Lion King Safari Guides
Lion King Adventures
- Offices In:
-
Canada
United States
Switzerland
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Member Of:
- TATO & TTB
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $200 to $1,115 per person per day (USD, 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
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Email Leigh Fernandez | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Choose Lion King Adventures! They made our family safari a dream come true!
My family recently returned in August from a 6-day safari with Lion King Adventures, and everything about the safari completely exceeded all of our expectations... it was the most incredible trip made possible by Anna who helped us book it, and by our tour guides, Saleh Omari and Oswald Shayp, who lead us through this amazing adventure.
Initially we were worried about planning a safari thousands of miles away with little knowledge of what is reasonable to expect in choosing locations to see, places to stay, length of safari, price range. We were a bit overwhelmed by all the tour companies and possibilities. We narrowed down the possible tours to 3 based on the several facts: We were a family of 8 so needed to travel in multiple vehicles, we wanted to see the wildebeest crossing the Mara River in Northern Serengeti, and we needed a moderate price range.
Our first experience with Lion King Adventures was Anna, who helped us book a tour that met all our needs. She is knowledgeable, asks the right questions, and was able to book our lodgings, and even rebook them when our arrival schedule to Tanzania changed. She was the voice of sanity and calm for us as we planned the trip thousands of miles away.
Lion King Adventures met us at the airport when we arrived in Tanzania… not once, but twice since we all arrived on different flights at different times. They even stopped in Arusha to pick up my daughter who was finishing up a summer internship there. We all met at Ilboru Lodge in Arusha, the first lodge that Anna booked for us. This was a great place for us to all meet up to begin our adventure. We even got to speak with guests who were returning from their safaris, which certainly sparked our excitement. Anna met with us that first evening along with one of our guides, Saleh, to go over where we would be going and staying the next 6 days.
As we started our safari, it became evident to us that the role of the safari guide is far larger than we initially understood it to be. Our 2 guides, Salah and Oswald, were an integral part of our group for the 6 days… working 16 hour days addressing all our needs – driving on the highways from Arusha to the national parks dealing with the local police checks, checking us into and out of the parks, getting our lunch boxes and finding places to eat, making coffee and such, driving the game drives, working the radio finding where the game are, driving on the off-road conditions within the parks, answering our many questions, checking us in and out of the lodges and camps, handling the luggage, cleaning out the Land Rovers between days. It was mind-numbing everything they took care of so that we had an amazing experience. And the entire time that Saleh and Oswald were doing the above, they were also upbeat, smiling, and entirely engaged in the proceedings of the safari. We had spent so much time with Saleh and Oswald, and they had shown us so much about the Tanzanian savanna, that by the end of the safari, they were more like family to us than safari guides. Both Saleh and Oswald have a good command of English, each day many times they would ask each of the 8 of us how we were doing. They each had an extensive knowledge of the Tanzanian parks – the history, the ecology, the people, and the animals. They had the guide books and could answer most of our questions. You could also tell that both Saleh and Oswald enjoyed being safari guides (each having done it over 5 years), they both loved Tanzania and its beauty. What became obvious to us during the safari was that the safari guides are on the radio with each other all the time and work the radio to figure out where the animals are. Saleh and Oswald seemed to know a lot of the other guides and were very good at determining when to follow a lead and when not to. They were also very respective of the animals in their habitat. I think we saw about everything except for the black rhino. The highlight for us was seeing the wildebeest and zebra crossing the Mara River – we actually got to see it, mainly due to Saleh’s and Oswald’s work. The unusual sights we saw were 2 lionesses take down a hyena that got too close to their cubs, a leopard in a tree with its kill, 2 cheetahs, 3 lion brothers walking to get water, lionesses up in a tree (Lake Manyara), an ostrich doing its mating dance, 3 hippos fighting, and then all the babies… zebras, wildebeests, giraffes, elephants, wart hogs, gazelles, baboons, monkeys, and it goes on – haven’t even mentioned all the birds we saw). I would highly recommend Saleh and Oswald as safari guides to anyone.
We spent 1 day at Lake Manyara National Park and 1 day at Ngorongoro Crater, and for these days we were booked in Eileen’s Trees Inn in Karatu. Eileen’s Trees is a fabulous inn… beautiful, comfortable rooms with private baths and a wonderful dining room and food. They easily accommodated our large group and the staff were very friendly and helpful. Then we spent 1 day in Central Serengeti and 2 days in Northern Serengeti. For the Serengeti National Park, we stayed at 2 different Serengeti Heritage Camps within the Serengeti National Park. The staff that ran these camps were very attentive, provided wonderful meals, and the tent facilities were top notch.
We had no idea when planning this safari that these Serengeti Heritage Camps would be one of the highlights of our safari. Everything so far with our tours of Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater and the game drives in the Serengeti were largely visual. Sleeping in the Serengeti Heritage Camps was the audio part of our safari… just listening to the animals within the camp at night as they grazed and moved was a completely awesome and unexpected bonus!
The most difficult aspect of the safari was driving back from northern Serengeti to Arusha. We made that trip in 1 day… 265 miles in 12 hours as most of it is off road. This is a decision we made based on what we wanted to do on our safari and how many were in our group – we wanted to go to the Northern Serengeti to see the wildebeest cross the Mara River. Saleh and Oswald made this trip back to Arusha as pleasant as possible… not sure how they do it!
In conclusion… we finished our safari with a greater understanding and awe of Lion King Adventures! We were so happy and felt so fortunate that they were our safari tour company!
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Email Alec Fernandez | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
High Quality Service, Amazing Safari, Extremely Competitive Price. Best Value in Serengeti”
6 day Safari: Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara, Central Serengeti, Northern Serengeti/Mara River
8 family members spread across 2 Land Cruisers for entire trip.
I’ll start out by saying that I don’t often leave reviews and when I do, it’s usually to warn folks about trouble. It’s a pleasure to leave a glowing review. This is the best I’ve ever left.
Highlights:
First the Guides/Drivers/Animal locators: Saleh Omari and Oswald Shayp.
I cannot say enough about these two. During the 6 days, they became my friends. I miss them. Guides are extremely important. Everybody in Tanzania will see elephants, giraffes, wildebeests, and gazelles, but if you want to get really close to lions in trees, leopards, cheetahs, and other more rare sights, you must have good guides. They work their radios and networks of fellow guides to find out where the animals are, which roads are passable to get you there and they know how to get you to the choice spots for viewing. The good guides all know one another and share secrets with each other. They leave room for one another when a crowd forms If you aren't plugged into that network, you will miss stuff.
Saleh and Oswald (Ozzy) spent the majority of game drives cruising slowly (pole pole) and pointing out the sights, stopping frequently, letting us take pictures. Then all at once they would start talking on the radio (in Swahili so I was in the dark) and suddenly take off like they were driving firetrucks. Then we would get to a spot and there would be a leopard with a gazelle in a tree, or a pair of cheetahs under a tree, or a pride of lionesses with cubs. Meanwhile other land cruisers would be passing by on the main road completely oblivious.
My favorite Saleh story: It was the end of a very long day. (Every day is a long day for guides, sunrise to sunset and then off the clean the vehicles.) Saleh is driving along looking for a rhino or something… pointing out baboon babies and so forth. Then he motions toward the side of the path and says, “Look, a snake.”
Now I spend a lot of time in the woods. I’m better than anyone I know at spotting wildlife. Especially snakes. So I ask for a better signal. Saleh stops the Landcruiser and points “There”. I still don’t see it. He practically has to get out of the vehicle before I finally spot the 10 foot long cobra. Saleh had to get close enough to it with his finger that it defensively coiled up and spread out it neck before I saw it. And he saw it while driving and looking for a rhino in the distance.
Their English was very good. Oswald's was good enough that he could tell jokes and kid around. Both had extremely interesting, in depth knowledge of the animals habits and tendencies. Both would stop occasionally to swap stories with other connected guides from other companies or at least wave while passing. I cannot recommend these two guides highly enough. They know everyone, they know everything.
My advice: Find good guides and please tip your guides generously. Nobody works harder. I tipped them at the end of each day and a bonus at the end of the trip. The deserved every bit.
As for logistics, we had some (ok, several) last minute schedule changes and Anna juggled, pivoted, parried, did magic and found us spots to stay that fit our schedule. She did a great job explaining everything and working with our changing needs. Lion King made everything smooth for us despite our large party and lack of organization.
As for accommodations:
Ilboro Lodge was perfectly adequate and fun in Arusha.
Eileen's trees was super nice, Very big, clean, comfortable room. Excellent bathrooms in each room. Very pretty, rustic dining room in the lodge and excellent food for a great value.
Serengeti Heritage Tent Camps in Central Serengeti and Heritage Migration Tent Camp on the Mara River: These tent camps are amazing. They are basically hotel rooms in the middle of the Serengeti. Inside each tent was a super nice queen or twin bed with night stand and even a plush chair. Then each tent also had a separate bath compartment with regular western hotel toilet, a tent wall shower and a vanity sink. The mess tent/dining room was very nice. The one on the Central Serengeti had a full bar. That's right friends, a Full Bar!!! Generator powered charging stations for cameras/phones/etc were provided during dining hours.
The food was excellent, buffet style dinner and amazing breakfast. It's hard to describe. I don't know why but it was the best lamb stew I've had. I'll grant that this probably had a lot to do with the wildebeest, zebras and gazelles strolling around our campsite. but it's still... great food.
Sleeping with all the animal sounds and glowing eyes around the campsite was a singular experience. That's why one goes there. Impossible to describe the feeling.
The Heritage Migration camp was 5 minutes from the river. You could have walked there were it not for the lions.
In sum: Lion King Adventure Safaris had top notch staff and top notch accommodations. They exceeded all my expectations.
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Email Andrea | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Don't search other agencies! Choose King Lion Adventures for the best Safari!
Gorgeous, adventurous and exciting! Thanks to the guys of the King Lion for these 10 days of Safari. They let us see all the Big Five, the cheetah and all the Savannah animals. They were attentive to our requests, answered our questions and endured our whims. The food? A wonderful surprise, we ate very well! They were also able to quickly solve 2 drawbacks to off-road vehicles. I mean, I recommend a Safari with King Lion! Thanks to Boss James, Antonio Inoki, the best Chef of Tanzania Yusuph and the best dancer Imma!
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Email Dr. Mark Fernandez | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
This Blew Away My Expectations!
I recently returned from an amazing safari experience in Tanzania. I traveled there along with several members of my family; we were a group of 8. Initially there was a feeling of concern and hesitation because our overall price quote was so much lower than other friends of mine who have done similar safari's in Tanzania. Anna was so helpful and attentive to our questions and concerns and did a fantastic job making accommodations for us despite us being a large group and planning only a few weeks before the trip. She was very patient with us despite us changing itineraries and sending a plethora of emails. We were given two safari vehicles and had them to ourselves. The vehicles were more than large enough and equipped with device chargers, a drink cooler, and an easy-to-lift roof. I can't say enough about our drivers, Salehe and Oswald. They were the perfect combination of helpful, professional, courteous, and so fun! They made us feel like we had priority over other vehicles in giving us the best views of the animals. I would not hesitate to seek them out if and when I return. Our first safari day was at Lake Manyara which was a fantastic first day. We were fortunate to see lions in the trees, which is unique in the world only to that region. We stayed at Eileen's Trees Inn which was a short drive to Ngorongoro Crater. The lodge had very nice clean rooms with hot shower and a comfortable mattress. The food was outstanding and served in buffet manner. On the way to see Ngorongoro Crater was a visit to a Maasai village. I will say that it was interesting and enjoyable to interact with them and learn a bit about their culture. What left a slight bad taste in my mouth was the fact that it was a "show" and not authentic. They were also extremely pushy in selling us souvenirs which they "claim" are handmade there but are the same as the items seen in any gift shop in the city. They are also extremely highly priced and are practically forced upon us in unrelenting fashion. The visit to Ngorongoro Crater was truly spectacular with its diversity of animals, up-close encounters with lions and a nicely prepared box lunch under an acacia tree with a spectacular view. Our safari included a lot of travel time as we wanted to travel to the Mara River in the Northern Serengeti in hopes to see the great migration of wildebeest with a river crossing. Well, our hopes were fulfilled as we were able to witness all those things. The tent lodge where we stayed, Serengeti Heritage Camp, was MUCH higher than my expectations. The tents had as much room as a typical hotel room with a king bed, comfortable mattress, porcelain sink and flushing toilet, and hot shower. The food there was like a fine dining restaurant. The staff were so friendly and accommodating and so attentive to our needs such as luggage handling, etc. They also made us feel safe with all night guards to watch for animals, as our tents were obviously right there in the middle of the Serengeti with no fences. I had a curious zebra walking around my tent at night so come expecting to hear wildlife both far and up close! Overall I can't say enough about how wonderful my safari experience was and would not hesitate for a second to highly recommend Lion King Safari.
Email Hayley | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Seamless safari experience
My husband, his parents and I have just returned from a 4 day safari with Lion King Adventures. We couldn’t have been happier with our experience! From the initial inquiry to the goodbye at the airport, Lion King was professional, thorough, high quality and friendly. Anna, the manager, was responsive to every question and comprehensive in her explanations of the various packages while also allowing us to tailor the safari to our liking. In addition to the great reviews online and the positive email exchanges with Anna, we decided to go with Lion King because their package included the hotel on “Day 0” – that is, the night before the safari was covered in the cost. This made it convenient for us to arrive in Arusha in the afternoon on Day 0 (Lion King picked us up from the airport) and have a good night’s sleep before kicking off the safari early in the morning on Day 1. The Toyota safari jeep was very nice and came equipped with a built-in cooler, wifi and pop up roof, which was easy to open and close. James was a fantastic guide! When he picked us up from the Kilimanjaro Airport on Day 0, we explained that we were scheduled to go to Lake Manyara first, but he suggested we switch to Tarangire NP instead because there were more animals and action there at this time of year. We happily agreed and were so pleased that we did. Tarangire was teeming with animals, especially elephants! And it has an amazing landscape, with dramatic cliffs and rivers and many watering holes. On Day 2 we were scheduled to make the long drive to Serengeti NP. James suggested that instead of taking the main road, which is very bumpy and packed with other safari vehicles, we go “off road” through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Again, we happily agreed and were again so pleased with his suggestion. We were quite literally off roading through the Ngorongoro plains (not the caldera), where there were no other vehicles in sight and only the most experienced guides can navigate where they are going. We saw many animals, including a family of cheetahs resting in the shade. We set up lunch under a huge acacia tree and ate surrounded by endless plains. Day 3 we spent in the Serengeti, which was vastly different in landscape from Tarangire, but also full of animals. We were lucky enough to see lionesses hunting! And an elephant walked through our lodge site in the middle of the night! It was spectacular. Day 4 we spent at the Ngorongoro caldera, which was breathtaking and had a distinct landscape from both Tarangire and Serengeti. If you only have a few days for safari, I recommend these three parks for their diversity in animals and landscapes. James provided us with endless facts about the animals and the regions we visited. He brought an African birding book that helped us identify all of the species we saw. He was an especially great sport with us because we were determined to learn all the lyrics to the “Jambo Bwana” song. He taught it to us and we recorded a video together! The only animal that we didn’t see was the rhino, but that didn’t disappoint us because the entire trip was beyond our expectations. We highly recommend Lion King – they are experts and provided us with a seamless safari experience!
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Email Federica Favaretto | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
10 day budget safari, wonderful tour!
I'd like to thank all the team of Lion King Adventures to give me and my friends the possibility to live a great safari experience. We began this adventure with a low budget and many doubts, but Jamesi and Anna help us to plan a full and rich itinerary, from Arusha to Serengeti, passing through Tarangire Park, Manyara, Eyasi and Natron lakes, Ngorongoro crater and Kilimanjaro view. They had the patience and the kindness to reply quickly to all our questions before leaving, suggesting the best solutions and giving us good advices.
Once in Tanzania, from the first day Jamesi and his safari team, (the driver Anoki and two fantastic cookers Yousuf and Emmanuel), make us feel safe and at home. We lived all they promised: meeting with local people, nature immersion, walking and climbing. They were always friendly and nice but at the same time professional and careful. Finally, they will miss us during our final tour in Zanzibar.
I defenetly reccomend them ... asante sana to all of you!
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Email Ellen Shachter | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Journey through Tanzania with Lion King Adventures
I'm writing this review from the beautiful hotel Maru Maru in Zanzibar. My experience with Lion King has been fantastic. First, Anna, Lion King Adventure' s trip planner was helpful, reliable and informative. She got back to me quickly whenever I had a question and made me totally confident that Lion King was highly professional and reliable. Second, our driver and guide, George Munge, was fantastic! He had extensive training in and knowledge about the animals and habitat of Tanzania. He was an excellent driver in really tough terrain and knew the National Parks extremely well. He always did everything possible to make our safari experience incredible. We saw an incredible amount of wildlife. On top of all this he is a Massai senior warrior and he was very generous in sharing stories of growing up in his Massai village. I couldn't have had a more conscientious and helpful guide. Last the hotels and other accommodations Lion King chose for us were fantastic full of character, comfortable and with excellent service.
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Email Mavi | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Safari
We just returned home from a wonderful vacation in Tanzania that included a four-day safari with Lion King Adventures.
From the minute James (our driver) picked us up at the Kilimanjaro airport we felt very welcomed and felt he was going to make our experience an unforgettable one, as it was! We spent the first night in Arusha before starting day one for our safari. We recommend that instead of arriving early and starting the safari right away.
Day one we went to Tarangire National Park where we saw many animals right away. James was very good about asking if we wanted to stop for pictures and he waited patiently until we were ready to move on. He knows a lot about all animals and always told us interesting facts about the parks and the animals. My husband loves birds and he knew the name of every bird my husband pointed to. He has a book about wildlife in Africa and showed us the pictures of what we saw.
Day 2 we drove to Serengeti National park. Amazing! James spotted animals way before we could see them because many are camouflaged.
Day 3 a few game drives in Central Serengeti then drove to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to spend the night at the hotel and be ready for the last day.
Day 4 visit the crater (caldera as James explained) until lunch time and then drive back to Kilimanjaro airport.
We highly recommend booking your safari with Lion King Adventures. You will love it!
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Email Dalia | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable getaway with nature and a great time the with family!
Everything was perfectly planned and our guide James was fabulous. The service was excellent and we always felt very well taken care of. Everyone was very nice. James knew all the great places to take us to and we felt like we had the best guide when we were amongst all the other tours. He always found a way to get our car to the best spot so we had the best view of the animals. The resorts we stayed in were truly remarkable.
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Email Hernando Duque | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Safari in Tanzania
In late July 2017, my family of four went on Safari in Tarangire, Ngorongoro and Serengeti parks with Lion King Adventures in Northern Tanzania. We were very satisfied with our experience. We stayed in the parks for 4 days, which was the perfect duration for what we wanted to do. We saw all sorts of animals including lions, buffalos, a leopard, cheetahs, giraffes and much more. We were even lucky enough to experience a lion hunt, albeit unsuccessful, lions mating and feeding on a buffalo carcass. The guide was knowledgeable of the fauna, flora and ecology of the parks. He was fun, courteous, willing to stop at our request and find the best places to look at the animals. The lodging places suggested by lion king adventures were great and allowed us to experience a variety of accommodations from tent camps to high-end hotel lodges.