Wild Race Africa

Beware of Wild Race Africa

A Disheartening Experience. Let me begin by confessing that I'm not one to leave feedback often, but my experience with Wild Race Africa and its co-owner, Simon, compels me to share my story to protect fellow travellers from a similar ordeal. I hope my advice can prevent others from enduring unnecessary stress, disappointment, and wasted resources during their highly anticipated holidays.

Before I delve into the details, it's essential that several tourists in other review platforms ( e.g. Tripadvisor ) have rated Simon's services as terrible. Proceed with caution and read on.

I stumbled upon Wild Race Africa through a Google search before traveling from Europe to Kenya with my fiancé (who is Kenyan) that I wanted to surprise. Though I didn't thoroughly compare options, I was immediately impressed by Simon's responsive and kind demeanor. He seemed genuinely committed to making our customer experience unforgettable, which led me to make a grave mistake.

After a few exchanges via WhatsApp and email, I chose a 2-day/1-night luxury safari to Masai Mara for approximately 1800 USD. Simon requested a deposit of 30% (550 USD) to secure the accommodation.

Here's where the problem started. Simon presented four accommodation options for the luxury safari and insisted on a primary and backup choice. I selected Mara Serena Lodge as my top preference, clearly stating that it was my desired option. However, Simon later claimed that it was unavailable and booked Keekorok Lodge instead.

Subsequent attempts to secure my stay at Serena Lodge were met with delays and excuses. Simon's conduct became increasingly unprofessional, offering reasons such as Keekorok's inability to provide a credit note and false claims of website problems at Mara Serena Lodge.

The situation escalated as I asked for a receipt for my deposit, and Simon's communication became evasive and disrespectful. He even blamed me and others on my side, resorted to threats, and displayed an overall lack of accountability.

My trust in Simon shattered when I requested pictures of the safari vehicle, which turned out to be an everyday Toyota RAV4 rather than the high-profile Safari Jeep promised in the offer. Simon dismissed this discrepancy arrogantly.

After careful consideration and consulting with my fiancé, we decided to cancel the safari to avoid further complications. Simon retained the deposit, placing the blame on me, the customer.

To salvage our holiday, we booked a different safari with Olare Kempinski, which proved to be an outstanding experience with exceptional customer care, top-notch safari jeeps, accommodations, food, and game drives.

In closing, I urge all potential customers to exercise extreme caution when dealing with Simon and Wild Race Africa. Refrain from making any deposit until you receive a firm reservation for your chosen accommodation, and demand a written assurance that any future changes will lead to a full refund.

Based on my experience and years of business leadership, it's evident that honesty, respect, and integrity are not part of Simon's core values. Should you encounter discomfort or unsafe circumstances during your interactions with Wild Race Africa, prioritize your safety, even if you've already paid the deposit. Consider filing a complaint with your credit card provider to protect your interests.

Kenya offers excellent, honest, and reputable businesses worthy of your investment, but Wild Race Africa is not one of them.

Now, brace yourself for Simon's expected reply, where he will likely resort to his typical scammer approach of deflecting blame onto customers and refusing to take responsibility. This will only validate the concerns I've shared above, confirming that any issues during your trip will be blamed on you, the paying customer, rather than the service provider.

Mind-blowing all-around safari experience

We had a mind-blowing all-round safari experience with Wild Race Africa Safaris. We got to know about Wild Race Africa through a friend who had travelled with them before. From the moment I placed our trip request with them, the service was beyond all expectations. Simon listened carefully to our trip request and specifications.

He perfectly arranged the perfect holiday tour that met all our interests. The proposed safari lodges were quality lodges located right inside the park that help ensure we maximize our time exploring the parks. He was very much patient with my frequent, unending questions. As the company policy, we placed advance payment via Pesa-pal (online payment). Simon responded back with a receipt confirmation of payment and lodges booking reference numbers.

In Nairobi, we met Rachel and Phanuel who took us to the office where we met Simon to clear the balance via card payment. Our guide Phanuel was excellent. From the start of our 8 days trip, he was incredibly knowledgeable about animals, birds, and local people’s culture. We had a very easy time exploring the parks, he put his experience forward yet listened to our needs and was super flexible.

In summary, Wild Race Africa and the entire team created a fabulous holiday that ticked every box. A perfect service I'm recommending to all and will use again. Thank you, Simon and the entire Team.

Excellent African Safari Experience in Kenya

Excellent safari with Wild Race Africa Safaris. I got Wild Race Africa Safaris online and when I went through what other travelers’ say, I was a bit skeptical, but again it's better a company with 2 to 5% negative review, it only means the reviews are genuine and not doctored, so I gave them a try.

I got into contact with Simon via mail and he was quite swift in his responses. He reverted to us with a detailed itinerary, well planned and fully detailed with the lodges. We discussed with my family, checked out the lodges and the rates, we then proceeded with trip confirmation to help ensure the lodges are booked and confirmed in good time. True to his promise, we got the official company receipt after paying the 30% advance payment and the lodges reservation reference numbers for our own peace of mind.

Upon landing in Nairobi, we were met at the airport, we cleared the balances and off the trip kicked to Amboseli National Park. George Odingo was our guide for the 14 days trip. He is the best guide we could ever ask for. Very detailed, friendly, and flexible. We spotted a lot of animals with much ease. My daughter calls him a “walking encyclopedia”, we later get to learn that he is an ethologist and naturalist at the same time with over 25 years experiencing guiding. He was very kind and nice with us. He takes care of us in every moment, he was part of our family in Kenya where everybody is a sister and a brother from another mother.

Many thanks to Wild Race Africa and the entire team for making our Kenya trip such an awesome safari experience.
I highly recommend this company to anyone who want to explore and discover Africa, up close and personal.
We will definitely come back soon. Asate sana.