US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I advise you do not a safari with Brian or Dahlia Tours especially for Wheelchair Travel
We planned an extended family vacation in July 2024 with an US travel agent who connected us with Brian & Dahlia Tours. Our needs were specific as my father is in a wheelchair and we were a group of 9 with ages from 80 to 11. We spent over 1.5 years planning and paying for this trip of a lifetime. Unfortunately, Brian/Dahlia failed to make hotel payments, reservations for excursions, arrange disabled friendly travel and generally lied to us about the status of our trip. We confirmed all plans with him and our US travel agent frequently prior to departure for East Africa. Upon arriving, we were met with unpaid hotel reservations, unbooked excursions, limited English speaking guides, very old vehicles in Tanzania, hotel bookings that were not per our itinerary and not disability friendly, unpaid game park fees and the list goes on. It was a stressful and dangerous trip due to his poor planning and lies about his poor planning.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Still waiting a refund for money paid out due to park fees not being paid and a cancelled flight
I've held off from writing this review as I'd hoped that the owner would do the right thing and refund us the money that he owes us but unforuantley after 3 weeks despite promises we have not recieved anything. It's a long list of issues below but basically, we paid out for the park fees that should already have been paid as part of the holiday. We also have not recieved a refund for a flight that did not happen. I have found other reviews around Septemebr/October time saying the same thing. Around $2,000 owed.
We booked our holiday and safari using JT Safaris as we had used him 20 years ago and since then our parents had also booked tours through him. All those times, everything was fine. This holiday was a special treat for us and not something that we can afford normally so we really wanted it to go smoothly and hoped by using the same company it would.
Looking back, the communication was poor and I had to chase for the confirmations of bookings etc but I convinced myself that was OK. I wish I hadn't.
The holiday started OK with a lovely hotel but the next morning we found out that the flight to the Mara had been cancelled. No reason given and we had to drive. OK these things can happen and we were assured that we would recieve a refund the flight.
We then got to the lodge but it wasn't the one we'd booked. The driver assured us this was an upgrade so that was good right? Yes, it was lovely but it wasn't what we'd booked. I'd purposely booked tented accommodation as we wanted our daugther to experience 'glamping' in the wild.
Then on the second day of safari, the driver told us we had a problem. The money for the park entrance fee hadn't been given to him and because it was a holiday the money couldn't be transferred. He had managed to get us through the gate so far as he knew people but he couldn't guarentee that for the next day. We were really upset and didn't know what to do, we couldn't come all this way and miss out because of a mistake with money transfer. Again looking back we should have pushed back harder but stupidly we agreed to pay the fee. The guide was adamant that JT Safaris would honour the payment, do not worry, we were told. Again it was stressful and not something that we wanted on our minds. £1500 on top of the holiday isn't something that we can easily pay out.
After the safari, we flew to the coast. Again paperwork was missing and we only got it just before our flight, again stressful.
We then arrived at our beach hotel. It looked lovely but then we were taken to the basic rooms at the back of the complex. During the booking of the holiday, I'd been told that I needed to pay early to guarentee a beach view which I'd done as we wanted the better room.
We managed to get the room changed but the hotel was adament that the original room was the one booked and that we couldn't have a sea view as they were booked early. I got no clear answer as to whether a booking error, whether the seaview room had never been booked or if the hotel made a mistake.
We went to the offices at Diani and being far too nice for our own good, we believed the apologies and confirmations that the money would be transfered for the flights and the park fees. We contacted JT Safaris several times for updates and each time there was an excuse or they had to go to the bank in person etc etc. We have since tried multiple times to ask for a refund but again keep being told, it is on its way or the bank has said it will be with us. Still nothing.
Don't get caught out the same way.
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Bad Experience
Attention!!!!!!! We have been victim of a scam we booked a safari for 7 days ,days before our trip, they just write they went to bankruptcy ,we write several times and still non response they just disappear, they ruined our vacation and we lost our money.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kipok adventure exploited us
Kipok Adventures/Amani has exploited me together with 12 other clients, book with Kipok Adventures at your own risk!
They exploit, the matter is with the police and the ministry of tourism Tanzania, we're hoping that justice will be served and we get our refund!!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We had a terrible experience with this African safari company and felt misled. We do not recommend their service.
Unprofessional and misleading experience – we cannot recommend this company.
We won a bid for a safari trip through a school gala event organized by "Charity Booster," with Run Wild African Safaris serving as the vendor. Unfortunately, this has turned out to be the worst travel experience of our lives.
From the start, it was clear that this is not a legitimate operation. Communication has been horrendous, with phone calls going unanswered and emails often receiving responses weeks or even months later. The level of dishonesty is staggering—they lie, they lie, they lie!
Before our trip, we were asked to pay unexpected fees $9000 upfront, but we never received a proper itinerary or any detailed information. As a family of four with two children, we were left completely in the dark about what to expect. No pictures, names of hotels, or camping details were shared before our departure. What upset me the most was the unauthorized changes made to our trip.
1. Changed Itinerary: The itinerary provided was vastly different from what was promised. We were misled with the offer of a “free upgrade” and ended up spending four nights in a remote area described as a semi-desert. Despite explicitly requesting to stay in a Botswana safari camp, we were relocated to an obscure location in Zimbabwe that is not even an authentic African safari destination—it’s a mining zone.
2. Misrepresentation of Accommodations: We were told via phone that we would be staying in the “most luxurious” camp available, which could accommodate up to 13 people. They even encouraged us to bring more family members to increase their profits. Shockingly, no photos or information regarding the camp name, food, or accommodations were ever sent to us. It was only through a friend who participated in the bidding process that I learned there would be no electricity, Wi-Fi, or air conditioning at the camp. In reality, we were placed in a tiny, rough tent, far from the luxurious experience that had been promised.
3. Delayed Itinerary Release: To further complicate matters, they withheld our itinerary until just three days before the trip, despite our persistent requests for ten months. They appeared to have intentionally kept us in the dark, knowing that we would be forced to accept their terms with no ability to cancel.
4. Excessive Additional Charges: We were informed of an added fee of $3,500 for “private cross-country vehicle transfers, mandatory taxes/levies, tribal community conservation fees, and wildlife conservation fees.” However, since we will only be staying in Zimbabwe for four nights due to the last-minute changes, the private cross-country transfers are nonsensical and feel like a blatant rip-off.
In summary, our experience with Run Wild African Safaris has been incredibly disappointing and frustrating. We were misled every step of the way, and I strongly advise others to think twice before engaging with this company.
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
$10.000 DOWN THE DRAIN
Scammed by Kipok! Made us pay a massive amount online for the national parks, cancelled our booking and used our money for other bookings. Nothing arranged in Tanzania. No hotel, no car, no guide,nothing. Kenya was done via subcontractor which we paid for again as Kipok did not pay them. Stay away from this company!!!
US
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
He went bankrucpt and has filed for liquidation Lost $4060
Had booked masai Mara safari from sept. 12 thru sept 20
But on August 26 I broke my hip bone and had to be hospitalized and could not travel. My niece informed William of Madukha tours of the above accident and he agreed to give 75% of the tour money as refund
It has been two months of writing to him but still no reply ,just promises
Finally two weeks ago he informed me that he has gone in liquidation!
So in reality I have lost my money
Madukha is still operating. His website is working and he is making a fool of lots of people
Be careful otherwise you will loose your money.
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unreliable
I went on a 10 day Safari with this company last July, unfortunately we did not like it.
Before booking they promise
Before departure they promise you whatever you want, but once there you don't get it. We asked to have a jeep instead of a “minibus”, we even paid money on top but we did not get it. It was told we will receive binoculars, so we did not bring ours and even those were not available. For the last we asked for a guide expert in birds since of the group is an experienced researcher in forestal ecology, as you can imagine the guide was not an expert in birds. So we felt like children, promised a lot but it was all a bunch of lies.
Other issues, the plan was changed without even informing us. We were supposed to spend 2 days in a park, but the company changed the plan and neither gave us an alternative, so we spent a day basically doing nothing.
As cherry on top, because of some departures issues, we arrived 2 days late. We kindly asked for a “discount” for the activities not done, and were told that was not possible cause everything was already booked, only later we discovered that the tickets of the parks are paid once only at the entry so our tickets were booked. When we pointed that out, it has been told to us that we will be reimbursed, and as you can get from this review, it has been more than a year I'm still waiting to be contacted.
FR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Program not respected and very rude guide
Unfortunately we did not have Abu as a guide but Ruben.
This guide was not attentive at all, did not explain much to us, was speedy all the time and did not respect the program despite our multiple attempts to communicate with him.
Very disappointed.
He was so rude that no one wanted to tip him at the end...
(automatic translation from French)
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I recommend you don’t book with Simian Safaris
From our experience, Simian Safaris is not Safe!
We had the worst experience with a safari to Amboseli with this company. They made us first wait for half a day in a gas station waiting for the van.
They also promised a tour that, since the beginning, the driver said it was never planned, even though we paid more more for that specific tour. When we asked for a compensation or a refund, they stopped answering our calls. They even didn’t want to pay the driver for our way back to Nairobi (which was part of the deal and was paid) and THEY LEFT US ABANDONED IN THE NATIONAL PARK with no alternative to come back to the city. After making a lot of pressure from our side, the driver and the lodge, they ended up giving a solution, but our experience was obviously ruined.