Kandoo Adventures Reviews 1,195

I went on Lemosho route with Kandoo and it was an absolutely fantastic experience. Our lead guide (Abraham) was excellent - very calm and knowledgeable and commanded a lot of respect on the mountain from other guides (always a good sign!). The rest of the guide team (Joffrey, Innocent and James) were incredible - very positive, encouraging and highly knowledgeable. The food (cooked by head chef James) and service (led by Nelson and Lucas) was excellent throughout, it really felt like a 5 star hotel on the mountain. I was a bit nervous before the trip but quickly realised I was travelling with an extremely strong team meaning I could relax and focus on the walk.

The best team for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, 8 day Lemosho route +4 day safari with Kandoo we could ever ask for- they made our experience 1000 times better than we thought it could ever be!! Starting with the guides who were so special in so many different ways: Making you laugh and smile from the endless jokes start to finish of the day, offering to take any weight or your bag to make your walk that little easier, to making you feel safe and relaxed if you started to feel unwell. Ewald (Puergo) especially maintained a lovely ‘pole pole’ pace that ensured we acclimatised steadily, always offering endless help and care. Calvin always being calm and composed by your side especially up the edge of Barranco Wall- all guides offering hands to help aid your climb!

Robert was a truly amazing lead guide, making himself so warm and welcoming to approach for anything you wished. It was clear he had a strong understanding of the different stages and signs of altitude sickness, giving correct and sensible advice and decisions to every one of us who sometimes felt unwell! Each of the guides ability to communicate and help was outstanding through their strong English and kind caring personality’s! Each guide presented themselves as fun, bubbly and had a positive attitude which was littered throughout the group! Laddy’s (Dismas) - endless funny entertainment and motivation kept the group laughing non stop- his famous quotes- “It’s just around the corner”, “Fresh as a cucumber” made a smile appear on everyone’s face every time it was said!

The 27 porters that transported our food, luggage, tents etc were outstanding in every way possible! They were kind, friendly, funny and hardworking! I would like to thank every single Porter for what they did on our trip, but special mentions to the Porter who was in charge of the toilet, the porters who welcomed us to our tents everyday that had our correct bags in each tent all ready for us, Marine our wonderful food waiter and Davide the water man who ensured we had clean fresh water! I would like to mention a Porter called Daudi Mbawala who walked back to our group once he had set the tents up to offer to carry any bags every single day out of his own will to do so-he was hugely loved by the group and was selected to be a Porter to come with us to the summit in which was his first time in doing so. He was so kind, helpful and trust worthy, making us feel as if we had another guide beside us! Finally Julius, the cook, made every meal time so enjoyable from the excellent food that he prepared for us- never did we think we would have chicken and chips half way up a mountain!
We were treated to a different variety of warm soup each meal time in which the group adored! We were even surprised to a congratulatory cake on our last day that was made on the mountain!!!
The warm welcoming and leaving singing ceremony were highlights in our trip, we never wanted the singing and dancing to stop.

Lastly, our holiday was completed with our safari guide Toni who was so experienced and passionate about the environment and wildlife, it was a dream being in his safari car listening and watching the animals! My Mum and I can’t thank all the staff enough that has made this holiday an unforgettable experience, one that we would do all over again if we could!!

We would 100% use Kandoo again in the future and would recommend to anyone that is thinking about doing an adventure like this to use Kandoo as we can’t fault a single thing in the last 3 weeks!!

Charlotte & Alison

Mt.Kilimanjaro 8-Day Lemosho Route with 4-Day Safari

I would give Kandoo ten starts if it were possible! From gathering information to booking the trip, Shelley in the office was absolutely fantastic! Very quick to respond and answer all questions.

The trek itself was magnificent! Our guides (Robert, Ladi, Edward, and Kelvin) we’re attentive, kind, hilarious, and obviously very experienced. They were so patient with our group as we did have a slower pace than average. They were able to make adjustments to schedule to accommodate everyone to ensure a successful and enjoyable summit. Ladi helped my mom reach the summit and I will be forever greatfull to him. The porters were amazing, always helpful and smiling and it was great getting to know them on the trip. The food was OUTSTANDING! Our chef, Mamba, was constantly surprising us with the amazing meals he would cook us on the mountain.

The safari after the summit was the perfect way to relax before returning home. Our guide Tony was so passionate about the wildlife and conservation. He took the time to educate us on the wildlife we seeing rather than just drive us through the parks. He was a wonderful guide and it is obvious how much he loves his job.

Thank you Kandoo, we can’t wait to travel with you again! #TeamMuungano

Don’t hesitate to use Kandoo travel. Superb value for money and amazing local knowledge provided by all your guides.

My 1st trip with Kandoo, Everest base camp. I was pleasantly surprised they had everything covered, I very quickly realised they knew exactly what they were doing and I could relax and concentrate on having a great experience with my 2 sons.
It was hard work, but you don't get to enjoy places like this without some effort, the guides and porters where 1st class, they just became part of our group, provided endless knowledge, encouragement, controlling the pace and looking after us.
Completing daily health checks and yet finding time for some card games and stories in the evenings. Also plenty of opportunity for some privacy if wanted.
Right to the very end they made sure everything was taken care of and even making some adjustments to travel when possible to get us back to Kathmandu hotel a night early due to some disruption caused by the Everest marathon.
I can honestly say, you can relax and let these guys take care of things.

Hi Shelley
Thank you for all of your help in organising our Yawar Inka hotel and Inca Trail trek.

Everything went superbly without one hitch, which is testimony to you, your company and your team.

Yawar Inka is a lovely hotel and great value for money. The rooms are clean and spacious and well maintained daily.

On the trek our guide Alex Curi was absolutely outstanding.
His local knowledge, spoken English, humour and personality made our experience unforgettable, and the way he calmly led his team and group was excellent.

The Kandoo porters and chef were always professional, calm and respectful, especially to the ladies on our trek, and the quality of the food the Chef prepared was mind blowing!
How he created such wonderful meals on a gas burner, in a tent, on the side of a mountain, is beyond me!

We will complete the online survey you sent but also wanted to acknowledge the wonderful team and experience Kandoo organised for us

Best regards
Glenn and Patricia Dobson

Great company, customer focus. Professionalism and superb quality control. Everything worked perfectly.

Our guide and porters for the actual trek to Annapurna Base Camp were everything I'd every heard about the people of Nepal. Always happy, always positive, always willing to share stories about their early lives in remote villages and about our questions about the culture.
I had never heard of Kandoo - a friend organized the trip - and would strongly encourage anyone to use your organization because of what I experienced.
Side note - there were others we engaged with too as part of the team - the airport meeter and organizer at the hotel. So many good touch points to make things easy.
Well done.

Excellent experience in Bhutan. What a country and what a team at Kandoo to make us experience both the mountains and urban life in Bhutan. It was exceptional.

I celebrated my 40th birthday with the local Kandoo team and they were extremely generous, hosting an unforgettable party for me with local dances, bonfire and dinner.

The Druk Path hike was exceptional too and the guide and support team extremely kind and patient.

I’m leaving Bhutan with unforgettable experiences all thanks to the Kandoo team.

Chhesang our Nepali guide was incredible!

Just returning from completing the Inca Trail in Peru with an add on trip to Lake Titicaca. Simply amazing. On the Inca Trail our most excellent guide José was enthusiastic, supportive and knowledgeable. The team of porters were fantastic setting up camp before our arrival and our chef was talented, producing delicious food for us all. In Lake Titicaca we were looked after by Elmer, and we enjoyed a homestay on Tanquile island, providing an insight to life there. Peru was great, welcoming and friendly and we were very happy to wander around Cuzco in our spare time exploring. Thank you Kandoo!

Excellent company with the best local teams. We did the Inca trail to Machu Picchu with the lovely Jose as our guide, who was excellent and encouraged us all the way, the porters worked very hard and always with a smile and the chef produced fantastic Peruvian meals. We extended our visit to Lake Titicaca visiting the floating islands at Uros and a home stay on Tanquile island. Here we were looked after by our guide Elmer and a local family who made the experience very welcoming and special
Would recommend this trip to everybody, Peru is a great place to visit and we felt very safe throughout.

Very hospitable.
Great local knowledge from our guide.
Amazing food.

Kandoo were extremely helpful and elevated our experience of summing Mount Kilimanjaro. The team of porters, guides and chefs who helped us on our climb were the kindest, helpful and welcoming team we could have ever wished for. They were genuinely perfect and could not fault them on anything.

The admin team were also super helpful and offered advice for our trip, regarding visas and transits.

Thank you very much Kandoo for helping us summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro!

I had the best time with Kandoo at the 8-day Lemosho route trek + 4 day safari. We had amazing guides: August, Scuba, Meshak & Nico and incredible porters and of course we loved Jouvenal (waiter) + August (cook)! All of them made this journey unforgettable.

The safari afterwards was the best way to relax. Toni and Godwyn were the absolut best. Wouldn't want to go on safari with anyone else. We saw the Big 5 and so many more animals.

100% recommend!

Had a wonderful time on the Annapurna circuit trek with Kandoo. Our guide, Phurpu, and porter, Dharchee, were amazing and went over and above every day to ensure we enjoyed the trek and stayed safe. The most incredible landscapes I have ever seen, unique teahouses run by brilliant people and delicious food. Truly an experience of a lifetime.

Went with Kandoo for a Kilimanjaro climb via the Machame route followed by a 4-day safari and it is easily one of the best decisions made.

Andrew Mathias is a fantastic lead guide who led his team well. He was always relaxed and encouraged the climbers perfectly. The climbers were well supported as Andrew and the awesome team of guides consisting of Kotlibu, Invo and James ensured our safety and made sure we were in the best possible condition throughout the climb and descent. The entire group of 10 managed to summit Kilimanjaro thanks to Andrew and his team.

Of course, the whole crew provided excellent support to help us summit as well. David Mtunguja was instrumental in making sure that the group was well fed with delicious food so that we are in the best condition to summit. And Ewald and Innocent made sure that the sleeping and toilet tents were in pristine condition. We really felt like we were part of a family with the crew who warmly welcomed us and celebrated each moment with us.

For the Safari experience, Tony was a fountain of knowledge and his sharp eyes ensured that we managed to see the Big 5 and many other animals as well. The safari vehicle was also extremely comfortable.

Our Kilimanjaro trip with Kandoo Adventures was nothing short of amazing. From the incredibly caring and professional guides, to the amazing cook and porters — everyone on the team went above and beyond to ensure we felt comfortable and safe the entire time (and all 10 in our group made it to the summit!)

Not to mention how much fun the trip was, thanks to the constant positive and high energy from the Kandoo team.

Guides:

Our team of guides were very professional, caring and a lot of fun.

Our lead guide Andrew was amazing. From the first time meeting him he made sure we felt comfortable and in great hands for the adventure of a lifetime. Our group had a mix of English and French speaking people, and Andrew was able to communicate extremely well in both languages — always making sure everyone understood what was to be expected.

Andrew did health checks with us every evening and debriefed us for the day ahead. He would cover what to expect for the next day, how to pack and what to wear. He was extremely patient with our questions, and went above and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed for a successful climb.

It was always very clear that our health was THE top priority for the entirety of the trip, and Andrew kept note of how each and every one of us was feeling day to day.

Our assistant guides — Kotilib, James and Invocavithey also did everything they could to ensure our safety, well being and enjoyment. On every hike they were always many steps ahead of where they needed to be to best support the group. They kept out energy and spirits high on some of the toughest days, and were able to answer any questions we had along the way.

Cook & Food:

I had no idea it was possible to eat so well on top of a mountain. Our cook David was incredibly talented, and the thought that went into every meal was very appreciated. He made sure to plan meals that we would be excited to eat (when our appetite was not at its highest) — from oatmeal and crepes for breakfast, to pizza and French fries, fried chicken, pasta and stews for lunch and dinner, we were definitely well fed! He also made us a traditional dish — Ugali — and baked a cake after our summit.

Our waiter Eric also took great care of us, always thinking one step ahead of what we needed.

Porters:

Our team of porters were so strong and capable, there was never a moment we were unsure our belongings would make it to the next camp. Our porters greeted us with song and dance after our challenging days, filtered water every morning for our trek, cleaned our shoes after each trek and were always in the highest of spirits.

Kandoo partners with KPAP, so knowing the porters were treated well and fair was also reassuring and respected.

Accommodation:

At the end of every hike when we would arrive at camp, our tents, the (always clean) washroom and our “dining room” would be set up for us. There would be hot drinks and snacks waiting for us after we washed up and set up our rooms for the night. Innocent took great care of our washroom, Ewald and the rest of the tent crew always had eyes on what we might need for our tents. If it started to rain or get windy, the team made sure our belongings were safe.

I couldn’t recommend Kandoo and any one of the amazing team members we had the pleasure of adventuring with more.

I have nothing but praise for Kandoo Adventures and the incredible team of guides and porters who made my recent ascent of Kilimanjaro possible!

Our guides Andrew, Wendelin, and Kotlibu were incredibly professional and knowledgeable. As we ascended the mountain they kept a close eye on everyone in the group and ensured our ascent was "pole pole". Along the way they often told us about local plants, wildlife, history, and about life in the area. Collectively, the whole team on the mountain couldn't do more to support our ascent and make the trip as comfortable as possible for the group - from daily briefings and health checks, to cooking up excellent meals, to providing first aid, field-repairing broken trekking poles and dusting off boots when we arrived at camp. They really are an incredible bunch of people and I'm so thankful to have had their support!

Based on my experience on this trip, Kandoo Adventures will definitely be my first choice for my next adventure!

Amazing trip with Kandoo Adventures. My partner and I did the northern circuit route up Kilimanjaro. Not the cheapest or quickest, but we wanted an extra day to maximise our chance at reaching the summit. Really well organised. Our lead guide Andrew was amazing - relaxed but really organised behind the scenes. Medical checks twice a day were taken seriously, but he knew when just to reassure and encourage. Assistant guides Wendelin and Kotlibu were really friendly and supportive. The food was really great, especially given it was prepared up a mountain - thanks Richard! The porters were all super friendly whenever they passed us (which they did regularly and quickly!) All 7 in our group reached the top and all agreed we would use Kandoo again in the future. Thanks for a awesome experience.