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
DE
Email Adrian | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime
Me and my girlfriend did a 8-day mid-range safari in February. We visited the following parks: Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and the Ndutu Area. I've broken down my review into sections.
Accommodations & Food:
I cannot begin to express how blown away we were with the entire experience. The service, food and accommodations were exceptional...especially considering we paid for a mid-range package. It was sparkling clean, well appointed, had comfy beds, spacious rooms and great showers. The staff were so friendly and helpful. And the food was absolutely delicious!
I'm pleased to say I can say all the same about the bush camp. I didn't really know what to expect in that regard, but upon arrival we were shocked (in the best way possible). While the tents do have canvas sides, they are much more like cabins than tents. They have wrap around decks, wood floors, hot showers, and amazingly comfortable beds. It felt more like staying at an eco-hotel than staying in a tent and we were not mad about it. On top of that, the staff was outstanding and served some of the best meals of our entire trip.
Guide & Game Drive:
Our guide Salehe was the best! He was kind and friendly and a very good driver and was always doing his best to find animals for us. He happily answered all our questions and helped educate on us on the animals and ecosystem. With his knowledge and keen eye, we were lucky enough to see all of the Big 5 during our trip. Considering how much time you spend with your guide, we were grateful to have such a professional. The vehicle itself was spacious, clean and well maintained. It was always stocked with cold waters and had outlets in case devices needed to charged throughout the day.
Communication & Value:
We had reached out to several other tour companies for quotes before deciding to go with Lion King. They were always so prompt with their responses and patient while waiting for us to make our decision. When it came to pricing, they were not the cheapest but were nowhere near the most expensive either. They had great reviews and were so on top of their communications, that we felt confident going with them.
Overall:
This was a trip of a lifetime! Safari was a bucket list item for us, so we had high expectations and Lion King over delivered. I would recommend them to anyone looking to do safari in Tanzania and would happily book with them again if given the chance.
US
Email Tiffany | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lion King Adventures was easy to work with and created a memorable trip with a reasonable budget
Going on a safari trip has always been on my bucket list. Until very recently, this trip had financially been out of our reach. So when I was looking for safari tour operators, it was important to me that I chose a company that was reliable, communicative, had good value and would allow us to see as much as possible. I contacted several companies but ended up choosing Lion King Adventures. And I’m incredibly happy with my choice.
I have only used tour operators a handful of times because I generally prefer traveling at my own pace and like to have control over my own trip. I am happy to say that Lion King Adventures made the entire experience feel so seamless. From the very beginning, Pendo was so responsive - often instantly. Because of COVID, I had to change our schedule a few times and she handled that so professionally. Right before our arrival, I also realized we needed an extra COVID test and she calmly reassured me, handled all of my frantic questions and scheduled that for me as well. I was incredibly happy with the front office service.
We also felt the cost of the tour was incredibly reasonable. We ended up doing an 8 night private safari with our guide, Gilbert. From the beginning, Gilbert was the perfect guide - patient, incredibly attuned and attentive to what we wanted to see and a great animal spotter. It was obvious that he cared about making sure we saw what we wanted to see. Many of the guides will often help each other spot animals and we would often take detours to drive out to the sightings of the animals my husband and I specifically wanted to see more of or had not yet seen. He was incredibly patient even though I wanted to stop and take pictures of giraffes every time we ran into them. He was an expert at spotting animals — we envy his eyesight. We really enjoyed our time with him and have been amazed by his knowledge of the birds and animals that we’ve seen.
The food and lodgings were all included with our tour. Lion King chose great partners for our trip. We had our anniversary while on this trip and it seems Pendo passed along the information to the lodges and camps, which was a beautiful touch. The decision to do a private tour with Lion King Adventures was the best decision on this incredibly memorable trip. I highly recommend them to anyone looking to come to Tanzania on safari on a reasonable budget.
CA
Email Tracey O | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The Most Amazing Adventure
This trip to Tanzania was my top bucket list thing to do. Safari has always been my dream vacation.
Pendo was awesome to deal with from the start of my planning this vacation. She responded quickly to any questions I had. She made changes when I requested them. She gave us an amazing 2 week itinerary! We started with 2 nights in Arusha doing a city tour. Followed by an amazing 6 day safari, ending with 6 days in Zanzibar.
Our guide for the city tour and safari was Goodluck. And we will all tell you he was definitely Good luck for us. We had the most amazing experiences with the animals. We saw the Big 5 and the migration. Day one in Taranagire had us surrounded by elephants. Goodluck found us a tree with 6 lions in it, with another 2 on the ground.
We got stuck one morning after a night of heavy rainfall. Numerous other guides stopped to get us out. Goodluck returned the favour and helped out others that also got stuck that day. We arrived at one of our tented camps one evening and noticed some empty tables. We questioned where the guests were. Good Luck enquired and found out that two safari vehicles were stuck in mud on there way to the accommodations. He and another guide went out in the darkness of the night to bring these guests in. He is a very caring person. He even stops to help out the dung Beatles trying to cross the road
I highly recommend anyone wanting to book a safari to contact Pendo to organize it, and request Goodluck for your guide!
Email Pip | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Mwita from Lion Kong Adventures is professional, knowledgeable, fun & safe.
Mwita was our guide from Lion King Adventures who is from Serengeti therefore he is very passionate about the land & animals with a lot of history regarding Serengeti & surrounding parks in Tanzania.
Our tour consisted of Tarangire, Nututu, Ngorongoro, Serengeti & Kilimangiaro. Mwita knew what animals to find where & when. He also has endless knowledge of the animals & the land.
We spent 9 days with Mwita, he was always happy & excited each day to show us something new.
When searching for a safari company, Lion King Adventures was very professional & quick in their replies. They also made great recommendations for the time of year we were traveling & accommodated all of our requests.
I would highly recommend Mwita & the team for your next adventure in Tanzania!
CH
Email Peter | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Mashoke our guide and Pendo in the office fullfilled all our wishes
We truly appreciated having Mashoke, a German speaking guide. He was very knowledgeable about the bird world, helped us recognise and name (english and german) all the birds we saw.
He is a very reliable softspoken quide who went out of his way to fullfill our wishes.
Communication in advance with Pendo was fantastic. Very precise and comprehensive answers to our requests and questions.
Lion King Adventures is a locally owner company and offers great value for money.
Email T Brooks | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Amazing Experience with Lion King and Mwita!
We choose Lion King Adventures for a custom private 7 day / 6 night program for two adults and one teenager in February 2022 during the migration in the Ndutu area and we are so happy we did! We had an absolutely wonderful experience from start to finish.
We did a lot of research as to what company to use as there are many choices, but ultimately decided on Lion King because of the high positive review rate on every platform, their flexibility, quick communication and ability to adopt. They ended up delivering on each and every front!
Accommodations - We did a combination of mid-range and luxury stays based on the location and our research. We stayed at Marera Mountain View Lodge in Karatu our first night. The location was stunning, the rooms large and accommodating and the food was good. We then proceeded to Lake Masek Tented Camp which ended up being our favorite. It is overlooking a lake, truly secluded, great service and nice large tented camps. We proceeded to the Acacia Seronera Luxury Camp for 2 nights and this camp was small, in the middle of nowhere and beautiful. The food was excellent. The last night we stayed at the Rhino Lodge camp which was basic but in a great location on the crater rim.
Communications - From the first contact to the last one this was top notch. Responses came quickly and no questions went unanswered. We were provided with detailed information, flexible scheduling, ability to adjust as desired and always with a professional tone. We were also met at the beginning and end to ensure we were well looked after. Thank you to Pendo for her amazing flexibility and great communications.
Guide - Having the right guide, driver, friend with you will make or break your trip. We were lucky to have Mwita as ours! He was with us from hotel pick up to drop off at the end of the 7 days. He was knowledgable, kind, enthusiastic, eager to please, and flexible. He knew the areas like the back of his hand and navigated through water, mud, paths and rough patches. We knows how to handle the car in rural places, communicates regularly with his fellow drivers, and ensures we got the best spots for pictures. He is also a nice person and it was great to talk to him and learn about his background throughout the time we were together. We counted 97 'cats' along our park hopping and really enjoyed our time together. We would highly recommend asking specifically for him!
Thank you for a great time. From the hot lunches, welcome bottle of wine, constant attention to detail and friendly service we always felt looked after and have only positive feedback!
CA
Email Antoun. Karim & Basil | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Experience of a lifetime
This was the experience of a lifetime with our amazing guide Gilbert. We booked a 4 day luxury safari and we could not be happier with the experience as a whole. Would 100% recommend to anyone thinking of doing a safari. Even prior to the safari, the communication with Pendo was great. We also did a day tour to the Chemka hot springs with our guide, Emmanuel, who was also excellent and made this day memorable.
US
Email Gayatri | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Reliable
We booked our safari thru safari bookings and were very happy with the outcome.
Our guide Goodluck was very knowledgable and patient . He ensured that we saw the big 5.
We also caught the “ wild beast” migration.
Mr Goodluck was very organized and the previous night would give us a briefing about what to expect the next day.
Overall we really enjoyed our safari trip and would love to come back and certainly refer some of our friends.
Thank you Goodluck for a lifetime worth of memories
LU
Email Agota & Bank | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
5-star safari
We had a 4-day safari with Lionking Adventures in February 2022.
Organisation: Pendo at Lionking was really professional and all the time helpful while we organized the exact itinerary and the details of our trip. Pendo also helped a lot with general things such as visa and issues relating to the current Covid pandemic. Replies were provided promptly. Throughout our trip everything happened as we agreed beforehand.
The actual safari: Our guide was Macha. He is a very knowledgeable guide. He knows everything whatever we asked about nature, history or economy of Tansania. He was never tired of looking for new species for us to see. He paid a lot of attention to the animals, he has never run down even a dung beetle. He is a very good driver, very careful and also experienced on all terrain. He is very helpful and flexible, accommodated all our wishes. What was also amazing that he cleaned the car inside and outside every evening so that the next morning we could get into a nice clean jeep. This is really a tiring job especially after long days of driving. We really had an unforgettable experience with him. We would recommend him to anyone
US
Email Ibrahim | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An experience of a lifetime with a company that truly cares about its guests, guides, and parks
My wife and I did a 9 day/8 night premium luxury safari with Lion King Adventures and it was incredible. Lion King was excellent with communication from the beginning which made me feel comfortable booking such a large trip. Pendo was quick to respond in a timely manner to emails and always answered questions honestly and transparently. They were flexible and helped us plan an itinerary that fit our needs. I believe they underpromised and significantly overdelivered as the safari experience vastly exceeded anything I could have imagined. This was an experience of a lifetime.
All of lodges we stayed at were beautiful with incredible meals. I have no idea how they are able to provide the level of service they do in the middle of these national parks. All staff were attentive and welcoming. Additionally, Lion King coordinated with all of the lodges so while other guests had boxed lunches during game drives, we had a full picnic lunch with real food, drinks, silverware etc. Our guide was Abu who also has an interest in wildlife photography. By the end of the trip, it felt like Abu was our friend rather our guide on a shared adventure. He is passionate about his career as a guide and genuinely excited to track the animals. He was very kind to us and made sure we had a great experience. We of course saw all members of the "big five" but also lots of other interesting animals and birds which was great. Abu really likes birds and pointed out lots of hawks, eagles, buzzards, and small birds (lilac breasted roller) throughout the trip. Additionally, while other guides were quick to rush guests to the next sighting, Abu was patient and it paid off. We saw a whole pride of lions try to catch two warthogs, a cheetah make its kill (baby gazelle), and tracked an enormous elephant which was 1km away. Abu knew exactly where the elephant would walk based on his skin being dry through his binoculars and where water was located. He positioned the jeep so 15 minutes later the elephant walked right by our jeep (and also felt comfortable since we patiently waited instead of chasing an animal). Abu was also respectful of the national parks and wildlife. He would bring us close to animals, but never so close that it was disturbing the animals or inhibiting their natural behaviors. This was important to us and in stark contrast to other guides we witnessed.
Lion King treats its guides very well as do they lodges they partner with. We really appreciated this. A the end of the safari, the owner James met us at the airport with a pen and notebook to get constructive feedback. He really pushed us to give feedback but we really couldn't not think of any areas of improvement as the safari exceeded all of our expectations and went without a hitch.
My wife and I are so thankful we booked with Lion King, this was truly the experience of a lifetime.
