SG
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional scam artist, avoid Yoeni Japeth Mbonea at all costs. No stars!
My wife and I engaged Drive Tanzania for a 21 day safari covering Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. With the benefit of hindsight, we should have not gone ahead with this when Yoeni, the director of Drive Tanzania was either very hard to connect with or he would hang the phone up on you mid conversation, as what occurred in the lead up to us engaging Drive Tanzania. There was a lot of miscommunication due to poor communication by Drive Tanzania around flights and commitments. I thought it is just a bad phone connection but really, that has nothing to do with it. All of these tour operators have multiple phone numbers and whatsapp. Tourists do not get the number they use most for all their communications with locals and to do their business.
Regardless, we commenced our tour. Things continued to go badly. In Uganda, when we arrived, our tour guide was more than an hour late, which is quite scary late at night in a foreign country with taxi drivers yelling at you at airports. There is a minimal standard of care and for a safari of this price, it was not being met. Eventually our driver came. We found out he didn't know who Yoeni was as all of the Uganda tour was outsourced and not provided by Drive Tanzania.
That said, Uganda is amazing. Seeing mountain gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and getting so close to them is a life long memory. Further, the Maasai Mara in Kenya (our second country, guided by another outsourced tour guide) was also excellent. Seeing lions, cheetahs, leopards, elephants, hippos etc in the dry season was actually very worth while as we could get close to the animals as there are less tourists around.
Here is where the disaster with the fraudster Yoeni and Drive Tanzania really began. As we crossed into the border from Kenya to Tanzania our Kenyan tour guide told us he was unable to reach Yoeni and left us there, to drive back to Nairobi. I was able to contact Yoeni and he said the car had broken down and they were several hours away. We waited for them in a roadside hotel at the border as we had next to no money, afterall on safari all expenses are paid and in advance. Also, this is Africa… do you think they accept credit cards or know what an ATM is? The hours passed. We got worried and tried calling Yoeni...repeatedly… 110 times! He had turned his phone off. We got worried and started scrambling. Eventually we found out the name of our hotel in Tanzania in the Serengeti and when we called, we discovered there was no booking for us and we could not get into the Park.
Yoeni Japeth Mbonea and Drive Tanzania left us stranded and took $10,000s from us. We are still chasing him for an equitable refund for more than half of an unfulfilled trip. Be careful, he has done this before. He has many different tourism companies that have come and gone. He also has interests in mining companies and gem traders. His fees are also very expensive, particularly as he outsources everything, but really he makes money by scamming foreign tourists and making a couple of phone calls to other tourist providers. His company is actually really small and he uses the money he steals from others to support an affluent lifestyle in Norway. Avoid this person [remember his address in case he starts a new company!] for your own piece of mind. Use safaribookings.com to find another tour guide as there are 2000 more out there and you will save yourself from this horrible, potentially life threatening experience.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime!
We had a wonderful time. I have to mention that the services in South Africa (all places we went from Johannesburg to Kruger to Cape Town and beyond) are great. All staff, all people, everyone we came into contact with was so great, nice and helpful. Beyond that, South Africa is absolutely beautiful! This was a vacation of our lifetime and we are already thinking about our next visit. We will be back for sure.
We had a great stay and loved the food. The staff at Winchester Mansions and Kruger park was very helpful with all our questions and made our stay very enjoyable.
Also, the shark dive trip was very nicely organized, we really liked it. Everyone was so knowledgeable and we can tell that they love what they do. Thank you for booking us with Marine Dynamics!
We are going to be back very soon!
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Once-in-a-lifetime Safari - THE most knowledgeable guides in Africa!
Bariki is by far the most experienced and knowledgeable guide in Africa!
He is 100% reliable: timely communication, services tailored to your needs, guaranteed safety and exceptional quality/price ratio. With Feline Safaris I did a 4-day safari including: Terengire National Park, Serengeti and Ngorongoro, seeing the most unbelievable things of my life! You witness world's finest spectacle of nature & wildlife: the biggest migration of animals in the world (2,5 mln animals, 800km) and circle of life (those who are born, those who hunt or are hunted). Thanks to Feline safaris we could see the elegant predators in action, but also elephants going for a stroll and feel the scent of Serengeti. We slept in tents close to Ngorongoro crater edge... We gathered around bonfire, observed shooting stars, listened to wild animals roaming in the distance... One of the most beautiful nights of my life!
People I met were fun and friendly. Food was really good! Everything timely organised.
What makes the difference compared to other guides: Bariki seems to have a sixth sense, intuitively knowing where to find hidden gems and quietly tracking wildlife around us and approaching it in the right spots, at the right time. For instance, at 6 am we were the only car seeing a leopard hunting her breakfast - a young wildebeest (gnu).
With Feline Safaris you can be sure to experience an epic spectacle - once-in-a-lifetime experience! Go for Bariki and his team!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great overall experience!
We booked the 3 day 2 night safari at the Masai Mara. Communication beforehand was excellent and pickup from our hotel in Nairobi was great. The journey to and from the national park was excellent, our driver and guide James went above and beyond to cater to the needs of everyone in the group. The camp site had all the facilities we required and we were able to meet some great people along the way.
Would definitely recommend this safari for anyone looking to see the big five on a budget but looking for a great experience!
RU
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Don't worry! Everything will be fine!
Я выбрала эту компанию из многих, и не пожалела ни разу! Хорошая организация сафари! Отличные гиды/ водители! Уютные кемпинги. Все сотрудники компании делали все, чтобы нам не о чем было беспокоиться.Это была моя первая поездка в Кению. И я хочу вернуться снова! И за это - большое спасибо -Karibu Safaris In Kenya!
I chose this company out of many, and have not regretted never! Good organization Safari! Excellent guides/ drivers! Cozy campsites. All employees did everything to us there was nothing to worry about. It was my first trip to Kenya. And I want to go back again! And for that - thank you - Karibu Safaris In Kenya!
DE
Awesome Imfolozi Safari
Reviewed 4 weeks ago
Thank you very much for...
+ your kind help and support
+ your excellent organisation
+ a wonderful and unique experience
+ an outstanding and very well informed tour guide
+ numerous wild animals (elephants, giraffes, rhino, zebras, buffalos, ...)
Kind regards,
Jochen
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Thoroughly enjoyable and informative ... a must!
Unforgettable experience.”
Reviewed 1 January 2017
Our trip was booked for our family of eight visiting from England. Our guide was Sheldon and he was fantastic. His knowledge of the game park and its animals was second to none. He was patient, good humoured and nothing was too much trouble. We are looking forward to further trips with Tim Brown tours. All of our family agreed that it was the best trip they had ever been part of and the memories would be remembered forever.
Visited December 2016
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent weekend getaway to Murchison Falls
I booked a three day group tour to Murchison Falls and was extremely impressed with the overall quality of the trip. The driver was kind and attentive, the park stunningly beautiful, and the accommodation comfortable and relaxing. The tour was incredible value for money, and has been one of my favourite holidays in east Africa ever.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Rude and disinterested tour-guide - don't book with SafariBook Evolution
Myself and my husband have recently returned from a 3 day safari with SafariBook Evolution in Kenya through the Masai Mara to finish off our 4 months spent travelling in Africa. Having spent a lot of time looking on TripAdvisor prior to selecting our company we decided choose SafariBook Evolution due to their cheap prices and despite their occasional dubious reviews however unfortunately this was a bad decision! Our trip was extremely disappointing and we would advise spending a few more dollars and going with a more trust-worthy company.
Our guide was disinterested, extremely rude and spoke limited English. He didn’t talk to the group and spoke about us rudely to other tour company guides. He needed to be pushed to go into the park and was reluctant to do so, cutting our time inside the park short on all occasions.
With regards to the campsite; it was a tented site however was extremely basic; the tents had holes in them, the zips didn’t work, the mosquito nets were dirty and holed, there was limited hot water and no wi-fi despite this being promised.
Alongside this, and probably our most alarming concern was that our guide had a complete disregard of park rules. He frequently drove off the park tracks, towards animals often causing them to run away in fear much to our surprise. This is obviously wholly inappropriate, not only for the obvious harm it causes animals but also for the future conservation of the park and its tracks.
We have been in back and forth emails with the owner Steve however this has been a fruitless task. We would strongly advise spending a few more dollars and going with a company that is much more trust-worthy. Don’t book with Safaribook Evolution!
RS
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good organize and affordable Safari
I took 2 days 1 night Safari to Maasai Mara and it was good and according to my expectations. We could see lions, cheetah, elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, gazelles, wildebeest and other minor animals in the reservation. Good and pleasant experience.