Tours by Locals (aka Kiliholidays)
- Office In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2004)
- Member Of:
- TATO, TTB, KINAPA, MNRT & TPO
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $50 to $400 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
UA
Email Oleksii | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent safari
When we were planning a trip to Tanzania we decided that we can’t lose the opportunity to visit worldwide known safaris. So after reviewing a dozen of options we decided to choose Kiliholidays tour ‘3-Day Taste of Wildlife Lodge Safari in Tanzania’. The main reasons for such a choice were: private tour, reasonable price, and attractive lodges.
On our arrival, we got a hospitable service and on the safari itself, we were accompanied by a skilful guide - Tom. He was an expert on local flora and fauna, easily answered all our questions, and told interesting stories about the everyday life and traditions of the locals.
Thanks to Tom’s knowledge and a little to our luck we saw a lot of animals including small simbas, crowds of zebras and buffalos, hippos, giraffes, elephants and way more others.
We definitely enjoyed the tour and we would surely recommend Kiliholidays!
Email Maris Lasmanis | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
The best of the best.
If you want to enjoy the real Tanzania then travel with Kiliholidays Tours&Safaris.We spent six unique days with a professional guide and driver Eduard and the excellent Tanzanian chef Denny.
PT
Email Nuno Tomé | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The perfect for a perfect safari.
Initially our Safari would be 4 days 3 nights but due to a delay in the arrival flight to Tanzania we can only do 3 days 2 nights. However, the experience was amazing, thanks largely to our guide, Edward. He was very considerate, kind, caring and very knowledgeable. Whenever we had any questions, we responded promptly, and even gave us some “extra” and very interesting information. It was very interactive and very safe to drive. The way he led our Safari, heading to some “key points”, allowed us to observe most of the animals up close. Every day spent was a very special enriching adventure. Without a doubt, we recommend Kiliholidays, especially our guide Edward. Thanks for the experience, it was a pleasure!
LB
Email Maya El Hage | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable Safari Experience
We had an incredible experience with Kiliholidays. Mack the manager made sure to tailor our itinerary according to our flight, and that he booked us in for the best medium range accomodation, which was in fact luxury. Our guide Godson was absolutely amazing, so professional and knowledgeable. His driving is perfect, calm and composed. With him, we saw literally all the animals we could possibly see in our 3 days, including the difficult to see big cats. We learned so much from him about the animal kingdom, nature, and about Tanzania as a whole. Would highly recommend Kiliholidays to anyone looking for a once in a lifetime experience!
RO
Email Victor Andrei | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience
Having decided to go on a safari in Tanzania, we chose Kiliholidays for three reasons : the Farm of Dreams Lodge, the possibility of customization of our tour and the price. We had a 4 days private safari (2persons).
We wanted to do Ngorongoro, Lake Manyara & Tarangire NP with an extra day dedicated to going to a little hike to a waterfall on the Kilimanjaro and some fresh water springs. Do not miss Tarangire, it is the best in the dry season, a lot of wildlife. These 4 days we saw lots of antelopes, wildebeest, warthogs, zebras, giraffes, elephants, hippos and lions - in the decrescent order of the frequency seen (I guess :) ).
Mack, the owner, was very responsive as we exchanged more than a dozen emails with Q&A and defining our program. It was more than reasonably priced (compared to other offers on safaribookings.com). We then had to make an online payment of 300usd + 5% transaction fees. All went very smooth. The rest of the sum was payed in cash at arrival (bills newer than 2006).
We can recommend that you take a hotel night before and one after the safari so that you can start early and finish late - about 2h to Tarangire NP (the nearest national park).
The Farm of Dreams Lodge was splendid, tasty dinners, good cocktails, nice swimming pool. Food is included, but drinks are extra.
We had Edward as a driver and we have only good words about him. Attentive, full of knowledge about the wildlife and native people. He also had a wildlife guidebook with him and a pair of binoculars that we could use.
The only not top experience was the safari car. It was a little rundown. Seats comfy, but really old, AC sockets not working, windows very difficult to open/close. Nevertheless it was a safari car (Range Rover) with the open top that Edward drove effortless on every path, crossed rivers, climbed hills, a real 4x4. There was a fridge with water available for the entire length of the trip.
All in all we had a wonderful experience and could not recommend more!
ES
Email Rut Ibarra | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent
A great safari, the guide's attention, it was all wonderful, we could not be happier with our first safari in Nyerere National Park
FR
Email Farah | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience with a quality tour operator
With Kiliholidays everything went very well.
Whether it was the email exchanges before our trip, or Mach was very responsive and answered all of our questions.
We asked for a guide in French and we had the chance to do our safari with Henri who was kind and spoke French very well, he was able to explain all the things we saw. Thank you also to our driver Tomsifou who is a champion of the steering wheel thanks to him we were able to see the lions very closely.
Thank you all for this amazing safari, I recommend kiliholidays to everyone.
Many thanks from Farah, Kenza, Idir and Abdel.
BE
Email yasmine D | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
first safari, great experience
we've always wanted to do a safari with my husband and we did it for our honeymoon. We visited safaribookings.com as we knew this website was reliable (a youtuber promoted it by sharing her safari experience). then we started checking all the different safari packages and found that the 3 days safari by kiliholidays tours & safari was reasonnably priced compared to some others. The lodge we stayed in (included in the package) was also nice. Communication with the owner (Mack) was easy and quick (mail and whatsapp). We agreed on the starting date for the safari and made some customized arrangements (hour to pick us up and drop off us at the airports, food we ate etc). then Mack asked us to pay 300 $ as a deposit + 5% fee as the payment is online. Don't be afraid, it's not a scam. We paid the rest of the money on arrival in cash in dollar. During the 3 day experience, you don't have to pay anything except tips and beverages for dinner at the lodge). Thomas was our guide for the 3 days, he's very friendly and has the eye to catch animals. He does his best to make sure you're happy and see as more animals as possible). We did Tanrangire, Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara. We loved the 3 parks and saw plenty of animals (lions, bufalos, zebra, hyppos, giraffes, elephants, wildebeest, hyena, beautiful birds ... and even an attack of a lion on a warthog). tasty lunch is provided every day and you will have the opportunity to eat among animals during the safari. There are plenty of bottles of water in the 4x4 so you won't be thirsty. The only thing I would have liked to be aware of is the tsetse fly. There were plenty of them in Tanrangire national park and we were not dressed properly to avoid them (tip Thomas gave us : don't wear black and blue clothes as the tsetse fly is attracted by them and they bite). I don't know if there is a repellent to avoid them, I suggest you do your research about it. Mack also offered us a night in a hotel in Arusha on the 3rd day as our plane left the day after. The hotel was ok for one night but the area is not really touristic. To sum up, great experience, I really recommend this trip!
PT
Email Mara Ricárdio Pacheco | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
AMAZING EXPERIENCE!
Before leaving for Tanzania, we contacted several companies asking them to help us plan our 4-day private safari, depending on our interests and available budget (Tarangire, Serengeti and Ngorongoro). Kiliholidays proved to be, from the beginning, the company most concerned with clarifying the doubts of someone who, like us, was going to do this for the first time, making us trust, even if from a distance. Upon arrival, with the fantastic Edward, his ability to simplify and streamline a safari with many kilometers covered and little time available filled us with enthusiasm! Edward was, without a doubt, our best Tanzanian friend, not just a guide! He helped us learn about the country's history, told us endless curiosities about the wild animals we came across in the game-drives, solved unforeseen events and even helped my fiance prepare the most beautiful wedding proposal in the world (within the Serengeti National Park) :)
For us, it is very important to hire services that meet our expectations and are carried out with professionalism. But above all, we like the person who accompanies us to be kind and able to relate to us with friendship and good spirits.
We were undoubtedly super happy with our safari and we already miss the days we spent in the jeep. We hope to repeat it soon!
PL
Email Mariusz | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Solid and reliable safari operator
We have made arrangements about safari and negotiated the rate with Mack by email. When coming to Arusha, all agreed conditions were confirmed and we have not got any unpleasant surprises as described sometimes in the case of other safari operators. We decided on the option of a 6-Day Tanzania Experience Safari. In general, the itinerary and conditions of the safari were precisely as described by Mack in the correspondence before arriving in Tanzania. As for the accommodation during the tour, the Charity Hotel is not a good option for resting before starting the safari. At 10.00 pm a new large group arrived at the hotel and pandemonium of noises and rumours started. It lasted until 2.00 am. As for Farm of Dreams Lodge and Acaccia Lodge in Serengeti Park, both were really excellent and exceptional places leaving us with really good memories and positive feelings. Staying in Serengeti Park with comfort assured by Acaccia lodge was unforgettable.
On the first day we have been to Tarangire National Park, then going to Serengeti National Park for the next two days, and finally, on the last day in Ngorongoro Crater. All these places must-see if you want to have the feeling of Africa savannas. Unfortunately, the transfers between Tarangire and Serengeti and then, Ngorongoro take much time, but it seems it is unavoidable. Especially, that distances are rather high and roads in bad shape.
As for seeing animals, as usual, it depends on your lack and time spent in the park, especially Serengeti Park. There are huge herds of antelopes, elephants, buffaloos and other herbivores, predator cats are more difficult to run across. In some places, you can see also ponds practically filled with hippos.
We have travelled with Thomas, a drive and a guide, who was extremely patients in overcoming road difficulties and tracking for animals. Thomas was a splendid guide having a lot of extremely interesting knowledge about all animals met in the savannah. We can recommend him as a really good guide for this trip.
After returning to Arusha we had spent one night in town as our flight back to Zanzibar was on the next day. Mack offered that we will get a tour around Arusha before departure, to have some time for shopping places and seeing the art gallery, with Thomas, free of charge. Then we were escorted by Thomas to the airport.
To sum up, it was a great experience, thanks to Mack and Thomas, and there was actually nothing we could complain about. The only thing, we have thought afterwards, that maybe we should have selected an option with an additional day in the heart of Serengeti Park as it is a vast area and not so many places can be explored during 2 days. We can recommend Kiliholidays as the operator of safari tours - the option we have chosen was a mid-range private tour. If coming to Tanzania next time, f.e. for the tour to Kilimanjaro, we surely consider Kiliholidays.
