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
AT
Email T&B | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Why Lion King?
There are 500+ operators listed here operating out of Tanzania. By and large, they all have rave reviews. What are you paying for? Why should you choose one over another? What differentiates LK (or for that matter, any operator)?
No operators holds exclusivity to any parks or routes. More or less the same goes to the accomodation. All of the listed safari 'packages' or 'tours' are just a template. You can request any sort of routing staying in any kind of place (budget, luxury, tent, lodge, etc) you want, provided it makes logistical sense.
Essentially, you are paying for a guide and a vehicle. The costs of lodging and entrance fees and etc are baked into the price.
Our GUIDE Mr GOODLUCK was a very professional and affable man. We spent 4 days with him and found him to be a person who is *genuinely* conscious and caring about conservation, his community, etc etc etc. In terms of tracking skills, it seems to me that pretty much all guides are experienced and good at their job. They also share tips via the radio, and speaking to one another along the road. So you're probably gonna see what you want to see. We were pleased with our "finds". He was knowledgeable when we asked questions. And he was also very sensitive/conscious to when we wanted to view or photograph stuff, so he was able to properly dictate the pace of the safari even without our asking so.
The VEHICLE we had was more or less the same as everyone else. Everyone operates a Landcruiser. None looked substantially better than others. But there were a few that looked in worse shape. Also, some were the short-wheel base version, and also with only 3 doors. As a party of 2 in a 5 door, we were happy to have the free space to ourselves. I suggest going for a similar private tour, as being lumped together in a packed vehicle driving for 3-4-5+ days must not be comfortable. Our vehicle had extra customization for additional storage (to hold sunglasses, cameras, accessories, snacks, binoculars, etc) + power strip. I observe other vehicles did not have this luxury. Lastly, we had a huge roll-down window, whereas most everyone else had a sliding window where only half of the aperture was open to stick a camera out.
To summarize, we were very happy with our experience with our guide and our vehicle. The last part of the equation was the BOOKING. Many companies I contacted were slow to respond, or really just unsatisfactory and not-reassuring in their response. PRICING was all very competitive and similar. For us, it was down to SHADOWS OF AFRICA and LION KING, and we were very happy having gone with L.K.
FR
Email Jenny and Armelle | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great experience for safaris and kilimanjaro trekking
We spent 5 days in northern Tanzania, my friend and me. Everything was organized by Lion King Avdentures.
The first day, we took a day walk on the Kilimanjaro lower hills, with our guide Saladimi. He told us thousands of stuff abour flora and fauna, and also about the famouse Kilimandjaro climb. We had a wonderfull time, in spite of the bad weather and the cold temperature. Great surprise during the drive back to Arusha to lie down the seats of the 4*4, to take a nap on the route.
The 4 following days, we discovered the parcs of Tanrangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater, with Salim (our professional BIG FIVE spotter) and Youssouf (our magical cook, who prepared us queens meals and who wass full of attention, like welcoming us with fresh fruit after hours of safari. He teached us lot abour swahili as well). Thanks to Salim, we were able to see lots of animal and the whole BIG FIVE, in wonderful landscapes.
We were really happy about the logistics, too. The accomodations we got with our low-cost deal were really nice (great hotel in Arusha the 2 firsts nights, camping in parcs really nice with showers and WC). The camping material is good quality, especially the warmest sleeping bags ever who were usefull while sleeping in altitude. The 4*4 car has become our 2nd house, very comfy and cleaned every morning by Salim.
Inone word, we have been totally enthousiastic by this trip and we highly recommend Lion King Adventure.
Usefull tip : bring a little guide book about the eastern africa animals, who will give you good informations complements about the wonders you will observe there.
DE
Email Julia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable adventure with the best guide and chef
Just came back from a seven day Safari in Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro crate and lake manyara. Already in the process of booking Anna and Coleman did a great job with replying very quickly and changing the itinerary to our wishes.
From the start of the safari to its very end our guide Oswald (Ozzi) made the adventure perfect for us. He was very caring, a experienced and good driver and shared all of his knowledge about the animals, land and culture with us. Also we had a great and funny time together with him. Completed were our days by the delicious meals of our chef Karim (mr. Delicious) who managed to surprise us every day with typical Tanzanian and special dishes.
All together the experience with lion king adventures was way beyond our expectations. We totally recommend the comany their guide Ozzi and Karim as the chef.
Thank you very much for making our trip an unforgettable adventure!
US
Email Jim | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic 3 Days
Great interface prior to and after the safari with Anna. Our Guide James is the best. Great at finding and describing wildlife as well as great at taking care of us during our time with him. The vehicle was great and really fit the needs for this trip.
US
Email Sam Girouard | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
No need to look any further! This should be your Safari company!
I will begin with my main takeaway first, as to not bury the lead. Lion King Adventures IS the safari company you want to book your next safari with. I am giving them 5 stars and would give them 6 if I could. We did the private budget safari (was around $1100/person – 4 in our group) that got us 5 days and 4 nights in Tanzania’s finest parks and conservation areas. We spent time at Tarangire, Serengetti, and Ngorongoro Crater. I would recommend this particular type of safari too if you are looking to not break the bank and are OK with sleeping in a tent for most of the trip.
I will break my review into the below categories for your reading pleasure.
Service – Service was top notch. Lion King had someone drive up to the Kilimanjaro airport to pick us up at 5AM when our flight landed and took us directly to our hostel. The airport is small and cabs were few and far between. Having this arranged as part of our package was extremely helpful and valuable to us. They also took us directly to our flight in Arusha after our safari with plenty of time to spare! Our tour guide Ozzi (who is incredible…James, hopefully Ozzi wins your prizes) met us at our hostel the day before our safari started just to greet us and welcome us to Africa! He then picked us up bright and early on Sunday morning (7:30) to get going. They were able to take all of our bags in the jeep and even packed us a cooler with water, soda, and beer! Phenomenal service from this group…not to mention all of the questions they answered for us via email in the months leading up to the safari.
Transportation – The safari vehicle was perfect for our group and we had plenty of room. It was fun to have the pop top so we could look out into the wild, but the car was not open on the sides like some other cars had (which would have scared me). We only had one hiccup where we broke down for a few hours because of a gear box issue. These breakdowns seems to happen frequently across all companies. Lion King did a fantastic job however of getting us a backup vehicle and guide while our previous car was getting fixed. Ozzi did his best to make up for this breakdown in several ways (took us out very early 2 mornings later, was very apologetic, and bought us a special drink for our last out there…Lay him down!). The roads are pretty bumpy out there…so just be aware of that if you get carsick easily.
Food – The food was incredible and we owe it all to Yousef! Yousef is an incredible chef and everything he made was delicious. He makes you breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day and there is always more than enough food to go around. We looked forward to each meal when Yousef was preparing it. He is also an amazing guy and is fun to talk to and will even teach you some Swahili if you ask!!
Accommodations – 3 out of the 4 nights were spent in a tent and one was spent in a small hut with actual beds and a bathroom. You will be camping in the middle of the Serengetti and right outside the crater and live animals will walk through your camp! I came in close contact with a Buffalo on an evening trip to the restroom, so be careful out there. The tents were always set up for us and there were places to shower at each campsite (I would recommend bringing a towel and some soap). At night it got pretty cold in the tent so I would also recommend warm clothes and possibly a small pillow if you’d rather not rest your head on a pile of t-shirts and shorts. The tents were pretty big and Lion King also provided mats, a sleeping bag, and a few Maasai blankets.
Expertise – Ozzi was extremely knowledgeable about all the wildlife in the parks. He spotted a rhino probably a quarter of a mile away for us! He knew the answer to almost any question and was well connected to the other drivers and found us a lot of action on the safari. Don’t be shy! Ask lots of questions!
Intangibles – Ozzi and Yousef (As well as James and Anna) and the whole Lion King crew made us feel very important, very welcome, and like Kings in our own right. We felt like a small family during our 5 days and we genuinely miss Ozzi and Yousef and were sad to say goodbye. We had a lot of good laughs on the safari with those two and the rapport was something special that I don’t think all safari goers (with other companies) experienced. Some of the people at the campground chose to hang out with us and our guides because we were having so much fun!
I can’t wait to do another Safari with Lion King Adventures and I can’t wait for you to get to do one either! Thank you Lion King!
Email Kev & Chris | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our safari with Lion King Adventures was excellent from start to finish & met all our expectations.
From the very beginning of our enquiries with Lion King, Anna was fantastic to deal with. She was clear, honest & efficient in her communications with us & understood our requests regarding a 10 day Northern Circuit Safari. She has a great knowledge of the parks/reserves, as well as the accommodation options in or near them. Her suggested itinerary covered the areas we wanted to see but also provided ideal amounts of time to capture the essence of the northern circuit. Overall, she gave us confidence to choose Lion King & we were never disappointed. Everything ran smoothly & we were very impressed with the efficiency of the organisation as a whole, particularly in a country where efficiency is not a priority. Just the two of us in the 6 seater Toyota Land Cruiser was fantastic, as there was plenty of room to move around & spread out. Our driver/guide Salehe was magnificent to travel with & showed lots of patience with our numerous questions. His knowledge about his country, its people & its wildlife was amazing - we learnt so much! He was organised, thoughtful, courteous, polite & easy to get on with. We managed to see the Great Wildebeest Migration in the Western Serengeti, as well as the Big 5 plus a magnificent cheetah, as well as lots, lots more. We would advise other visitors not to rush their trip to the area, but allow a reasonable amount of time - basically, there are no guarantees about what you'll see from one day to another in this magnificent wildlife area & each day reveals unexpected surprises. We have absolute no hesitation in recommending Lion King Adventures to other travellers.
US
Email Anne yim | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing!!!! Lion King Adventures is highly recommended.
Everything was perfect. The safari was an amazing experience. We saw tons and tons of animals, many of which were so close you could practically reach out and touch them.
Our guide Good luck was awesome. He knew all the parks like the back of his hand. He could spot animals from miles away. He's extremely knowledgeable about animals, Masai culture, plants, birds, everything. He's also got a heart of gold. He cares so much about the animals, the environment, and people who are less fortunate. He took great care of us.
We stayed at several tented camps (aka glamping) which were great. They are inside the parks. You can hear (and sometimes see) all the animals around you, but have the comforts of private toilet and shower in your tent, comfy beds, thick blankets, and full service meals.
Everything was perfect with our trip. From the beginning they were great. I had tons and tons of questions. They were all answered promptly. They organized pick up and drop off at airports (even at 3am) . Pricing was very competitive. Lion King is the company to go with.
RO
Email Tiberiu | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
more than i was expecting...
The communication with the operator was very good from the beggining of planning the trip, to the final breefing at the hotel before we left. On their website they have some predetermined trips, that tourists can mix and get the optimal trip they desire. At all time we felt safe (especially from bugs and locals as well), welcomed, well informed. The lodging places were good on both location and services. Our guide (Good Luck by his name) was incredible. He made it all possible for us the see the big 5, and we got to see them plus all the types of animals one can see in Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Lake Manyara,Tarangire Park . Great company, Lion King Adventures, for the 5 days we were with them. Highly recommended. They send us an long list of precautions, that we found mostly unnecessary. Hope to make it back someday for another trip.
FR
Email Aline | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing guides for the Safari you expect
Our guide Sudi ans driver David were wonderful! Always smiling and happy. Sudi was explaining many things about the animals and the places visited. They were both very patient when we asked them to stop to take pictures (even if we already saw 260 zebras haha). They really let us enjoy the parks and we felt it was definitely our own safari. They never rushed us and that was so pleasant. On the camp, during the diner, they always were nice and teaching us some swahili and song. Wonderful atmosphere! And what to say about the cook, Yussuf. Amazing food very well prepared, even the lunch boxes were delicious !
Anna was always available in case of any trouble.
To finish, i highly recommend Lion King Adventures and would organise my next tour with them if i had to!
Email Meg | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredible 5 Day Safari, could not fault it
We have just finished a 5 day 'budget safari' with Lion King Adventures and loved every minute of it! The staff were welcoming, friendly and very accommodating. Even though we had difficult dietary requirements, we always had plenty of incredible food and didn't need to worry about going hungry! Our guide, Salim, was very nice and knowledgeable, he was able to answer any questions we had and tell us exactly what the animals we were looking at were. We were lucky enough to see so many amazing animals and Salim always ensured that we had the best view of them. We saw all big 5 as well as a very close view of cheetahs. Our guides always seemed the best prepared out of all the tour groups around us. Lion King Adventures arranged pick up and drop off from the airport, which was very helpful. They also helped us to arrange a day tour to a waterfall and markets with Amani cultural tours, this was a great way to experience the local people and environment. We are so happy with our experience and can't wait to recommend Lion King Adventures to our family and friends.