Frank Mella - Kilele Savane Director and family
Kilele Savane
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2005)
- Member Of:
- TATO & TTB
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $140 to $1,500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
FR
Email Jonathan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent experience with a great guide
We had a fantastic tour with Kilele. Our guide, Pita, welcomed us at the airport the first day until the last minute of our departure. We went to different parc and the lodges and tented camp were fabulous especially the one in the Serengeti. Pita our guide knows very well the area and he is fluent is French which was good for us.
We definitely recommend Kilele for the safari as this agency is more based on nature rather than mass tourism. You can also chose together the itinerary which is very convenient. Thank you so much for this great experience !! We plan to come back for the migration in 2 years and will definitely use again their services.
Email Shilu | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic
Kilele Savane is an excellent agency, and the safari tour was great.
Thanks very much to Frank who has always been professional and flexible in the organization of our journey.
I strongly recommend Kilele Savane.
the family goes to Tanzania with Franks help
My husband died in January 2010 and we had been planning a family vacation to Africa .He insisted that we go upon his death so in August 13 of us from age 3 to 70 went to Tanzania. Frank Kilele Savane planned the trip knowing our grief and the specialness of this trip in honor of my late husband . It was thoughtful ,adventurous,comfortable safe and extraordinary. We are an academic family and were so impressed with the quality of nature explanations we heard and with the love of and information about the areas and animals and flora of our guides. The housing was comfortable and the food wonderful.We felt well taken care of.It still is an adventure our family talks about.
IT
Email Stéphanie | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kilele savane organized a fabulous round trip with Safari, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar steps
Frank, working as the responsible, is really organized and precise. He organized and gave us a lot of detailed of our successful trip. He provided us good communications and works with beautiful employees (like cooker, driver and guide). Frank is really experienced!He also speaks French and English, that it was perfect for us. We felt safe and we enjoyed each minutes of a fantastic discovering trip.
BE
Email patrick vandeputte | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
a marvelous safari
We did a classic safari with Kilele (tanager, serengeti, ngrongoro and lake Manyara). and still it felt as special as of day one. The difference is made by the contact with Frank, listening carefully to all our requirements and acting upon it, same for our guide David, the good material throughout (landrover, tents), the excellent cooking... Simply one word, flawless. David is really knowledgeable of where to go and what to see, so we ended up seeing all the beasts in the book, plus the wildebeest trek over the mara river. Communication was open, and on top the price for all this was correct.
FR
Email Bruno | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent
We met Kilele through a friend of friends (her job is to organize upscale safari – so not for us), so it was relaxing not to be afraid of being cheated, as we had read on the internet from other travellers.
Frank successively offered several options until we find the most suitable for our desires, our budget, our planning, with good advice on the relevance of the course, the length of the steps, where to sleep, etc. ... (for example, an unforgettable walk with a Maasai guide close to the Lake Natron flamingos and through maasai villages).
We were able to talk both in French in English with Frank (but only in english with the driver and the cook).
So we visited (in 8 days) Tarangire > Natron > Serengeti > Ngorongoro parcs while camping (except one night in a lodge in Ngorongoro because of the cold), in a nice atmosphere (good vibrations with the driver and the cook, a good opportunity to learn more about Tanzania, learn some Swahili, ...).
Despite our initial reservations (for economic reasons), a safari with a qualified driver-guide really is a good bet: he knows where to find the animals while you only see a bunch of savannah, he can identify and explain the wildlife, and, most important, communicate (in Swahili) with other drivers in the park to find the best spots at a given time.
All equipments were in good condition (4x4, tents, sleeping bags, lamps, tables, chairs, ...)
Food was good and quite elaborate, given the material conditions, with a strong Tanzanian touch (we saw other tourists eat super standard stuff not appetizing).
Nous avons connu Kilele par une amie d’amis, qui organise elle-même des safaris haut de gamme (donc pas pour nous). Ça nous a mis en confiance (je pense à tous les récits d’escroquerie trouvés sur internet).
Frank nous a successivement proposé plusieurs formules, jusqu’à ce que nous trouvions la plus adaptée à nos envies, notre budget, notre planning, avec de bons conseils sur la pertinence du parcours, la longueur des étapes, l’endroit où dormir, etc… (par exemple, une journée de marche inoubliable avec un guide massaï à l’approche des flamants roses du lac Natron et à travers les villages).
Les échanges se sont faits en anglais et en français avec Frank, et en anglais avec le chauffeur et le cuisinier.
Nous avons donc visité (en 8 jours) les parcs Tarangire > Natron > Serengeti > Ngorongoro, tout en camping (sauf une nuit en lodge au Ngorongoro en raison du froid), dans une ambiance sympa (très bon contacts, en anglais, avec le chauffeur et le cuisinier, l’occasion d’en apprendre plus sur la Tanzanie, d’apprendre un peu de swahili,…).
Malgré nos réticences initiales (pour des raisons d’économie), faire un safari avec un chauffeur-guide qualifié est vraiment un bon plan : il sait trouver des animaux là où nous ne voyons que de la savane, les identifier, expliquer leur mode de vie, et communiquer par radio en swahili avec les autres chauffeurs dans le parc pour trouver les meilleurs spots à un instant donné.
Tout le matériel était en bon état (4x4, tentes, duvets, lampes, tables, chaises,...)
Les repas étaient bons, souvent assez élaborés pour des plats cuisinés sur place au camping, plutôt couleur locale (on a vu d'autres touristes manger des trucs ultra standard pas appétissants).
DE
Email Helmut | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
All expectations were fullfilled
Best service for booking and realization. Our Guide was Bryson and you will not find a better one. So much care in all belongings.
Best wishes for him and his team.
NL
Email Claire Desreumaux | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great adventure
Thank you again to Frank and its team who made our trip amazing! Everything was super well organized and we had a great time climbing Kilimanjdaro and 2 days safari.
FR
Email Nicole | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Super trip Longido/Natron Lake/Serengeti/Ngorongoro/Tarangire/Zanzibar
Group 5 people, very satisfied with our trip. Franck Mella very reactive knew to listen to us and advise us, according to our wishes and budget.
We had 2 fantastic guides speaking in French , Joseph with whom we have made we made of superb walks at the Massais, and Erasto who made us live magical moments at Natron Lake and was able to find for us, all the animals of the savanna, thank you for their competence and their good mood and thank you our cook Sril who won us back.
The program was respected, the organization was perfect, vehicles and equipment (2 nights camping at Natron Lake) in good condition. The logdes (Serengeti/Ngorongoro) et hotels in Zanzibar were perfect
Another highlight of our trip, we met very few tourists, even in the parks and to Jambiani the beach practically only for us)
We recommend this agency, go quietly with Franck and his team
NL
Email Armand Jaminon | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience - would recommend it to everyone!
We had a great experience with Kilele Savane. Everything went very smoothly, from the pick-up to the drop-off at the airport. Before we had our actual trip we communicated via email which was very easy. All requests were dealt with and problems during the trip (a reschedule of the flight) were also no problem. All accommodations that were booked were comfortable and service was great. The safari tours were the best part of the trip with a solid guide that knew a lot of the region and animals. He took great care of us and tried to make us feel comfortable. All-in-all we had a perfect holiday that lived up to our expectations and was of great value for the rest of our lives!