Nervous about Tanzania Safari - Please Help!
 

Hello Everyone!

My family and I are close to booking a safari in Tanzania for this December. I have found what seems like a great little local company in Tanzania that I have had very pleasant communications with. Company name is Proud African Safaris. Their website address is their company name.

The itinerary from Proud African Safaris is for 2 nights in Arusha, 2 nights at Kikoti Lodge in Tarangire, 1 night at Lake Manyara Plantation Lodge, 1 night at Ngorongoro Serena Hotel, 2 nights at Lemala Camp in the Serengeti and 2 nights at Serena Serengeti Hotel. There are six people in my family and the company quoted a price of $4,050 for each person or $24,300 total.

I thought the itinerary that they sent looked fantastic, the price reasonable and the person that I have been dealing with is fantastic. HOWEVER, the more questions I ask and the more research I do, the more NERVOUS I get! My entire family is counting on me and I am very worried.

I have not signed up to make a final reservation yet with Proud African Safaris but I just received several almost forceful emails to send the money in the form of a bank wire transfer. They don’t accept credit card or even check.

I can’t find any information on the company anywhere (I looked at the Tanzania Association Tour Operator site and some other tourist boards, review sites including Fodors). They did send me a copy of the Tanzania Safari License, which looks like an official government document but what do I know anyway!

I did check some references and for some previous clients and I received several nice emails with very positive feedback regarding the trips they had with Proud African Safaris. However, one email looked a little fishy as the name matched quite closely with I think someone else that works for that company.

As you can see, I have serious concerns especially considering that I am taking my kids. It would be another thing if it was just my husband and I. Maybe I am just being paranoid.

Has anyone out there been on safari with this company called Proud African Safaris? What do you think I should do? It’s obviously getting close to December so I am worried about reservations at the hotels and they did say that they were holding a reservation for my family.

I had a look over their website and am satisfied that they are a legitimate company, however from the limited feedback I am unable to gauge their track record. Certainly some effort has been made to create a web presence.

The terms are spelled out clearly $500 deposit followed by full payment. If you are concerned, why not call them? Maybe check which lodges they have used in the past and call those to assess Adam's competency and his payment history? He does accept cheques, so suspect that if you are concerned about wiring your money over (they will need to prepay for services so this is common practice amongst tour operators even here in the US) you can use a cheque.

Good luck

I don't know where you are located but I would not, without much better verification do business with the company in question. Look, the price you received is not in fact all that good and December is not the prime time for a Tanzanian safari anyway. Wilde calving begins mid February and that is when things get tight. Since time is limited if you plan to go through with a December safari, I would only deal with a US company if that is where you live. There is NO shortage of accomodations and the Tanzanian safari industry is hurting badly due to the poor economy, you will get good camps at better rates and in a way that will allow you to sleep at night. Others of course are free to disagree but it is you money and you are talking a substantial amount. Once again, for the itinerary you outline, the rate is not good at all.
Jon

In these days it's not easy to get business and also to stay in business.
That is the case in Africa as well as in Europe or the USA.

In order to provide you with more security I would suggest you contact either AKORN/Abercrombie+Kent or Asilia Lodges. Both companies are reputable comps and working in the field for a long time. They have their own camps but also work as a DMC/TO which arrange transportation etc.

Frankly - in these difficult times it's hard to not support newcomers but one has to make sure for the others the money is well spent.

Enjoy planning!

SV

And yes - there are deal in the market (Xmas/New Year excluded of course) which should provide you a decent safari for that bespoken amount of money. But you need 3 accommodation at least - so hurry up!

I am sorry for all my negativity and I have discussed this before a short while ago on one of the Africa threads. I will never pay for anything again except by credit card. I had a bad experience with an U.S. company. My insurance would not cover as the company did not declare bankruptcy. After my trip was canceled, it took me 5 months and help from the Attorney General of N.Y.'s office but fortunately the company was really attempting to regroup and I finally did get $10,000 back.

Louise,
Don't apologise for your comments they are or should be helpful to anyone planning a safari. I can't believe the number of people that will encourage someone to send their hard earned money off without any real assurance. Please continue to tell your story, there is reason for caution in even normal economic times-these are not normal times.
Jon

It all sounds very suspicious Martha, and I think one should always trust one's gut. There's a reason you feel nervous. A newer company is always suspect because you don't know if they have the resources to stay in business in this economy. There are LOADS of Africa specialists out there. Many mentioned on this board. Why go with an unknown. Where did you hear about them? Where do you live?

I have the same question as LAleslie--where did you learn of this company? It looks like a new small company just starting out.

I noticed that the US contact phone number is a cell phone in the Boston area--do you know or have you talked to this representative?

I'm not saying there is anything wrong or suspicious here . . . just that it is a leap of faith to use a new operator.

Can the company give you some referrals of past clients that you could actually talk to? As for the payment by wire transfer, that's normal practice. Most foreign safari operators can't accept credit cards. They probably have provisional bookings for you at the lodges and camps mentioned and need to pay deposits to those companies.

MarthaD1,

if you are really worried, why don't you submit this itinerary to another operator? This will give you an idea of the pricing (which seems a bit high to me) and also a comparison of how other companies handle communication and testimonials.

I'd suggest Good Earth because they have a Florida office and are based in Arusha. GE take credit card for deposit which I've found useful. GE also have a number of tours on their website http://www.goodearthtours.com/ that will be useful for a price comparison. You might also like to try Roy's Safaris based in Arusha - both of these companies have received many positive reviews on the forum.

You are quite right to question safari companies and I'd advise a bit more information gathering to put your mind at rest.

The main thing is to rest easy after you have booked and paid a deposit and enjoy the anticipation of your upcoming safari, to say nothing of the actual safari.

Cheers,


Pol

I second Treepol's suggestion to get additional quotes. I used Good Earth and was extremely pleased with them. You have nothing to lose by contacting othe roperators before making your final decision.

Considering you plan to travel in December (you don't say when), it's not unusual for a safari booked within 60/days of arrival for full-payment to be due.

As to wire transfers, this is quite usual vs credit cards for which they'd have to assess fees from 5-8% over what has been quoted. Credit cards have other issues for many of these in-country outfitters, in that the funds often don't reach their accounts for up to 3/weeks after; when visitor's can have already been and returned home and then go to the CC and request a reversal. Besides, without at least your deposit if booked months in advance in order to hold your space, or closer to arrival to pay in full for your space, the funds are due.

Also, you mention children. What ages? If less than 16/years and if they share rooms/tents with parents or even together, are entitled to discounts at most of the properties mentioned, rather than the same price for all participants.

I wouldn't agree with Johnson101 that December is not prime season for your safari. In fact, except for Apr/May which are indeed low season because of the rains, only November is considered high-season, while the balance of the year is peak-season with the period over the Christmas/New Year's holidays incurring additional surcharges. In addition, even though the wildebeests "calve" their young in February, the herds themselves are usually down in the Ndutu and/or Southeast Serengeti by December.

I'd certainly put the itinerary out to a few other companies, as mentioned above for comparison... provide them with the same accommodations and number of days as what you've already received.

If you then still wish to go with this company (I've never heard of them, but new companies are opening almost weekly), besides the referrals received already, get some with phone #s so you can actually speak to a human.

Good luck!

I just did a search in the trip report index - no one on this board that has done a trip report has used Proud Africa Safaris so far. I agree with others that encourage you to get at least two more quotes on this from other companies. I'll post a trip report into the index which will raise it to the top, read through the index to get an idea of the companies used by Fodorites (start at the bottom & read up for the most recent ones posted)

If you get the itinerary or something similar costed by another company and it is better than what you have with Proud Africa, then let Proud Africa know. They may match the cost or the content of your preferred itinerary if they fear you will switch companies.

If the cost of your second company is much less, you may be able to eat the cost of the $500 deposit with Proud Africa and still come out ahead (or at least close) with your peace of mind.

Mkhonzo's idea about calling the lodges is a good one. Do the lodges have your reservation? That should help ease your worries to know the money has been forwarded to your accommodations. I have contacted lodges directly before with a new agent.

I cannot recall anyone posting here that had been duped by an African safari company, even a new small startup. Sometimes there are complaints about certain aspects of the trip, but everybody has a good time overall.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

And, if you do choose to contact individual properties to ascertain that they have reservations for you, bear in mind the reservation might not be in your name, rather that of the tour outfitter.

Again, if traveling within 60/days and don't send funds ($500 deposit they show on their site, won't cover much and they do show that full payment is due by 90/days prior), I can't imagine what the outfitter will use to hold your reservations.

Given that this is a small outfitter, will the owner be your driver/guide? Does he have more than one vehicle, in case it breaks down? Is the vehicle in good shape? I don't think that the safari is overpriced, myself, but go ahead and ask for quotes from other outfitters for comparison.

Thank you so much to everyone who came to my rescue so quickly. I really appreciate all the different recommendations and perspectives.

My eyes are popping out of my sockets as I have spent all day researching, sending out more emails, etc. after reading through all the advice. But, I feel much better now as I feel much more informed having taken a couple steps in the right direction in finding the right safari company for my family.

I have fired off several emails to the many safari company’s recommended on this site. As LALeslie said ’Why go with an unknown’ so I am focusing my energy on gathering information from the bigger and more established companies. I always like to support smaller operations but it’s just too much risk with a trip as expensive as this. With all that said, I am going to stick with a bigger company with an office here in the U.S. and that has someone I can talk with over the phone.

Lynda – Thanks so much for letting me see all those reports. What a wealth of information that is! What a great site this is!

Jon, Shay, Leslie, Sandy, Lynn and SV…thank you so much for your advice!

LOUISE – what was the name of that safari company you had the problem with? I sure don’t want to have them on my list. Thank goodness you got you money back! Geezzz!

CW – My husband found them in a magazine (I think it was National Geographic) …said that they specialize in trips to Tanzania, the one place that I have always dreamed of seeing.

Pol – Thanks for the information on good earth trips. I will certainly send them a request for a safari pricing too.

Sandi – my kids are under 16. Do you know what the discount is like? I was never offered any discount for my kids from Proud African Safaris…they just gave me one price per person even though I told them all our ages. Sandi – when do you think the best time to go for a safari is? Because of the kids, we can only travel over the December or Summer break though the spring break might be an option too.

Thanks again to everyone that posted. You were are all too kind to provide so much helpful information.

Hi MarthaD1,

We are going with 2 kids in Feb 2010. We really wanted to see the calving season. They will miss a couple days of school but I think they will learn a great deal more. (The long flights should give them time to keep up with their studies;) As for discounts, kids under 16 are $20 per day to enter Serengeti and Nronogoro parks where adults are $100. Tanangire is $20/$70 and Manyara is $10/$35. This alone should save you $500-$1000 depending on the number of kids and times you go into the NPs.

Enjoy!

<i> Sandi – my kids are under 16. Do you know what the discount is like? I was never offered any discount for my kids from Proud African Safaris…they just gave me one price per person even though I told them all our ages. Sandi – when do you think the best time to go for a safari is? Because of the kids, we can only travel over the December or Summer break though the spring break might be an option too.</i>

The discounts for the children will vary depending on where staying, it's not fixed throughout (some cut-off at 12/yrs, others extend to 18/yrs). There are also reduced rates for daily park fees for children which vary depending on the park.

Your Spring Break would be Apr/May which is the "long" rains in Tanzania, which is no guarantee there will be wet as East Africa has been in drought for some years now. And, while most seasonal/mobile camps are closed, the lodges and permanent tent camps are open. Besides, it usually doesn't rain daily, or all day, nor inhibit safari... the animals don't go on vacation. However, this is low-season for prices and everything is green.

Otherwise, late-June into July is good when the migrating herds are in the Central and/or Western Serengeti, but this too is peak-season as would be December.

See what offers come in from the other operators for comparison.

One more thought Martha, if you wish to stick with Proud Africa. Let them know that you are enthused about posting a trip report on Fodors and other forums.