BootsnAll Travel Community

Hello, this is my first post here on BootsnAll, so allow me to introduce myself. My name is Byron Hawks, and my wife Sarah and I are planning to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in February. We are having a tough time deciding on a trekking outfitter since there are SO many out there to choose from. We've narrowed are options down to a handful of operators; Roy's, Team Kilimanjaro, Zara, and Tropical Trails. Has anyone had any experience with any of these outfitters? I'd love to hear your opinion. If anyone knows of another good outfitter for trekking Kili, I'm all ears!
Thanks, I'm glad to be a part of your community!

Hi Byron and Sarah,
My boyfriend and I are also looking for an outfitter to climb Kili in Feb. We loved Zara, and had almost decided on them when I read a blog about them pushing so much to reach the top that they were pushing a guy with HACE, until someone from another outfitter interfered and "saved" the guy's life. A little concerning, but I don't really know all the circumstances. We're also looking at Marangu Hotel. Price range about the same as Zara. Africa Travel Resource has a great website, lots of good info, but their trips are a bit expensive. We're not even sure yet which route we want- probably Rongai or Shira. Have you decided on a route? We'll look into the outfitters you mentioned- thanks for the leads.
Kathy and Manuel

Kathy,

Thanks for the info on Zara. I've heard mixed reviews on them myself. I got some information from Destination Tanzania (aka Detasa) today that really made me want to book with them. They only do private tours, which means you get very personalized service on both your trek and safari. They include safety measures like oxygen canisters and hyperbaric bags in their fees without charging extra (like Zara does). I found them to be very responsive and helpful. Their prices are not super cheap but they offer pretty much the same as some of the very expensive outfitters at a much lower cost. Plus you can choose your dates of departure, which is great for us. Their website is www.detasa.com. You should check them out. Good luck with planning your trip!

Byron

Just based on porter treatment I would recommend going with one of the companies on this list:

http://www.hec.org/club/partners.htm

Although I do not see Team Kilimanjaro on this list they do impress me with their program. I went with the Marangu Hotel. I highly recommend them. They know what they are doing and their guides are well versed in dealing with AMS/HACE/HAPE and the owners even hold a pre-climb briefing to detail the symptoms so you can watch each other while on the climb. The hotel has extensive and beautiful grounds. The accommodations are basic but clean. Breakfast and dinner are included and they have a comfortable full bar that serves food if you need lunch or a snack. Its in the Marangu village so you can easily spend a day there exploring before or after your trek. Here’s a few pics of the Marangu:

http://homepage.mac.com/aubrey/PhotoAlbum22.html

Good Luck!

Though I really like what Tusker has to offer, I am leaning more toward Destination Tanzania (detasa). I think with cost comparison Detasa gives you about the same as higher end companies.
The owner took the time a few weeks ago and spoke with me for about an hour over the phone regarding what to expect, costs, etc . . . I told him my fears/reservations and what other companies were offering for the price (which of course he already knew).

Hi Byron and Sarah,

I recently Climbed Mt Kilimanjaro in early Sept 07, and summited on the 6th I was a fantastic experiance.

The Company I used was Lasi Tours they are a no frills company and they looked after us well, I did the 6 night 7 day on Machame route, more chance of success with that extra day.

I corresponded with a guy called Amani he arranged the Kili climb and Safari for me his email address is amanimlay@yahoo.co.uk

you will get value for your money .
Hope this helps
regards
Johnny

Hi

Has anyone come accross a company called Ringo Expeditions run by Adam Ringo.
They sound really good. Professional and ethical.
I'm planning a trip soon and would rather use a local guide than an international corporation. This is partly to do with the bottom line figure but I would also rather see every penny go to the local community rather than some fat cat in the states or europe.

Byron and Sarah,

I suggest you stay away from Zara. I have been on Kilimanjaro at the end of August, and during our week on the mountain, 2 porters from Zara have died from hypothermia. One porter died at Baranco and another one at Karanga Valley. It was a very say day on the mountain; the incident is also reported in the following Ney York Times Magazine article:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2007/10/19/magazine/...ATURE.html?th&emc=th
We met the guy from NYT right before Lava Tower.


There are a lot of companies and guides on Kilimanjaro, but I don’t know how many of those companies care enough for their porters to make sure they are equipped adequately for the trek.
We were extremely lucky b/c we have used IntoAfrica (http://www.intoafrica.co.uk/ ) as our trek operator. Once you book a trip with IntoAfrica you become a member of their family. Initially I thought this was just a marketing slogan, but it turn out to be very true. All folks from IntoAfrica team are amazing people and I trust them with my life. If you could choose, I would ask for Julius as the chief guide. Happy porters, happy guides and happy tourists are all part of a very important chemistry, especially at that altitude. To find out more about our trek please check the following blog.
http://intoafricakili2007.blogspot.com/



Cosmin

hello, for what it's worth, i went with Duma Explorer (http://www.dumaexplorer.com/ - and they have their own blog....random, but fun) and they were great. they treat their porters well (which was a big concern of mine since I had heard horror stories of the porters being too cold or not well fed) and they were tremendously helpful. The founders are a woman from Texas and her husband, who is from Tanzania. We did a lot of research and ended up with them and the trip went great. We did a trekking safari with them after.

I chose to safari with trailmakers Adventure(trailmakersadv@hotmail.com) for three reasons. You were endorsed and recommended by many travellers. You provided a private safari for what others charged for packaged tours with 6-18 strangers. Everything that you did was done professionally.

I was not disappointed in my selection. You chose Stanely as our driver/guide and Moses as our Kilimajaro guide who mades get to Uhuru peak because Dusty is an avid bird-watcher. He was well versed in his bird knowledge and had a keen eye for the most obscure birds. He also seemed to have an excellent insight on just how and where to find any animal on request. I would just mention an animal, like the reticulated giraffe, and he would make a few turns and find one. We saw everything that we hoped to see with one exception. We did not see a Somali ostrich.

We did see a vervet monkey, baboon, black and white colobus, jackal, slender mongoose, spotted hyena, lion, leopard, cheetah, caracal, elephant, plains zebra, Grevy's zebra, white rhino, black rhino, warthog, hippo, masai giraffe, reticulated giraffe, Rothschild's giraffe, wildebeest, hartbeest, topi, impala, Grant's gazelle, Thomson's gazelle, gerenuk, buffalo, bushbuck, oryx, dik-dik, waterbuck, squirrel, mouse, cape hare, agama lizard, and Nile crocodile. Then there were the birds we saw. For that you can ask my wife.

Ben was responsible for more than just driving and showing us the animals. He also had to change flat tires two times and have the grill welded once on his down time. This is not a reflection on the quality of your equipment, but an indication of just how rough it is on the roads and trails in Kenya. The safari van was excellent. A new Nissan with space for eight people that had only 3000 km on the odometer when we started (but much more by the end). And I do hope that insurance paid for the window that was broken when another vehicle knocked a rock into it.

The rough roads and the hawkers trying to sell us bananas and bracelets were a little uncomfortable, but that is part of traveling. This was Kenya, not Disneyland. I appreciate the hardships as much as the incredible beauty. For someone who cannot take the long drives on rough roads I would recommend a flying safari. My wife and I did this when we were young because we knew it was not for sissies.

I took over one-thousand photographs on this trip. I have selected about 160 of them to put on a CD and will send it to Ben.

Short story: Last day of safari in Massai Mara. A group of vans and jeeps is surrounding a ravine. Ben says that there is a lion going after a cheetah. We see a female cheetah walking out of the ravine looking back over her shoulder. The male lion is in the ravine. Ben says that lions kill baby cheetahs. Sad. Later another guide drives out of the ravine with a small bundle in a towel. He drops it in a field behind the cheetah. It makes small chirping sounds. It is a baby cheetah! Mother does not respond. After a while another guide picks it up (again in a towel to avoid scent) and drops it 30-meters in front of the mother. Ben says she may reject the baby. Mother goes over and sniffs the baby. She looks around. She sniffs. She looks. Long 1-2 minute pause. She picks up baby in her mouth and trots away. Tears fill eyes around the field. Happy ending.

Thank you for our happy ending.