Lion King Safari Guides
Lion King Adventures
- Located In:
-
Canada
United States
Switzerland
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Member Of:
- TATO & TTB
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $200 to $1,115 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Alonzov | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Don’t look any further, Lion King is the best!
We had an excellent time with Lion King Adventures. Everything was planned for our group of seven in two vehicles. The team made sure we had an Hakuna Matata time! Hotels we stayed were excellent but an special mention goes to our guides David and Amari. They are knowledgeable, super friendly and great drivers. Could not have had a better team!
CA
Email Lauren | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A True Once in a Lifetime Experience!
Lion King was wonderful to work with. All transport from airport to hotels was provided at pick up and departure and information about acquiring local currency and PCR testing was made easy. Having the logistics taken care of took the stress away.
The Safari itself was a once in a lifetime experience. We had a wonderful guide (Ozzy), who had in-depth knowledge about the animals and their habits. This allowed us to see a wide range of animals including the Big 5, cheetahs, zebras, gazelles, hippos, monkeys and birds. You truly felt like you were part of the animal kingdom. Ozzy was an excellent driver through some tricky terrain and always kept us feeling safe.
Lion King was flexible in allowing us to make changes to their suggested itinerary, as we wanted to stay at the Four Seasons Lodge as a special treat for our honeymoon. Other companies we contacted said they could not make this adjustment, but Lion King was flexible and accommodating.
A few things to make note of:
The link we were sent to pay our deposit by credit card wouldn't work, so we had to send a wire transfer. This felt a bit strange, but because of all the positive reviews online, we trusted the process and are happy we did.
We thought that we would get to decide as we went about what extra activities to include, but were told these are best arranged ahead of time e.g., walking through a Masai Village. If anything catches your eye on their extra activity list, be sure to mention it at the time of your booking. Even without any of the "extra options", you will have an amazing experience.
We did arrange for a Balloon ride over the Serengeti and this was also worth the splurge for us.
Thanks to everyone at Lion King for their help giving us a trip of a lifetime!
US
Email R+B Cafferty | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A professional, well informed, and friendly team
After emailing about 15 travel + safari agencies, and doing 4 months of research on Tanzania, Zanzibar, safaris, Mt.Kilimanjaro, lodges, camps, etc, I decided to move forward with Lion King Adventures for our honeymoon and every day we spent on this trip, I felt that I picked the right company to work with!
We worked with Nickson and he was amazing. Due to getting covid, our trip was on hold for a while and as soon as we got a negative test, Nickson booked everything and we were on a plane to Tanzania within 2 days! I also had created my own itinerary and chose which accommodations I wanted us to stay in and this was not an issue for Nickson. Whether or not they had a relationship with my chosen locations, they went ahead and booked it all. We were unable to book 2 of them since they were full and Nickson's recommended alternatives were amazing! (Definitely can trust their recommendations if you are not looking to pick and choose everything yourself) We got to Arusha late on day 4 and Nickson was there to meet us in person along with James. They sat with us, asked about our time on Mt Kili and went through the rest of the trip. SO nice of them since it was after work hours and also since they really didn't need to.
On our first day, we stayed in Moshi and our mountain guide, Saladini came to our lodge to brief us about our 3 days on Kilimanjaro. He was extremely detailed, went through everything we were bringing to the mountain and made note of a few items we didn't have so that he can have rentals ready. We were picked up the next morning in a bus w a full team to help us safely climb and return! There was our 2nd mountain guide, Abdi. A chef, (Famous) Amos - his food is legit delicious! A waiter, Allen; who is just really sweet. Then there were also 2 porters to help with everything else, I believe their names were John + Eddie. The whole team was nothing short of kind, welcoming, and so sweet! Abdi + Saladini were a joy to climb with. During our low moments, they knew exactly how to distract us and keep us going. They are like brothers, have a great banter and beautiful energy that keeps you going up! They are both very knowledged about all things Mt Kili! They pointed out so many birds, monkeys, trees, flowers, insects, plants, and were able to teach us about them. Abdi also turned out to be a wrestling fan, so my husband really enjoyed the john cena and roman reigns references lol Both Abdi + Saladini are very patient, and will always remind you to just go pole, pole, because "we don't necessarily want to be number 1, we want to be the BEST!" :) the entire team got together for a mini ceremony/celebration at the end of the climb, and Saladini had such beautiful words to say that really stayed with us!
We had a 9 day safari which we began on day 5, led by our safari guide, Ozzie. Just as with Abdi + Saladini, we have nothing but good things to say about Ozzie. You're really lucky if you end up with Ozzie as your guide. Energy wise, he is so chill and laid back. I'm sure I talked his ear off with my commentaries to the slew of animals we ended up seeing, but he didn't seem bothered once. He was always so on and ready to answer any question. Like our mountain guides, he was full of knowledge and taught us so much about the animals and the vegetation. I was curious about the landcruiser and he even showed me and taught me info on driving them. (He just knows a lot about a lot!) He is a superb driver when it comes to muddy territory; he will give you a fair warning to hold on and step on it to ensure you will not get stuck in one of those muddy traps around Ndutu! He got us some really great views of animals. My husband does videography and wanted to get as much footage as he can, which sometimes will slow you down, but again this was not an issue for Ozzie. On the contrary, he was super accommodating of our cameras and was definitely in tune w when we were filming and photographing, that he would move the vehicle up or down to help us get the right angles. As chill as he was, he was persistent when need be to get the right view or right shots. While visiting one of the tribes, he even took my husband's camera and filmed while my husband was interacting with the tribespeople. Overall, we just enjoyed our time with Ozzie and got used to him so easily, that our first day in Zanzibar, we found ourselves missing his company!
Aside from climbing Mt.Kili, and the safari, we also had 3 tribe visits. While the Maasai visit was no issue linguistically, the Hadzabe and Datoga tribes required a translator. Lion King was able to arrange the interpreter for us who also knew a lot about both tribes that he was able to teach us about their lifestyles. We highly recommend visiting the Hadzabe and Datoga tribes. The visits leave you driving away in silence with a ton of thoughts and self-reflection on your own life.
We ended our 13 days on mainland Tanzania with hunger for more, and headed to Zanzibar. We stayed a single night in Stone Town. We got some shopping in and headed up to Nungwi to catch the full moon party at Kendwa. After a couple of days there, we headed to Pongwe where we stayed in Tulia (Nickson's recommendation). It turned out to be our favorite accommodation on our trip, which was so perfect since that was our final stop on our honeymoon.
Overall, I just don't have enough good things to say about Lion King Adventures. When you have a random question or an issue or anything else, regardless of the time, they are right there with a prompt response. They are aware that you are in a foreign country and try to make you feel as comfortable and as much at ease as they can. They definitely go above and beyond the required amount to ensure your comfort. I think in a trip like this, your trip is as good as the people guiding it, so I believe our trip ended up being so perfect because of Lion King's team. Thanks a ton to everyone in Lion King!
GR
Email George | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional, cool, kind. A person that loves his job and the animals.
We had a 4 day safari that included Tarangire, Ngoro Ngoro and lake Manyara. All lodges were great and the staff was very kind and helpful in all of them. The highlight of our experience was our guide Mwita. He was always offering great information about the places, he was very cool and kind. Thanks Mwita for the experience!
CH
Email Panos | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent safari experience with very passionate guide
We did a 4-day safari with Lion king. We were 3 friends and this was our first safari experience. Lion king has been very responsive and professional from the very first moment providing us with different options that fit our specific circumstances. Our guide Mwita has been absolutely amazing. He is extremely passionate about his job and possesses in-depth knowledge and experience on wildlife. He is very friendly and managed to connect with us pretty nicely in a very short time frame. His driving was very careful. The overall experience was of really high quality and also very good value for money. Definitely recommended!
Email Michail | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
desires well catered + all expectations exceeded
Lion King elevated our first safari experience and made it the way it should be - unforgettable for all the right reasons.
Arrangements and communication pre-arrival were just so effortless and always fast (Nickson, Anna), but Mwita -our guide who spent every day with us- just stole the saw. He was clearly passionate and knowledgeable about nature and animals, while a pleasant and cheerful, kind person to spend time with. Mwita always had answers to our questions, solutions to our requests, patience and energy with our group despite his hard work.
Thanks so much!!
DK
Email Claus Jorgensen | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Asante sana Salehe and Lion King Adventures – hope to ride with you again sometime!
Thank you very much to LionKing Safari and our guide Salehe for a fantastic one-day safari to the Ngorongoro Conservatory.
We started from Arusha at 6 AM and headed for Ngorongoro. Salehe greeted us in the morning in high spirits with breakfast ready in the jeep, sharing lots of insightful background on the way and just maintained a friendly and familiar atmosphere all day.
Spending the full day in the crater we had amazing experiences with a large herd of Elephants surrounding the jeep while feeding and bathing the baby Elephants. Lion brothers resting nearby and two occasions of Lionesses hunting Grant Gazelles literally within five meters of the jeep.
Salehe showed his skills as a picnic master, serving us a wonderful hot mail and a cold beer while overlooking the entire crater from a vantage point.
In the afternoon we saw Hyenas killing a baby Wildebeest. We spotted Rhinos – first one and later three, and all the other animals you would expect, before leaving the crater and returning to Arusha in time for dinner at 7 PM.
What a day and what a great host Salehe, always ready to share from his incredible knowledge of wildlife and fauna.
Asante sana – and hope to ride with you again sometime!
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Email Kayla | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent!!!
Best safari experience we could have asked for! Our guide was fabulous and we call him Good Luck Gily for the amazing animals we got to see and the great weather.
From the start the attention to detail the company provided was top notch. We only had 3 weeks to plan this trip and it was smooth sailing.
They were so patient with our 4 year old, took great care of all our needs. Would give it more stars if I could.
Excellent excellent experience!!!
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Email Joseph B | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outstanding Personalized 7 Day Safari -
My daughter and I booked a last minute (2 weeks ahead) trip with Lion King and despite that short time frame, Anna’s and Lion King’s planning and execution of the plan were perfect! She quickly sent a fantastic plan which started in the Tarangire, continued through to the Serengeti finishing up at the Ngorongoro Crater before transitioning to Zanzibar. Anna’s accommodation arrangements were perfect, starting in tent lodges with wildlife all around us, progressively more luxurious/beautiful. My daughter’s 18th birthday occurred on the trip. We didn’t mention it, but Anna noticed and was so thoughtful that she purchased and delivered a locally made and beautiful gift and arranged for the restaurant to bake a birthday cake, presented with songs by the restaurant staff. Our guide, David was wonderful, working the radio and face to face driver comms to ensure we saw all there was to see !! He was excellent at knowing when to pull over and when to move on. The lunches definitely the best - no bag/boxes for us!! Delicious and varied every day, definitely the envy of those groups around us at every picnic site. I highly recommend Lion King Adventures and will be using them for my next trip!!
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Email Ibrahim | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An experience of a lifetime with a company that truly cares about its guests, guides, and parks
My wife and I did a 9 day/8 night premium luxury safari with Lion King Adventures and it was incredible. Lion King was excellent with communication from the beginning which made me feel comfortable booking such a large trip. Pendo was quick to respond in a timely manner to emails and always answered questions honestly and transparently. They were flexible and helped us plan an itinerary that fit our needs. I believe they underpromised and significantly overdelivered as the safari experience vastly exceeded anything I could have imagined. This was an experience of a lifetime.
All of lodges we stayed at were beautiful with incredible meals. I have no idea how they are able to provide the level of service they do in the middle of these national parks. All staff were attentive and welcoming. Additionally, Lion King coordinated with all of the lodges so while other guests had boxed lunches during game drives, we had a full picnic lunch with real food, drinks, silverware etc. Our guide was Abu who also has an interest in wildlife photography. By the end of the trip, it felt like Abu was our friend rather our guide on a shared adventure. He is passionate about his career as a guide and genuinely excited to track the animals. He was very kind to us and made sure we had a great experience. We of course saw all members of the "big five" but also lots of other interesting animals and birds which was great. Abu really likes birds and pointed out lots of hawks, eagles, buzzards, and small birds (lilac breasted roller) throughout the trip. Additionally, while other guides were quick to rush guests to the next sighting, Abu was patient and it paid off. We saw a whole pride of lions try to catch two warthogs, a cheetah make its kill (baby gazelle), and tracked an enormous elephant which was 1km away. Abu knew exactly where the elephant would walk based on his skin being dry through his binoculars and where water was located. He positioned the jeep so 15 minutes later the elephant walked right by our jeep (and also felt comfortable since we patiently waited instead of chasing an animal). Abu was also respectful of the national parks and wildlife. He would bring us close to animals, but never so close that it was disturbing the animals or inhibiting their natural behaviors. This was important to us and in stark contrast to other guides we witnessed.
Lion King treats its guides very well as do they lodges they partner with. We really appreciated this. A the end of the safari, the owner James met us at the airport with a pen and notebook to get constructive feedback. He really pushed us to give feedback but we really couldn't not think of any areas of improvement as the safari exceeded all of our expectations and went without a hitch.
My wife and I are so thankful we booked with Lion King, this was truly the experience of a lifetime.
