Your experience in Tanzania will depend on the quality of the tour operator you choose. Your tour operator selects guides, organizes safaris, makes reservations with partner hotels, completes airport transfers and pays for entrance to national parks. For Kilimanjaro climbs, the organizing company is also responsible for tents, oxygen tanks and safety, food supplies and hygiene, mountain crews and other important aspects of the trip.
Choosing a tour company truly determines if your trip will be incredible and memorable (for all the right reasons), or a major disappointment and a terrible experience.
Today, there are more than three hundred tour operators in Tanzania.It can be difficult to choose the right one. Why is Altezza Travel different from other companies? And why should you trust us to organize an amazing travel experience in Tanzania? Keep reading to learn why.
Established Reputation
Altezza Travel has been operating in Tanzania since 2014. We have grown from a small travel company with just five employees in the team to one of the largest tour operators in the country in less than a decade. In 2019, we had already become the largest employer in Tanzania’s tourism industry! Today, nearly 50 people work in our office, about 100 in our hotels, and around 1,500 are employed for climbing expeditions.
We have earned our reputation over this short time frame by providing the safest Mount Kilimanjaro climbs to our clients. We are trusted internationally to lead special expeditions, such as the first base jump off Kilimanjaro and every year we organize special climbs or expeditions. Celebrities and famous athletes - including Sergey Ryazansky, National Geographic staff (such as Nika Lebanidze), World Record-Holder Angela Vorobeva and the Red Bull Team chose Altezza for their Kilimanjaro climbs.
Our second-highest priority is guests’ comfort; we put hard work into every aspect of a safari and Kilimanjaro climb to ensure guests are treated with the best equipment, wonderful accommodations or tents, delicious meals and the most experienced guides.
Travel reviews about Altezza Travel can be read on our TripAdvisor page.
We are trusted by "Red Bull", "Wings of Kilimanjaro", "Seven Summits Club" and the top 10 international travel agencies to lead their expeditions. Altezza Travel makes every sixth expedition to Kilimanjaro.
Altezza Travel is often chosen for Tanzania travels for the following reasons
An experienced team
Altezza Travel employs the most competent and experienced staff in Tanzania. We can guarantee that no one will show you Tanzania better than Altezza guides.
How do we know?
First, every single team member for our Kilimanjaro climbs and safari staff undergo strict training at our base in Moshi, Tanzania. Here, they learn first-hand from the top guides to gain intimate knowledge about the field and mountain. Everything that our experts will tell you about Tanzania, they have seen and experienced personally.
You can read more about our team here.
Altezza has been repeatedly entrusted with organizing ascents for celebrities and famous businessmen.
Secondly, since our Altezza Travel team is on the ground in Tanzania, we are always up-to-date with the latest news. Our consultants will be the first to know about all events that may affect the organization of expeditions. For example, park rangers inform us if rains wash out the road along some route, or if there is a huge pride of lions with lion cubs in a remote corner of the park. In general, we have inside knowledge to help you get the most out of your trip.
All Altezza guides, consultants, hotel staff, office staff and drivers are permanent employees. Because we offer good compensation, we retain excellent staff and therefore keep a consistent high-quality of service for our clients.
Altezza Travel handles the trips directly
Altezza Travel is one of the largest travel companies in Tanzania. Every year more than three thousand people choose our company for climbing Kilimanjaro or a safari in the National parks of Tanzania.
In contrast to a travel agency, we do not just sell tours to Tanzania, we are directly involved in organizing expeditions to Kilimanjaro and safaris in the National Parks. We take great pride in planning excellent trips for our clients, selecting from our team of professional guides, offering high-quality brand-name equipment for Kilimanjaro expeditions and a large fleet of vehicles for safaris.
Our team is based in Tanzania
Since 2014 we have been living and working at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. Here, we have built a large base where our office and hotels are located. Altezza clients have convenient access to everything needed for a Kilimanjaro climb, as well as a jumping-off point for safaris in Northern Tanzania.
This allows us to take personal control over the organization and dispatch of every expedition. Before each expedition, our employees check the amount of food, oxygen tanks, tents and other mountain equipment. We also run our own garage for safari vehicles to ensure their expert maintenance.
We have all the necessary licenses to carry out tourism activities
Every year we are certified by the Tanzanian Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism and receive all the necessary permits. We are proud to say we do not cut corners when it comes to abiding by the laws in Tanzania. Our guests will never experience issues due to expired or fake documentation.
We conduct business in a transparent and honest manner.
Altezza Travel pays almost half a million dollars in taxes every year. This is more than the turnover of most other travel companies. Despite regular changes in Tanzania’s laws and tax requirements, Altezza strongly values integrity. We believe in conducting business in a transparent way. One reason for this is because Tanzania is a developing country and struggles with issues of corruption, we want to make a positive difference in our field of influence. Guests who choose Altezza can be assured that they are with an honest company.
Paying taxes and having licenses is critical to a stable business in Tanzania. The Ministry of Tourism often conducts inspections of travel companies and has, at times, closed down tour operators that do not adhere to laws. It results in a very unfortunate situation for guests, who may arrive in Tanzania only to find their tour operator has been closed by the government.
We work efficiently through our own software
Altezza’s own special software is called “Make a Story” and offers significant advantages:
All information about each private expedition or safari automatically goes to all departments involved. For example, if you need a special dietary meal, the expedition leader will immediately receive a notification, and this information will be displayed in the working documentation of our guides and cooks. The likelihood that this information gets lost, or other human error, is therefore minimized.
Dates and other details of your trip are automatically synced to our calendar. This means that there are no overlapping dates or other inconveniences with your schedule.
The system checks in real time all stages of the organization of your trip. For example, you are scheduled to fly to Zanzibar after completing your Kilimanjaro climb. Our system will check your ticket, the date of the flight against the IATA database. If any inaccuracies are found, our employees will be immediately notified to address any potential problems.
We have a mountain base and hotels in Kilimanjaro
Our mountain base is located right at the foot of Kilimanjaro, which has everything you need to organize comfortable and safe expeditions:
A large store with mountain gear and other personal equipment
If Kilimanjaro is your first major climb and you don’t want to invest in mountain equipment, or if you simply forgot a necessary item, Altezza has your back. We can easily outfit you with everything you need for a safe and comfortable climb.
You can rent everything you need for your climb, such as: clothing from Red Fox; Black Diamond sleeping bags, La Sportiva mountain boots and other essential items.
We restock our warehouse on an annual basis with new equipment directly from America. Our travelers and guides are always the best equipped on Kilimanjaro!
If you know you need equipment for the ascent, inform your Altezza Travel manager in advance. The information will be passed to us in Tanzania, and your equipment will be waiting for you when you arrive. It's okay if you forgot about something - the rental store is located right on our base.
A farm where a dedicated team grows fruits and vegetables for our expeditions
Do you want fresh food? Altezza Travels uses only organic vegetables and fruits that we grow on our own farm. We do not use any pesticides or organic fertilizers - you really cannot get any fresher than that!
An on-site garage for our fleet.
We don’t trust Altezza’s vehicles with just any mechanics, and take special care to inspect each and every vehicle at our own Altezza garage before they depart on safari.
Our company also runs two hotels:
Aishi Machame Hotel is located in a quiet and green area, near the entrance to Kilimanjaro National Park. It offers everything you need to have a good rest before or after climbing - a swimming pool, a good restaurant, cozy rooms and caring staff. There are monkeys, mongooses and civets which visit every day. You can watch them directly from the restaurant terrace! We recommend staying at Aishi Machame for anyone who wants to be closer to nature and away from the noise of the city.
Our second hotel - Brubru Lodge - is located in the most quiet and greenest area of Moshi, the capital of the Kilimanjaro region. It has a large pool, delicious food, nice rooms and a professional team. It is suitable for anyone who wants to be in the city. Brubru Lodge is just a stone's throw from the main street of Moshi, where there are souvenir shops and cafes.
Both of our hotels offer a comfortable environment for climbers, for before and after climbing to the top of Africa.
Altezza Travel offers the best safaris
We know that a trip to Tanzania is often a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so our team goes the extra mile so you see not only the most animals possible, but experience it all in comfort and style.
How we make our safaris the best
We plan safari itineraries the smart way
The Altezza Travel team plans safari itineraries to minimize travel time between parks, ensuring guests see as many animals and beautiful places as possible. We know the geography of northern Tanzania well, and we guarantee that the logistics of your tour will be the best.
For example, we don't offer day-trips to Ngorongoro. The drive to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area takes so much time, many tours arrive for lunch, leaving little time left to enjoy the safari. Instead, we offer multi-day tours that include Tarangire or Lake Manyara National Parks, which the guests must pass to reach Ngorongoro, anyway. This way, guests get the most out of their experience.
We work only with proven hotels, lodges and camps
Guests who travel with Altezza always stay at hotels, lodges or camps that we personally know. We regularly visit all of our partner accommodations to ensure the quality of service we offer our guests. All our partner accommodations have competent staff, clean rooms and delicious cuisine. They are located in beautiful corners of National Parks with a wonderful view.
We also know the managers in the hotels and can quickly resolve almost any questions that our guests might have.
Altezza Travel cooperates with premium, luxury and classic hotels. We can organize a safari trip of any comfort level, except for budget camping safaris. Learn about why we do not offer budget camping safaris here.
Our safari guides are well-versed in National Parks and Tanzania’s wildlife
Altezza guides will go the extra mile to ensure you have a great experience on safari. They will not only show you incredible areas of the parks, but they have detailed knowledge about Tanzania’s wildlife to share with you.
We do not offer group safaris
Altezza Travel does not offer safaris where you can join a pre-planned group itinerary. All safaris with Altezza are planned for each individual group of travelers.
We do not organize group safaris because we have learned that they are too generic, trying to offer a middle-grade safari experience for a diverse group of people. Instead of a unique, personalized safari experience, the group safaris try to please too many people and end up being a disappointment. Instead, Altezza Travel offers the best, personalised experience for participants.
Our safaris are held only on new Land Cruiser SUVs, 2016-2023 model year
They have everything needed for a great safari - comfortable seats, free WiFi, mobile phone chargers, a refrigerator with cool drinks and a retractable roof.
Repair and maintenance of safari machines takes place in our own workshop under the guidance of experienced mechanics.
You can read more about our safari cars in this article.
Our expeditions to Kilimanjaro are the safest
Altezza Travel conducts about three hundred expeditions to Kilimanjaro every year. More than 1500 travelers take part in them. We do far more expeditions than any other company on Kilimanjaro. Altezza Travel is chosen more often than others because our ascents are the safest and most comfortable.
We use only proven routes with good acclimatization
For our ascents to Kilimanjaro, we choose only the best routes with beautiful views and good acclimatization. It is important for us that participation in our expeditions is first of all safe, and then also comfortable for all participants.
For example, we never conduct group expeditions along the Marangu route for 5 days. For a tour operator, this is the cheapest option. Because of this reason, it, and is often used by many local agencies, who recruit large groups at low prices. Travelers focused on price alone do not consider that acclimatization on five-day treks is very difficult, and, in fact, such an ascent can often only be made by people who have already gained high-altitude acclimatization.
Most of our Altezza Travel expeditions follow the seven-day Lemosho and Machame climbing routes. These routes offer good acclimatization for hikers, even for those for whom climbing Kilimanjaro will be the first serious mountain climb.
Our guides
All of Altezza’s top guides to Kilimanjaroare Certified Wilderness First Responders. This is the highest qualification a mountain guide can get and every one of our lead guides have earned this certificate. They know all the routes on Kilimanjaro very well, they are well-versed in mountain medicine and know what to do in case of an emergency on the mountain.
They also love what they do! Learn about Kilimanjaro’s unique ecosystem, the rare flora and animals residing on this extinct volcano with Altezza’s experienced guides.
Regular health checks
Two times a day, guides check on the well-being of every climb participant, to ensure their health and overall acclimatization progression. Guides use oximeters and stethoscopes to check for signs of altitude sickness. We also have well-stocked medical kits with all necessary medicines. Every climber has their own health record, so a guide can quickly see how they are progressing individually in terms of acclimatization. If there is a need for evacuation, this health record is a great tool to share with doctors, too.
Oxygen on all our climbs
We include oxygen cylinders for all our climbs, and they are included in the climb fee - not as an additional expense.Not only do we ensure we offer sufficient cylinders for all members of a climbing group (as well as our own staff, too!), but if the oxygen is being used, we will send up additional tanks from our base at the foot of Kilimanjaro, just as a precaution.
We have tasty and healthy food on our expeditions!
We don’t skimp on meals for our guests on the mountain. Our mountain chefs are experts in preparing delicious meals in a small, mobile kitchen. Guests are continually impressed with the food they recieve when climbing with us - and often, other climbing teams at the camps are jealous of what they see Altezza teams eating!
Several times a year our mountain chefs undergo compulsory training where they are taught how to cook food at altitude so that it is tasty and it does not lose its nutrition, meaning our climbing teams really do have the best and healthiest food on the mountain! They also know how to prepare vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free meals.
We use only modern equipment for organizing mountain expeditions
Altezza Travel has the top equipment on Kilimanjaro.
The North Face Tents VE-25
These are commonly used while climbing Mount Everest. They reliably protect from rain, they are quite spacious and comfortable. They are brought to us directly from America.
Altezza Kilimanjaro Tents
These comfortable tents are so large, you can stand upright in them and put several camp beds inside. The food and recreation tents are connected by special tunnels, making it convenient to use them in the rain and wind, which is typical on the mountain. We developed them together with a team of English engineers exclusively for Altezza Travel. Except for us on Kilimanjaro, no one has such tents.
Red Fox Food Tents
To make our breakfasts, lunches and dinners on Kilimanjaro as comfortable as possible, we ordered the most spacious models:
- They comfortably accommodate companies of up to 20 people inside;
- You can stand in full height;
- In high-altitude they are not cold;
These tents easily fit large camping tables and comfortable chairs with backs. Dinner at Altezza Travel Camp is not just a meal - our travelers often stay up late, chat and tell stories, making your climbing expedition truly an incredible experience.
Our company offers the best prices for travel to Tanzania
We can say with confidence that we have the best prices among all tour operators in Tanzania. This does not mean the cheapest - it means that we offer the best value. When calculating the prices of tours, remember:
We do not skimp on safety and comfort
On all our expeditions to Kilimanjaro there is always a supply of oxygen and medical kits. We only buy fresh produce from trusted suppliers or grow it ourselves, and use reliable equipment from the best manufacturers - The North Face, Black Diamond, La Sportiva and Red Fox.
For airport transfers and transfers between the Moshi and Arusha-based lodges we use new comfortable Toyota Alphards.
On safari you will be doing the drive on Toyota Land Cruisers (2016-2023 models). These are safe and reliable vehicles for the sometimes rough terrain of the Tanzanian savanna.
All our tours are insured for one million dollars with Insurance Heritage Co., the most reliable insurance company in Tanzania.
We do not skimp on salaries for our team
We value and respect our staff. Altezza Travel employees do not think about how to feed their families and pay for the education of their children because we compensate them well and offer opportunities for professional growth.
We partner with the finest hotels and lodges in the National Parks
Because Altezza Travel hosts many clients, we, in turn, get the best prices for accommodation. Over the years, we have established good partnerships with top hotels throughout Tanzania. We personally know all the managers, and there is always a special attitude towards the clients of Altezza Travel.
And also, when a new hotel opens in Tanzania, its representatives immediately come to us. Everyone wants to cooperate with Altezza Travel.
Since we are based in Tanzania, there are no unnecessary overpayments in our prices
We do not need to maintain an office in London or New York, so we can afford to make prices cheaper than other companies.
We can confidently say that if you’re looking to book a safari or Kilimanjaro climb with the top 10 travel companies in Tanzania, you will see that the price offered by Altezza Travel is guaranteed to be one of the best. Pay attention not only to numbers - see what services and what quality are included in your trip. We are confident that our offer will be the most attractive.
We have very flexible payment terms
Minimum deposit payments
To participate in our Kilimanjaro climbing expedition, the deposit is only $100. For a safari we ask for a deposit of 30% of the tour cost. If for some reason you want to cancel your participation in the trip, we will refund your deposit payment according to our cancellation policy.
We are the only travel company from Kilimanjaro to make 100% refunds to all customers who canceled their tour due to the coronavirus outbreak
None of us had ever encountered anything like it, and we felt that our customers needed our support during this difficult time.
We always understand situations when plans change and the trip has to be postponed or canceled altogether. That is why we offer our guests the option to cancel their expedition. Read more about our cancelation policy in this article.
No additional payments
With Altezza, there are no surprise costs. Your trip will cost exactly as much as the manager told you before you traveled to Tanzania. We guarantee that you will not have any overpayments or other unpleasant surprises upon arrival. If for some reason we are forced to change the program - Altezza Travel will do so at its own expense and only in cases that are necessary, and will make your experience better.
Altezza Travel accepts payments in almost any way - by bank card (135 countries of the world are compatible with our system), transfer to our account, cash and even cryptocurrency!
If you have any questions about us and our expeditions - write to us by email or chat. Our managers are happy to help!