Reviews

Average User Rating
5.0/5

Rating Breakdown
  • 5 star 14
  • 4 star 0
  • 3 star 0
  • 2 star 0
  • 1 star 0

Sort By: Date Most Helpful 1-10 of 14 Reviews
Gaurav Duggal   –  
India IN
Visited: June 2013 Reviewed: Jun 25, 2015

20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Awesome experience, great guide Hamadi
5/5

Me and My friend Narsi took the tour to kilimanjaro and safari to serendipity with Hamadi and group. They are excellent host and very helping. They are cheerful lot with many people trying to make good conversations. They are reliable and trust worthy. They pushed us when we were thinking that we cant make it to the top. They gave us best food available. They provided us guidance as well to shop in Tanzania. The Safari was awesome and very neatly organised. They are very hygienic and professional in there approach.

I would recommend them for best safari personalised trip in Kilimanjaro. I would like to travel with them again some time soon.

Fabian   –  
France FR
Visited: August 2014 Reviewed: Jun 27, 2015

Email Fabian  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

An unforgettable experience climbing Mount Kilimanjaro
5/5

We booked our six day climb via the Machame route on Mount Kilimanjaro with Kili Smile Trails & Safaris and we can only recommend them. Even before we left for Tanzania, they were very helpful and quick in answering our questions about the necessary gear and the planning. We flew via Dar-es-Salaam to Kilimanjaro airport with Fastjet where we were picked up and brought to Keys hotel in Moshi, which is a quiet and clean hotel.
On the night of our arrival, our guide (Bakari) checked our gear for the hike and recommended additional things to rent out for the hike, for example warmer sleeping bags. There is a lot of stuff that you carry up the mountain but only use during the last day, such as warm gloves, hat, trouser and jacket. But it is well worth it because you do not want to feel cold during the last bit of the ascent. It was no problem to rent out the additional gear on the morning of the first day. It was also possible to leave some of our stuff, which we did not need on Mount Kilimanjaro, in the hotel. Ezekiel from Kili Smile was kind enough to pick up our stuff and bring it to the gate after we finished our hike on the sixth day as we went straight on for Safari.
On the morning of our climb, we paid the outstanding sum (as we had transfered part of the whole amount beforhand). It was no problem to pay some of the amount in Tanzanian Shillings, although normally in Tanzania you pay larger sums in US Dollars.
During the late morning we arrived at the Machame gate and around lunchtime we could start our ascent. There is always some waiting time involved as some administrative procedures need to be done and the porters need to weigh their lugagge as they are only allowed to carry up to 20 kg. We had to guides (Bakari and Edi) who were very helpful and explained us many things along the way. While the first day of hike is through the rain forest, the vegetation is quickly becoming less dense at the end of the first day and from then one you will not see that many trees any more. The ascent is in generally technically not very demanding, but the Baranco wall on the fourth day is certainly more challenging.
Every evening we were cooked a nice dinner with a soup as a starter, a main (very varied including meat, fish, potatoes, rice, pasta) and some fruits. We also drank a lot of tea as it is very important to stay hydrated during the hike. After dinner, our guide would come into our dining tent and explain the next day, how long we would hike and what to wear. Every morning we were woken up around 6.30 am with a fresh ginger tea and then after a quick wash, had an excellent breakfast, including omelette, pancakes and fruits. Before breakfast we also packed our stuff as the porters would already start to load their stuff and dismantle the tent.
You normally walk about four to five hours a day and enjoy a beautiful landscape with great views on the cloud cover. If I had to do it again, I would certainly enjoy this unique experience more, as I was quite a bit worried about altitude sickness. Already during the first night at 3000m I suffered from headache and did not sleep very well. But from then on, I did not have any problems with headache again except for a short time at the Lava tower on the third day at 4800m. The both of us were very lucky not to suffer from strong symptoms of altitude sickness, but this can be very different from one person to the other. It is certainly important to drink a lot.
After four days of hiking Mount Kilimanjaro, the most exciting part came on the fifth day, the day of the hike to the summit. We started around midnight from Barafu hut (4600m) in a pretty cold and completely dark night. Equipped with a head torch we went up the last 1300m, which except for the first bit, is not very challenging but steep. Surrounded by many lights from other head torches you go up very slowly (one of the first words in Kiswahili you will learn is pole, pole, i.e. slowly, slowly). After walking up a few minutes, our guides offered us to carry our backpacks, which made the ascent even easier. During the ascent on the last day it is important to keep drinking and also eat a bit, but the breaks are relatively short as you get cold very quickly. Six hours after we left the base camp, we reached Uhuru peak at 5895m and were rewarded with a spectacular view of the rising sun.
Having just made it to the top of Africa, the following descent of about three hours to Barafu camp and then another three hours to the last camp are certainly less enjoyable as the first bit is on loose gravel and very dusty.
All in all, it was a great experience going up Kilimanjaro and we can only recommend Kili Smile as we always got the necessary support. We are also grateful because they arranged for us to be picked up at the gate on the last day in order for us to start straight away with our Safari.

Lutof   –  
Hungary HU
Visited: July 2015 Reviewed: Aug 28, 2015

Email Lutof  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Very recommended! relatively good price and an amazing tour guide!
5/5

We had a 3 day safari and he had a great time with a team of a really nice tour guide called emmanuel and a nice cook called salim! I would recommend it as everything went great and tour guide has a lot of knowledge, drives carefully and very kind!
Hamadi the manager also helped us alot arranging the trip and putting us in a nice place to sleep

Ellen mcgrath   –  
United Kingdom UK
Visited: July 2015 Reviewed: Sep 2, 2015

Email Ellen mcgrath

Safari
5/5

We did a 3 day safar. What an amazing experience! We were provided with a driver and cook who ensured we had the best time possible.

Michael   –  
Germany DE
Visited: September 2015 Reviewed: Oct 6, 2015

Email Michael  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Great trip!
5/5

I did a 3 day join-a-group Safari with Kilismiletrails. Hamadi organzides well and picked me up from the Airport.
Due to missing their flight, the other 3 people I was supposed to go with couldn't join and I ended up getting a private Safari. I was a bit disappoited in the beginning to go alone, but the trip ended up to be great, mostly due to my amazing driver (Amani). He was very experienced in terms of driving, wildlife spots and wildlife knowledge.
I did a 3 day trip to Tarangire, Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara, staying two nights in a lode jut next to the lake Mayara entrance gate.
One personal hint: ask for staying inside the camps (at least Ngorongoro), this might even be a more thrilling experience!
Bottom line: 5 stars for the guide/driver, 4 stars for the hole trip (-1 because of staying outside of the park)
Definetelly recommandable!!!

Aboud   –  
Germany DE
Visited: August 2015 Reviewed: Nov 9, 2015

Email Aboud  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Amazing all inclusive tour to the top of Kilimanjaro
5/5

We were a small group of four people in the age of 25 to 61.We were in contact with them via email at the beginning. They answered all our questions and had great reviews online. We got picked up at the busstation and after short rest in the hotel we got a briefing about the programm, our guides overlooked our stuff to see if we still need anything for the track (if you forgot anything you could rent it). During our track the food was five star and they took real good care of us. Everything was well organized, they motivated us all the time and slowed us down if we were to fast so that we wouldnt consume all of our energy at once. All of us made it to the top. Mr. Hamadi and his group also took care of us after the tour (ex.:he and his wive helped us find another hotel for the nights afterwards). We really enjoyed the company of our 2 guides Bakari and Bryson (also Roger helped on the summit day). Also the porters, cook etc were super friendly and motivating. We have never expierienced a nicer and more helpfull staff then the staff of kilismile! Definetly worth to recommend!

Aine McCurry   –  
United Kingdom UK
Visited: July 2015 Reviewed: Dec 8, 2015

Email Aine McCurry  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

3 day safari
5/5

We did a three day safari with KiliSmile and had an amazing time! Our guide was Emmanuel and he was fantastic; he knew so much about all the different animals, drove safely but ensured we saw as much as possible and was really friendly and easy to get along with. The cook Salim was also great and prepared some lovely meals. All round amazing experience and would highly recommend.

Greg   –  
Poland PL
Visited: September 2019 Reviewed: Oct 9, 2019

Email Greg  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Kili trails Machame route
5/5

I have participated into a Kili trekking. Great organisation, experienced people, unforgetable memories.
Thanks guys.

Monika   –  
United Kingdom UK
Visited: September 2019 Reviewed: Nov 11, 2019

Email Monika  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Unforgettable experience!
5/5

Highly and trully reccomend Kilismile to everyone who looking for a real, unforgettable mountain experience with a pinch of Tanzanian humour and music. We've got much more than we'd ever expected. Kilimanjaro with Kilismile was not only a trekking to the top of Africa. It was one in a lifetime experience, wich will stay in our memories forever! Beautiful views, amazing nature, the most spectacular sky at night, sunrises and sunsets. All of these were fantastic, but it wouldn't be the same without the amazing Tanzanian team from Kilismile. They've done their job perfectly with the beautiful, honest smile all the time! They helped us a lot, I've got no words how grateful I'm! They took care of us for six days, but they've done much more than be just guides, porters, cooks or waiters. They've done it in a such way that we felt they were a part of our group. Not as they were at work. They spend hours on talking with us, laughing and singing together. Were always kind and ready to help. Proffesionals with a huge knowledge and skills. But primarily - great people with fantastic sense of humour, massive respect to others and huge joy of life. Massive thank you to every member of our team - Oscar, Selestini, Godwin, Winston, Fred, Evans, Ramadan, Salim and others - you're great people, I'm glad I could met you! You've been strangers, became great friends :)

Alex   –  
France FR
Visited: December 2019 Reviewed: Dec 13, 2019

Email Alex  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Lifetime experience on Kilimanjaro with Kilismile Crew
5/5

Hello everyone,

Just came back from my Kilimanjaro trek organized by Kilismile and it was an incredible experience. Kilismile took care of me from day 1, from the arrival doors of the airport, to the departure doors 9 days later: transfers, transports, hotel and even helped me to buy a SIM card!

During the trek itself, we had great food thanks to our chef Rama along Machame route, porters were always opened and smiling, really good atmosphere within all the crew! Oscar as a guide was very professional and careful, always anticipating our needs and feelings to make sure we enjoy our experience!

Finally I would say that even if it seems like a detail, Kilismile great service can remove a lot of anxiety and / or participate in giving you the necessary confidence and conditions to push you up to Uhuru Peak!

You can ask my whatsapp to Hamadi the head of the company if you really need more informations on my experience with Kilismile! But I warmly recommend Kilismile if you plan to summit Kili!

Hope you guys will enjoy as much as I did!

Average User Rating
5.0/5
Rating Breakdown
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