US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The tour guy was nice but demanded extra pay.
I booked the tour through TripAdvisor, securing it for the listed price of $85 for the 6:30 tour. However, the organizer contacted me via WhatsApp on the evening of the tour, stating he would pick me up at 6:15. Upon arrival, he proceeded to pick up other participants from a different hotel before reaching the park gate. To my surprise, he then requested an additional $45, catching me off guard. Reluctantly, I agreed to pay in cash upon our return to my hotel, complying with the unexpected demand.
To further add to the frustration, we were left waiting for approximately 40 minutes at the park gate, with no communication about the delay. Eventually, the tour commenced. My concern lies in the discrepancy between the advertised price paid online and the unanticipated extra charge in person. This unexpected financial request and lack of transparency about delays were disappointing aspects of an otherwise anticipated experience.
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Promised More Than Delivered
It is my opinion that this tour operator has been adversely impacted by Covid and has had some challenges since. The staff was very cordial and well informed and made our Safari experience special however many aspects of the trip were not as represented or not delivered.
TH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unprofessional and thoughtless safari operator.
For anyone thinking about using African Chitah for their Tanzanian dream Safari I would think twice. Below are some of the highlights, or I should say "lowlights" from our recent safari in Tanzania.
1) When we arrived at Kilimanjaro Airport there was no one there to meet us. After a half day of flying, to emerge from the airport with luggage in hand and no one there to meet us was most disconcerting. The driver did finally arrive 20 minutes later, but this was 20 minutes of un-necessary anxiety. The driver apologized with the excuse that there was "traffic." While that may have been true, there were literally hundreds of other tour operators at the airport holding placards with their guest's names. Why did these hundreds of other operators manage to arrive on time but not our driver?
2) On the first day or our tour, the driver arrived at our hotel very early. He asked us to finish our breakfast quickly as there were three other groups to pick up. When we arrived at the first pickup the driver asked us to sit in the car while he retrieved the guests. After 20 minutes no one returned. I found the driver waiting in the lobby and asked him what was going on. He told me that these other guests were still eating breakfast. I explained to him that this was not a private tour and we were sitting in a hot car waiting while someone else was casually eating their breakfast. He told us he would go and get the other guests and I returned to the car. Another 10 minutes passed and still no one had returned. I returned to the lobby and found the driver still sitting in the lobby. I then insisted that he come with me and get the other guests which he finally did. If I hadn't been so insistent, who knows how long I would have been sitting in the hot car while the other members of the group tour casually enjoyed breakfast and coffee. And he didn't even apologize for this at all.
3) Twice we were given hotels of noticeably lower quality than what we were promised on our itinerary. If we had been equivalent quality hotels it would not have been an issue. However, when we complained to the company about this they utterly dismissed our complaints. They did not offer to change the hotel to one of similar quality nor did they offer us a refund. While it may not have been the operator's intention, the outcome left us with the feeling that we had been hoodwinked in a "bait and switch" scheme.
4) The vehicle appeared to be noticeably older than those of other companies. We spent 20 minutes having to repair the door as it would not open properly.
Given the above I would normally give "1" star. I have generously given "2" stars due to the quality of our driver Steven. He was knowledgeable and helpful and went above and beyond to make sure that all the guests had an enjoyable safari experience. And perhaps most importantly, he was a skillful driver which cannot be discounted given the challenging and punishing terrain and roads.
US
Our experience with Ruben was disorganized
Ruben is young and well intentioned but promises more than he can deliver. We missed our lunch and the Masai village and had limited time in the Game Reserve due to delays. A couple of jeeps in our group got back after our ship was supposed to have sailed but luckily the ship was delayed and they made it.
PT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Tour operator with unreliable equipment and trust issues
Having booked a family safari trip, we were provided with a malfunctioning vehicle. Indeed, the first thing we did after being picked up at the hotel in Arusha was to go to the mechanic to fix the gear....a full morning lost...shameful and not professional at all to be greeted with a non-conforming car...
Afterwards, when accessing Manyara Park, we were informed that the entrance was blocked due to severe rain. This is understandable. What is not acceptable is that Rupia kept the USD300 of the ticket entrance and, until today, did not return the money....shameful and again not professional...
I definitely not recommend Rupia and, in particular, found that Matt did not honour his word.
Bad omens for a tourism business...
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Review about Amboseli National Park by Herman
Two cheetahs were spotted and more than 100 cars surrounded them. They were not even able to chase the springboks they spotted because cars blocked their way. This is very sad.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great Communication and a Tour with Hours of Delay
Reuban the company rep or owner, has great and fast communication. He promises an awesome tour endlessly but on two days of tours we did, there was hours of delays and most promised sites could not be seen. Port of Zanzibar, Tanzania: hours of delays, no turtles, no snorkeling, no monkeys as promised; the only site was the rock restaurant and 2+ hours were spent there needlessly. Port of Mombasa, Kenya to Tsavo Park: spent over 2.5 hours at the gate, not allowed inside the park, watching many other vans of private tours and MSC Cruises tours go in. Due to the delay, no lunch and no Masai Village. We were over 80 people in 14 vans - all bitterly disappointed! I cannot recommend this company.
IE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Poor experience
We thougt it was a good price for a safari but showed to be a really bad experience. Do not recommend.
CA
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Better speak to your manager at the camp , she was not very happy to serve us , the food no good
We have nothing to say about our guide PITA , he was excellent , he try hard to find animals in the safari to show us, he explain everything , I recommandent him , his the best. But about the camp , the ladies there were not very at there place to received tourists, always said , wait a minute…no smile, they laughed together, they said that the power is on at 6 to 10 , but it was not that. And the food , so bad for the price Jocky Tours charge us. We have the same night meal , 2 times, the beef was too hard in our mouth, you have to review your meals and the staff at the camp. We were 2 couples and my friends had a frog in his bathroom and ants in his mattress…
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
First impression good, then dissapointing
The first contact was quite good! We booked the trip in advance and had some few conversations via WhatsApp where all questions got answered.
The owner of the company picked us up from airport and told us that he proudly founded this company some month ago. We are also quite young and thought it is a good choice to support young companies.
What we booked and were aware about:
A shared safari for 6 days with lodges/ hotels and which Nationalparks we will visit
What we didn't know:
That all people who were sitting in the same car have booked different packages which caused the following negative facts:
1. Picking up people for 2 hours in the morning & dropping off people at the end of the day because every couple or single traveller was sleeping in another accommodation. This is not what you want when you do safari and pay for daily entrance fees in the national parks!
2. All people in the car have booked different trips (one day we visited a massai village because of two other people in our car who have booked just 1/2 day safari and afternoon massai village) The driver informed us about the afternoon plans at lunch the day itself. So there was no option to say "no" due to the fact that we were all sitting in one car. I liked the experience of the massai village and we had fun. But it is not the best experience when you don't have a choice! We paid originally for one day in the crater!
At the end of the trip the tour operator offered us to drop us off at the airport. We suggested a pick up time which was to early in his opinion so he picked us up 45 min later. The driver drove really slow and we needed to stop due to problems with the car. At the end we run into the airport and had no time left and has confirmed again how bad this company is organized!
We were really disappointed regarding communication and organization of Mousebird Safari. Its not about having the best cars or best food. Its about informing the customer in the best way so expectations are met.
One last sentence regarding the driver: Barton was excellent driving and explaining the wild life. I would recommend a trip with him (he is a freelancer) but not the safari company.
I hope this feedback helps the company to learn and improve!