curlieel

I never thought I'd be a person to post a scathing review of a small business, but please do not use Tropical Trails. A friend and I went on a 7 day safari with them this summer and we (wrongly) thought that the higher-end prices would help ensure a quality experience. We stayed at two awful dumps with duct taped mosquito netting, non-working plumbing, and construction happening at all hours just outside our door. Our vehicle broke down repeatedly and we spent hours upon hours on the side of the road and had to use the water we purchased (they said water was included but it ended up being a tiny amount) to cool the engine. They did not buy us more. The pop-top came crashing down on my friend's head, and the driver misjudged the time and we only got a few hours in the Ngorongoro crater when we paid for a full day (and our took on another tour group and ignored us for the most part). When we went to speak with the manager after our experience, she was rude, unprofessional, and unwilling to help. Finally, to get us our of her office she promised that she'd contact us with reimbursement details. Not surprisingly, despite numerous attemps on our part since our return home, she has vanished off the face of the Earth. I am very disappointed and even though I can't get any money back, I want to spare other people the same experience because Africa is a stunning, amazing place and it should not be spoiled by poor business practices.

ShayTay

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. As I recall, you were headed to Tanzania within a day of your original post that asked about safari outfitters; did you book with TT when you arrived in Arusha? Have you tried to contact the Managing Director? He's listed on their website.

curlieel

You are very right that it was a last minute booking (although when I said we were leaving in one day, that was for a different destination- we booked with Tropical Trails in advance of arriving in Arusha). We acknowledge a higher level of risk with last minute booking but that is part of the reason that we went with a higher-end company because they were so helpful in advance. I want to emphasize that our intial contact was lovely to work with and we don't hold her responsible for the troubles we had. Still, it is sad that we were left with such a bad taste after our experience and the treatment from the manager. Thank you for the advice on the contact, I will follow up with him.

Novak

We agree with not recommending Tropical Trails. Our pop-top roof also fell down and hit two of our group on the heads. Fortunately, they were not seriously hurt. Our cook was poor on the camping trip. The water containers had no lids and lots of water was lost before we reached camp. We thought that we knew more about camping than our cook and driver. However, we did see lots of game. So sorry to hear about your trip too, but I did post about Tropical Trails after our trip, Feb. 2006.

capricorn_oz

It's a shame things didn't work out completely for you. It's always disappointing when a trip doesn't go to plan.

I am not invalidating your experience at all, I just think alot of the time, people forget Tanzania (and Africa in general) is a developing country. Things are going to break, be delayed, cancelled, change at the last minute. I guess the rudeness, lack of understanding and not feeling listened to from management has just added insult to injury for you.

I think most of the time (I'm sure there are exceptions!) the people try to make the best of what they have. Sometimes I think we travel to these countries with our expectations a little high. I've been guilty of this myself, it's always hard to leave the creature comforts behind! I just find that on these forums for every horrible experience someone has had with a company there are 2 or 3 positive ones. I guess it comes down to the luck of the draw in the end.

I hope you are able to resolve this with the company and you have many HAPPY memories of Tanzania as well.

RobertR

I had a great experience with Tropical trails. I can't think of even a slight glitch. we did almost two weeks with them in Dec 2004.
I would not consider them higher end.

what were the names of the "dumps"?
How did they describe them and was their description misleading?

Most higher end accomodations in Africa are expensive, comfortable places typically cost hundreds of dollars/day for a double room if you pay less you get less. RR

If they are high end what is
Abercrombie and Kent,or Thomson?

atravelynn

Maybe things have changed since 2004?

I didn't think Tropical Trails was high end. Still you should not have had some of the bad experiences you report.

Construction at night when I am trying to sleep is a biggie. Two dumps for accommodations is subjective. Duct taped netting, no biggie. Non-working plumbing could be an inconvenience. If overflowing, a biggie.

The vehicle breakdown is a huge biggie. Using the clients' water is annoying and should have been reimbursed. Not a biggie.

Faulty pop-tops--if they really came crashing down and could have caused severe injury, then that's a huge biggie. Misjudging crater time is a huge biggie. Promising reimbursement and then doing nothing is a huge biggie.

Sorry you had a bad experience. Glad you still found Africa stunning and amazing. Regardless of the mess, that is always the conclusion. Thanks for sharing.

RobertR

I am a little baffled about this " the roof collapsed on me" scenario.
we drove in toyota land cruisers. the tops opened all the way, how could it fall on you? RR

Bill_H

I am a little baffled about this " the roof collapsed on me" scenario.
we drove in toyota land cruisers. the tops opened all the way, how could it fall on you?

On some of the jeeps there's a pop-up roof, which allows shade. These are supported by struts that should lock into place. I guess they are saying the restraint on the struts vibrated loose and the top collapsed while they were standing up.

Bill

Bill_H

RobertR, here's a photo showing the pop-up jeeps ... you can imagine what happens when it falls unexpectedly ... http://www.pbase.com/zjeff222/image/46948575

Khakif

Bill_H,

It is also my understanding that pop-up roof hatches are responsible for many injuries. I witnessed a woman evacuated from the Crater who suffered from same.

I don't trust them and specify vehicles without them.

KahkiF

nyama

...and most of these incidents happen during driving and some people havn't sat down.

RobertR

Ok, so they were standing and the driver without any warning hit the gas? That is so different than the driver we had,he could not have been nicer. In fact I sent him a pair of binoculars as a gift after.

Curlieel, Were you promised luxury accomodations?. How were the places described. Did you ask for economical places? For us accomodations when camping were basic but otherwise very nice.
Specific names of places please.

Novak

Regarding the pop-top vehicles. We needed this for shade, since Tanzania was very hot in Feb. The vehicle from Tropical Trails had no secondary lock. After it collapesed on us, we tied it with rope to prevent this happening again. We were not driving fast at the time, but you know how bad the roads are. The Kenyan vehicle had a second lock so the roof can't fall down. We check very carefully now!

atravelynn

This business of roofs crashing down on you and injuring you so that evacuation may be necessary is a definitely a biggie. I've always been of the opinion any kind of vehicle is ok. But I think we need to ask about potential pop top problems. So should we ask if there are double locks (however that works) so that the pop top doesn't fall down?

nyama

A little bit of common sense is all you need to avoid such pop top problems.

ValCanada

I am talking to Tropical Trails right now about an itinerary involving a 4-day trip up Meru and a 7-day camping safari through Serengeti/Ngorongo etc. and a 4 day rest in Zanzibar. I've only found a few reviews here and on Lonely Planet - some great and some lousy. I'd be interesting in hearing more about other people's experiences.

The accommodations they're advertising now seem nice (Outpost Lodge in Arusha, Nungwi Beach Hotel in Zanzibar). Their pricing seems decent (Meru, 4 nights, $995; safari camping trip, 8 nights, $2600; Zanzibar, 3 nights, $830). Anyone out there with other experiences?

Novak

We would not go camping with Tropical Trails again. We paid extra for special campgrounds but could not get the areas we wanted even a year in advance. Cook was just average or worse. Not a lot of food or variety. Had much better with our Kenyan company. Just not impressed with their service or guides. Ours was very moody. We have been to East Africa three times now. Have you got quotes from other companies?

ValCanada

No responses to my other e-mail inquiries yet. Africa Travel Resource and Good Earth Tours don't seem to have the kind of camping tours that I'm looking for. I don't need special campgrounds but I don't want lodges, either. I've sent requests to Roy's and ES. There are SO many companies out there and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed - they all seem to have some good and some bad reviews - it might be just a hit-and-miss thing, no? SO much seems to depends on the guide, the traveller's expectations and proper communication before you go.

I'm a female travelling by myself and, so far, I'm getting pretty individualized and safety-conscious treatment from TT - I know, I'm still in the pre-booking stage so what do I expect?

Here's my itinerary I'm working on with TT: 4 day Meru trek, 8 day safari (Tarangire NP campsite, Serona campsite, Simba campsite, Ngor Resort campsite, Lake Eyasi Bush campsite and TT's Masaai Base camp) with stays in between at Arusha Coffee Lodge and 4 day Zanzibar (Nungwi Village Beach Resort and Ras Nungwi Beach Hotel) - the quote was around $4550 but I've added a couple of requests that might make it more.

Patty

What kind of camping are you looking for?