Our 16 days (Feb 19 -Mar 7, 2023) Kilimanjaro & Safari trip was absolutely amazing and unforgettable. It's one of my best trips. The entire group of 19... read more people made to the top of the Kili including an 81 year old guy Mr. Gary. Kim and her Pristine team was very professional on helping us from planning to finishing the trip. It's super easy and efficient to communicate with Kim. Everything is transparent including tipping amount advised by Kim. The crew members worked hard and dedicatedly. Their goal is "One Team, One Dream". Without their help, our dream of making to the highest stands free peak - Kilimanjaro couldn't become to true. All services were awesome and food was excellent at the Kili trekking. The accommodations of Safari trip couldn't be better. Drivers are very experienced and nice. Everyone was very satisfied with everything. We truly appreciated all their effort and help. We definitely recommend Pristine Trails Adventures & Safaris to our friends and other people.

  Look no further! Book with Pristine Trails! - What an amazing adventure! Kim and the Pristine Trails team helped us plan and execute a trip of a lifetime! We couldn’t be more thankful!

Kim was incredibly... read more knowledgeable, patient, efficient and delightful to partner with as we planned our adventure. Over months of planning, Kim emailed us endless ideas and options. Her patience with all our questions did not go unnoticed and were greatly appreciated.

The climb to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro via the 8-day Lemosho route was a true adventure! Our lead and assistant guides, Francis & Thomas, were relentless advocates for our safety and well-being throughout the trek. Maji Maji!! They were professional, funny, and always had their eye on the mission. Their first priority was safety and second priority was reaching the summit! Our group of four all reached the summit! The porters who supported us were absolutely, the most amazing group of humans! Their smiles warmed our hearts and their constant attention to every detail did not go unnoticed. We couldn’t have had a better team! Team Simba! Please do not choose a company who are not KPAP certified.

Our 5-day safari included time in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Central/Southern Serengeti. We had an outstanding time with our guide, Peter. He was patient with all our questions, relentless in his pursuit of finding us as many animals as possible, and shared highlights of Tanzanian history. His driving skills were top notch. We were lucky enough to see the Big Five and so much more! The lodges recommended by Kim were all amazing. Being nestled within the Serengeti with zebras walking through our camp at night was truly a magical experience! The Miracle Experience balloon ride over the Serengeti followed by a delicious bush breakfast was well worth the additional cost.

Quick safari tip: If using a SLR camera and don’t own a telephoto lens, consider renting. We were lucky enough to see a previous post and rented a 100-400mm telephoto lens, which enabled us to take high resolution, close-ups that would not have been possible otherwise.

As a final stop, we spent 4 days on the east coast of Zanzibar. A few days of total relaxation in complete paradise. If it’s hot & humid we would recommend skipping the Stone Town walking tour but if you do end up in Stone Town, don’t pass up Kim’s recommendation of a rooftop dinner at Emerson on Hurumzi Tea House. It was truly a special way to end our time in Africa.

We are absolutely so grateful to the Pristine Trails team! Shout out to Joel who was our on the ground contact and always available via WhatsApp! Kim is an absolute master at crafting an African vacation! You cannot go wrong with Pristine Trails. Don’t hesitate! No need to look any further. Book now!

  16 day safari was awesome! - This was my 3rd safari to Tanzania. I was happy with the other operators and sent requests to them and a few I had not used.

Since I... read more had already been on safari 2 times, I knew what areas and camps I wanted to stay at.

I really clicked with Kim! She actually listened to what I wanted. This is not always the case.
She suggested staying at Gibbs Farm which I had not considered. Am I glad we stayed there! The grounds and accommodation are spectacular!

One camp would be closed for renovations. She suggested Sanctuary camp on the crater. It is very close to where you have to check in to descend to the crater floor. Sanctuary was a very nice camp.
For the rest of the safari we stayed at the Lemala Camps which are excellent.

Our guide Laurent turned out to be the best guide I have had on my 3 safaris. My previous guides were very good, but Laurent is brilliant! Besides being a very good and careful driver, he’s was excellent at spotting wildlife and able to predict their next moves.
Laurent set up a table, chairs under the safari vehicle awning for our lunches.
Oh my, the lunch he arranged for the first park was awesome. We really had good variety.
He was able to answer my safari partner questions on a wide range of subjects.

I wholeheartedly recommend Pristine Trails and Adventures with Laurent as your guide.

  A memorable safari trip! - I want to take this opportunity to thank Pristine Trails team for providing us a memorable African safari trip!
We booked our March 2023 trip pretty early (in... read more March 2022), about a year ahead. Due to more and more people being referred and added to our group, we had the concern on one safari jeep holding over 6 people, the communication with Kim was pretty smooth, she acknowledged our concerns and eventually provided us one more jeep to make sure all of us have a comfortable vehicle for the safari.
I also want to thank our driver and guide Savil who provided an excellent services through out our 8-days safari trip! He is very knowledgeable on locating the wild animals, never tired of answering all kinds of questions we had during the trip. He is also super good on driving the jeep on dirty and muddy roads, the entire time in his jeep was a comfortable ride!

  Summit Kilimanjaro - WE SUMMATED KILIMANJARO, Yes, we are a group of 19 friends including a 81 years old who summited Kilimanjaro successfully. This would not become a reality without the support and... read more guidance from Pristine Trails, Adventures and Safari. From the guides to the porters, they are all very professional, supportive, and super caring. They really took a good care of each one of us, making sure we were in good spirit and health, from early morning hot coffee in the tent, healthy and yummy food, to warm water to wash at the tent, ginger tea at breaks, daily check on blood oxygen level and appetite. The hard summit night their songs kept us awake and going. They are the giants who shouldered us to the top. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

  Most Magical Kilimanjaro Trip - What do I think about the trip? Oh, how do I start?
For me, this is the most tough, challenging, luxurious, unforgettable, satisfying, reviving and perfect journey.
Your... read more pre-trip support and responses were great, and the teams at Kili are perfect in every aspect.
I honestly cannot think of specific feedback right now, except to say that we are very much touched, and
the thing I felt was that the help we received was so genuine, simply straight from the heart.
And in so many ways, the services and help we got far exceeded my expectations.
I think I will be back. (in 20 years.)

  After contacting multiple other companies, we finally settled on Pristine Trails and we are so glad we did! From my first contact with Kim to our last moment before... read more boarding our plane to leave Tanzania, I felt that someone was always listening to us and making sure we were happy. I appreciated her candid information about various lodging choices and the pre-trip page that she provides makes planning your trip so easy.

Once we were on the trip, from the moment we walked out of the airport, for the next 12 days, we were so well cared for. Even when there was a snafu with one of our lodging places, it was handled behind the scenes without any effort from us.

Tumaini, our guide, was the bomb! He knew where the animals were, what they were doing, when they were doing it, and why. He rarely was on the radio meaning we had so many encounters that were exclusively ours. Somehow he managed to get our vehicle clean each night (a herculean feat), always had the perfect spot for lunch without a crowd, and took excellent care of us, even when I didn't feel 100% one day. He loaned me some books for the duration of our trip and then jokingly quizzed me each day on the animals we saw. We had so many wonderful conversations with him about family, life, etc. and we felt as if we were saying goodbye to a dear friend by the end.

I cannot imagine booking a safari with any other company. Just do it, you won't be sorry!

  Pristine Trails Rocks - My son and I recently return from a couple weeks in Tanzania. While there we hiked Mt. Kilimanjaro, Lemosho 8 day route, and went on a week safari including 3... read more parks to follow the great migration. I can not say enough about Pristine Trails.I researched a number of companies, and boy are there a lot of choices out there for hiking the mountain. I was looking for one that could plan the whole trip, rather than piecemeal and after speaking with Kim I was confident Pristine was the company to help us with this trip of a lifetime. She was great, helpful, patient, responsive and she really seemed to care about what I was seeking and making sure this trip was everything we wanted and more. This feeling of caring became a consistent thread with every single person working for Pristine, to Joel the Office manger to Yaky, (Christopher Robin) Passat, (Tigger) and Edei (Pooh Bear) our mountiain guides, to Juma, Sampson, Chef and all the amazing porters (strong men) that we could not have submitted safely without, 24 people for 6 climbers! It was clear it was more than just a job for them, they cared about us, connected with us, and loved the mountain, I also chose Pristine because they are KPAP certified which was super important to us as well. I could also tell that some were working hard to move up, learning English, volunteering for the extra work of summit night, and would not be surprised to know they have grown in their roles and responsibilities in the future. The pride in what they do shone through. We cannot thank them enough for their attention to detail whether it was listening to feedback, making sure we were healthy, making things fun, serving a variety of delicious nutritious food, even high up the mountain, making sure our accommodations were always ready when we entered camp, hot tea, coffee etc. fresh water etc.always as the ready, taking photos that we could not and sharing them after, celebrating with us when we made it back to the gate and generally making this once in a lifetime experience truly incredible. After our hike, and one night at the hotel we seemlessly started our safari with the best safari guide we could hope for, Sadat. He arrived promptly and was ready to go, work hard and show us everything, yet he always made sure we knew this was our adventure and he was open to adjust things as we needed. (We were still a bit tired after the hike) He took us to three places, Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti. Kim had booked us some amazing Tented lodges (luxury tents) and a great itinerary. He was a friendly, knowledgeable guide. He knew the different areas as if they were his own town. I was amazed at how well he knew where we were at all times, and smoothly made sure we saw the great 5 multiple times, and always found the best vantage points. He also was very aware of making sure other guides/tourists had access by not positioning himself in such a way that prevented others from seeing things. His driving skills amazed us more than once, and he clearly really wanted us to have the best Safari possible. He always arrived in the morning with a freshly cleaned safari vehicle, no easy task with its size and the weather, and a smile. We learned so much from him and became friends along the way. From beginning to end, we were in great hands with Pristine Trails and every person associated with this company. I have already shared their information with anyone who has mentioned a possible interest in a trip to Tanzania and I truly can’t say enough about them. 6 out of 5 stars! Asante Sana!

  3 weeks in Tanzania with kids! - Our 3 week trip included 2 days in Moshi before safari, 7 days on safari and the remaining days on Pemba Island, then ending with a couple of days in... read more Stone Town, Zanzibar. Our group included 4 adults and 4 kids (Ages: 15, 12, 10, 10).

Our guides, Sadaati and Savio were the best. They were so personable, friendly and go with with flow. We felt like we made 2 new friends by the end. They were also so great with the kids and accommodating. 

Every day on safari, we were so amazed by the experience that we had that we decided that it couldn’t get any better than that day, then the next day something even more amazing happened! 

The flow and timing of the locations, lodge selections and length of the trip were all perfect. We loved the lodges, especially the tented camps. We started at Tarangire, then Serengeti, ending at Ngorongoro Crater. This flow and order of places was perfect. Our favorite place to stay was Nyumbani Collection tented camp in Serengeti, because of its remoteness, wild surroundings and extremely friendly staff. We felt like we were getting an authentic African experience.

The kids did really well with the pace and activities and any times we needed to adjust, our guides were more than accommodating and extremely helpful. I recommend bringing plenty of snacks, and a few activities that they can do during the long car rides while on Safari and transfers.

If I were to give any negative feedback, and this wasn’t particularly negative, maybe just our least favorite experience was the Massai village tour. We loved the dancing/singing experience, but after that the experience felt very very pushy and “salesy”. It became so much that it was uncomfortable at times. If they need money, I would rather have a donation rather than high pressure sales to buy things there that were incredibly over-priced and again at the school. I understand that they are just wanting to make a living, but I would rather them ask for a donation or have a set price to have the tour instead.

Our 5 days on Pemba island were the perfect way to end our itinerary with relaxation, beautiful beaches and a less touristy place to enjoy the blue waters and white sand than we found on Zanzibar.

2 days in Stone Town Zanzibar was a good amount to see the unique culture and history there.

  Incredible Kilimanjaro Climb - Pristine Trails and the whole team were incredible! Thank you to Kim, Mary, Yahya, Eedi and the whole team for absolutely everything! We successfully summited Kilimanjaro, doing the Machame route.... read more Everything was perfect. The whole experience was wonderful, everyone was so kind and giving. The food on the trek was absolutely delicious and top class. Everything we needed was supplied and then some. Our guides on the mountain were so knowledgable and giving of themselves. The team of porters were so kind and so strong!! We absolutely could not have done the climb without them. Kim from Pristine helped us with everything we needed and was committed to assisting to have the best experience we could have. Thank you to Mary for also helping us with everything on the ground in Moshi. Overall I would rate Pristine 1000/10. Would recommend them to everyone thinking about going to climb Kilimanjaro.

  Best way to summit Kilimanjaro and go on safari - Pristine is an incredible organisation if you're looking to climb Kilimanjaro or go on safari. We had the best time thanks to Prinstine's knowledgeable and hard-working staff, guides and porters.... read more They were all so friendly, committed and did whatever it took to ensure we had a safe and enjoyable trek and that we summitted. I rate Pristine 100% and would absolutely recommend them to anyone and everyone. Also, their online pre-trip preparation page is extremely useful, easy and makes planning your climb easy. They also treat their porters and staff well, which was very important for us.

  Pristine Trails made this trip easy - Just got back from a 5 day safari in Tanzania and 3 days in Zanzibar. The whole Pristine Trails team was amazing. Kim worked with us to customize our trip... read more and accommodate 2 kids who get motion sickness. Our guide Laurent was amazing too - super knowledgable about the animals and the parks and great with the kids. Highly recommend Pristine Trails!

  I recently completed a 7-day trek to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro with Pristine Trails, and I cannot recommend Pristine Trails and its guides enough. Our trek leader, Francis, and... read more our assistant guide, Juma, were exceptional and truly made the experience one to remember. From the very beginning, they put our safety as their top priority and went above and beyond to make sure we were well taken care of.

Francis and Juma were knowledgeable, experienced, and truly passionate about the trek. They were always available to answer any questions or concerns we had and provided us with constant encouragement and support throughout the journey. Despite the challenges of the summit climb, Francis and Juma kept us motivated and made the experience enjoyable.

From the organization of the trek to the quality of rental equipment provided, everything that Pristine Trails did was top-notch. I was thoroughly impressed by their attention to detail and their commitment to providing an unforgettable experience.

I would highly recommend Pristine Trails to anyone looking to conquer the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

  TLDR: Pristine Trails went above and beyond for our group. We had a truly phenomenal experience and can’t thank the team enough for making it a reality. Despite one of... read more our group members experiencing severe altitude sickness, our guides, particularly Francis and Juma, ensured our group’s safety on the mountain and upon our return to Moshi. Thank you to Kim, Joel, Francis, Juma, and the rest of the team for helping us reach the top. One team, one dream.

Pre-Trip Planning:
We decided that we wanted to hike Kilimanjaro because we were spending an extended period of time in the region and we were excited by the challenge of climbing Africa’s highest point. We only booked the trek ~3 months in advance, but the Pristine Trails team was able to find a date that worked with our schedule.

We selected Pristine Trails because a mutual friend with significant travel experience recommended them. She had returned from climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro with Pristine Trails at the end of December. We did some comparison shopping and were satisfied with the price, safety, and experience offered by Pristine Trails. We worked with Pristine Trails to select a trip that maximized our chance of reaching the summit, while not becoming prohibitively expensive. We ultimately decided to book the 7-day Machame route, which was perfect for us.

One of the biggest benefits of working with Pristine Trails was access to Kim Krowne, our liaison with the company. Kim was truly phenomenal. We must have emailed her with 100+ questions and she always responded quickly and thoroughly. Kim is based in the United States and made us feel prepared before our departure.

Pre-Departure Experience:
We visited Nairobi prior to our arrival in Tanzania. We decided to take the Riverside Shuttle from Nairobi to Moshi. We arrived in Moshi and checked in to Kilimanjaro Wonders Hotel, the hotel booked and organized by Pristine Trails. The day prior to our trip departure, Francis (Lead Guide) and Juma (Assistant Guide) met us in our hotel for a trip briefing and to do a gear check. Pristine Trails brought all of our rentals to the hotel and we tried them on to ensure they would work for us. The rentals were high quality and saved us from bringing unnecessary attire to Africa (e.g., winter jackets). After meeting with Francis and Juma, we felt much more prepared for our journey.

Trekking :
I’ll do my best to keep this brief. The first 5 days of our hike were relatively easy. We hiked between 4-5 hours per day and gained an average of ~800m. We were fortunate enough to have tremendous weather and light crowds throughout our trip. It only rained very briefly during our descent and we hiked free of other tourists until summit night.

The scenery throughout the trip was fantastic. We hiked through rainforests, deserts, and snow-capped mountains. Every day felt like we were part of the Fellowship taking the ring to Mordor. The food, company, camaraderie, and experience were fantastic. Thanks to Francis and Juma for creating such a fun environment for us.

Summit night was tough. We started hiking at 11 pm and reached Stella Point the next morning at ~7:30 am. We moved tremendously slowly because one member of our group needed to acclimatize to the altitude. Ultimately, three out of the four of us reached Uhuru Peak. It was an extremely rewarding experience. Unfortunately, the fourth member of our group needed support getting down the mountain. The entire Pristine Trails team stepped into action to help. Cijali, Usman, Omari, and many others went above and beyond to make sure he was alright. They managed to carry him down the mountain and to a safe altitude by the end of the day. Thank you to everyone for your help.

Post-Hike and Departure:
The day after we returned from our hike we met up with the team at the Pristine Trails office. We popped champagne, celebrated with everyone, and distributed tips to each team member for their outstanding work. The Pristine Trails team organized all of our transportation around Moshi, as well as to the airport. They even scheduled a dinner for us and took us to a local store to buy soccer jerseys from the local Tanzanian team.

Where Pristine Trails truly shined was in their commitment to safety. Upon returning to Moshi, one member of our group continued to experience symptoms of altitude sickness. Joel (Pristine Trails owner) and Francis were in close contact with us and ultimately decided to bring our friend to the hospital to ensure it was safe to fly. He was treated quickly and was deemed safe to fly. We can’t thank them enough for their help in this regard.

In conclusion: Book with Pristine Trails. Ask for Francis and Juma. Have an amazing experience. You won’t regret it.

  We love Pristine Trails! Kim was super helpful and accommodating during the planning phase. She helped us customize our trip to the perfect safari experience. Peter our driver was... read more the best, he was super knowledgeable, very friendly and has hilarious stories for years of being a safari guide. Every part of our 5 day honeymoon safari was perfect form the accommodations to the meals etc. We will 100% be going on another adventure with Pristine Trails hopefully sooner than later. I could not recommend them enough!