CN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The guide is very good and tries his best
The company's arrangements are reasonable, and the hotel service is also good. However, the small group's mandatory payment is unreasonable, as the tour fee is already quite high.
MY
Our guide was very good and the price reasonable
Overall, we had a great experience in Amboseli and Tsavo West (although unfortunately did not get to see the rhinos). The hot air balloon experience was great.
The Masai village experience was so good in that we were charged 20USD per person ‘donation’ but in addition to that, we were pressured to buying many of their handicrafts.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
good
It would have been even better if you could have taken us to the airport.
CN
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The tour was very exciting, but the management was a bit chaotic
The booking process was relatively smooth and seamless. Mr. Monametsi responded to emails promptly and professionally, and the price was very reasonable. I quickly completed the reservation and payment for our family of ten. However, about two weeks before departure, I lost contact with Mr. Monametsi. My emails went unanswered. I later learned that Mr. Monametsi wasn't actually leading the tour group, but rather was managing and directing the group from his office. I couldn't figure out why he didn't respond to my crucial inquiries at this crucial time before our departure.
Our group set off with trepidation, fearing they wouldn't honor their prior agreement. Fortunately, a few hours before arriving in Zimbabwe, we received an email from Mr. Monametsi's friend, providing the details and phone number of our airport pickup. We met our pickup person at the Zimbabwean airport without incident, and we thought we could finally join our scheduled Zimbabwe and Botswana trip. However, he was only responsible for picking us up at the hotel and had no idea about our five-day tour. We spent the first and second days in confusion, making numerous phone calls and wasting considerable time trying to find someone. The next day, our driver dropped us off at the Botswana border and handed us over to a Botswanan driver. He, completely clueless about the itinerary, simply dropped us off at our pre-booked hotel and disappeared. We had to rely on the help of the hotel's owner, using her WhatsApp account, to contact Mr. Monametsi and confirm our safari arrangements. The communication was so poor that we missed several planned activities and wasted significant time. Fortunately, on the morning of the third day, the safari driver arrived at our hotel, and we were finally able to begin our subsequent itinerary.
Our trip had to be condensed and adjusted, with changes occurring daily. However, the team was very professional, especially Ben, our driver and guide, as well as the chef and logistics team. We thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Overall, the trip was truly fascinating. We saw lions, leopards, countless elephants, and various herbivores. The Okavango Delta was flooded this year, making many areas inaccessible and lacking in animal life. Savuti was particularly impressive with its abundance of lions. At the end of the trip, our driver, Ben, rescued a wounded elephant on the roadside, which was truly remarkable.
Apart from some confusion in communication and arrangements, this company is still worthy of praise. It is very cost-effective, has a lot of service staff, and the service quality is also very good. The food is especially good. Overall it is worth recommending!
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Reliable & Ethical Local Tour Operator
We’ve been on safaris in about 6 other countries. We chose Lion King Adventures because we wanted to travel with a Tanzanian owned and run tour company with Tanzanian staff, not based in some other country with foreigners running the business. While the safari was not cheap, no ethical safari is, we wanted our money to go directly to people in the country—that was our first consideration. Second, was that our tour would be private with only our group of 3 and that our itinerary was fully customizable including what parks we visited, where we stayed, and all the daily activities. Communication with the office staff was thorough, prompt, and friendly, which made the process of planning our trip enjoyable and sending payment online less nerve-racking. The airlines lost our bags and once in country, LKA was super helpful in tracking and bringing our bags to us as soon as they made it to Arusha! Our guide was young and seemed a bit inexperienced when it came to discussing the day’s plan with us ahead of time, so parts of the trip felt rushed and like we didn’t have quite enough time or know what to expect (particularly visiting Olduvai Gorge). He also didn’t volunteer much information unless asked directly. However, he was a safe, ethical driver, friendly, knew a lot about the parks and animals when asked, and was great at showing us different areas of the parks and finding awesome wildlife encounters. If I’m being honest, I’d give LKA 5 stars as a tour company and our particular guide 3.5 stars, as I’ve had guides that were more engaging and more experienced managing our itinerary and preferences in the moment, which is why their overall rating is a 4. Overall, I’m very pleased with our trip and only wish it could’ve been longer—2 or 3 days at each location was simply not enough! Tanzania is an incredible country and having spent a lot of time in southern Africa I was so impressed with the country’s dedication managing the parks ethically from a conservation and tourism perspective and employing & empowering their own people to care for everything. I can only dream about coming back someday. Asante sana, Lion King Adventures! <3
JP
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Flexible and friendly
In our limited planning process Rodgers was very prompt in response with any questions. Also flexible trying to make the trip to fit our preference and requests like no other agency. Finally the price was appealing and we decided to go with them.
Safari was fun, accommodations they booked for us were all good, the guide Charls was responsible man and keen to our needs who we were comfortable to be with for whole 6 days. We are content of the trip.
NP
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It’s good
It is definitely value for money with good service. It also provides special discounts for diplomats. Overall experience was good.
BF
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well organized
The team was friendly and communication with them was made easy
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent service offer by Dominic and by David, our fantastic guide, good prices.
Dominic was very helpful and always avalaible. He helped us with our e-visa for example. We loved the service offered by David, our second guide. He was so kind, calm, good listener. He took great care of us. We saw and learned so much with him during the games drive.
Good price for all that we got.
DK
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Reliable, good safari
We were on a 5-day safari (mother and teenage daughter).
The first impression of BaboonBudget was good, Jemimah replies to all questions very fast, which was very reassuring for me. Easy and fast communication signals trusworthiness to me.
I also think we got a lot of value for money, even though other guests in the same tour were less happy with the lunch options while travelling. But keep in mind that this is a budget safari in Africa, you will eat Kenyan-style. We liked it. Accomodation was also fine.
Our driver, Titus was really, really good. He knew a lot and shared it with us, and did his best to keep all people in the jeep happy. A really good guide.
A few things that could be improved - to a neurotic European, seatbelts are important, and they were usually not working in the middle seat in the back.
Sometimes people had to change cars, because some were continuing to other parks and some wanted more time where we were. This could be a bit confusing.
Lastly, when going back to Nairobi, we went with three different drivers, and didnt know until the day before. We also had to leave our luggage in the hotel on the last day, and another driver picked it up, but we were not informed until it had happened. Things were under control surely, but it would have been nice to know what the plan was. This may just be a cultural difference though. We did get back to the right place and time, and had a great safari!