50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
$800 paid and he says he has to try find the money to buy our train tickets. It’s a scam
Absolutely awful I trust worthy this man should not be getting away with what he is doing. We paid $800 for train tickets. We want our tickets and he says when we sent him the money through PayPal he was in a negative balance. So now has to try get money from other sources to pay for our tickets. We have already bought our air tickets to Tanzania. At great cost. We have no train tickets for our planned journey.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Do not approach this company, or anyone by the name of Seperwa Parkimalo or Victor
They are a prime example of a company who operate in the most unprofessional way.
I found them on Safari Bookings .com Perhaps Safari . Com should check the credentials also before allowing companies to use their platform. They were not involved in my travel plans.
Massai Boys:
You will NOT stay at any of the emailed Lodges / Campsites / Hotels mentioned in the itinerary.
I was NOT picked up at the airport as promised by email and had to ask another safari company to contact Victor at on my behalf . Eventually I was taken to my hotel.
In 5 days I stayed only once at the hotel stated on my itinerary, and it was the last night.
I was driven around at night looking for lodges to stay in with no bookings in the dark, down tracks and mostly off road destinations . It was frightening.
Food and water barely adequate on more than 1 occasion.
On the last day I was told to take a local bus to the airport knowing I would miss my connecting flight. Luckily I stood my ground and was finally taken by proper transport to the airport as in my itinerary.
Other
Victor is well known by the locals for not paying them any wages , changing itinerary and failing to follow through with his promises. My last day at Lake
THEY ARE A DISGRACE.
Please ensure if you book a Safari you are part of a group ALL doing the same route and paying for the same accommodation. Use Trip Advisor and speak to genuine travellers. There are many good operators but as usual there are many not behaving appropriately. Check you have all passes to parks included in the cost as these are expensive in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro.
I over heard other travellers being charged on the gate for entrance fees , clearly to their surprise as they thought entry was included. Be warned please !
Finally, when I contacted the company and Seperwa Parkimalo he said he would reimburse some monies to my bank and he was apologetic once I had told him of my week. However , to this date I have received nothing.
DK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
100% fraud
Do not go with this company!
We paid most of our trip in advance from home. But the problems with the company guy Victor started from day 1.
First we had to pay what he called a payment fee which we agreed, after that he ensured that everything was good. After that he left us with the driver.
Arriving to Serengeti nothing was paid for us. Accomodation, Food, Park entry fees. Not even the free water they promised us was there.
We where stuck in the middle of Serengeti at 10pm, with no place to stay. (we found a place with help from some local guys)
We booked 4 days of Safari, what we basicly had was some transit drive in the park maybe 2-3 hours. The drivers english was very limited.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Avoid in any cost, dangerous car, changed itinerary and rude guide.
Unfortunately, we had a very bad experience in Tanzania that was dangerous, wasted our money and spoiled our holiday. They misled and mistreated us and canceled one game drive. Inappropriate way of transporting cooked chicken and food. Please send me a message to show you all the pictures, videos and emails.
Driver, so called guide:
He drove dangerously to get us out of the park. Though we were supposed to do a game drive that morning, then transfer in the afternoon. he drove almost 70km (all recorded with our app, see below) because he had no permit after 12! He took us to our lodge at 2 and left us there, no apology and nothing.He said speak to the office blankly. The office just told us that he had explained to us on arrival. Bunch of lies and shambles! We paid for the game drive, why did we get a day of just horrible transfer that wrecked our bodies. Trust me, you can’t and shouldn’t drive more than 35! All poor animals in front of us getting so scared and shocked! I felt like a burden not a valuable client.
On another day we had the game drive for all afternoon, coming to the lodge in the evening. Our driver who had lost all his interest and hope of getting tipped, wanted to go back after 2 hours! We told him it is still 14 and he is supposed to go back in the evening. He said it is too hot, and there is nothing to see, there only one road full of Tsetse flies. We said he can take another route and take us to the game drive we paid.
I asked him to stop for the toilet break, he said there is no toilet for almost two hours and he can’t stop anywhere for a bush toilet, so we have to go to the lodge which is 30 minutes away. I showed him the sign for the picnic area which was according to our map 10 minuets away. He said no, it is too far. This was unbelievably unprofessional and inhuman! As we were staying in the park, I gave him an option to take us to the lodge, then we should come back for 1 more hour game drive. That means we should be in our lodge by 17 which means evening. To our surprise he stopped in another picnic area which was less than 10 minuets away. I was shocked how he lied to us, because he had no more interest in being around us!
We saw a lion getting ready to hunt, he said no he is just going to sleep. Though, we met the other tourists in the other car was staying in our lodge and they told us why did we leave? The lion hunted the zebra after we left. He intentionally didn’t want us to see anything! Good luck with the guide/ driver. I would say ask to see their certificate, but you can’t see their attitude until you actually go with them .
We had unfortunately no luck with ours. First he came with a car that was falling into pieces. Then, he got angry when I told him that all our luggage is wet and my clothes, books and electronics are also wet, because the back door is broken.And also after we told him how dangerously he transports the lunch, he didn’t apologiz or offered help. He only stopped and eating and talking with us. Trust me, it was a very difficult time for us. He stopped eating with us, as I mentioned above. Therefore for our lunch break, he stayed in the car, asked my partner to come out and check the bush before eating in the middle of Serengeti. He said there can be lions, leopards or snakes there. Either he was not aware or he just wanted us out of his sight. My partner asked him furiously if he has actually studied wild animals! We felt quite vulnerable and I have never seen anyone with this massive lack of conscience and professionalism.
Itinerary:
They sent an itinerary first and then they said they made a minor change only to the order of the days because one lodge was fully booked which was fair enough. We paid the money as you can see in the picture for 5 game drives, they cheated and only bought the permit for four days.
Getting the money for a game drive and not delivering it, it is not a small change. We didn’t get a new itinerary or any brief that they want to save the money and wake us up at 5 am to kick us out in our lodge at 2 and call it a day! when we complained, he just follows the orders. After 3 days apart from good morning and good night, and get out for lunch, check the bush, that is what he said. Absolute disgrace!
Food:
Our fridge was not working and the door was broken and kept on flying away all the time. We can't believe that transporting food set under the sun, next to the driver, from 6 in the morning to 13, at 37 degree can be healty. How many people have touched that box, juice and banana? He had to eat it by hand, as there is no cutlery or plate! Great job, I had antibacterial gel and soap, because the place he stopped had neither toilet paper nor soap in the toilet!
We had the same story almost every day, until he gave up as well, and requested only vegetarian food. You pay as full board, you get a cooked chicken or chicken sandwich, not hot food and although I told them I am vegetarian when I booked, no one was aware, and every one looked at me with a shock on arrival . So be careful that they never communicated our special dietary requirements.
Car:
We asked them about the car, they said in a good working condition. Look at the pictures and judge yourself . Broken door, broken fridge, no window frame rubber was left, all destroyed and the window was rattling all the way. I will put the videos on YouTube soon! The luggage were stored inside the car, because it all got wet in the back. So, we had only two seats with seatbelts that were not working. Trust me it was a torture. Our driver came with this car that the back door lock was broken and he used a robber band to close it. The rain, dust and the noise drove us mental during our time there. Our luggage was stored in the car, as all our clothing, books and electronics got wet. Well, no apology, of course! Two window locks were broken, so we had only on choice, a seat with a broken window close to all the dust coming in, see the picture below, I swear it was after one hour driving 80 km in the national park, or seat with out working seat belt. Add 36 degree to the image, without window.And my partner had to get up every now and then and close the door! Everything is recorded! We got in the middle of Serengeti, where we have seen lions 10 minuets ago.Although that all other cars in front got passed, because of the rubbish tyres we got stuck more than an hour, until we got rescued. Then he drove dangerously to get us out and not pay the fine, because the permit was till 12.
Communication:
Unfortunately, we are left disappointed and the company hasn't even replied to us after we sent them the pictures and videos of our holiday, plus the emails providing the facts that we paid for one day game drive and got only a horrible transfer.
Before sending the videos and pictures we got this sarcastic reply from Froukje:
She wrote (I’ve spoken to both Emma and Andrew about this situation. I'm very sorry to hear you're unhappy about a few things. I hope to clear a few things. We are in Africa, where the roads are rough and the nature is dusty. We are sorry you were not aware of this. These rough roads also cause the car to to be a bit noisy.)
* This way of sarcastic customer service doesn’t work in this day and age. She added salt to the injury with making us feel stupid and peaky. Of course we know where you are, but we’re not aware of the broken door and the fact that a driver is allowed to drive 80km/h in the national parks. I have got all of it recorded and I have tons of pictures to prove it from the app I used to record the whole way speed and location.
We got an email after Emma saw our pictures on Facebook and our reviews. She admitted, I quote her here, email is available on request:
(I've had a look at the car and after a very busy high season this car should have been in the garage for big mantaintance. It is at the garage at the moment. Issues like the seatbelts should have been solved earlier.What I understood the door needs to be closed in two places which the driver didn't know (normally he drives another car) and because of this it seemed broken and there was extra dust in the car. )
About food transport this was the reply: We are sorry to hear you felt sick. I understand you think it might have been the chicken. We will contact The lodge and let them know what happend and see if they received more complaints about it. We hope you're feeling better now. )
* Lets not point fingers. See the picture of how the cooked chicken was transported in 7 hours in 36 degree, next to the motor, underneath the sun. Yes, the company is there, but you have been brought up and educated in Europe. I don’t want to lecture you for health , safety and hygiene. This is not the lodge fault, let me ask you a simple question, would you feed your children with that chicken?
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
was changed destination of manyara to tarangire
We are chinese tour company，our first group client call Huafeng CAI was booked their joining tour package on feb 2nd， we have clearly signed an agreement of 4 day joining tour for manyara lake to serengeti to ngorongoro, during my client safaris ,we was told they was going to change manyara lake to tarangire, our client very disappointed，when I ask them，we was told they have been manyara， actually not ，I try to connect with them directly , was told my client agree to change, that is impossible , they tell a lie.
the second group of called Yan jie , we has paid arusha crown hotel, but sandland tours change to arusha inn without any reasonable revert, they charged different rate, there almost 80 usd different for full board, we call them for assistant, they said if we paid usd100 again then change back to arusha crown, my god, so badlly and cunning tourist operater, they always tell a lie and easy change client booking even we have signed agreement and paid them. so terrible cooperation. we hope safaribooking manager can give us assistance.
PE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Kruger National Park by Chris Conti
I know it would be hard to convince new people to skip Kruger and do the smaller parks with highly skilled guides...but I might have been convinced if you had told me this.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Think Twice Before You Book with Shedluck
It is very disappointing when companies do not act fairly. Unfortunately, Shedluck Tours has not behaved fairly.
For our very first trip to Africa we signed up to volunteer with a medical team. We fundraised and solicited donations of much-needed medical supplies to assist with surgeries in remote Migori. Because the journey is so very long, we wanted to extend our stay beyond the volunteer stint and we chose Shedluck Tours for the additional days.
Unfortunately, despite taking all necessary precautions, I became very ill with GI symptoms, requiring visits to two separate clinics. For medically necessary reasons and on the advice of the Kenyan physician, we were forced to cut our visit short and return home. Prior to becoming ill, we had even more bad luck. Heavy rains led to numerous road washouts and traffic jams (terrible, even by Kenyan standards) caused hours-long detours, meaning that we missed out on many opportunities outlined in the tour itinerary.
In country, we were too sick to hammer out the details of a refund. Once home, we realized that Shedluck Tours was not planning to return any of our fee other than a very small portion designated for a visit to a village, despite the fact that we had said on more than one occasion that we did not want to visit this village.
By returning early, we did not venture to Amboseli, a remote area without medical facilities. We did not precipitate a medical emergency that would have endangered my health, nor did we expose staff or guests at the Amboseli Lodge to unnecessary risk. Instead, we made the ethical and medically necessary decision to cut our visit short.
Despite the fact that we did not receive all services outlined in the itinerary due to weather, we did not ask for a refund from Shedluck for those missed opportunities because that would not be fair. These were circumstances beyond everyone's control and they continued to provide services. It seems entirely fair, however, to request a refund for services they did not provide, to share the burden of a trip that was significantly altered and shortened. Unfortunately, they have chosen to ignore my request and have cut off communication.
As to the services they provided, they were basic. I have learned the hard way that there are drivers and there are guides. After assisting with surgeries, the volunteer medical stint included a two-day safari in the Maasai Mara. That company, Frate Tours, provided honest-to-goodness GUIDES. They knew the unmarked roads of the Mara like the backs of their hands. They were as rapt as we were by the animals. They extended our drives to provide us with the best possible experience. They constantly consulted each other and other guides to locate the best sightings. They provided interesting information about the animals and the area. Frate Tours truly went the extra mile. I cannot recommend them highly enough.
In contrast, Shedluck Tours provided a driver. He was a nice young man and we cut him a lot of slack because he confessed to being new, but the difference was stark and obvious from the beginning. He was late to pick up up from the lodge on our first and only day of safari, but we had arrived early (bags all packed) because we had been trained by Frate Tour guides, who were always prompt. We were finally delivered just a few miles down the road to the boat launch. Our driver did not accompany us on the ride and we were expected to tip the boat guide, even though the itinerary did not specify that our driver would not be our guide. After the boat ride, we ate a pre-packed lunch. Instructions on the box prominently advised storage in a cooler to preserve freshness. Our boxes were stored on the front seat.
Little disappointments continued to pile up. During our one and only game drive, our driver did not yield to animals in the park. Instead, he drove impatiently, even when animals were in the road, causing them to flee. Our guide from Frate Tours always yielded; "They have the right!" he said, all smiles. When we came upon a group of white rhinoceros, our driver did not automatically turn around to follow respectfully when the animals passed us. Instead, he hung back and we watched them walk away from us. Frate Tours, would have repositioned us to get a better look while still maintaining a respectful distance. Our driver also never volunteered information about the animals or the location, even though I am sure he had a lot to give.
Most troubling of all, however, was that when I became very ill, our driver was not on-site. He was not on-site because Shedluck Tours had failed to determine ahead of time that our lodging did not provide any quarters for drivers, despite the fact that they had rooms available. As a result, our driver had to stay in town, some distance away. When notified that I was very ill, he did not show up until hours later. A truly conscientious driver would have returned to the lodge immediately to assess the situation and offer assistance.
As I said, our driver was a nice young man who was obviously new to the job. I fault the tour operator for not proactively addressing some of these issues (e.g., providing a cooler for lunches) and I especially fault the owner for not doing homework ahead of time regarding the the lack of lodging for drivers.
We took a big risk by signing up with Shedluck Tours because they have virtually no presence on TripAdvisor or any other review sites. They were recommended by another volunteer and the pre-trip communications were all very prompt. In the aftermath of my illness, they have cut off all communications, hoping that I will just go away and give up.
To our relief and complete surprise, we received a refund from United Airlines of the fee levied for changing our tickets, because they recognized that circumstances were beyond our control. They chose not to penalize us for making the right decision. A mega-corporation that receives hundreds of such requests on a daily basis was able to process our refund request within four days. Not Shedluck Tours. In fact, they have yet to process the meager refund that they promised.
If you read my other reviews on TripAdvisor, you will notice that I try to accentuate the positive. I try to be fair and look at the big picture, even if the experience is not 100% perfect. This will be my first truly negative review and it makes me sad. In this instance, however, too many little things add up to a bigger failure. We did not receive excellent service or fair treatment from Shedluck Tours so I urge you to consider carefully before you arrange a trip with them.
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Ripped-off consumers
For us this trip was very important, we have a job with normal salary and Kenya and Tanzania is very expensive for us.. We were going saving enough time.
The first day we pay all money, 3000$ for 16 days and half. Land Rover Defender with roof tent and camping equipment.
We take the vehicle in Nairobi.
They gave us the damaged vehicle.
We warn the same day that the turbo charger was not working.
For the highway the car was going very very slowly.
Neither the air conditioning was going. We were in time of great heat and we spent it very badly.
The first day in Ngare Ndare there came a few mechanics to be looked of arranging it, but not at all.
We could come to Samburu but they were following the problems.
In Nakuru one day we were in two workshops and on the following day in three. Was fustrating….
Finally, after several discussions, Winny said us that she was obtaining a van for take us to Masai Mara and there they would bring to us the Defender two days later, arranged. Windy say : Am paying for 3 days from today.and paying the driver.You will only pay for fuel and park fee for the car.
They brought to us a horrible van, without air, without usb to load mobiles and cameras, with the most uncomfortable seats, with the battered lights, and the driver with expired license as said to us a police officer who stopped us on the following day.
Well, the next day to arrive to Mara suprise !! the driver say us that he must to go away the next day, because his chief had not given him any more money.
We call to flight and safaris and Windy did not make sure us either that they were going to bring to us the vehicle.
We turned to Nairobi ready to speak with Windy.
And when we think that they returned all money because we had problems with the vehicle since the first day… no, they only return us a part..
Incredible… We pay for 3 days land rover damaged, 3 days 140 $ day for a horrible van..150$ for a cross border documentation when we dont cross any border, and one night at Mara Sidai camp.
Well, after that, we had other problems because we were not finding other companies that were renting a car to us, there were holidays, etc, etc… but this is another history, jajajaja
I have whatsapps, pictures, bills, etc…
Our experience was very very bad.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unpaid tour and guide that did not explain anything
They work slowly, many unnecessary waits. They took us from Lake Nakuru to Amboseli, to then return to Naibasha, obviously we lost the last day, because it was horrible to do 9h to see a lake again. They did not return any money, they only paid us a bus for 10 euros, instead of a minimum 150e. The guide driver did not explain anything to us. It was very monotonous and boring. Neither warned us where there was wifi or not. Excellent Masai Mara, of course, regardless of the safari company. I would not repeat.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Complete fraudsters.
We paid 4 months in advance because otherwise Solaris couldn’t pay Ngorongoro Farmhouse for our accommodation (apparently). We arrived in Tanzania and had an email to say we had been ‘upgraded’ to a tent in a place called Mosquito River. We were then parked in a hot vehicle for 4 hours in the middle of Arusha because the company had no money to pay for the game parks. The vehicle had broken seats and windows and all the seatbelts were broken. Amazingly we all survived long enough to get malaria !
Many emails since and 5 months later not a dollar back for the poor accommodation (the farmhouse had a pool, electricity, food and mosquito nets), missing game drives and spending hours in a dangerous truck because the tent was nowhere the Crater !
They are crooks, stay away