NZ
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Untrue and dishonest to secure our budged joining safari booking
In Aug 2023 my wife and I signed with African Paradise Safaris (APS) to join a 6-day budget safari of Masai Mara, Nakuru and Amboseli National Parks. We loved the parks, saw plenty of animals, and enjoyed the park environments. We were very disappointed with the arrangements made by APS, the blatant untruths told to us in order to secure our safari booking, and the unprofessional manner in which they avoided addressing issues that we had regarding their safari arrangements.
Prior to arriving in Kenya, APS was very communicative in answering all of my questions. On the basis of the information they provided, we signed up to join their budget safari. Unfortunately, it turned out that a lot of the information provided to us was completely untrue.
APS guaranteed that we would be in a safari van with a maximum of 6 passengers, but the van had 8 seats and 8 passengers, which makes the small van too crowded, particularly when you are trying to stand on the game drives. It also means that at least two people sit in the middle, without direct access to a window.
We were told that the safari would be operated by APS and not by another company. On the day, APS was nowhere to be seen, and we were told that we were joining a safari operated by Big Time Safaris. There were people from 3 different safari companies in the van, all with different itineraries. When we raised these issues with Big Time Safaris, they told us to contact the safari companies that we had booked with. (APS).
We were told by APS that all participants in the safari would stay with the safari throughout. This wasn't true, with some people leaving the safari at different points.
We were told by APS that everyone would be staying the same accommodation on the safari (so time wouldn't be wasted picking people up before the game drives). This wasn't true. People were staying in up to three different lodges and both budget and moderate accommodation each night.
In our itinerary we paid for 7 game drives. 3 at Maasai Mara, 1 at Nakuru and 3 at Amboseli. Our safari van broke down on two occasions, taking a total of 5 hours to repair on the roadside. As a result, two evening game drives in Masai Mara and Nakuru were shorter than they should have been. Due to changes to the itinerary as a result of vehicle repairs, and to changes in Masai Mara ticketing fees that were not communicated to us by APS, we missed a further two game drives completely - 1 in Masai Mara, and one in Amboseli. When we brought all of these issues up with African Paradise Safaris, they completely ignored us, and would not correspond with us regarding all the misinformation they had provided, the issues with the vehicle, or the missed game drives. In fact, we never met or saw any APS staff at any time either before or after our safari. The other members of our safari were met by staff from their companies at the drop off in Nairobi and at least one received some compensation for their missed game drives. APS was nowhere to be seen.
APS have many great reviews and I suspect that if we had booked a private safari with African Paradise, our experience would have been completely different, but be aware that if you are booking a budget joining safari, there is a good chance that APS will tell you whatever they think will secure a safari booking, but it will not necessarily be the truth. I would recommend you look for a more trustworthy company for a joining safari.
NL
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Disappointing experience
We booked a 2 day safari tour and stayed at Ivory Tree Lodge. The rooms, food and open game drives provided by the lodge were excellent. The transfers from Johannesburg provided by MoAfrika Tours did not meet our expectations. Although we advised we would be travelling with 4 suitcases, no provisions had been made on the outbound transfer so the suitcases needed to be stacked in the aisle. The outbound transfer was a disgrace. Just before checking out of the lodge we received an email, offering us a choice between being picked up at the arranged time 11:30 AM) and spending time in Pilanesberg on a closed game drive. Or spending time in the lodge and being picked up at 2:00 PM. We chose the first option but ended up spending 3 hours in the reception area for our transfer. The people at MoAfrika Tours kept telling us they did not know why the driver did not pick us up but he would be there within 10 minutes. He arrived a little before 2 PM and was met by a group of angry people (7 in total) who had been waiting since 11 AM. And 2 people who had chosen the second option, to be picked up at 2. The driver told us that the people of MoAfrica were well aware that he would not be able to pick us up before 2PM as he was in the park woth another group of people. So obviously it had been the intention of MoAfrika from the start to pick us up at 2. They just were not honest about the situation and kept us waiting for 3 hours without food as they had us believe the drivers would be there any minute. To make things worse, the driver was supposed to wait until 3 PM to pick up 3 more people. After we refused to wait any longer (5 of us had flights to catch), he decided to leave the other 3 behind and drove us to the airport. The driver was not to blame for this mess up, solely the people at MoAfrika office.
After returning home, we sent a complaint to MoAfrika, but we have not received a reply or apologies.
I would not recommend using MoAfrika Tours, just book the lodge yourself, nearly every lodge and hotel offers transfers. No need to book through MoAfrika or any other operator.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Poor service
I booked an 8 day Kenya/Tanzania safari for my 2 children and I. Purity was amazing to work with prior to leaving my home country. She was very responsive and even went to the embassy on my behalf when I was having problems with my visa. However, once on the safari things started to go wrong. We were picked up from Nairobi and took the long drive to Masai Mara, we did an evening game drive that first day and was brought to our tent camp for the night. Camp was very basic, only had working electricity in the main cafeteria area, so had only a few hours to charge devices. The 2nd day was a full day game drive and visit to Masai village which was wonderful. Day 3 (which was my birthday) is where the itinerary changed. We were supposed to visit Lake Nakuru for a safari boat tour, but that was canceled, there were no other plans for the day besides to drive back to Nairobi and go to a hotel, the next day the plans were to drive from Nairobi to Tanzania and check into hotel upon arrival. That was 2 days back to back filled with just driving. That was not fair to my kids or myself as that was not in the itenerary and I did not pay for 2 days of driving. I emailed purity as I was unsure of what to do and she apologized for the inconvenience. I decided to cancel and book with a different company as I really did not want to spend the entire next day driving. I asked to be dropped off at the airport and took a flight to Tanzania and was picked up from another tour company and had an exceptional experience. Essentially I paid more for the 3 days I was with this company than the 5 days with the second one. The food provided was very subpar, for lunch having boxed sandwiches with cucumber and tomato. Our tour guide was nice however not very helpful with telling us about the things we were seeing. It was a very frustrating experience to say the least, but I am glad it ended on a more positive note with a different company. Please do your research prior to booking. Research the lodges, the amount of driving that will be done and if possible request a specific tour guide. I was hoping for a very positive learning experience for my kids and that was not the case. I also requested a hot air balloon ride over the Masai Mara and was told that would be available at an extra cost and was not available to us while there.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Give them a miss
I booked a 12 day tour through Kenya and Tanzania. Seven wonders managed the Tanzanian side and I couldn't have been happier with them. The Kenyan side( Nakuru, Masai, Amboeseli) was managed by Baboon budget who the booking was made through. It started of badly with being collected late at the airport and having to run around in trying to find a person, who wasn't there. The accommodations throughout were poor esp the Eco camp in Masai with very poor quality food. The worst was the lack of personal attention, we were passed like luggage from one driver and group to another depending on their schedules, groups, etc. one traveler had been with 5 different drivers/guides in 5 days! The quality of drivers was potluck. Michael our initial guide tried really hard, but was with us for only one day. Another driver/guide, Jackson, (apparently quite senior )who had previously been haring around at ridiculous speeds , all of a sudden started going at a crawl in circles for more than an hour and included a pitstop an hour into the trip "to stretch our legs". We later determined that a vehicle transporting a traveler who was due to join our group after a balloon ride got stuck in some mud and teh driver was unable to provide co ordinates so we drove in circles trying to connect with them. Jackson initially tried to deny this but i had my GPS on so showed it to him. His response was that the tour hadn't stopped as we were "moving". The point of this trip was to observe a river crossing. It was clear to all that the second day this may happen. Approximately 20 othre vehicles waited patiently along the Mara for this to start. Jackson in his wisdom decided it wouldn't happen and drove off. Needless to say he was connected on radio to say it had started and we raced back . already an eighth of the herd of thousands of wildebeest had crossed. WE all thought we wre in for a treat as so many more had to make their way across. Again Jackson surprised us, we observed for about 5mins( I filmed it, so it was actually less) and he started driving off. We though this was to secure a better vantage point. But no, he drove out the park! Then proceeded to dump us outside the accommodation to await another person to conduct the tour to the Masai village. Clearly he had another pressing appointment!
Things just went downhill...
There's many other companies available , however it seems that they operate differently from other countries group tours. Schedules and people interconnect throughout, with no personalised service or accountability.
They should take some tips from Seven Wonders on how to operate...
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Robert was responsive and staff friendly but............. NOT an overall great experience - Sadly
Robert was very responsive. In fact, I contacted a few companies and thought that I was working with Robert for a couple of weeks to find out that it was another company. A couple of days before I thought I was going on Safari, I found out from the other company that it wasn't Karibu and didn't think I would have a chance to go on a safari last minute. I called Robert and he said he needed to call me back to see if it was still possible. I was then confirmed for a 7 day safari that was to start in Masai Mara and then go to Amboseli as the last park. He also said that I could pay in Shillings since I did not have USD. (I was on a working visa and had been in the country for 3 months, so only had Shillings)
I was greeted a few days later by a driver who was picking me and taking me to the office to start my safari. I didn't think any of it. Got to the office and signed my paperwork and paid. Was brought downstairs and put in the same low rider vehicle that the driver picked me up in. I just thought the driver was taking me to the place were the Open top Vans or jeeps were going to be. After the driver started to drive out of town, I questioned him on the vehicle and he said no that it was just me and him and in the car. He then said, instead of going to Masai Mara, we were going to go to Amboseli first and go backward because the car can't be driven in Masai Mara. I told him that I was not happy and didn't think this was going to work. He said that even with a car, It wouldn't be an issue getting great pictures in Amboseli. After trying to contact the office and not getting through, I felt I had no choice and agreed. SADLY, not true.
Don't get me wrong, the driver was a GREAT guy...... and due to CoronoVirus and the country shutting the borders and airports down, I had to leave after the first full day. Karibu did give me a partial refund (only for 4 days of park fees - about 200) but I was hoping for more due to the fact that I was in a car that was so low, the undercarriage of the car came off and we couldn't go that far into the park because it would flood out or scrap. Plus trying to take pictures so low in this car with tinted windows was a nightmare. I only got one day and it really didn't give me the happy experience I was looking for. When I got home aside from the photos on the hilltop from lunch, they were not great!!!! Not from my cell phone or borrowed camera.
I took pictures of the car but it doesn't allow me to add them onto this review sadly. You will see what a disaster of a car it was for a safari.
Like I said Robert was nice and replied back quickly and Raymond the driver in the car was nice and felt bad. The staff at the tented camp was great too.....
If it wasn't for the LOW RIDER CAR, and the fact that they didn't refund me in full the money for the other 5 days, I think this company might have been fine which is the reason why I gave them 2 stars. I feel bad for rating so low but it just wasn't practical putting someone so low in a car with dirty tinted windows for a safari after they confirm via email that the vehicle was an open-top Van. I honestly would have rather not even gone and saved myself a lot of money.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Terrible Vehicle - Great guide
We were extremely disappointed with our experience with Swala due to the dilapidated condition of the vehicle we were put in. The car was clearly greater than 20 yrs old, super high mileage and in terrible condition. It was very underpowered and clearly badly misaligned. To go straight, the steering wheel was at 4 o'clock. We were always the slowest on the road; our guide did not seem comfortable driving the vehicle at regular speed. 3 of 6 seat belts were nonfunctional, passenger doors couldn't be opened from inside and none of the seats had headrests. The "cooler" did not cool so drinks were always warm. We had several harrowing moments. Leaving the Serengeti, the car made a sparking noise and smoke came out the dash vents. Fortunately, after waiting a bit, it restarted and smoke stopped. Another time, while climbing out of Ngorongoro crater, transmission popped out of gear and the car made a bad smell and initially, would not go back in gear. We held our breaths the rest of the trip out of the crater. Also, the brakes started squeaking horribly and we needed to take the time to take it to a local mechanic because we had no faith that the car could be safely driven. Thank god for our outstanding guide, Sunday, who not only was extremely talented at picking out wildlife and providing a fountain of knowledge regarding animals and habitats but also possessed much needed mechanical skills. Throughout our 7 day safari, I did not see a single other vehicle in nearly as poor condition. Honestly, we felt very unsafe and several times seriously considered abandoning the rest of our trip out of safety concerns..
So if you are looking for a safari with an extra dose of discomfort and fear, Swala is for you. Otherwise, I'd stay away. Sunday our guide, however, was outstanding and I would go again with him (with a different company) anytime.
FYI: Our car did not resemble any of those in their pictures. My guess is they are too embarrassed to show it..
AR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very bad vehicles, old and poorly maintained and terrible guide.
The attention of Alex and Denis is excellent and they try to fulfill everything promised.
The problem is the vehicles used for the zafari, old, poorly maintained, they break halfway and lost hours on the route with mechanics, as if it were not enough to finish the arrangement I had to pay for the repair with later refund of money . Even there are mornings in which you have to push the vehicle because it has exhausted the battery. This means that the itinerary can not be fulfilled, and late arrivals to destinations are reached.
But even worse is the guide in Kenya (Paul) is lousy, has a bad predisposition to explain, is rude, does not even have a bottle of water to facilitate, which was committed in the contract. And of course he does not have binoculars like the rest of the guides.
The place is wonderful, but my advice is to hire another company to be able to enjoy without suffering these inconveniences.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The guide was great but the rest was lacking
The communication was poor. We did a Maasai Mara tour with this company and the guide was excellent, the food was poor though as we had lunches that we a slice of tomato and a slice of onion between three pieces of bread. Despite this we decided to book another safari from Mombasa to Nairobi with stops in Tsavo West and Amboseli. Although we sent them a map showing where the pick up would be, the company went to our previous hotel in Nairobi. They tried to skirt blame over this putting it squarely on us, even though on several occasions we made it clear where we would be. Thankfully we were able to find another tour company which provided us with great service.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Mixed bag but overall disappointed
We went on a 4 day, 3 night Marc's treehouse lodge. The first night was at Tremisana Lodge, we had a sunset drive and a dinner at the boma. This experience was fine. The lodge is budget, so it's nothing fancy but it's sufficient for what we needed. The second day we went on a bush walk, which was ok but one bush walk on the trip is more than enough. It was good to stretch our legs but otherwise it was not really value added to our experience. Then we sat around the lodge for 5 hours doing absolutely nothing...this was frustrating since we paid so much money to be on game drives and having more opportunities to see the animals. Logistically this was terrible scheduling and a waste of my time and money. In the evening we went on a short 90 minute drive and then were transferred to Marc's Treehouse lodge. The treehouse lodge was a cool experience, we really enjoyed the lodge. The staff were helpful and knowledgeable. The day we were scheduled to be in Kreuger park was very frustrating. We know that you cannot control the animals and it's always a game of chance when looking for them. What you can control is when you are in the park and making sure you're there at the best times possible - which is sunrise and sunset. We did not get to the park until after 10am which is when most of the predators are resting for the day - hence we saw NO cats on our day in Kreuger. The final day was a short bush walk (which was not any value added and we wished we could have spent that time doing something else) and our transfer back to Johannesburg with a stop in the Blyde River Canyon which was beautiful. We were back to Johannesburg OR Tambo airport in good timing, just before 5pm.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Alex was very accommodating, however the tour guide was incredibly disappointing.
We got very close to a pride of lions, were present at a lion ‘marriage ceremony’ and watched a leopard/cheetah for many hours. Are your guide had a good eye but lacked communication skills, we were not sure where we were going half the time, he would make decisions without informing us or explaining to us. I believe this was because we were 2 young female travellers. Given the amount of money we paid I was highly disappointed at this and it ruined our trip.