US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Standard safari with some annoyances
Overall, the safari seems to follow a standard itinerary that many other companies also offer. We did see a lot of animals including the Big 5 and in that sense the safari was great. I only give 2 stars because of some annoyances:
1) My wife is short and wasn't able to see out of the pop up roof of the Landcruiser (for which you pay extra). She wanted to stand on top of a seat when we were looking at a cheetah that was barely visible (covered by grass) but was told by our driver that that is not allowed because it can damage them and that it's his boss Lewis' rule, with whom we had made the booking. I then wrote to Lewis and he told me it's not allowed because it's illegal and fined heavily by the park authorities. We saw many other safari companies allowing their customers to stand on their seat. So I then looked up the park rules online and it didn't say anything about it being illegal. Lewis doubled down and told me to ask a park official at the gate. I did just that (he probably didn't expect me to) and they told me, amused that I'd even ask, that it's perfectly legal and makes sense for short people. Nevertheless, we decided to let it rest, until my wife got neck pain two days later from always craning it while tip toing to be able to see. At that point I again wrote to Lewis pleading that he allows it for the last two days and he finally did. However, he never admitted that he lied about it being illegal. TLDR: if you're short find a different safari company
2) Our flight on the last day was quite late at 11pm. The original itinerary had us be at the airport around 5pm after visiting the giraffe center at 3pm. Before booking, I had asked Lewis about adding extra things in Nairobi and he told me that we can also visit the Nairobi museum and eat at a famous restaurant and then be dropped off at the airport at 7pm which sounded good to us. Then, on the last day our driver told us that he has to keep going immediately after arriving with us in Nairobi but that a different driver from the company can take us. However, after talking with his Boss there apparently was no different driver available. Our driver rushed us through the giraffe center (urging us to leave) and then dropped us of at the airport at 4:15 pm. We were okay with skipping the museum and the restaurant because we were tired and saw how stressed the driver was, but we didn't appreciate being rushed through the giraffe center which was supposed to be a nice stop on the last day and then bring dropped off at the airport super early.
A couple words on our driver/guide Daniel: he definitely knows the parks inside and out and is a good driver and very good at finding many animals. He also knows a lot about the animals when asked. However, I wish he would be more outgoing in sharing information about animals without us asking. And I wish he would be a bit friendlier and above all not rush us so much on the last day.
CH
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Insufficient management of the Tour and inappropriate vehicule
My rate of this company is low coz there has been too many problems with Leisure tips and their response is not adaquate, as far as I am concern. All my statements are based on facts and I have all the exchanges with the driver in my Whatsapp as a proof.
1. When I paid the Tour with a secure link sent by them, my credit card was hijacked and my Swiss bank has to block it coz somebody tried to use it.
2. The vehicule that Leisuretips provided was in poor state and we encountered many problems after a few hours drive from Nairobi already. The destination was Amboseli National Park on a 3 Days trip, alone in the vehicule except for the driver.
3. The car had to be brought to the garage 2 times coz of the mechanical problems and I lost the second day Game Drive coz the time left was not sufficient.
4. I ve received the apologies from Leisuretips for that but this is insufficient coz the contract that they gave me stipulated all the services I ve paid for and they did not fulfil it actually.
The Amboseli Park is worth to visit and the Lodge I was in was good, that is why I give a 2 stars rate.
The Company has to improve its relationship to the customer and moreover improve its services. I paid the whole amount in USD in one time several months before the Trip, for information.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Bait and Switch on the hotel rooms, lectured repeatedly about tipping from guides
First, let me say that the guides did a solid job. They were friendly and got my entire group up the mountain. Now for the other part. The hotel we were originally supposed to stay in (Kibo Palace) was swapped out at the last minute for a place called the Keys Hotel. Don’t be fooled by the Keys three star rating, it is a one, maybe a two star. It’s not even close. I stayed at the Kibo Palace as I arrived a few days before my friends. The Kibo Palace is nice, an actual 3 star hotel. We all thought we were staying there as that is what Kilimanjaro on foot told us. It wasn’t till after my friends landed and were taken to the Keys Hotel that we learned otherwise. I had to change hotels from one I was already booked in.
Second issue, before we started to hike there was a meet and greet amongst the guides and our group. The guide must have spent a half hour talking about how much we should tip each person, which was well above what Kilimanjaro on foot had already recommended we tip, it seemed way excessive from this recommended amount.
Third, the guides got us up and down a day early. Not the worst thing, but it ends up that you have to book another night at the Keys Hotel which is quite expensive for the accommodations they offer. I would have been fine staying up on the volcano for our recommended time and coming down when we were scheduled to. This seemed like it was structured because the guides wanted an extra day off, not for our benefit. If they are able to get you up and down a day early it means they get a paid day off.
Fourth, the tipping is done not at the end of the trip but about half a day before. They make such a display about it and also make it a point that you had better tip generously or else. It's be better of Kilimanjaro on Foot to pay their people more and do away with the tipping all together and I wouldn’t have this awful taste in my mouth from the way the guides and sherpas behaved.
I would not recommend Kilimanjaro on foot for the reasons above. If you are aware of all of these factors you may want to consider them.
VN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
2 Hours Wait at the Park Entrance
We had to wait two hours at the Serengeti park entrance while the driver handled the ticket purchase. This is completely unacceptable! What should have been a seamless experience was ruined by their lack of organization.
SE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Did not deliver on promises
We went on a six day safari organized by Caren at Nashibe. The parks are of course very nice and one of the lodges we stayed at was excellent (Severin in Tsavo West).
However, In Amboseli we didn't get the accommodation that we agreed on before paying the deposit (one of the lodges were changed to one that we would not have booked if we had known). The pickup was two hours late (which we were told only after calling them from the parking lot). We felt that the driver, whilst driving safely, had very little knowledge about animals and it felt that he did not know his way around the parks. The radio in the car (used to communicate with other drivers) did not seem to work. The description of the safari days in the itinerary included things that were infeasible due to time/distance. For example, for Tsavo East the itinerary gave the impression that we would see the Galana River on our afternoon game drive - which turned out to be 120 km away. At the end of the tour, we had to wait for half a day for the train in Voi. Only after arguing with the driver we agreed that this time was to be spent at the lodge and not at the train station. The final drop-off at Diani Beach turned out to be four hours later than promised.
When providing this feedback to Caren after the tour, she did not respond.
CN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A travel company with no integrity
A very bad trip experience. Situation we met are as follows:
1. We have paid a 30% deposit, and when we arrived in Nairobi, we informed of the change of itinerary. Three of the five hotels in the itinerary were changed, and the price was 1/3 of the original hotel, and the difference was not refunded.
2. Modified the itinerary at will and canceled 3 morning cruises.
3. The driver and tour guide was not professional. Although we had paid a tip of US$40 per day, he was still angry with us when we pointed out that the trip was not in line with the itinerary.
We have also reported the above situation to Chinese tourists through the community Internet. We hope that Chinese tourists will not choose this company after seeing it.
一次体验非常不好的旅行。举例如下：
1. 我们已经支付了30%的定金，到了内罗毕后告知行程变更，行程中的5个酒店改了3个，而且价格是原来酒店的1/3，且没有返回差价。
2. 随意修改行程内容，取消了3次早晨巡游。
3. 司机兼导游不具备专业素养，尽管我们已经支付了每天40美金的小费，但当我们提出不符合行程，他还对我们生气。
以上情况我们也通过社区互联网反馈给了中国的游客，希望中国游客看到后都不要选择这家公司。
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Disorganized
We did a 5 days safari, it was organized very bad. First of all we received the flight tickets just few days before the safari and the tour operator sent us the wrong tickets twice. When we landed at Arusha a guy from the tour operator was supposed to be there but we waited more than 30 mins. The driver for the safari cannot speak English but only Swahili and Spanish (!!) so it was very difficult to communicate. Then, every day we started the safari late because we were in 4 people (two couples) but our accommodations were very far from the accommodations of the other couple, so at the end we didn’t spend so much time on the game drive.
The safari itself was good, people from the tour operator back office are very nice and available, but the organization was definitely not good.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
luxury hotels with indian-like scamming feeling
My tour was a 4 day safari with visit to lake Nakuru and the Maasai Mara national park. I also paid 180 USD to visit some landmarks in Nairobi. The hotels booked were above my expectations,one had a terrific view on the lake.I could see the animals and I had a cultural visit on the Maasai village.I chose one of the most expensive tours, so that I wouldn't need to haggle, yet to my surprise it proved to be the contrary. My driver Tony wouldn't follow our agreement,so I couldn't visit Nairobi and we toured Maasai Mara only one out of the two booked days. He started the tour as late as possible,so we could only take a glimpse of the nocturnal living leopards and lions.Any trial to bring him to reason would result in little punishments (for example I couldn't see how the leopard killed the impala or I had to stay one afternoon at the hotel without safari).Instead of visiting Nairobi,we went to lake Naivasha,where initially it was agreed that I had to pay only 50 Euros yet as we got closer the price reached 150 Euros and when I told him we should turn back it went down to just 3000 shillings paid to his Kikuyu friend for unnecessary guidance services.We were stopping the whole time in different souvenir shops were I had to buy the people drinks and where my driver offered me no assistance in determining what is the fair price for an item resulting in paying double prices as that in the airport even after haggling.During our trip the driver would never talk and if he would, it would be begging for food,tobacco,shampoo,money or giving some false information like trying to manipulate me into double paying for the park fees in lake Nakuru. I contacted the office for help,yet they told me that he doesn't work for them so I should forgive him. They didn't offer me any money back for the places we didn't visit, because of the driver's choice or any link, so that I could share my experience with the world.
CH
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Dunas Safari: avoid!
Namibia is a magnificent country. The lodges are generally well located, often with spectacular views, and offer every comfort. What we ask of a tour operator, and what we pay them for, is to offer an interesting programme, without too much stress (we're on holiday, after all) and, above all, a realistic programme that can be kept.
The organisation of our trip by Dunas Safari did not live up to our basic expectations. In particular, several transfers during the 3rd week (when we no longer had a hire car) were not properly planned and this meant that on several occasions we missed activities that had been included in the programme and paid for! Another couple we met during our trip, who had also used the services of Dunas Safari, experienced similar, if not more unfortunate, problems.
In comparison, Dunas Safari turned out to be much more expensive than other operators and we had the unpleasant impression that we were paying a surcharge because we were Swiss....
Apart from that, Namibia is a beautiful country, often breathtaking, which we highly recommend you visit; you'll find other excellent tour operators in Windhoek.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Disappointing experience
We used Safari bookings to find an in country tour operator for a trip of Uganda. We contacted 3 operators outlining what we wanted and had a couple of quotes back, Ganyana was very responsive and sent a detailed experience with an additional 3 nights at the end of the trip. We spent time checking them out and felt comfortable booking the holiday after reassurance that the itinerary and lodges would be as quoted. We also asked for information on travelling distances between the national parks. These turned out in most cases to be as much as double quoted, if I’d know I may well of flown some of the legs!
On arriving in Uganda we meet the operator at our hotel to be informed that had changes to our itinerary! This included lodges turned from a 4 star to a 2 star, in Bwindi we arrived after a 9 hour drive to be taken to a 2star guest house which wasn’t one of the changes we’d be told about and should of been. 4 star lodge.
On day one we were collected over an hour late due to traffic but on route our guide was struggling to stay awake and in the end we had to insist he pull over. The same thing happened on a number of occasions on the trip. These issues left us very disappointed and frankly taken advantage of, it’s a real shame because the people throughout Uganda gave us a warm and friendly welcome and wanted to show case Uganda, it’s shame our experience with Ganyana has left us disappointed