Poor Value for Total Cost of Trip
I would reccomend staying clear of Go2Africa. The trips are overpriced and the customer service leaves alot to be desired. When they asked us for feedback after our trip we expressed our unhappiness and the customer service team wouldn't provide us with the link to post our review.
CO
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
They don’t return the money.
They canceled the safari that was scheduled with me for next September 17, and they still haven’t refunded my money. I do not recommend using their services.
IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
An absolutely horrible experience.
Hi, I had booked a tour with them in 2014 for a 26 day tour to Botswana. I had paid a sum of $30,700 to them. Unfortunately, I had visa issues and due to that the agent said he will adjust it next year and also the fact that he will apply the visa from his end. Next year, we waited and waited as we had sent all documents to him, but the visa never came in 2015 also. When I went to the embassy again in 2016 as so much of my life savings was stuck, I was shocked to know that he had never applied for my visa to begin with. I was informed by the immigration officer that he has clearly cheated me. I wrote a safari review and due to their intervention, he decided to adjust my holiday again next year. Finally my visa came in July 2016 and Calvin Machekano of Love Africa Safaris said that due to non availability of lodges, he will have to book new lodges and took an additional $8615 from us. We really didnt have a choice as $30700 was already given to him earlier which now brought the total amount to approx $40,000.
I am a photographer and had requested a landcruiser for myself. Anyway after arriving there, much to our shock, a 30 year old broken vehicle with no floor and holes and a ten inch platform to sit on and totally open from all sides was provided to us by his representative and guide, Steven Bond Mubi, which we were expected to do our surface transport to various parks (some of them 6-7 hours away) as well as safaris for the next 25 days. Upon concern, we were threatened by this guide that he will not go with us. But as a woman, to travel on highways in such a vehicle when we had paid for something else was unacceptable. Upon contacting Calvin of Love Africa Safaris he failed to do anything about it and insisted that we go in that vehicle with the same guide who was very temperamental and kept threatening us. We absolutely refused to go in such a vehicle with a guide, who according to local sources suffered from some mental problem and was thrown from South Africa four years back. He came with an accomplice called Prince the morning we were to leave for the KHWAI concession in this beaten down vehicle and both of them threatened us. We were clearly now scared for our lives as with two of these characters going on a highway was impossible. We contacted the agent who refused to take our calls anymore. The guide, Steven Bond Mubi thereby left us and our luggage on the roadside and left.
We were left with no reservation, no hotel and no transportation on the roadside in a strange country. After 6 and a half hours of waiting in the sun we finally got accommodation in Airport hotel, Maun, where we spent the next three days trying to book our return journey, shocked and disappointed. After having given this agent $40,000 we just didnt have any money to hire another agent to finish our holiday. While we waited for our tickets to be rescheduled, we met with the police, consumer affairs and Botswana embassy people, who on initial investigation found that not only had he cheated us but also pocketed our $30700 and the new amount of $8615 was all for fresh bookings. We had to let go of all ur money and the entire holiday. We had to spend an additional $1000 to change our tickets back home. We have lodged an official complaint and have a letter from the embassy of Botswana as evidence. All terms and condition, including safari vehicles pictures and what vehicle was given to us - I have all the evidence. A 400 page complaint has been sent to all concerned authorities. I just want to warn everyone that never to go with this agent or his guide. I have lost all my life savings and came back empty handed. Besides this $40,000 international tickets cost us an additional $5000 . We not only lost a lot of money but also the experience of a beautiful country. As pointed out by the police commissioner of Maun, Calvin Machekano of Love Africa Safaris along with his associates, Steven Bond Mubi & Prince did this deliberately and robbed us. We have filed an official complaint of fraud and cheating against them. Please note that we have all evidence and acceptance letter by the police and consumer affairs Botswana.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Don’t go please with them! SCAMMERS !
Please skip this agency!! SCAMMERS !
My worst experience. I booked 5 days Masai Mara with Amboseli, and when i arrive in Nairobi they pick me up then said that they don’t have that tour now ( day before they said that they have).. and they didn’t care about that mistake, I didn't even get an apology, so I was forced to agree to go to something I didn't book , different 5 days trip. When we finish that conversation i sat in the car to start that tour, on the way to safari, after 1 hour i got weird messages and calls on my kenyan number from local numbers and messages like “f*ck yourself, stupid” they called me next two days when i was on my safari trip, and i block them, and just people from this agency know my number! Because i bought my sim card on airport on same date, when i arrived in Kenya! I felt unsafe as a tourist, because you don’t know who to ask because the same Agency organize that to me! When we finish that tour after 5 days they were supposed to drive me back to my hotel/airport for free. When we arrive back to Nairobi the girl who told me that “i have included transport, because if i book 5,6,7 days safari i have included transport” and now when we arrived she told me “no its not included (with laughing)” i have screenshots of our chat if someone don’t believe me. So i was very angry and i went alone back to my hotel with some street taxi because i saw that this agency is playing with tourist. Also for example “Naivasha” its just transport to the place, you have to pay 35-50$ for boat tour or walking, without paying that you cannot enter. Aware that they made a big mistake at the beginning (because i paid expensive ticket to kenya and i didnt see Amboseli what i wanted) and instead of correcting it, in the end they turn out to be even bigger scammers until the end , and I didn’t get a single apology for all of that. I really like Kenya and it was my dream place to visit but this is very sad, if you want to enjoy in beautiful Kenya skip them and find a serious agency who respect their guests.
(Driver James was very nice and kind and i recommend him) but agency is horrible, they don’t deserve more tourists. I have a proof for all of that what i wrote. I booked with this “Bienvenido tours” and when i text the number from email they said “Purity” is name of agency, so they are maybe connected. Be careful.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Be aware of Tony Kopolondo, a professional liar and cheater.
After good reviews on Internet, I contacted Tony Kopolondo in July 2015 and booked the 15-day Kenya and Tanzania safari tour. I transferred 50% of the tour cost to his bank account in Tanzania on July 11, 2015. The original tour departure date was June 22, 2016.
I sent my flight details in May 2016, one month before the tour schedule date and asked Tony to send me the link for paying the balance money by credit card. He informed me that the tour was postponed to August 14, 2016 as other members of the tour postponed it. I reluctantly agreed to the new date after getting assurance from Tony that the tour would be 100% guaranteed, I paid the balance money on July 19, 2016 by credit card.
On August 10, 2016 I sent an email to Tony asking about the tour arrangements including who would be coming to the airport to pick me up. Immediately, he responded saying that the tour was cancelled as one of the members of the other team passed away. I was very disappointed and lost faith in Tony and asked him to refund the money.
Tony Kopolondo has not given the refund even after 7 weeks of the trip cancellation. After repeated follow up, Tony informed me that the money was electronically transferred to my account on September 16, 2016. Even after repeated requests for a copy of the bank transfer receipt, Tony did not provide it and stopped responding to my emails. Tony lied to me about the money transfer without actually transferring it. He cheated me and I lost US$5000. I want everyone to know the true colour of Tony. Please don’t do the same mistake and book any safari tour with Kopolondo Expeditions.
Baburao, Perth, Australia – October 11, 2016
HK
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incompetent and deceitful staff ruined our honeymoon
We decided to book our 9-day luxury safari with It Started in Africa (ISIA) after several emails back and forth. Although the price ($10,100 USD for two people) was more expensive than other companies we had spoken to, we booked with ISIA, as we were impressed by the responsiveness of sales staff. We did have some concerns about the quality of their vehicles (after reading some reviews on TripAdvisor), but Joao Oliveira (who we later found out is the co-owner), Luis, Iris and Joanna assured us that we would be provided with one of their newer vehicles and a great guide. We were really looking forward to the trip of a lifetime however it turned out be a nightmare.
When we arrived in Kilimanjaro airport, there was no one to pick us up so we had to make several international calls to find out what had happened. They told us that the driver had broken down on route (this turned out to be a lie) and that they were sending a replacement car to pick us up. We waited for 30 minutes outside the airport until the driver finally arrived to pick us up but as soon as we were on the road to Arusha, the police stopped the car for speeding. We then had to wait outside the police station inside the car in blazing temperatures and call ISIA internationally for them to send another driver to pick us up.
We finally arrived at our hotel and I sent an email to Joao to tell him what had happened. He replied that there had been a mix-up with our dates and that the office manager, Bernard Kang’oma would meet us in person to apologise and confirm our itinerary before we left for our Safari. We met with someone the next day who spent 30 minutes claiming to be Bernard Kang’oma despite the fact that I had seen his picture on the company website and knew he was not. When I asked him why he had lied to us, he told us that Bernard Kang’oma had asked him to impersonate him. We wrote to Joao again expressing how unhappy we were with the level of service. He replied that we could cancel the trip but would have to forfeit 50% (over $5000!). Of course he knew that we had no other choice but to continue with the Safari. We could not book anything at such short notice so reluctantly we told him that we would continue with the trip. What followed was a litany of deceit and incompetence:
We started our Safari with two days in Tarangire and had an issue at the gate with the permit, which meant we had to return to the gate the next day early morning to get an extension for the next day.
The vehicle was old and the fridge cooler was broken so we could not drink cold water. It also had not been cleaned before the trip and stank of rotten food.
The Nikon binoculars they say they provide all clients is in fact a marketing lie. We had one Russian branded binoculars, which were glued together and belonged to the driver and another pair, which were broken.
We were kept waiting for 30 minutes outside one of our lodges, while they sorted out our booking. When I spoke to the manager that evening he said that he had a booking for us the following day (not the correct day). Another lodge told us they weren't expecting us for lunch despite this being on the itinerary.
While heading to South Serengetti, we were kept waiting 3.5 hours at the gate as there was another problem with the permit. Another mess up by the staff in Arusha meant we missed out on most of the afternoon game drive in the ndutu region.
Unfortunately, our balloon ride was cancelled due to poor weather, however we were told that we could book for the next day. Immediately upon returning to the camp, I asked the driver to confirm our booking for the next day. We repeatedly asked him to do this throughout the day but it was only when we absolutely insisted that he did so, but by then it was too late as it was already fully booked. We were the only people to miss out on the balloon ride as everyone else had confirmed early and had not left it so late.
When we arrived at our camp in Ngorongoro, we were informed that the camp didn't have a booking for the crater walk that we had paid for. The weather was poor so the walk may not have taken place but again ISIA staff messed up the booking.
Bernard Kang’oma informed us, that we could collect the refund for the cancelled balloon ride and crater walk at the office in Arusha. Our driver/guide spoke to him several times before we left Ngorongoro and Kang’oma confirmed that he would be waiting in the office with the full refund of $1200. When we arrived at the office, Kangoma wasn't there. We tried to reach him several times and when he eventually answered his phone, he said that he had given the money to someone called Daniel who was waiting at Kilimanjaro airport. We called Daniel and he told us that he didn't actually have the money! We then tried to reach Kang’oma but he would just hang up. We had no option but to go to the police station to report this. They called him and told him to come to the police station but we gave up waiting for him and were told by the police to give them our contact details and they would follow up.
We tried to catch our flight to Zanzibar but missed it because of this incident and had to stay at the airport hotel and catch a flight the next day, losing our hotel booking in Stone town in the process.
When we asked Joao for a refund of the $1200 for the cancelled balloon ride and crater walk, he at first tried to make us sign a letter saying that we would not write negative reviews on any site. He told us that this was his bank’s policy (a lie) but we refused to do this and he reluctantly agreed to pay us the refund by PayPal. We are still waiting to agree compensation but Joao and ISIA staff are not replying to our emails.
ISIA ruined our honeymoon and we would absolutely not recommend booking a Safari with this company!!! There were several issues everyday which we would spend most of of the day resolving. Terrible organisation and service by ISIA especially considering the price we paid. There are plenty of other good safari companies, so we would suggest using any of them.
PL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Please do not make a mistake of booking your safari with Flash
We recently came back from a safari with Flash. We couldn’t have been more disappointed. Not only their cars are broken, they don’t pay their drivers and they also tried denying obvious problems we experienced during our trip which we have video proof of.
The Car:
4wd drive didn’t work. This caused us and other people to be put in a life-threatening situations when for example the car was sliding down a very steep hill, unable to go up without being pushed up by another car after our driver, Jerry, with help of drivers from other companies tried fixing it with a RUBBER BAND FROM THE ROOF-LOCKING MECHANISM. This wasn’t the only case when someone had to push us. The gears didn’t really work either. Going uphill, on an asphalt road with a speed limit of 80 km/h, their car could reach a maximum speed of 20 km/h, causing massive traffic jams behind us. Going down, we of course were able to reach 80 km/h easily. If that wasn’t enough, the car’s shock absorber broke down on the second day. We know that accidents happen, but during our trip it was mostly Flash cars that we saw broken on the side of the road.
The Unpaid Driver:
On the last day after finishing the safari, our driver dropped us off at our hotel and we were getting ready for a well-deserved sleep. Half an hour later we were shocked to see him knocking at our doors in tears. It turned out that HE DID NOT GET PAID A SINGLE DOLLAR from Flash. That’s disgusting! As he explained, all his money comes from tips. We omitted them, because Flash assured us that everything is already paid for and we were really irritated with our safari on the last day because of continuous problems with the car and Flash’s inability to deliver a quality service.
The Lies:
“Nowadays at most part of our roads there is a speed limit of 50 km per hours and you must have seen all the police control posts. In the parks there is also a maximum speed limit and I want our guides to hold to this as we can lose our permit.” - that’s clearly not what we were talking about. We have video proof of car struggling at 20 km/h on a road with 80 km/h speed limit.
“I asked Jerry about the starting problems, he told me that this did happen once and then some people had to push the car to get it started, there were no other incidents” - It happened numerous times, with the most dangerous incident on a steep hill where another car had to push us. Not only we have a video proof of that, at that time in our car, there were also other Flash clients whose car broke down completely earlier that day.
“Jerry also told us that he never used a rubber to fix or repair the 4WD, you must have taken that wrong.” - again, on that day we were accompanied by other people who have also seen it. Jerry clearly told us that he has a problem with activating 4WD and this rubber would hopefully temporarily solve the issue.
We asked: “Please clarify for me how much was driver paid by your company. We want to understand how big is the tipping part of his total salary. Please confirm that our driver was paid by the company (what was the amount?) and that our tips were only the form of extra bonus for him.”
To which they replied that “Jerry get paid a good salary”.
Well clearly if your driver comes up to our room after safari in tears something is wrong.
“On the way to the crater you indeed met with another car from Flash Safaris, it is very common that guides do help each other. Jerry stopped and you talked with the other clients. Then you asked Jerry to help and to take the clients with you. I really appreciate your gesture in this.” - Just shows how “good with words” Edward, the company’s co-owner tried to be in his emails. Of course, we accepted the other people on board (for the whole day) because your car broke down completely and they were stuck in full sun for few hours with small kids in the middle of nowhere and you didn’t manage to secure a replacement car!
SUMMARY:
4WD not working, problems with gears above 2, car not starting, broken shock-absorber, dishonest management unable to even admit the obvious problems, driver working for 0$ for 5 days in extreme conditions.
If you don’t want this to happen to you, just choose another company.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lack of Integrity and Unethical Business
We were supposed to travel to South Africa in the summer of 2020 with Kanyezi Africa Safari. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, our trip was canceled. We contacted Chris and Michael Kanyezi to get a refund. Kanyezi said that they had given our total payment (approximately $24,000) to subcontractors that book flights, lodge reservations, safaris, etc. and could not get the money back. Side note, we also had a cruise, VRBO, and concerts planned in 2020, all of which were reimbursed to us with no problem. Airline flights hadn't been booked when they canceled, and they wouldn't even reimburse us for the flight. Fast forward to a few weeks ago when Kanyezi starts sending emails to rebook. Kanyezi said we had 2 weeks to rebook without being charged an increase of $2600 per person. Payments needed to be wired by December 29, 2020. Note: all payments had to be wired. I spoke with the owners and agreed to pay approximately $3900 per person to rebook. This money was to cover the flights from small airlines within Africa that went bankrupt. When a new contract was emailed to me, they had us paying $4628 per person PLUS $980 per person to cover taxes and fees. At this point, I was not willing to dump another $11,216 into this trip. That is what I would have to pay on top of the $23,990 I already paid, and I still had to buy insurance?!? I find it unethical and a lack of integrity to not reimburse us anything. I'm very disappointed with this company. A trip of a lifetime has turned into a $23,990 LOSS. I've saved for years for this trip. It's just incomprehensible.
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.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Horrible
I strongly recommend that you do not book with these people
They stole my money.
I booked a 3-day safari with them and, on the day of departure (Monday, 18 Aug), they changed my booking from a lodge to a campsite after I had already paid the full $890 USD. They told me it would be “better, don’t worry.” It was NOT better.
Then, on Wednesday, 20 Aug, when I was supposed to return to Nairobi, I received a text at 2 a.m. saying: “Hello, our bank did not clear the money for your stay. Can you please pay the camp, and we promise to pay you back when you return to Nairobi.”
I had no choice but to pay because the camp locked the gates, and my driver refused to give me my luggage until I handed over $410 USD (which was already part of the $890 I had paid on Monday). They repeatedly told me, “Don’t worry, we will pay you back.”
On the drive back to Nairobi, they ignored both my calls and the driver’s calls. I strongly believe the driver was in on it as well. Later, I received a random text saying they would bring my money at 6:30 p.m. and to “be patient.” 6:30 came and went — no money, no response.
This company i believe has scammed me. Please don’t book with them. They trapped me in a situation where if I hadn’t had the $410, I would have been stuck at the camp. Now they are dodging my calls and messages.