African Scenic Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 100-250 employees (Founded in 2009)
- Member Of:
- ATTA, TATO, IMEC, KPAP, Travelife, CARBON TANZANIA & FAIR VOYAGE
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $1,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email John | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Bucket List fulfilled
Wonderful experience. My tour guide, Grayson, was very kind, knowledgeable, excellent English, friendly, excellent driver. Would highly recommend.
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Email Lindsay Marie | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Exceptional Kilimanjaro Trek and Northern Circuit Safari Honeymoon
My husband and I started planning our honeymoon adventure in Tanzania well over a year in advance. We ended up spending 5 weeks in Tanzania of which about 3.5 weeks were planned by African Scenic Safaris. The first part of our trip was to be an attempt at summiting Mount Kilimanjaro - I started my search for a tour operator by initially looking through the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project website to ensure fair treatment for the staff who would be guiding us up the mountain. I further narrowed my search by Tanzanian owned/operated companies and sent a few emails out to see what kind of itineraries/budgets would potentially work. I hoping to use the same operator for a safari, but it all depended on how logistics/quality worked out.
From the very first reply I received from Amanda I knew we would be booking our trip through African Scenic Safaris. She made the process seamless and was amazing about giving me different ideas of what would work within our budget and time frame. We ended up booking a 9-day trek up the Northern Route of Kilimanjaro and a 10-day Northern Circuit safari with them. Amanda planned everything to near perfection and was so responsive through the whole process with all of my silly questions. It was an absolute pleasure to work with her and her staff. It is always a little scary to send over big deposits to a company you find on the internet, but I felt so comfortable with Amanda I never really questioned it. If you have any concerns please feel free to message me on here so I may personally vouch for what an incredible company you are booking with.
KILIMANJARO: We decided on the 9-day Northern Route as we were hoping for a less crowded climb and at the time we were living at sea level so were concerned about our ability to acclimatize. Our Kilimanjaro climb was led by head guide Antipas and his assistant guide Juma. To be honest, I do not know if I would have made it to the summit with any other group. The level of expertise and leadership these two showed was beyond exceptional. I will say we were by far the slowest group on the mountain, but while every other group was taking lengthy rest breaks every 30 minutes we were steadily moving past them without losing our breath once (until summit day!).
Antipas is not only a wonderful guide, but he treats his porters/staff with such respect while also expecting them to all do their jobs well. I’ve never heard a group of porters talk more highly of their leader or of their employer. Both Antipas and African Scenic Safaris as a whole are such supporters of their staff from the ground up through encouraging further schooling and setting them up personal savings accounts. They are truly interested in making the porter’s lives better and it shows through their enthusiasm to be the best at their jobs. It was a wonderful thing to see.
In regards to the climb itself, each day was new gorgeous scenery and varying terrain. Our trek started at Lemosho gate and the camps on that side of the mountain were much smaller than the ones we saw heading down the other side. Our hike started in the rainforest which was full of stunning flowers and colobus moneys. The moorlands, or low alpine region, was my favorite with the low vegetation, but beautiful scenery and unexpected colorful flowers. I will say for the ladies it got increasingly hard to find a good bathroom rest spot once you got into this zone though! The high alpine zone turns a little more desolate, but the views of Kibo are astonishing particularly first thing in the morning. It may be frigid outside when you get out of your tent, but the cloudless peak of Kilimanjaro is completely worth those freezing moments. The beauty of those mornings are something I’ll never forget.
Summit day is by far the hardest day and probably the most physically demanding thing I have ever done. We left early, around 11 pm, so we could go our slow steady pace up the mountain. The vertical switch backs are insane and your muscles are screaming from lack of oxygen, but that all goes away when you make it to Gilman’s point and you are staring down into the crater. It was still a good walk from there, but so much easier. At first I was actually a little disappointed as I thought we would end up summiting in the dark because we left early, but true to Antipas’ superb expertise we literally approached the summit as the first shimmers of the sun swept over the crater. It was a breathtakingly beautiful sight.
Summit day does not end with summiting though and quite unfortunately on my way down I succumbed to a stomach bug, though at the time we thought it was altitude related. Antipas if you’re reading this now we know why I had such a hard time! I in no way blame the group for my stomach bug – you try to be as sanitary as you can on the mountain, but you never know what germs you’re touching and it could have been something as simple as a high five to someone who didn’t wash hands properly. Regardless I cannot stress hand sanitizer enough. It was the painstaking descent that showed the true colors of this staff – they cared deeply that I make it down safely and although had to push me hard at times it was out of true concern for my well-being. It pains me to admit this, but two people at a time had to literally help me go down one under each arm pit. Nearly all of the porter staff took turns helping me down, but allowed me to walk into camp unaided to save my wounded pride. They are all absolutely amazing human beings. In all, you could not pick a better Kilimanjaro trekking company from planning/logistics to the actual execution. I cannot vouch for the other guides African Scenic Safaris employs, but if they are anything like Antipas and Juma you certainly know you are in the best hands possible. You will be so glad you booked with them.
SAFARI: After resting for 4 days in Moshi we headed off for my most anticipated portion of the trip: our Northern Circuit Safari. Our guide for the trip was Rasheed and our cook was Omari. With the length of our trip as a whole we opted for a budget camping safari which was such a great experience. I will note the travel times between parks can sometimes be very long and hot, but seeing the scenery between destinations is just as much a part of the journey and gives you a real sense of the realities of people’s lives in Tanzania. We visited Tarangire, Lake Eyasi, Ngorongoro, Ndutu, Serengeti, and Lake Natron. Tarangire and Serengeti were certainly my favorites, but each place was special in their own rights.
Rasheed, our guide, was the most amazing naturalist! He knows more about animals than anyone I’ve ever met which is saying quite a bit I can assure you. Anything we asked him he had a solid answer for and you can see how much he truly loves wildlife. In multiple situations he was able to anticipate the movements of animals and get us ahead of all the other vehicles. I am an amateur photographer and Rasheed was absolutely essential in my getting some amazing shots on this trip. He knows exactly how to position the vehicle for the optimal light and angle. If you are a professional or amateur photographer, Rasheed is your man hands down. Look no further than specifically asking for him! You will not regret it.
Omari, our cook, was extremely skilled at what he does and we always looked forward to our meals from him. You can tell he has a passion for cooking and takes a lot of pride in his work. We had been in Africa for 5 weeks prior to this safari and I can without a doubt say Omari made consistently the best meals of our entire trip. Considering he was cooking over an open flame at camp sites instead of in a fully stocked kitchen you have to see how talented he is. I mean the guy literally made a flan and pizza for us from scratch in the bush. That’s spectacular.
Over the course of the safari we saw nearly every animal we were hoping to see and some. The big cats of Ndutu were incredible and getting to be in the mix of elephants in both Tarangire and Serengeti was a once in a lifetime experience. We even got to see 2 rhinos in Ngorongoro -which was all thanks to Rasheed’s quick response to a radio call. Otherwise we would have missed them completely. The diversity of the wildlife in Tanzania will truly astound you and you will not find a better company to design and carry out your trip than African Scenic Safaris.
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Email Jaclyn McCormick | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Trip- friendly and knowledgable service and a once in a lifetime experience!
We booked a 5 day Safari for our spring break and could not have been more pleased with the service and experience. From before we arrived we had all our questions answered and had incredible customer service while booking. David our guide for the Safari was absolutely amazing- friendly and incredibly knowledgeable about all the animals we saw. He answered every question we had (and we had a lot!) and we learned so much about the culture of Tanzania as well as the animals. Each stop we made only got better along our trip and we saw so many animals including over 30 lions, a leopard and rhinos! I would highly recommend African Scenic Safari to anyone- it was a once in a lifetime experience due in large part to our wonderful tour guide!
Email Tamsyn Roberts | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Trip of a lifetime
We just finished an amazing trip to Tanzania with African Scenic Safari. Our group of 11 went on a 10 day safari through Tarangire National Park, Nngorongoro Crator and the Serengeti National Park. The trip was planned perfectly and Amanda was amazing organising both our trips, replying quickly.
My friend and I went on to hike a 7 day Kilimanjaro trek. Amanda helped in settling all our nerves, our hire equipment worked well and our guides and crew were awesome throughout the trek. Amanda recommended the 7 day trek as it gave us a great chance of reaching summit. I would recommend this trek as the every day hiking was an amazing experience in itself.
Thank you to our wonderful team and Amanda, we had a trip of a lifetime.
IT
Email Silvana & Angela | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We spent 4 days with Rashid, our guide, and we had a wonderful time!
Rachid, our guide has been patient teaching us Swahili, answering all our questions, while we wanted to see the cheetah, lions, Hippo etccc
We loved our trip, and we are looking to come back again, may be with little ones
Asante sana for that lifetime experience!
NL
Email Servando Flores | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience
African Scenic made reality my dream! Since day 1 with lost of questions, Amanda kindly replied back and made possible to enjoy the tailor itinerary exactly as I wanted. Then our guide Emmanuel made everyday very enjoyable, as he knew where the animals were, ferrying us from marvel to marvel. At the beginning I was worried whether I would see all the animals and after few days I was wondering which new surprise which Emmanuel had for us that day. He even manage to spot the elusive rhino for us. After the safari we were always spoiled by Iddi, our chef. The best bush food I have tried was made by him, he even managed to cook pizza! All in all, it was really a dream came true and I will advice you to book with them!
FR
Email thomas martin-lalande | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable
Just few words to say to you that we enjoyed a lot our safari with
African Scenic and Elia.
Thanks to Elia and his knowledge, devotion, good mood and sense
of humour, it was stunning and unforgettable.
Asante sana to both of you, Elia and Amanda !
BE
Email Emilie | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Back with beautiful memories
We spent 6 days with Tom, our guide, and Aidano, our cook... And we had a wonderful time!
While Tom was sharing his experience, teaching us Swahili, answering all our questions, being patient while I wanted to see the hippos going out of their pool; Aidano was making us wonderful traditional meals (chakula kitam!), being careful with my food intolerance (lactose). We also climbed the Lengaï, witch was much more dificult that I would have tought but the view was worth it.
We loved our trip, and we are looking to come back again, maybe with little ones ;-).
Asante sana for that lifetime experience!
Nous avons passé 6 jours avec Tom, notre guide et Aidano, notre cuistot... Et nous sommes revenus avec des étoiles pleins les yeux!
Tom a tenu compte de nos envie, passé du temps à nous apprendre un bout de la culture tanzanienne, nous apprendre à parler un peu swahili, nous avons vu une quantité extraordinaire d'animaux, que ce soit à l'aube, pendant la journée, ou à la tombée de la nuit, Tom était toujours motivé. Nous avons aussi grimpé le mont Lengaï de nuit, ce qui était plus difficile qu'escompté, mais la vue d'en haut en vaut a peine!
Aidano a été aux petits soins, nous préparant chaque jour des plats tanzaniens, aussi bons les uns que les autres, tout en tenant compte de mon intolérance au lactose. C'était délicieux!
Nous espérons revenir un jour en Tanzanie et si c'est le cas, contacterons sans nul doute African Scenic!
Thank you all so much, and thank you very much Amanda for your good advises and the organisation!
https://fr.tripadvisor.be/ShowUserReviews-g317084-d8459743-r504115453-African_Scenic_Safaris-Moshi_Kilimanjaro_Region.html#
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Email RH | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Went Above & Beyond - Identified Family Discounts - Very Responsive
When I first started shopping around, I found that not only was African Scenic Safaris much more responsive than other agencies, but they also helped pick lodges/camps that offered discounts for children. This saved me several thousand dollars compared to the other agencies I received quotes from.
After the deal was already closed and throughout my trip, Amanda continued to go above and beyond expectations by giving me advice and assistance on other aspects of my trip that were outside the itinerary and the scope that portion that was being covered by her company. Not only was her advice and assistance valuable, but it was always timely and she always responded extremely quickly.
Rashid (our guide) was very knowledgeable, reliable and trustworthy.
I would highly recommend African Scenic Safaris for families or people looking to save money.
CA
Email Joe | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Experience with African Scenic Safaris
My son and I had an incredible time over 5 nights/6 days and experienced Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Tanganire, and a hunting trip with the Hazdabe Tribe near Lake Eyasi. Each area was unique and we were able to see all the great African wildlife up close. The driver/guide as well as the chef were both professional, knowledgable, and very organized which made everything so enjoyable. It was a once in a lifetime trip that exceeded our expectations. I highly recommend booking with African Scenic Safaris.