Owners Ines & Christopher
Indigo Safaris
- Offices In:
-
United KingdomUnited States
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2009)
- Member Of:
- ASTA, APTA, FGASA & DEMA
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $1,205 to $17,215 per person per day (MXN, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
Email Daniela | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A travel agent who does not listen based on my experience
Super disappointed about the experience: a travel agent who does not listen, empty promises, long wait after 5 hours of drive, another 2 hours for a room ( triple for a person)
Definitely not an agency which I recommend, try and get someone who is really professional and tries to do something for you
No value for money, despite promises of a good experience, just excuses
Reply from Indigo Safaris
Posted on Oct 22, 2024This is one of the most surprising and untruthful reviews we have ever received. As the Managing Director of a company I have built over the last 16 years by providing tailor-made experiences to travellers of all budgets and backgrounds, I take any complaint very seriously and look into them with commitment. Thanks to our detailed communication systems, I have been able to look into all the communication that took place between the client, Cristina (not Daniela), and my safari specialist Michele, who looked after this inquiry.
Initially Cristina enquired about a budget accommodated two-night short Etosha safari at short notice, which we found availability for, then changed her mind on the dates, then came back asking for a one-night Etosha trip from Windhoek, which we do not offer as we consider it to be too short a time on site for what are two long transfers either end. Our advice was unheeded, and Cristina insisted one night would be fine. Michele found availability at Etosha Safari Camp, booked it, invoiced it, and sent a detailed digital itinerary with images of the camp and details of the routing. The accommodation was reconfirmed as being at Etosha Safari Camp and not Etosha Safari Lodge via WhatsApp. All Michele's replies were punctual and very timely, and did as the client requested.
Upon arrival at Etosha Safari Camp, Cristina messaged Michele that the drive had been five hours. This is as per the usual driving time, and as per the information provided in the digital itinerary. I find it very surprising that someone who works in Windhoek and who has a senior position at the University of Namibia doesn't know that Etosha is five hours away. Nevertheless, there is nothing we can do about making the point of departure and the national park closer together. Moving either of Windhoek or Etosha NP is beyond our powers :-)
The client then complained about having to wait to check in to her room, even though she had arrived prior to check in time. Again, as a frequent traveller, I am at a loss to understand why she thought there would be an early check in as none was ever discussed or offered.
Christina then requested an upgrade to Etosha Safari Lodge. Immediately Michele enquired an found a room was available, at normal check in time, for an upgrade fee, and informed Cristina, who refused to pay it. Cristina then contacted the lodge by phone, and tried to make them believe we had sold her Safari Lodge and that is what she had paid for. Having worked with us for many years, the lodge found this hard to believe, and asked her to pay the upgrade fee if she wanted the upgrade.
During this time, Michele tried t ascertain why the client wanted to change, having been provided what she had been offered and paid for, to whit a private room with en suite bathroom, to no avail. Why it a room designed and sized for three occupants is a problem for single occupancy remains a mystery, as after the trip I reached out to Cristina to have a chat to try and ascertain where she felt Michele had made promises we didn't deliver on, but was told that she didn't want to talk about it.
Regarding value for money, this is obviously a matter of personal perception. This trip, as a two-night, three-day Etosha lodge safari with transfers is, in my professional experience of nearly 30 years of Namibia travel, very good value and the cheapest option out there at 9425 NAD for single occupancy for two nights half-board with a half-day and full-day game drive into Etosha (or 8500 NAD pp based on two sharing a room). As a one-night trip, it does lose some of its value for money as the transfers make a large portion of the trip, and this was communicated from the outset. But when the offer was sent, with images of the accommodation and camp, Cristina considered it to be what she wanted and one would assume value for money. I have tried to find out why that was not the case once on site, and why she felt the need to lie about our contract with her to a tested and trusted service provider, but no answers have been forthcoming.
The conclusion to my investigation is that Michele did nothing wrong, other than allow herself to be persuaded to provide a trip that I consider to be too short in duration in relation to the transfer times, in order to please a demanding client. Michele has been involved in African travel in many capacities over four decades; scuba dive business owner, lodge manager, and safari specialist to name some of them, and has excellent reviews from our clients, some of which can be found in reviews as recent as September and August below.
As we are as committed as ever to providing quality experiences for our clients, for whom we handle around 800 trips a year, I have reminded my team of experts that one night trips are not to be provided, however good the intention is.
Christopher Bartlett, Managing Director.
CO
Email Roberto Marroquin Grillo | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Indigo Safari was the worst of the companies I booked a safari with in Africa
Indigo Safari was the worst of the companies I booked a safari with. The companies in Kenya, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe were very diligent. It's true that the safari itself is run by different companies, bringing together groups and different accommodations, but everywhere the company I booked with, picked me up at the hotel and took me to the departure point. Indigo Safari doesn't do this, and the excellent manager who assisted me simply made me feel like I couldn't make any demands. In the others safaris, every day, everyone was attentive to informing me about the schedule, pickup time, and what each game included. In Namibia, with Indigo Safari, I had to find out at the accommodations what time they would pick me up, and they would contact Namibia 2 Go, the operator, and then inform me of the time and program. The excellent manager only informed me, once, that I had to be at the departure point fifteen minutes before the departure time, and I didn't know which one. I asked her several times if water was included, but she didn't answer. She also didn't inform me if lunch was included. Every day I eat breakfast and one meal, either lunch or dinner, and she offered me a plan without either option. Since he never explained the scope of the meal, he forced me to pay extra for food at the lodgings.
Namibia 2 Go, the opearator, every day, carried not only water but also other beverages and always brought lunch for everyone, asking first if they were vegetarians or had a special diet. The top manager seems to have no idea how to operate in the field. But the worst part of all was that I asked for a quote for two safaris, one in Salousvlei and another in Etosha, and manipulated me into choosing the most expensive plans with absurdly high food charges, arguing that the other lodges, more reasonable but also mid-range, were full. At both locations, the Namibia 2 Go vehicles arrived at these lodges first, and from there they took me, usually alone, to the other lodge. At reception, they always asked me why I wasn't staying there, and when I explained, they told me they weren't full at the time. The top manager got upset because I insisted that the safaris I wanted were available; if they weren't, they would close them and wouldn't allow me to quote them. I felt manipulated and poorly treated, and I informed him. His reaction was unprofessional, and after the start date, which he had no idea what time it would start, he never contacted me about anything. The safari was over, and she never did.
Reply from Indigo Safaris
Posted on Oct 16, 2025We strive to provide excellent service and value and have built our reputation on it over the 16 years we have been in business. We take complaints very seriously and investigate them as thouroughly as possible, as mistakes can occasionally occur, and we are always looking to improve.
In this case, Roberto was looked after by Michele, one of our Senior Safari Specialists. Michele has over thirty years of travel and hospitality experience in operations, lodge management, and safari planning and regularly gets great reviews on this platform and others. At no point was Roberto in contact with any of our management team. Perhaps the reference to "top manager" is the result of using online translation tools from his native language.
We offer safaris which are fully escorted like the safaris Roberto had previously done in Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. The Namibia safari that Roberto booked was not an escorted safari. The one he booked makes use of daily shuttles to get from one destination to the next and it is the guest's responsibility to get to the shuttle stops on time. This shuttle tour is much more affordable than an escorted tour. These shuttle tours also provide more freedom and flexibility than an escorted tour. We offered him several Namibia escorted group tours, including a cheaper group camping tour, all of which he turned down.
The itinerary for the trip that Roberto booked can be found here: https://wetu.com/ItineraryOutputs/Discovery/eeb95061-f10c-44d8-be2a-23116b52ca67
The above link shows departure times for all the transfers from one lodge to the next. In addition, on day 1 of the tour, it explicitly states that a pick up is not included from his hotel in Windhoek, a hotel that he booked himself, not through us. This fact was again brought to Roberto's attention by email before he arrived in Windhoek, when he contacted Michele and asked for information regarding the transfer he replied that it was not his job to read itineraries, it was our job to pick him up, despite it being made as clear as possible that Indigo Safaris does not have vehicles on the ground doing transfers, and that these are arranged through tried and trusted third parties.
The above itinerary link also states that lunch is not included. Roberto was also informed of this in emails before he booked the tour. The other guests on the tour who had packed lunches had bought them themselves from the lodges they stayed in. Roberto could have done this, too, if he had wanted to.
We provide all of our guests with all the information they need before embarking on a safari. When we send guests the invoice for their safari, we encourage them to read their itinerary again and double check that they are happy with everything.
On top of the pretrip digital itinerary, and PDF invoice with inclusions and exclusions, and a travel app with all the details of the digital itinerary in it, that can be viewed when offline.
If Roberto had read his itinerary, all of his unhappiness could have been avoided.
In response to Roberto's allegation that we manipulated him into booking more expensive lodges, he booked this tour of his own free will. At the time of booking, the more affordable lodges were fully booked. His claim that the other tour was available relates to him seeing the itinerary on Safari Bookings and not understanding that it is a sample and does not reflect live, dynamic availabilities.
That the cheaper accommodation was not available was explained to Roberto and Michele sent screenshots of availability from the lodges to prove to him that they were fully booked. We also have emails from the lodges stating that the more affordable options were unavailable; otherwise, we would have booked them. The lodge has confirmed that between the time of booking and Roberto arriving at the lodge, there were cancellations, with provisional bookings that did not materialise.
We did not force Roberto to book anything. If he didn't want to book the more expensive lodges, he didn't have to. He was free to book a different tour with another company.
Guests are also free to get quotes from other safari operators to ensure that they are getting good value for money, and we are always happy to explain the reasons for the price of our safaris.
However, this was a last-minute enquiry, and Roberto seemed to be in a rush to book it without reading everything properly first, something beyond our control.
If any problems arise during a safari, clients can WhatsApp their safari specialists, who will do their best to resolve the issue. Roberto had Michele's work and personal WhatsApp. Furthermore, Michele messaged Roberto via WhatsApp several times during the trip, but he never responded.
It was only several weeks after the tour that Roberto expressed any dissatisfaction, and we tried to clear this up with him, explaining the above, but his communication was limited to a seven-word response.
Regrettably, Roberto didn't have an experience that would have prompted him to leave a great review, like hundreds of other clients have left on this platform and others. Still, I believe Michele and Indigo Safaris can shoulder no responsibility for that in this case.
Christopher, Managing Director, Indigo Safaris.
CA
Email Troy | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Stranded at the airport
I wouldn't recommend you use this company. They are not a real tour company and only book you with a different company. I was supposed to be picked up at the Airport. No one was there to get me. I was told to take an Uber. Arrive at the hotel and they wouldnt pay for the Uber. Very stressful situation in a foreign country.