Africa Budget Nature Trips & Packages Tours & Trips

What travelers are saying

"I very rarely provide negative feedback due to my sympathy for companies and their need for business. However, on this occasion, I deem it extremely important to do so, mainly due to the horrendous experience one can easily incur with Look at Egypt Tours. I booked the ‘Egypt Christian Journey: Biblical Tour of Egypt’ tour through Tourradar, with Look at Egypt Tours being the local guide. This is what I experienced: - First of all, there was nothing remotely Christian about this tour, and my guides demonstrated no knowledge of Christianity or the Christian historicity of the places that I visited. The tour manager, Waled, even had the audacity to want to book me onto a Belly Dance Nile cruise the moment I landed in Cairo. He seemed to forget that I was on a Christian pilgrimage of sorts and that I wanted to focus on my faith. - The attempt to book extra events would become the norm on Waled’s part, despite my persistent refusal. It was apparent that, right from the start, his aim was to extort as much money as possible from me. - Waled had instructed me not to exchange my Pounds Stirling beforehand and that he would take care of it. Upon reaching my hotel after my arrival in Cairo, he exchanged my money into bills of 200 Egyptian Pounds only. This was inconvenient since I needed small change for tipping. I had told him this. But he shrugged and did not seem to care. He then proceeded to ask for a tip for both him and the driver. I had no option but to hand out a huge chunk of my money. I realised that he had cleverly set this up. - My guide for Cairo and Alexandria was Mohamed, who was one of the sleaziest people I’ve encountered. He gawked at every single attractive woman that walked by and would shout at the top of his lungs to show off his English-speaking skills. He was highly dismissive and failed to answer any questions I had about the sites. I always felt like I was being spoken at rather than to. Mohamed was also rude to other tourists in public and would often barge past them. It was embarrassing being with him. He constantly smoked and grunted his way through things like an animal. - Mohamed would pick me up at the hotel in the morning and rush through the day, always ensuring that we finished around 14.00 or 15.00. On one day, when we had finished at around 13.00 and the pyramids were around the corner, I asked him to stop our bus so that I could make most of the day. He laughed and ignored me. So, I always ended up in my hotel in the early afternoon with nothing to do. Thankfully, I was at the Hilton Hotel Pyramids Golf, which is such a beautiful and tranquil place. - I had prepaid for lunch for most of my days on this tour. However, both Waled and Mohamed did their best to avoid getting lunch, and there were some days when it was skipped. On one occasion, when I raised this concern with Mohamed, he stopped the bus, hopped out, bought a sandwich from a filthy vendor, and shoved it into my hand. It was disgusting. The lunch skipping was disgraceful and was only done so that both Waled and Mohamed could pocket my prepaid money. - Both Waled and Mohammed had the vain and bizarre request of wanting their photographs taken at every site, as though they were tourists themselves. They rarely conducted themselves in a professional manner and were often too busy posing rather than guiding. - My hotel in South Sinai, the St. Catherine Plaza Hotel, was hell on earth. It had been abandoned since COVID and is now being run by what seems to be local Bedouin. Although they were pleasant, the hotel is derelict and extremely filthy. Please be aware that none of the information online about this hotel has been updated, and all the photos are old. My hotel room floor was caked in urine, and I had to live with that nauseating smell for two days. Rather than being productive and searching for an alternative, Waled merely joked about the hotel. He had failed in his due diligence of the place. - Climbing Mount Sinai is certainly not for the faint of heart and is not worth the effort. There was no mention beforehand of how strenuous it can be. It had been planned that Waled would accompany me during the hike, but he was conveniently ill that morning and could not attend. A local Bedouin boy, sweet but not handy, was hired to escort me. The hike was dangerous, and a couple of tourists got lost on the way. After a total of 8 hours of a horrendous hike, I returned to find Waled miraculously recovered. He then had the audacity to ask me for money for the Bedouin boy, whom I had already tipped. - I finally confronted Waled about my bad time during the tour and came close to asking for a refund, especially for my missed lunches. He laughed and denied that I was owed lunch. But he was quickly silenced when I showed him my original itinerary from Tourradar, the very same itinerary he had. I then had the last laugh by forcing him to pay for my last hotel meal. - The only good thing about Look at Egypt Tours was the bus driver on this tour. Ebrahim was such a gentleman and did more than Waled and Mohamed could. He saw how tired and distressed I was at times and did his best to cheer me up, going so far as to buy me breakfast and water. I shamed Waled with this, but he only laughed and called Ebrahim nothing but a bus driver. It is clear that I will never use Look at Egypt Tours again. I have had an amazing experience with Tourradar in the past, so it was certainly not their fault. They should, however, do a thorough review of Look at Egypt Tours. It’s amazing how one tour company can have the power to put you off an entire country. They should be called ‘Never Look Back at Egypt’ Tours. Do not use this company."

What travelers are saying

"Mara Serena Hotel Trip. We had a wonderful trip to the Mara with excellent guidance by Bw Simon Nderitu. Very knowledgeable, punctual, friendly, happy and treated us with a lot of respect. Keep it up!"

What travelers are saying

"I very rarely provide negative feedback due to my sympathy for companies and their need for business. However, on this occasion, I deem it extremely important to do so, mainly due to the horrendous experience one can easily incur with Look at Egypt Tours. I booked the ‘Egypt Christian Journey: Biblical Tour of Egypt’ tour through Tourradar, with Look at Egypt Tours being the local guide. This is what I experienced: - First of all, there was nothing remotely Christian about this tour, and my guides demonstrated no knowledge of Christianity or the Christian historicity of the places that I visited. The tour manager, Waled, even had the audacity to want to book me onto a Belly Dance Nile cruise the moment I landed in Cairo. He seemed to forget that I was on a Christian pilgrimage of sorts and that I wanted to focus on my faith. - The attempt to book extra events would become the norm on Waled’s part, despite my persistent refusal. It was apparent that, right from the start, his aim was to extort as much money as possible from me. - Waled had instructed me not to exchange my Pounds Stirling beforehand and that he would take care of it. Upon reaching my hotel after my arrival in Cairo, he exchanged my money into bills of 200 Egyptian Pounds only. This was inconvenient since I needed small change for tipping. I had told him this. But he shrugged and did not seem to care. He then proceeded to ask for a tip for both him and the driver. I had no option but to hand out a huge chunk of my money. I realised that he had cleverly set this up. - My guide for Cairo and Alexandria was Mohamed, who was one of the sleaziest people I’ve encountered. He gawked at every single attractive woman that walked by and would shout at the top of his lungs to show off his English-speaking skills. He was highly dismissive and failed to answer any questions I had about the sites. I always felt like I was being spoken at rather than to. Mohamed was also rude to other tourists in public and would often barge past them. It was embarrassing being with him. He constantly smoked and grunted his way through things like an animal. - Mohamed would pick me up at the hotel in the morning and rush through the day, always ensuring that we finished around 14.00 or 15.00. On one day, when we had finished at around 13.00 and the pyramids were around the corner, I asked him to stop our bus so that I could make most of the day. He laughed and ignored me. So, I always ended up in my hotel in the early afternoon with nothing to do. Thankfully, I was at the Hilton Hotel Pyramids Golf, which is such a beautiful and tranquil place. - I had prepaid for lunch for most of my days on this tour. However, both Waled and Mohamed did their best to avoid getting lunch, and there were some days when it was skipped. On one occasion, when I raised this concern with Mohamed, he stopped the bus, hopped out, bought a sandwich from a filthy vendor, and shoved it into my hand. It was disgusting. The lunch skipping was disgraceful and was only done so that both Waled and Mohamed could pocket my prepaid money. - Both Waled and Mohammed had the vain and bizarre request of wanting their photographs taken at every site, as though they were tourists themselves. They rarely conducted themselves in a professional manner and were often too busy posing rather than guiding. - My hotel in South Sinai, the St. Catherine Plaza Hotel, was hell on earth. It had been abandoned since COVID and is now being run by what seems to be local Bedouin. Although they were pleasant, the hotel is derelict and extremely filthy. Please be aware that none of the information online about this hotel has been updated, and all the photos are old. My hotel room floor was caked in urine, and I had to live with that nauseating smell for two days. Rather than being productive and searching for an alternative, Waled merely joked about the hotel. He had failed in his due diligence of the place. - Climbing Mount Sinai is certainly not for the faint of heart and is not worth the effort. There was no mention beforehand of how strenuous it can be. It had been planned that Waled would accompany me during the hike, but he was conveniently ill that morning and could not attend. A local Bedouin boy, sweet but not handy, was hired to escort me. The hike was dangerous, and a couple of tourists got lost on the way. After a total of 8 hours of a horrendous hike, I returned to find Waled miraculously recovered. He then had the audacity to ask me for money for the Bedouin boy, whom I had already tipped. - I finally confronted Waled about my bad time during the tour and came close to asking for a refund, especially for my missed lunches. He laughed and denied that I was owed lunch. But he was quickly silenced when I showed him my original itinerary from Tourradar, the very same itinerary he had. I then had the last laugh by forcing him to pay for my last hotel meal. - The only good thing about Look at Egypt Tours was the bus driver on this tour. Ebrahim was such a gentleman and did more than Waled and Mohamed could. He saw how tired and distressed I was at times and did his best to cheer me up, going so far as to buy me breakfast and water. I shamed Waled with this, but he only laughed and called Ebrahim nothing but a bus driver. It is clear that I will never use Look at Egypt Tours again. I have had an amazing experience with Tourradar in the past, so it was certainly not their fault. They should, however, do a thorough review of Look at Egypt Tours. It’s amazing how one tour company can have the power to put you off an entire country. They should be called ‘Never Look Back at Egypt’ Tours. Do not use this company."

What travelers are saying

"Kamchatka renews the inner spirit with its pristine, majestic views and overwhelming sense of calm and serenity. Being able to feel and experience the nomadic way of life by enjoying the countryside while staying in the native Gur goes beyond your normal travel adventure. This trip was an awarding nature travel."

What travelers are saying

"We had an amazing experience with Dav Safaris. We booked before the pandemic started, tried re scheduling 1 year after and we postponed again because airlines were cancelling. Finally after 2 years we made the trip happened and the service from beginning to start was excellent. Our guide Patrick delivered everything on our bucket list and took care of us and everyone of our needs. I recommend Dav Safaris 100% and will use them again in the future. Thank you Reagan and Patrick for making our trip perfect."

What travelers are saying

"I was interested in a number of holidays offered by Equitour and requested answers to some straight forward questions through their "contact us" section of their website on multiple occasions. No answers. No contact. If I can't get the company to show an interest before I give them my money, I can only guess at their attitude one I've paid up. Im planning to book through Blackthorn and Brook. Responded immediately with answers to everything and mailed a gorgeous brochure."

What travelers are saying

"First, let me say our tour guide Tomomi S. is hands down THE best tour guide I’ve ever had - knowledgeable, fun and made great efforts to ensure that we were comfortable and happy (MTSobek tour guides are independent contractors. Tomomi also works for other Adventure/Tour companies) Secondly, Japan is beautiful, clean and the Japanese people are very welcoming. The hiking in the national parks was amazing. It could have been a truly five-star experience if MtSobek had not cut corners so egregiously. The website said (at the time) group tours are 5-22 people. The tour gets canceled if the minimum is not met. When I paid there were TWO other people booked-a mother and daughter duo. Shortly before our departure date I called to see if the tour would be cancelled. I wanted my money back but Mt Sobek was “pleased to say that the trip would not be canceled”. In other words, I could not get a refund. At the last minute a guy named Matt signed up so there were four of us. Five days into the trip Matt left and took a train back to Tokyo. I said to him “You realize Mt Sobek is not going to refund you”. He said, “I don’t care, Mt Sobek scammed us.” With tax, the tour costs $11,645 for 13 nights. For that price there is an expectation that the accommodations Mt Sobek chooses would be decent and clean. We all fully expected a ‘traditional Japanese experience’ which often means no private bath and 8 out of the 13 nights we slept on futon mats on the floor. However, Mt Sobek consistently booked us in the cheapest Ryokans (hotels) in each area in which we travelled. Most of these hotels were unclean and very out-dated. One Ryokan they booked us in was listed on a hotel website for $40 USD/night when there were much nicer accommodations nearby for $100 USD/night. (The Japanese yen is way down, the luxury Park Hotel in Tokyo was $200 USD/night. A comparable hotel would have been about $800/night in Austin.). We were the only people staying in several hotels that accomadated many more people. The most egregious example of MtSobek’s booking the cheapest rooms is when we were booked at a large traditional ski lodge at the base of a spectacular mountain. It was beautiful on the website but had two very different wings. One wing was modern, clean and beautiful with simple beds. The other wing was very old (similar to a cheap Motel 6 that had not been updated since the 1970’s). The carpet and bathrooms were disgusting and like many of the Ryocans where we stayed the futon mats seemed as though they had not been cleaned In 30 years. Only after our tour guide checked us in did we realize we had been booked in the cheap rooms. I asked Tomo why. Immediately someone from MtSobek reached out to me and said, “gosh, I’m sorry you did not realize you were going to have a traditional Japanese experience”. Really? “Traditional” experience depends upon one’s budget. In the US, “traditional” to some people may be the Marriott, a Motel 6 or the Four Seasons Hotels. We were paying for a Marriott experience and received the one-star Motel 6 experience. Upon arrival in Tokyo I expected to be met at the airport by a driver (as many tour companies do). However, several days before our arrival dates in Tokyo, MtSobek sent an email telling us how to locate taking a city bus from the bustling Tokyo airport. That is interesting if you do not speak Japanese. MtSobek cleverly uses great photography and elaborate descriptions of the national parks and the hiking while using terms like “traditional Japanese experience with tatami-mat sleeping” to disguise sub-standard accommodations. At one point we were looking on-line at the very hotel where we were staying and did not even recognize it from the website pictures. The hiking was amazing. The group size was disappointing with just the three of us. I would absolutely recommend a hiking tour through Japan, just not with MtSobek."

What travelers are saying

"We had an amazing experience with Dav Safaris. We booked before the pandemic started, tried re scheduling 1 year after and we postponed again because airlines were cancelling. Finally after 2 years we made the trip happened and the service from beginning to start was excellent. Our guide Patrick delivered everything on our bucket list and took care of us and everyone of our needs. I recommend Dav Safaris 100% and will use them again in the future. Thank you Reagan and Patrick for making our trip perfect."