Mountain Warriors Tours and Safaris on Kilimanjaro
Mountain Warriors Tours and Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2021)
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $1,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CH
Email Sak and Farana | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An unforgettable safari, with pre- and post-safari organisation that needs improvement
Rating: Safari experience 5/5, organisation 2/5
We booked our safari with Mountain Warriors through safaribookings.com. The trip itself was a mind-blowing, once-in-a-lifetime experience, but the organisation before and after the safari caused us a great deal of unnecessary stress and can be improved.
The organisation (Rehema)
Rehema replied quickly and promptly to our questions before booking. We paid our 30% deposit 4 weeks before the trip. Then came silence. We expected to be told the next steps and to receive flight confirmations, taxi times, driver names and phone numbers, and details of our safari guide. Instead, when we asked for the status and said we were extremely worried one week before departure, we were told to "worry less". We felt forgotten the moment the deposit was paid, and we had to chase repeatedly for information that should have been shared proactively. We genuinely feared we could be left stranded in Zanzibar with a cancelled trip and nowhere to stay.
4 days before the trip, Rehema sent us flight details to Arusha, but not to our correct destination of Seronera. She corrected this a day later. We then had to request the return flight details ourselves, and she booked the flight at that moment, which left us with a very late and unfavourable return departure. We were also only told about the luggage limits three days before travelling, which meant we had no time to manage our luggage allowances. Rehema said she would take care of the excess, and that the tour operator would kindly store it for us.
On the morning of departure, our taxi was due at 4:30 am for the long drive from Nungwi to Zanzibar airport. No taxi arrived. When we called Rehema at 4:45 am, we learned there had been a mix-up, and a few minutes later that the driver had been sleeping and believed the pick-up was at 5:20 am. We were given no name or phone number. When Abdul arrived, he asked for another traveller by name and was only expecting one passenger (we were two), so we had no way of knowing we were in the right taxi until several phone calls later. Our booking had apparently been forgotten. Abdul also knew nothing about the luggage storage Rehema had promised, and had to call her to confirm it.
When we arrived at the airport in Zanzibar, Rehema informed us that the final 70% was due in cash or card, in person, during our transit time in Arusha. This gave us no time to prepare, and we had no idea the payment was due then. On top of that, she was not at the gate in Arusha when we landed for our stopover. We waited, but eventually had to check in for our next flight. She arrived later, made several calls and chased us in front of our boarding gate, and then her card machine wasn't working. She finally agreed to send us a link for a bank transfer, something we had requested from the very beginning. The payment went through smoothly online, which makes the stress at the gate all the more unnecessary.
The safari (Victor)
Victor is the reason this trip was so special. He met us in Seronera, calmly and kindly put us at ease after a long, worrying morning, corrected one error in our itinerary, and clearly explained how the safari permits, timings and flexibility worked. He is very friendly and professional, drives safely and was always checking on our comfort. He has extensive knowledge of the wildlife and a true "eagle eye" for spotting animals and birds at huge distances. His fun facts on weights, lengths, mating habits, inter-species interactions, population sizes, history, conservation projects, international support and Maasai life made the trip about learning the region as well as seeing wildlife. The game drives and lunches were excellent, and the Serengeti and Ngorongoro are places we will never forget. We would recommend Victor to everyone.
We stayed at Warriors Luxury Tented Lodge on the first night, Ang'ata Ngorongoro Camp on the second and at Karibu Heritage House for the third. All were very comfortable, with very friendly staff and excellent food. Warriors Luxury Tented Lodge was noisy at night due to the very windy conditions.
Materuni Waterfalls (Carlos)
Carlos was a cheerful guide on a joyous day out. We enjoyed a coffee stop and lovely scenery. Because of the very late flight time booked by Rehema, we had a great deal of excess free time, but Carlos very kindly stayed with us until we left for our late flight from Kilimanjaro. Our flight was then delayed by 2.5 hours. We arrived in Zanzibar tired, but the driver was waiting with our stored luggage and kindly took us to our hotel in Stone Town.
Verdict
We would recommend travelling with Mountain Warriors, especially for Victor and the wonderful places we stayed. We hope they improve their communication and organisation before and after the safari. In the meantime, we suggest confirming flights, pick-up times, driver names and numbers, payment arrangements and luggage storage in writing well in advance.
Email Jack | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience
We saw all the animals and David was great, We couldn’t have asked for a better driver!
The lodge and hotel were perfectly aligned for the days we had one in the bush and one with pool perfect after a long drive
The lunches and dinners were particularly good!
TW
Email Michael Liu | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent value with a premium experience
Our guide, Mbwana, is an experienced and steady gentleman. From day one to the very last, he provided us with exceptional service. His knowledge of Tanzanian culture and wild animal behavior was outstanding. We were lucky enough to witness the wildebeest river crossing three times within 24 hours, spotted the cheetahs we had missed in Kenya, and even saw a rhino right next to our vehicle on the final day.
We felt incredibly fortunate to have him guide us through Tanzania. His humor, cheerful enthusiasm, and professional dedication brought our African journey to a perfect, regret-free close. We whole-heartedly recommend this guide, who always puts his guests first.
Here, we would also like to express our gratitude to Loveness for her support. Throughout our email communications, she always answered our questions with great patience and provided impeccable accommodations as well as an incredible guide.
DE
Email Jannes | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Guide with amazing tour
We had an amazing safari experience and were very satisfied with the tour overall. Our guide was excellent – very knowledgeable, friendly, and attentive. He made the game drives enjoyable and was always doing his best to give us the best possible experience.
The accommodations were also very good and met our expectations. One of the absolute highlights was seeing all of the Big Five. Overall, it was an unforgettable experience, and we would definitely recommend this safari.
Whenever we needed anything, we were helped as quickly as possible. This was also the case with the organization – everyone was always very helpful and genuinely made an effort to make our trip as enjoyable and smooth as possible.
If we had to mention one small area for improvement, it would be communication regarding the overall organization of the trip. This is definitely not a criticism of our guide, who communicated very well with us during the safari. We would simply have appreciated receiving a little more information proactively, especially regarding arrival, departure, and other logistical details. In some cases, we had to ask for information ourselves that we would have found helpful to receive in advance.
That being said, whenever we asked, the organization responded quickly and helped us with whatever we needed. Overall, we were very happy with the safari and are grateful for the wonderful experience!
CH
Email Giulia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great safari experience thanks to Victor!
Overall, we had a wonderful safari and are very happy with our trip. We are giving 5 stars primarily because of our driver and guide, Victor, who we highly recommend. He is knowledgeable, charismatic, and very engaging, and we truly loved spending time with him! He shared a lot of valuable information throughout the trip, always drove safely, and even helped us resolve an issue with our accommodation reservation. He really did everything possible to ensure we had a great experience, showing us all the animals with a fantastic attitude every day. Also, the lunches provided throughout the safari were always delicious!
A quick note regarding pre-trip organization for future travelers:
- Pre-trip Communication: After paying the deposit, office communication became quite sparse. We felt there was a lack of interest in tailoring specific requests— such as finding an authentic Maasai Boma that wasn't just a tourist trap.
- Final Details: A few days before departure, we still hadn't received details about the pickup schedule or final payment procedures, which caused unnecessary stress.
Lodge Locations: Ideally, route optimization is something you would expect the agency to manage seamlessly, but it is worth double-checking the location of your assigned lodges against the itinerary to avoid unnecessary extra driving time.
Despite these initial planning hurdles, the safari itself was fantastic once we were on the road, mainly thanks to Victor. We definitely recommend the experience!