We booked a trip through EASTCO (East African Safari and Tour Company) based on good reviews here and elsewhere. Since booking, we've learned that they were awful. See the thread below. Do we cancel or risk going anyway. We are, of course, writing to the company to complain and sharing the post, but don't know if we should cancel or roll the dice. Has anyone travelled with them since September when this happened? Help???

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...38&start=0

If you can get your money back (or haven't sent it yet) then cancel for sure. A safari should be special.... there's no point "risking it" with a dodgy company. Especially when there are literally DOZENS of really good, reputable companies, that could offer you a similar price.

Why risk it with a company known to be bad, when you could rest easy with a company known to be great?!!?

JES
Hi
I havent travelled with eastco yet BUT have booked a trip with them for end of Janurary 2007
I did read also all the fodors boards about EASTCO and even Boundary Hill Lodge which is likned often to them
some going back more than 12 months
I talked to Simon at great length and spoke to people who had been on safari with them as recently as 6 weeks ago
I found Eastco to be very professional and were highy reccomended to me
I believe that a guide makes or breaks the trip and I specifically asked about guides
I believe the trip you are referring to was a guide/client problem
When talking to eastco ask to be given Onesmo or Bernard these gides have been highly reccom. to me by people who teavelled with eastco this year
I am doing a 21 day safari at a cost of US$10,500
Also if you read some of the past reports about Eastco and Boundary hill Lodge on this board
It seems that some people are quick to critize but in fact havent travelled with Eastco or stayed at Boundary hill Lodge.
I wonder if simbakubwa has a vested interest in a opposition safari company
as all the reports I have received from people who travelled with eastco were excellent
JES ask Simon for an explanation about that safari where it is obvious the guide and clients had some problems
right from the first meeting.
David

JEStraveler - This is all our worst nightmare…finding something like this on your carefully chosen company. I am a bystander and don’t leave for a few weeks now, but if this were me I’d have to first decide if the anxiety itself is at all worth it. If you do decide it’s too late to turn back, see if you can get something in writing on refunds if promises are not met. Certainly there is more than monetary you stand to loose, but perhaps they have learned their lesson. Also, it does seem they are somehow linked to www.dreamweaver.co.uk. So perhaps check in from this direction. All the best to you and please keep us posted. I give thanks to SAMSCOMPS for the initial posting of their experience.

David987,

Definitely no vested interest in any company. I just don't see the reason for going with ANY company that is often cited as being dodgy, when there are many companies out there that are always cited as being excellent (and for the same price!!).

However, hopefully your experience with EASTCO will be different than those posted on this forum.

We all look forward to your trip report when you return.

Thanks all for your comments. We've reached out to Simon, who responded immediately. Per David's comments, it's possible that this was one really bad experience in an otherwise, good track record and I was delighted to hear that people were still giving good reports only weeks ago and VDB, your note about promised refunds if it's not is a great one.

Every other review of this company was positive. David, would love to hear your trip results and I'll certainly share ours, assuming we move forward.

Again, thanks all for helping!! Feeling a little less like I'm going to be sick!!

JEStraveler - EASTCO is not a dodgy company, and they are not "often cited" as such, or "known as bad", despite Simbakubwa's assertion to the contrary.
I did the northern circuit with them in 2004 and the safari was so brilliant that I will be doing Southern Tanzania with them in June 2007.
I too contacted Simon when I read the initial "horror story", as I believe there are always two sides to every story, and asked Simon for his take on the incident. Simon explained that it was basically a client/guide personality clash. Which is perfectly plausible. He also mentioned that that particular guide regularly gets rave reviews from clients and is constantly requested for particular safaris.
I believe a guide would just not behave in the manner described in the horror report without some cause. It's his livelihood at stake. It's also the reputation of the company, and consequently the livelihoods of his fellow guides in the company, at stake.
I firmly believe that, like me and many, many others, you'll have a great safari with The East African Safari and Touring Company.

sd kifaru
that is also why I choose to go with them
they come highly reccom.and I did check them out pretty carefully
only 26 days to go and then will see for myself
and I hope the rain doesnt stop
david

Sorry I havent been on this site in ages - did you end up going JEStraveler or not? I hope it was a one off bad experience with us - and if you don't get Mattyo as a guide it may not turn out so bad - I think our guide was our main problem. Also bear in mind Simon is based in Australia and promises a lot of things but it is his brother who looks after the actual operations.

Sorry for the delay. Yes, we did travel with EAST CO and had a great experience and cannot say enough good things about Onesmo, our guide. Couple of things: 1) we heard rumor that Mattyo left EAST CO and went to work for Sunny. Something for others to keep in mind and 2) Simon was in Arusha while we were there and was personally handling all the tours. I believe he works out of Australia for part of the year, but we met him in person twice on this trip! 3) We had a small issue while in Zanzibar and Simon was wonderful about immediately rectifying the situation, so not only did we have little difficulty on the trip, but we found him to be quite responsive. I'll likely be creating a longer post about our experience shortly, but wanted to assure all who were worried, that it turned out not to be at all a nightmare!!

JEStraveler,
Glad everything worked out! Looking forward to hearing more about your trip.

JESTraveler,

Thanks for the update and glad things went well for you.

Phew! I'm glad it worked out for you!

I saw this thread after booking my safari trip with EASTCO and having just returned from a six day trip to Tanzania's northern circuit I think it is only fair I post about my experience. Like others in the message board I got a little bit worried after I read one of the accounts but decided that I didn't want to cancel my trip. After all, EASTCO were the most competent when replying to my (numerous) queries and also the most affordable.

My husband and I went on a six day camping safari covering Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro, Serengeti and Tarangire. It was just the two of us with a driver/guide and a cook - Bernard and Costa - both of which were great. I can't recommend them enough, they really made our trip special.

The initial plan was to combine camping outside some parks and inside others. I had been in touch with Simon before leaving as I was a bit worried about the rains and he suggested that he might try getting a banda in the camping site outside Manyara and accommodating us in a lodge in Tarangire. He said we could also think about alternatives for the other nights if it rained too heavily. We were really lucky as it hardly rained but we were put up in the banda and the lodge anyway. The camping was fantastic, we had the best tent in all the campsites we went. You could stand up in them, we had two portable camping beds so no sleeping on the floor and had fresh water outside our tent every morning to wash (warm water in Ngorongoro as it was a bit chilly!). And the meals were great too. Costa never ceased to amaze us at every meal. Different breakfasts, meals and desserts every time. Not sure how he managed.

Although we didn't see as many animals inside the parks as you would in the dry season, we were fortunate to catch the migration between Ngorongoro and the Serengeti. Inside the parks we still saw plenty of animals, including the big five. As my husband puts it, more than we had a right to, so we were not disappointed. In a way, enjoying the scenery, the vastness of the plains and the skies was just as inspiring.

One of the nicest surprises was on our last night when they arranged accommodation for us in Boundary Hill Lodge in Tarangire. What an amazing place, an eco-friendly lodge on a hill with rooms that have amazing views. We felt really fortunate as our initial budget would have never allowed for such accommodation. The views are just astonishing and the rooms are really designed to maximise the privileged location.

Our experience with EASTCO was very positive and I would definitely use them again if I was to do another safari. This was our first safari but it definitely won't be the last one!

Glad to hear you had a great trip.

I actually travelled with EASTCO in 2003 and had a great time.

I was planning to go back to East Africa next year (it is a place that you feel you want to go back to!!!!) but I have to go to a conference in Uzbekiatan so will travel around there. Going to East Africa again will have to be a bit later.

Looking forward to your report JEStraveller.

I enjoy occasionally visiting this forum and reading peoples' reports...it is a good reminder of my own experiences!!!!

Jestraveler and manekineko2
Glad you both reported and had great trips. Manekineko2--how nice that you were able to stay at Boundary Hill.

manekineko2,
Thanks for posting your experience!