Wild Race Africa Safaris

Did not go on this tour Reviewed: Aug. 08, 2023 Submitted in:

Let me begin by confessing that I'm not one to leave feedback often, but my experience with Wild Race Africa and its co-owner, Simon, compels me to share my story to protect fellow travelers from a similar ordeal. I hope my advice can prevent others from enduring unnecessary stress, disappointment, and wasted resources during their highly anticipated holidays.

Before I delve into the details, it's essential to note that 30% of the last 7 feedbacks have rated Simon's services as terrible – that's one in every three tourists. Proceed with caution and read on.

I stumbled upon Wild Race Africa through a Google search before traveling from Europe to Kenya with my fiancé (who is Kenyan) that I wanted to surprise. Though I didn't thoroughly compare options, I was immediately impressed by Simon's responsive and kind demeanor. He seemed genuinely committed to making our customer experience unforgettable, which led me to make a grave mistake.

After a few exchanges via WhatsApp and email, I chose a 2-day/1-night luxury safari to Masai Mara for approximately 1800 USD. Simon requested a deposit of 30% (550 USD) to secure the accommodation.

Here's where the problem started. Simon presented four accommodation options for the luxury safari and insisted on a primary and backup choice. I selected Mara Serena Lodge as my top preference, clearly stating that it was my desired option. However, Simon later claimed that it was unavailable and booked Keekorok Lodge instead.

Subsequent attempts to secure my stay at Serena Lodge were met with delays and excuses. Simon's conduct became increasingly unprofessional, offering reasons such as Keekorok's inability to provide a credit note and false claims of website problems at Mara Serena Lodge.

The situation escalated as I asked for a receipt for my deposit, and Simon's communication became evasive and disrespectful. He even blamed me and others on my side, resorted to threats, and displayed an overall lack of accountability.

My trust in Simon shattered when I requested pictures of the safari vehicle, which turned out to be an everyday Toyota RAV4 rather than the high-profile Safari Jeep promised in the offer. Simon dismissed this discrepancy arrogantly.

After careful consideration and consulting with my fiancé, we decided to cancel the safari to avoid further complications. Simon retained the deposit, placing the blame on me, the customer.

To salvage our holiday, we booked a different safari with Olare Kempinski, which proved to be an outstanding experience with exceptional customer care, top-notch safari jeeps, accommodations, food, and game drives.

In closing, I urge all potential customers to exercise extreme caution when dealing with Simon and Wild Race Africa. Refrain from making any deposit until you receive a firm reservation for your chosen accommodation, and demand a written assurance that any future changes will lead to a full refund.

Based on my experience and years of business leadership, it's evident that honesty, respect, and integrity are not part of Simon's core values. Should you encounter discomfort or unsafe circumstances during your interactions with Wild Race Africa, prioritize your safety, even if you've already paid the deposit. Consider filing a complaint with your credit card provider to protect your interests.

Kenya offers excellent, honest, and reputable businesses worthy of your investment, but Wild Race Africa is not one of them.

Now, brace yourself for Simon's expected reply, where he will likely resort to his typical scammer approach of deflecting blame onto customers and refusing to take responsibility. This will only validate the concerns I've shared above, confirming that any issues during your trip will be blamed on you, the paying customer, rather than the service provider.

Visited: Jul. 2022 Reviewed: Sep. 27, 2022 Submitted in:

Words alone cannot describe the quality services offered by Wild Race Africa and the entire team. We settled on Wild Race Africa after reading their online reviews and one thing was outstanding, “quality Services delivery” – this prompted us to settle on them for our 5-Day Amboseli- Nakuru -Masai Mara Superb Luxury travel.
The Wild Race Africa company was perfect at every step. It was very easy to communicate with this company. The ease at which Simon responded to our numerous questions was simply superb.
Simon was swift in his responses; he listens to us our various demand and responded back to us with a more detailed trip itinerary that met our demands and specifications.
They are completely trustworthy and ethical. All the lodges were well outlined in the itinerary with their website links, and again lodge category narrated – (if luxury, mid-range, or budget), well outlined. We found this quite interesting as you know exactly you are getting into and what to expect.
We made the Advance payment via bank transfer and within two days, we got an official company receipt confirmation and the lodges confirmation attached.
On landing in Nairobi, our guide George, who quickly became part of our new travel family, was already there waiting with our names, we cleared the balances at the Wild Race Africa office and off we were to Amboseli National Park.
I rate George as one of the best private Safari guides in Kenya, Simon mentioned he is an Ethologist and Naturalist at the same time, this is very true.
His dedication and commitment to showing us the animals was just but, on another level, very detailed about the animals to the finer details.
He was charming, respectful, flexible with high level of understanding with great professionalism.
I would highly recommend Wild Race Africa company for all your travels needs with your guide George for an excellent safari experience in Kenya.
Cheers and we will be back soon.

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0People gave this
a kudu

Visited: Aug. 2022 Reviewed: Sep. 26, 2022 Submitted in:

We had a mind-blowing all-round safari experience with Wild Race Africa Safaris. We got to know about Wild Race Africa through a friend who had travelled with them before. From the moment I placed our trip request with them, the service was beyond all expectations. Simon listened carefully to our trip request and specifications.
He perfectly arranged the perfect holiday tour that met all our interest. The proposed safari lodges were quality lodges located right inside the park that help ensure we maximise our time exploring the parks.
He was very much patient with my frequent, unending questions. As the company policy, we placed advance payment via Pesa-pal (Online payment). Simon Responded back with a receipt confirmation of payment and lodges booking reference numbers.
In Nairobi, we met Rachel and Phanuel who took us to the office where we met Simon and clear the Balance via car payment.
Our Guide Phanuel was excellent. From start of our 8 Days trip, he was incredibly knowledgeable about Animals, birds, and local people’s culture.
We had very easy time exploring the parks, he put his experience forward yet listened to our needs and been super flexible.
In summary, Wild Race Africa and the entire team created a fabulous holiday that ticked every box. A perfect service I'm recommending to all and will use again.
Thank you, Simon and the entire Team.

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0People gave this
a kudu

Visited: Sep. 2022 Reviewed: Sep. 21, 2022 Submitted in:

Excellent safari with Wild Race Africa Safaris. I got wild Race Africa Safaris online and when I went through what other travelers’ say, I was a bit skeptical, but again its better a company with at least 2 to 5% negative review, it only means the reviews are genuine and not doctored, so I gave them a try.
I got into contact with Simon via mail and he was quite swift in his responses. He reverted to us with a detailed itinerary, well planned and fully detailed with the lodges.
We discussed with my family, checked out the lodges and the rates, we then proceeded with trip confirmation to help ensure the lodges are booked and confirmed in good time.
True to his promise, we got the official company receipt after paying the 30% Advance payment and the lodges reservation reference numbers for our own peace of mind.
Upon landing in Nairobi, we were met at the airport, we cleared the balances and off the trip kicked to Amboseli National Park.
George Odingo was our guide for the 14 Days trip. He is the best guide we could ever ask for. Very detailed, friendly, and flexible. We spotted a lot of animals with much ease.
My daughter calls him a “walking Encyclopedia”, we later get to learn that he is an ethologists and naturalist at the same time with over 25 years experiencing guiding.

He was very kind and nice with us. He takes care of us in every moment, he was part of our family in Kenya where everybody is a sister and a brother from another Mather.
Many thanks to Wild Race Africa and the entire team for making our Kenya trip such an awesome safari experience.
I highly recommend this company to anyone who want to explore and discover Africa, up close and personal.
We will definitely come back soon. Asante sana

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0People gave this
a kudu

Visited: Aug. 2022 Reviewed: Sep. 04, 2022 Submitted in:

Got scammed by dishonest people: paid for luxury safari, car was rubbish, they changed plan/itinerary on arrival and with a last minute joke they made us go in a mid-tent instead of a luxury lodge..and they blamed everything on us, incredible! - not honest, do not book, you don't get what you pay.

We booked a Safari in Tanzania (Luxury), everything seemed ok and professional until we paid the down-payment and got in Tanzania.

The first day we arrived:
1) itinerary was completely changed (they said due to availability, even if they confirmed the plan and bookings with the downpayment months ago), resulting in a less efficient tour (hours lost compared to original plan), but less fees for them as we spent less time in parks.. they told us this change only when we were departing for safari, so we had to accept
2) the same day (we arrived) they also told us they changed from a Luxury lodge (Lobo) to a mid-tent (Kati kati)..we protested and they told us lobo was ok; the day we were departing for Lobo they tried to propose to us Savannah (another mid tent) and we said no, so they told us Lobo had problems in availability..we told them to stick with original plan or gave them an alternative luxury lodge (matawi, in which we stayed and liked): they said ok matawi but at 6.30 pm., when we were in front of the lodge, they sent our driver to Osupoku (a mid-tent) against our complaints and we had no chance since the park was closed..at the end they succeeded in sending us to a cheap mid-range camp (which we always said no and we paid way more to have a luxury lodge) instead of a luxury lodge we paid for..and they even said it was our idea!!! we protested and promised a refund, never happened
3) the car they gave us was rubbish, having broken differential, battery and fuel mixer from beginning (we had to push the car from day 1 every time to make it start), had no long range radio, no emergency kit, no binocular. Every day there were 2 more problems with the car (day 1 broken radiator, day 2 broken tire support, day 3 broken roof top support, day 4 broken fuel tank) and the car was completely given broken and full of problems.
Every day we went to a different mechanic and waited hours stopped on the road
4) in Ngorongoro we spent only 2 hours (instead of a full morning) and with a Masai not speaking english and not knowing where to go as the car let us down (even if we expressly requested to be changed or to be checked the day before for Ngorongoro as it was having problems).

We raised all these problems and all the said was that the car problems were maybe 'imaginary' and that we choose the change of accomodation and that they did not changed the plan,..you will lose money booking with them, worst experience.

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0People gave this
a kudu

I booked with Wild Race Africa Safaris and the experience was awesome. They picked me up from the airport on time and every step of the way was well-planned. Thank you for a wonderful experience. Hakuna Matata.

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7People gave this
a kudu

The staff at Wild Race Africa Kenya Safari gave me a spectacular safari experience during my 8 day Kenya safari in February. Simon was very accommodating on our requests and communication via e mail and phone during the safari operation were smooth. George who happened to be not only driver guide but a true guide rich of knowledge magician, met us at JKIA airport and it was a pleasure to have such an upbeat safari guide who was patient and took us on very exciting game drives. Our safari started at the Amboseli national park where we stayed at Amboseli Serena.
The lodge was pretty awesome and the Mt Kilimanjaro views were breathtaking. We ended our safari at the Maasai Mara and I will always treasure my safari in Kenya. What a beautiful country. Thank you big Simon and George for making this an awesome east Africa long live experience...will always come back, recommend you to all my friends and fellow travelers:)

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10People gave this
a kudu