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
AE
Email Hulya | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Tour operator was ok, guide was horrible.
First we would like thank you for always replying quickly and the driver always being on time.
Secondly I would like to tell you what happened on our first day:
- We landed on time and were stuck in traffic on the way to Lake Navaisha so we couldn’t do the tour on that day so it was postponed for the next morning.
- Because it we did the next morning we arrived late at our hotel in Masai Maraa which resulted in not doing any game drive on day 2, which we payed you for (80 dollars x 6)
We believe we have the right to get refunded for this. In the future you should not do a heavy planning like this for your guests as with the traffic and condition of the roads it’s not doable.
We also were extremely unhappy about our driver. The driver really breaks or makes your holiday as we spend so much time together. Ours was not providing us any basic information about our day or Kenya, got irritated by our questions, sensitive as not having a sense of humor, demotivated (example: he told us there was a rhino but it was very far meaning he didn’t want to bring us eventhough he knew how much we wanted to see a rhino).
In Masai Maraa he was doing the same routes for 3 days always bringing us at the same spots.
We were the only safari bus with broken binoculars. All other drivers has binoculars looking for the animals for their guests.
He was wearing the same clothes for 5 days so I can’t even begin to describe the smell we had to endure all these hours.
Our driver clearly shows he does not want to do his job and the we were not welcome.
He also got irritated when we were giving away our extra food to the children we would see because he said they would litter.
Eventhough we were extremely unhappy with him we still gave him a generous tip which he also showed us how unhappy he was with.
We had a fun holiday because we were a fun group not thanks to our driver or accommodation.
I really do not understand all the other 5 star’s reviews and really wished we had a 5 star experience as we paid a lot of money for this holiday.
The lunch box in the accommodation in Masai Maraa was every day the same! Very poor selection for breakfast too. There should be also be mosquitonets as the room is full with mosquitoes and other bugs. We were not so bothered by the accommodation as it’s fairly for the price we paid.
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)
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