US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Truly incredible experience seeing primates in Uganda!
Our 4 day excursion with Big apes was nothing short of incredible. Seeing chimps and gorillas was truly a once in a lifetime experience. Peter met with us the night before we left to welcome us and our safari guide/driver, Ezra, was very informative and receptive to our wants during the tour. All of the lodges we stayed at were clean with great food offerings, which were included. Would not hesitate to recommend using Big Apes Africa!
EG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
If you aren't trying to customize, book MoAfrica. They will take care of everything almost perfectly
The actual tour guides were great (Senior Lambs and Life (maybe Lyfe)). They're professional and knowledgable about the animals and parks/routes.
Our only gripe was the booking process. Sure they made it easy to book, but customizing the trip was a bit difficult and not as clear as they could've made it. Communication around pricing of add-ons wasn't transparent. Actually, we had about 2-3 different, unrelated issues with communication (not just us, there was even another couple who was told a completely different pick up spot and thus we started our day half an hour later). Another example was that we were looking at booking a private vehicle. Things should be itemized (as in: 700 pp if shuttle, one way, 1500 pp if private, one way.) You shouldn't be advertising the price as 800 pp private one way and adding it to the price of the standard, especially since the standard 700 can be subtracted if we drive ourselves. It's misleading and confusing.
So... if you plan on taking the exact tour as is, it's a fine operator to choose. They're mostly reliable. If you're going to try to customize, I'd pay more and go to a slightly more luxury safari tour guide instead.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect!!! Choose this agency and you’ll never regret it!
Paul is a very reliable friend! He gave us a reasonable price (We've compared 4 agencies) and deliveried a perfect arrangement! Our safari guidance was Victor, he is a very professional guidance and a nice person. We got all BIG FIVE collected, and saw lion hunting, hyena and vulture fighting for food, lions mating.....and we took many wildlife pictures as we expected! That was a wonderful experience and exceeded expectations! I recommend this agency to all of you!!!! Friends in China, you have made the right choice. Paul who contacted us is very reliable and the guide is also very professional! Let's go!!
(automatic translation from Chinese)
BE
Fantastic 4 Day Safari.
First safari ever. 3 beautiful national parks in 4 days. Fantastic experience. Food, accomodation and guide were all top.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Helpful, responsive and prompt.
I just got back from Tanzania on a trip with Jokun Tours and Travel, and honestly, it was amazing. From the moment we booked, the customer service was on point. The staff was super friendly, knew their stuff, and always ready to help out with any questions.
The itinerary was spot on — we hit all the must-see spots but still had plenty of time to chill. Our guide was awesome, too, really knowledgeable and made sure everyone in the group felt involved and had a great time. Highly recommend!
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A very professional tour operator
Very well organized safari. Good communication. We had a great 4 day safari with mixed accommodation. We had a wonderfull time.
BE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great experience. Great guide. Great food.
Top safari. We did the mixed lodging package and it was a superb experience to have all the different lodgings from luxury lodge to camping in a tent. Fun guide David and great food. Very recommended.
BE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Disgraceful agency. Don't use them at any cost.
We booked with Image Travel Ltd the following package : 4-Day Luxury Lionhill Camp & Mara Serena Lodge Safari with 4X4WD LandCruiser Jeep for 2 persons costing 3,996 $.
This is a highly negative review for this agency which surprisingly has otherwise very favorable reviews.
1) First of all, the booking process was good, I got several quotes from multiple agencies from safaribookings website and compared them, did a lot of research using different reviews websites and finally choose Image Travel. Booking was made in July 2024 for a safari in September 2024. Paid initially a deposit then full payment using wire transfer. Up until then all good with smooth communication.
2) As we are approaching the start day of our safari, there was no communication from the agency. They didn't know our hotel in Nairobi, neither did they have my phone number, nor did we know the pick up time. So 2 days before the start day I email them in the morning letting them know my hotel and to confirm pick up time. No reply. I send a WhatsApp message in the evening. No reply. 1 day before start of trip, still nothing. I was in Nairobi already so call them around 9 am to ask. A man picked up and when I asked about pick up time he said 8 am, and I told him I sent email with our hotel name, he said ok I will reply to you. It's now 2 pm and no acknowledgement or reply to my email. Having wire transfered 4000 $ and just hours before the safari start, I decided to go check out their office in Nairobi CBD area. There were 2 girls, and I told them I come here to confirm the trip, she is ok, took her dairy and noted the hotel name. When queried how would she have known our hotel if I didn't come, the answer given was "most our guests come the day before start so we send them email 5/6 pm the day before to confirm the hotel and time"... ok but that's not a reason to not reply to email or WhatsApp message. Poor communication. Red flag was raised here.
3) Next day luckily the safari driver is on time to pick us. We go to lake nakuru, but the agency hasn't paid the entrance fee. So we wait at the front entrance waiting for them to pay. That seems normal since other safari vehicles also stopped waiting for payment. But they waited at most 15 min. We waited almost 2 hours... the driver had to make several calls to them to get it done, with excuses such as "she is going to the bank make payment "... meanwhile dozens of cars entered the park. Arrived at park entrance 12 pm and entered at 2 pm. Due to this we missed lunch, no big deal but still, and it started raining. So we skipped the hotel and directly went for the game drive. The game ended being much shorter than planned due to this delay.
They also changed the hotel to sopa lodge and booked double room when I clearly asked twin bedroom and they confirmed it. Luckily the hotel was good enough and they gave us twin room.
4) Next day, going to Masai Mara, the driver and us made a clear plan to press Image Travel office to pay the entrance fee to masai mara early to avoid the same issue as Lake nakuru. We left Lake nakuru at 7 am. We arrived at Masai Mara entrance at 1.30 pm. And Serena park entrance at 3.30 pm. The driver told us it should take 5/6 hours. It took 8h30... the driver was driving slowly, he even made the following remark "I am driving slowly to buy us time so they can make the payment of the park"... that was so, so frustrating, so I paid 4000 $ and flew all the way to Kenya just to enjoy a slow ride in a jeep going to Masai Mara ? Seriously ? According to the safari plan, we were to supposed to arrive at Masai mara for lunch... completely wrong.
Now ofcourse despite the driver several calls, the fees was not paid when we arrived at Masai mara entrance, but the driver got a "transit pass" to go to the Mara triangle entrance. Then the agency told the driver due to "payment system issue " we should pay the entrance fee, which is 800$ for 2 persons for 2 days by ourselves and they will refund that amount later. I got an email from them stating that also, "promising" to refund the amount once "the issue is solved". Now I am no fool, and I don't believe I would ever see that amount back, living in Europe dealing with a Kenyan travel agency on basis of "promise" in an email. I flat out refused and told them to sort it out. I paid 4000$ and I am not expected to fork out another 800 $ because of their problem (or atleast that's what they say). I got a number from the email to call, and I told them I paid a full package, they are member of the KATO (Kenya Association Of Tour Operators), have good review and rankings and this is completely unacceptable and unprofessional. I told them I don't have 800 $, so either they pay the fee or we go back to Nairobi and next morning I register my complaint with KATO, the tourism police and Tourism regulatory authority, in addition to negative reviews. She said ok give me 30 min to find an alternative to solve issue. Keep in mind that it's approaching 4 pm and we are wasting time dealing with this instead of a game drive... 5 min later, the driver found a solution : his boss (who is a contractor working for Image Travel) will pay and Image Travel will reimburse him later. Because of this we once again only a short game drive lasting less than 2 hours.
5) On day 4, going back to Nairobi. Upon checkout at Mara Serana Hotel in Masai Mara, we were informed Image Travel did not pay the hotel. They will not release us and let us leave until it is paid. That was at 7 am. The driver made several calls to get it sorted, without success. I managed to directly call Image Travel, and they repeated the same excuses "payment system issue", which doesn't mean anything. I strongly objected to him about the handling of this situation and threatened to report to KATO and the TRA. I also argued with the hotel that they should pursue the matter with Image Travel Ltd directly and not keep us "hostages" here because I paid everything to them. They refused to let us go. At this point with the risk of missing our flight I was about to pay myself the 1100$ hotel invoice, since it was nearly 9 am, but at the same time the person from Image Travel Ltd wrote an email to the hotel and they let us go. I have been told that the email was once again just a "promise" to pay. Due to this the driver had to rush to the exit gate of Masai Mara before 10 am to avoid having pay extra fee which led us to miss the exit game drive.
All the issues led us to miss most of the time which should have been devoted to the game drives, in addition to headache, frustration and anger. This is completely unacceptable from a accredited tour operator in Kenya. Nothing in the schedule of the plan they gave us was respected. The driver told us 3 other vehicles of Image Travel were facing the same issue that day and not being released. Furthermore he said in his opinion the person in charge at Image Travel most likely run out of money and he is not paying anyone and just "promising" to pay everyone by email. This is completely unacceptable after having spent over 4000 $ for a safari and projects a very negative image of Kenyan tourism. I have submitted a complaint to the KATO and the TRA with appropriate documentation. Additionally it seems this issues are arising very frequently at this company based on recent online reviews.
Please save yourself the trouble and don't choose this agency at any cost.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime with Ernest and Innocent
Safari Soles went above and beyond to help us plan our safari. It was our first time going to Tanzania and going on a safari so none of us knew what to expect. We were a group of 9, so naturally Safari Soles offered us a private excursion with two jeeps. And with any big groups, we were a hot mess. We made so many requests/revisions to the itinerary and Magreth (our organzier) at Safari Soles was so patient with us. The itinerary was super user friendly and easy to navigate.
We bonded with all of our guides. Everyone was super friendly, and hoping we made life long friends with some of them. Big shout out to Chief and Andrew for giving us a warm welcome to Arusha. And all hail Ernestie and Inno for the trip of our life, from Tarangire National Park to Northern Serengeti. It was a lot of driving, and they were such troopers. Ernest was able to spot any animal from miles away, even when I had trouble finding them with binoculars! Both guides had years of experience. We felt safe in the jeeps with them, never did we feel like we were in danger. We were so sad to leave at the end.
10/10 plan your trip with Safari Soles!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ernest and Innocent were such cool guides
As background info, a lot of people go as a couples trip but I went with 8 other friends as a big group and if you have a group of friends that you can travel with I recommend booking a private tour with Safari Soles, it's so much fun!
The first guides we met at the airport in Kilimanjaro: Chief and Andrew were so cool and funny for the one day tour around Arusha before we started safari it was a great start to our adventures.
And then we were off to Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti with our guides Ernest and Innocent who were not only knowledgeable on literally everything we had questions on, were great drivers as well and hilarious when we had a moment to really chat around mealtime. We never felt shy about asking to stop for a scenic photo or just a question on life. It was such a good time that I felt like our days flew by seeing all the animals and the endless plains.
Safari soles even helped us book a flight straight out of Serengeti to Zanzibar to finish off our adventure.
While I was not the person in my group to book this safari tour, I was very happy that we were able to tailor the tour for 8 people with all the places and animals we were aiming to see on our adventures with lodging that was within our budget.
Magreth our point of contact to book really hooked us up!
