Lion King Safari Guides
Lion King Adventures
- Offices 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 $1,115 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
DE
Email Max | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beauftiful nature, but greedy guide
We had a three night tour from Laka Manyara over Ngorongoro Crater to the Tarangire park. The tour was organized perfectly — we could make some neat adaptions to our tour without any issues (concerning the airport transfer and the accommodations). If you ever plan to do this tour, we would highly recommend the Tarangire Simba Lodge, we had really magical moments there!
However, our guide had a negative impact on our experience there. We know that tipping is expected in these activities and never refused to do so. At the beginning of our tour the guide directly demanded a 120$ tip at the end of the trip. Talking in some way always came back to tips (and why to give even more). Multiple times we were asked how much we would be giving for his alleged wedding.
After the tour we decided to give a tip inside the recommended range by Lion Kind Adventures. Afterwards, the guide send angry text messages to us and even called me on my private phone number. To me, this is a huge no-go and made us feel quite uncomfortable.
Reply from Lion King Adventures
Posted on Nov 7, 2022Everyone at Lion King is deeply embarrassed to learn about our guests’ experience with this Guide. We were not aware of this incident until we read the review and have contacted the guests directly to apologise. All the Lion King Guides know that tipping is our guests' choice. There are no rules about tipping, only guidelines, which are shared with our guests in advance. All our Guides know that they should never ask for (or expect) a tip. The behaviour of this particular Guide is completely unacceptable and appropriate disciplinary action has been taken. The whole Lion King team has worked so hard over the years to build and maintain a very good reputation with high levels of integrity and professionalism. This behaviour does not meet with the standards we expect and our guests deserve. We sincerely hope that it will remain an isolated incident and our sincere apologies once again to our guests.
CH
Email Cathy | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Dream come true!
We booked a 7 days premium luxury safari, for Tarangire, Manyara, Ngorongoro & Serengeti, all inclusive, the lodges that we got are all beautiful, and with a pool each time, food are delicious, instead of have picnic box for lunch, we had nice warm dishes prepared everyday during our safari.
Talking about safari, we are very lucky to have Seleh as our guide, he is an expert for animals (feel like we have so much to learn after this trip). He is not only explaining us about the animals, as well for local cultures, and teaches us many many words in Swahili.
Something I must mention, our guide Seleh is someone paying attention into every small details, such as cleans the dust from our bags every afternoon when we arrive in hotel for check in, and bring the food that we could not finish (untouched) to local people who works around, and he always gives us serval different angles for taking pictures of animals, which other guide does not always offering the same.
Most important: he has very good eyes, he always find the hiding cats for us! many many times, he is the one who found the leopard, cheetah, and lions, then he communicates with other guide from different tours through the radio, for them to come over and check out.
So yes, we had the chance to see the big fives with Seleh, not only once but many times, as the first one who discovers, and that experience is totally unforgettable!
CH
Email T.A. | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic experience! Highly recommended!
Lion King rocks! We are a family of 5 that went on a 9 day/8 nights (7 full days in the parks) mid-range safari with Lion King Adventures in late December 2022. We went to Tarangire, Serengeti, Ndutu, Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara and had an amazing time! We booked directly with Lion King and the communication was quick and efficient, especially Pendo in the office is doing a fantastic job! Payment was bank transfer via Wise which worked smoothly. Lion King also arranged accommodation before and after the safari. Our guide/driver Gala was amazing- super calm and relaxed, friendly, experienced, knowledgeable, a great spotter and skilled off-road driver (driving in the mud in Ndutu was seriously challenging - many cars got stuck, but not ours). Make sure to stay at Embalakai Camp in Serengeti, best food on the trip! In summary, highly recommended!
US
Email Molly and John P. | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Lion King is Simply the Very Best! Choosing Lion King was the best decision we could have made!
From the moment we requested a safari quote from Lion King, we were treated like royalty. Anna responded to every question and itinerary request quickly and graciously. Booking a safari from 5,000 miles away (with an 11-hour time difference) for a family of four was a daunting task but Anna’s incredibly courteous demeanor and prompt responses made the process not only painless but enjoyable.
Our flight to JRO arrived over an hour late, at close to 11:00pm. Even so, we were immediately greeted by a friendly Lion King representative who drove us to our hotel in Arusha and checked us in. The following morning, we were greeted promptly at the planned time by our guide, James. We could not have dreamed up a more incredible, kind, knowledgeable, and overall fabulous guide and human being than James.
Our 4-night, 5-day safari included: Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro, and Lake Manyara. We stayed at Outpost Lodge in Arusha, Eileen’s Trees, Heritage Luxury Tented Camp, and Ilboru Safari Lodge. All exceeded every expectation. At every turn, we were left with jaws agape at the scenery, the up-close encounters with unreal wildlife, the accommodations, the people, the food — everything. James proactively shared interested facts about the flora and fauna, the animals, the culture and customs of Tanzanians and the Masai tribe. He knew shortcuts and people along the way and handled every moment of our safari like an absolute pro. To watch him navigate these roads is a site to behold in and of itself.
When our safari finally came to end and it was time to say goodbye, we were delivered for our last overnight at the fantastic Ilboru Safari Lodge in Arusha. Anna even met us here for a debrief and hosted us for drinks and lovely conversation.
Now, as we wait at Ilboru for our Lion King-hosted ride to the Arusha airport to catch our flight to Zanzibar, I write this review hoping others out there, probably miles away and struggling to find the right fit for a safari company, take great comfort in reading this review, knowing you will not find a more genuinely amazing company than Lion King. There aren’t enough stars available to adequately rate Anna and James and the Lion King team. Without a doubt, they are the cream of the crop. They made every step of our African safari even more magically than we’d ever dreamed it could be. We are ever grateful for them.
NL
Email Jonathan Maduro | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An amazing and lifechanging activity with the best guide in the world!
My Girlfriend and I wanted to try a safari, just to see what all the fuzz is about. We booked via an agent with LionKingAdventures and it was the best thing we have ever done!
James (the guide) is an amazing driver (which is super important, since you're in the car a lot and when you've a maniac behind the wheel you're going to have a bad time), he knows a lot about the different animals, local tribes and vegatation and loves to explain it to his group, is a very social guy and loves to make jokes and, most important, knows where he can find the best spots.
We have seen Lions (we saw them hunting twice and saw 12 lion cups!!), Cheetas (two cups), a jaguar, a rhino, elephants, hyena's, giraffes, hippopotamus, vulgers and way more! Big groups of zebras, wildebeasts, gazelles etc.
The first day we went to Ngorongoro valley and slept there under the most beautifull star filled heaven and the second night we slept in Serengeti. Both nights were amazing. We wanted to go for some beers (while watching the sundown), so james took us to a small 'bar' in the Serengeti where we got very cheap beers and watched the most beautifull sundown i've ever seen.
All in all i would recommend LionKindAdventures safari to everybody, because it's one of the greatest things you'll ever do.
US
Email Dell 0'Malley | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
A safari company and our guide provided a first class experience that exceeded our expectations.
Having retired a few years ago, I have been traveling while I still can.
So I wanted to go on Safari, but where to begin?
So I started googling and got quotes of $20,000, then $30,000 for one week, that’s ridiculous!
Then I found this website, Safari Bookings, great site comparing all the tour operators.
In the top five was “Lion King Adventures”, after reviewing all of their tour offerings,
I requested a quote on a custom package, it came back under $8,000
Really! Everything I want for less than half the well know advertisers.
The whole booking process went smoothly, with plenty of emails covering all of the details.
The transfer driver picked us up at the airport as promised.
The first night hotel was 5 star with breakfast served overlooking the beautiful grounds.
Our guide Oswald (Ozzie) was waiting at the door first thing in the morning.
He gave us an introduction on what would happened over the next week.
The SUV (Bogo) we would be using, a new Toyota Land Cruiser, customized with a refrigerator filled with ice cold water bottles, we used a whole case. Dual fuel tanks and dual spare tires. Power strip for charging my cameras. Plenty of seating for six and a center aisle for standing and looking out the pop up top, full 360 viewing for tracking moving animals. While on safari you spend all day (8-10 hrs.) in the SUV transferring between parks and crawling over rough dirt roads looking for the next animal sighting. Ozzie always greeted us warmly each morning, always answered my many questions, always offered helping assistance, It was a joy to be in his care. You want your guide to be personable.
He always drove safely, we were passed by other drivers going too fast for conditions, and then to find them broke down in the middle of the road later. We passed many blown tires, broken suspensions and a truck with both front tires hanging at opposite angles, sheared off tie rods.
Safari means going into the vast remote wilderness, looking for animals in their home environment.
Thus, there is no power lines, no cell towers, no pavement, no street signs, no gps, no maps.
The ONLY modern thing out there is gravel on the main roads, the majority of roads are just dirt tracks wondering through the hundreds of miles of vastness . Ozzie never got lost, never consultant a map, never asked for directions.
He was stopped several times to help out lost guides with concerned guests in the back .
The only way to get into the parks are with a local licensed guide driving a 4-wheel drive. They all have 2way radios.
When someone finds a rare sighting, the word gets out and soon a dozen trucks show up joggling for the best viewing, then moving out of the way for the next to get a great view. NO tour busses belching fumes, no stupid tourist driving rental cars.
Just dedicated professional guides filled with answers on the details of every animal.
Every day included a hot picnic lunch on a table cloth no less.
Ozzie had a picnic basket with two stainless steel canisters, real pottery plates and real metal cutlery.
The food was freshly prepared by the hotel each night, included rice/pasta, chicken and/or beef, vegetables.
While other safari guides provided a box lunch, cold sandwich, chips, and a juice box.
Do I regret going with Lion King, NO.
Would I do it again, YES.
Would I cut corners to save a few dollars, NO
Don’t over pay a huge sales commission to the well-known resale brokers.
Quality did not cost more, just go with the best! Lion King Adventures.
SE
Email Jasmine Tamok | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We are so glad we booked with this company!
My husband and I did a 7-day safari with Lion King Adventures as part of our honeymoon. We have nothing but amazing things to say about our experience. I did a lot of research before choosing a safari company (since there are many to choose from) and went with Lion King Adventures due to all the amazing reviews that I read.
Communications with head office (mainly with Pendo) was professional and thorough. We were given different options to stay within our budget and be able to get the experience we wanted. We chose a 7-day midrange safari (and we happily found that the accommodations while on safari were above a usual midrange). Day 1 and 7 are airport drop-off/pick-up days so we had a full five days ok safari which was perfect. :) We visited Tarangire, Ngorongoro, and Serengeti National Park. While on safari, we stayed at 1 night at Eileen’s Treehouse, 2 nights at Embalakai Camps, and 1 night at Rhino Lodge. All these places went above and beyond to make our honeymoon special.
We had Immanuel as our guide and we were extremely pleased with his level of service and professionalism. He was very friendly and easy to chat with and was extremely knowledge about all the animals and plants while on safari. We saw everything that we wanted to see and more! We saw VERY many lions, elephants, giraffes, hippos, antelopes, wildebeests, zebras, baboons, buffaloes, hyenas, and vervet monkeys. We also saw 5 cheetahs, a leopard, a hyrax, a serval, banded mongooses, and 2 black rhinos! We were very pleased to see the Big Five as well as all the other amazing animals! We also saw very many birds and lizards. There are too many things to name—we saw them all!
We found that our safari stood out compared to others. Instead of boxed lunches, we had warm fresh lunches while on safari every day. The tables were always nicely set and we really appreciated the luxurious touch of eating with real crockery and silverware. The food was always tasty and plentiful. We also really appreciated that Lion King Adventures made an effort to make our honeymoon special. Not only did they inform the accommodations about our honeymoon, but we were also greeted by Immanuel with a beautiful welcome present. We also had bottles of red and white wine for our lunches with a sticker wishing us a great honeymoon. I found that they did a great job to make sure that our trip was specialized. The vehicle was comfortable and always very clean. We had lots of drinks—water, sofas, beers, and wine.
I think that Lion King Adventures really stands out by its level of service. Everything was service-minder and done to ensure that we had a great trip.
We really enjoyed all the information that Immanuel gave us about the biodiversity within the national parks and also about Tanzania. He was extremely knowledgeable about a lot! :) We also liked learning about his family and the Pare tribe.
I’m so glad that I read so many amazing reviews beforehand and made a good decision to book this company. We are extremely pleased with the level of service and professionalism by head office as well as our guide Immanuel.
CA
Email Karen Ziezold | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best trip ever!
I can honestly say that this was the trip of a life time. I have travelled all over the world and done and seen some amazing things, but this was so different. The luxury tented lodges were outstanding with attention to detail that is rarely seen. For instance we had our beds warmed up with hot water bottles which was a really nice and thoughtful touch. Our Lion King adventures safari guide, Good Luck, was helpful, polite, unbelievably knowledgeable, flexible, funny, and just very easy to get along with. He adjusted our schedule to suit our needs keeping in ind that we wanted to see as many animals as possible, while stil, taking some time to relax! He was simply the Best! The food during our trip was also extraordinary. Everything was just perfect! We loved every minute!!
HR
Email Sanja Stojanovski | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent agency- very professional and very kind people.
I don't have enough nice words to describe the complete experience with Lion King Adventures! The 4 of us (my husband, my 15 year old daughter, 14 year old son and I) arranged a 6 day safari during which we visited all the most beautiful locations and slept in 5 different accommodations. The Lion King team left us speechless. From start to finish - a flawlessly organized trip and extremely friendly employees, starting with Eliah (with whom I agreed on the travel conditions), Florida who guided us through all the important information until the start of the safari itself, the guys who met us for transfers to and from the airport (I think they were Chaz and Justin) and finally the best of the best- our guide. Mr. Goodluck Lucas who blew us away with his knowledge, patience, kindness and generally his character. He did his best to make this trip our best yet - and it was (and we travel quite a lot).
I would definitely recommend Lion King agency, because we have never seen such a level of organization anywhere and most importantly - all with a smile and great kindness. We are from Croatia and we have traveled almost all of Europe, a little bit of America and Cuba. This was the most demanding trip for the organization, but thanks to Lion King it turned out to be our best trip so far.
A big thank you to the whole team, especially our guide Mr. Goodluck Lucas with whom we spent the most time and who satisfied all our wishes, took us to all those beautiful places and told us a lot of information about Tanzania, their culture, animals, national parks, nature and so much more...
Thank you Lion King Adventures!!!
CN
Email Ma | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Top safari provider and first class expierence !
My wife and I had a wonderful safari with the Lion King Adventures. Everything was so well organized, from the airport pick-up, the safari, the accommodations until the airport transfer, these all made our six-day safari a good memory. I really recommand this provider and especially our driver & guide, Mr. Richard, who showed us the wonderful sites of Tanzania. Thank you, Lion King !