US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Don't book with Travelust. Very bad experience with this company & it's owner. Read others' reviews.
Absolutely do not make the mistake of booking with Travelust. Not only has our group had significant issues with this travel company and it's owner James Kateeba but so have many others before us. We waited to initiate our social media review of this company, hoping that the owner James Kateeba would do the right thing and refund us the $6700 he stole from us. But we have now waited for 2 months and have received excuse after excuse for why our money has not been refunded. We will also be reviewing Travelust on multiple other travel sites so that other unsuspecting travelers are not taken advantage of as we were. You can read many other peoples' negative reviews of this company in addition to ours. Here is what happened to us in Feb 2016:
James Kateeba and his travel company, Travelust, almost ruined our entire trip to Africa because he did not secure our gorilla trekking permits nor our golden monkey permits. We payed him 6 months in advance and when we arrived in Uganda and Rwanda to trek with the mountain gorillas, he had stolen our money and never booked the permits. Only because one of the people in my travel group had close connections with the tourism board in Uganda were we able to trek. We had to pay the money a second time and wait for hours of phone calls and special accommodation so that we could trek. Had she not known the right people, Travelust would have been responsible for completely ruining our entire trip since the whole reason we traveled to Uganda and Rwanda was to trek with mountain gorillas. We waited to post on social media, giving James the owner of Travelust a chance to refund the $6700 he owes to our group. But after months of excuses and delays and continued fraud, we are now speaking up. We only wish we had read other similar posts before we booked with him. But by the time we saw the other negative posts on line about this company, we had already paid him in full. I hope no one uses this travel company after reading my review. We even filed police reports in both Uganda and Rwanda to try to help keep this horrible experience from happening to others.
US
Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Travelust are thieves!!
Worst tour operator ever! Don't use them under any circumstances. They never purchased our gorilla permits, so after traveling across the world, we were almost unable to trek in either Uganda or Rwanda - luckily we were able to but we had to spend even more money to re-buy the permits. Travelust gave us a vehicle with a broken seat, missing seat belts, a window that wouldn't open, and no air conditioning. We even had to fork over $300 just to get out of the national park since their money card wouldn't work. They never returned our calls or emails, just left us hanging and we had to involve the Ugandan police. Our group had to lay out $7,000 over and above what we had already paid!!! James stole our money and won't pay us back. He's done this before to other people!! Don't get taken like we were!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Lovely Family and Great Experience
Chris and Nicky are welcoming, thoughtful, and hard-working. The truck was clean and in great condition with all the amenities described by others. Chris is very skilled at driving the large truck. The drive to the park (on the highway) was at times very bumpy. But inside the park where the speed was slower, the truck was very comfortable and perfect for looking for wildlife. When we started our safari, Chris and Nicky had just finished another one the night before. In light of how tired they must have been, they surprised us with their preparation, sense of humor, and sustained enthusiasm for the bush. Nicky somehow brought a full-sized chocolate cake into the wild to make the birthday trip extra memorable. She also thoughtfully recommended a great book for the kids from one of the gift stores inside the park. There was a misunderstanding about the itinerary but it was resolved with no issues at all. We felt well taken care of throughout the trip. :)
IL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Safari trip in Tanzania !
It was our first trip to Tanzania, and what a great trip it was!!
A 9 days Safari trip, which revealed the power of nature in Africa: Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro, Ndutu, Serengeti and Arusha N. Park.
We travelled in a group of photographers with “Easy Travel and tours Ltd” and their slogan “your Tanzanian friend” was our reality all day long.
The vehicles were clean and well equipped every day: Cold water and even Wifi…
What made the trip so special was our guide, Herman John Kiriama. Every morning, early, he was waiting for us smiling. His knowledge in wildlife and experience driving through the reserves and national parks were amazing!! While driving, all our questions were answered, with lots of patience, regarding the animals, plants, science, Politics and many more.
Herman can find animals hiding in the tall grass, far away, and by making the exact sounds of each animal he caught its attention. He was always trying to find the best angle for observing and taking pictures and we came back with lots of amazing photos.
Herman never got off the road and kept both us and the animals safe. He kept on saying: “this is nature and we should accept it”. We recommend Herman and all the other guides of “Easy Travel”, which made the trip so great.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic Support for South African trip and safari
We cannot say enough good things about the support Ute Sonnenberg provided to us for our trip to South Africa, including our safari. Ute understood even better than we did what our needs would be and exceeded our expectations every step of the way. Ute's responsiveness was nearly immediate and always helpful. We had many questions, and Ute patiently walked us through each decision point in our process. The safari she selected for us (& Beyond Kirkman's Kamp) was truly outstanding and customized for our family, as Ute secured us a private vehicle, since we were a family of five. It was truly the trip of a lifetime, and Ute was a wonderful partner the entire time. We are grateful to Ute for all her assistance and leadership, and would recommend Roho Ya Chui to anyone!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Simply awesome! I got value for my money.
Their service was excellent and they delivered on their promise.
IT
Experience level: first safari
Pleasant surprise
The safari was amazing...one of the good surprise was Mr. Felix took us for a tea at this amazing lodge with an awesome view of the Ngongoro crater - he even paid for the tea!
Nice treat from his wife too when she gave us personally sewn clothes for me, hubby and 2 kids!
EG
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very helpful when early rains meant we needed to change our itinerary.
Africa Odyssey contacted us shortly before our trip to say that heavy rains meant that we should change out itinerary. They were very helpful at sorting out alternative accommodation, refunding the difference and advising us on new options.
Our Safari camps in Selous were both excellent (they were very different but as per expectations ) and the staff at both locations, especially the guides, were great. As we were at the end of the season the camps were very quiet and actually that was a bonus as we were able to have the safari facilities all to ourselves. We were a bit nervous about the rain forecast but although it rained on quite a few days the duration was short and it added to the atmosphere, had a lovely cooling effect and we enjoyed the sound of rain on our tents.
I would use African Odyssey again and definitely recommend them.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
whole family experience
Thanx to Chris and truck Norris for a great family camping and exploring adventure our 6 and 7 year old have the best memories of their lives including camping under the stars from geoff and retha
I have a video on Facebook of the fun we had in Krueger with chris
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
once in a life time experience
its recommendable, this is an experience that have never had before as much as i have used more than ten tour operators and visited more than five different countries.
Orange adventures did make us feel like family and at home far away from home.
Kudos to the orange adventures team and keep it up.