US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent company
We booked through Jumbari Family Safaris, which is a subpart of Ker & Downey. I actually planned the trip in early 2020 before COVID became a pandemic and Jenieen worked with me to plan which areas would be best to fit our needs in terms of lodges and the animals we wanted to see. After a couple postponements, Peter took over for Jenieen and answered MANY questions I asked from time to time while we waited to see if the trip would happen or not due to COVID. He was always gracious and fully answered me, which I appreciated. The trip went exactly as they said, in terms of representatives meeting us from planes, tour guides arriving to pick us up, border crossings - it all went smoothly. We saw every animal on our list and some more we didn't even think we would see. All the lodges that were arranged for us were wonderful and fit our needs perfectly. The staff at the lodges were great, the guides were great, the drivers were great. I really appreciate that every last detail was handled and when I had questions along the way on the trip, there was a WhatsApp chat ready for me to ask and I was always answered promptly. I picked this company based on other positive reviews and I'm glad I did. They won't disappoint.
US
under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very resourceful, helpful, respectful, and nice
My experience with Lion King Adventures was very good. It was very reliable and a great experience. It was very much worth the trip I took to get here. It’s something you’d never forget.
SI
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We regret booking with this safari company
We are two backpackers who allways trying to see good things on our trips. We ordered safari trip (Tarangire, Ngorongoro) which included a flight from Znz to Arusha.
The only bright spot was unforgetable experience seeing those beautiful animals at the parks and our safari guide Molel because of his knowledge about wildlife.
The rest of the organization was a disaster. We were directed to the wrong flight at Znz airport. If we wouldn't figure it out last minutes before departure, the plane would leave without us. The guy working for company didn't even look at our tickets, he just send us to the wrong group. When we came to Arusha, nobody was there to pick us up. We spend 1 hour browsing on the web for their contacts with the local people. The whole thing looked like their company didn't even exist. That morning was extremely stressful for us. Thanks for the kind-hearted locals who helped us find a guide who was 1 hour late and airport employee who stopped the flight for us.
When we came to the safari we said: "Okay, let's forget about this, we solved this out." But at the end of the trip again there were problems with transportation back to Znz. Also the things that were written in the plan about the trip weren't real (both days the park ride was shorter than it was written, they wanted the money from us for the dinner which was included in the plan.)
We had a deal that we will fly back to Znz in the morning. We didn't recieved info about the flight till late evening and we were asking them for informations all the time. We got the flight tickets at the airport.
They were telling us there were so many mistakes because we ordered this trip "last minute" (3 days before). We did get an apollogy from a driver.
We could write more, but we believe you allready got an impression why we don't recommend this company.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
He’s a fun-loving, popular, and knowledgeable guy.
From start to finish, this experience was a pleasant one. The emailing was easy. The communication was clear and concise. Our guide, Kikitu, was everything you’d want from a guide. And we received an updating itinerary as we traveled so we received just enough information on what was coming up but were never overwhelmed.
There were a couple hotel issues with some people in our group with the quality not being up to snuff, but I can’t speak to that as my accommodation experience was a positive one.
I’ve wanted to go in a safari for 25 years, and my expectations were high, but this managed to live up to those expectations and exceed them. Thanks so much for a trip that I’ll be able to look back on fondly. Highly recommend the operator and the guide.
IN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect 4 days Serengeti Safari in Tanzania
They are enthusiastic and dedicated to making sure that they go an extra mile in bringing quality services to clients.
Our guide was Tom and his 25 years of experience as a Tanzania Wildlife Safari Guide is exceptional. Tom is a fantastic, brilliant and amazing guy. I went out of my tears on the day we said goodbye to him at the airport. Thank you Issa for all the arrangements and giving us Tom as our guide. Highly recommend this company.
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beautiful safari and great organization
We booked a safari with zamunda tours to serengeti, ngorongoro and tarangire. We got picked up at the airport, got a complimentary stay in caribou hotel and then went on safari. Salim organized everything perfectly for us and ali our driver showed us as more animals and beautiful places as we hoped for. Both knew a lot about wildlife and nature. We stayed in tents at campsites at night which was really exciting, with a friendly buffalo and some zebras right next to our camp. The highlight of the tour was a leopard on the hunt. We would recommend this experience to anyone who wants to do safari in tanzania.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tanzanian Safari done right
We did the 5 day safari (family of 5) starting in Arusha, Tarangire, 2 days in Serengeti, Ngorongoro and out. Experiencing a Tanzanian safari is something I wanted my family to have because that was something that I had the privilege of as a boy.
There are many unknowns just getting ready to do a safari - planning, funding, booking air tickets, logistics and simply the unknown unknowns of doing the safari itself. Lion King and its representatives made it possible to execute on this adventure - mind you, this was executed over a 5 month period.
Rose - who did the logistics, answered every question and made itinerary changes essentially over the wire, she made it possible to assuage little doubts here and there.
Gilbert who was our guide - knowledgeable, funny and well connected with other guides, who went out of his way to make sure that we saw the big 5, all but one of the ugly 5 (we think we saw the Maribu Stork but not sure), witnessed a lioness stalking gazelles, saw a pair of male lions, cheetahs eating their kill, stopped in multiple places for souvenirs, made sure we haggled, worked with the lodges on timings and food, even other incidentals here and there - can’t ask for a better guide and safari.
That’s really the crux of the matter - you have lots of questions before you begin, money changing hands essentially into the unknown but the safari is a matter of execution between the plan, what the animals give you and what the guide orchestrates - Lion King, Gilbert and Rose made it all possible.
Many thanks to Lion King and its fine people
BE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
helpful
We booked a 5-day safari. Despite the fact that our luggage was delayed by the airline (we received it on the 5th and 7th day), we had a good holiday.
The first hotel was The Cliff, fantastic experience, fantastic hotel. We searched for negative points but did not find any. The food was remarkably good, in fact the best food during our entire holiday. This was definitely the best of the 3 hotels.
The next hotel was Leopard Hill Resort. Beautiful rooms, super friendly staff. The food was ok, but not fantastic, could be better.
The last hotel was Kilima (2 nights). Beautiful hotel, friendly staff, nice rooms.
Extra thanks to Alligator Adventure tours for picking up our delayed luggage and delivering it to our accommodation after the safari!
BE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing 4 day safari with African Big Cats
I had checked out a whole lot of different options for safaris (and there are many), but we decided to go for this one due to 1. We preferred a Tanzanian company; 2. Reviews were consistently 5star; 3. Price range was considerably lower than many other options; 4. The website is really good and communication with the company was super swift and efficient.
In fact, it seemed so perfect I started to think it might be a scam, but I can now tell you it is not! Our experience was perfect from beginning to end. We travelled with 2 adults and 2 kids (age 11 and 9) and we all adored it. Our guide Stephen was amazing. Spoke perfect French and English, was extremely knowledgeable about all the fauna and flora, as well as Tanzania more generally. He is a safe driver, respectable of the animals and the other safari makers. And he is an all-round nice guy, was really good with our girls. He really made the extra effort for us to see as many animals close up as possible, and to make sure we were always having a good time and feeling comfortable.
We took the mid-range option and it was great. Quality of accommodation was very good at all times.
I truly recommend!!
HU
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Heartfelt professionalism
Our one-week safari was the most exciting experience, thanks to some luck and our driver, James. James is a walking animal dictionary, he has an eagle eye to spot the most hidden animals, and he did everything he could to show us the best spots, go as close to the animals as possible. He has the biggest heart, and very good humor, it was just so much fun to travel with him.
