US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful wildlife viewing; logistics could use some work.
I took a 6-day tour of Maasai Mara, Lake Nakuru, and Amboseli. Leading up to the tour, Allan's communication was excellent, and he answered all of my questions, sometimes within minutes. The two guides I had were very adequate, especially Obama, who was exceptionally knowledgeable and pleasant. The wildlife viewing went beyond my expectations, which made the safari highly worthwhile. When we arrived at the Maasai Mara camp, there was a problem with my accommodation reservation, so Allan helpfully arranged for me to stay at another camp. The vans we traveled in were functional for a budget tour. However, on the way back from Amboseli to Nairobi, we had to stop twice for flat tyres, and at one point I had to wait for an hour alone in the van beside the highway while my guide went to purchase a new tyre. It ended up taking nearly 12 hours to get back to my lodging in Nairobi! However, Obama handled the adversity well, and it was not nearly as unpleasant an experience as it might have been. Allan was very apologetic about the mishaps. In sum, the time in the game parks was wonderful, but if you book with Back of Africa Adventure, you should probably be prepared for an "adventure."
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great value for money but poor organisation and communication
First of al we both had a great time in Zambia and its an amazing country with lovely friendly people and amazing wildlife and stunning landscapes. We organised a 18 day trip with Den of Den's Safaris. He was great at replying to all our queries prior to booking the trip but once we had paid everything communication totally dried up. We had a lot of questions just before we flew to Zambia and despite emailing on several occasions there was no reply from him. At one point we thought the company no longer existed and our money was down the drain!! Luckily my boyfriend was out in Zambia beforehand on a private visit and he was finally able to contact him by telephone. It was very inconvenient for us not being able to find out the name of the lodge we would be using while staying in Lusaka as we wished to leave part of our luggage there. However, many times during the trip neither our local guide / driver knew where we were going to be staying!! Nor did one guide know whether he was flying with us to Livingstone or not as his ticket was booked 10 min. before flight departure!! In fact Den really believes in doing things at the last minute and if you book him you must realise that he has very competitive prices based on the fact that lodges / campsites, etc. are booked totally at the last minute. We travelled in November which is the rainy season and we were incredibly lucky with the weather until we went to the Zambezi River National Park. The road to our lodge was susceptible to flooding and thus when it rained hard part of the road washed away. Den being a safari operator should have known to have that component of the trip at the beginning of November when the weather is more likely to be dry than at the end when the rains come. Unfortunately, we had to leave our lodge a day earlier as otherwise we would have been stranded there. Unfortunately, Den's staff didn't really know what to do and all decisions have to come from Den who as you have probably realised is quite difficult to get hold off All in all everything worked out for us and we had a really great trip, however, it was much more stressful than expected due to the lack of communication and organisation from the operator. On a more positive note it was an amazing trip and ended on a really high note with a houseboat trip on Lake Kariba.
IE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
9 day trip - 5 days in Kenya, 4 in Tanzania
We travelled from Ireland in December 2017.
We would be keen to stress that this is a review of the booking company - African Adventure Safari, not of the safari itself.
The safari was, for the most part, brilliant. It would be hard to travel to the Masai Mara and Serengeti and not be impressed.
It appeared to us (and several others we met) that essentially, for the budget trips you paid a tour company who booked your place on a safari trip. Safari guides/drivers seemed to receive their assigned tourists each trip or each day. So, whilst the drivers (who seemed to work for several various companies) were very good, we couldn't credit this to the tour companies as there seemed to be little relationship between the two.
So, onto reviewing the booking company;
It was arranged and confirmed that they would collect us from the airport in Nairobi around 7pm. Upon arrival, there was no sign of anyone. We waited and eventually opted to use the mobile phone of a taxi driver. We rang Mike, who we had been dealing with us over email. He advised us that he was parking the car and would be with us in five minutes. After ten minutes, the random taxi driver came over and told us that Mike had called back and had asked us to wait by the road. Another twenty minutes passed, with the taxi driver waving to us every so often to indicate that it would be another five minutes.
Nairobi has a reputation and we were growing increasingly uneasy.
Eventually the taxi driver came back with the phone and handed it to me. It was Mike advising us that his driver had gotten stuck in traffic (odd, given that Mike said he was parking the car) and told us the taxi driver would take us. Given that I had just been handed the phone, I made sure to make him confirm a few of our details before we hung up. We were very clear with the taxi driver that we wouldn't be paying him for the journey as the transfer was already paid for. He wasn't very happy about this and made another call to make sure he would get paid.
The taxi driver asked us to wait while he got his car. Two cars pulled up (neither particularly looked like a taxi), he sent the first car away and the driver of the second one got out and our "taxi driver" got in. The route we took (presumably to avoid traffic) went through some very rough areas, with several fires burning by the roadside, through the outskirts of the city. We have travelled a lot (including countries like Venezuela, Colombia and Indonesia) but this was the most uneasy we have ever felt whilst travelling. The combination of being unsure about the taxi driver and the route we had taken had made us feel very apprehensive. This wasn't the start to our trip we had hoped for. As it was our honeymoon, we had booked through a tour company in order to avoid these specific issues.
After 40 minutes we pulled up at our hotel. Mike was there to meet us, with one of the safari guides. He wasn't very apologetic, but seemed friendly enough and gave us his mobile number to contact him through Whatsapp. We had booked the hotel through Mike and he asked for cash to pay for the room. We handed over the cash and it was only when we went up to our room and was able to check my emails that I realised that it was double the price we were expecting to pay. We checked the price on booking.com (which was also cheaper than the price we had been quoted). We texted Mike and he told us that the price he had quoted was per night, so was double what we were expecting and double the cost on booking.com. We were unhappy but there was little we could do.
After our trip to the Masai Mara and Hells Gate, which were both brilliant, we were taken back to Nairobi for a transfer to Arusha (Tanzania). We missed our bus, but that wasn't a problem because we just caught another one. We were met in Arusha by a taxi driver and taken to our hotel, which all went well.
The next morning we were starting a trip to Tarangire, the Serengeti and Ngorongoro. We met the 'boss' and who asked us what our itinerary was (he didn't seem to know what we had planned). He asked about water, we told him it was included in our trip, he asked about our transfer to the airport at the end of our trip, we told him that was also included. We found out later that the 'boss' is the boss of all of the drivers/guides in Arusha, so manages all of the trips that leave from there.
There was clearly very little coordination between the tour companies in Kenya and Tanzania.
The first night of our trip we stayed in a really nice lodge, but one of the other groups (all of the vehicles will stop to eat and sleep in the same places, so you will see a lot of each other) had to stay somewhere else because there had been a mix up and the lodge was overbooked. The next morning, everyone was moved to different vehicles because there had been a mix up with the bookings. This wasn't really a problem for us, but did take a while to be sorted out and a couple of groups had to wait longer than us because people from Arusha were joining them.
Once on the trip, again it was amazing and the driver/guide in Tanzania (Estome) was brilliant. Estome had a couple of different books on the animals and answered every single question we had. He stopped when we wanted to take photos, spotted more animals and birds than you could imagine, and was a really nice guy. Overall we enjoyed the experience in Tanzania more than Kenya, although we saw more animals in Kenya.
Some people from the other groups had problems with their itineraries not being followed and accommodation not being what was expected (this seemed to be people who has asked for an additional stopover or to not be in a tent or a shared tent). When they were booking, they were told it was ok, but once they were on the trip, they were sent along with the rest of us. A vegetarian in our group had to remind them a few times. We hadn't made any special requests, so we didn't have any of these issues.
In Arusha, we had been booked in to the Cloud View Hotel for our last night. Our diver had asked us where we were staying and had been speaking to the 'boss' through the day. When we arrived at the hotel there was no booking for us. Apparently the 'boss' hadn't received the information or money from Mike so no booking was made (this hadn't been mentioned until we were at the hotel's check in desk though). We were taken back to Arusha Tourist Inn and stayed there for the night (this hotel seems to owned by the 'boss' so a booking wasn't needed).
We text Mike about this straight away, but didn't get a response until the following afternoon, by which time we were in Zanzibar. Again, there was no apology and Mike's response was that they are looking for a new partner in Tanzania.
Overall, the trip was amazing and the guides, particularly in Tanzania, were brilliant. The issues we had were with the organisation and, with the exception of the pick up from the airport, were annoying but had no lasting effect on us.
Whichever company you book with, our advice would be to reconfirm everything before you travel (dietary requirements, transfers etc), take printed copies of your itinerary, be prepared to stand your ground on what is already paid for and included as part of your trip, and unless you are booking a bespoke trip, stick to the basic itineraries because people who had special requests didn't seem to get them. And have a great trip.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
this tour operator take's care of your wishes and makes it a time to remember.
The communication is good together whit the service. The tour is organist en well taken care off. So you have time for relaxing and beautiful places.
DK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good, but could be better
First of all, I enjoyed the tour a lot and I had so much fun with the other people attending the tour. I got to see the different animals and got some good stories to tell when I go back home.
However, I have a feeling that the tour could be much better because:
- Pick-up the first day arrived more than 1 hour late and I didn't get any notice. I called their office, but they weren't helpful at all.
- The engagement of the staff seemed to vary a lot. Some were very engaging and were able to tell about the animals and plants, while others didn't really seem to care too much and just drove/walked us around to earn their money.
- Most of the staff at the Tresmina lodge didn't seem happy. There was a weird atmosphere at the lodge and there seemed to be some tension among the staff.
- The atmosphere at Marc's Tree House was more happy, but the staff didn't seem to care too much for their customers. I got electric shock in the shower the last morning (probably due to a short circuit). I told the staff and they didn't apologize or anything. I just got the answer "Ok, we will take a look at it".
- The quality of the food could be improved a lot without much effort.
Just to summarize: I had a lot of fun and got to see all the animals even though they we had to drive for quite a while to find them. It was a great experience, but I believe that it could be so much better if the staff where better trained and more engaging.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good
Would like to thank Betty at the booking office. Our Driver Philip was one of a kind conversant with the Nairobi National Park, friendly and knows most of the animals characteristics as id working with the Park. Pick up w as on point. Thanks Philip and Betty. Thanks Bonfire adventures
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
4-day safari was wonderful, 6-day safari not so much
Foot Slopes was wonderful about communication right from when I first submitted a request for a quote. They were very responsive and answered all of my questions fully. The first four days of the tour were wonderful--I was with a great group of people, and our guide Freddy was amazing and passionate about showing us Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorogoro Crater, and all the places in between. He was personable, knowledgeable, and seemed to really enjoy what he was doing. After the fourth day, the group I had been with finished their safari and I continued on for two more days to Lake Manyara and to hike in Kilimanjaro National Park. I was matched up with two different groups and communication between the tour guides and Foot Slopes seemed to be lacking. On the fifth day, we waited for the guide to arrive for many hours, and when we finally got started, the car broke down, the guide reeked of alcohol, and it took over an hour to fix the situation. The new guide was not friendly, barely commented on the animals and natural scenery, and rushed us through the park. On the final day of the tour, I was matched up with another group and we hiked in Kilimanjaro National Park. The hike was beautiful, but a lot more difficult than it had been marketed. I hadn't realized that I'd need hiking apparel and wasn't prepared for the terrain, so the hike wasn't as enjoyable as it could have been. If you're thinking about taking Foot Slopes four-day safari, you'll probably have a great experience as it seems like this is what the majority of travelers choose. However, if you're taking a longer safari, the experience might be more hit or miss.
ES
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Queen Elizabeth National Park by Albert Maspons Sala
Maybe was the season, i don't know, but we couldn't see the tree lions. It's very difficult. Also you can see hipos and elephant. Not giraffe here
SE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
rather average compared to other safaris we did in the greater Krüger area
The flights and accommodation were arranged according to our bookings. Unfortunately, we could not do the promised last morning game drive, but dit a rather disappointing Panorama tour ( short stop the waterfall, not the Potholes ...) on our way to the airport instead. The other game drives were rather 'a hunt for the Sabi leopard' whilst kind of sometimes missing the overall safari experience .
BR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A good experience. But would not do it again.
The service was very good. The hotels were great and the guide had enough knowledge about the nature and the animals of the parks, despite of been too serious. But I expected more. I thought it was going inside an savage reserve but it was a park, with demarked paths. And we saw many animals but not too many species. We didn't see leopards and Cheetahs, for example, neither any hunting. Wouldn't do it again.