DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Poor guides, poor itinerary, mechanical problems
My husband and I did a 2 week/3 country East Africa tour, and Essenia was responsible for 5 days in Tanzania. This portion of our trip really did not meet our expectations in any category: itinerary, lodges, customer service and especially driver/guides. We had a lot of trouble communicating with our first guide. English comprehension problems meant we could not easily ask questions about the schedule, animals, or general cultural questions. During game drives we had a lot of trouble requesting him to stop in time to see animals, he did not know the birds or trees, and even misidentified a monkey as a species which doesn't live in Tanzania! After an upsetting first day of game drives, we asked to change guides. Essenia did not seem to take the problems very seriously, and we had to really push them to find someone else.
The next day, our safari truck was leaking gas and we stopped at a garage to have it looked at. 40 minutes down the road the dashboard suddenly started smoking heavily. Just as we bailed out of the car, a call came that they had found a new driver and he was waiting for us with a different car an hour down the road - lucky timing, I am not sure what would have happened if we hadn't already requested a new guide! After a comedy of errors where we waited an hour for the new driver to pick us up while he waited for us to come to him, we flagged down a passing car from another company and hitchhiked to the new driver. Between morning delays to call customer service, mechanical issues and bad coordination we basically lost this entire day of our trip - quite frustrating.
The new guide was better than the first one. I can say he was competent, but no where near the quality of driver/guides we had on other legs of the trip. For example: he kept telling us stories about customers who tried to make requests which he thought were a bad idea ("tried to do his job of guiding") and to show them that they were wrong, he would let them have a really bad experience (ie drive slowly and hit all the bumps on a road) until they apologized and begged him to do it his way after all. We tried to be careful not to upset him so that we didn't have an experience like that.
We also had problems with the overall itinerary/planning, especially scheduling transit time in the morning when animals are more active and game drives in the mid afternoon heat when animals are there but not doing much. It turns out all 4 lodges were actually owned by the same hotel chain. Though they were nice properties, we would have preferred to experience more variety and local flavor - and not the same buffet for every breakfast/lunch box/dinner! These two issues I should have paid closer attention to before booking, when I could have asked for changes. Essenia never followed up with us directly during or after the trip. We did see lots of animals, there are plenty in Tanzania so we didn't feel this was due to any special skills of our guide. In summary: Essenia really let us down and I would strictly avoid doing business with them.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Poor selection of subcontracted safari guide, disorganized and inacurate information.
We selected Travel Partners Ltd. though not the most economical because of our initial correspondence with them. Belen was good to work with and did her job well. However, she was in a difficult position as her company was not as professional as she. Most safari companies do not require 50% upfront as do Travel Partners. Before leaving the U.S. we asked if a Bank (cashiers) check for the second half would be OK, and were told in writing that yes a check would be fine. Once in Africa ready to begin our safari they informed that a check was not OK after all and asked for funds to be wired instead. It is very difficult to wire internationally from the U.S. if not there to sign. Travel Partners pushed Belen to push us for the wire everyday during our safari. Most U.S. banks would not have been able to comply, fortunately we had an account at an institution that once all international requirements were met were able to wire. This issue was unnecessary, and caused needless stress. -- We tailor planned a safari to visit several parks in Tanzania spending most of the time in Serengeti including the north Mara area to see the Wilde-beast crossing. Our driver although pleasant was unprofessional and a very poor driver. We had two vehicle accidents during our 5 day safari, one could have been very serious, both were driver related. The vehicle and the driver had been subcontracted by Travel Partners. The vehicle was only in fair condition, (it caused permanent damage to luggage). One accident was a near head on collision at high speed with another safari vehicle (thick dust impaired sight), loss of exterior mirror and severe body damage to the entire length of the vehicle resulted from the accident. It was that close to being very serious. Due to the accidents, we had to ride with other safari drivers until our driver could repair our vehicle enough to continue. We had two experiences in other safari vehicles with other drivers, both were far superior drivers to ours, and the vehicles were in better condition (they even had cold water in the cooler, we did not - sometimes we did not have water at all.) A flight from central Serengeti to Zanzibar was part of our itinerary. Our flight was to leave Serengeti at 11:00 a.m. and arrive Zanzibar at 2:00 p.m. via Arusha. Although not the fault of Travel Partners, the flight was delayed both at Serengeti and in Arusha, so we arrived at 6:00 pm causing a loss of 4 hours in Zanzibar - Belen said she would try to get some compensation from the airline if possible.
--In spite of the above mentioned incidents, we enjoyed the experience. The accommodations were charming, and we were able to see so many animals. Serengeti is very beautiful!
--Overall, I would suggest looking at another safari company to plan your safari. The wonderful experience of being in Tanzania and the parks was not the result of Travel Partners, it was Tanzania itself. A different company could enhance the experience rather than inhibit it.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
not a good experience poor vehical
Vehicle was not up to standards, old, brake and engine problems and uncomfortable noisy. It was difficult to photograph from the way in which the seats were positioned to a very small roof hatch. The accommodations at the some of the lodges were poor and food not all that great. There was a lot of driving between parks (8-10 hours) in an unconformable vehicle with more time driving than viewing animals which were few far apart. I would not recommend this safari to anyone.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The tour guide didn't know where to take us and the tour was poorly organized.
Unfortunately our expensive tour with Vacay Holiday Deals was much worse than expected.
We were told the name and telephone number of the driver that would be picking us up in our hotel in Nairobi about four days prior to arrival. The morning of the pickup, another man picked us up and said that he would be replacing him. Unfortunately he had no idea about the package we had booked. He had to look at our voucher to find out details such as the itinerary (where he should take us, where we would be staying, the fact that fees for parks etc were already included in the high price, the fact that water was included, and that drop-off would not be Nairobi but Iten near Eldoret).
The car was terrible for the Masai Mara. Every other car and especially the jeeps and Land Rovers passed us constantly. It took us much longer to reach the camp than it should have, and we couldn't take some of the roads that other visitors were taking. We had asked about the condition of the vehicle in advance, and we had the confirmation that it was suitable for a visit to the Masai Mara. This is definitely not the case. Even now in the dry season, it was almost impossible to pass some of the roads.
It seems like Vacay hires external drivers with their private cars to drive the tourists around. Both the driver and Vacay try to keep their profit as high as possible, with disregard to the experience of the customer.
The camp (Mara Concord Game Lodge) was excellent. The owner and all employees were very welcoming, and made sure we had a great stay. We had an excellent view of the river, where we could literally see hippos from our window. The food was very good too.
In our previous planning and dealing with Vacay, we had determined that all fees for the parks and conservancy and also the guide would be included in the package. Of course the voluntary tip was not included in this yet.
Nonetheless, on our first day a second man entered the car, and he was never really introduced to us. It seemed like he was supposed to be the guide, but he never said anything to us, nor was he in any way familiar with the park. He sometimes pointed our driver in a random direction, only to find out minutes later that it was a dead-end.
We came to Kenya for our honeymoon in order to see the Great Migration. Since we only took dead-ends, and then couldn't pass one of the rivers (that every Land Rover passed with ease since it was only 20 cm deep), we couldn't get to the section of the Mara River where the Great Migration of wildebeest and zebras takes place. We were told that "there aren't really that many animals in the park anyway," which is hard to believe since the Masai Mara is the reason that many people visit Kenya in the first place, and it is one of the most famous national parks in all of Africa, famous for the herds of animals.
When we said that we would love to see rhinos, we were told that these don't exist in the park (other people told us they saw them, so that can't be true). When I mentioned some information on areas in the park that often have rhinos (which I read in my guide book and online), the "guide" and driver didn't even recognize the names of the areas of the park.
When the guide left after the second day, we were told that we had to pay a fee for his services. This was not about a tip, but an actual fee that we were meant to pay, even though this was already included in our package.
On the third day we were meant to have an early-morning game drive (which is when most of the animals are out anyway). Our driver said "it is cancelled", and simply started driving towards Eldoret.
On the way the car broke down, about 80 km from our destination. We were not surprised, since the terrible old car took quite a beating on the roads. We stood in the roadside in the burning sun for two hours, and then had to pay for part of a taxi ride by some private driver that our driver organized. He explained that Vacay would pay for a small part of the ride, but we had to pay for the other half to reach our destination. Considering the amount we paid for our package this is completely ridiculous.
It is really unfortunate that we made the booking with Vacay for our honeymoon. We specifically didn't go with a budget option, because we wanted to enjoy these special days.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Below average info and not very accommodating
The company did not provide much info or interpretation on the parks (Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater) they brought us to or the animals we saw. There was one guides who was a wealth of knowledge, but the other two guides (including our truck) barely said anything and when we asked something the answers were short and basic. Also, we asked to go deeper into the park to see the great migration and the drivers made excuses without trying to accommodate us, see how it could work or explain why it couldn’t. Finally, they promised us an “extra special” stop on our last day and then didn’t do anything about it even when reminded. Overall there was a lack of info and communication and they just told us what they thought we wanted to hear, true or not.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Security an issue
This review was very difficult review to write. The staff, especially the camp host and cook are very pleasant people. Rickson, one of the guides went above and beyond to make our last safari truly memorable. I’ve had over 30 safaris and he is truly a fantastic guide who tries to meet his clients needs. The chef was also amazing. I did not expect to be fed so well.
Now the bad. One of the guides got very intoxicated the first evening and we did not see him again until 36 hours later.sadly it gets worse. We had are tent broken into and some of our money stolen. They left some money and my iPad so it could have been worse. Outlook claims that this was the first time that it had ever happened with guests commonly leaving everything in their tents with no issue. One the last day they even ask you to leave your tents completely open with your belongings. Strike 3 is that they told us to expect a email from our booking agent (not sure what that means) but it’s been over 36 hours later and nothing yet,
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari was good but nonstop attempts for cheating against clients
Cheating : they always tried to find a way to get more money from there customers (change the price in shillings which has been already agreed by saying that the dollar currency is different today, giving only 2 rooms for 4 different group saying that there is no more accommodation available, skipping the morning game drive with an excuse of returning time back to Nairobi....). Just be careful and don’t trust them what they say as it is. Insisting what you have been promised in the program and negotiating all the time.
Safari: safari was not bad, the driver was quite experienced so you could see all the major animals that you can see in masai mara.
Car: they brought a van for actually suitable for six people but received a reservation for 8 people. We had to squeeze in in the small car for 7-8 hours driving. The backseat was too high so I had to bend my back and neck all the time.
Communication: the communication and customer service in nairobi office was very good, swift and helpful. They tried to resolve the problem but it seems that they don’t manage very well the subcontracted drivers and accommodation staff.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Two different negative experiences: (1) vehicle and driver did not show up and (2) we missed flight
I would NOT RECOMMEND Self Drive Uganda based on two separate experiences that were both costly and unpleasant.
(1) Upon arrival, there was no driver or vehicle to pick me up. This occurred despite extensive conversation and confirmation with the company beforehand. This put me in a pickle for my gorilla trek the following morning, which I could not reschedule. I ended up hiring a taxi driver for $200+. Self Drive Uganda eventually sent a driver, charging me for the tank of gas to come meet me. They never provided an apology or acknowledgement of their error.
(2) About one year later, I returned for another gorilla trek. The drive was quoted at 5-6 hours long, which was consistent with Google Maps and my previous experience. Despite having packed lunches and my family saying “we are fine,” our driver suggested that we stop for a “quick lunch” while he allegedly patched the spare tire. He stated that he would be “back in 20 minutes” given that we had “plenty of time before our flight.” He returned 1hr 20min later. We proceeded to hit rush hour traffic at the border crossing and then again in downtown Kigali. From start to finish, it took us 10 hours (9:15am to 7:15pm) to get to the airport, in comparison to the 5-6 hours quoted. We missed our flight by 30mins, which caused us to forfeit $700+ in previously booked flights, and then we had to purchase new tickets at $1,275. I am suspicious that our driver went and saw his wife and child as our lunch break also happened to be in the town where he lived. Once again, there was no apology or acknowledgement offered by management. Instead, management berated me over email for allegedly shorting them $15 in payment (which was their mistake). For context, the $15 “issue” was literally 1% of the added (and unnecessary) financial setback that Self Drive Uganda caused me. It was a mistake to stop for lunch, we were lied to, and the driver grossly underestimated how long the drive back could take at this time of day, knowing that we had a flight to catch.
I gave two stars because (1) the trip went well otherwise, (2) the vehicles were reliable, and (3) the driver was polite.
I deducted three stars because (1) no driver or vehicle there at pickup, (2) driver’s poor decision-making cost us $1300 in missed flight expenses plus new hotel expenses, and (3) a consistent unwillingness to provide an apology for company errors, that to me are both inexcusable.
AR
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Driver and van very poor quality, camp good tents but poor meals
The driver had little experience in bad roads, we got stucked many times, the van was old and not comfortable and worst of all had not enough heigh for passing holes with water in the roads of Masai Mara.
The camp has good tents but food is not enough.
Personnel of the camp very kind !
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Chaos - another name for Galloping Safaris
More than nine month in advance we booked a helicopter flight to Mount Kilimanjaro with Galloping Safaris (920 US-$ per person). The mail contact was easy at the beginnig! later on difficult. For example twice we were promised that the agency would create a simpler - which means less costly - mode of payment --- nothing happened. At the end no mail was answered and twelve hours before our schedule departure we did not know the location for the take-off. The meeting point initial mentioned (Moshi Airport) was changed ten hours before departures to a place on the outskirts of Arusha - without priori notice. If we had not inquired we would not have known the new place for take-off. Since the first place of our departure was supposed to be Moshi we booked a hotel room there and had to travel from Moshi to Arusha early in the morning and without breakfast. By the way: departures time changed from 10 am to 8 am.
Apart from that the payment of the full amount was due well in advance.
Because of all this trouble we would not recommend Galloping Safaris.