AROYÓ Safari

Aroyo Safari put together one of the best safari programs for me and my family few weeks ago to Tanzania. They went through great deal of trouble to make it happen as we initially cancelled due to my kid's Covid situation. Lodges and other accommodations were really impressive with good staff and amazing conditions considering where they are. We really appreciated the attention to detail everyone put to make this our biggest holiday ever. I would officially recommend them to anyone looking for a special family treat in Africa.

I did a 5 day safari with this company and to say the least, that was one incredible experience. From the beginning at the pick up to safari itself and everything in between, it was nothing but special and spectacular. I was a solo traveler and I enjoyed everything. My guide was a fine gentleman who knew his craft in and out. I would like to take this time to recommend this great company to anyone looking to visit Africa.

Not sure yet what happened, but I'm worried I may have lost my money. After reading the recent bad reviews, I started calling the camps and the resort we are supposed to be staying in and found out they have made no reservations in my name. I was hoping it is an oversight and I have called each of Aroyo's numbers repeatedly for the last two weeks, but can't get through to them. In addition, all my emails have been unanswered for the last two weeks. They were very kind and responsive and helpful back in January when I was booking my trip, but something has happened since. As my trip is getting closer they seem to have disappeared. Not saying they set out to steal my money, but at the least, it is looking like this is a company in turmoil right now. Either way, if you have a trip booked with Aroyo Safari I suggest you start calling around to find out what's going on with yours. And if you are still considering booking with them, I'd pass until they get their house in order.

I don't know where to start this review but I'll begin by saying this was just a special trip for my family. We travel the world every now and then and this year being the way it was and still is, we figured out Tanzania can be a go-to country.
We began planning around June and by July we had everything settled, thank to the Aroyó safari team particularly Tommy for such a handy information and detailed planning.
We arrived in Dar es salaam late November to start our tour and we loved everything about it. From the country's stance on Covid-19 to actions they took to literally mitigate it, I couldn't believe my eyes.
We booked luxury hotels and lodges because well, they couldn't get any cheaper. We went to Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Kilimanjaro and saw everything there is to see. The scenes were spectacular. Lots of animals in Serengeti roaming free. Nothing truly prepared us for this awesome adventure of our lives. My daughters jokingly asked me if I would let them stay here. That's how amazing this place is.
Many thanks for our safari organizers who pulled all strings to get us here, safely and return home safely.
We're happy clients.
-Jeanine

Some months before our African safari, they suddenly not responded anymore to our emails. We already started thinking that this was a bit fishy. At a certain moment, Sarah replied to us advising that Tommy (the owner) had been in a serious accident, and they didn't have access to any bookings. She then went on to tell us that all would be fine, just to give them some time to sort out. They didn't seem to have any knowledge about our itinerary and which lodges and activities we had booked, confirmed and partially paid for.

Then 2 weeks before our holiday, upon further pressure from us, we were told that they couldn't guarantee that the itinerary would be the same and suggested that we could cancel and receive a full refund (including cancellation charges for our international flights). Sarah even sent us an email confirming the arrangements and taking our bank details. We have obviously not received a single penny and all Sarah can come with are excuses. And since then...they are not responding to our emails, WhatsApp's or picking-up the phone.

Due to the large amount involved, we have sought legal advice and contacted a Tanzanian lawyer who will pursue our claim.

Go and read their recent reviews on TrustPilot and Google Review...several customers who have experienced more or less exactly the same.

Shame on you Tommy, Sarah, Louise and all the rest...you're scammers! This experience has been distressful and traumatizing.

We contacted Aroyo in April 2023 to provide a quote for a safari in Tanzania. After a lot of emails backwards and forwards we locked in a quote and paid a deposit of just over US$5000 on 1/6/2023. They were very helpful and communicative up until the point we paid the deposit. This was done via an international bank transfer into an account named "Limitless Life Network Limited" at the Equity Bank Tanzania Limited.

We first noticed there might be an issue when we were contacted 2 weeks later to say our money hadn't arrived. We sent them a receipt from our bank proving it had been paid and they then acknowledged payment and sent us a receipt.

After that we started sending them emails every couple of weeks to make sure all of our accommodation had been booked. We wanted to lock this in before booking our flights to Tanzania. These emails were not answered by Aroyo and we started to do some more internet research. We found that there were a significant number of bad reviews emerging on the net. We also found that they had made misrepresentations about affiliations with other companies on their website.

We sent them another email expressing our concern about their lack of action and the negative reviews. They responded to this email with excuses and asking for more time. We gave them another week and still heard nothing.

On 14/8/2023, we sent them an email asking for our deposit to be returned as we had lost faith that they were going to provide us with any service at all. In accordance with their terms and conditions the deposit should have been repaid in full. We gave them a deadline of 18/8/2023. They asked for a few more days to sort matters out and we extended the deadline to 21 August, 2023.

We have not heard from Aroyo since August 17 and our money has not been returned.
Their website has now been taken down.

Either this was a scam from the start or the company has gone out of business.

Nothing could tell us how wonderful our trip could get. We planned this for almost a year and started worrying when the pandemic broke out at the beginning of the year. We decided to hold on our reservation with Aroyo Safaris since this was our only chance to travel to Africa due to our busy career schedule and our children school.
When Tanzania announced we could travel we contacted our reservation manager and he gave us a go ahead well here we came.

Explored everything we could with the top of the line luxury hotels and lodges in Serengeti and Ngorongoro and Tarangire. All played out like a charm and nothing came in between, not even a pandemic.
Perfect safari and thank you Aroyo for such unreal experience.

Our experience with Aroyo was a highlight of our African vacation. We traveled during very hard times with Covid-19 pandemic on the horizon but nothing could stop us since we booked this almost a year ago. We couldn't cancel because we wanted to forget all about lock downs and less interactions. However we must admit that we were cautious all the way and thanks to Aroyo team for making sure we're living our dream in the middle of chaos. Attention to detail about this safari was just top notch. We couldn't find any other better tour outfitter for our luxury requirements. So we gave them a shot and it was all worth. Dream come true.

We traveled to all East African best national parks of Masai Mara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro etc. and couldn't believe how amazing everything was. The lodges were fabolous and 5 star I think, with good and variety of food and very good butlers. I cannot write enough of what we had because it was nothing short of wonderful. Thank you Aroyo for making our lives more meaningful.