Taking you to the exotic African wild!
Morning Star Tours & Travel
- Located In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2018)
- Member Of:
- IATA, KATO, AMREF & TOSK
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $2,325 to $13,985 per person per day (MXN, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
IT
Email Maria | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience in the wild
We spent 3 days and 2 nights respectively in Salt Lick Lodge and in Kibo Camp (in front of Kilimangiaro). We visited 3 parks: amboseli was incredible! We saw lots of animals like lions, elephants, hippo, etc. Our guide Daniel was very nice giving is the possibility to Make lots of nice pictures! Alice as Morning Star’s tour operator was available 24hours for any kind of assistance. We liked Amboseli a lot with Kilimangiaro’s view: thanks to our guide Daniel we visited also a Masai Village in front of Kilimangiaro. Here we entered in touch with local culture and traditions.
UY
Email Ceci y Ro | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Everything good
Everything was fine. The guys were very nice and pending on us all the time
Email Belinda | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
What an experience!
We took a 6 night safari with Morningstar staying one night at Lake Nakuru, 2 nights in the Masai Mara , 2 nights in the Serengeti and one night in the Ngorogoro Crater. Dennis was our tour consultant and he answered all our communications with great efficiency.
All of our accommodation was clean , comfortable and of a high standard.
We saw so many animals … lions , elephants, giraffes, hippos etc in abundance just to name a few plus we were lucky enough to see a cheetah and a leopard.
Dennis organized a visit to a Masai village for us which was amazing and also a sunrise hot air balloon experience over the Mara which was truly magical.
Overall we had a wonderful experience and would recommend Dennis and Morningstar.
Email Mirjana | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Getting safari adjusted to our needs was very efficient, communication was great, people friendly!
From first moment, communication with Alice, our tour consultant, was great. She quickly responded to all our questions, modified itinerary to include our end point in Diani, after visiting Amboseli and Tsavo West conservancy.
Our guide was very sweet and quiet young man Julius, who tried to show us as much as possible. Most impressive were families of lions and views of Kilimanjaro in Amboseli NP, where we also saw elephants, hippos, zebras, hyenas, buffaloes, flamingos... Accommodation in Oltukai Lodge was great, food options for my daughter and me, who are celiacs, were amazing.
Herds of animals coming to drink water at Salt Lick Lodge waterhole was something special to experience. Elephants, wilder beasts, zebras….kept coming to drink in organized long lines. It is impressive how all animals work together and give each order chance to drink, since that is the only place where water is available.
FR
Email Emma and Anne | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Reliable and friendly safari organiser with maximum flexibility
I found this tour operator online. There are many offers so it can be confusing. I travelled with my adult daughter for our first visit to Kenya which was a safari followed by a few days relaxing by the beach. We chose Kenya because there is no trophy hunting. We booked rather late and were initially looking to join a group. My contact, Dennis, was very reactive to all my questions and flexible with the arrangements and dietary requirements. I was inspired by the proposed tour for just the two of us which included Massai Mara, Nakuru Lake and Amboselli. I really appreciated having the our lovely driver David to ourselves as we could have road stops when we wanted and get all the photo shots we wanted. The lodges were extremely comfortable and the buffet meals were copious. The price was an important criteria for me and in the end it cost me no more than a trip in a group including the flights from France (I booked flights on Ethiopian Airlines via Addis Ababa). If you only have 2 days for safari, I recommend Massai Mara and Amboselli.
SG
Email Leo | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Life trip but with dissatisfaction and disappointments
The pre-communication with Morning Star was very smooth, they finally customized a 10-day itinerary according to our ideas, we enjoyed most of the time in these 10 days, thanks for this;
The downside is that the problems with the vehicle happened 3 times in the 10 days and we had to change the vehicle twice for that;
What's even more uncomfortable is that when I expressed that I were not 100% satisfied with the trip, they directly recalled and deleted the link to write my review which had been sent to me already, even though I asked them for sending me the link again at least 2-3 times, they always tried to procrastinate and refuse, that’s unacceptable and directly affects my final evaluation.
Reply from Morning Star Tours & Travel
Posted on Jul 12, 2024Hello,
We would like to address the above review as follows;
Our client booked a 10-day safari with us, and we allocated them a good driver guide. They enjoyed most of the safari, as evidenced by their feedback. First and foremost, we would like to apologize for the mechanical problem with the vehicle that occurred during the last days of the safari. Most of the roads in Kenya were severely damaged by the recent floods this year, and unfortunately, our car developed some mechanical problems on the way to Masai Mara. The driver guide informed the office, and we dispatched a mechanic based in Narok (a town close to Masai Mara) to check the problem, which was fixed within one hour. As we needed to take the vehicle for servicing and repair before it became a big problem, we requested the clients change their vehicle to another car we dispatched from the office to save the situation. I can confirm that the remaining part of the safari went well without any problems.
We endeavor to provide 5-star services to all our clients with well-maintained vehicles, and we have acquired a new fleet to serve our clients.
CN
Email Matt | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unfulfilled refunded after 1 month due to their mistake
Our recent 8-day trip to Kenya and Tanzania with Morningstar was far from the unforgettable adventure we’d hoped for. Starting from Tanzania, everything went wrong and they still own us a huge number of money for nearly a month. They promised to refund next week everyday, but still seeing no money yet. And we even got a message from him saying we are NOT PATIENT!
In Tanzania, we had to pay for multiple services, including park fee, transportation fee, etc, twice, losing 2 half-day of safari due payment not done in advance. Despite reassurances from Dennis, Morningstar’s owner, promised refunds for these extra expenses never received. Further more, Morningstar has no direct staff in Tanzania, so they rely on a partner agency, which resulted in poor coordination and minimal support.
Having made our full payment two weeks prior to departure, we trusted that all fees were covered. However, upon arrival in Tanzania, we learned that key expenses, including park entry and transport, hadn’t been paid. Faced with the risk of being stranded, we had no choice but to cover these costs ourselves. Dennis blamed the missing payments on a hacked bank account and again promised a refund once we returned to Kenya—a promise that remains unfulfilled 25 days later.
While our guide Caleb in Kenya was experienced and dedicated, Morningstar’s overall handling left us disheartened. The lack of support, broken promises, and financial inconvenience made what should have been a dream safari a frustrating experience. Sadly, I cannot recommend Morningstar based on our trip.
Furthermore, I don't know if there’s anything related to racism or not, but I do find that reviews from other countries are great, they did not had to experience paying everything twice, while many Chinese tourists report money loss without timely refunds.
We do sincerely wish that the excuse from Denise is true and he will refund as he promised. Please get us the refund ASAP. If so, the whole trip is a memorable experience with MorningStar.
Reply from Morning Star Tours & Travel
Posted on Jul 10, 2025Hello,
We would like to take a moment to address the concerns raised in the review mentioned above.
Our client, Matt ( same group as Becky), had booked an 8-day Kenya and Tanzania Safari, starting and ending in Nairobi. While the first four days of the safari unfolded beautifully, our clients faced unexpected challenges upon entering the Serengeti due to unforeseen failures with our banking systems. We fully understand how frustrating this situation must have been for our clients, and we sincerely empathize with the inconveniences they experienced.
As soon as we became aware of the issue, we immediately prioritized communicating with our clients. To ensure they did not miss their game drives, we suggested they pay the park fees directly with the assistance of the driver-guide, assuring them that we would refund these costs as soon as our banking systems were stabilized.
Special Note: Our technical team worked tirelessly to resolve the issue, and we are relieved to share that we have successfully processed a full refund for our client.
It saddens us to see our clients dissatisfied, especially when we strive to provide memorable experiences, as evidenced by the feedback of other clients.
We are committed to learning from this incident, and the following actions have been taken to ensure a similar situation won't happen again in the future;
1. Transitioning our banking operations from the current bank to a new bank.
2. Adding an additional signatory to our banking operations.
We want to assure you that this situation is taken very seriously, and we remain dedicated to providing all our clients with the attentive service they deserve.
Thank you for your understanding and support.
BE
Email Dieter | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
My advice - Avoid Morningstar, There are better options
Before diving into our experience with Morning Star, just a note on the side that we were happy with our lodge Zebra Plains. Nice room and proper food, however all items which Morning Star had to foresee (transport & guide) were far below expectations.
Transport
- Car we very old and not clean
- Some windows didn't open and some didn't even have a handle anymore
- Seat belt didn't work so one of us had to move to the back of the car
- The back of the seats could only be reclined if you put all your weight on it and forced it down
- Every rest spot was a tourist trap next to a local souvenir shop, especially on the way to the Mara when you still hadn't even see anything stopping for souvenirs doesn't make sense. Other companies were stopping at the big fuel station where you had nice restaurants for a break.
"Guide"
- this was the most disappointing of all!
- Our "guide' was a disaster, actually he was not a guide, he was just a totally not interested driver.
- In case we saw an animal he said maximum two lines of explanation, or sometimes we even had to ask to give some info of the animals we saw
- He seemed not interested in us nor in the safari, his goal was to start late and return early to limit his time on the road
- We also noticed the lack of flexibility. An early safari was not possible, for some reason the earliest we could leave was 7 am which is again a huge lack of customer intimacy
- The only day he proposed to start early was the day we had to head back to Nairobi so he could finish early and go home
- He also didn't show any interest in taking our pictures at certain spots. He only left the car for our picture if there were other 'guides' around taking pictures of their customers
- All tips we gave him were a real waste of money
- I have wanted to go to the Mara since I was 10 years old, with a heavy heart I can only say that he ruined our experience and will always leave a stain on our memories of our Masai Mara safari. Zero conversation, zero enthousiasme, zero interest... just a disaster experience with him.
When looking at the other agencies parked at Zebra Plains, we noticed the drivers of Mufasa, African Horizons and the Holiday Dealers were much more friendly towards us.
They asked us several times how we were doing and what we had done on the day, while our guide disappeared as soon as we left the car. On top of that their cars were much more recent, clean and of better quality.
Looking at the money we spent for this safari, it totally doesn't correlate with the service we received from Morning Star.
There are many safari companies in Kenya who offer these tours, we took a chance on Morning Star and it is clear that it was the wrong bad.
So please choose carefully for your safari as well and avoid Morning Star. As mentioned above Mufasa, African Horizons and the Holiday Dealers would be my pick now.
Reply from Morning Star Tours & Travel
Posted on Nov 27, 2024Thank you so much for your thoughtful feedback!
First of all, we are truly grateful that you chose to travel with us, and we're delighted to hear that you enjoyed your stay at the Zebra Plains Mara Camp.
We'd like to take a moment to address a few of your concerns as follows:
**Transport**
We sincerely apologize for the issues you experienced with the car seats and windows. The safari vehicles used for game drives in East Africa are not luxury vehicles; they are off-road vehicles equipped with pop-up roofs for game viewing and navigating the rugged terrains of the game parks. Due to the dust in these parks, the windows may get stuck occasionally. To prevent similar occurrences in the future, we will implement regular checks on the windows and car seats after every safari.
We're also pleased to share that we've recently invested in a new fleet of 4 x 4 Toyota Land Cruisers, specifically customized to enhance clients' comfort and safety while on safari.
**Driver Guide**
We completely understand how frustrating it must have been for you, especially considering your long-held dream of visiting Masai Mara since you were 10 years old. We sincerely empathize with the inconvenience caused. Based on feedback from other clients, we take pride in ensuring that all our driver guides undergo rigorous training to deliver exceptional safari experiences and maintain the high standards set in the tourism industry. Unfortunately, Mwololo, the driver guide assigned to your group, did not conduct himself appropriately, and we will take disciplinary actions to ensure this does not happen again.
We greatly value your feedback, and we're committed to taking the necessary steps to ensure that future guests will have a memorable and fulfilling experiences they deserve.
CN
Email lingwang | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Morning Star is a big cheater.
Morning Star is a big cheater. They owe me a total refund of $8,372 which hasn't been returned yet. During the process, they kept telling us that they would transfer the money to us, but they kept delaying it. It has been almost a month since the trip ended, but we still haven’t seen the remittance.
I would like to ask if this company still has any integrity and if it is so difficult to bear its own mistakes. Why should tourists pay for your so-called hacker mistakes? This is outrageous.
Reply from Morning Star Tours & Travel
Posted on Jul 10, 2025Hello,
We would like to take a moment to address the concerns raised in the review mentioned above.
Our client, Lingwang(the same group as Shi and Junjie/Marshall Ding), had booked an 8-day Kenya Safari, starting and ending in Nairobi. Due to unforeseen failures with our banking systems, our clients faced unexpected challenges while checking out of the hotel, which forced them to pay the outstanding hotel balance. We fully understand how frustrating this situation must have been for our clients and sincerely empathize with the inconveniences they experienced.
To ensure they did not miss their game drives, we suggested they pay the park fees directly with the assistance of the driver-guide, assuring them that we would refund these costs as soon as our banking systems were stabilized.
Special Note: Our technical team worked tirelessly to resolve the issue, and we are relieved to share that we have successfully processed a full refund for our client.
It saddens us to see our clients dissatisfied, especially when we strive to provide memorable experiences, as evidenced by the feedback of other clients.
We are committed to learning from this incident, and the following actions have been taken to ensure a similar situation won't happen again in the future;
1. Transitioning our banking operations from the current bank to a new bank.
2. Adding an additional signatory to our banking operations.
We want to assure you that this situation is taken very seriously, and we remain dedicated to providing all our clients with the attentive service they deserve.
Thank you for your understanding and support.
CN
Email SHI | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It's really a terrible experience! We feel that we have been cheated !!!
Before our trip to Kenya on September 28th, we had paid the full amount for the tour. However, on the morning of October 5th, the last day of our stay, we were informed by the hotel that Morningstar had not paid them, and therefore we were not allowed to leave. We were forced to stay at the hotel for nearly 2 hours. During this unexpected situation, our contact person Alice completely disappeared and refused to answer our calls and WeChat messages. In order to catch our flight back home, we had to pay nearly $4500 for the hotel fees in advance. But right after we paid, Alice showed up and claimed that she had an emergency and would refund us later. Out of trust in this company, we kept communicating with them actively after returning home. But until today, we haven't received any refund, and the people from this company are full of lies! They said the refund had been sent to us at one moment, and then claimed they needed to confirm the specific details of the expenses with the driver at another moment. They always put off giving us the remittance receipt! We also confirmed with the bank over the phone that we hadn't received any remittance information.
If you don't want to advance payment for a fraudulent company and don't want to be helpless in a foreign country, please don't choose this company. It's really a terrible experience!
Reply from Morning Star Tours & Travel
Posted on Jul 10, 2025Hello,
We would like to take a moment to address the concerns raised in the review mentioned above.
Our client, Shi (the same group as Lingwang and Junjie/Marshall Ding), had booked an 8-day Kenya Safari, starting and ending in Nairobi. Due to unforeseen failures with our banking systems, our clients faced unexpected challenges while checking out of the hotel, which forced them to pay the outstanding hotel balance. We fully understand how frustrating this situation must have been for our clients and sincerely empathize with the inconveniences they experienced.
To ensure they did not miss their game drives, we suggested they pay the park fees directly with the assistance of the driver-guide, assuring them that we would refund these costs as soon as our banking systems were stabilized.
Special Note: Our technical team worked tirelessly to resolve the issue, and we are relieved to share that we have successfully processed a full refund for our client.
It saddens us to see our clients dissatisfied, especially when we strive to provide memorable experiences, as evidenced by the feedback of other clients.
We are committed to learning from this incident, and the following actions have been taken to ensure a similar situation won't happen again in the future;
1. Transitioning our banking operations from the current bank to a new bank.
2. Adding an additional signatory to our banking operations.
We want to assure you that this situation is taken very seriously, and we remain dedicated to providing all our clients with the attentive service they deserve.
Thank you for your understanding and support.