Kimkim Trip Reviews for Tanzania

I had a successful and fun trip to Kilimanjaro. The Truly Swahili team was responsive and accommodating throughout the planning process and shaped the trip exactly how I wanted.

Everything about the logistics went smoothly: I got a warm welcome at the airport and a cheerful send-off at the end, all the transfers ran on time, and the hotel recommendations were spot on.

The trek itself, especially summit night, was challenging and rewarding. The team was fantastic: clearly experienced, efficient, and genuinely friendly.

I'll happily work with Truly Swahili again the next time I travel to East Africa.

From the planning stage with Liz to the on the ground experience everything was fantastic.
Liz included all our requirements including a last minute request for an additional member. She and Estha always replied very promptly to all our queries before and during the safari.
A special mention of our guides Rafael in Kenya and George in Tanzania.Rafael saw to it that we saw all the big five in Kenya. He already had a roadmap in his brains about what animals to see everyday ,we had to just sit and wait for the surprise.It was an awesome experience. George did not believe in listening to the chatter of the radio but looking out for the animals himself, I suppose that was his Masai background but that was fun too and we landed up seeing two groups of about 18 tiger cubs each ,one with no other jeeps around in Serengeti .A big Thankyou to all the above people for making our first trip to Africa memorable and now we are looking forward to going back again.

Booking our 2 week Tanzanian honeymoon with KimKim was an absolute breeze! Our local specialist, Liz, was such a delight to work with! She was extremely friendly, knowledgeable, easy to communicate with and made everything about booking a big, overseas trip so much easier than we could have imagined. The hotels were incredible - beautiful, clean and everything we could have imagined and the transports were all seamless and everything was on time. She fine tuned all our requests and feedback throughout the booking process and everything came out perfectly - plus, she was checking in throughout the trip and the communication was greatly appreciated. Our guide (through KimKim partner Sense of Africa) was Freddy and he was also incredible. He was extremely friendly, polite, helpful and he made our safari trip one that we'll remember forever. He was so knowledgeable about everything we did, knew all of the best spots to go and we simply cannot say enough good things about him and how great he was. I would HIGHLY recommend booking a trip through KimKim, especially an African safari (specifically to the beautiful country of Tanzania) as it was so simple to do and ended up being the best honeymoon vacation we could ever dream of.

Hotel Reviews

Bluebay Beach Resort & Spa

Zanzibar

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ang'Ata Serengeti camp

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Farm House Valley

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kahawa House

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full day game viewing drive in the vast Serengeti National Park

Serengeti

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Afternoon game viewing drive

Serengeti

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ngorongoro Crater Tour

Ngorongoro

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Maasai Village Visit

Ngorongoro

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We booked three trips with Umoji, the Uganda safari, the trek up Kilimanjaro, and, my wife's stay at the Amani Villi.
I have already reviewed the Uganda safari and trek up Kilimanjaro in separate correspondence. I am only addressing my wife's stay at Amani Villa in this review.

The planning was very difficult because we did not learn of the proper location - Amani Villa - until late in the planning stage. At one time or another, three different locations were provided to us and we had to do the research to find the correct location. My rating for Umoji is one star.

My wife loved her stay at Amani Villa. She will rate Amani Villa as five star!
Kilifaith Adventures provided transportation to and from Amani Villa and Grace did a fantastic job driving so we give her five stars.

Umoji booked my wife for ten nights, including three meals each day. Umoji should have only booked her for eight nights so we paid for two extra nights and extra meals. I am requesting reimbursement for the two extra nights and meals paid to Amani Villa on our behalf. Our planning only included eight nights, not ten nights.!

We actually booked three separate trips with Agnes at Umoja Motherland Tours; My wife and I participated in Uganda Safari, my daughter and I - Trek on Mt Kilimanjaro, and, my wife's stay at Amani Villa. I am only going to address the Trek on Mt. Kilimanjaro in this review.

The planning for this trip was a disaster. We were provided with the wrong trekking company for months and only learned of the real company, by our own investigations. a few days before the trek commenced. Each trekking company does business differently and you must work with the correct company to get the correct answers to your questions.

On the first night of our trip, they changed our hotel from the Arusha Lodge to the Kerama Silent Lodge and this change was made at the last minute. My daughter had been staying at the Arusha Lodge (independent of our trip) and paid a few hundred dollars extra for the convenience of meeting us at the Aushsa Lodge. My daughter said the Arusha Lodge was much better so Umoji saved money by putting us in an inferior hotel.
I got food poisoning from breakfast at the Kerama Silent Lodge and was as sick as possible during my first day of trekking on Kilimanjaro. Fortunately, I recovered enough to complete the eight day trek to the summit. the guides will vouch that I was so sick on the first day they were going to cancel my trek, but out of good grace they gave me another day of trekking to demonstrate my ability and each following day I got stronger and stronger.

On the third day of the trek, my daughter came down with food/water poisoning We learned at this point that they did not treat the drinking water or water used for cooking. This is unheard of for foreign travelers! They gave us the option of chlorinating the water and we gladly accepted this option. This should have been brought to our attention by the trekking company before we stepped a foot on the mountain.

Umoji subcontracted Kilifaith Adventures. I believe Kilifaith did a great job transporting us to and from the trail head, (thankyou Grace!) and the guides were supurbguiding us up the mountain.(thanki you Moses and Josepth and the thirteen porters!).

I will give Kilifaith five stars for making our trek a success. Please inform all customers in the future if they do or do not want their water treated before consumptions! The planning for this trip by Umoji coudl not have been worse so I will give them one star.

I don't know where to start. Agnes put my safety on the line, which is absolutely not okay. I joined my dad in Tanzania to climb Kilimanjaro. I arrived 2 days early and booked myself at the hotel she said my dad would be staying at, Arusha Planet Lodge. I did not find out until I was in Tanzania that my dad was not booked at the lodge. I had to figure out transport to the accurate hotel and also could have saved quite a bit of money as the hotel she had actually booked him in was much cheaper. This was the least of my worries. Several times prior to departure both my dad and I asked for the name of the guiding company. Agnes would not provide it. She then sent us a link to a company and said that is who we were going with. I asked her questions about items needed for the climb, but when she went silent and was not responding to emails I decided to email the company directly. Turns out, that was NOT the company we were hiking with. Instead, the day before we are expected to climb, we find out the name of the actual company we were actually going with. Agnes stated sleeping bags were included in our price, they were not and were added charges. The company we ended up going with is not reputable and cut corners at the expense of our health and safety. We had unpurified drinking water, to include visibly alive and swimming worm like creatures in our water bottles. My dad and I both suffered from extreme stomach illness and dehydration. All reputable companies on the mountain purify drinking water. Agnes misled us, or purposefully deceived us, at the expense of our health. From the wrong hotel, wrong trekking company, wrong inclusions, to unresponsive communication. I would never recommend she plan a trip in Tanzania and would expect this to be rectified in some way as this was not just simple confusion.

This was the our best vacation thus far. All the lodges we stayed at were amazing and the luxury stays we requested. While we missed the migration, the game viewing was what made this an unforgettable experience. We were able to see the big 5 and there is really no way to explain how it feels to see these animals in the wild.
Our guides - Anthony in Nairobi, David from the Ol Seki Mara, Hola in Arusha, Kaka and Jambo in Tanzania - were the best. They were very friendly and helpful. We’d like to callout Kaka and Jambo specifically. They work really well together and pay attention to customer needs. Our son happened to mention early in the Tanzania section that he loves coffee and missed his afternoon caffeine. On our next all day game drive, they arranged for him to have coffee. It was extremely thoughtful. They also figured we didn’t want to have lunch in a crowded environment and they made sure we got to the Ngorongoro break spot ahead of the 50 vehicles that turned up an hour later. Their attention to our needs was noticed and appreciated.
We appreciate the time Stephan and Irene took to meet with us. And the accommodation for the last minute changes we made during our travel. The giraffe center experience in Nairobi was amazing.
We do have some feedback. The driving distances listed in the itinerary are very different from what we experienced. Getting the total distance travelled and not just what it takes to get to a place would have helped with our decisions on what we want to do. For example, on Sept 12, it shows 3 hours for travel time. It was actually a total of 6 hours or more and with the 5 hours it took for the hike, we had no time for anything else. We left at 6am and were back at 8pm. It was unfortunate since we didn’t get to spend any time in the coffee lodge itself. We had been looking forward to the tour they offer. We noticed similar travel time discrepancies in other places as well, including Zanzibar, which is what led us to cancel the tour we had scheduled.
Overall, we had a wonderful experience and looking forward to returning to our favorite places.

Hotel Reviews

Zuri Zanzibar

Beautiful location and the beach is amazing. Need to be aware of the additional taxes and charges levied by the government. This was unexpected and took us by surprise when we were checking out.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sanctuary Ngorongoro Crater Camp

Authenticity & Character

Location

In the middle of a forest. We had an elephant walk by the dining area in the evening. Amazing experience.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Luxury glamping with a hot water shower and heated blankets

Lemala Nanyukie Lodge

Authenticity & Character

Location

Beautiful views. We heard lions by the lodge in the night.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arusha Coffee Lodge

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful property in the middle of the coffee estate

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hemingways Ol Seki Mara

Authenticity & Character

Location

Beautiful views of the conservancy and opportunities to spot animals. We heard lions in the night by our room.

Staff

Very friendly and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Villa Rosa Kempinski

Nairobi, Kenya

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Safari Experience at Ngorongoro

Tanzania

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Maasai Culture and Heritage Tour

Tanzania

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Safari Experience at Serengeti National Park

Tanzania

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Hike on Mountain Kilimanjaro

Tanzania

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

2nd Day Full Day Safari at the Maasai Mara

Tanzania

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We enjoyed our trip to Kenya and Tanzania.. the accommodation in all the places were very good and comfortable Except in Serengeti National park “ Heritage luxury tented camp “ . The word luxury should be taken out under the name ; this place is like a dump and under managed .. Tthere was no water flowing in the sink to brush our teeth or in the shower. When turn the faucet on in the sink, the faucet handle comes out .. there was no water/ hot water to take shower and the toilet do not flush .
the tent we stayed “ Thomason” should be sold a one person tent.. it is very small and dark , if 2 people are staying in that room , if sleeping at side closer to the wall to get out of the bed , you have to climb over the person sleeping or squeeze out from very space left between bed and wall ( I have bruised by doing that ) ..
we were part of group.. all the group members room lot more spacious then ours ( most of the room had a double bed and 2 single beds) ; I feel if all us paying the same price then all the rooms should be similar.. I feel we are entitled for some refund for not having decent quality room ( no running water; no flush able toilet, small and dark room & small space) .. this is unexpectable .. This place needs overall attention/ renovation and better management..

Hotel Reviews

Sarova Lion Hill Hotel

Nairobi

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Maji Moto Maasai Cultural Camp

Maji Moto

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ashnil Mara Camp

Maasai Mara

Authenticity & Character

Location

Hi

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Speke Bay Lodge

Bariadi

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Embalakai Authentic Ngorongoro Camp

Karatu

Authenticity & Character

Location

U u

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

No hot water to shower or brush your teeth and wash your face

Tumbili Lodge

Olasiti, Arusha

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fair Acres Boutique Hotel

Karen, Nairobi. P. O Box 1121 – 00208 Nairobi.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kibo Safari Camp

Amboseli

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Serengeti Heritage Luxury Tented Camp

This place is very very bad .. there was no water flowing to brush our teeth or to take shower, the toilet do not flush properly.. when we turn the faucet on, the faucet handle came off .. The wooden steps ( especially the bottom one) to main restaurant is not stable the tent we stayed is Thomason , which should be a one person tent with single bed .. the double bed was close to one side of the wall , getting in and out bed was since you have to climb over the person your sleeping with .. the tent is dark ( lights was covered with red shades) .. very disappointed with the quality of this place.. only good part is the animals roaming around near the camp and once we heard lion’s roaring near by .. This place requires overall attention/ renovation and good management..,

Authenticity & Character

Everything

Location

Overall major changes/ improvements is required

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Everything

Activity Reviews

Lake Nakuru National Park Game Drive

Nakuru

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Maji Moto Maasai "Olpul" Bush Camp

Maji Moto

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Maasai Mara Game Drives

Masai Mara

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Maasai Mara National Reserve

Masai Mara

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Serengeti National Park Game Drives..

Tanzania

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Serengeti National Park

Tanzania

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ngorongoro Crater Tour

Ngorongoro

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ngorongoro Crater plus Crater Rim Walk

Ngorongoro

Amboseli National Park

Amboseli National Park

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Amboseli National Park

Amboseli National Park

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Giraffe Center

Kenya

David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

Kenya

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Nairobi National Park

Kenya

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My son already wrote you about our disappointment regarding our trip planning experience with Peter. He also told you about changes with respect to some of our lodgings without our knowledge. NOTE: Someone from kimkim personally reached out to and spoke with my son. This was my 3rd trip arranged through kimkim and the first, and hopefully last one, to have a negative experience with the planning part of the trip.
However, on the flip side, we were so very blessed to have Eli as our full time guide and driver!!! He has 15 years experience and willingly shared so many wonderful facts about his country, the animals, birds, etc. Anyone who has Eli as their personal guide is truly blessed. He is a gem!!!! We were able to see the "big 5" and had so many closeup opportunities with numerous species of wildlife. My son shot over 2,000 photos and 75 videos.
Our lodgings were very nice and the food was quite tasty. We were surprised that almost all of the food served was geared to American tastes. The Tanzanian people are very welcoming and always had lovely smiles.

We had used Kim Kim lin 2024 for the tour of Brazil so we used KimKim again in June 2025 to experience the incredible diversity of African wildlife in their natural habitats in Kenya and Tanzania. The itinerary included visit to Amboseli National park with Majestic snow capped Mount kilamanjaro in the background and Maasai Mara reserve, Nakuru Reserve and Lake Naivasha in Kenya and world famous Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Caldera in Tanzania. To rest and recharge, we stayed at beautiful lake Victoria in Tanzania. Jospeh worked very well with us to complete the itinerary to our satisfaction.

This is a truly an unforgettable trip of lifetime. June weather was perfect with cool breeze, and partly cloudy conditions helped us throughout our tour. Our Tanzanian guides Festo and Godbless and Kenyan guides George and Sano ( Stanley)
were so special that they made the entire trip an informative and fun. The places to see picked were unique and gave greater insight first hand to life of many beautiful animals in their natural habits to find food and survive in the wildlife . Kudos to KimKim for making the itinerary so that we could see lions, lionesses , and their cubs, cheetahs, leopard, elephants, Buffaloes , giraffes, Rhinos, Hoppos, gazelles, impalas, Zeebras, wothhogs . Despite the change in the rain patterns, we did see a part of Wildebeests migration in Serengeti . Hot Balloon ride over Masai Mara Reserve was awesome.

The sound smells, and the side of African bush will stay with us forever, along with amazing people with the warm and open hearts. Spending a night at the Maji Moto Maasai Cultural camp (Kenya), on traditional leafy beds under the stars in sleeping bags (provided), with the protection of warriors throughout the night is a once in a life time experience.

The range of emotions that we experienced in Safari has always been refreshing for me and to witness as well as share the emotions that are being exhibited by others in the safari vehicle is satisfying to me. Being out in nature for hours, watching raw African wildlife as it unfold in front of our eyes, unedited unscripted unplanned can never be replicated anywhere else. A place where mother nature plays for her role in every outcome.

Only blemish we experiennced in the tour was no hotwater in Serengeti Heritage Luxury Tented Camp. It was challenging to navigate two nights without running hot water or flushable toilets. KimKim should work with Heritage Camp to resolve these issues so that the future traverls will not have challening experiences.

Thank you KimKim for our making dream come through. We are using Kim Kim for our next tour of New Zealand.

Marur Dev,

We had a wonderful time on safari in Tanzania. Our guide Ely was an extremely knowledgable, courteous and safe driver. He has over 15 years experience providing safaris in Tanzania's national parks, and was an encyclopedia of knowledge about every animal and tree we encountered. He was also a good conversationalist which is important when you are spending 10 days together in a car!

The experience booking the trip with Peter was less positive and was below the standard of other agents we've used on KimKim:

- Two of the hotels selected were a 1.5 hour drive away from the parks, which meant longer trips in the car and less time spent in the parks. This seemed unnecessary since we had booked 6 months in advance of our trip and there were acceptable accommodations closer to the activity.
- A few of the hotels we had agreed to were changed without our knowledge. The substitutions were acceptable, but it would have been nice to know this in advance.
- Written communication was at times unclear making it difficult to understand the context behind why decisions were made and to assess whether everything was booked as requested.
- We were never reminded or given any guidance about the Visa application process.
- We twice setup a phone call and twice Peter did not show up for the call. Eventually we were able to connect.

Hotel Review

Arusha Coffee Lodge

Beautiful property, excellent service and food, and amazing coffee. Good starting location for your safari if you are arriving in JRO.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Masai boma experience

Serengeti National Park

Would not recommend this activity. Received a brief tour of the tribes home and culture, and then were guided to a large area of crafts made by their tribe. We felt obligated and pressured to buy something. No price was listed, and when we asked how much the items we selected would cost we were provided very high numbers (as compared to anywhere else). When we said we were not interested in purchasing, they several times pushed the items back into our hands and told us to negotiate. Also Google the Maasai people and learn about their treatment of women. Patriarchal society that treats women as property and performs female genital mutilation.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We had a excellent experience. Thank you for planning our itinerary. Day we transferred from Tanzania to Kenya could have been coordinated and communicated better. Overall it is a great experience. Accomodations and food was excellent all along our tour. Guides were very caring, educative. They took care of us like their own family. Thank you.

My wife and I consider it great fortune to have found Stephan and the rest of the Truly Swahili team. Our trip to Uganda and Tanzania went off without a hitch, and offered memories that will last a lifetime. Stephan patiently explained all details of the trip in advance, and his choice of accommodations were absolutely perfect! Our guide Fred and driver Steven in Uganda are now considered friends, and the same can be said for our tour coordinator Irene in Tanzania, as well as our guide Kaka and driver Jambo. Our trip was not only fascinating, but it also was just plain fun! I had the privilege of trekking to get up close with gorillas in Uganda, and we then had the opportunity to see every creature Africa had to offer, ranging from giraffes and zebras to elephants, lions and rhinos. This is probably one of the last places on the planet where you can still see these beautiful creatures in their natural element, and contacting Stephan is the first step in planning the trip of your life!

Great trip!
Kaka kept us amused and informed during the days of game drives. He was simply fantastic.
The lodge was staffed with friendly people and stellar food.
In retrospect, we could have done one fewer days of game drives and one more day in Zanzibar, but no complaints.

Hotel Reviews

Kitela Lodge

Karatu

By the time we got here, we were tired and cranky. Nice room, good food. Internet was iffy at best.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Neptune Pwani Beach Resort & Spa

The horseback riding was a delight. The room was fine. The food was only meh.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nyota Luxury Camp

Fantastic! Friendly staff Courteous and attentive. Stunning pool! Comfortable bed. Lovely shower (indoor and out!) Delicious and copious food.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Gita!!!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Hot Air Balloon Safari at Serengeti

Tanzania

So much fun!!! Enjoyed it so much, we inquired about doing it the next day, but given the price point decided against it.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a lovely time. The service before departure was great - listening to what we wanted, lots of clear and regular communication and the Kim Kim and local team also helped us with some refund issues after we’d left.

The team on the ground were lovely. Good fun and great guides.

I had a wonderful safari with Kaka and Jambo! I saw many, many animals including the big 5. The following beach trip to zanzibar was also lovely! It was a great vacation!

Wow and Incredible
We had an amazing experience in Kenya and Tanzania. Stephan pulled together an adventure that was perfect for us! We saw everything on our Must-See list and more. The guides and lodging were all great. The transportation was safe and convenient. The welcome booklet from Stephan was so valuable. Because of it we had everything taken care of and had no problems in either country.
Kenya:
Stephan and our Guide/Driver Norman from Truly Swahili were at the airport to greet us when we arrived in Nairobi. On the drive to the 1st hotel, we went over the plan and discussed logistics. This was great so when we took off the next day for Lake Nakuru, we were ready.
Norman was our driver and guide while we were in Kenya. It was great to have the same person the whole time we were there. Norman was great, what a nice and caring person. He is also a great guide. He found so many birds and animals. It is amazing to watch him work. The number of small hidden birds he saw was incredible. We would have never seen as much as we did without him. We spent 2 full days on Safari in the park with Norman. We would do it again
Skynest Residences by CityBlue - this was an apartment/hotel which I really appreciated. We stayed here twice as we were going in and out of Kenya. The unit had clothes washing machine which was helpful. We did not have to pack for the whole time we were away. The people were all very friendly, the unit was clean and comfortable. The view from the roof of the building was wild. Nairobi is HUGE!
Sopa Lodge Nakuru - This is a beautiful lodge above Lake Nakuru. The views are incredible. The location is in the park, so our safari began when we woke up with Zebras just nearby. The room was clean and comfortable. Maggie and Mary in the restaurant took amazing care of us!!! They were so friendly! We felt welcome and safe the whole time
Cliff Lodge Sunrise Boat Safari. This was fun. We were treated to a boat cruise on Lake Nakuru. We were able to cruise the shoreline to find all sorts of different birds, and 100’s of Pelicans and Flamingos. It is an early start, so a delicious breakfast is provided. Milka really knew her birds and what we could expect to see. And the Milka/Suleman team were great together spotting everything!
Tanzania
This time we were met at the airport by Truly Swahili’s Irene and our guide Kaka. We met our driver Jambo the next day. More on Kaka and Jambo later! Irene went over the plan for our 8 days in Tanzania on the drive to the hotel in Arusha. This was great so we again knew what to expect.
Sanna Boutique Hotel in Arusha was quite nice. It had an amazing rooftop view, and we were just at the base of Mt. Meru. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. Gofrery in the restaurant talked birds with us and made sure we were always ok! It was a good stay before the long drive to the Serengeti.
Kaka and Jambo our guide and driver. I do not think there is enough good to say about these 2 guys. They were a power team! Driving is long and challenging. Jambo got us where we needed to go every time. We were so impressed how he knew how to get around in the Serengeti. There are no roads or signs, yet we always arrived at our lodge at the end of the day. Jambo has crazy skills to be able to drive and find birds and game as we go. Then there was Kaka, he was joy to be around. He saw the positive in everything. And he also saw everything. He knew what was most important to us (birds) and took us to the places that had birds. He knew where a fig tree was that all sorts of bird life. Amazing! Both Kaka and Jambo listened to us, stopped the car when we asked and never rushed us to get going again. Both laughed easily and knew so much! We were able to enjoy the Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater game drives to the fullest! The combination of being in Tanzania with Kaka and Jambo was incredible. I will want these 2 to guide me next time. Tanzania without Kaka and Jambo – I don’t think so!
The Acacia Seronera Luxury Camp was amazing. It was the iconic staying in a tent-cabin in the Serengeti. What fun. We heard lions from our bed the 1st night. That is not something that happens in the USA! The rooms were clean and comfortable. There were plenty of people to escort us to our room in the dark. So, we always felt safe! Mariska took care of us in the restaurant, and she was great! The lodge is doing a big update and from what we saw it will be even more luxury than it was for us!
Karatu Simba Lodge – we enjoyed this lodge a lot. It was also clean and friendly and safe. The rooms were very comfortable. Sitting on the deck looking over the hills and farms was beautiful! The meals were buffet style so there was lots of variety and all of it was very tasty!
A last minute add on to our trip was Lake Manyara Biking, Canoeing & Cultural Experience with lunch, instead of a second day in the Ngorongoro crater. This turned out to be one of the most memorable days of our trip. This one we went into not really knowing what to expect. Teresa from The Cultural Tourism Programme in Mto Wa Mbu was an excellent guide. We learned more details about the different tribes and their cultures and skills. We have the opportunity to purchase art from small local artists. We had a traditional Tanzanian lunch prepared for us in a Banana Plantation. YUM! Biking through the village was an interesting ground view of the area. We enjoyed the day! Now I think we will always add a cultural day to any trip! Had I known more about the day I would have brought more cash with me. We encountered so many different people all who are so proud of what they do! I wanted to bring home a little of everything they made.
Irene met us again before we headed to the airport. How wonderful to have a personal touch to be sure the trip not only met our expectations but exceeded them. Stephan took this time to call us and check in before the long trip home as well. 5 Stars!!! Will Recommend!

Hotel Reviews

Karatu Simba Lodge

We enjoyed this lodge a lot. It was also clean and friendly and safe. The rooms were very comfortable. Sitting on the deck looking over the hills and farms was beautiful! The meals were buffet style so there was lots of variety and all of it was very tasty!

Authenticity & Character

Location

It was a good balance between getting to the Ngorongoro crater and having out day in teh village of Mto Wa Mbu.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Acacia Central Serengeti Camp

We ended us staying at another Acacia lodge in the Serengeti ..... The Acacia Seronera Luxury Camp was amazing. It was the iconic staying in a tent-cabin in the Serengeti. What fun. We heard lions from our bed the 1st night. That is not something that happens in the USA! The rooms were clean and comfortable. There were plenty of people to escort us to our room in the dark. So, we always felt safe! Mariska took care of us in the restaurant, and she was great! The lodge is doing a big update and from what we saw it will be even more luxury than it was for us!

Authenticity & Character

another classic safari -tent lodge. It was amazing

Location

I mean we are IN the Serengeti. The location can not be any better!

Staff

everyone so friendly. Mariska was a special person.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sanna Boutique Hotel

Arusha

It had an amazing rooftop view, and we were just at the base of Mt. Meru. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. Gofrery in the restaurant talked birds with us and made sure we were always ok! It was a good stay before the long drive to the Serengeti.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Godfry - He was awesome.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sopa Lodge Nakuru

Nairobi

This is a beautiful lodge above Lake Nakuru. The views are incredible. The location is in the park, so our safari began when we woke up with Zebras just nearby. The room was clean and comfortable. Maggie and Mary in the restaurant took amazing care of us!!! They were so friendly! We felt welcome and safe the whole time

Authenticity & Character

Very 'classic' safari lodge. It was everything you woud expect .

Location

It is in the National Park so Safari is just out side the lodge.

Staff

Maggie anfd Mary - AWESOME. Everyone was friendly and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room was large and comfortable. The Lodge its self was beautiful

Skynest Residences by CityBlue

Nairobi

This was an apartment/hotel which I really appreciated. We stayed here twice as we were going in and out of Kenya. The unit had clothes washing machine which was helpful. We did not have to pack for the whole time we were away. The people were all very friendly, the unit was clean and comfortable. The view from the roof of the building was wild. Nairobi is HUGE!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Safari Experience at Ngorongoro

Tanzania

What an amazing place. there is SOOOOOO much to see

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Safari Experience at Serengeti National Park

Tanzania

WOW The Serengeti is Amazing. But we had the BEST gukdes Kaka and Jambo! They made more amazing than it was going to be anyway!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

JAMBO AND KAKA!!!!! YES!

Transport

Evening Game Drive at Lake Nakuru National Park

Kenya

Norman was a amazing guide. Lake Nakuru is beautiful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunrise Boat Cruise on Lake Nakuru

Nakuru

Cliff Lodge Sunrise Boat Safari. This was fun. We were treated to a boat cruise on Lake Nakuru. We were able to cruise the shoreline to find all sorts of different birds, and 100’s of Pelicans and Flamingos. It is an early start, so a delicious breakfast is provided. Milka really knew her birds and what we could expect to see. And the Milka/Suleman team were great together spotting everything!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Milka and Suleman

Transport

Everything went according to schedule. Communication was excellent and all arrangements were according to our expectations. Great selection of accommodation choices and the best guide to drive us to the national parks and explain everything about Tanzanian wildlife.

Hotel Review

Arusha Planet Lodge

Arusha

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Serengeti National Park Game Drives

Serengeti National Park

Serengeti National Park

Serengeti National Park

Ngorongoro Conservancy & Crater Tour

Ngorongoro

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We worked with Stephan to book our Tanzania safari and Zanzibar trip this summer. Kimkim arranged our travels with Truly Swahili. We were traveling with another couple and Stephan smoothly coordinated all of our input. We originally told Stephan what we wanted, he then put together a wonderful itinerary that included all of our wishes. We then fine tuned the itinerary and conveyed this to Stephan. He made the adjustments quickly and expertly. We were very happy with the process and our trip. We had an amazing vacation!

Our local ground team in the mainland (from Truly Swahili) included Irene, the trip coordinator, Kaka our guide, and Simba our driver. Kaka and Simba were an amazing team (we think they are brothers). Every day when they picked us up at the lodge, Kaka would ask each of us our goals and animals we wanted to see for that day. Simba always knew where to go to achieve that goal. Together they always made sure we were in a position to get the best photos and experiences. Kaka would teach us at least three Swahili words or phrases for the day. He always had an energetic smile and wonderful stories about the animals. Simba, the (quieter brother) had an extensive knowledge of the animals and their behaviors. Together they made sure we stayed safe and happy.

Our mainland itinerary included a Rufiji river cruise and a safari in Nyerere, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti, Lake Manyara and Tarangire. We achieved our goals of seeing the "Big 5." We did this in one day in the Ngorongoro Crater. Each park we visited had it's own unique personality, terrain, and variety of animals. We are very happy we did each one of them.

After the safari's, we spent the last couple of days in Zanzibar where we could relax and enjoy the exquisite beauty of the resort. Our Zanzibar guide, Khamis, was an encyclopedia of knowledge of the island in it's culture and history.

All together, we can not recommend Truly Swahili enough! Irene and her team's choices of resorts, lodges, and experiences were amazing! The guides, accommodations and food were always top notch!

Thank you so much Stephan, Irene, Kaka, Simba, and Khamis for making this vacation a trip of a lifetime!

Our recent family trip to Tanzania with kimkim was amazing! From the moment we began to inquire about the adventure to the shaping of the schedule—and questions along the way, we found Melvin and his team to be incredibly responsive and diligent. Upon arrival in Kilimanjaro, we were greeted warmly by Irene and her team, and always felt confident that we were in good hands. Tanzania opened our eyes to just how much the country has to offer—from hiking the lower slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro to discovering giraffes, hippos and lions as we moved through Serengeti national park, and learning about a culture which differs so much from Canada. What made the trip especially fun were our guides—Kaka and Jambo, who were very friendly, knowledgeable, competent, organized and had a wonderful sense of humor. Hoping this is not our last adventure to Tanzania!

Hotel Reviews

Lake Manyara Serena Lodge

Karatu

Mbuzi Mawe Serena Camp

Arusha, Tanzania

Neptune Pwani Beach Resort & Spa Zanzibar

Zanzibar

Arusha Serena Hotel

Arusha

Amazing hotel, very beautiful building and great staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Skynest Residences by CityBlue

Nairobi

The hotel feels very institutional and the food (breakfast) was terrible. Thank goodness we didn't stay there too long.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Day Hike on Mountain Kilimanjaro

Tanzania

Canoeing in Arusha

Tanzania

We didn't do this because of scheduling issues.

The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust - Elephant Orphanage Visit

Nairobi

Encounters with Giants: A Day at the Nairobi Giraffe Centre

Nairobi

Sunset Dhow Cruise in Zanzibar

Tanzania

Would skip this in the future. The crew wasn't that competent and the harbor was not a pretty spot to boat.