Tanzania Expeditions
- Office In:
-
United States
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2009)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $700 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Safari Holiday
We booked a safari camping trip for five days four nights in Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro with AHLA. The communication before hand was excellent and the price quoted was very competitive. The Lodge in Arusha is basic but clean rooms and beds. It is a steep climb from the entry point which is a slippery foot path (rains) but there were people sent down to collect our luggage from the bottom of the hill. Our children enjoyed the climb.
The safari itself was with Ibrahim and Yonno as our guide and cook. Both of them were excellent. We saw all the animals Big 5 and the rest. Only regret not spotting the Cheetah. The campsites we stayed in were well maintained although the first night was a bit scary with hyenas howling and lions roaring in the night. On the whole but for the breakdown of the Jeep on the way back to Ngorongoro it was an amazing holiday. We have never seen that many Wildebeasts, Zebras, Gazelles. We even managed to see several prides of Lions, a near kill and an after- kill feeding Lion.
I would definitely recommend them if you are on a budget and want good value for your money.
US
Email Lisa | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Mt. Kilimanjaro experience with AHLA!
Hi I am 56 years old woman and I hiked Kilimanjaro with AHLA -Arusha Hostel Lodge & Adventures. It was a life changing experience!!! Justin (the owner) and his staff met every need I could have possibly had. Justin stayed right by my side on summit night, encouraging me every step of the way! While climbing up the breakfast wall, Justin offered his hand to me to get up some difficult maneuvers. The food was so delicious...homemade soup every night...and sweet/salty fresh popcorn awaiting us when we arrived at each camp. A cake was made and all of the porters, guides and cooks celebrated my accomplishment in the last camp site. I was so impressed with this company that I ended up giving a total of $1000 tip...never had I done that!! I have reccommended AHLA to many friends and all of my children have now hiked Kilimanjaro and gone on Safari with AHLA. I HIGHLY advise you to go with AHLA..you will not regret it!
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Conquer Kilimanjaro- Safari- Zanzibar
We booked a full dream holiday with Tanzania Expeditions, and I truly have to say we were pleasantly surprised every step of the way. Let me describe better:
1. Hiking to the top of Kilimanjaro via the 7 days Lemosho route. Every day starts with warm breakfast (including coffee in bed.. well, sleeping bag), and continues with exciting singing and dancing with the whole group while getting ready for the hike (tourists from other groups were coming to take pictures of us, I could sense some jealousy hehe). We actually learned songs in Swahili with these guys, I would have not believed it beforehand. The hike mood is always great, the guides have a lot of experience, speak perfect English, and are always there for you. Really, for anything. We overcame the tough parts of the hike, we made it to the top, and it´s all thanks to these guys. If you ever read this, thank you!
Dinner was always surprisingly good, the porters dedicated and always trying to cheer us up.
2. Safari (4 days Serengeti, Arusha, Ngorongoro) was beyond expectations from the point of view of amount and variety of animals we got to see. The driver was very knowledgeable and could spot a squirrel from a mile away. He was always pointing the animals to us, and sometimes it took us a while to see them ourselves. Sometimes they were simply all over the place, and you wouldn´t know where to point the camera. We also had good food, always felt safe and well taken care of.
3. Zanzibar. We chose the places we wanted to go to and things we wanted to do, and it was all organized by the company. We did some amazing scuba diving, visited the spice plantation, had a tour around Stonetown, and chilled out in wonderful, and surprisingly cheap, hotels by the sea. It´s a dream, if you ever get the chance, go for it :) .
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Hike Kili, few safaris and Zanibar
I am incredibly happy I booked with Tanzania Expeditions.
The trip I wanted to be very custom. I had 8 people coming with me from different areas around the world and was ready to have the best experience. I wanted to hike Kili, do some safaris and then jump to Zanzibar for some scuba.
Since we were all coming from different locations, we planned a day safari at Arusha National Park for the first day of arrival before hiking Kili. This was a safari plus a walking safari with an armed ranger in the park. After this we drove around the Big/Small Momela Lake. This was quite the introduction to what we were going to learn about what goes on in a safari. The hiking part was supposed to be about 1.5 hours, we took 3. We had see and learn and a park ranger to show us around. Our safari driver patiently waited while we took the extra time, but he also kept tabs on us and made sure we didn’t just disappear. It was a great way to spend the first day getting acclimated. The next safaris came after Kili. We had a 4 day lodge/camping mix. I figured after hiking 7 days up Kili, we would appreciate a bed one of these safari nights. This is that ‘custom’ part again that Justin was able to work with. The safari drivers took us from Arusha to Tarangire, Serengeti to the Ngorongoro Crater. We saw all kinds of animals. They would politely shut off the cars while we took pictures. For me this helped with less vibrations for long distance pictures. The drivers would also stop for us to buy beer, pee and hop out of the car to climb trees for more pictures. They catered to us for on the spot requests, as well as made sure we were safe. They also kept in touch with the radio to hear where the animal spottings were and brought us to see the best! I think the only thing we really couldn’t get the best glimpse at was the rhino. He knew where the rhino was, he pointed it out and knew at what time the rhino would be waking up and standing up. It was just too far away for us. It really impressive how well they know those roads. The safari was great!
Justin was able to help with specific requests, the Kili hike and Zanzibar after, with a time crunch and and made everything work out perfectly. Whether you’re looking to hike, safari or enjoy the beaches, he knowledgeable about everything. He really has a great staff working for him. My friends and I still talk about our epic trip and how it couldn’t have been done without the help of Tanzania Expeditions.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kilimanjaro with Tanzania Expeditions
I stayed at AHLA the night before my hike to Kilimanjaro and the night after. The rooms are nice and the beds are comfortable. The lodge has a wonderful view of the entire city of Arusha, especially at night. It was a cozy, quiet place to say. It's a bit outside of the city center so it wasn't as noisy as some of the other lodges I've stayed at. Hot water is available in the morning and afternoon for showers and although their is a cut off of power after a certain time it usually happened after I was asleep anyway at around 11:30 or 12.
AHLA arranged my hike to Kilimanjaro and it was an incredible experience. The team of porters and guides that Justin (the owner) arranged were amazing. So warm, friendly and welcoming and always concerned with my health and how I was doing along the way. Every morning they would sing to me to cheer me on for the days hike. No other company on the mountain did that. On the worst days this helped me push through. After I made it to Uhuru peak they baked me a cake in the middle of one of our camp sites with nothing but a few ingredients and a small flame. I have no idea how they did it but it was the sweetest gesture and no other company did that. I could not have been more safe this this group of champion porters, guides and the cook. One of the greatest experiences of my life. I paid a fraction of the cost of what I would have paid for other companies and got so much more than I could have ever imagined. If you are looking for a company to climb Kili, look no further. This is the only option.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The Best Day
Having stayed with Tanzania Expeditions previously in their hostel, and got to know Justin (the owner) well, I knew I could trust him to organise a great safari for a friend who was over visiting Tanzania.
We were limited in time, so decided to do a day-trip to Arusha National Park. The quote was incredibly competitive, the service offered before hand really informative and the day was utterly unforgettable. We wanted to do a walking safari as well as a drive, and Justin arranged for this around our limited budget.
Our guide, Steven, picked us up from my apartment in the morning and spent the day engaging us, teaching us, making us laugh and looking after our every need. He took us to some wonderful view points within the park, and made sure that we were happy to move on every time he drove. The day felt completely our own; we only saw a few other people in the park, as Steven wanted to take us away from the tourists, and we were rewarded with a spectacular array of animals and a feeling of complete isolation within the landscape. At one point, we found ourselves totally surrounded by a herd of giraffe, who stayed with us for half an hour; a completely mesmerising and unforgettable moment.
The walking safari took us into the plains midst buffalo and giraffe and our experienced guide / ranger from the National Park taught us a great deal about the natural flora and fauna growing in the area. Being on the ground in such beautiful surroundings with such knowledgeable guides was a really tremendous experience.
I could not fault the day for enjoy-ability, entertainment and learning, and felt that every part of the service that Justin and his team offered was excellent. I will be taking trips with them again and recommend their company wholeheartedly.
Hiking Kili
I must admit this is one of the coolest things I have ever done. Hiking the kili is cool, and get to the top is definitely a nice feeling. Sharing 7 days with all the amazing people you find in the way, not just the friends you are going with, but the porters, the guides, people from other groups is just amazing. These guys wakes up before you and prepare everything, smile all day long, try to help you and give you the required support in case you need it, sing every morning in a way everybody is looking at your group and the group finish with huge motivation to face the day, dance with you and make you enjoy the experience in a way I never thought I was going to. As I say doing kili is a great experience, doing it with these amazing people is something different
CA
Email Jenn | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Trip
Tanzania Expeditions set up and delivered a fantastic tour for my husband and I. We hiked Mount Meru, did an 8 day safari and a short rest on Mafia Island. From getting initial information through the entire trip, nothing short of professional. We felt completely at ease and looked after by our tour organizer, Justin (the owner) and our on the ground client representative. Our hiking guide and our safari driver were attentive and knowledgeable. We were well fed and TE ensured that we had an enjoyable worry-free experience.
AE
Email Niall | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
4 Day Safari
Had a fantastic 4 Day Safari with our driver Emanuel. Visited Lake Manyara National Park, Serengeti National Park and Ngorongo Crater as well. We hoped to see all of the Big 5 and succeeded in doing so comfortably. The Serengeti for me was a personal highlight as we had an especially close encounter with a pride of lionesses and also had the pleasure of seeing one of the famous tree climbing lions in action. Will without doubt be back in the not too distant future. Highly recommended.
IE
Email Maeve | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable Experience by a Fabulous Team!
We visited Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Natron camping and StoneTown and Kendwa in Zanzibar staying in hotels. From beginning to end the service that we were provided with was exceptional. In the planning stages Justin was on hand to advise and reply extremely promptly to every email sent. We changed our minds, literary and dates several times and Justin was always ready and willing to help us in any way possible. I had contacted other providers but no ones price, advice or service compared in any way to Tanzania-Expeditions.
Our guide and driver Hilary was exceptional. Firstly he was a very competent driver on the rocky African roads, we always felt safe and comfortable. He was also excellent at getting us as close as possible to the animals in the parks. As a guide Hilary was extremely knowledgeable about all the animals, not to mention his unbelievable skill at spotting animals. There was a Science teacher and a Geography teacher in our group which ment we were really interested in all plants, animals, landscapes and everything in between but Hilary was able to fill us in on everything with full and interesting explanations and answering our endless amount of questions. He told us about Tanzania in general, the tribes and everything else that we passed along the way. He really made the holiday for us and he went out of his way to help us in any way possible. Seeing the animals up close in their natural environment is an unbelievable experience, but having someone like Hilary on hand was the difference in making the holiday excellent and unforgettable!
Dioniz our chef was also amazing. All four of us would be quite picky eaters but everything he cooked, from breakfast to dinner and the packed lunches were delicious and we were never hungry and were surprised every day with something different and equally as delicious. The food was far from average and it was better than we would have in restaurants back home. He also went above and beyond to make sure our stay was as enjoyable as possible always making sure everything at the campsite was ready to go for us. He was so professional throughout, and the food was always on time, ensuring we had the most time possible for game drives.
It was nice to finish in Zanzibar as it was a complete contrast from safari. Justin had everything organised for us there too and it was good to not have to worry about anything. If I were to do it again Lake Natron may have been too far of a drive however the waterfall there was beautiful and it was nice to hike up to it for the day as it got us out of the jeep. Also I would fly from Arusha rather than Kilimanjaro as it is much more convenient. Also bring warm clothes if staying at the crater rim, it gets cold especially at night, early mornings can also be cool. Other than that sit back and enjoy the professional, personalised, one of a kind service offered by Tanzania-Expeditions.
Asante sana tena!