Monkey Adventures
- Located In:
-
United States
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2017)
- Member Of:
- Kilimanjaro Association of Tour Operators
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $1,350 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
SG
Email Shaggy | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Efficient, friendly and safe!
Incredible experience from A to Z. Everything was well organised, communicated and executed. The operators and guides are very capable and flexible. Highly recommend Monkey Adventures and can't wait to work with them again!
SG
Email Jason | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
An Unforgettable Journey with Monkey Adventures
Having been on several safaris across Africa, I usually have a pretty good idea of what to expect, but I have to admit—this trip with Monkey Adventures truly raised the bar.
Let’s talk about the bush experience first. We decided to fly directly into the Serengeti airstrip to maximize our time on the ground, which I highly recommend. The vehicle quality was excellent—spacious and well-maintained—but as any seasoned safari-goer knows, the guide makes or breaks the trip. Ours was easily one of the best I’ve encountered in years. With over two decades of experience, his bush knowledge was encyclopedic. It’s rare to find someone who can spot a sleeping lion in a tree from miles away without binoculars, or who knows exactly how to position the vehicle for the perfect photo angle while managing tsetse flies (tactical window usage is a skill!). We saw a leopard on day one—a sighting that can sometimes take days to track down on other trips.
The logistics on the back end were just as impressive. I’ve dealt with many operators, but the team at Monkey Adventures was exceptional at curating a bespoke itinerary. We didn't just want the standard 'Big Five' checklist; we wanted depth. They wove in cultural elements like the Maasai village and coffee plantation visits seamlessly. They also managed our multi-generational group perfectly, helping us celebrate my husband’s 50th birthday with the right mix of adventure and downtime.
Regarding the accommodation: Zuri Camp was fantastic. It strikes that difficult balance of high-end comfort (hot showers, fine dining) while maintaining that authentic, immersive feeling of sleeping in the wild. Waking up to the dawn chorus of the bush never gets old, and the staff at Zuri made us feel genuinely looked after.
From the density of the wildlife—endless wildebeest and active predators—to the seamless execution of the logistics, this was a standout trip. Even if you’ve been on safari before, I can’t recommend Monkey Adventures highly enough. They really know their stuff
Email Noreen | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
They do not care about your health
To prepare for the Kilimanjaro hike, I made sure I was fit and ready for the 8 days hike. On day 1, I had a porter who was coughing terribly. In short I got a sick person in my team to take me to the summit. I got sick and it was difficult to get sleep as I was coughing non stop as well. I made it to the summit with several days of minimal sleep and difficulty breathing on summit night.
Reply from Monkey Adventures
Posted on Dec 15, 2025Dear Ms. Noreen,
Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry to hear that you felt unwell during your climb. We take the health and wellbeing of our clients and crew very seriously. However, to ensure accuracy for future climbers reading this review, we must clarify the facts regarding the timeline of your illness and the conditions on the mountain.
1, It is important to address the timeline of your symptoms, as our records differ from your account. You arrived in Tanzania on September 26th. During your briefing on the evening of September 27th—before you had even met your porter team—you informed our guide and operations manager that you were already feeling unwell with a cold and runny nose. You specifically requested a stop at a pharmacy the next morning to buy medication. We accommodated this, and the team stopped at a pharmacy in Sanya Juu on September 28th before the hike began. This clearly establishes that your symptoms were present before you had any interaction with our crew.
2, Regarding your claim that you caught an illness from a porter on the first morning, this is medically and logically implausible. As you stated in your messages to us and other online forums, your coughing began the very same day(sep 28th night) you met the porter(Sep 28th mid day). Per established infectious disease guidelines, respiratory infections have an incubation period of at least 24 hours, and usually several days. It is not possible to contract a virus and develop symptoms within a few hours. Furthermore, during the trek, no concerns were raised to the guide about any porter appearing unwell, and no symptoms were observed or reported among the staff. If a porter had a contagious illness, it would have likely spread to the other crew members as they all share tents. It is highly probable that you misinterpreted dust-induced sneezing, which is common in the dry mountain air, as a sign of sickness, while your own symptoms were the result of the cold you reported the previous evening.
3, We strictly prohibit sick crew members from starting a tour. The physical demands of Kilimanjaro are far higher for porters carrying heavy loads than for clients. They carry all their own gear plus another 15kgs. It is physically impossible for a sick porter to perform their duties at that altitude. Our Operations Manager assesses the crew before every departure, and anyone showing signs of illness is replaced immediately. There were no sick crew members on your expedition.
4, Your daily health logs contradict the claim of severe illness and sleeplessness. Our daily health checks include specifically asking climbers about breathing difficulty, sleep quality, and other symptoms, and no such concerns were reported at any point. Furthermore, across all eight days of the trek, you self-reported scores of 0/5 for symptoms like headache, fatigue, gastrointestinal issues, and dizziness, indicating you were in excellent physical condition. Your oxygen saturation was excellent throughout the trip, recording 96% at 4,800 meters. Additionally, in your daily self-assessments, you rated your sleep as excellent for six out of seven nights on the mountain and mild sleeplessness on the summit night. Crucially, your summit night health readings and guide observations did not indicate respiratory distress, and no difficulty breathing was reported during or after the ascent. Had you reported these issues, we would have intervened immediately with medical aid or evacuation. After the trek was complete, we offered to take you to a hospital for doctor consultations both in Moshi and again during your safari in the Serengeti. Both offers of medical assistance were immediately declined by you; instead, you requested a complimentary spa service.
5, Finally, we find your request for a full refund inconsistent with your actions and our agreements. You successfully completed the 8-day hike and the subsequent safari, participating fully in both. Immediately after the trip, you rated our crew and logistics 5 out of 5 stars. Despite the fact that your illness was pre-existing, we extended a one-time, non-liability goodwill refund of 20% of the trek cost, which you accepted. It was only after this acceptance that you escalated your demand to a 100% refund for both the trek and the safari. Furthermore, even after this dispute, you continued to communicate with us to request a booking for a future Uganda safari. This continued trust in our services suggests that your actual experience was positive, as indicated by your initial high ratings and the acceptance of our goodwill offer.
We are proud of our safety standards and the hard work of our crew. While we regret you were not feeling your best, we cannot accept responsibility for a pre-existing condition, nor can we offer further refunds for successfully completed tours based on these claims.
We wish you good health in your future travels.
Sincerely,
Fred
DE
Email Ursula A. | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unforgettable experience in Tansania and Kenya with Monkey Adventures!
We, three German were on safari with Monkey Adventures from 17. Nov. 2025 to 01. Dec 2025. I came to Monkey Adventures by chance through an internet research and was immediately convinced by the very reponsive and professional Monkey Adventures (MA) staff. Especially Sylvia captured at once what I'm looking for and made a safari suggestion which perfectly matched my ideas. As I'm not experienced in safaris I had of course to rely on somebody to organise it and I was happy to met MA (of which I never heard about before). Each wish from me or my friends was considered and we were happy to get a Kenyan (Frenzis) and a Tansanian (Dionys.) guide which were not only very knowledgeable in Flora and Fauna but also very pleasant persons. We never felt lost or unsafe and made the experience that there are guides who loved what they show us. We owe them unforgettable encounters with animals in Kenya and in Tansania. We could not be happier than with these both guys. Sylvia (and her very helpful colleague in Kenya) cared from the first to the last minute for all organisational issues from pick-up at airport, for the great accomodations (we didn't expect these high standard) until the drop-off at the airport at the end (all these for a reasonable price which was communicated from the first day on). It was a lighthearted, stressless and happy adventure for the three of us and we enjoyed each single minute. Such holdidays are only possible with a highly professional personnel and you can be sure you will get this with Monkey Adventures. Highly recommended!
Email Haarica | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional, well-organized safari operator with fantastic guides and excellent service
We did our Kenya Safari with Monkey Adventures and had an incredible experience. Everything was thoughtfully planned and ran smoothly, from the accommodations and transfers to the daily game drives. Our guide, David, was amazing, knowledgeable, friendly, and great with our family. We’re very happy we chose Monkey Adventures and would highly recommend them to anyone planning a safari.
ES
Email B S | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A perfect safari experience & a once-in-a-lifetime journey
I first started exploring options with Monkey Adventures because of their competitive prices. But I chose them because of the quality of their customer service when responding to my request for a quote, which was noticeably better in terms of detail, responsiveness, and attentiveness than that which I received from others I contacted for quotes. That high quality customer service continued throughout my journey, not just from the person helping me make the booking, but with the manager who provided the pre-safari briefing, and my incredible guide and driver. It was an absolute delight to travel with Monkey Adventures. I highly recommend them.
NI
Email Brandon | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Monkey adventures is dialed in.
We had a great experience with Monkey Adventures. They made it easy to book with many options and all customizable to your liking. The best part was having Richard our guide and driver. He was kind , respectful, knowledgeable and ensured we got to see all animals that we possibly could. His driving was safe yet efficient. It really made us feel grateful that we booked with them.
MY
Email Jacob | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent
It was a family holiday as my wife and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary while my son celebrated his birthday in November. The planning started as early as February.
We dealt mainly with Fauziah. She was exceptional in patiently handling all our queries( first time travellers to Africa) and customising the holiday.
However, the trip did not completely go smoothly with some glitches but the pace at which the matter was resolved reflected their commitment.
Highly recommended
An agency with a poor service
We booked a prepaid private 9 days safari starting in Moshi. We were very disappointed about their pure operational services. It started that the promised briefing didn‘t take place. They changed the driver on the day of arrival with no information of our safari or any further hard copy. So we got into the situation , when we were to leave the National Park, the rangers didn‘t allow us to leave. They didn‘t find any payment for the fees from Monkey. After two hours discussion with them we paid about $ 500 out of our cash reserve. The driver promised us, we will get the payment asap what didn‘t happen. As we wanted to address our frustration, the manager refused to talk to us. As recently as we put a lot of pressure on them, we got our money back in several steps in TS. There was no proactive service at all. The only positive point was the experienced and knowledged driver. Many thanks for the nice game drives John. Summary: If you look for an operator with good service, we definetly can not recommend.Monkey.
Reply from Monkey Adventures
Posted on Nov 17, 2025Thank you for taking the time to leave your review, and especially for your kind words about your guide, John. We are very happy you enjoyed the game drives — he is indeed one of our most experienced guides.
We are truly sorry that certain parts of your safari did not go as smoothly as they should have. We fully acknowledge the frustration and inconvenience you experienced.
For future readers, it is crucial to understand the highly unusual circumstances during the first half of this safari (31 Oct – 8 Nov 2025): Tanzania experienced the most severe political protests and a complete national internet, mobile network, and banking shutdown for several days.
These events were entirely outside the control of any tour operator and severely restricted normal operations.
The Missed Briefing: Due to police-enforced curfews and roadblocks, our operations manager was regrettably unable to travel from Arusha to Moshi to meet you on 31 Oct. With networks down, we could not communicate the delay, and we sincerely apologize for the confusion this caused at the start of your tour.
The Mkomazi Park Fee: The national shutdown rendered the TANAPA online payment portal inaccessible and closed all banks. Mkomazi, unlike other parks, insisted on cash payment. We acknowledge that having to pay the $500 fee yourself was a major inconvenience, and we thank your guide for finding the only feasible solution at that time.
Resolution and Compensation: As soon as communication was restored (3-4 Nov), we immediately initiated the full reimbursement process. The refund was completed in Tanzanian Shillings as you requested, and we even agreed to pay an additional amount later to cover your perceived exchange rate difference. Furthermore, we compensated for the loss of time at Mkomazi by arranging a complimentary walking tour at the Ngorongoro Crater rim, per your request.
We acted promptly and comprehensively the moment national systems were restored. We hope that despite the difficult and unforeseen circumstances, you know that our primary focus was always to rectify the issues and ensure the rest of your trip was successful.
Final note
We fully understand your frustration — traveling during a nationwide shutdown is stressful.
But we also want to reassure future readers that:
• What happened was a result of a once-in-generation scale national disruption
• We handled every issue promptly the moment systems were restored
• The client did receive every cent back while the tour was still in progress and received additional compensation for lost time
Despite the difficult circumstances, we are glad you enjoyed the wildlife experience with John and that your accommodations and vehicle met your expectations. We hope a future visit will give you the smooth experience we strive to provide every guest.
Sincerely,
The Monkey Team
Best Regards,
Fred
Monkey Adventures (Kenya, Tanzania & Uganda)
IN
Email Rekha Subash | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A Dream Destination travelled with Monkey Adventures
It was a long awaited plan to Masai mara for us. Monkey adventures made sure each step from booking to see off was made easy and comfortable.
They gave good options to choose from since we were vegetarians. We were assigned a wonderful and exceptionally knowledgeable guide who made sure each game drive was interesting. Spotting animals need experience especially when they are in a mood to camouflage!!
He was extremely patient and attended to all our needs.
Would recommend Monkey Adventures for all Kenyan destinations. We await to travel next with them.
