Discover Wild Friends.
Rafiki Tembo Tours and Safaris
- Office In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2025)
- Member Of:
- ATTA, IATA, TATO, TTB, TTA, TASOTA, TANAPA & NCA
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $2,081 to $20,814 per person per day (MXN, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Superb
The safari was very comprehensive, the guides were knowledgeable and kind. I was extremely satisfied with the service. The parks we visited were safe and have excellent biodiversity.
(automatic translation from Portuguese)
PT
Email Maria | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
An unforgettable experience. Incredible and very well-organized tours.
I had an absolutely incredible experience with Rafiki Tembo. From the very first contact, the organization demonstrated a high level of professionalism, ensuring that everything ran smoothly and without any worries.
The guides were simply exceptional — always friendly, attentive, and extremely available to answer questions and tailor the experience to our preferences. The passion they show for what they do makes the safari even more special.
Another highlight was the comfort of the vehicles. Very well equipped and thoughtfully designed, they provided us with a safe and comfortable experience throughout the entire journey.
Without a doubt, I recommend Rafiki Tembo to anyone looking for a memorable safari experience. I confidently give them 5 stars!
Email Jami | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A great adventure made possible by a professional, trustworthy team!
QUICK SUMMARY: We loved the tour; we felt we were in excellent hands; the guides and chaperones were exceptional; any hiccups were smoothed over quickly and professionally; the team was very responsive and proactive with communication throughout the entirety of trip. I would definitely book with Rafiki Tembo again.
Before booking, I asked a friend which tour company she used when she went on safari in East Africa 8 years ago. But after searching for the company online, I learned they had since gone out of business. I chose Rafiki Tembo from the listings in SafariBookings based on the positive reviews, the destinations included, and price point. It was a leap of faith, but it turned out to be an excellent choice!
Rafiki allowed my group (3 travelers total) to customize our trip, so we added an extension from the mainland to the island of Zanzibar for the last 3 days. We also chose to arrive in Nairobi from the U.S. a day before our official tour began so that we could visit the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Nursery and the Giraffe Center, both of which are in the Kenyan capital. While we made our own hotel arrangements at the Fairview Hotel for this pre-tour time in Kenya, Rafiki offered to arrange all transportation, from airport pickup to our hotel, and to and from each of our Nairobi destinations. (Shout out to our driver George, who was so sweet and patient!)
After Nairobi, our official safari began with our Kenyan guide Unique Gee, who whisked us away from our hotel to the Great Rift Valley. He was funny and engaging and answered all of our many questions about wildlife and Kenya in general as we made our way through the Maasai Mara National Reserve, Lake Nakuru and Lake Naivasha. He also shot quite a few photos which he shared with us for free. (Thanks Gee!)
We stayed at 2 different Sopa lodges on the Kenyan safari and the accommodations were excellent. Beds were comfortable, views were sweeping, and the food was delicious and abundant with a wide variety of options (it was buffet style). The staff were also very pleasant and helpful. In addition to the game drives, we also did a hippo cruise and walking safari in Naivasha. I recommend both!
For our next stage of the trip, we flew from Nairobi to Arusha, then to the Seronera Airstrip, where we met our guide Deo, who took care of us throughout our Tanzanian safari. Like Unique Gee, he too was amiable and very knowledgeable about the wildlife, land, and people. We really enjoyed getting to know both Unique and Deo, who seemed more like friends showing us around than hired guides.
For our time in the Serengeti, we stayed at the Osero Serengeti Luxury Tented Camp. As the name suggests, we stayed in tents, but it was more "glamping" than camping as they had comfy beds and full ensuite bathrooms. While the food wasn't quite as good as the Sopa lodges, it sufficed. The staff and service was excellent, and we enjoyed chatting with them. Note: wildlife are free to roam through the camp at any time, but we never felt unsafe.
Our drives were longer in the Serengeti because the park is larger than the Maasai Mara, and wildlife is more dispersed. In addition to the larger game, we were able to spot some of the smaller animals, like a klipspringers, colorful lizards, a serval, hyrax, banded mongoose, and more.
After the Serengeti, Deo drove us to the Ngorongoro Crater, where more wildlife and awesome views awaited us. We stayed at the Farm of Dreams Lodge in Karatu, which was very charming. The next day we opted to do a cultural tour of Mto Wa Mbu. Don't miss out on this!
We had the choice between biking and walking, we chose the latter. Rafiki arranged for local guide Abdul to take us to a Maasai boma, a local wood workshop run by members of the Makonde tribe, a community kitchen where we ate some of the best food on the trip, a banana beer bar, and a primary school. Again, be sure to add it to add the cultural tour to your itinerary. (Thank you Abdul for sharing your town with us!)
For the final part of our trip, we flew from Arusha to Zanzibar. Here, we were taken excellent care of by Joshua and Yusuph. The first day we went on a snorkeling trip arranged by Rafiki with Jofari Safari Blue to a sand bar and smaller island. It was great fun! The second day we toured the Hakuna Matata Spice Farm and then did a walking tour of Stone Town. We really loved our time in Zanzibar and wished we could have remained there longer, but we had to get back to the U.S. (Thanks again, Joshua and Yusuph!)
What a fantastic trip! Traveling can be stressful, but we had a lot of peace of mind thanks to Rafiki Tembo. We felt like they had our best interests in mind throughout our time in East Africa. They had so much to coordinate on their end (accommodations, domestic flights, various tours in 2 different countries, guides, drivers, etc.). Even though they are a newer company, they were consummate professionals. They are also good people who you will come to know and love as we did! For real!
Thank you Lowassa and team for everything!
P.S. Rafiki Tembo have the best safari company name. "Rafiki" means "friend" and "Tembo" means "elephant" in Swahili. Elephant Friend! What's better than that?
