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50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our tour operator made our Safari tour experience Spectacular and adventurous.
My Safari tour was AMAZING and magical. I experience riding through the Safari in jeeps and pop up Van's by trained drivers who spoke fluent English and they each had a passion to ensure we enjoyed our venture and received EVERYTHING we could only imagine from seeing it on TV but the service provided by Classic Journeys made our Safari Tour an unimaginable reality. Each tour guide was very friendly, kind, professional and knowledgeable about the animals, African culture and the surrounding areas we visited or drove through. The service provided by Classic Journeys was beyond impeccable and the lodges we stayed in the safari were 5 star. Our Tour and safari trip was Unbelievable and AWESOME...
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
This company misappropriates client funds
The itinerary looked good, with 3-4 star hotels on a 14 day safari in Kenya and Tanzania. The reality was a disaster.
1. The itinerary offered a 4WD. In Kenya, we were given a 2WD van (for 6 of us). Had 8 seats so only room for 2 to stand at a time. Van very uncomfortable and not suited AT ALL to Kenyan conditions. Masai Mara in particular has many 4WD roads only, including the road to the border. Because of the van, we were forced to spend 9 hours going around the park to the border instead of 3 hours through the park. Cost us a day as we didn't get through the border until 6 p.m. and couldn't then drive 5 hours to our next stop in Serengeti until next day.
2. Driver/guide in Kenya was a disgrace. His driving was downright terrifying, and his guiding non-existent. He didn't communicate with us and I didn't even know he spoke english until the end of the second day when there was an accommodation problem. My requests to Solaris to replace the driver and vehicle were ignored.
3. We only stayed in the hotels shown in our itinerary for 5 of the 13 nights. All others were a downgrade, once to a place with no water in showers. Looking on TA, the prices for the quoted hotels was about $300+ pn pp, the ones we stayed in as low as $120. Once in Tanzania, our guide there (fortunately we'd left Joe and his van in Kenya) tried his best to get us accommodated each night, and spent hours on the phone cajoling and fighting with the Solaris office staff. He was terrific and his company Cross to Africa to be recommended.
4. Game park fees, included in our itinerary, were paid in Kenya but not in Tanzania. We ended up more than US$2100 out of pocket as we had to pay our own way in. There have been repeated promises to repay the amounts, but of course nothing came of them.
5. I have reported this company to the Kenyan Tourism Regulatory Authority, and trust that they will soon be out of business. The best outcome would be to see the "Boss" and the directors charged with misappropriation of funds and theft. I live in hope! Sadly, when people ask about our East Africa experience, my response is that Uganda and Tanzania are fantastic, but tread warily in Kenya.
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nice one
Tanzania its so beautiful With our experience with them we have nothing but good things to say about this travel company .This was a bucket list trip for me and it exceeded all my expectations.
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65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Tarangire National Park by Joann H Petrina
This Park was very nice and I could have gone through it again. It seems easier to spot animals here
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65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Serengeti National Park by Joann H Petrina
Not as many animals as I had expected---but it was the dry season and many have left the area. We did see the BIG 5 but really had to look for them. Since it is a "Wonder of the World" I chose this park for animal viewing. I may return one day during HIGH Season to see the animals in mass. The Serengeti is huge and it was just a great feeling that I was there. We did see the sunrise and it was wonderful. Also the Giraffes and elephants came very close. However, I saw more elephants in Chobe National Park in Botswana.
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65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Ngorongoro Crater by Joann H Petrina
Not as many animals as I had hoped. I was extremely happy to be there as it is a "wonder of the World" and I would have liked to have stayed longer than we did. It is just amazing to actually see this place.
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65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I consider Kenya the premier safari destination.
We were in Kenya during the rainy season and after some torrential rains caused huge mud slides. The roads were definitely muddy and rutted and some were closed altogether, but this didn't affect our enjoyment at all. The parks were exceptional, the lodges and food were first class and we had an experienced guide and driver that was a pleasure to be with every day. One of the highlights of our tour was Amboseli. We saw huge herds of elephants and were treated to a spectacular view of Mt. Kilimanjaro on our last morning. Kenya has definitely grown and modernized since my last safari there 17 years ago, but it was still thrilling to revisit.
AR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Memorable experience on the Okavango Delta.
We booked a full day private tour through Safaribookings with Xaa Safaris.
I have to tell everything was just perfect.
We arrived late in Maun but we had sent them a previous email to ask for the tour as we only had the following day to go on the safari.
They had already prebooked us even though they had no chance to speak with us. They even came to see USA late that evening to explain us the activity.
They picked us up early next morning as scheduled and the whole day was exactly as they had described.
Lesego drove us to the villlage where we got on the boat with Geez our guide on the boat. We explored the delta with him and the experience was memorable!
Snacks and lunch provided were great.
Would definitely recommend this Safari and would do it again!
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65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
A little disappointing.
The weather was very nice. Wildlife not as abundant as I expected but then it was the dry season. MY accommodations were NOT what I paid to have---I paid for a mid-range tented lodge and ended up in a tent on the ground and shorted one day stay in the Serengeti. MY agent took the money I paid (in advance) and did not make any hotel arrangements, no one day hike on Kilimanjaro nor did he provide any arrangements for the 2 day stay in Kenya for Amboseli National Park or the Park fees in Tanzania National Parks (3). This is at least $1,000 loss and time wasted. I actually had to spend a day filing a police report on [email protected] Nagol. This site needs to be shut down to prevent this scum from hurting other travelers and ruining the safari business in Tanzania. Most of the people were extremely nice in trying to help sort all of this out for me and make sure I saw what I came to see. I was in a group of 6 but it was a little stressful as the guide/driver never knew what to do with me. Please DO NOT advertise for this site. He is a crook
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65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Mr.Tickner is an incredibly knowledgeable tour operator with an unparalleled dedication to wildlife.
After many family discussions, my wife and I settled on an African Safari to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. We also decided that the entire family of 12 ranging in age from 8 to 75 would be going on the once in a lifetime adventure. In order to sort through the overwhelming number of options, we used Safari Bookings and their reviews almost exclusively. After many emails and phone calls with potential tour operators with very high reviews, we settled on Paul Tickner. What a perfect choice! Paul tailored a safari that matched precisely with our expectations. We stayed at Kiba Point in Selous Game Preserve and Ikuku in Ruaha National Park, Tanzania. In both cases the facilities exactly matched our family of 12 and the staff , tours, guides, and facilities were all superb. Paul kept us incredibly well informed and answered our questions without hesitation during the planning process. We all have nothing but superlatives to describe Paul Tickner Safaris. It was an adventure of a lifetime we will not forget.