Nomad Africa Adventure Tours Reviews 7

Cancelled a tour due to rain and rather than rerouting us made us pay our costs to get home and provided only a small refund.

We just completed a tour purchased in Australia from Trip a Deal and contracted to Nomad in Sth Africa. We could not have been happier with our 23 Day Ultimate African Safari. We had the most caring and professional guides that semed like trusted family to the 15 of us. We had our truck (Aretha) lose power near remote Fish River Canyon and Blessing our guide handled the situation brilliantly.
Every meal was prepared with great care and joining in to set up and pack away became an easy routine. Every evening Blessing Gurure our incredible guide would clearly outline the next day’s activities and nothing was a bother to our three guides. Paradzayi Toungana our driver was extremely competent and we felt safe at all times.
Tafadswa Fambi our trainee guide added another fabulous level to our trip. He was everything you would expect from a skilled guide already.
The tour is a complete adventure / you see and do so much in the three weeks. Highly recommend this tour and if you get Blessing, Para and Taffi then you will be blessed!

We recently took a 42-day trip through Africa (July–August 2024) operated by Nomad and booked via African Overland Tours. We paid around EUR 14,000 (USD 450 per day) for two people. Unfortunately, it turned out to be our most disappointing travel experience to date. Here is our account of the issues we encountered, shared in hopes that future travelers will be better informed, and that these companies will address their shortcomings.
1. Minimal Activities, Excessive Downtime
• Only about 3% of our first 10 days involved actual activities (e.g., a short safari, brief village walks, a coffee plantation visit). The rest—some 97% of the time—was spent in a cramped truck (8–15 hours daily) or in budget lodges with nothing planned.
2. Uncomfortable Transportation
• The truck seats were very tight for anyone over 175 cm (5’9”), and the microphone did not work. Filtered-water mechanisms were outdated, forcing travelers to rely on questionable water sources.
• We often ate breakfast or lunch while driving on roads filled with bumps, risking spills and discomfort.
• Our group ranged from about 15 to 75 years old; older travelers struggled greatly with the lack of comfort.
3. Lack of Professional Guidance
• We had only a driver and a cook, neither qualified to serve as an actual tour guide. We received no substantial information about local culture, history, geology, fauna, or ecosystems.
• Complaints or suggestions were brushed off with remarks like “complaints will disturb the peace of the crew, the clients, and the company.”
4. Substandard Accommodations and Extra Costs
• Roughly 90% of the lodges were low-budget establishments (USD 30–60), often without hot water—or any water at times. Only 3 of 35 were decent.
• Additional fees for game drives, excursions, and even basic drinks like water quickly added up (e.g., USD 350 for a Tanzanian game drive).
• Travel breaks were limited to malls or fuel stations, rarely involving scenic or cultural stops.
5. Overreliance on Guests’ Labor
• Meals were rushed to about 30 minutes. Guests had to set up tables, chairs, assist with cooking, and clean dishes. It felt like we were doing staff tasks rather than relaxing on vacation.
6. Poor Communication and Organization
• No one checked if travelers had correct documents, and there was no guidance on border crossings. Room assignments at lodges were random, forcing guests to sort things out themselves.
• Time management was erratic. A “30-minute” stop could stretch to over an hour without warning.
7. Dismissive Customer Support
• African Overland Tours took a week or more to reply to emails and offered no real solutions. When we called, the representative interrupted constantly and blamed us rather than taking responsibility.
• We ultimately left three days early with no refund for unused accommodations. When lodging was overbooked and we had to camp instead of staying in a room, there was no apology or compensation.
8. African Overland Tours: A Middleman Concerned with Sales
• They pressured us to decide quickly, implying limited availability. They charge a significant markup over Nomad’s base price but provide no added value, functioning more like sales agents than travel experts.
9. Overall Assessment
• While the natural beauty of Africa’s parks and cities shone through (no thanks to the operators), the disorganization, lack of guidance, and poor service tarnished the experience.
• For the cost, we expected a professional guide, comfortable travel, and a well-planned itinerary. Instead, it felt like corners were cut at every opportunity.

Recommendation
We strongly recommend seeking alternative agencies. Based on our experience, it would be hard to find a more poorly organized operation than Nomad and African Overland Tours. We hope this review prompts them to improve and deliver the quality service that travelers deserve when discovering such a magnificent continent.

Ngorongoro Crater & Zanzibar - South Nov 2024

I do not recommend this route nor tour company. No one would sanely want to go on this tour route if they knew how much driving time there is in a truck/ jeep. nomad did not properly disclose the amount of road time on this trip.

why this route is even sold is a mystery. it is just awful. have been roughing it in dozens of 3rd world zones and this was by for the only one I regret. waste of you money, your vacation time, and flight. root of the problem, is that this amount of driving is not disclosed properly on the agenda.

EVERY single day is between 8 and 13 hours of driving (outside of Zanzibar). and we had little traffic and no problems with the dirty vehicle. I will say again EVERY SINGLE DAY is driving (outside of Zanzibar) and very very rough driving.

no tour stops on the journey (outside of game parks and Zanzibar). the only stops are truck stops and on the game drive one a.m. potty stop, one p.m. and one 1/2 hour lunch. all else in a sweltering in a jeep/van. you are with a driver and a cook. no tour guide. we learning only one single factoid from the pair of very nice men, the entire trip.

disappointed is putting it lightly. and we tried to get flights out to get off tour in the middle. not really possible. ashamed of nomad.

please really study and ask questions before booking. map it out.

FIRST SEVEN DAYS' TRAVEL TIMES STUFFED IN A TRUCK/JEEP/FERRY
​9 hours: DAY ONE Nairobi - Arusha 7:00am to 4:00 pm
11.5 hours: DAY TWO Arusha - Karatu - Sergetti 6:30am to 6:00pm
11.5 hours: DAY THREE Serengeti 6:30am to 6:00pm
10.5 hours: DAY FOUR Serengeti/crater to Karatu 6:30 to 5:00pm
8 hours: DAY FIVE Karatu to Arusha 7:00am to 3:00pm
​13+ hours DAY SIX Arusha to bagamoyo
​9 hours DAY SEVEN Bagamoyo to Dar es Salaam to Zaznibar (driving plus ferry)

I did a camping tour with them from Cape Town to Victoria Falls, was an amazing experience.
I did some travelling already in my life, but Keith our driver from Zimbabwe was far the best guide I have met in my life. His knowledge was impressive about everything from geology, culture, wildlife.
I am planning to do someday an East African tour with them again

Nomad Adventure Tours has in theory very good products, and I will be fair to say that I have also had some of my best travel experiences with Nomad. But at my latest experience it appeared that Nomads effort to maximise revenue and profit has led them into the arms of sub-contractors that have very little resemblance to the product I have experienced before. So you don't know what you get!