S
Sunseeker
·
July 1st, 2025
Safari trip June 2025
Overall, a good experience and I would recommend it for a first time safari or solo traveller.
The INITIAL BOOKING PROCESS was excellent, Rebecca the rep couldn’t have given more time or attention at this stage - answering questions and offering insights into booking my trip. Once the trip was booked and paid for in full, all confirmed (including single room supplement) - I was then informed that they didn’t have any single rooms available for me and that I could either share with another guest, change the date for my tour of receive a full refund. This - after having paid and had everything confirmed for the rooms et al.
You’d think they’d check the ROOM AVAILABILITY before confirming a booking. The rep said someone else had already booked the last available single room slot - this was only realised after I had paid in full.
Further to this - the rep said she’d look into it and see if there was anything they could do, after I highlighted that and alternative dates would come at a higher cost - and questioned whether I would be expected to pay the difference!!!
The rep got back to me and said Exodus had found a way to keep me on the tour I had already booked and paid for, and that they would (as a good-will gesture) cover additional costs for me to allocated double rooms for my sole use rather than single rooms.
Later - when requesting my FLIGHT DETAILS in order to go and select my seats for the plane, I was sent the passenger flight details of another customer for an entirely different tour by mistake. Mistakes can happen, but I took issue with the shift in tone at their own mistake - which became focused on pressing me to delete the breached data they’d sent me, and then let them know when I had done so ( as though I was now one of their employees) with no regard to my original request for my own data - which I had to request yet again.
After already sending my passport details to one member of Exodus staff I was asked for it again weeks later because the details could not be found. I forwarded the email from which I’d sent the details the first time.
It then took a number of weeks to get a clear response to the question of where my SUITCASES would collected from after transferring items to a soft bag.The rep had made it explicitly clear that I could bring suitcases and that they would then be held during the safari tour and returned to mm at the end. I’d be staying an extra night at the end of the tour in a different hotel to the Eka (our start hotel) so I wanted to know the logistics around how I’d get my suitcases back.
After copying another member of Exodus staff into my email chase up trail I received a clear response from the other staff member - we would return to Eka at the end of the tour to collect my suitcases - where they’d be held for the duration of the tour.
Bearing in mind the time and money spent on selecting and purchasing a soft bag and manoeuvring items to fit for the safari - it came as an alrighty slap in the face to m to realise that my suitcases followed me to our starting lodge and to allotter lodges thereafter. There had been no need to move items into a soft bag - the sat loaded my suitcases in the jeep for the entirety.
When I asked my safari guide/driver what the protocol was with luggage - he confirmed that bringing suitcases was fine, happens all the time and that if space at the back of the jeep is limited, the place the excess neatly down the aisle of the jeep. My driver/guide apologised for the situation I found myself in and understood my frustration. Exodus staff and their website lead you to believe that you cannot bring normal suitcases, but this is not true.
We happened to have a member of EXODUS STAFF as part of our tour group, I fed the luggage saga back to her and she said she would feed it back….she also thought that maybe the hotel staff may have loaded my suitcases by mistake…however on reflection, that doesn’t wash because members of Exodus staff would surely have flagged up that no suitcases were permitted when the jeeps were being loaded.
Also - the Exodus rep who we encountered for the intro briefing at beginning and end of the tour seemed to pay no regard to luggage, nor did he attempt to engage with all members of the group waiting for the briefing, he sick and chose who he wanted to speak to. He didn’t seem to have a handle on things and floated around ignoring some of us and over-engaging with others. At one point he interrupted my conversation with another member of EXODUS staff and demanded I ‘listen to him’ invading my personal space to point where I needed to tell him to step back - to which he responded by rolling his eyes and stepping back.
The Exodus staff member said she wasn’t on duty but at times seemed to assume a leadership role within the group that knocked the equilibrium off balance somewhat - either you are working and acting in a leadership capacity or you are an equal tourist within the group who have paid in full for equal experience to yours - she didn’t announce that she was there on official duty when introductions were made at the pre briefing (at Eka Hotel) only that she was from Exodus. Switching from one to other, even inadvertently, clouds the experience for the rest of the group. Despite saying she wasn’t on duty, I saw her take out sheets of A4 paper on the jeep with lists of questions to ask the driver, and she also made a point of asking him what first aid facilities he had on the jeep - which presented as being for her own ‘Exodus’ intel-gathering reasons, not a team spirited sharing of information.
On another occasion she asked the diver to pause because she couldn’t find her work phone - so again, if not on duty why would a work phone need to be announced….any lost phone would just as important right?
OBSERVER EFFECT. There were numerous instances where I felt our driver/guide was more preoccupied with answering the staff's questions and communicating directly to her rather than the whole group, due to her working for Exodus, which is understandable as he is likely concerned about what she might feedback to his managers, his livelihood is priority - but again, this shift in dynamic did not provide an authentic team balance for everyone else.
Perhaps staff should have designated trips just for them, to maintain the integrity of the group experience for non-Exodus staff on these tours.
At the end of the tour, I received differing information about my FINAL TRANSFER - I was informed that our safari driver would handle my transfer, but the next day it transpired that another member of Exodus staff (the one who picked me up from the airport - who was great by the way) would be doing it, but no clarity as to when/what time - communication on the order and arrangement of things for the group in general was rather frazzled and disjointed.
The END OF THE TRIP - I would strongly recommend having some sort of plan for what to do with your time if you’re flying home on the last day of the tour. We were on the road from 8am and arrived back from Masi Mara to Eka Hotel around 2.30pm, a long drive. My group (11 people) were casually informed of having a final briefing (not mentioned in the itinerary) and were then offered ‘the board room’ designed for board meetings as a room to have for themselves until it was time to head to the airport at around 7pm for their night time flights home, hardly comfortable. Not sure if it was possible to book a day room in advance, but of course none of this was highlighted or communicated from the outset or at the point of booking, or in any of the itinerary detail on the website - so if you think you’ll want a bit of quiet, rest time or privacy in the hours leading up to your flight - maybe factor that in or book an extra night somewhere before your flight. The Sheraton Four Points Hotel was an excellent choice (thanks Rebecca for recommending it, instead of Eka again).
I’d also flying into Nairobi at leas one day before the tour starts, just for some rest, especially if you arrive on a night time flight.
The actual GAME DRIVES and safari experience were a great introduction to safaris, it’s worth bearing in mind hat you’ll be on the road for long periods, often bumpy and all the starts are early, between 7 and 7.30am so it is quite tiring with no mornings or afternoons to rest, it’s back to back action.
It would be great if drivers could use a mic in the jeeps so that everyone gets to hear what’s being said clearly, especially those sitting in the back of the vehicle, also allowing for a bit more running commentary from the driver without him having to strain his voice or have people asking for things to b repeated.
We got some really insightful information from our driver, this is underrated and actually made a huge difference to the entire safari experience.
THE LODGES on the whole were great, lovely accommodation with great views from rooms and the food was brilliant throughout, the buffets are varied and plentiful with lots of fresh healthy options.
More water in the rooms would have been appreciated, given the climate and tiring fast paced nature of the trip - though there was always water available in the jeeps to top up your bottles.
Amboseli Sopa Lodge - a few creepy crawlies and visible cobwebs, but the others were fine, not a major issue, grateful for the mosquito nets in all the lodges.
Show moreExodus Adventure Travels commented on this review
Thank you for taking the time to provide such a detailed and considered account of your experience on your recent trip with Exodus. We truly appreciate the opportunity to review all aspects of your journey and we’d like to offer a sincere apology for...
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