We had a very negative experience with Bencia Africa Adventures.
Before our trip to Masai Mara, another guiding company (i.e. one of Bencia's competitors) offered us a very good price, and they openl (Read More)y admitted that the reason that they were able to offer us such a good price is through bribery of the park rangers at the Masai Mara park gate, where instead of purchasing another 24-hour entry permit for Day #3, they would simply bribe the rangers to look the other way and allow the (expired) Day #2 permit to remain in use. Bencia offered us a more expensive tour, but they promised that they would give us a corruption-free experience, and that they would provide us with all the receipts for the entry permits, as proof of a corruption-free experience. So we trusted them and decided to go with their services.
Our tour guide, Timothy, provided receipts for Days #1 and #2, but on Day #3 he failed to provide one. I kept pressuring him to provide the receipt, but he continued to give excuses for why he cannot provide it. I told him that what he is doing is dishonest and corrupt, and then I asked him a very simple question: "the entry permits cost $80 per day, so for 3 days that's $240...how much money did you pay in total for my entry permits?" He continued avoiding my question, telling me that he paid an "appropriate amount, as instructed by Bencia." An honest man would answer my question, since he has nothing to hide. Clearly this was not the case here.
Our 4-day tour was supposed to look like this:
Day #1 - evening game drive (16:30 to 18:30)
Day #2 - full day game drive (7:30 - 18:30)
Day #3 - full day game drive (7:30 - 18:30)
Day #4 - morning game drive (6:30 - 9:00)
Instead, our guide Timothy ended Day #2 early: he insisted on finishing at 16:30 instead of coming back to the park gate to purchase the next 24-hour period, and start the clock at 16:30 on Day #2 and finish the day at 18:30 as per our agreement. Then on Day #3, we went into the park at 7:30, so our permits were valid until 7:30 in the morning on Day #4. On Day #4 we insisted on sticking to the program and going from 6:30 to 9:00, and buying another 24-hour entry permit to cover the 7:30 - 9:00 period, when our second entry permit had expired. Instead, Timothy insisted on proceeding and that he would "sort it out" upon exit from the park. At the park gate he exited the vehicle and went by himself to "sort it out". Until then Timothy had provided us the receipts for the first two 24-hour periods. After returning to the vehicle I insisted on seeing the receipt for which he apparently paid, and he continued to avoid my question.
I later read that the Narok County Government is notorious for this type of bribery at the Masai Mara park gate, and that Bencia Africa Adventures is not the only company to engage in such corruption.
If you want to go to Masai Mara, I highly recommend getting a quote from a guiding company for all services WITHOUT including the price of entry permits, and simply pay the entry permits by yourself (at the time of writing, it is $80 per person for every 24 hour period). Without entry permits, the operating costs for the tour company will involve: transportation, fuel, and wear & tear of the safari vehicle, accomodation & meals (2500 KSH per night per person for budget accommodation), entry permit for the safari vehicle (1200 KSH per 24 hours), entry permit for the guide (1000 KSH per 24 hours), one time entry fee into Masai Village (1000 KSH per person).
If your guide fails to provide a receipt for the park entry, please report the corruption to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission. I reported Bencia today.
Most importantly, if you do not support corruption, then I DO NOT recommend using the services of Bencia Africa Adventures.
5.0 (21 reviews)
Bencia Africa Adventure & Safaris
