Kilimanjaro Brothers more fun and enjoyable climb!
Kilimanjaro Brothers Climbing Adventure
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Member Of:
- Kilimanjaro Association of Tour Operators
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $170 to $500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
SG
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
8 Day Lemosho Route with Kilimanjaro Brothers
I climbed Kili with Kilimanjaro Brothers in Aug 2014. I had communicated with 15+ Kili operators over six months before contacting George Mtaki. My criteria was:
1) To support a local operator directly (instead of going through an agent who would take a cut)
2) To find an operator who would provide daily health checks, carry bottled oxygen, a phone for emergency communication, and a portable toilet
3) A competitive rate (not the lowest)
4) Someone I could trust to organize the climb for me
As a highly-detailed trip planner, I felt comfortable communicating with George. He responded to my questions patiently and promptly without pressuring me to sign up with him.
Most importantly, George delivered everything we agreed on. He personally welcomed us when we arrived and provided us with a dedicated, professional team to take care of us on the mountain. Good equipment, good food. Our guides Gabriel and Priscus were attentive to our needs, comfort and safety (particularly when we exhibited signs of altitude sickness). I had difficulty breathing on the way down from the summit and am grateful to the team for their care. Gabriel carried me on his back for part of the way, then supported me till I made it back to camp.
I highly recommend Kilimanjaro brothers and am happy to answer more detailed questions if you are considering the climb. Thanks George, Gabriel and Priscus for the adventure!
Kilimanjaro brothers took me and my partner on a 6 day kili hike, followed by a four day safari.
Kili Bros were fantastic from day 1 and we're so glad we chose them as our tour provider. They were really quick with the email responses that were more than just a standard template reply. They really were personal, friendly replies that went the extra mile to make us happy.
The safari was amazing and we were impressed every night with the standard of accommodation they had arranged. Our guide "Sharif" was the guy that the other guides turned to for expertise which made us feel lucky.
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Email Laura | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
safari through Serengeti, Tarangire, and Nogorogo Crater
I am so fortunate a friend told me about the Kilimanjaro Brothers. George couldnt be more helpful, as we set up our adventures from the US. Before we got there, our flight was delayed but George assured us he would be waiting for us when we did arrive, and he was! Our driver Hussein, was great! He was patient, fun and went out of his way to make sure we were safe and enjoyed all the great sights. We saw so many animals and he never minded to wait as we asked to stop one more time to take a picture. I cant stress enough BOOK WITH the KILIMANJARO brothers- you won't be disappointed!!! Karabu!!! Our safari was 5 wonderful days, one of the best vacations of my life. Tanzania is beautiful! cant wait to come back
Email Zoe Holdsworth & Jacqueline Rennison | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Exceeded all our expectations. Outstanding company. Friendly, caring & professional team.
The company's owner George and his team were fantastic from the outset, answering our many (many!) questions and giving us a lot of reassurance (we booked over a year in advance).
When choosing a climbing company, it was important to us that:
(1) It be a local, Tanzanian company, to ensure the profits stay in Tanzania;
(2) The guides and porters are employed by the company (rather than subcontracted at the national park gates) and provided with training, footwear, etc (we had read many horror stories of appalling porter treatment);
(3) Balance of good price with decent wages for staff and decent equipment for staff and us;
(4) Recommended highly by previous clients.
We spent many months looking at different companies and chose Kilimanjaro Brothers Climbing & Adventure as they met the above criteria and were highly recommended by all we contacted through Tripadvisor and Facebook. Throughout our info-gathering, they also came across as the friendliest and most accommodating.
We booked a private climb for the 2 of us (we are both females, in our 30s from Scotland). We chose the 8 day Lemosho Route, starting 6th September 2014, successfully summiting to Uhuru Peak on 12th and finishing up on 13th.
Our entire experience, from looking into the companies, to booking our trip, arriving in Tanzania and right through to being dropped back off at the airport, was beyond all our expectations. George Mtaki and his team were very friendly and we felt welcomed by their warmth and professionalism.
Our team of 16 on the mountain were outstanding. Always caring for our safety, wellbeing and happiness throughout the entire 8 days. We extend our gratitude and thanks to Gabriel our guide, Priscuse our assistant guide, Simon our porter and trainee guide - all of whom made it possible for us to reach the summit. Jeremiah our cook and Chas our waiter, who provided us with endless cups of tea and the most fabulous vegetarian food you could ask for. I don't know how they did it, on the side of a mountain! Many thanks to Isaac our tent porter, Christopher our toilet porter, Freddy our porter and Black Five card game champion, Stanley, Emmanuel and all the other porters. You are all wonderful, you kept us safe and happy, and we enjoyed our singing, card games and your enthusiasm to keep us going "Non stop, to the top!". We meant it when we said you are our Kilimanjaro family.
Please remember to tip your team generously. Happy to be contacted via Tripadvisor about this as we found the tipping amounts to be hugely varied across all websites. Before arriving, we asked George for a list of staff and the recommended tipping amounts (min to max) for each staff role, so we were prepared. Tips are issued to each staff member on the final day of the mountain, so remember to take this money with you in your daypack. We tipped at the maximum level and also gave away the majority of our gear to the crew. We do a lot of hill walking in Scotland, but we can afford to slowly replace the gear we gave away - a down jacket, thermals, Camelbaks, good socks, etc are usually far out of the financial reach of most mountain crews, so please do donate whatever you can to your team as it is gratefully received and shared out. By the end of your climb, you will want to give them the shirt off your back, believe me. Colours of clothing don't matter here.
In addition to donating our own kit, we also took out with us a large kit bag full of donated walking gear for the guys (from our husbands & friends). We flew with KLM so 2 kit bags each were within the hold baggage allowance. Please consider doing this as it really does make a huge difference to those working on the mountain. If your crew doesn't need the gear, there are plenty others working on the mountain who do need it.
The other thing we would suggest is to consider fundraising for and visiting some local Tanzanian community projects. Coming from a very materialistic, Western society, we found the whole experience really does change your perspective on life. We asked friends, family and colleagues if they would like to make a donation to Amani Children's Home in Moshi and Kilimanjaro Young Girls in Need school outside Moshi. So glad we did this as we ended up raising (with Gift Aid) approx £6,000 UK pounds for both charities combined ($9,000 usd) and took out a couple of big bags of donated clothing, footwear,football boots and arts/craft stuff. We spent a very enjoyable morning at KYGN school and afternoon at Amani. IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE!!!
We stayed at the Honey Badger Lodge just outside Moshi town. Highly recommended. Good food, lovely accommodation and gardens, staff excellent. Also very focused on community give-back.
All in all, we highly recommend Kilimanjaro Brothers Climbing & Adventure. 10/10. We thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful, remote 8 day Lemosho route which gave us good opportunity for acclimatisation. We felt safe and looked after the whole time. Outstanding service.
Lots of information available on the company's website and on their Facebook page.
We are more than happy to be contacted via email if you have any questions.
Zoe Holdsworth & Jacqueline Rennison
Scotland, UK.
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Email Cali | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Seven Days on Kilimanjaro and Five days safari with Kilimanjaro Brothers
My daughter and I just completed a seven day climb of Kilimanjaro and a five day Safari with Kilimanjaro Brothers. We have received excellent service preparing our climbing. The care for our wellbeing and support were patient, friendly and perfect and we always felt safe. I remember the sentence "pole, pole, just a few meters than there is the peak" hahaaa.
The guides (Maroa and Massawe) were truly exceptional and exceeded our expectations in every way. Their concern for our health and welfare and in helping us to achieve our goal was top-notch. The food on the climb was far better than we expected.
Also five days on safari with Kilimanjaro brothers was a once in a lifetime experience for us. We visited both the Manyara National park, Tarangire National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The food too was good and accommodations that arranged perfect.
Thank you George and Kilimanjaro Brothers team for making this a truly unforgettable experience! The excellent experience with the service provided by the company. I would highly recommend their service!
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Email Lexia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Happy to meet Kilimanjaro Brothers team Fantastic
George the owner made himself very available for planning and was available constantly in contact with, throughout via WhatsApp and Email the days before our trip for any last minute planning. He gave very speedy replies and was very efficient even though we made multiple changes throughout the planning of the trip. He's as eager and willing to arrange your trip as he seems!
We were very happy to meet George and the team who picked us from the Airport to a hotel in Moshi. Where we were introduced to our guide. Add the next morning Kilimanjaro brothers team came ready for briefing and a little bit excirces before leaving for Machame gate.
Supplied us with everything we needed to succeed on our summiting Mount Kilimanjaro Uhuru peak. Our expectations were regularly exceeded with all aspects of our trip! The food was fantastic, the tents and sleeping bags kept us warm and the charming personalities of the whole team who took much enjoyment in helping us because they clearly love their jobs!
As an aside, we followed the tipping recommendations I read about from their online portal and tipped the team generously.
The only other thing I'd suggest is that if it's within your means, to have the people in your trekking group consider gathering extra hiking clothing (boots, hats, head lamps, etc.) to provide as gifts or donations to the porters. No matter which company you choose, the porters are all under-dressed because they cannot afford proper hiking clothes or shoes. The clothes they do have often come as used donations. If your trekking group can collect hiking clothes from friends before traveling it would make a very nice gift to give upon your departure.
I can give George and Kilimanjaro brothers team my highest recommendation. FANTASTIC!
Lexia.
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Email Sullivan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic trip
We had a fantastic trip, trip of a lifetime really. Everyone was very helpful from the early stages of planning, a number of changes in dates and people right down to the actual climbing trip where everything was organised well and worked out pretty much exactly how I imagined it. Mount Kilimanjaro was amazing, very interesting and off the beaten path. The guides were amazing and we learned so much. All the porters we had were very friendly and patient with us. The scenic Lemosho route Trail was just a fantastic experience all around. Massawe our guide and crew were amazing and we felt like we had the Kilimanjaro to ourselves. Highly recommended for their good service.
CA
Email Annabelle and Thomas | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A wonderful game drive safari
It was the best trip! We absolutely loved it!
We had a very wonderful 10 days safari, customized and tailored safari for us from Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater to Serengeti national park. We saw an incredible number of animals and birds, including the big five. Our guide, James, was so knowledgeable about the wildlife and the environment, and was great at pointing out animals that we would've missed.
James really listened to what we wanted to see and was attentive to our needs.
Our accommodations were top notch and the food at each lodge or tent camp was very good.
We were pleasantly surprised by the individual attention we were given by the staff at each place we stayed. During the day we traveled in our safari vehicle for a game drive, just my husband and I with our guide, and still the cost was very reasonable.
We can't say enough great things about George, the owner Kilimanjaro Brothers, and our guide.
It was the best trip for us!
CA
Email Logan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great experience with Kilimanjaro Brothers
My girlfriend and I completed a 8 day hike on Mount Kilimanjaro going up on Lemosho route and descent through Mweka.
Each of the trekking day was different and had varied memories. Mount Kilimanjaro itself is grandeur and Lemosho route is definitely very scenic, more than we had anticipated.
The key to a successful ascent of Mt Kilimanjaro is to take it laid-back during the first days and ensuring that you acclimatise to the altitude before attempting the final hike to the summit. Upon hitting Uhuru Peak, it is quite a sense of great achievement standing on top the mountain. It is for sure a an amazing experience watching the sun rise over the African skies and with amazing views.
We used the service of Kilimanjaro Brothers directly and George made all the arrangements for us. Everything was delivered as planned and at reasonable cost. Robin, the Kilimanjaro guide was an excellent choice and an expert in helping out alongside the a team of porters and cook.
The cook and porters were all very good and well organised, the food was good, warm and plentiful with fresh fruits. Everything was on time and the guide adjusted hiking tempo to our abilities and frequent photo stops. He knew well what he was doing. The hike itself, landscape and nature, is of course exceptional.
Without the help of Robin, we wouldn’t have succeeded in reaching the summit. George was an excellent planner and made all efforts in providing all the information we needed beforehand. Everything was as per the details provided and trust me that they know the mountain very well, providing you with the right info and the potential problems and solutions.
For us, using Kilimanjaro Brothers was a great experience.
Email Robert | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Mount Kilimanjaro Trek and Serengeti Safari
We booked both the mountain climbing and the Safari through Kilimanjaro brothers.
Both were incredible
For the Trek - led by our guide John was extremely patient and answered all our many questions regarding wildlife/culture/scenery. The chef, Massawe prepared us fantastic meals in difficult situations. The porters took great care of us, supplying us with tea and snacks!
For the Safari - Juma was our driver, he went to great lengths to make sure we saw as many of the animals as possible - he also got us a fantastic view of the Wildebeests crossing the river Mara!
We stayed at the Maramboi lodge - all the staff were fantastic - as was the food and the quality of the room - a beautiful place.
I don’t have anything negative to say - we were happy with everything.
Thanks for a trip of a lifetime