35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Bonfire Adventures support scammers
Visit Masai Mara, but NOT with Bonfire Adventures.
DRIVER/GUIDE TOOK THE TICKET MONEY FOR HIMSELF.
I ordered 3 days safari in the private car during my few days stay in Kenya with pickup from Nairobi. On the 1st day driver/guide stopped the car at a certain distance before the park entry gate and informed me that the entry fee can only be paid in cash. He mentioned that card terminal is broken and Bonfire should inform me about it. When I proposed we can go together and buy tickets he said someone should stay with the car. When he was back, I asked for the ticket and… surprise another failure, ticked machine is broken and that I will get the ticked on the exit two days later. When I messaged bonfire office asking if this is normal, I only get the info that they will check this and that was the end of communication. Two days later at exit I asked to stop at the gate to ‘take some photos’. I asked at the counter about card payment and the clerk told me ‘it’s working all the time, every day’. When I confronted back the driver he said that clerk is lying and he promised me the ticked when we will arrive back to my hotel. At the end he was trying to give me a ticked with someone else’s name on it and with the date from previous month. Clear scam were driver keeps entry fee for himself and no ticked is issued.
3 DAY RIDE IS ACTUALLY ONE DAY RIDE. POOR CAR CONDITION
Itinerary is more or less like this. First and last day is ¬6h drive from and to Nairobi. Rest of the time should be the game ride.
What I get in reality was 2h ride on day 1 and full day ride on day 2. Day 3 was just rush ride to the gate without even opening the roof. I can say only day 2 was game drive however the driver didn’t even know how to use 4x4 (other guides were trying to explain this to him) and therefore we lost some time rolling in the mud and taking d-tours. Car also had several issues, engine was going out frequently, wipers were not working, driver had to stop and use bottled water to clean window, overall problem with electric, no radio and antena. On top of that Day 3 was real failure, driver proposed we will first take breakfast in the lodge and then do the game ride. What really happen after breakfast we rushed to the exit without even opening the roof, it took 25 min maximum. There was no game ride on that day. On the way to Nairobi, driver almost killed a pedestrian because he was overtaking other cars using roadside!
BONFIRE OFFICE COVERING THE SCAM
After my return I escalated all above concerns to the bonfire office, only after several emails I got response that they will reimburse half of the entry ticket price, less than 5% of total price. Till today after 4 months I didn’t get any refund, all I was getting for the first month were excuses that I have to have local bank account or that driver can bring cash to the hotel (they know I’m a tourist and not leaving in KE). When I told bonfire they can reimburse the same way as I paid, this is credit card, I got well known response, reimbursement to cred card is broken :D:D:D
Apparently scam with no issuing entry ticket is common, however bonfire supporting this and trying to cover this up is way below any standard. I have all pictures of fake tickets or email exchange with excuses.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Highly Recommend!
Hamisi and his team are incredible!! I have travelled with a lot of tour companies around the world, and this company was by far the best, professional, most hospitable company I’ve ever worked with. Affordable and amazing service.
Our flights got cancelled and it affected our original itinerary with Colours of Africa, and Hamisi and his team were quick to help us reschedule our experience and help us sort our new flights out. Very responsive and quick with replies, and honestly just such genuine people!
We loved our tours and safari, they were so personalized and helped us make the most of our experience there. It was lovely to build relationship with them as well as such kind people. We were able to completely customize our experience to the safaris and experiences we wanted! We did a 2 day tour, safari to Ngorongoro Crater, and Chemka Hot Spring, Materuni Waterfall, Coffee Tour.
I can only say positive things about this company! I recommend it to anyone thinking about which company to use, you won’t regret booking through Colours of Africa. This is the company you want to work with! Thank you for the memories!
ES
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Absolutely recommended
An unforgettable safari. Martin and Fede, true professionals, attentive to any need. Fede a magnificent driver, polite and always pleasant. We did a photographic safari and we will thank Fede for his dedication and his willingness to do everything we ask him to do. An absolutely recommendable company. Five stars
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Absolutely trustworthy
We had a 12 day tour of Uganda with Bamboo Ecotours. The company adapted to our wishes, answered all our questions before we started and managed to give us an unforgettable experience.
Godfrey was our tour guide and we were very happy with him. He is from Uganda and gave us a lot of information about his home country, the animals, people etc. The tour was very professionally organised and we felt very well looked after! Thank you very much!
SK
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Experienced tour operator, excellent communication skills and reliability.
We went to visit mountain gorillas in Rwanda. We also chose the operator according to the references found. His approach to preparing the trip was excellent. We got a quick answer to all the questions. He was able to advise us on choosing accommodation. The agreed price corresponded to what we actually experienced. We also appreciate our guide and driver Edmond.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Highly Recommended
This was a trip of a lifetime, starting with great communication from Hilary to arrange & excellent access to the parks with a wide variety of animals seen at close range in both Serengeti and Ngorongoro. Frederick, our guide, was very knowledgeable and professional and the hot food cooked up by our chef, Chaz was superb
Highly recommended
FR
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good and easy access for the booking. Hilary was very reactive and he answered fastly
We planned a trip of 5 days with : lake manyara/Serengeti/Ngorongoro/tarangire.
Frederic (our guide) and his cheffe was perfect ! During the trip, he gave to us a lot of information about the environnement : how animals leaves together, information about trees, explanation about the nature …. We learned a loooot and we really appreciate this point !
For the food, Chez the cheffe (sry about the writting
IT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Top notch services
Our driver Moses was great. Linsel at the office responded appropriately to our mails. We were also lucky to see the leopard twice during our safari. The wildlife was impressive. The Jambo Mara accommodation and personnel was very nice. Top notch!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unforgettable experience!
We had such a great time on Safari and also the planning procedure beforehand went smoothly. We had a customised trip and the customer service was really excellent, making sure that all our wishes were fulfilled and they replied so quickly!
The trip itself was wonderful, the lodges and camps simply amazing. Our driver was great, he knew so much and his orientation around the different parks was excellent.
I really recommend this company, also to people who have no experience with travelling in Africa. We felt safe and taken care of throughout the entire period.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A real taste of nature
Very wonderful and memorable experience at Ruaha N.P good communication via WhatsApp and email , early bookings done ,affordable prices for food , accommodation and transport , experienced tour guides had their job well done ...it all worked out as expected ..Good job Mansoor
