Features Africa Journeys

My family and I took an eleven day tour through Kenya and Tanzania in 2024. The tour would have been amazing had the owner of Features Africa Journeys, Karanja, been more honest and communicated with us better. Basically once we paid our deposit all communication stopped. While on tour 3 out of 6 lodges on our itinerary were changed without our knowledge. After the second change, which was a HUGE downgrade from what we paid for and extremely disappointing to be there for three nights, I was clear he needed to let us know if he was going to change our last lodge. He agreed. Sure enough he did it again and clearly had no idea where he was bringing us. This is the owner of the company! He drove us around the last park in the dark until he figured it out. The day before we ended our tour Karanja came to me and asked for more money due to increased park fees and lodges. Wow! Why wait until the last day? There is a long story to this situation. End result is, on the day we ended the tour we (the owner of Features, myself and his financial institution Pesapal) made an agreement to a partial refund. Within 3 weeks of leaving the country it was clear I was not going to receive the refund and Karanja stopped communicating the day we left Kenya. One year three months later and a very long process I finally received the refund. It took filing a complaint against Features Africa Journeys with the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK), the Tourism Regulatory Authority (TRA), the Kenyan Tourist Police Unit, and my credit card company to resolve the matter. Please, if you are due a refund from a tour company in Kenya and did not receive it do not give up. It can be done. It is not okay to take advantage of a tourist. Our experience is a shame as we would have had an amazing tour if communications were better, the lodging was what we expected and not downgraded and we were not cheated out of our money. There are plenty of other tour companies to use that are more honest.

We had a ten day safari in Kenya and Tanzania. Features Africa Journeys took into account all our wishes and everything was planned great. The company has highly professional guides who excellent know the habits of animals and where to look for them. We saw the Big Five and many carnivores were very close to us. The guides talked a lot about the life of animals and nature. Accommodation was very comfortable. The lodges were located in a real savannah but had all the facilities like bathroom, hot water, WiFi, etc. Everyone greeted us very hospitably and friendly. Safari vehicles are in good condition and very clean. Features Africa Journeys is an excellent team of specialists and we are happy that we did a safari with them!

Absolutely visit Africa. The people, land, and animals are amazing. Our contracted drivers/guides for Amboseli, Kenya, and the Serengeti, Tanzania listened and worked with us through difficult times. We saw more wildlife than we could have imagined. Absolutely visit Africa, but do NOT use the services of Features Africa Journeys. Our final itinerary showed the list of upgraded lodging as requested and paid for. It was a LIE. Of the 6 listed, we were not informed of any changes until we drove past 4 of them. We were downgraded to tented camps, some with no amenities. One 3-night stay did not even have running hot water. Estimated drive times were grossly underestimate. Many days were over 10 hours or longer, only leaving the vehicle for lunch. We arrived at all of the lodging as the day turned dark. For every upgraded lodging, we left after breakfast the next day. We did not have any time to enjoy the facilities or amenities. Heck, we didn't have time to even see them . As a party of 6, with 4 being just under or over 6' tall, we we're assured the vehicle could accommodate us in comfort. We had a terrible time finding leg room. I had bruises on my wrists, head, shoulders, knees, and legs. One guide told us the vehicles are really meant for 4. Karanja did not apply for park permits in a timely manner. In the Serengeti, we had a 3-night stay but only a 2 night permit. We were informed, if the permit was not paid for, we would have to leave the Serengeti or risk being arrested! Karanja, the owner, became our driver when we returned to Kenya. We confronted him about his deceitfulness, asking him to be truthful with us. He looked us in the eye and lied over and over again. We ended our safari early and asked to go directly to the airport. If I could, I would give this review a zero. I cannot say this enough. DO NOT USE FEATURES AFRICA JOURNEYS. Karanja is a pathological liar.

Our 8 day Safari through Kenya and Tanzania with Features Africa was perfect. Our guides, Simon in Kenya and Frank in Tanzania, were knowledgeable, kind and always made sure we got the photos we wanted. We recommend requesting these guys because they were awesome at finding those elusive cheetahs and leopards. The accommodation choices were fantastic, food was great and the pace was appropriate. Really couldn't fault the tour at all. Huge thanks to Karanja and his team!

Traveling alone for safari during the Covid19 era seem to be impossible, but this agency managed to convince me and fulfilled my life dream - to see the wildebeest migration in Mara national park. I will remember this trip for my life and would like to recommend the agency for its professionalism, tailor made and human approach. Thank you Antoni and Karanja for everything!

Very informative and professionally executed the task we entrusted them.with.

A standard safari company.