Tanzania Outdoor Adventures — Local services in Arusha

Tanzania Outdoor Adventures is the absolute best safari company out there. I went on safari and knew I was going to love it but did not know how lucky I was to be with Jombi, the owner, and Josh, one of his top guides. Everyone planning a safari should know that the safari companies are run differently and have different beliefs in how they treat their clients. It is very important to know the facts when choosing who to go with. I learned that many of the safari companies are quite restricted. This means that they are given a certain daily mileage cap to drive around and spot animals -some are as low as 50 kilometers a day. It could take you 20 kilometers to find an animal, coupled with the fact that some of the lodges could be 15k away from where the animals might be that day, and that could use up your daily mileage. It can put pressure on those guides to quickly show you what they can in a limited time and with minimum mileage. There are also some large companies whose guides are not from the area and there is even one company with over 600 vehicles and guides are “fresh off the boat” and not very knowledgeable. Jombi Kivuyo the owner of Tanzania Outdoor Adventures has been guiding people for over 20 years. He was born and raised in a Maasai village in Tanzania before he went abroad as a teenager. He returned to Tanzania to train as a guide and start his own safari company. He speaks 5 languages and knows every nook and cranny of landscape in the country. His knowledge of the animals and their habitats is extensive and not an hour went by when we did not see something spectacular. He also is one of the leading guides for the professional photographers and helped tremendously with camera shots, lighting and knowing where to allow us to get the best shots! He let us tell him what we liked and what we would like to see and managed to do that daily! Josh, one of his amazing guides who we were fortunate to have on our trip, is also native to Tanzania and been a trained guide for over 20 years, and like Jombi he is incredibly knowledgeable of both the animals and the land (and knew every animal and bird type, name, habitat etc… and could mimic any animal sound to get the animals to stop and turn our way. It was incredible) Our trip was 2 weeks and started in a “mobil tent camp” at the Kenya border to watch the great migration at the Mara river. We saw 4 major crossings, and the tents were like staying in the Four Seasons. We continued through the Serengeti , stayed at Kubu Kubu lodge and went to the Ngorongoro crater and stayed at the most amazing lodge on the craters edge and then Ndutu where we stayed at an incredible old lodge that was in the middle of nowhere and had to be my favorite place of all the lodges, and Tarangire where we stayed at the Tarangire elephant lodge – amazing- and every park, lodging and food was just incredible. Jombi and Josh were the ultimate guides and hosts and made sure we enjoyed every minute. We were always safe even when close to the animals; and from the minute we arrived at the airport and were met by Jombi and Josh we were safely taken care of without a worry! The food was fantastic and fresh and the “sundowners” out in the bush watching the sunsets were great! Jombi and Josh were also so fun to be with and we had quite a few laughs! I can only say that if you want the ultimate safari experience choose your safari company carefully and I HIGHLY recommend going with Tanzania...

After years of contemplating and saving -my best friend and I finally went on our dream trip, a Safari in Africa! As two women traveling in a far away country it was important for us to feel we were safe. We have travelled all over the world, so have experience with foreign travel and this was not our first rodeo ;). Jombi and Tanzania Outdoor Adventures was recommended personally by friends, and WOW did we land well! They helped plan our trip, booked our internal flights and helped with our post safari Zanzibar trip. And our long awaited Safari itself was PERFECT! Jombi has so much experience and knowledge, he was kind and we felt, by the end of our safari, that our choice to go with him and Tanzania Outdoor Adventures was the best choice we could have made. While we saw other groups lumbering, we were nimble. It is a private safari always, so we were not in a position where we needed to stay longer or leave sooner than we wanted at any stop. The Land Cruiser was so comfortable, and you spend hours in the car so this is important. Jombi has an incredible eye. Somehow we saw every single animal we hoped to see, and so many more than we imagined. Jombi was like an encyclopedia of knowledge, we were constantly peppering him with questions about the birds, the animals, the country- and received an education along with our incredible visual experience. Jombi knew everyone- our stays at the lodges were smooth and beautiful. We felt safe with Jombi at all times, we felt comfortable, and we had the perfect Safari experience. I cannot recommend Jombi and Tanzania Outdoor Adventures highly enough. We have recommended to friends and family already. At the end of the trip we agreed that Jombi felt like an extra gift, a friend in Tanzania, and that we would want to go back and would ONLY go back with our partners and children if we could book with Tanzania Outdoor...

Trip of a lifetime, experienced guides and staff, incredible views of animals in their habitat, individualized to our needs. We were not limited on time for finding and observing the wildlife with amazing photo opportunities and observation. Breakfast with lion cubs outside the jeep, lions in trees at sunset, the elusive black rhino, leopards and cheetahs in the grass ... but my all-time favorite was stopping on a bridge with no one else around and having the wildebeest migration appear out of nowhere to get water. Thousands and thousands! In addition to our expedition, we attempted to climb Kilimanjaro. Due to a life-threatening altitude experience, I had to be brought to a lower elevation and the staff did an amazing job of knowing what was needed and brining me down to safety. We were fed like queens, had superb accommodations, and the only complaint I have is that I was truly exhausted at the end of every day. I guess that is not a complaint because I still had a smile on my face and beautiful memories in my head. I highly recommend Tanzania...