We just returned home to the States after a disastrous Safari in East Africa. We booked a trip with Larry Naphtally (www.neodestinations.com). They came recommended by friends and various websites. They are a local tour operator based in Kenya and Tanzania. They seemed to be able to customize the safari best and their rates for the various lodges were comparable. We had a satisfactory Safari in Kenya with fabulous stays at Ngerende Island Lodge (Masai Mara) and Tortillis Camp in Amboseli. When we reached Kilimanjaro Airport in Tanzania the trip disintegrated. We were completely abandoned by Neodestinations and had to seek out a new tour operator. Our safari was rescued with the help of the Serena Hotel group. We had to rebook and refinance our trip through them. The hotel vouchers for the Kirawira lodge and Serena Ngorongoro given to us by Neodestinations were fictitious and there were no bookings for us at these places.
Naturally on returning to Nairobi we lodged an official complaint with the police department. Futher complaints to the Ministry of Tourism in Kenya and Tanzania as well as reports to the "Tourist Boards" of these two countries in the USA have so far gone unanswered. A complaint to IATA however did get us a response stating that Neodestinations were not registered with them and that they would insist that Neodestinations take the IATA logo of their website.
I have no illusions over expectations over any refund however I earnestly hope to bring this misadventure to public notice so future travelers may not find themselves in a similar predicament.
After some reflection I have some advise for future safari goers. I would strongly suggest you avoid the small local your operators. Should things go wrong there is very little scope to recompense for them. Always use a card and avoid wire transfer of payments. And finally always insist on hotel vouchers and verify them with the actual hotels.
Finally should someone know of an organization or authority who might take some action on this I would much appreciate receiving it so I could forward the details of our misadventure.
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source: http://www.wavuti.com
majirani wana kampeni kali sana..lakini tutumie akili na kufuata utaratibu na sisi tuwe wajanja, tusiingizwe kwenye matatizo ya KIBIASHARA NA JIRANI.
ReplyDeleteI have always pointed out that our kenyan' neighbors have absolutely no scruples at all. They will spare no expense to steal and defraud people at Tanzania's expense.
ReplyDeleteMy advice to travelers to east Africa is to book each countries safari separately. Do not book your visit to Tanzania via kenya and vice versa.
The east Africa federation is still an illusion.
Observer Dar
Hio article inataka kuchawachafua Watanzania ilhali matatizo yote yametokea Kenya na wahusika ni Wakenya. Kama bookings walifanya na kampuni ya Kenya, kwa nini Michuzi umeweka title inayohusisha Tanzania? The fraud was dine in Kenya, period! Please edit immediately!
ReplyDeleteI have a few questions for these complaining wazungus? Did they book their trip directly with the local tour operator? If they did it was stupid. The right thing to do is to book through a reputable agent so that if something like this happens they can sue the agent. It seems these were attracted by cheap rates and on-line hard sell promotions. On the other hand this kind of dishonesty will sideline local players from the tourism market. Tour Operator Associations and Tourism Boards should take strong action against the perpetrators. They are spoiling the business climate and the image of the country.
ReplyDeleteIt's the "stupid Wazungu" adding a comment. We booked directly with the local operator in Kenya as two close family friends had travelled with them and recommended Neodestinations. They were not any cheaper and Serena Group charged the same amount to rebook the safari. I used a local Kenyan operator because I was convinced that it was the right thing to do. We have always travelled using a US based operator/agent and felt we needed to support the tourism industry at the local level rather than have them always function at a secondary level. This misadventure has been am eye opener. It's quite clear That local operators in Kenya and Tanzania need to be approached with some caution and that there is no supervision or at best very little by the government of these countries to prevent fraud on innocent tourists. I am equally disappointed by the tone of the comments here where a defrauded tourist is considered stupid, cheap and deserving of the fraudulent treatment. I however having spent a very happy 2 week safari in east Africa believe in the people and hope this sort of problem eventually dies out. There are too many good people in Kenya and Tanzania for me to feel that this is an epidemic problem. Ashanti and ashaolay
ReplyDelete