Life-Changing Experiences You know that feeling of anxiousness that comes with travel to an unfamiliar country half a world away? Well, with Metamo you can just relax and enjoy what will certainly be a life-changing experience. My son and I, along with 3 close friends just returned from 11 days in Tanzania where we trekked to the summit of Kilimanjaro and still had time for a one-day safari in Tarangire National Park. Matamo’s concierge-level travel service began long before our journey, as they provide personal assistance with every level of planning including developing our itinerary, Visa application, health and insurance, training advice, travel booking, detailed packing recommendations, and much more. Metamo flawlessly handled every detail of our trip including meeting us at the airport, transporting us to our luxurious hotel, guiding us through Arusha during a day of sightseeing and souvenir shopping, transporting us to the Kilimanjaro trailhead where we were met with lunch by our very capable guides, cook, and porters; guiding us safely up and down the mountain with a level of comfort I’ve not previously experienced and with an approach likely to ensure summiting success; meeting us at the end of the trail for a very memorable celebration of our success – all five of us summited – with our entire team of guides, cook, and porters; returning us to the hotel, making last-minute arrangements for a next-day private safari in Tarangire National Park (note: I cannot recommend this highly enough as it rivals the experience of trekking Kilimanjaro); guiding and entertaining us on our last day in Arusha, and finally returning us to the airport. Metamo’s representative in Arusha, Mufasa, and Metamo’s guide on the mountain, Wilfred, took excellent care of us both in town and on the mountain. The accommodations were top notch as was the food. In fact, if your expectation is to perhaps lose a couple pounds on the trek, you can forget about it as the food is too tasty and plentiful and the guides ensure that you eat to keep up your energy. I cannot over emphasize that Metamo’s service covers every aspect of your trip – from the time you arrive until you depart, every need (and cost, including tips) is attended to. I was witness to many other trekking companies on the mountain and it is my honest opinion that no company took better care of their clients than Metamo. If you want a truly memorable, stress-free experience book your Kilimanjaro trek, safari, or both with Metamo. One last bit of advice – bring gifts, lots of gifts. You will become attached to your guides and porters and you will want to leave gifts. We all left much of our gear behind – including boots and jackets – and we wished that we had brought a large duffle full of thrift shop americana-style clothing to leave behind.

Metamo is the way-to-go! Metamo, perfection! Words can not adequately describe the level of service, care, and attention to detail both before and during the trip that Metamo gives. This was our second trip to Africa with Metamo. The first trip was four years ago to go on safari with my family in Kenya which was flawless and a life-changing experience for all of us (which even included a spontaneously arranged guided walk through the bush and along a river by Maasai Warriors!). This time we set our sights on climbing Kilimanjaro. Metamo helped us choose the best time of the year for our busy schedules and the weather, the route to give us the best chance of success, and even coordinated the climb for me to celebrate my birthday on the summit as the sun came up! To see the sun coming up over Africa is not something that can be described in words. The Mountain Crew Team were wonderful people, encouraged us, joked around and kept things upbeat. They took care of everything for us so we could focus on the climb. Our lead guide was so knowledgeable and really an expert in his field. The accommodations before and after the climb were Metamo level. Perfection. Everything about Metamo is 5 Star and I couldn't recommend a travel company more. You will be in the best hands possible for an experience of a lifetime. I look forward to my next adventure with Metamo!

I knew we would enjoy our trip with… I knew we would enjoy our trip with Metamo but didn’t expect how much. What surprised me most was just how much we fell in love with Africa. It certainly made me appreciate my life and the people in it. I was so impressed by the local people. They had so little yet life was good and they were happy. The lions were a highlight. I didn’t expect to be so close to them! It was an Amazing African Adventure!

Metamo made it life-changing. Our trip with Metamo was nothing short of life-changing. I always tell people that the animals were incredible but the people are what make me want to go back. I came home with a different view of my own world and community. Every day offered something incredible to remember but what we all remember the most is tea with a Joyce, a local woman who lived near Red Rhino Orphanage at the time. A complete strangers to us and speaking no English, Joyce showed us the true definition of hospitality. One of the safari trips that remains in my mind involved a lioness on the hunt. It was hot but just starting to rain. We watched her miss her kill, then walked straight to our window and pushed her head right to the window. She was angry about missing the kill and we were all very happy that everything was closed on our vehicle. The lioness stalked away and the rain created beautiful colors in the fields. I can still see that image in my head. After interacting with the people of Kenya, I realized very quickly how happy they all were. I also saw how little they had in terms of personal possessions. It seemed clear to me that we clutter our lives with "things" in our culture and it does little to make us happier, if not the opposite. I am forever mindful of this on a daily basis. There was a level of personalization and intimacy to our trip, and halfway through we tried to think of ways to get our driver to visit us in the US. Enough cannot be said of the experience altogether and we are just waiting for our kids to be old enough to share in a repeat trip with us.

The trip with Metamo was the most… The trip with Metamo was the most unique, most eye opening trip/experience I’ve ever had. There were numerous highlights but the top one was the Ngorongoro Crater.....it was spectacular!!! So many things - but we were immersed in the local culture on a daily basis which made the trip that much more meaningful. The interaction with locals made the trip even more special. I guess for me the absolute primitive and simplistic lifestyle was extremely eye opening—I was very exposed to the world prior to this trip but was impacted by how time has virtually stood still in many parts of Kenya/Tanzania outside the main cities. From mud huts, to no electricity, phones, TV’s, cars, to herding cattle, the animal kingdom on full display etc. etc. The visual pageantry was on display every day. The entire trip was priceless and easily the most rewarding/meaningful trip I’ve ever made. The cultural awareness/learning experience alone made the trip worthwhile. Being up close and in person observing animals on full display in their natural environment was something I’ll never forget. I think it helped teach me to appreciate simplicity and to not get caught up in the negativity of western life. In short it gave me “perspective”.