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 Adur | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Such a unique experience. The better-prepared you are on your knowledge, the better it is.
Our guide Saleh was excellent. He put in so much work in finding animals, handling dietary restrictions, and planning for the next days. His knowledge of the ecology of the entire surrounding region is very in depth, and he's a expert at spotting and identifying things from a distance. We saw a lot of rare sightings - a rhino in the Serengeti (there weren't supposed to be any, this one was just released there), 4-5 leopards, lions mating. The Mara River crossing was definitely worth it and he was extremely patient. Rose set up the the trip for us and was very accommodating. She even set up an Arusha tour for the first day, and Brighton was the guide for that.
Speaking of Arusha, the Cultural Center is very nice and worth a visit, but there's no need to buy all your souvenirs there. There are much cheaper places elsewhere. Just ask your guide - you'll be driving through towns in between safari parks. Also, the Tanzanite Experience in Arusha is definitely the best combo of trustworthiness and expertise, and price, for buying Tanzanite of the quality that you want.
Just FYI, tipping is expected, but don't tip too much at the beginning in the airport. There's a reason why bag helpers are only at the arrivals and not at the departures. Your money can get drained quickly. Maybe tip them a dollar or two if they help, but you probably don't need help anyway. Also, only tip lodges and hotels at the end of your stay there. Don't tip all the staff. 20 dollars per day is enough for a family. It will be split among the staff. As for the guide, it's customary to tip $15 per person per day, although I hear most guests don't tip that much. The typical number of guests they get is 2, so larger groups may not have to tip as much per person. However, more people = more work since the guide has to handle your food as well. So maybe $14 minimum for a group of 3 and $13 minimum for a group of 4. Don't bring more people than that - the car can get crowded. 5 if you have zero luggage.
Speaking of luggage, DON'T OVERPACK. Wear each pair of clothes for 2 or 3 days before washing. You REALLY do not need to wash everyday here.
Bug repellent is very important. Get the high quality creams from REI. There aren't many mosquitos, but Tsetse flies can swarm you sometimes, no matter how fast you're driving.
Also, remember to bring lots of cash and remember to have new bills, like after 2016.
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Email Kelly | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
He is friendly, kind, attentive, respectful
Lion King Adventures was an amazing company. They were very responsive with our initial inquiry and sent us the perfect itinerary for the limited time we had for safari. They ensured all of our requests were realized from accommodations to transports. Our guide Meshack was wonderful. He made us feel very safe and was extremely respectful. He made sure we were able to see all the animals, including the big 5. He is an excellent driver on the rougher terrains of the parks. Overall, we had a great experience and recommend Lion King Adventures and Meshack to all who are looking to go on safari.
Excellent Tour and Guide
We had a great time on our 8-day safari. The itinerary was perfect and accommodation was, for the most part, wonderful. Our guide was Saleh and he is fantastic. His driving skills are amazing, he can answer all of our questions and he can spot animals at incredible distances. He is also just a very nice guy and patient with silly customers. Booking the trip was also v straightforward and Pendo always responded to our emails quickly and thoroughly. I recommend this company for your safari.
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Email Ann | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Absolutely fabulous service and accomadations, guide was terrific.
From the time I made the inquiry about the quote for our safari, until the time we completed our safari emails were promptly answered. We had many changes of plans and dates and all were taken in stride by the operator. Everything they say in their quotes is accurate . They have great accommodations, and our guide was great with finding the animals and very friendly. The vehicle was always clean and in great running condition. I would highly recommend them for anybody taking a safari.
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Email Will | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unbelievable Adventure of a Lifetime - We Want More!
When we decided to go on a safari for our honeymoon, we had a plethora of choices to select from. At least on paper, Lion King Adventures seemed like a standout given the most reviews on Safaribookings.com. On our actual trip, they went above and beyond with end-to-end service, all the while constantly beating our daily expectations. My wife and I presented Lion King with a tough ask. We wanted to go on the adventure of our lifetime, both with completely different goals. I wanted to immerse myself in the worlds described in Hemingway and Teddy Roosevelt’s legendary hunts, while my wife wanted to revel in the luxurious glamping experiences portrayed by her favorite influencers. Curiously, our roles switched by the end of our 8 days; she developed an insatiable appetite for capturing Tanzania’s fauna on film, while I readily retreated to the pools and spas located in our three-room tented camps.
Even before our trip, the Lion King team showed initiative and reached out to us pre-emptively. We were contacted by Godwin, then Pendo for logistics and preliminary information. They both took the initiative to answer our frequently asked questions about COVID restrictions, deposits, full payment dates, contingencies, etc…all the while adjusting and customizing our dream vacation based on our preferences for hotels, safaris, and cities.
They also knew when to not appease the customer. Initially, I wanted to maximize every minute of our trip and suggested that we start a safari the day that we arrive. They could’ve acquiesced to my request, but, more appropriately, suggested otherwise, given their vast experience with people like me. In retrospect, their recommendation to take at least a full day to relax was the right decision. Going on safari the day of arrival would’ve been absolutely miserable.
The entire staff knows understands hospitality, and it showed from day one. Our flight arrived at Kilimanjaro International Airport at 3:00 AM on a Wednesday, and we were greeted by Bright. Despite the early morning arrival, he happily answered all of our incessant questions on logistics, provided a breakdown of our itinerary and helped settle us in for our stay at Gran Melia.
Our safari driver and guide, Peter, is an example of premier hospitality and client care. His encyclopedic knowledge of ecology, minerology, animal behavior, paleontology and evolutionary biology never ceased to amaze us. I majored in neurobiology, specifically animal behavior…and he likely self-studied enough to be a graduate level educator in the topic. He not only gave descriptive narrations of all the flora and fauna we encountered, but he also detailed their interactions with the environment, their development, the likelihood of encountering them in the wild and where we could get the best photos of them! He took care of the small details, like making sure our water bottles were cold (my wife prefers them icey). But he also took care of the major details, ensuring we would maximize our time on all our safaris. Our safari took us from Tarangire NP to Lake Manyara NP, then Serengeti NP and finally Nrongoro NP. Each day was sequenced (most likely unintentional, but nevertheless impressive) to be better than the one before. We saw an elephant 20 feet away on day 1, and 2 feet away on day 2. We saw a sleeping lion 10 feet away on a tree branch on day 2, but saw a fresh litter of 8 lion cubs 3 feet away on day 5. It just kept getting better each day the point that Peter probably started worrying how to keep topping the previous day. You spend 10+ hours on your safaris with your guide traveling from place to place, so you need to enjoy each other’s company. Peter always came with a smile on his face, never late, and kept our interests at the top of his mind. You won’t find many people like Peter in the world, let alone as your safari guide. After our 6 days with Peter, it felt like saying goodbye to a long-time friend.
My wife and I are both min-maxers with Type A personalities. It’s hard for us to trust an external entity with something as important as our COVID-delayed honeymoon/adventure-of-our-lifetime. Yet, at every step of our honeymoon planning and the actual execution of our trip, Lion King delivered time and time again. They are the highest quality service you can ask for while getting the most value (at least that’s what we concluded when we spoke with other guests who stayed at the same lodges as us…some guests were paying double what we paid for no additional benefit!). Rest assured that, if you choose to go on safari with Lion King, you’ll hold all other hospitality services to an unmatchable quality.
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Email Kathleen | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Africa safari at it's best
Our driver David was excellent. He was a pro at navigating the very rough roads. Found and quickly pointed out the animals. On the great migration he was extremely fast at getting us the the perfect viewing point. Always courteous,, receptive to what we wanted to do, and always happy.. It was a joy being with him this last week.. we were so lucky to have him as our guide!!! Thank you.
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Email Nate | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ozzie is the most knowledgeable, friendly, patient, helpful guide who made our trip unforgettable.
Lion King Adventures was the most accommodating and communicative tour we experienced. They absolutely delivered from the sightings promised to the quality of accommodations advertised and everything in between. Our guide, Ozzie, knew the parks like the back of his hand and never failed to get us to a sighting. On top of that, he was the most friendly and generous person to show us the beautiful backdrops of Tanzania. We felt like we made a new friend after our tour and certainly recommend the experience to anyone looking for the perfect Safari trip.
Email Sarah & Gordon | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
100% recommended - experience of a life time
What an amazing experience! From start to finish our Tanzania trip was organised completely smoothly, from the airport pick up, last minute day tour to Mataruni village to our 7 day safari and stay in Zansibar. Our route from Arusha to Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro was a true adventure and we were so lucky to have Mwita as our guide. His knowledge and wisdom about nature and the wildlife have been incredible. He was able to spot animals whilst driving along the most bumpy roads- he just always seemed to get where the action was. And where necessary he encouraged us to stay patient. We saw 5 river crossings in the Northern Serengeti, an absolute nature spectacle! Plus several lion kills, lions mating and lion cubs and all the Big5. The beauty of the Serengeti and the sheer number of animals is mind blowing. The choice of lodges was also great, we most enjoyed Kuba Kuba and Mara Mara. Mwita also arranged a visit to a Maasai village that felt really authentic - he chose a village where people didn’t try to sell us any souvenirs- it felt very real and authentic and we learnt a lot about the culture of this tribe. Thank you so much for this amazing adventure Mwita, Bright, Pendo and Godwin and the entire Lion King team. Before booking this trip we had spoken to a few more tour companies, some of which were acting as a middle man which reflected in the price and advice. With Lion King you’re dealing with a local tour operator based in Arusha. We couldn’t recommend this company more to anyone who is looking for an unforgettable trip to Tanzania.
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Email Arup Sengupta | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very professional, always helpful. Excellent their service throughout the trip.
From very beginning Lion King Adventure help me to make proper itinerary as per my requirements. Their service throughout my trip flawless. The Guide Mr. Freddy very energetic, vast experience and very helpful. We are very happy to experience Tanzania wild savannah grassland and the migration through Mara River with the Lion King Adventure. They always try to make our trip memorable. And yes it is..
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Email Adam & Hannah | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lion King delivered the trip of a lifetime!
If you are anything like me, when you want to find a recommendation for something or you need some reassurance in the decision you have made, you probably 1) ask friends, family, co-workers, b) read the reviews, or c) sort by user ratings and hope you picked the highest one. My hope is this review will help give you the comfort and confidence you need to book what will likely be the trip of a lifetime with Lion King Adventures.
Our Experience
After reading lots of reviews on both Trip Advisor and Safari Bookings to find the top few safari tour operators, I reach out to four different companies (including Lion King Adventures) and asked them to provide a proposal and an itinerary. From the beginning, Lion King stuck out as the clear number one. The team was super responsive, professional, and very flexible with our requests. The experience we were looking for was not an off the shelf experience, but something tailor made. This is something a couple of the other tour operators were not willing to do, and the one that was, wanted to charge a small fortune. So after a few emails back and forth with Lion King and loads of questions (from us) about the different lodges and parks, we dialed in our safari and landed on a 9 day luxury package. What came next was by far the scariest part of the whole experience and 99% of the reason I am writing this review.... The email from Lion King asking us to wire the money to a Tanzanian bank account...!! You can read the reviews, see the pictures, look at a very professional website and read very professional proposals, but if being asked to wire a fairly significant amount of money to a bank in Africa doesn't make you pause, and I am not sure what will.
... so, we trusted our gut, wired the money and hoped when we landed in Kilimanjaro someone would be there to pick us up. When we landed someone was there to pick us up, and the trip that ensued was the absolute trip of a lifetime and Lion King is the reason for that. If you read no further, just know that if you book with Lion King, book with 100% confidence and know they will absolutely deliver on giving you a once in a lifetime experience.
Our Guide
Our guide, Peter, was phenomenal; he was a wealth of knowledge about the animals, geography, geology and culture. He is also fluent in English and Swahili, which made it super easy to communicate. At the beginning of the safari Peter asked us what we wanted to see, so we laid out our list... Lion eating, Cheetahs, Leopards, baby lions, and the Mara River crossing. To see that list in a lifetime would be an accomplishment, we wanted to see it all in what was essentially seven days in the parks. Peter showed us everything we wanted to see (including the Mara River crossing, which we waited for five hours to see!) and some - we got to see a pride of lions hunt, we saw four leopards, and crossed off everything on the Big Five list. Peter's knowledge of the animals, terrain, and his command of the vehicle allowed him to get us the best angles for pictures and viewing.
When we booked the trip, we did not appreciate how much time you will spend in a Safari vehicle with your guide (at least 10 hours per day) so having someone that is friendly and easy to talk to is important. Besides the game drives, some of the best moments were simply sitting down for lunch to chat about life, culture, sports, etc... The guide is 90%+ the reason you have a great safari, and Peter delivered.
Vehicles
Lion King’s vehicles (Land Cruisers) are well maintained, clean and as comfortable as possible (the African bush is pretty unforgiving…). The vehicles also had charging ports and a refrigerator, which were nice touches. Peter cleaned the vehicle every day and ensured we were well stocked with beer, soda, and water. There is no radio (the only radio is for communicating with other safari guides) or music, which on the long transit journeys (driving between parks or camps) would have been nice. The roads are very bumpy and it's too loud to have a proper conversation, some music would have been great.
Our Lodges
We stayed at the Gran Melia (Arusha), Gibbs Farm, The Four Seasons (two nights), LaMala Kuria Hills (two nights), Sanctuary Ngorongoro Crater Camp and Neptune Ngorongoro. I am not going to review each of them, there are plenty of reviews online. All these lodges are world class, with world class accommodations, I would highly recommend every one of them. Sanctuary was a tent camp, but still had running water, electricity, and Wi-Fi.
Gran Melia - Great property with a coffee plantation. The fitness center, pool and spa are definitely the highlights of this resort. The resort overlooks Mt Meru, which is a great 15,000ft peak just outside Arusha. It was a perfect place to recharge after traveling 30+ hours to get there before beginning the safari (I would highly recommend a recovery day before beginning the safari).
Gibbs Farm - Amazing property with farm to table experience. This resort has the best onsite activities of the bunch. The rooms were comfortable with all the amenities you would expect, plus some – including a fireplace and an outdoor shower.
Four Seasons - Their reputation doesn't really need a review... This is just a massive hotel/resort in the Serengeti. Nothing super special about it (it's a very nice luxury resort!), other than it had a fitness center (which we used both days, 10+ hours in the Land Cruiser is a lot of sitting and I think they are the only resort in the Central Serengeti with a fitness center) and the property. The property is located around a couple of active watering holes, so herbs of Elephant, Zebra, Buffalo, etc… just show up throughout the day and night to drink – that was pretty cool.
LaMala Kuria Hills - This place was phenomenal and if you want to see the crossing at the Mara River, this is absolutely the place to stay (even if you don't want to see the crossing, it's a great place to simply enjoy the northern Serengeti). The staff were world class, and the rooms were terrific. The outdoor space for each room was the best of the places we stayed, with a large balcony that overlooked the Serengeti. Each had a large sitting area, an outdoor shower and a private swimming pool.
Sanctuary Ngorongoro Crater - For being a tent it was super comfortable (and the temperature dipped to 38°F the night we were there!). There was a gas heater and electric blankets to keep us warm. The food was the best of any place we stayed (the lunch they packed for us the next day was spectacular) and the access to the crater (15-minute drive) is hard to beat.
Neptune Ngorongoro - This place is hard to describe in words. We have been fortunate to travel all over the world, this place is top 10 nicest places we have ever stayed. The resort sits on 50 private acres of farmland and coffee plantation. Almost everything they serve is farm to table. The rooms (they are actually individual houses that are ~900 sq. ft) are amazing with a huge outdoor space.
Final Thoughts….
This is a trip that you probably do once in a lifetime – it’s challenging to get there (30+hrs of travel), there is a lot of organization and planning to sort through (vaccines, visas, special prescriptions like anti-malarial) and it’s expensive. The worst thing would be booking the trip with a safari operator that fails to deliver on their end of the deal – give you the experience of a lifetime. You have to have realistic expectations when you book this adventure, things will happen - these vehicles get beat to hell and you might get a flat tire (we didn’t, but we did get stuck crossing in a stream… it happens, but there were other guides and vehicles ready to help); the faucet water isn’t safe to drink and if you accidentally drink some you might end up with a stomach ache; you are trying to find and watch wild animals – they are wild animals and they do whatever they want… there are no guarantees you will see everything; and at the end of the day, you are literally in the middle of nowhere - anything can happen in the middle of nowhere… These things aside, know that if you book with Lion King Adventures, they will do everything in their power uphold their end of the deal and give you a truly special and unforgettable adventure.
