and on the last day, his car broke. smoke came out of the engine, we wasted half day staying in a lodge fixing his car
4 days I spent in Kenya, didnt see much at all. last day, we finally found 2 cheetah, this guy refuse to stay longer because he wants to stay under the shade. and he doesnt want to move closer because he wants to stay under the shade.
I can go on, and on. this company and this tourguide ruined my Kenya experience. Please stay away! i will post the same review on other Safari platforms. I hope more people can see it. It’s not a cheap trip, please choose wisely!!
35-50 years of age
Pure lies from this company.
We had contacted a friend of us who is also a tour operator and recommend this company from their mutual friendship to hire a vehicle from them only to be offered with an old car with no spare wheel (red flag). We paid in cash all the payment and promised we shall receive the spare wheel the next day, which never happened. on the fourth day, we had breakdown inside Masai mara and that can happen to any car which to us was something normal but not getting the customer help as we are total green in a new country to us. At this point we started having issues and even requested they either bring another car or refund us our money, but nothing could shake them. to cut the story short after returning to Nairobi I reported the matter to tourism department and we came to agreement to refund the money, but he never honored his promise up to today. I have tried to avoid tarnishing his name but his to unprofessional and unlicensed too according to Tourism Regulatory Authority and if he has one, I will be happy to see. after failing to honor his promise I have return the matter to TRA and they will be taking this company to court for operating tour company without license as required by TRA, obtaining money by false pretense. since you're not responding to chat its good you contact me urgently.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Agent didn't book our accommodation then lied about it. Also flight booking error
Honestly disgusted with the service. I feel scammed. Agent forgot to book our accommodation. Though was told she needed an additional deposit early to book accommodation!!
All of a sudden wasn't contactable. So at 5pm we were left to find new accommodation in a foreign place. Spent hours driving around trying to find somewhere. We called and called. Even the operating agent. No one could get hold of her. She then emailed at midnight saying she'd told me a week before saying they were fully booked. This was a lie. All our correspondence was via email and nothing was there. When I said the Hotel said they were never contacted and they only became full the day of. Her story changed the next day when I asked for evidence it was a new story and excuse. Then the worst part is that she refused to refund what we'd paid out of pocket. Despite already paying for accommodation. She didn't want to reimburse us for the night stay that we were forced to pay for. I had to threaten to report her to the tourism board.
Also she booked our flights too early. We had to leave the safari at 2pm instead of 5. Got to the airport 20mins before take off. So stressful and embarrassing. The 4hour drive back was so dangerous because the poor driver was trying to get there on time. He did it in 3 hours instead!! Driver asked her to changed them but she Wouldn't rebook flight as she said she wouldn't get her money back for it. So unprofessional!
Also itinerary was a lie. You don't get the meals promised. Only one lunch was provided on the first day, though we paid for 3 meals and drinks for two days . She should be ashamed to call this a service. Such an expensive experience to be ruined by our agent. We pay for a stress free experience. It was anything but. Also turns out we were overcharged in comparison to others on the trip.
CA
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Worst Safari Ever
I have been on other safaris in other African countries and this has been the worst by far! Look elsewhere for a safari company.
ITINERARY
Our original itinerary looked good on paper, however, we found out, while on safari, that it involved backtracking which meant the safari had to be changed causing us to miss 2 half day game drives in Masai Mara (which was supposed to be the highlight of the trip!)
DAILY “ROUTINE”
We were told by PRIDE OF AFRICA that we would be starting at 7:00 AM each morning so we would be able to get the most of our safari while in Africa. In reality our normal start was 8:30 AM. We also noticed that other guides brought their clients back from game drives to their accommodation around 6:30 PM. Our guide brought us back at 3:30 PM. This timing was the worst possible! Wildlife is active in the mornings and evenings while we were still at our hotel! We were out at the time when most wildlife is sleeping so we saw much, much less! Our game drives were 4.5hrs shorter everyday.
The only day we did not follow our “daily routine” was the last day. On the last day we started at 6:30 AM. That was the day we were to be “Arriving in Nairobi late in the evening“ (as our itinerary stated). We went on our game drive that morning, but only for 1.5 hours so that the guide could get back home early. We asked him about it and he told us that we could have a longer game drive but we would have to pay him extra for that! A 1.5 hr game drive!!! Our guide wanted to just get home early!
GUIDE & DRIVER
We had an excellent driver. As a guide, however, he did very little communication in letting us know about what was happening and only told us about the wildlife when we asked. He was knowledgeable about the wildlife but chose not to communicate that knowledge with us.
VEHICLE UPGRADE
When we arrived we were taken to the office of PRIDE OF AFRICA and were asked if we wanted additional day tours. After not purchasing an additional tour we were told that we could upgrade our vehicle to a LAND CRUISER. We were told that it would be more comfortable and better able to handle the wet trails in the Masai Mara, We went for the vehicle upgrade and paid US$800.00 for it. When we began our safari there was no Land Cruiser but the standard (2020/21 Toyota Hiace 4x4) instead. A vehicle that was uncomfortable with poor suspension and both side doors could not be opened from the inside (the guide had to open our doors every time we wanted to get out of the vehicle). We felt scammed out of US$800.00 and were never compensated for it.
SHORTFALLS & EXTRA CHARGES
Our original safari outlined several key points that were eliminated in our actual safari.
The first paragraph of our safari description stated:
- Includes "pre and post accommodation"
(We only received pre-accommodation)
- Tour Price Includes “All park entrance fees”
(We were charged an extra $40 to enter Maasai Mara)
- Game drives as detailed in the itinerary.
(There were ignored by the driver)
The itinerary changed and we missed out on several highlights because the original itinerary involved backtracking – A poorly designed itinerary that they changed in the middle of our safari
FOOD
The food was fine. That was not the reason we went on safari in Africa.
OVERALL
Overall a badly run safari.
I would never book again with PRIDE OF AFRICA!!!!!