My friend and I went on a 4 day walking trip with Dennis in the Usambara mountains, in July of 2019. We started out on a long bus ride from Dar Es Salaam which got us to Lushoto late in the night - but Dennis was there waiting for us and ready to take us to our hotel. As the whole trip was organised by Dennis we didn't need to book anything.
We woke up the next morning and set off on foot for our 4 day adventure which took us through the mountains, across terraced villages, staying in a beautifully maintained convent in the hills, crossing rain forests, making pottery with, and overall bathing in incredible scenery.
The whole way Dennis was very knowledgable and a super guide, telling us about the flora and fauna we saw along the way (and there was a lot to see!) - he has such a sharp eye for finding chameleons ! He would make sure we were walking at the pace that agreed with us, answered any question we had, and ALWAYS made sure we were happily fed ! As the days went on we got to know him not only as a guide but as a friend we could freely exchange with, joke along with and learn from.
Our final day took us to one of the most breathtaking view points I have every seen in my life ... needless to say we were not disappointed with out adventure !
Even after we left the Usambara mountains, Dennis was happy to recommend other guides and activities in the other regions we had planned to visit. We sometimes message now and again.
This was one of the best experiences of our whole trip in Tanzania, especially thanks to Dennis and his positive energy, sense of duty, and general desire to go above and beyond to make his clients have the best time ever. I will miss that smile !
I have been recommending a trip to Tanzania to everyone who wants to travel mostly on the base of this experience :)
We looked around for a nice 2 day hike in Usambara mountains and stumbled upon Dennis and luckily so.
This was an amazing experience, everything was very well organized and planned, treks were nice and Dennis can adjust the level of your trek based on your fitness.
Dennis is full of information and a great person to have a debate with in whichever topic you can think of. And his chapatis/guacamole that he prepares for lunch are just amazing!
Overall, you can not go wrong with this - great hike, great guide, loads of information and very helpful with everything you need.
Upon my first trip to Tanzania I fell in love with the people, the landscape, Lushoto and the Usambara mountains. I would not think of visiting the country and missing a chance to see familiar people and favorite places in and around Lushoto. Now I share this destination with all my friends and family. Don’t miss the kind and humble Peter at Mama Mia, not to mention the food. I can always count on Denis to make sure I get to my favorites and to explore new activities in the area on each trip. I make sure I am there over at least one weekend because I love to go to church on Sunday, if you’re lucky you will witness The celebratory procession of a young couple getting engaged. I love the fabrics and usually have something made, Denis will make sure I get to the best Tailor for that and get the clothes back before I leave town.
Recently I was saddened to see a poor review of Denis’ services. I can only think there must’ve been some kind of misunderstanding! He is not the most expensive tour guide nor the cheapest you could find. Perfect for me because I don’t need anything fancy but I also don’t want the most basic. If I am solo and have my own accommodation its $60 a day, If Denis books my hotel it’s $75 a day including Home cooked food and hotel.
For me visiting Places like Tanzania is for the culture and because my dollar goes a long way, where people live in much more poverty than where I am from, I am happy to support the locals. I understand that What I spend is shared by many people, everyone in the chain from the cook, to the maid, to the guide, to the Hotel, to the tour company and their families are getting some T-shillings of my dollars. There are many months when no tourist come and what I spend when I am there I hope will carry someone through those lean times.
My boyfriend and me made a 2 days trip and it was a wonderful experience. Besides providing us with plenty of interesting information on so many different topics, our guide Denis gave me the feeling that everything, simply everything will work out according to plan.
Also, when I lost something on the way he was quick organizing that I get it back as soon as possible. He was very engaged and thoughtful (e. g., when I mentioned I miss eating mashed potatoes it was on our table the next day).
The tour was really nice, with observing a bunch of chameleons beeing my personal highlight.
Usambara Mountains are definitely worth a visit and so is the tour with Denis!
This location is beautiful and after seeing the stellar reviews of Dennis I decided to book a tour with him. Initially he was very responsive and helpful in communication and was very flexible in assisting me to figure out transport. However the issue came when it was time to discuss payment. We had agreed on a price ($60) and he demanded more than double ($150)! He had all sorts of excuses and carefully crafted stories about why there was a change in price but I wasn’t buying it. I thought we had settled it but he went from being incredibly helpful and friendly and spent the rest of the time sulking, being unhelpful and monosyllabic, walking ahead, being on his phone, rushing me and behaving in a generally unpleasant manner. He completed the tour in a very robotic manner and really ruined my whole experience and as a solo female traveller generally made me feel unsafe. Additionally we did not see everything he had promised.
If you do book a tour with him you should check, confirm and check and then confirm the price at each point.
It is unfortunate as the mountains are stunning, the views beautiful and it is a lovely experience, it is a shame it was ruined by his behaviour.
