US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Most amazing trip of a lifetime!
“It was by far the best trip I've ever taken. Every detail was handled and conveyed to us so there were no surprises. Everything happened like clockwork and all accommodations were outstanding. The service was exceptional and everybody was so kind and friendly. Food was phenomenal and it was nice that everything was included including drinks. The game drives were amazing; the guides were so knowledgeable and the spotter did A great job in finding anything we wanted to see. I would highly recommend anybody to take this type of a trip and to especially create your own itinerary using yellow zebra. They were very detailed and professional and were very responsive during and following our holiday trip.”
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safety, well organized and suitable for families
Communication with Roberto was good, instead with the guide it was a little bit difficult because of his poor italian knowledge ; the accomodations were very good; the food was average because we don't like the buffet system; the safari was great: we saw a lot of animals. The nature is wonderful!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review of Kilimanjaro Trekking Mate
We came across Kilimanjaro Trekking Mate after comparing reviews for various Kili trekking and safari operators mostly on TripAdvisor. While there are not many reviews available for these guys, they all seemed positive. The decisive factor was our limited budget: with many other positively reviewed companies Kili climbs and safaris can be significantly more expensive.
Price: $1045 per person for a 4-day safari (Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro) plus a $150 tip for the guide + $80 for the cook from the group. $1700 per person for 8 days of Kili trekking via the Lemosho route plus a $300 tip per person to the guide (who then distributes it as appropriate to the trekking crew). Note that these tips are considered mandatory. For a bit extra KTM offers various equipment for rent, which is a good solution if you don't fancy bringing your own sleeping bag or trekking poles to Africa.
Safari: overall an excellent experience, with our guide Shirima being a highly professional and pointing out animals that our untrained eyes would have never noticed on their own. The car was comfortable and had no issues with the tough roads in the national parks. Camping in the parks' vicinity was a lot of fun, especially seeing zebras and hyenas sneaking around at night. Definitely consider adding a safari to your hike, especially if you love seeing exotic animals in the wild and up close.
Kili: once again, an excellent experience. Our crew carried the heavy stuff around (thanks, guys!), leaving us to enjoy the hike with daypacks. The tent was comfortable and spacious, with an integrated mess section. The food was enjoyable for an 8-day hike, and around day 5 we even had fresh goods delivered up, including some absolutely delicious ginger tea. Kudos to the guides, Baraka and Goodluck, for doing a fantastic job of leading us through, especially the hike at summit night (which was tough, but "pole-pole" does the trick). Baraka and Goodluck measured our oxygen levels and pulse each evening as well as our lungs in the morning to make sure we're acclimatizing well. It's important to have medically trained personnel with you on the mountain, we've heard about bad things happening in groups that apparently didn't. Lemosho route is highly recommendable due to its beauty and relative lack of congestion. As the rest of the mountain, it's quite dusty, so bring some gaiters along. KTM does not provide private toilet tents, so be prepared to use the common squat toilets. While not an issue at the lower camps, squeamish people may cringe at those in the higher camps. If you want to hike at a more relaxed pace, have problems with altitude or have never been as high as Kili, we suggest you opt for an extra acclimatization day (Lemosho can be done in either 7 or 8 days).
The company: we found KTM to be very reliable, patiently answering our many questions prior to arrival. We were met at the airport by Nick, the company's director, and transferred to Moshi where we cross-checked our plans and equipment rental list. Nick even threw in a few freebie rental items for the mountain (asante sana!) :) We also found out that evening that our post-Kili flight to Zanzibar by Precision Air had been cancelled. Since we would definitely not have internet and only very sporadic mobile signal, we asked Nick if he could buy us new tickets for the same date while we were away. He was glad to assist and helped us out brilliantly (thanks again, Nick!). Since the new flight schedule introduced some spare time after the climb, he and Baraka offered we go together to some of the local sights. Thanks to them, we had an impromptu and very worthwhile visit to Chagga tribal coffee growing villages and a beautiful waterfall that day.
I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions, but I consider KTM to be a trustworthy company that can provide you with a fantastic experience in Tanzania without breaking the bank.
BR
Great company, unforgettable experience!
My friend and I did a 3-day Safari with Earthlife Expeditions and it couldn't be better! Me and my friend had a very close schedule and have only begun talking to them 3 weeks before the Safari.
They were not only very efficient on arranging everything but also extremely kind from emailing with Caudence and telephoning them to the day we actually met. I believe the best thing about Earthlife Expeditions is that it is a small company (though one of the 10 best in Tanzania) but surprisingly organized and able to do personalized schedules.
Regarding the Safari itself, we went from Kilimanjaro International Airport to a hotel in Arusha (where they happily took us to buy a few supplies and change money) and then to our stops: Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire National Park. Most of hotels were of high standard and we had great meals (the only problem was that sometimes the shower wasn't warm).
Our Tour Guide was Charles, who has 35 years of experience and a pair of Eagle Eyes. What was best about Charles was that he would go slower than other cars when he thought that might be animals around, but when he heard of lions or other more less common animals, he would just rush through the savannah to get us there (and he did quite a few times).
Regarding prices: it is not the cheapest nor the most expensive company out there: we paid 1200 dollars for 4 nights, all meals, transportation and Safari. Drinks at the hotel are not included and there is a lot of tipping (5 dollars per day per person to each hotel; 15-30 dollars per day per person to the Safari Guide, we gave 60 euros for both of us).
You have to keep in mind that it might not always be comfortable and you might be unlucky some days and do get to see all you want (we were extremely lucky: lions, cheetahs and a caracal). It was a great experience, and A good fraction of it was because of Earthlife Expeditions!
HU
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
6 nights at 3 different NPs
We spent six nights at three different parks (at four camps) and it was amazing. First we spot a tree-climbing lion cub at Lake Manyara. Then we found the migrating herds in Serengeti NP at River Mara, thanks to our guide we also saw a river crossing. Then we spot a lot of big cats in the central region of Serengeti, last but not least we spent an amazing night at Ngorongoro Camp where we met a thursty elephant right inside the camp. Our cook provided delicious dishes, our driver/guide did anything to find memorable actions and sights at the parks, so it was simply amazing.
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Close contact
We had a wonderful 3 weeks in SouthAfrica. TailorMadeSafaris was very helpful in translating our wishes for our family (with 3 children) to a variated programm that brought us all sides of SouthAfrica. Wildlife, spectacular views, local life, and friendly people everywhere.
And because they work inside SouthAfrica, they were even able to help us immediately when we ran into some problems.
BR
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
We loved it
I would like to recommend Mosu Safari Tours. Olivier and Fifi were so helpful to help us to set up our trip to Botswana. The country is beautiful in wild life. We loved it!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very accommodating, knowledgable and friendly
The itinerary proposed was relaxing as requested but allowed us to see some of the great parks and enjoy wonderful experiences. Guide was fantastic and he knew where to look and could spot animals when you thought there was nothing there. We highly recommend this company. They were fantastic, very accommodating, knowledgeable and friendly. Thank you to Annette and her team, we had a great time.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Budget safari with great service
Wonderful safari for a low price - $300 for 3 days in the Masai Mara. Beautiful landscapes, and we saw the big 5 (lion, elephant, leopard, rhino, buffalo) plus everything else - cheetahs, giraffes, wildebeest, hyena, warthogs, hippos, crocs, etc. We waited a few hours at the end to see a herd of wildebeest cross the Mara River. July and August is the best time to go to the Mara to see the wildebeest migration and cats hunting. We saw lions, cheetahs, and leopards with fresh kills. It's the dry season so more animals are out and about at the watering holes. We didn't do the cultural visit to the Masai village because another guest told us that you have to pay extra to get in, and it was mostly uncomfortable situations of them pressuring you to buy souvenirs or donate more money. You can hang out with Masai at the camps anyways.
Good overall communication by email from the time that I booked. Airport pickup and drop off, hot buffet meals along the way. Richard was an amazing guide - great English, funny, knew the park roads, and knew how to find the animals we wanted to see. He could also drive the safari van like a champ through those crazy rough roads. I would trust him to drive a school bus full of children through the Grand Canyon. We did pop a tire (surprised we didn't pop them all) and he changed it.
Lenchada camp was great - safari tents with comfortable beds on cots, bed nets, and a private bathroom with hot water attached to your tent. There are Masai workers at the camp that make a campfire at night who are nice and fun to talk to. Some other tourists even bought a goat from the Masai and roasted it over the fire. Just make sure you leave your tent zipped so the baboons don't get in at night. No locks on the tents. Dinner and breakfast buffets were hot and tasty, and also had fruit, tea, hot chocolate, and beer. Only the packed lunch they gave us for the safari day was rubbish - sandwich with dry bread and a few slices of tomato - come on. Inedible. Luckily I had taken some extra breakfast with me. The camp runs a generator for a few hours so you can have lights and charge your phone.
The only improvements I would suggest is that I asked to pay by card when I arrived but they forgot to bring me the card reader, so I had to take cash out of an atm later to pay. I don't like doing that cause atms and my bank charge crazy international fees, plus they're not safe and it's easy to get your card info stolen. You are also required to buy all of your own drinks all weekend (which they do tell you from the beginning). I would have also liked more information and history about the park and the animals without having to ask. Most of the time the guide didn't tell us things unless we asked.
When you book a safari, especially on a budget, you should know that it's rough, so don't complain that it's hot, bumpy, and that you didn't bring enough water. Of course there is no freaking wifi in the middle of the savannah, so don't expect that. If you can't stand up in a moving car without falling on the other passengers then sit your butt down, take pictures out the window, and stop complaining (I had someone falling on me a lot). And don't throw trash in the park.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A very pleasant and memorable trip with Home to Africa- Made us feel at home and welcome
An excellent company to book your tour with. From the minute we were picked up from the airport till the end of our tour. The whole company could not do enough for our memorable trip. We came to Uganda after 45 years and a lot has changed. Everyone made us welcome .The guide /driver "Kariim" is an excellent ambassador for the company. Elias and his team in the office with Edward and a gorgeous lady Yvonne and all team were very professional. I can not fault anything organised by them.
A highly recommended company to book your tour with.
Well done to you all ndugus. Hoping to come back soon.
Vijay.Unadkat.