Samsons Safaris

Samson’s offers excellent and consistent communication. They kindly rescheduled my Nairobi National Park short tour after I had booked for the wrong day. Excellent communication and customer service. The driver and vehicle used left something to be desired, though. The tour description mentions that water is provided, and there would be moments to listen to birds and hyenas at sunset. The driver did not offer any water and we were rushing at 60km/h inhaling dust to make it back to the park gate at sunset time. I feel that the driver could have timed things a bit better and offered a bit more customer experience, particularly at this very high price point.

We saw a ton of wildlife. The guide was knowledgable about what we were seeing and also his own culture, the Masai people. He taught us songs and Swahili words. He went out of his way to get us close to good sightings of the animals. We were intent on using a company that was locally owned our investment in this experience stayed in the country. Samson's Safari coordinators, Stacey and Kimani, were eager to please and receptive to our feedback, communicating during our safari by WhatsApp. The lodging they assisted us in selecting for this private safari was excellent as was the food. I would have given it a 5 star review except for the fact that our guide was often late to pick us up when we'd made the extra effort to rise at 5 AM for the meeting time. This continued even after we emphasized our expectations. One time he didn't have enough money to pay for our park entrance and asked one of us to cover. The Land Cruiser he drove had least three seatbelts that didn't work, two of them in the second row, the easiest place to seat oneself and to see.

Update - Viator have validated my complaint and provided a full refund. They advise me to block this company and they will be investigating them directly. —————— Be extremely careful. I’ve been travelling for a month and Samson Safari are the worst company I’ve met. Having paid over $3000 for a safari trip which promised 3/4 star accommodation, I went on safari with hopes for an amazing experience. My driver Momo was great, we had fun and he delivered an excellent time in the parks, however on the second night we arrived in Amboselli and turned out to be a scammed. Rather than the described accommodation, Samson Safari booked me into a $90 a night budget camp. Nothing like the photos and description on the website. They give examples of what the accommodation will be similar to and it’s NOTHING like it. They advertise that you will have accommodation that is $250+ a night and I was booked into $90 a night budget camp. I contacted them via Whatsapp and here’s where it got ugly. They responded with no apology and told me they had no responsibility for my experience as I booked via Viator. Even though they advertise on there and the process is that the tour operator gets paid in 30 days by Viator, Samson Safari decided I should get no help and was extremely rude. I spent the first night of my safari in tears after how Samson Safari spoke to me. They told me the difference in accommodation was my problem for not booking directly with them. They said that they didn’t have any 3/4 star accommodation available for the trip so basically I’m stuck with budget tent and no refund for the $3180. They said they have no obligation to deal with complaints from me(!) and when I highlighted that this was a bad attitude towards customers, I was told I have a bad attitude and not to contact them. They continued to say I hadn’t paid them a cent when they have over $3000 of my money. On top of this, they didn’t organise accommodation for my driver so he was having to find somewhere to stay each night which is terrible as his rest ensures my safety. I am writing this as I sit on day four of the trio on a 12 HOUR DRIVE back to Diani which is not detailed. Here’s how it went… 6am wake up, cold burnt pancakes for breakfast with awful coffee 7:30 check out of camp and start to drive 10am Pull over to side of road. Turns out my driver is going to Nairobi so won’t be taking me the rest of the way. I have to wait in a random car park for over an hour for a driver I do not know to arrive. He’s a friend of my driver and nothing to do with Samson Safari’s who have failed to ensure my driver would be available for the whole four days. 11:10am Samson Safari phone to ask me why I haven’t checked out of my camp and where am I? They have no idea where I am or what’s happening with my journey back to Diani. They have no record of the vehicle I am in. 11:20am Drive another nine hours in a vehicle not organised by Samson Safari to get back to Diani. Provided no bottled water and a stale bread sandwich with one slice of Tomato and two slices of cucumber for lunch. For a 12 hour day. And this is the same awful lunch that was provided yesterday. It seems if anything happened to me right now, no one, not even Samson Safari have a clue where I am. I had messages asking if I’d arrived at my accommodation and where was I, they had NO clue. Here’s the deal, if you want your holiday ruined by a promise of a great time and then giving you nothing but grief, book with Samson Safari. Any issues and he will tell you that you have a bad attitude. You’ll learn it’s your fault for booking it and take zero interest in your satisfaction. I was unhappy with 95% of my interaction with Samson Safari. He’s rude, dismissive and still not apologising. I have asked for a fair partial refund. The manager at Nyati Camp agreed your provision of their accommodation was bad considering the price I had paid and said the right and honourable thing for Samson Safari to do was to give some money back. So I am waiting for that “guaranteed best service” you speak of.

Travel, Experience, Learn. If you want to enjoy your safari look no other place. Great service, great job?

Olpejeta was great. Baraka the blind rhino made my tour

We booked Olpejeta Conservancy and the Safari was Amazing. Recommending them to all.