AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Incredibly thorough and professional!
We had an amazing day experience with Soul of Tanzania and our guide Hope. The natural beauty is unsurpassed. I would highly recommend this experience and this company.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Dream Tour
Actually i stayed in DSM for 3 years and i have always dream to visit serengeti and ngorongoro but i have only vacation in x-mass. And this x-mass(2021) i planed to visit my dream place then i tried to communicate several tour company with instagram then i found that Raymond gave me the best price. I scared cz its my fitst time in staying in tented camp but Raymond gave me the hope and send me some picture to ensure Security. I really appriciate his behavior and manner. And when i reached there i saw that everything can be arranged very nicely. Im totally impressed his arrangement. Thank you Raymond and his company to support me to fulfill my dream. Also the tour guid habib was vastly experience and polite we really enjoy to visit serengeti and ngorongoro.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Once in a lifetime
Reviewed 2 days ago via mobile
We had a wonderful experience with lion king from inquiry, payment, and all the way through the safari. The accommodations were great and each location was able to provide vegetarian meals too. Our trip was over the Christmas holiday and each location made he holiday special.
The safari itself was a once in a lifetime experience. Our guide Salehe was very knowledgeable regarding the animals and each location we went to. It was clear he knew the parks inside and out. Each day we were in disbelief with the animals he found (big 5, giraffe, cheetah, leopards, and so many cubs). Our group of four had a private vehicle and Salehe was with us the whole trip.
Highly recommend lion king - exceeded our expectations
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Best trip ever!
We worked with the Kibo Guides to create a perfect itinerary for the 8 day trip. Our Guide, Shabani, was absolutely the best. The accommodations were exactly as described and very close to where we were going to do our game drives. One thing that I like about Kibo Guides, is that they do not limit the driver to a daily milage limit as some other companies do. So, we had the privelidge of driving all day long and seeing more of the Serengeti than others may have. Our trip was everything we had hoped it would be. Thank you Kibo Guides!!
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Collins is punctual, social and very kind
Collins is a good driver, very careful and very welcoming. We arrived in Nairobi on time and he knows all the kenyan routes very well.
BE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Perfect planning, incredible experience!
When planning our trip to Kenya we contacted a number of travel agencies, from the initial contact and proposal we had a good feeling about KingTomondo Safaris. The communication was to the point, Lisa understood immediately our preferences and tailored the itinerary accordingly.
The proposed itinerary was a 7-day safari through Tsavo East, Amboseli and Tsavo West, the lodges and camp sites where carefully selected all offering amazing views in prime locations in each of the parks.
On the first day of our Safari we were met at the hotel by Aziz, our guide/driver throughout the entire journey, an amazing and charming person with a lot of knowledge about the fauna and flora of the parks we visited. For an amateur photographer as myself it was a pleasure to have Aziz at our side, never in a hurry and allowing enough time for taking photographs. During our trip we where able to spot four out of the Big Five animals.
Lisa and KingTomondo's team am are very involved and will assist you with all the practical arrangements (airport transfers, hotel bookings, ... or even a last minute hot air balloon safari.
Despite the COVID pandemic we had safe journey, KingTomondo and all lodges handled everything in a professional manner, this should not hold you of visiting Kenya and it's parks.
We'll definitely return to Kenya and will book with Lisa again!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
One of the best trips ever! Our first safari and everything went very smoothly
This was hands-down one of the best travel experiences I have ever had. I went with my husband to Masai Mara for 4 days/3 nights. Mwanje was very easy to work with and everything went very smoothly. He was very quick to respond to messages and even helped us arrange Covid tests before the return trip to the US.
We flew into Masai Mara via Safari Link. I was a bit nervous with the small plane (Cessna Dash 8) but it was smooth and quick, only about 30 minutes. The camp that we chose was andBeyond Kichwa Tembo, and it was spectacular. We saw the Big 5 and cheetahs up close. Kichwa Tembo is located in the Mara Triangle, which has a ton of vegetation and is very wildlife dense. You have the best chance of seeing black rhinos in the triangle (we saw 3), and nonstop elephants, zebras, giraffes, impalas. The Greater Mara, on the other side of the river, is much larger than the Triangle and is where the majority of camps are located, but there is more sparse wildlife. However, you have to go to the greater Mara side to see cheetahs. We had an amazing game driver at andBeyond, Ekai, who could spot animals from a mile away with no binoculars. He was very attentive to our requests and he knew that we wanted to see cheetahs so he got up super early to drive us to the greater Mara side to a spot where it is known that a group of cheetahs hang out. Masai Mara is very tough to drive through (it's a lot of off-roading, the "roads" are basically just light tire tracks from previous vehicles), and Ekai was an excellent driver. The skill of these guides is really something that is built up over years of experience of driving around. These plains are vast and endless, they extend as far as the eye can see, and many areas are undriveable because there are massive holes in the ground, or water, or trees. Yet our guide never got lost, he knew the most efficient way to get to places, he knew where different animals lived, and could even tell the difference between specific animals like lions based on their markings. His knowledge of plants and animals was extensive (I fact-checked afterwards a couple of times to be sure!). Every animal that we asked to see (even different birds), we saw! Not to mention -- a lot of these guides' families live far away and they stay in Masai Mara for weeks at a time or more without seeing them.
The other staff at andBeyond were also great. They assign you a waiter (our was Joel, he was wonderful), and a housekeeper (Simon, also wonderful) to help you through your whole stay. Joel arranged a special candlelit dinner and surprise cake for our wedding anniversary. The property is beautiful, the tents are absolutely amazing (they have everything in them from bug spray to bed warmers which they bring you at night), and there's tons of little things that they do to make it a luxury and fun experience -- one of my favorites was there's a little wooden cubby accessible from both outside and inside the tent where Simon would place coffee and hot chocolate in the morning. Also the food was excellent. I'm a pescatarian and had no trouble with the menu at all, there were a lot of options. There were a few babies/small children at the camp and I could see the staff went out of their way to help those families stay comfortable. andBeyond also offers a bunch of other activities. We did a visit to the local Masai village (highly, highly recommend), and also a walking tour. Our guide was Moses, who is of Masai heritage, and so he showed us all the different plants that grow in the area and what they are used for medicinally. A zebra walked right by us on the tour.
I have seen many reviews where people recommend Bataleur, andBeyond's sister camp, over Kichwa Tembo. I have no idea why, considering they are five minutes apart from each other and you would see the same animals. I've stayed at many top hotels around the world and I think Kichwa Tembo is up there with the best of them, and the aesthetic is more modern and appealing to millennials and Gen-Z. Bataleur and the other camps are decorated in more of a traditional colonial style, and although they are described as "nicer", it's not my aesthetic. Kichwa Tembo doesn't have bathtubs, only showers, which was perfectly fine for me, as I never take baths and it's really not a good use of water in a place like Masai Mara. I think also because it's been slower since Covid, there weren't very many people at Kichwa Tembo or generally in Masai Mara. 3 out of the 4 days, we had the whole car to ourselves. Oftentimes looking at the animals, we were the only ones out there --- unless it was a rare animal like a rhino. All the drivers have radios and tell each other the locations of rare animals they see so that others who are searching can also come over. On the Triangle side, when there are multiple cars they stay at a respectful distance and there is a 5 car limit rule that everyone follows. Only 5 cars can be up front and if there are more they have to hang back until one of the cars leaves.
I felt very safe in terms of Covid the whole time. All the staff and other guests wore masks and you are outdoors the whole time. There were hardly any mosquitoes at all (apparently the elevation is too high). Overall, the experience was just excellent! Can't recommend enough.
NL
under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lovely people, who take great care to create the best possible experience for you.
We have been away for over a week with a tour every day. First we did the coffee tour which i was really excited about. This was a very good experience where i learned a lot. The people running the guides were very open and we had a great time with them. About all trips including safari, massia+ hot spring, waterfalls and mount kilimanjaro I was struck by how well organized everything was. The people are very flexible and work hard so that you as a tourist have the best experience. we certainly made a lot of friends for life. I didn't feel stressed the whole trip and knew I could count on Octavian.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Outstanding Safaris
I fell in love with Africa as a teenager. Fifty years later I took my first trip which was managed beautifully by Lappet Faced Safaris. Francisco, CEO, was exceptionally responsive to our requests. We told him what we wanted to see, gave him a budget, and he designed the perfect trip. He was very responsive to questions, and happy to do any tweaking we needed to do in order to fit our schedule.
He provided us with the perfect guide. I am not overstating. Our guide Michael was extremely skilled, very knowledgeable, and lots of fun! After we all loosened up, we laughed our way across Tanzania.
We tried to stay in tented camps for the most part, which was a good choice for us. If you want to hear animals at night, and enhance your experience, this is the way to go. I never once felt unsafe.
We are traveling with Lappet Faced Safaris again in August 2021, going back to see more of Tanzania. In 2022 Lappet Faced Safaris will take us to Kenya.
I would let Lappet Faced Safaris take me anywhere!
SE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Bucket List Adventure done
“My wife booked a trip to Kenya through Keron Safaris for the two of us plus my 26 yr old son. The trip could not have been better, we started off with a two night stay at the beach in Mombasa (Diani Sea Lodge) and had a great time winding down after two days of flying. Then we went to Tsavo East for a day and a half, amazing! From there we went to Amboseli for another day or so, also fantastic. Next was a half day at Nakuru, by this time we had seen so many animals, at Nakuru we added whit Rhinos to our list. We finished up at Masai Mara for our last day and a half.
So much fun and great camaraderie with our guide Venant, I would recommend Venant to be your guide too. He is extremely personable and accommodating, not to mention he is a great driver. You'll need a great driver, as the roads and drivers in Kenya are terrible! Many thanks to both Kenny and Venant for ensuring we all had an amazing safari!!”