PL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
not reliable
Overall, we do not recommend this company due to the dishonesty of the owner.
The opinion is based on experiences during an 8-day safari including Parks in Botswana and Victoria Falls.
Cons: Why do we rate the Owner of Lucky as dishonest? We had to buy our own entrance tickets to Victoria Falls, which he confirmed were included in the safari fees. Furthermore, even though he promised to refund these tickets, we never received our money back. An additional minus were the cars we drove - they were not properly checked and prepared, so one of the two vehicles broke down halfway through the safari, and Laky ineptly repaired them after two days.
Pros: It should be noted that the service team itself is great and we highly recommend them. A very good and committed guide, he tracked down every animal and always got very close to it. He was very nice and took care of us at every step. We would also like to thank the chef and assistant for the super tasty food and good organization of the camp, it was delicious, clean and very nice.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Not suitable for a couple's getaway
My fiancé and I booked a 6-day Kruger safari with Wild Planet Safari and we were so excited! Unfortunately, we were disappointed and ultimately, I do not recommend this company.
I will say that the safari guide was super knowledgeable and was able to answer all of our questions regarding wildlife.
I think the biggest problem we had is that we went as a couple, and it was not specified that all three meals would be eaten with the guide and his assistant. We were looking for a more intimate experience at dinnertime under the stars with a bottle of wine.
In general, we also had problems with the included food; the “friendly coffee gatherings” – as to quote the day-by-day itinerary– in the early mornings, for instance, consisted of instant coffee served in tin cups. (All coffee drinkers will agree that instant coffee is terrible). I had pictured sharing a hot thermos filled with freshly brewed coffee. There were coffee shops at the camp sites, so this could’ve easily been arranged.
Some of our food and drink requests (which were approved prior to the safari) were not met; and there were no crackling fires and bonfire glows at nighttime, as to quote the safari description. The owner (who was very defensive when I emailed her afterwards) told me that because of a cold front (which only started at the end of our safari), it got very windy and they could not risk lighting bond fires. She also said our opinions were molded by the cold weather when we had packed long layers, gloves, jackets, etc. just to be on the safe side.
Whoever wrote the safari description is a fantastic writer because we didn’t even think about asking questions re: coffee and fires (etc). I really fell for the beautiful, idealized descriptions of the itinerary.
There were a couple of other little things, such as a missing bottle of wine, some terribly overcooked steaks (I find that mind boggling, because the cook asked us how we wanted it prepared and we said “rare” and “medium”, yet everything steak came out identical); and I still don’t know what happened to a dinner salad that supposedly went bad. I eat TONS of fruit and veggies, so yes, it was THAT important to me.
They do get 5 stars for providing us with great wine in the evening though :).
So if your heart is set on visiting Kruger, I strongly urge you to choose another company.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good but problem with payment and price
We booked in 2019 with them for a safari in Tanzania and everything was perfect. This time, it was for a safari in Kenya. The safari was perfect too, but we deal the price severals months before the departure and 2 weeks before the safari, they said that we will need to pay more money. They said it was because of troubles with the municipal council and the payment of taxes. They were supposed to return the extra money we paid, but since now we lost 1400$. I don't recommend Kiliholidays since you will not be sure the price you will pay at the end.