Lilac Adventures
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 1999)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $176 to $650 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Theo, Australia | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Amazing.
From the moment we made a booking the service was at an amazing high level.
Daniel and his team a professionals in the African safari industry but at the same time they make it feel as if your traveling with some good old friends.
We saw the big 5 ......twice in four days! Amazing how the guys feel what the best spot would be. I highly recommend lilac for your safari trips.
You get more than you pay for !
US
Email Maggie and Joe Kernan | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect
I have used Lilac Adventures 2 times and will use them again when I return to Eastern Africa. I am from the United States and found they are easy to communicate with, they provide timely communications and can put together complicated itineraries for big groups.
I especially like their on ground tour guides and drivers. We were always met with smiles and given great information to enrich out trip. You can't go wrong with Lilac!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
6 day serengeti, ngorongoro, tarangire and manyara tour. Outstanding guide made all the difference.
We travelled during February 2014 and were picked up from Kilimanjaro. Everything from this point onwards was pain and hassle free. Everything was taken care of allowing us to switch off and enjoy the excellent wildlife. I imagine we would have received similar quality of service from many of the tour companies but the thing that set Lilac apart was the level of knowledge of the two guides we had on the tour with us. Our guide Ame was a half Masai who had grown up near Ngorongoro and had clearly been running trips in the area for quite some time. He seemed to know where to go to get us as close to various animals at all times. There was some poor weather meaning fewer animals, but even during this time he was able to find us a pack of lions, hyenas and leopards. He managed our time really well and even on this relatively short trip was able to make sure that we saw as many animals up close as possible.
My advice, ask for Ame when booking and trust your guide. All the guides stay at the same accomodation and trade information on where different animals are living at the time. They also pull up next to each other and share information during the day.
We thought 6 days might be too little but it was enough for us although perhaps next time I would book a little longer to allow us to do some walking in the area.
A blinding week and I will be reccommending this company to anyone I talk to
LU
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Safari to Serengeti National Park
We had a nice safari with Lilac Adventures, as it was a private one, we could manage ourselves
the planing during our trip. We saw a lot of animals, driver and guide knew how to manage
everything, only negative point, we had a very old Land Rover, which broke down 3 times,
flat tire, engine out of order, but although, each problem has been resolved by the team.
Nice Serena lodges with luxury standard during our whole stay.
RU
Email Eugene | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A great adventure with the help of Lilac
My girlfriend and I went on a safari with Lilac as part of the our tour of Madagascar, Tanzania and Kenya. The tour was in Tanzania and it was great! The company did a great job picking us up and then accommodating our departure. Only thing where they could improve is on giving better advice on what sites to visit and which not to visit. For example, we visited Lake Manyara apparently at the wrong season, so did not get close to the water. Would have helped to be warned about this before going there. Would have loved this extra day in the Serengeti! But overall a very competent company that provided a good vehicle, arranged the hotels well and communicated with me actively over email before the trip, customizing their offering to my needs.
Thanks Lilac!
CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Personal, professional and always interesting
It was a very nice combination of good and pleasant Service mixed with high profesionalism and personal touch.
During the trip we felt very comfortable, supported and safe.
The guide provided us lots of insight knowlegde with a good portion of humor.
CZ
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
We have good experience with this operator - reliable, helpful, friendly.
The communications very good, excellent service - especially our guide James was the best and safari was wonderful.
CH
Email Sally and Natalie | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect Safari with a perfect and experienced driver!!
I've been on safari with my wife. We've had the bus just for ourselves. Our driver "Musa" was very very nice an he knew EVERYTHING about the animals... even everything about birds an animal-poo ;)
We've seen them all: on our first day a group of about 70!! elephants, wildbeasts, buffalos, cheetahs!!, a leopard walking along the road!!, rhinos, six times lions, even with little cubs, a lot of hippos (mara river lodge), few flamingos (lake nakuru) and of course lots of giraffes and zebras.
We've never been in danger, even as we've been right between the elephants, because our driver's had so much experience, that he knew, how to handle this possibly dangerous situation! I really really can recommend him and the lilac adventures limited!!! Book MUSA, he's the best!!!
Thank you very much for this wonderful, unforgettable experience (this was my first safari and won't be my last for sure!)!!! Sally and Natalie
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience, flexible and helpful team
I had a chance to book my Maasai Mara safari via the Lilac Adventures team. Entire team was very flexible and helpful while organising this on a very short notice. It was unforgettable experience to see Masai Mara park and all the wild life.
RO
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Never again with Lilac Adventures Limited from Kenya, known also as East Africa Holidays!
We contracted them for a safari in Kenya and Tanzania in July 2014. In Tanzania our fundamental rights have been put at risk by being forced to drive in the dark, to remain without fuel in the savanna, very far from the lodge, just before the sunset, to be forced to use a broken and technically precarious and unsafe car and so on. To any of our or driver phone calls it was no answer from the company! We can easily say: we have been abandoned!
During the 4 days for which we paid luxury conditions, we experienced hours of waiting at the border for the car that was supposed to transfer us to the first location, one day without food, no visits at the Maasai village in Serengeti, no visit to the Old Uvai, although both included in the safari cost, and all in all, the game drives rendered to us could be counted as lasting only for one day instead of the four we paid. We have been spent the rest of the days waiting for payments never done in time or for repairing the car or even worse waiting for someone to tow the car without fuel in the middle of nowhere, but plenty of wild animals ready for hunting!
Reply from Lilac Adventures
Posted on Nov 14, 2014Thank you for your your post. I wish to clarify what happened and though i agree that there was delay in Tanzania, these are my comments:
- I have your email confirming that you had great safari with us on the Kenyan part. thank you for acknowledging that.
- Like we did explain, Kenya vehicles are not allowed in Tanzania national parks, hence any company in Kenya has to book accommodation direct and sub-contract a Tanzania company to offer transport or both.
- For our case we have been contracting a company called LILLAC Safaris and Adventures (http://www.lillacadventures.com) to do our safaris. ( we cancelled our contract after this safari and now dealing with one of the biggest company in Tanzania)
- This is the company (see their above website) that was responsible to offer transport and since we had good relationship before and had been offering good services we had been paying them full package including accommodation and transport for our clients for them to feel the ownership of the many safaris so as to offer the best services (note as explained above on Kenya vehicles not allowed in to Tanzania national parks).
- Once they learnt of our travel agents through some clients they started contacting them direct to source business from them
- This is when the company in BAD faith messed this safari by all the delays and had not done not paid the accommodation.
- once i learnt of these clients delays at Kenya/Tanzania bonder, i went to Tanzania the following morning to sort it out to make sure all is well. The Lillac safaris and adventures director refused to meet me and closed their office. I was left with minimal options but fisrt i went to serena to find out if booking was paid. To my suprise their accommodation was not paid and i organized for my office to pay immediatelly(double payment as we had already paid the above said company). I contacted these clients a couple of times and every time i left messages at the lodges to call me when back from the game drives, which they never did. Serengeti serena reception can bear me witness.
- On accommodation, since the company really wanted to have us in bad books with our travel agent so as to get the business direct, they had not paid even accommodation at serena. I went ahead and paid again what we had already paid to make sure they had the best. They stayed in the best serena lodges; Serengeti serena lodge, ngorongoro serena lodge and lake manyara serena lodges
- After their safari, we have been in contact with the clients where they demanded compensation of lost time at the bonder as well as delay at the serengeti national park gate, but they were demanding usd$5000 which was more than 75% of what they had paid for the entire Kenya and Tanzania safari. My account offered them usd$2500 which they agreed.
-On the Tanzania company that messed their safari in Tanzania so as to get business direct from the travel agents, we are already in court with them in Arusha and if anyone wish to confirm can check with CID or tourist police department file reference number is : RB NUMBER 7927/2014
- Since July, they have never refunded the money we had paid them for this safari as well as other safaris which we cancelled with them after this mess. We have been requesting them only to refund the cash we had paid them and we never claimed for the damages.
- As at today we are only demanding the refund Tanzania shillings FOURTEEN MILLION EIGHT HUNDRED THOUSANDS ONLY (USD$9,250) which LILLAC SAFARIS AND ADVENTURES IS YET TO REFUND, the court hearing is on 24th November 2014
- Directors were arrested in Arusha and given police bond but they have evended arrest since then and even closed down their offices thus becoming difficult for the police to arrest them even after the warrant of arrest was issued in August after failling to honour summons from court.
I wish to note that i explained all this to the clients and i did what was possible to make their safari in Tanzania best i could and sure if they are honest, they can testify to that as paying again for the services we had already paid was the best we could do to make sure they are comfortable during their entire safari as they had booked.
Trust my explanation clear the air and though nothing can compensate a lost time during safari, we offered them usd$2500 in solidarity with fraustration they may have experienced in the hands of the said above company.