RO
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing tour guide, great tour overall, but the attitude of the management was absolutely terrible
Everything started when we first met their contact person, Daniel, who came to brief us and take the rest of the payment for the tour, which we chose to pay in cash. We paid 60 USD more, as, of course, he did not have change. He promised he will give us the change back when the tour ends.
We started the tour everything was ok until the second day when we ate the lunch prepared by their hotel, Suricata Boma Lodge, where we stayed the first night. The food was bad and we had got food poisoning, exactly what you need in a safari.
Considering this, when we arrived at the next accommodation we asked them to prepare a lunch with rice and more solid stuff so we avoid getting sick again. Guess what, they did not care about what we asked, we ate only part of the food and we got sick again.
We were promised by Daniel, who we believe lied to us, that we will have our own chef which will prepare exactly what we want, considering some limited options. We never seen such a guy.
Besides this, the tour guide was kind and helpful and he did his best to make us comfortable. He planned the days in a very smart way and we were most of the time almost alone with a lot of animals. Thank you again Paul!!
Now, let's move to the nasty part. On the last day, got back to Arusha and we were supposed to meet with Daniel, for a feedback session and of course, as promised to return us the money he owed us.
Guess what?
He kept saying that he is coming soon, and at some point he called saying that we should do the debriefing via the phone, because he is stuck in traffic and during the discussion he asked us to not mention anything about the food poisoning as he wouldn't want us to generate a bad image for the company. And then he promised again that in 30 minutes he will come with the money. It was already past 9 pm. At around 10:30 PM he said that we will get the money from the driver who is going to drive us to the airport. Of course the driver did not have the money and did not know anything about this.
I discussed with Daniel again and he said the money were left at another hotel reception, then that the money were in the company's office and then that the driver actually had the money and forgot to give them to us. He was clearly lying. These different versions are from a Whatsapp conversation with him.
He clearly wanted to keep the money.
Now, it is not about the money, it is about their attitude in regards to this.
I told them that I want to get the money back via a bank transfer. They said they only do western union, which was not an option for me at all. I am not going to waste time to open accounts and run arround in my holiday at different western union places to get back the money I was owed. After multiple different conversations and pressure, I was told I will receive the refund via Revolut, and that the money were already sent. They lied again. This is the moment when I started to threaten them with a bank claim (I did pay the deposit via a bank payment). After threatening them, I got the money back the day after, from another Revolut account, which is an instant bank transfer (so they cannot say anything about the transfer taking longer than a day).
I would never recommend them and I feel lucky that nothing really bad happened during the trip. Considering their attitude, I am pretty sure they would have not done anything.
BE
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Horrible vehicle for a luxury safari
We booked a 8 day luxury private safari. They sent an old land cruiser, dirty, no air bags, no operational seat belts, no air conditioning and a wild driver. We spent about 60 hours in that véhicule of which about 30 hours on dangerous roads between the 4 parks. Horrible, no value for money!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lost $3K USD to the company - I recommend you stay away like the plague
TLDR: In my opinion Amani is a professional liar and it shocks me as to how he has been given 5 star ratings on this page. He collects the full tour's payment upfront but fails to deliver parts of the tour and pockets the cash for himself. We have many instances of Amani confirming the money will be refunded for the parts of the tour that could not be arranged, however we have yet to see the refund come through. We have been scammed of $3k USD and have filed a police report and are in conversations with the regulatory bodies in Tanzania requesting for aid in recovering this money. I am writing this review to create awareness of this premeditated disgusting scam that all current and future travelers should stay away from. Screenshots attached.
Tour Details
Tour Operator: Amani
Company Name: Kipok Africa Adventures
Tour Dates: August 17 - August 23, 2024
Booking and Payment Summary
I paid 50% of the total package fee ($4,285 USD) prior to the start date, with the remaining 50% paid in cash on August 17.
We were asked to pay an additional $550 USD in cash for a night game drive and a visit to a Maasai village on August 17. These activities, however, were never delivered, and the hotels confirmed that night game drives were not possible. Amani definitely knew this and yet promised to deliver a night game drive, indicating a beginning of the scam.
Daily Itinerary & Incident Summary
August 17 - 19: Amani Mara Camp, Masai Mara, Kenya – No issues; services provided as agreed. However, the night game drive and Maasai village visit, for which we paid $550 USD, were not delivered.
August 19 - 22: Kubu Kubu Tented Luxury Lodge, Serengeti, Tanzania (Screenshots attached)
Before our arrival at Kubu Kubu, Mr. Laizer informed us of a payment issue on his end and requested that we pay the hotel directly for our three nights. He assured us we would be refunded at the end of the tour.
Despite repeated follow-ups, we have yet to receive this refund.
August 22 - 23: Neptune Lodge, Ngorongoro, Tanzania – No issues; payment covered as agreed.
Incident at Ngorongoro Park (screenshots attached)
Upon arrival at Ngorongoro, Mr. Laizer cited a “technical issue” with his payment to the park and instructed us to pay the park fees directly. We complied, incurring additional costs.
Between these incidents, the extra payments totaled $3,076 USD, revealing a consistent pattern of fraudulent requests for money. We had already paid the tour fee in full, and the additional payments were unjustified and based on false pretenses.
I am sharing this to alert other travelers to the fraudulent practices of Amani Laizer & Kipok Africa Adventures. Please be cautious and consider other, more reputable safari operators. I would be giving 0 stars if I could.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
This guide abandoned us on Day 2 of our safari, I recommend you beware
My wife and I (from Sydney, Australia) organised and pre-paid USD 6,750 in late 2023 for a primate safari tour with Explore Uganda with Dan for a trip in August 2024, We booked with Explore Uganda with Dan based on their 71 fantastic 5-star Trip Advisor reviews over 8 years, and on the basis he was a fully registered guide company with the Uganda Tourism Board.
We arrived in Uganda on 5 August and the tour commenced the next day. The tour included three expensive full day habituation permits for gorillas, chimpanzees and golden monkeys (this totalled USD 3,500 of the total USD 6,750 we paid Dan and we paid him those monies way back in November 2023 so he could make sure he obtained the permits which are hard to get).
Daniel (the owner of Explore Uganda with Dan) picked us up from our Kampala hotel and we had a long 7 hour drive to Kibale NP where we were going to do the chimpanzee habituation tour the next day. We arrived at the car park at 6am the next morning and Dan was not there. He had left us a voicemail at 5am saying that there was an issue with the permits and he was driving back to Kampala "to fix things". I eventually got onto Dan that evening on WhatsApp and he said he was nearly back at Kibale NP and that things should be OK - he told us to be at the car park at 6am the next morning. We turned up again at 6am and Dan was not there again. This time he had left us a voicemail at 4am saying he was extremely sorry but he could not continue our tour, that he was headed back to Kampala, and that he would refund all our money paid (note: he has not paid us back anything 6 weeks later). So he just abandoned us at the Treetops hotel in Kibale NP with no transport and no accommodation (Treetops hotel was full up that night and beyond). We spoke to several experienced guides at Treetops that morning that were looking after their own clients , and they were in disbelief that Dan could just abandon us at the start of our tour - they had never seen anything like it in all their years of tourism in Uganda.
Dan did eventually admit to us that he had bought our three habituation permits on the dodgy Ugandan secondary market for permits, and that he had been sold fake permits. He obviously then couldn't rectify the situation, panicked, and then just abandoned us. We understand that the Uganda Tourism Board which is the body that licences and regulates operators like Travel Uganda with Dan, will soon revoke his tourism licence. We now know of three other couples that Dan ripped off for large sums of money that he did not complete tours for. It seems that unfortunately our tour was the start of when it all fell apart for Dan.
Thanks for reading through our long, sorry tale, and please do not use this disreputable operator.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Terribly dissapponted by our agent ,from transport,hotel bookings and check in ,he was just off
We were truly dissappointed on our first experience booking with bonfire to Diani Baobab.
1.Transport -
a)On arrival at Miritini 3am ,we had a pickup challenge ,2 different guys having our contacts ,ready 2 pick us up and confusing us .We couldnt reach our agent for clarification.So frustrating .
b)The one transport means we settled for was so old and uncomfortable.This was after making so many calls with differents guys .
3. Checking in-Upon arrival ,we were not able to be checked in since our agent had not communicated to us that the hotel checkin time is 10am and we couldnt access the all inclusive facility as his early communication until checked in .Mind you we reached the hotel 5am ,only to wait at the reception till 10 am.
Having to pay an extra cost to access breakfast yet we could have done flights and got to the hotel in good time with no challenges .Old parents and kids tired after a long trip in the night .Then wait for long hours to check in.
-Clear communication on checking timings should be passed to clients
-Agent should not rush in closing business
- Agent should confirm about laggages and maximum kgs to br carried per person .Some of us had to pay extra for laggage.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Morning Star is a big cheater.
Morning Star is a big cheater. They owe me a total refund of $8,372 which hasn't been returned yet. During the process, they kept telling us that they would transfer the money to us, but they kept delaying it. It has been almost a month since the trip ended, but we still haven’t seen the remittance.
I would like to ask if this company still has any integrity and if it is so difficult to bear its own mistakes. Why should tourists pay for your so-called hacker mistakes? This is outrageous.
FR
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
I believe this company is fraudulent
This company offers a rate of 350e/day. In high season for one person. It makes you take the plane ticket so that you choose your dates and then it asks you for 500euros/day. As the ticket is taken, you are obliged to accept the rate. !!!!@@
Be careful, it continues to advertise this scam.
(automatic translation from French)
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unpaid and changed Lodges
I would not book JT Safaris again. Almost the whole safari was paid in advance and I had a confimation for all Camps and Lodges we were planning to stay. But when we arrived in Mombasa the first information we got was that we will not stay at Salt Lick Lodge but had to switch to another camp.
"Ok, that might happen in Kenia" we thought. But then, after four days of safari we came to Kibo camp in Amboseli and the booked rooms had not been paid for.
I phoned JT Safaris but nothing happened. It was really, really frustrating, especially if you are all dusty and a bit exhausted from the trip...
It took hours and in the end our guide paid the rooms, that we already paid for in advance.
Finally we made sure, that he got the money back - but without him - I am sure - we would have paid twice without any chance of getting our money back.
CN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Shocking Experience with Morning Star - Held at Hotel Due to Unpaid Bills
On the final day of our African safari tour , we experienced an unacceptable situation with Morning Star Travel Agency. At check-out time (8 AM), the hotel staff informed us that Morning Star had never paid for our stay, despite us having paid the full tour amount two weeks before the trip.
After two hours of unsuccessful attempts to contact Morning Star (our agent Alice became mysteriously unreachable), we were forced to pay $4,532 out of pocket for the hotel bill to avoid missing our afternoon flight. This was the second time during our trip that we had to cover Morning Star's unpaid fees, following a $1,600 payment we were forced to make for Masai Mara park entrance fees.
Most concerning facts:
Morning Star had received full payment from us two weeks before the trip
Their agent disappeared when the payment issue arose, only to reappear after we paid
One month has passed with no refund or explanation
I am sharing this to warn others about Morning Star's practices and will continue to pursue this matter until I receive a full refund.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It's really a terrible experience! We feel that we have been cheated !!!
Before our trip to Kenya on September 28th, we had paid the full amount for the tour. However, on the morning of October 5th, the last day of our stay, we were informed by the hotel that Morningstar had not paid them, and therefore we were not allowed to leave. We were forced to stay at the hotel for nearly 2 hours. During this unexpected situation, our contact person Alice completely disappeared and refused to answer our calls and WeChat messages. In order to catch our flight back home, we had to pay nearly $4500 for the hotel fees in advance. But right after we paid, Alice showed up and claimed that she had an emergency and would refund us later. Out of trust in this company, we kept communicating with them actively after returning home. But until today, we haven't received any refund, and the people from this company are full of lies! They said the refund had been sent to us at one moment, and then claimed they needed to confirm the specific details of the expenses with the driver at another moment. They always put off giving us the remittance receipt! We also confirmed with the bank over the phone that we hadn't received any remittance information.
If you don't want to advance payment for a fraudulent company and don't want to be helpless in a foreign country, please don't choose this company. It's really a terrible experience!