AR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very bad vehicles, old and poorly maintained and terrible guide.
The attention of Alex and Denis is excellent and they try to fulfill everything promised.
The problem is the vehicles used for the zafari, old, poorly maintained, they break halfway and lost hours on the route with mechanics, as if it were not enough to finish the arrangement I had to pay for the repair with later refund of money . Even there are mornings in which you have to push the vehicle because it has exhausted the battery. This means that the itinerary can not be fulfilled, and late arrivals to destinations are reached.
But even worse is the guide in Kenya (Paul) is lousy, has a bad predisposition to explain, is rude, does not even have a bottle of water to facilitate, which was committed in the contract. And of course he does not have binoculars like the rest of the guides.
The place is wonderful, but my advice is to hire another company to be able to enjoy without suffering these inconveniences.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Tanzania part of the trip was a disaster
There was no driver at Tanzania border for us. The group before us also had no driver show up. The company would not tell us what was going on, and eventually would not answer any of our our calls. So the communication was horrible. We had to spend the night at a hotel by the border and pay for it ourselves (they say they will reimburse us). The next morning, they said a driver would be ready by 10am, but we sat around outside the hotel until 4pm with no word from the office. They were ignoring every call. We were finally met by a taxi driver who transferred us to another driver in Arusha and we had to drive at night to reach the hotel at Lake Manyara at 9:30 pm. As I write this, we are sitting at gate to Manyara Park where we have been waiting for nearly 2 hours, because Kenya Walking Survivors has not transferred money to the Tanzania company so our driver cannot get us in the park. We have no idea how much longer we will wait. They seem to have forgotten to make the necessary arrangements and preparations for our time in Tanzania. Park will not take my credit card because we are in a tour van. So we have lost 2+ days and morning light for photos. We are very unhappy now, and feel that we are wasting a lot of time with only a few days left in Africa.
Our Kenyan driver was very nice, and the Kenya part of the trip went smoothly. Oddly to me though, on the first day we were picked up, driven to office to pay last half of cost, then to get gas, and then to pick up water. It would have been nice if they had gotten gas and water before picking us up. They had half of the money up front. Our lodgings were nice and the Kenya part went well. I was not expecting the very long long drives on bad roads between the parks. It usually took all day (6-9 h) to go from one place to the next. The law does not allow driving tourists in the dark, so we used up lots of daytime to get from park to park. However, that is the nature of traveling in this area.
Our main problem has been the horrible experience getting into Tanzania, and getting into the park this morning has been just as bad. Horrible communication, and nothing has been prepared beforehand.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The Wisconsin Dells of Safari operators - a bit of what was promised, but not much. Disappointed.
My wife and I completed the 5 day Kruger safari. We are seasoned safari tourists and have been blessed to go on safari in Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. We have never been left dissatisfied until now. The accommodations were fine and the food was as well. But that’s not why most of us go on safari – it is the game drives after all.
Every game drive was shorter than advertised. Day one night drive was two hours instead of three. Day two four-hour Bush walk was just one hour of bush walking. When we got in the vehicle, we were told it was really just three hours including drive time there and back but overall it was about 2.5 hours. Worse, the 3 hour afternoon game drive started an hour late and was only two hours. Also, how many tourists who spend thousands to come all the way to South Africa really want to receive a pitch to allow elephant culling when they are viewing elephants? We've gone from 600,000 elephants to 450,0000 in seven years according to the 2015 Great Elephant census across the continent. We are in the midst of elephant genocide. We see our first elephant and the arrogant young guide starts talking about culling them and feeding the meat to local villages. Not exactly what we expected to hear. Day three - all day at Kruger National Park - no complaints. But geez, we thought this was a 5 day Kruger trip. Only one day was spent there – the rest in reserves, some of which allow hunting. Day 4 - a major disappointment. The Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre did not espouse conservation. In addition to culling and legal ivory sales, we were told that rhino horn should be legalized to discourage the black market. Really? Rhino horn? I still can't believe we heard that. Back to Mark's Camp by noon. Yummy lunch. But no afternoon game drive. Our itinerary showeda 3 PM drive. Nope due to reserve restrictions, it was a 5 pm drive. Actually 530 as driver had to wait for more customers coming in from Johannesberg. Big difference in night drives versus day drives – photos aren’t good at night, and many animals are stressed especially since it is a hunting reserve. This last drive was also just two hours. Driver didn’t speak to us, and drove incredibly irresponsibly into a thicket of acacia thorn trees in the dark. I was actually injured and had to get antibiotics for a needless eye injury. Last day we spent $400 to spend the entire afternoon at Mark’s Camp. Pathetic. We did our own bush walk that was longer than the ones Viva did. And we didn’t need guns.
My advice is focus on quality game drives. No bait and switch on what you advertise. There are far better safari companies in Africa. I highly recommend Kenya’s Gametrackers for a genuine safari experience or any Exodus trip. Very disappointed. Emailed owner of Viva safaris and no resolution. Don’t get suckered.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
low budget
First I want to say that our transfer driver, John, was great, as were our cook, David, and our driver, Marvin. This review should not reflect poorly on them in any way, as my complaints are out of their hands. Understanding and respecting that unforeseen circumstances do occur, the condition of our safari truck was ridiculous. The sides never stayed velcroed closed and we would have to stop and fix them continuously, and the bars they were wrapped around were rusty. One hour into our very first game drive the truck broke down. We were then sent separately and alone back to camp, with unknown tourists who stopped alongside us. Apparently the fuse box was broken. One of the other tourists in our group complained about the missed game drive and another company and driver, Oscar, came to our rescue and gave us our game drive. The next morning we needed to push start the truck and found out the starter was now broken. We again drove with another company and Oscar, thankfully! Aside from the inferior vehicle problems, I was so tired of eating porridge and beans that I will never consume them again! Out tour was only 3 days long and yet we ate the same thing over and over again. When I asked if we were having eggs I was informed no, because they hadn't been delivered. Oh great, more porridge! My idea of the "delicious brunch" that is advertised in my itinerary was not simply the bread, yogurt and Corn Flakes cereal, which was what was offered. I wondered if all of the African tours were like this, but after joining our Nomad tour and being given fresh fruit, juices, chicken, spaghetti, and a wide range of deliciously cooked foods I have concluded Wild Cherry Tours is an inferior company and we greatly overpaid for what we received. I am greatly disappointed but at least the wildlife we saw left us with some wonderful memories of Etosha camping.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An experience of a lifetime that got ruined…
Pros:
They can customize packages for your needs.
Affordable to an extent (Don’t forget to bargain though)
They also do safaris in Uganda and Tanzania
Cons:
They do not deliver what they promise.
There is a vast disconnect between the Guide/Driver and Mr.Otieno. The guide controls what you do on your trip. We missed 3 (2 evening (1 Amboseli, 1 Mara) and 1 morning at Nakuru) game drives and one was shortened (The last morning at Mara) as the guide was in a hurry to get out of the park. We did phone and also email Mr.Otieno to get things sorted however, nothing worked. He kept on promising that all will be right and as per the promised itinerary however, the guide kept doing what he wanted. The guide/driver (Anthony) who took us around for 7 days was experienced doing the same thing for 17 years however for them, it’s business. The guide started throwing tantrums as we spoke to Mr.Otieno regarding the game drives that he refused to take.
They fail to understand the needs of customers. In my case, we were 4 wildlife enthusiasts in a single vehicle; all disappointed with the way we were treated. Kenyan wildlife was my dream come true with this trip however, the guide ruined it (He and his tantrums).
I would still have rated them a “5” if they could just stick to what was promised as per the itinerary.
Dear Mr.Otieno, You must start understanding what people look for and deliver what you promise. This is a business for you; however, for us travelers, it’s a dream to plan and execute something like this.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good operator, extremely rude drivers
Masai Mara & Nakuru: 30 July 2019; for short version, look below.
I am so conflicted giving this a 2 star rating because we (group of 9, with 7 visiting from the US) had a terrible experience largely due to one person (Julius - experienced but grumpy & rude tour guide who seems to hate his job/life), but the rest of everything else was great. However, Julius largely defined the experience for the group that he was driving, so I unfortunately cannot justify more than 2 stars. All 9 of us are avid travelers and visit 3-4 countries every year (4 of us are above the age of 60), with 2 who live and work in Kenya, and there was consensus that these were among the most disrespectful people we’ve met.
We are a large group and worked with George for a few months, during which we made multiple changes and George was absolutely fantastic, accommodating, and patient throughout, designing a customized trip for us - I had decided I would give this operator a 5 star rating even before the trip, but then, enter Julius. Right from day 1, he seemed a bit rude and on edge with his responses to any question. Since we were in a mindset of trying to have fun, and had planned this for months, we ignored it and tried to brush it off. We had 2 vehicles, and the other tour guide, Milton, seemed much friendlier until Julius turned him by day 3, so we had him acting snippy towards the end too. After a few incidents it became hard to ignore Julius’ rudeness (example - at one point when we said it was uncomfortable to have a large empty ice box in the car, as the water he brought had run out anyway, he responded with ’then you have to be uncomfortable’; not even a hint of empathy, or trying to find a solution). Oh and he also whipped out a large machete that was under the seat on at least a few occasions (pretending to clean it) possibly with the aim of intimidating everyone, and I guess it worked. Imagine being in a jungle at the mercy of someone like that (he even looks scary). Both drivers started acting very dictatorial, telling us what the new plan was (different from the itinerary), and not offering any options, or entertaining any suggestions. We finally got a different driver on day 3 (James) who was absolutely fabulous - and told us more about Mara and wildlife in one hour on the freeway, than Julius did in 2 days, but unfortunately he was there only to drive us back home, so we didn’t really get to do any Game drives with him.
TLDR: George - amazing guy, very easy to work with; tour guide Julius ruined the experience with his blunt rudeness; The other guide Milton was okay first couple of days, but also became rather rude after seeing Julius talk to the group with no respect and get away with it. James (who stood in for Julius on day 3 was absolutely fantastic, and well spoken, and the guide we all wished we had through the safari), so be super careful who you select as a tour guide/driver as it is critical in how your experience turns out.
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Unfortunately NOT satisfying!
We booked and paid our trip 6 months ago already and our trip started mid July. Unfortunately it all started with a misunderstanding already when we had our meeting/introduction in the beginning. Because we had organised a city walking tour ourselves after the intro (which we told OT about beforehand) but he he other plans for us which were at the same time he tried to move things and told us our tour would start a day later, which we actually didn’t really want. He said not to worry, we should relax and the guide in Ugands will be informed about the day that was supposed to be scratched from our trip (which we also didn’t want). We had to then start our trip a day later than expected, which was a pity but ok, because at the end of our trip we had an extra day before our flights went. We had also booked a hotel ourselves for that last evening.
When the trip finally started we had a fantastic first guide named Frederick who was very knowledgable and told us a lot about the animals, the country and it’s culture. After that we had friendly drivers but not really someone I would call a guide. They weren’t very talkative and didn’t inform us.
We started getting worried in Uganda when our guide wasn’t informed by the office of the change in itenerary and it was even possible to change it. We then sent OT an email, complaining about how he handled the situation in the first place and that he shouldn’t scratch one day of our safari because we actually paid for it. Furthermore we just wanted to know how the rest of our safari would go because now it was all a bit confusing how it would continue. And if we would stay for the whole trip then we would have to cancel our hotel for the last evening. He hadn’t replied ( which was odd because before our tour started the office replied VERY quickly) for more than a week. We asked our guides/drivers to ask the office to contact us because they must be in contact with the office all the time. The drivers just answered that they couldn’t reach the office, which was also very odd because they had to get info from the office to change drivers. After the 3rd driver told us that story we knew it was bullshit. We phoned and got through immediately twice!! Unfortunately OT was NEVER available to talk, he never phoned back and after a those two phone calls we weren’t able to get through either. They blocked us.
Then we told our driver to take us to the office on our way from Naivasha to Kenyan boarder, because the LACK OF COMMUNICATION AND THE NON-EXISTING CUSTOMER SERVICE really frustrated us. At the office we couldn’t get answers to why they had never replied and we found out that our itenerary had been changed by OT (via phone) which was a big surprise to us. If we hadn’t demanded to go to the office we would have never found out because the drivers didn’t know about the change.
Then we went to the boarder to Tansania. We waited for 2 hours for our next driver, who had more than enough time to get there on time, just to find out that he wasn’t coming anymore and we should stay st a nearby hotel. No one from the office called us to inform and update us, not even to say sorry for the inconvenience. The next morning we waited for an update until 10:30 (we actually tried to phone and find out what’s going on-that didn’t help because they didn’t know themselves and they didn’t have a plan B) that our next driver would be there at 11. We waited at the boarder again just to wait for 2 hours AGAIN!! He finally got there but we basically missed a whole day and we missed a game drive.
The next guide named Francis in Tansania was great as well. At last we could enjoy our trip again. We had two great days in Ngorongoro and Serengeti. Our last day, because our trip started a day late, we had to speed from Serengeti to Nairobi airport to catch our flight in the evening. Why OT planned the last day like that we will never know. He said there was enough time to even do a game drive in the morning and get to Nairobi Airport on time in the evening. That was bullshit. We even asked him to change it but he said it would be fine. We missed our last game drive and the guide had to drive 140km/h on a 80km/h road to get us there on time.
Summary:
The things we saw during our trip were amazing!! We had two great guides.
BUT the people working in the office and especially OT have been incompetent and very unprofessional. There is a total lack of communication at a time when it should be the best ever because it was DURING our trip, and there is definitely no customer service whatsoever!!! It was really disappointing because before our trip they seemed very professional and they responded very quickly to emails.
I just hope we, and other groups we met that also had a lot of problems which were even worse than ours, had some bad luck and that other groups won’t be stuck with this kind of mess!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The office personnel will rip you off here!
Let me first stop off by saying that the climbing team (Guide, cook, waiter, and 6 porters) was incredible. They were hard-working, fun, and were always positive.
I'm leaving a one star review because of the Emmanuel in the office.
At my hotel room the night before the climb, we went through what I had packed (even though he never sent a packing list beforehand). He stated that I couldn't wear the shoes that I brought and would need to rent shoes and a mattress to put under my sleeping bag for an additional $65 (extremely expensive). I gave him $70 and never got change back. He said he would be bringing the mattress. The next day we went to a small shop and searched the pre-worn boots (about 8 pairs) and left with one pair that fit. The first red flag was that we didn't pay for them. We just left with the boots.
A few hours later when we arrived at the park, another red flag went up. The office didn't send enough porters to carry the weight of all the bags, tents, kitchen stuff, etc. so when we got to the Kilimanjaro National Park gates, the park made us hire 2 additional porters to carry everything. The Unique Jungle office should have weighed the bags before they picked me up. Additionally, Emmanuel said that he didn't have any way to pay for the additional porters so he asked if he could borrow the $100 USD it would take to hire the 2 additional porters to get us into the park and start the climb. Once in the park, he asked me for a tip for the driver, which seemed odd. I've never tipped the driver in all my travels...its always included.
We finished the climb earlier than expected so there was an additional day to spend in the area. I had asked my guide about a safari and Emmanuel came to my hotel that night with the costs. A boxed lunch was going to be $50! Even lunch in the USA isn't that much! Needless to say, I declined his entire offer and found my own way.
I would love to hire the climbing crew again if I return. They were great. However, I will not work with Unique Jungle again because of Emmanuel. He is a thief, liar, and lacks any knowledge of true customer service in the travel industry. People are traveling to a new country where many don't speak the native language and because of this there's a certain vulnerability. Emmanuel will take advantage of this situation and of you. Its been a month since my trip, I've asked numerous times and have yet to receive my $105 refund from Unique Jungle.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Misleading Information + Unprofessional Response... Can book same safari with more reliable company
If you want to skip reading the review, here's just a quick list of reasons you shouldn't book with Seth Vincent and things that were PROMISED TO BE INCLUDED in our safari package that WERE NOT: First nights stay in Nairobi, visit to elephant orphanage, giraffe sanctuary, farewell dinner at Carnivore, a limited number of people in a van, and adequate amounts of daily drinking water. He just wants to find any way to take your money!
As two college students who booked a "budget" safari, and have been to Africa before, we went into our trip with no expectation, knowing that traveling over there is an adventure of it's own! We booked a 6 day safari through Seth Vincent and initial communication was clear. Once the deposit was paid, however, his communication became a little more sporadic and it was unclear how we were going to transfer the remaining balance, as we made it known we did not want to travel with that much cash. Anytime we sent an email asking questions about anything prior to landing in Nairobi his response was nothing other than "it will be fine."
In the email he sent with our itinerary, he said that our first nights stay upon landing in Kenya was paid for in the cost of our safari. He never booked us a place to stay, or gave us money from the safari package to put towards a hotel, so we booked and paid for our own hotel in Nairobi (which wouldn't have been a big deal if he wouldn't have told us that a room was included in the package and then lied when we asked him about it)
Upon landing in Kenya we were picked up by a driver named Samuel! He was great and according to him, and the itinerary that Seth Vincent had sent us, someone would be meeting us at our hotel to go over what the rest of the week was going to be and someone was going to take us to the elephant orphanage and giraffe sanctuary. No one ever came and we were instructed to be ready for pickup the following morning.
Seth arrived as we were departing for our safari and took us to an ATM where he had us withdraw the remaining balance for our safari after we had asked multiple times if we could just wire the money the same way we had paid the deposit.
After taking our cash he dropped us off at a van where he told us that the van would exceed no more than 6 people. Well, after just a few minutes of waiting the van was completely full (9 people) and we were stuffed elbow to elbow with people from a different tour company that Seth evidently partners with. So, the number of people he told us would be on safari was false, which at the start wasn't a huge deal, but after being stuffed into a van for numerous days on bumpy roads, it got a little too crowded and very uncomfortable.
Then the amount of water that was promised to us each day was not given... to the point that I was so dehydrated I was vomiting (there is water available for purchase at the camps so we just ended up buying water for ourselves... which also wouldn't have been a big deal if Seth Vincent would have just been honest about the amount of water we were going to receive)
Upon returning to Nairobi after the safari, we never heard from Seth (he would have never known if we even made it back to Nairobi) so we reached out about the "complimentary dinner at Carnivore" that is promised in the itinerary, along with the visits to the elephant orphanage and giraffe sanctuary. He told us that because we didn't go on the first day (BUT THE REASON WE DIDNT GO IS BECAUSE HE NEVER SHOWED UP) he wasn't required to take us to see the elephants and giraffes (and was incredibly rude about it), but he offered to arrange to take us AT AN ADDITIONAL COST (to something we already paid for!!) and when I asked about the farewell dinner at Carnivore he flat out told me no. When I asked to be compensated for the first night's stay in Nairobi he also told me no, even though HIS INITIAL EMAIL STATES THAT HE WILL PAY FOR IT. He asked for additional money to arrange visits to the elephants and the giraffes and dinner. So we just took an uber and planned a day for ourselves.
The safari itself was magical. We absolutely loved our first driver, Jeffery Bruce. Everything about the Maasi Mara is absolutely breathtaking, but you can book the same safari with other companies for cheaper (: We were put into a van with another company and everyone who booked through them paid less than we did (and seemed to be given what they were told in their itineraries)
Our second driver, James, was AWFUL. He drove on the wrong side of the road on a busy highway on the way to Amboseli and didn't notice until someone told him... and FELL ASLEEP multiple times while driving on the safari.
Our safari went to the Mara, Nakuru, and Amboseli... we both agreed that if we had to do it all over again we would book a 5 day safari (through a different company) and only go to the Mara and Nakuru (: Amboseli is cool, but not nearly as fascinating as the Maasi Mara and a lot more work to get to than it is worth!
Go on a safari... just book it through someone that's honest!
CN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
What they did last year, we paid $28965 for 9 person in 2017. Read my story
2 Stars for how lucky we are....Mr.OT disappeared almost the same time last year. I try to contacted everyone in the contract despairly one day before departure. Right now, if you have not flight to Kenya, FIND PLAN B. Below is the e-mail I sent to them in 1 Aug, 2019....
Well, Dear OT Team,
It's my last time to mail you, just lost my patience.
Attched is your so called "Promise" "Apology"....which turned to be a lie.
If you rememberd you cried on the phone begging me to let your tourism package back to SafairBooking. I believed you.
If you rememberd how eagerly you want to back to SafairBooking even sent me a "confidential mail" promised refund with interests. I responded we don't want interests, we just need our money back!
If you rememberd you claimed yourself is a Christian, lying is a sin, you got family to support, you got housing mortgage, you have to back to SafairBooking to keep you alive.
Oh, find the attachment "mail", sometimes I just joking with my friends, I said "Hi, Merry Christsmas Mr.OT, where is my refund? " " Hi, happy new year Mr. OT, where is my refund?" "Hi, happy Valentien's Day Mr.OT, where is my refund? ".....well, this time maybe Happy Anniversary Ruined Vacation 2018, right? where is my refund?
Hush.....145 mails between us, oh plus this one is 146...sorry, you are not Tom Hanks, I am not Meg Ryan either.(you know the movie "You've Got Mail", if not, just watch it , definitely you deserve best actor reward)
The last but not least, Hakuna Matata, I understand debt is a old friend to you. I just go back to SafariBooking, TripAdvisor, kenya tourism authority, kenya tourism police, again~~~~
Above is the mail. I bet they promised everyone get refund in 90 days. He, Mr.OT, will try to persuad everyone withdard the bad comment that he will speed the refund. (DO NOT BELIEVE IT).
In my situation, they did refund in a very long time. For almost one year, still have $1961 arrearages.
I really doubt I can have the money back right now.