Matunda Cultural Tourism & Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2000)
- Member Of:
- TATO & TACTO
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CY
Email Marina | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The most sincere, full, fun, personal and professional service
Matunda Cultural Tourism and Safaris service has made my whole one month stay in Tanzania so unique. Since the day my partner and I arrived in Tanzania, Kayaa (director of Peace Matunda) not only welcomed us and helped us plan the rest of our travel but has organised the best safari experience for us. We had selected a budget option, camping in different parks and enjoyed every single second of it all. We also got to visit so many authentic Tanzanian experiences from day walks, treks, climbs, food, coffee making, visited tribes, hunt with them, spend a day dancing, singing. No words can describe how lucky and safe we felt at all times. And the best part of it all was what a remarkable person the owner of Matunda Cultural Tourism and safari is making his company, collaborators and team one of the best safari providers in the country. What's more he has welcomed us to his house and has allowed us to spend time at the school and orphanage he is running- most of his proceedings from tours go into funding this special place. I couldn't recommend it any stronger. I real hope more people will get the opportunity to experience the beauty of Tanzania in this way.
TW
Email I-Chun Tu | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
[Highly recommended]Can't find better safaris and cultural experience than Matunda provided
The trip provided by Peace Matunda was truly amazing and definitely unforgettable in my life. Also as solo female traveler, they had always made me feel safe and welcome everywhere. During the six-day safaris, my guide had tried all he could to show me the best wildlife at the best position and had good crisis management as well as humour. While my cook had also tried his best to fulfil my special request on food. After coming back from safaris, I had joined the coffee and cultural tour with lots of laughing and learning. By walking and visiting local families, I had felt so privilege to touch and join part of their life.
All in all, no word could really express my feeling well. My heart left in Tanzania thanks to Peace Matunda.
If you have chance, please must take a visit to Matunda orphanage to hang out with children who are nice and polite. Also joining the cultural program(such as waterfall in Mt. Meru, coffee and cultural tour etc.) to have first hand experience on local life.
Email Rugare Gomo | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
It was an extraordinary experience. It was so personal and so connected.
My uncle and I had a superior experience. We were well looked after from the moment we arrived. The safari was amazing and we were fast tracked into the safari as they were well prepared. I have visited other Safaris in both Zimbabwe and South Africa but this was an unparalleled experience. They knew were to find the animals. We saw endless giraffes, lions, hippos etc. I even got to dress as a Masaii and interview what it was really like for them living in the Ngorongoro crater. A year later I am still in communication with them.
FR
Email Christelle & Yann | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing safari experience
4 days of amazing safari experience with Peace Matunda.
We were warmly welcomed the day before the safari by Kaaya and his team. The room was very nice, comfortable, with hot water.
We left the next day for 4 days of safari in the Serengeti and the N'gorongoro crater. We traveled the parks with the helpful comments of Robert, our driver / guide and our chef Peter took care of us all along. The food was delicious and the service at the top.
We have slept in the public camps but with equipment offering above average comfort (cots, mattresses, blankets, clean sheets). We were in the middle of the park, with buffaloes, monkeys, gazelles, etc. all around the camp, really nice!
We were both of us, which allowed us to thoroughly enjoy a tailor-made safari and intimate with nature.
The Peace Matunda project, which helps disadvantaged children, is great. We really recommend doing a safari with them, it is a fabulous and unforgettable experience.
Asante sana and we hope to see you again ;)
FR
Email Kertu Tenso | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing project with great and authentic tours!
We stayed at Peace Matunda orphanage for two nights and went on a full-day safari to Tarangire NP. It was simply awesome! First of all, the project is great - 15% of your money goes directly to the orphanage and school project. And I have seen it works, the kids are really bright there! Secondly, the family who organises these trips is very welcoming and sweet. Thirdly, the staff, including the driver, is polite, friendly and knowledgable.
We really enjoyed the safari and would visit Peace Matunda again!
DE
Email Nicole | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A once-in-a-life-time-experience with Peace Matunda (5-days Safari and stay at the Orphanage)
We did a 5-days Safari in the end of January with Peace Matunda and also stayed two nights at the Orphanage. Peace matunda is a small, familiar company, owned by people from Arusha and with a part of the money they support a school and a orphange.
We really enjoyed the time so much, it was a once-in-a-life-time-experience! The best of all of course was the Safari, we loved it a lot! Thanks to your great guide we saw so many animals, even animals we did not expect to see (lepard, gepard, rhino)! We slept in a “houselike” tent with foldaway bets and on nice campesides. Its basic, but comfortable. In the car we were only the two of us, what is a big plus compare to all the other companies.
The chef Kaaya was really helpful during the booking, cause we were quite short in time and answered quickly. He also gives you some advice, if you need, about which tour, national park or trips would be best for you, for the time and to see the animals and also about the payment. Our guide was really friendly, his knowledge about the animals is amazing, he knows also a lot about the area and you can talk about political things. He is doing it for 19 years and it was really interesting all the time and you can ask him all your questions. Our cook was very sweet, he asks you about your preferences and he puts a lot of effort in his work. He is really creative and the food was delicious and different every day. The guide and the cook were always on time and you can trust them with everything. They all know there job very well, are very serious and perfect for a fantastic safari experience.
After the safari we stayed at the Orphanage. Kaaya and his wife are working hard to support the children; they are really friendly, open minded and honest people. The children are really sweet and showed us around in the small village. You can tow walking trips at mount meru or trips to coffee farms or villages. I had fever for two days and in that time Kaayas wife and a volunteer helped us so much, we are so thankful for that.
All in all the team of peace matunda are great and we can 100 % recommend them :)
IS
Email Birna | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Travelling with a higher purpose
I travelled with my teenage son and we both agreed on this being the best way of getting to know the culture and the country in the week we had to spend. We were picked up at Kilimanjaro airport Saturday night and brought to the Matunda village where we stayed for the first two nights. On the first day we got an introduction to the project Mr.Kaaya has built up there and saw the orphanage and the school. We then did a coffee tour and a walk with the very entertaining guide Innocence, which is highly recommendable in order to get to know the surroundings and the culture. Eating dinner with the children gave us the opportunity to get to know them a bit which was great- and because they are tough in english they all speak some.
On Monday we took off for a Safari for the whole week, which was beyond anything I had ever imagined. The set up was just perfect and we saw so many animals, so close by!
It felt like coming back home to return to the orphanage and we were so happy to spend our last night there, just wished we could have stayed longer.
To experience a tour operator with such a vision and pride in his work was truly inspiring and I can not recommend Peace Matunda highly enough for all those who want to make a positive impact on the local society while travelling.
US
Email Katie | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Gracious hosts and excellent game finders
After visiting both the school and orphanage project as well as taking a 5 day organized safari, Peace Matunda earned my highest recommendation on all accounts. Kaaya, Peace Matunda’s founder and director, worked directly with me and my husband to coordinate a safari itinerary that included the specific highlights we were hoping to see. This included a well-organized tour of three parks (Tarangire, Serengeti, & Ngorongoro) as well as a Maasai village visit and various stops for cultural shopping and education along the way – all while fitting our budget and accommodating last minute changes to our travel schedule. He, his family and the students of the school and orphanage provided welcoming and friendly hospitality to us while we overnighted at the School and Orphanage site. If you’re looking to support a Safari company who utilizes the funds to support the local Arusha area community through education & employment, Peace Matunda is a highly worthy organization. They reinvest some safari profits back into the school and orphanage project & employ well-experienced safari guides from the Meru community. Our guide (Gaspar Gadiel) was especially knowledgeable about local culture and a consummate naturalist, providing information and answering wide-ranging questions about all the wildlife so many come to see. Yes - we saw the big five and many more! Our guide impressed us further by having additional expertise in birds, insects, and plants of each park. Our experienced safari chef (Habibo) prepared well-rounded meals of meats, vegetables, grains and fruits with traditional Meru dishes available on request. Accommodations at both the school site as well as on safari were clean and comfortable (cushioned cots are provided in large tents so there was no sleeping on the ground). I highly recommend working with Peace Matunda to design a safari that works for you.
DE
Email Kathi und Nici | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A wonderful time, which will be remembered forever!
We went by Bus from Dar Es Salaam to Arusha/Tengeru. There we were picked up from Kaaya at a petrol station and taken to Peace Matunda. At the Evening we were warmly welcomed, got a excellent dinner and a very comfortable, warm bed at the guest house.
The next day we started at 8:00 am to our 4-day Safari (Ngorongro-Krater and Serengenti Nationalpark). It couldn´t have been a day shorter. We saw every day a lots of animals very closed to us and we saw fantastic sunrises and sunsets. We slept in the Nationalpark. Our tent was extraordinarily comfortable and very warm (we could have saved the many sweaters). At morning we got a rich breakfast consisting of fried eggs, pancakes, fruits, toast, coffee, juice and tea. For Lunch we got a main dish (e.g. pizza or pasta) and for evening a 3 course menu from the finest. At this point a great praise to our chef. Our Guide Gasper has always ensured that we had a super view for watching the animals. He knows a lot of the animals and about their habitat. We felt each time cared for and we loved it to cruise with the jeep at the roads.
After our Safari we couldn´t let it take and spent the day at the Peace Matunda School. A day that will remain forever in a beautiful memory. we watched at the classroom, corrected the english exercise und spoke with a lots children. They told us about their dream job, where they are from, which is the favorite subject and a many other things. Most of them walked after school to home the other live at the orphange.
We still think of this day and yearning us back. A great praise for the crew which created this wonderful, peaceful place for kids und orphans.
All the best
Katharina and Nicole
GR
Email Reno Salemink | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I am really grateful for this trip!
During the summer, Peace Matunda took us on a safari. This was an amazing experience, they are highly competent, and I believe that Peace Matunda's small size sets them apart from other companies. As a result, the experience is better tailored to your goals and more genuine. Additionally, by working with this organization, you truly connect with the locals and directly support local development. I am really grateful for this trip!