Lion King Safari Guides
Lion King Adventures
- Offices In:
-
Canada
United States
Switzerland
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Member Of:
- TATO & TTB
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $3,445 to $19,204 per person per day (MXN, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
RO
Email Mario | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Poor
We started planning our safari in Tanzania in September 2025, and from the very beginning, communication was extremely difficult. For almost every question, we had to follow up multiple times just to receive a response.
Eventually, we received the final quotation and paid the deposit. After that, we continued to ask a few additional questions, but unfortunately, even now, one month after the trip... we still haven’t received answers.
During the trip, we also encountered several issues. Some of our accommodation requests were not respected, despite being clearly confirmed via email. Additionally, meals that were listed as included in the offer had to be paid for directly at the hotels.
This is particularly disappointing considering the significant amount of money we paid for this experience. We expected a much higher level of professionalism, communication, and service.
HK
Email ST | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tour itself was great. However booking staff were not particularly attentive
We joined the regular safari stuff with kilimanjaro day hike. The safari process was great for the most part but occasionally the guide would start driving as we were standing on top of the seat for photos- that wasn’t a particularly nice way to get us to hurry up. Other than this I do not have any major issues with the guided safari. The booking staff however really seem to have difficulty in paying attention to our request, with us reiterating twice that we would require a twin room but we were given double bed for some parts of our itinerary. They compensated us for one meal of dinner for that mistake. Overall it’s a decent experience but I wouldn’t call it phenomenal
DE
Email Max | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beauftiful nature, but greedy guide
We had a three night tour from Laka Manyara over Ngorongoro Crater to the Tarangire park. The tour was organized perfectly — we could make some neat adaptions to our tour without any issues (concerning the airport transfer and the accommodations). If you ever plan to do this tour, we would highly recommend the Tarangire Simba Lodge, we had really magical moments there!
However, our guide had a negative impact on our experience there. We know that tipping is expected in these activities and never refused to do so. At the beginning of our tour the guide directly demanded a 120$ tip at the end of the trip. Talking in some way always came back to tips (and why to give even more). Multiple times we were asked how much we would be giving for his alleged wedding.
After the tour we decided to give a tip inside the recommended range by Lion Kind Adventures. Afterwards, the guide send angry text messages to us and even called me on my private phone number. To me, this is a huge no-go and made us feel quite uncomfortable.
Reply from Lion King Adventures
Posted on Nov 7, 2022Everyone at Lion King is deeply embarrassed to learn about our guests’ experience with this Guide. We were not aware of this incident until we read the review and have contacted the guests directly to apologise. All the Lion King Guides know that tipping is our guests' choice. There are no rules about tipping, only guidelines, which are shared with our guests in advance. All our Guides know that they should never ask for (or expect) a tip. The behaviour of this particular Guide is completely unacceptable and appropriate disciplinary action has been taken. The whole Lion King team has worked so hard over the years to build and maintain a very good reputation with high levels of integrity and professionalism. This behaviour does not meet with the standards we expect and our guests deserve. We sincerely hope that it will remain an isolated incident and our sincere apologies once again to our guests.
DE
Email Desiree | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fabulous We just finished a 6-day safari with Lion King Adventures – and honestly, we’re still proce
We just finished a 6-day safari with Lion King Adventures – and honestly, we’re still processing what we experienced.
From the very first moment, everything was perfectly organized, smooth, and professional. But what truly made this trip exceptional was our guide, Haruni.
Haruni is not just a guide – he is the reason this safari became something unforgettable.
His ability to spot animals is simply incredible. We saw an unbelievable variety of wildlife, often in situations that felt almost unreal – from a leopard resting in a tree to large herds of elephants, giraffes passing right next to the car, and even multiple big cats in a single day. It never felt rushed or forced. He always seemed to know where to go, when to wait, and how to position us perfectly without disturbing the animals.
But beyond his skills, what really stood out was him as a person.
Haruni is warm, calm, and genuinely enjoyable to be around. We had so many relaxed and fun conversations during the drives, and even in the evenings – whether sitting together for dinner or around the campfire. He speaks very good German, which made everything even easier and more personal for us.
There was never any pressure, never any stress – just a feeling of being in very good hands.
The entire experience felt natural, unforced, and somehow very “real”. Not like a typical tourist trip, but more like being guided through something special by someone who truly loves what he does.
Lion King Adventures delivered a fantastic safari overall – great planning, beautiful lodges, and a seamless experience from start to finish.
But Haruni made it extraordinary.
If you’re booking with Lion King, ask for him – you’ll understand why.
We would do this again in a heartbeat.
AR
Email HECTOR BARRIOS | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
AN OUTSTANDING TEAM OF GUIDES
To evaluate the service fairly, I believe it’s important to divide the experience into different stages:
Guides and vehicles
Outstanding. David, Yusuf, and Muita, together with their assistants Jacob and Kelvin, were very professional, kind, and attentive.
Always willing to help, with knowledge and experience that turned the safari days into something truly unforgettable.
They were the best part of the trip and more than enough reason to choose the services of Lion King Adventures.
Purchase process – María
Excellent service. Very efficient, smooth, and professional. We exchanged many emails reviewing options and changes, and she always responded quickly and clearly. This part of the experience was very positive.
After-sales service – Rose
Unfortunately, problems arose. I detected a billing error of more than USD 9,000. After several days, I was told it was an “administrative error” and that I still had to pay it. We were 15 people, with flights already issued and only two months before departure, so I had no real alternative. I paid so as not to disappoint my grandchildren and because it was impossible to restart the process with another provider so close to the trip.
I requested a phone number for emergencies, which was provided, but I did not receive adequate responses.
THE COMPANY
After the trip, I had numerous contacts with their CEO, James Mlanga, who impressed me with his professionalism and sincere desire to resolve the issues.
After his intervention, my conclusion is that Lion King is a fully recommendable company.
CA
Email Renee Dielmann Edghill | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good but commnication with the pick up driver at Kilimanjaro airport needs improvement.
Back and forth communication with Lion King before arrival was good. However once our safari started our assigned tour Safari guide, Immanuel, was amazing. He made our safari memorable.
Email Frances Lord | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great communication and well planned trip which allowed us to see everything on our ‘bucket list’.
Communication with Head Office in Arusha was excellent from initial inquiry to arrival in Arusha. Our guide and driver (Deo) was extremely polite and pleasant with a good knowledge of all the animals. He made every effort to allow us to obtain excellent views and photographs of the animals.
Possible lack of knowledge by Deo and unclear communication by the office of the accommodation used by the company in the northern Serengeti led to difficulties in finding one camp but all was resolved by Deo using his initiative and making enquiries.
All in all a great trip with the migration of the wildebeest being our highlight and one that we have raved about since returning home. Would recommend.
Email Haley | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Reliable & Ethical Local Tour Operator
We’ve been on safaris in about 6 other countries. We chose Lion King Adventures because we wanted to travel with a Tanzanian owned and run tour company with Tanzanian staff, not based in some other country with foreigners running the business. While the safari was not cheap, no ethical safari is, we wanted our money to go directly to people in the country—that was our first consideration. Second, was that our tour would be private with only our group of 3 and that our itinerary was fully customizable including what parks we visited, where we stayed, and all the daily activities. Communication with the office staff was thorough, prompt, and friendly, which made the process of planning our trip enjoyable and sending payment online less nerve-racking. The airlines lost our bags and once in country, LKA was super helpful in tracking and bringing our bags to us as soon as they made it to Arusha! Our guide was young and seemed a bit inexperienced when it came to discussing the day’s plan with us ahead of time, so parts of the trip felt rushed and like we didn’t have quite enough time or know what to expect (particularly visiting Olduvai Gorge). He also didn’t volunteer much information unless asked directly. However, he was a safe, ethical driver, friendly, knew a lot about the parks and animals when asked, and was great at showing us different areas of the parks and finding awesome wildlife encounters. If I’m being honest, I’d give LKA 5 stars as a tour company and our particular guide 3.5 stars, as I’ve had guides that were more engaging and more experienced managing our itinerary and preferences in the moment, which is why their overall rating is a 4. Overall, I’m very pleased with our trip and only wish it could’ve been longer—2 or 3 days at each location was simply not enough! Tanzania is an incredible country and having spent a lot of time in southern Africa I was so impressed with the country’s dedication managing the parks ethically from a conservation and tourism perspective and employing & empowering their own people to care for everything. I can only dream about coming back someday. Asante sana, Lion King Adventures! <3
Email Pravin | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Extra ordinary and flowless booking process for our February 2025 Wildebeest Calving Season Safari
This was our 12th Safari and 5th for Tanzania. Initially In March 29th of 2024, I contacted Lion King Adventures for our February 2025 Wildebeest Calving Season Safari and communicated with Mr. Godwin Olais. We new when we wanted to travel, for how many days at each lodges that we wanted to stay and that made it easy with Godwin and he provided with ALL the info that we needed. Believe it or not but by April 2nd (less than 5 days), we were able to nail down our travel program with respective itinerary.
Once the booking was finalized the communication with Lion Kings shifted from Mr. Godwin Olais to Nickson Obedi who was part of the reservation and logistics team. It was the pleasure to work with Godwin and then with Nickson.
Once arrived at Arusha Airport, we were picked up by our Guide and then the journey began.....
One note though: As we have been on to the Safaris a lot more time - Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and Botswana, we have had a very good experience and interacts with different Guides, unfortunately comparing to all of our experiences with all other tours, I would give only 3 Stars to our guide on this trip. I do not recall his name. Please accept my apology if I am spelling his name incorrectly - I think it was Sahiliah. Hardworking, well mannered and well knowledgeable of the Ndutu and Southern Serengeti parks but lacking the force that the guide/driver need on Safari in taking the guests to the sites safe but fast enough. At least half a dozen safari vehicles will overtake us when going to the same location and you miss the better chance to have your safari vehicle at better if not the best spot.
We were lucky to see a lot of lions - seven times, Cheetahs - five times , Elephants - almost every day - nine days and Leopards - 4 times plus all other animals. We had a great time and do not regrate anything as we were in Ndutu area for 9 nights and that is more than enough to see all that one wants to see.
We will be going Tanzania again and will surely see if things could work out with Lion Kings but request a more experience Guide/Driver next time.
Email RG | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent communication before and during safari
We are grateful to lion king adventures for putting together a great safari for us! Their communication was above and beyond. Incredibly responsive both before and during safari. They send clear expectations to help prepare you and work with you to create a safari that works for your budget and wishes. The accommodations and experience were above and beyond. Jackson was a great driver and guide. Incredibly knowledgeable! We were only disappointed that we were unable to see the great migration. We were led to believe in booking communications that if we discuss this wish with our guide while in the Serengeti that it would be able to happen. This was not the case as we were too far from it in the Serengeti. As vegetarians, we were also told that vegetarian options would be available at all accommodations. We were incredibly impressed by the options we had to eat except for our packed lunches. Had we known our driver or we needed to remind the accommodations to pack vegetarian lunches, this would have been easily remedied. We only realized our packed lunches came from our accommodations on the last day. Overall, a wonderful experience, tour operator, and guide. We would recommend them to all of our friends and family.