Kilimanjaro Tanzanite Safaris (KITASA)

I booked a Kilimanjaro trip with KITASA for university students two years in a row and will do it again. They provided us with a safe, personable, incredible experience. Andrew Marandu organized everything on the ground and our guides and porters were excellent. Joshua Mwakalinga was our lead guide. He is well-respected, very experienced, kind and considerate. It was an honor to be lead by him along with all of the guides and crew members. We did the Machame route 7 days.

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My husband and I booked our honeymoon in Africa. We started in Kenya landing in Nairobi.

Safari
The tour guide, Evanson, picked us up at our hotel to take us to the Masai Mara National Reserve. Because we were driving to the park we were able to see the countryside on our way. The vehicle was very nice, modern and clean. The resort on the reserve was also very nice with a great room that overlooked a watering hole in the distance so we could see the animals from afar. The food was delicious and they had lunch boxes packed for us to take on our safari trip. Evanson was very knowledgeable about the animals and did his best to make sure we got to see as many animals as possible. After our safari in the Masai Mara our guide took us to the Tanzanian boarder to transfer to our safaris in Tanzania. Evanson was really great taking us through the boarder crossing and ensuring the fastest and most efficient way to go through security and customs. He made sure he was with us until meeting our next guide.
MKoni was our safari guide in Tanzania. He was super fun and talkative. You could tell he was very passionate about what he did. He was able to tell as all sorts of things about the country, the people and the animals. We were able to go into one of the Masai villages and meet the tribes people, that was a very neat experience. He answered all our questions and told us so many fin facts about each animal we saw. He took us to the Serengeti, Ngorongoro, and Tarangire National Parks. He was very skilled at driving as it had rained and there was lots of mud. There were lots of vehicles in the parks that were getting stuck but not us, Mkoni knew how to maneuver around and where not to go due to the mud. We also were very lucky and saw the big 5 (Lion, Elephant, Leopard, Water Buffalo, and Rhino) among many other animals. I give this company 5 stars for the safari experience and would recommend them to anyone traveling to Africa.

Mt. Kilimanjaro
After the safari we had our Mt. Kilimanjaro hike. One of the hiking guides met up with us the night before to review what to expect on the trip and to ensure we had everything we needed to successfully make it to the top of the mountain. Fredy (our main guide) reviewed the itinerary with us and answered all our questions. He also looked over the items we were planning on bringing to ensure we did not over or under back. Because this hike was only a small part of our overall trip we decided to rent as much as possible so we did not have to bring everything with us. We were able to rent: Boots, Hiking poles, Rain gear, Ice cleats, Winter jackets, hats, mittens, and sleeping bags. It was very convenient and the gear was decent quality (I would recommend bringing your own hiking boots as breaking new ones in was not so great, I had blisters by the end of the trip understandably).

The next day the crew picked us up from the hotel and we were able to leave our extra bag with the manager of the company while we were on our hike. The crew was really great. We had two guides (Fredy and Temba) that both spoke English. The porters, server and cook were very friendly and spoke some English as well. The tents were very comfortable and the food was great. Hot meals with good variety and lots of tea to keep us warm. We made it to the top with constant encouragement from the guides (if you can be sure to take altitude sickness tablets before you start the hike, they made all the difference to ensure we were able to submit). The hike itself was challenging especially on days 4-6. We did very long hrs and very short resting times (if I had to do it again I would book the 7 or 8 day hike instead so the decent could be broken up a bit more). We were not quite prepared for hiking 16 hrs on the submit day with only a few hrs break to split it up. All in all our Kilimanjaro hike was a trip to remember and we had a great crew to assist us in making it to the top. We climbed the Machame Route.

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My friend and I completed a 6 day Machame route Kilimanjaro hike as well as a 6 day safari (Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorogoro Crater and Lake Manyara parks. It was a good experience.

With regards to the hike, we had two friendly guides who spoke reasonable English. They were very experienced and helped us in our efforts to summit. We were able to complete the hike safely. The food was great and the porters were friendly. We had no qualms with regards to our service. The hike was challenging, and sometimes felt dangerous - but it is a mountain after all. Our guides did the best they could to help us stay comfortable, brief us after each day, and ask if we had any questions. Our tents were comfortable and the sleeping mats provided were good. We had more than enough water and food for each day. We had Dennis and Cavin as our guides.

As for the safari, the Land Cruiser we were in was an older vehicle (>500,000 km). It wasn't the most comfortable ride, but it did the job well. We got to each of our destinations without any problems. Elia, our guide-driver, was an excellent naturalist, tracker, and driver. He was incredibly funny and enjoyable to be around. He knew a lot about nature and had a great appreciation for pork. Our car was probably one of the mid-tier vehicles out there, as there were land rovers and larger wifi-enabled cars, but we had no problems with our safari. 6 days, however, felt long - we could have skipped Lake Manyara (many birds but little else).

Overall, we got a great deal as the price we paid was more than reasonable for the service we got. We achieved all of our goals set out and had a great time. I would not hesitate to recommend this group for a group looking for a no frills hike or safari.

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In 2016, January I visited Tanzania for wildlife safari trip and Kilimanjaro climbing adventure.

Kilimanjaro Tanzanite Safaris Co.Ltd (KITASA) is friendly safari booking market place platform for planning African safari holidays. We got complete tourism reviews and travel tips for booking Tanzania safaris. We liked the safari itineraries which had different budget options according to lodges and safari camps indicated. Travel deal options provided were budget camping safaris, luxury tented camps and lodge safari options.

KITASA used 4 x 4 wheeled safari car Landcruiser and safari guide was professional. Safari guide assisted us in checking in to safari lodges and guided us to spot most African wildlife animal species.

We recommended KITASA safari market place for all your safari booking and many choices which can suit every pocket budget.

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Our online booking turned to be successful and we traveled to Tanzania for 4 x 4 game drive safaris and Mount Kilimanjaro climbing trips. Travel logistic expert from Kilimanjaro Tanzanite Safaris Co.Ltd was helpful during the process of booking and planning Tanzania tours.

Kilimanjaro climbing guides took us through Machame route and we took 6 days from when we began trekking to summit and descend back. All Mountain equipment was proper and porters had good trekking gears.

Wildlife safari tour was carried on through 4 x 4 safari car and safari guide was expert.

Generally service was great and price costs are moderate for our budget. We got quality services value to our money.

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