IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Review about Damaraland by Anil Sunkara
May be the location we stayed was away from the actual action . so we hardly did anything there.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Horrible
We had been wanting to go to Rwanda to see the gorillas for a few years. We chose Rwanda over Uganda due to the conservation efforts of the country. A trip like this costs a lot of money so we had to really plan it out. We have traveled all over the world and have been to Africa many times including Tanzania, Egypt, South Africa, Kenya and Botswana. In March 2019, from online research my husband, Chirag Amin, contacted the company, Gorilla Trek Africa, working with their senior consultant Nelson. Chirag asked them to create a luxury package as we were travelling without our children after many years.
There were some things my husband wanted to do such as go to Congo while we were there. He threw out some ideas but wasn’t really guided one way or another to say whether some of those things are plausible. Eventually we had an itinerary. So comes July and we are ready to go, we confirmed multiple times that this was a luxury package as we were paying luxury package price. We packed everything on the list that was provided by the agency. We flew from Tampa to DC to Brussels to Kigali. Before we had even landed and started our trip we got an email from Nelson saying
We previously told you that the balance can only be paid in in cash in
>
> new USD bills or by card/ bank not later than a week to the start of
> the
> tour. It is very disappointing to hear that you want to pay by card at
>
> this late hour.
We weren’t sure why he was disappointed, I guess they want cash but we wanted to pay by card. It wasn’t even the cash/card issue it was the tone the email took as soon as he learned we were paying by card and we hadn’t even landed yet. I told my husband this does not sound good, so we managed to half the balance in cash and the other half by card not to make HIS disappointment worse.
Night 2, we got to our first hotel which wasn’t bad but were told by multiple people it is a 3 star even for Rwanda. We figured we will address it later, let’s see how things go. The food was to be included in the package so we went for lunch. The menu was extensive and looked pretty good. I asked for a salad, they didn’t have lettuce. Fine, I asked for a sandwich, they didn’t have cheese. Fine, how about some pizza? Again no cheese. That narrowed the choices to soup and meat and rice. This wasn’t an issue as it was one of our first meals. However, by meal 3 we had eaten the same thing 3 times. The shower was slimy but the bed was comfortable.
Our second day we went to go see chimpanzees before we were to leave for Goma/Congo. On our tour we met many people and told them about our plans and where we were staying in Goma. One of the gentle man was from Germany living in Kigali, a journalist that has traveled all over that area. Him and his companion as well as our driver advised us the hotel in Goma is maybe a 2 star. Our friend on the tour said you won’t be able to stay there, its barely $40 a night. Chirag contacted Nelson and expressed his concern, Nelson said he can change the hotel as there are other options but it will cost us 300$ USD to change it. First, a hotel that was 40$ a night was booked for a luxury package while another option was available and then we were charged $300 to change it!! Nelson’s email even said the hotel in Goma is just OK. We also expressed out concerns about the hotel we were currently staying at. In response, Nelson said our expectations and African reality were no matched. He further went on to say
Once you lower your expectations, you will have a great trip experience
just like what others always get
I see you are just being so picky and complicated and this will
compromise your trip experience.
We asked for a luxury package, paid for a luxury package to not only receive sub par accommodations but unprofessional, rude and unacceptable customer service. We were asked to LOWER our expectations. This made Chirag upset as believe me we paid a lot of money for this trip. He told Nelson that this was upsetting in return Nelson said
We are all human!
Just the way you get pissed off, i as well can get pissed off!
Let us not make an issue out of this
We need to cooperate if we are to have a good trip, otherwise threats
won't make any good for any of us
You either enjoy your trip or ruin it, the ball is entirely in your
hands
So my over all review, if you want to pay luxury prices, then receive sub par accommodations and even worse treatment, book with this agency. We encountered many tourists that were staying at nice hotels so it has nothing to do with the African reality. This agency hopes that you are a naïve traveler and won’t know any better so they can charge for a luxury package but then treat you like crap once they get your money. Why book a hotel that $40 a night 2 stars and they say oh there is a better option, it will cost you $300 to change it. Why was booked to begin with? Chirag never gave Nelson a ceiling for the price of the package so he charged A LOT but delivered nothing and then HE was disappointed when we didn’t’ bring cash. The email excerpts are just the tip of the iceberg. He never apologized and even stopped contacting us to fix anything. And if you say anything they will get pissed off and cut off contact. This is highly unprofessional, so forget about the money, book with this agency if you want to be treated badly.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Bad organization
The experience with this agency was really bad since the first time. The agency confirmed all and in the day before in afternoon change all (destinations and the group) when we had all bought... We had to find a solution paying more 400$ to had a private safari (the only form to went to destinations since first day confirmed). When we arrived they required the payment and we gave the credit card but they wanted in cash... We had to go in the bank, lost 3 hours and paid taxes and exchanges rates. When I asked the employee why she didn't told us about the payment, she answered:"you didn't asked"!!! The employee sent a picture of the tent with a bed and when we arrived we had to pick up the tent and the bed didn't exist. Was terrible... Don't buy anything here!!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Horrible customer service, do NOT book with this agency
Our safari was an absolute disaster. This agency failed to communicate with us the entire way, since our first pick up until we got dropped of. For the entire safari we were unsure of what the next step would be, who would pick us up, what time, etc. We spent more time waiting than actually doing activities. The organization of the entire experience was extremely disappointing and the customer service after our complaint was more of the same. Will not book with them again.
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I had to tell myself not to be mad and enjoy this honey moon private tour
I'm here to note the tour operator so I'd like to state several facts dealing with Back of Africa:
1. Allan asked me to pay the balance in cash but we don't have any USD, so he added 40 dollars (I can't remember how much excatly) bank fee in order to pay by card.
2. Three hours after departure we realized that it's not the direction to our first destination Amboseli so asked our driver. He told us we're actually going to Masai Mara.
3. I contacted Allan, he replied sorry for not telling us, and the program change is due to non availability at a lodge. Given that we were asked to pay the deposit 3 months ago "in order to secure the logistics", it's simply NOT acceptable to make the reservations at the last minute then realize that it's full. After carefully studying and made this tailored grogram together, imagine my furstration when Allan reversed our itinerary without informing us at all.
4. Since the itininary is reversed, I asked for a new full program. He said ok but I never recieved anything until the end of the trip.
5. On the initial program is included 3 hot meals per day, except for the full day safari in Masai Mara. Surprisingly we were given 3 times this non editable and completly non hygiene lunch box (imagine a toast sandwich with cheese and a greasy chicken leg after 5 hours under the sun). So we didn't have lunch and starved the whole day until I suffered from stomachache every evening. For the 3rd time I had to complain and fight for a real meal during our 7 hours drive from Naivasha to Ambosali.
(Allan told us later that full board hotel booking is only 5 dollars more expensive than half board, so it's more interesting for him to book with in-hotel lunch or lunch box. Again, since our program is changed, the road trips don't allow a in-hotel lunch. Since he never sent over the new program, we always needed to figure out by ourselves where we go the next day, and have no clue of lunch arrangement.)
6. On the last day back to Nairobi, Allan joined us for lunch, and asked us to express ourselves. He said sorry again, gave us loads of excuses that we as customers find it hard to accept. I asked on D1 some form of compensation which he refused, because he is too busy, and "miastake is human", and he "learned the lesson". This meeting is a pointless loss of time for our holiday.
7. I felt offended during this whole meeting. Allan was adressing only to my boyfriend and never looked at me, even when saying goodbye.
I would definately recommend Kenya and loved the breath taking scenaries and amazing animals.
Our driver and guide George is quiet and doesn't really smile, but has adequate knowlege and did his job.
These moments of frustration were not expected especially given the price we paid, we need to at least have the service we booked.
If I have any advice to give, do check every detail with him before you pay, and do not trust.
GR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Worst experience
I found them on google search and thought that the reviews were good. Proceeded on to book and pay because they seemed trustworthy. About three days later, I tried contacting them but no one was answering. I tried everything I could but still nothing. So, I decided to file a complaint with my bank and went with another agency. I would never recommend it to anyone. Either they plan who to con once in a while, or this is a scam. Don’t fall for it. Worst experience ever.
SE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Scammed.
Me and my wife set out on the three-day/two-night Masai Mara Tour Joining Safari with the promise of two half days and a full day of wildlife viewing in van catering to maximum 7 passengers but with supposedly only 5 passengers joining. The trip Nairobi to Masai Mara was supposed to take a maximim of 5 hours. Food and lodging was going to be basic but sufficient. That sounded somewhat tangible.
In practice what we received was two full days of travelling with 8 people in a van designed for 7 passengers. Day one and three consisted of 7-8 hours journey in each direction Nairobi to Masai Mara. In terms of wildlife viewing we had one somewhat full day (8 hours/6:45am to 3:45pm) and two very short days (45 mins + 90 mins). And in all honesty the food and lodging was tolerable at best.
We feel we have been subject to a scam, and every single tourist we met along the way had the same sad story to share.
Our word is to watch out... but then every operator seems to run the same type of scam, cartel-like with far too many middlemen getting their hands on the roughly USD 300 you are likely to part with for this Safari option.
In all fairness you get about 60 to 80 USD of value for this 3 day/2 night Safari. And that's generous.
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unprofessional
Dissapointed
Unprofessionalism and disappointment guaranteed.
My family and I experienced a nightmare with Watu Safaris managed by this man called Mr. Majenda. What was supposed to be a relaxing and memorable getaway with my two year old son and husband turned into a horrible cascade of unpredictable and disappointing events.
Before the trip:
Mr. Majenda and I were in good communication and he seemed quite courteous and civil. We arranged the trip for July 19th and 20th. We were to be picked up from Dar-es-salaam at 5:30 am and be driven to Mikumi to spend the day, sleep in the premises and continue our safari the next morning. Two days before the safari, I emailed Mr. Majenda to make sure if all plans were in order and he assured me like the professional I thought he was that all is well. He told me that my driver would contact me to make arrangements. I didn't hear from the driver so I contacted him the night before the trip. The driver had no idea about the trip. He told that he thought it was for the 29th and not the 19th. Mind you, Mr. Majenda had prepared my invoice with the correct dates and all emails had the dates of the safari as subject. So the driver then asked me to wait so he can clarify with his boss Mr. Majenda. They somehow managed to hire another driver from a different company right around midnight. I was notified by text about this new driver situation.
Day of the trip:
We woke up early to prepare and were ready by 5am. Time of pick up arrives and no show. So I call the new driver. He picks up the phone, surprise! I had just woken him up. He told me he was not briefed about the pick up time and that he was on his way. I honestly think this guy was innocent in all this.
So we get around 6:15am and head out. We arrive at Morogoro and meet Mr. Majenda at Watu Safaris offices to complete our payment. He says sorry without any explanation and proceeds to deduct the payment. We head to Mikumi. At this point, I am already very dissatisfied and honestly feeling let down. What else could go wrong?
At Mikumi park:
We arrive at the gate, present our IDs and ask for our booking for lodging that night. Guess what? None of that exists! After almost an hour of calls, no success as to where we were going to spend the night. Our entrance fees were supposed to be covered in our safari package but we ended up paying out of pocket to get into the park. At this point, I was expecting at least a call from Mr. Majenda but nothing. Two hours later, I decide to call him. I was very furious. He gave me a half type of apology and blamed it on his driver for mixing up the dates. I told him to own up for God's sake! He said that they had booked us at a hotel nearby to spend the night and that "it was more expensive than the lodges" that we were originally supposed to stay in. I was so disgusted. If I wasn't pregnant and also with a 2 year old, we would have driven back home the same day. We ended up staying at that hotel and completed the trip next morning.
We did not get a personal apology from Mr. Majenda, nor did he call us to make sure we were okay. He didn't care about us after getting his money. The only thing he did was pay for the hotel bill including all meals and offered to reimburse us our entrance fee. I understand that some things can go wrong when planning a trip but in our case, all things went wrong and for this reason and the way he handled things, I do not consider Mr. Majenda a professional.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Misleading and bait and switch
A group of people went to Kenya and Tanzania from June 24th through July 10th, 2019. The majority of time was spent in Kenya. We had used TripAdvisor African Safaris agent Seth Vincent to arrange for the Kenya portion of the trip. During the booking period, we received several itineraries outlining the accommodation and numbers of rooms we requested to accommodate our party. Although we had received confirming emails outlining where we would be staying and the number of rooms booked, on at least two occasions the number of rooms were shorted, forcing people to double up although people had paid additional money for separate rooms. We can only assume that Seth pocketed the difference himself. We had been promised a lovely place in Arusha, Tanzania at the Mount Meru Hotel. However, Seth had emailed our subcontracted drivers and had them book us into a very poor hotel in a rough area of Arusha. We called the hotel on our approved itinerary and they had no record of any reservation for us. Again, I suspect that Seth deliberately did a bait and switch that probably allowed him to pocket the difference while putting the 14 of us in a very poor hotel. This was the last night he was responsible for so we really had no recourse. We cannot prove that this was deliberate on his part but he would not return any calls at that point.
The bottom line is DO NOT use this person for your safari experience. Do go with a firm that has lengthy track record and positive reviews.
DE
Overpriced for poor value
Don't trust a word they're saying! Better yet, don't book with this deceiving company! They sold us an overpriced three day safari, told us we paid for food although we said we'd bring our own for less money and still we didn't get any food (which we unwillingly still payed for), payed more than any of the other tourists who went with us and felt utterly betrayed. Communication after the transaction was shit and we immediately felt the deceiving and untrustworthy atmosphere.
The safari itself was fine and the guide nice enough, but he barely told us anything about the park or the animals.
We had another safari with another company in a different park for way less money that was so much better it's unbelievable.
So yeah, don't book with them. (They also knew we were unhappy so they didn't even sent us a link to review them like they do with their satisfied customers.... strange right?)