Advice and help please.......
Please are you able to give me any advice, I would like to travel to Kenya, Tanzania or somewhere else for a safari (although not Botswana, SA or Zambia.
I am looking to take a safari with one or two other travelling friends and we are looking to travel at the end of this year (Dec) of in the first few months of next year (upto May?).We would like to be away for somewhere between 7 and 10 days.
We are happy to self drive.
Please do you have any advice or tips on how we should travel round these countries.....ideally we would like to do it cheaply and without going to places that are crowded with hundreds of people....
Reply to this My family and I lived in Tanzania for 2 1/2 years in the early 90's ... have been back several times in the summer and my husband and I are moving back for a much longer stay in October of this year ... you can catch my blog as "shastagail". BUT ... as for traveling my advice is this ... DEFINITELY Tanzania over the other countries. Arusha, Tanzania is the main city to start a dozen or so tours ... going one way is Kilimanjaro .. going another way National Parks ... going the other direction is Ngorongoro Crater - A MUST SEE by the way ... and then further north is the Seregetti. You will be traveling at a good time to avoid the large crowds as tourist season in Arusha starts the first of June .. rates go up almost immediately June 1. I would NOT recommend you self driving. The parks are great but some will not allow you in without a driver ... period. I'd fly into Kilimanjaro Airport, start by getting hotel in Arusha and use that as your home base. There are some travelers hostels there and one place we use a lot called The Arusha Resort just off the main round about in downtown Arusha. For about US$65 a WEEK per person you can stay in a two bedroom, living room, kitchen efficiency. Clean, good food, and close enough to walk down to all the shops in town. Shopping is everywhere .. beware of pick pockets. Go with the flow and you'll have the time of your life!!! Africa time is NOT the same - so take the bumps as part of the experience and enjoy!!!! Shasta
Reply to this Think you are going to find a fair few people at the usual Ngorongoro Crater, Seregetti and of course Kili. Arusha, yes a good place to find Safaris from, but again VERY busy, very touristy, and expect to pay more than if you do it off your own back.
If you are serious about finding a place that is quiet, and to have a National Park maybe to yourself, try Katavi NP to the West. Think the LP described it as being The Jewl of Tanzania, and for once they are not wrong. Bit of a hassle getting there, unless you want to fly in, but if you dont mind public buses and rouging it for a few days to get there, then you will be fine.
NP all pretty much cost the same, but because this place is so small and not visited all that often due to it remotness, you will find that you can negociatye a few perks here and there.
Have a good one.
Reply to this I am from Kenya. I have travelled and lived in many countries around Africa. Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Somalia (western Somalia) and Southern Sudan doing development work.
People get put off going to Kenya nowaday because of bad publicity-including regular alarmist Foreign office advisories. On the ground things are much better than what you read.
Kenya presents a mixture of the the very incredible real african of the old experience and the modern western metropolis experience al in one. You have snow on the the equator (unbelievable),you have sandy beaches in the coast and nomads living in a true desert in the north!With extensive Church run youth/YMCA hostels and cheap hotels outside the main tourist circute you can enjoy a safari-trip for £1000 instead of the usual £ 4-5000. For a start take last minute seat on Monarch, Safari Club and other airlines offer (visit www.cheapflights.com) flights at less than £400 return! once in Kenya travel by executive buses eg Akamba or Stage coach/Kenya Bus. Ask hostel staff how you can save money without missing out on anything. Buy Park and Museum tickets all at once, better still get membership cards and you will get a 60%!d(MISSING)iscount in all attractions. Visit the Kenya Tourism Board website-www.magicalkenya.co.ke. Then take a luxury bus to Tanzania or Uganda or go to Rwanda to see the Gorillas for less than £30 return!! assuming that great city of Nairobi
is your base .I hope this helps
Reply to this Hello,
My husband and I plan to travel to Tanzania and maybe Kenya this november for about 10-14 days. We would like to go to spend about five days to climb the Kilimanjaro and spend another 5 to 9 days in Serenguetti, Ngorongoro, MasaiMara and maybe other spots, upto the time and budget. We only have around two weeks to do this trip and the animal migration is a must to see. We would like to know if november is a good time to see the migration, we just can go between october and early december or postpone this to the next year.
I am sorprise how expensive the safari and Kilimanjaro tours can be, we do not need fancy hotels, we just want a safe place to sleep and trustworhy tours to Kilimanjaro, Serengueti, Ngorongoro and Masaimara. I am peruvian, I know that usually places can be more expensive for tourists as they have to pay a premium for hiring tours from their countries.Therefore, I was wondering if it would be cheaper and also secure to hire local tours when we get there,do we need to book tours in advance? we do not want to risk not to find space, but again I thought that maybe prices are lower in Tanzania than here.
Please let me know information about local travel agencies and hotels to stay close to the attractions. I read about the Arusha Resort, how far is it from attractions? is it possible to contac by internet?. We will aprreciate any tips about travelling in Tanzania.
Thanks for your advice,
Patricia
Reply to this Even on high season, it is very rare to miss a bed in East Africa. The trouble is that some really nice hotels do not have websites. Some traditional enterpreneurs who own good hotels that can be compared to 2-3 star hotels in Europe are yet to embrace ecommerce. Partly because of poor connectivity and prohibitive connection costs. If you fly straight to Arusha you can make arrangements from the airport information office ie enquire about reputable hotels and taxis. This way you will pay less than you would if booked in advance. for instance a tour company can send a van and a driver to pick just the two of you as it happens sometimes at a very high cost. There are local vetted tour guides who can leead you up Mt Kilimanjaro at a reasonable fee. This way you can save money to pay for airial view of the migration (hot balloon flight). It is breathtaking.
Reply to this patrica,
The Arusha Resort would be perfect for what you are looking for ... it is within walking distance of downtown .. restaurants, shopping .. is next door to the Carver's Market called which we call Mafia Alley ... we have stayed there ... it is not luxurious .. but it is clean has some rooms with kitchens and cheap ... 4 of us stayed in one (2 bedrooms - 4 single beds) kitchen .. one bath living room area with table .... for a week it was just $65 per person .... ... there are smaller units too .. the food in the resort it good .. the people are wonderful ... we use this place ALL the time for guests ........
tours CAN be expensive but they can also be cheap .... last year myself, my husband and his mother were picked up at our room by a tour gudie ... we first went to Lake Manyara national park (park fees included in fee)... drove around and had a picnic which we brought ... then stayed the night in the Lake Manyara Reosrt ... 4 rooms to a bungalow .. two upstairs two downstairs on teh side of hte mounting .. an infinite swimming pool .. amazing food for dinner (included in price) .. were picked up the next mornign .. driven to Ngorongoro Crater (Park fees included in price) and toured it .. with a box lunch they provided then driven back to Arusha ..... $200 per person .... I consider that incredibly cheap!!!! Contact me through my blog if you want more specific info! You are going to love it!!!!
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Thank you so much for your advices. About the tours, I just would like to know if it is ok to book them when we are in Tanzania, let say to book a tour for the next day, are there waiting list?. We have only 10 to 14 days to visit and we would love to go to Kilimanjaro (5-6 days) , Serenguetti, Ngorongoro, MasaiMara and other pretty places, so we just want to be sure that we will not be in waiting lists for tours (if it is common there).
We would rather to fly straight to Arusha, but we could not find flights from Toronto. I think we will maybe have to fly to Nairobi and take the bus to Arusha.
Shasta, is it possible to book the Arusha Resort by internet?
Pat, where can we find the local vetted tour guides? I never heard about the balloon flights but the migration is a must to see. Is november a good month to go to see the migration?
Thanks again,
Patricia
Reply to this Patricia,
I am givng you information that was valid 2 years ago. However, I will try to find out from 2 Tanzanian friends studying here in Uk what the current situation is. At the arrivals -Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Nairobi, you will be met by tour guides, taxi drivers all jostling for passangers but don't be taken in by the overwhelming ''special offers''. Step aside to the waiting area and either make a call to KENATICO taxis (they are partly Government owned) or if you step outside the ARRIVALS you might see parked ones. Negotiate how much they will charge you to the city centre-say to the New Stanley, Pan Afric or Hotel Boulevard. Once are in the hotel, as you order for your refreshments ask if there are vacancies and if they don't have ask them for the directory and just ring to book. Chances are, you will be given very low rates besides isn't it refreshing to arrange something exciting for yourself in a foreign country!
You can take one of the busses (actually they are vey cheap-last time I paid £10) that ply the Arusha -Nairobi route.They are usually parked on Kenyatta Avenue in the middle of the city. Last time I booked DAVANU SHUTTLE but you can visit other sites for alternative bus companies-here is a guide: http://www.eastafricashuttles.com/shuttle/riverside.htm
Migration of the wild beests happen between July and October and Novermber- April. so it depends on where you will be at the time. As for the balloon tour. you can visit this site http://www.africansermonsafaris.com/images/ballooninmasaimara.jpg or google the terms: Hot air, Balloon, East Africa.
I am going to Kenya next month, I will find out the latest information.
I hope this helps.p
Reply to this Hey, I would recommend going with a travel agency, you can combine a trek and safari and have it all prepared for you. I did both through Zara Tanzanian Adventures: zaratravel.com. They were really helpful and even let us customize our trip, and they had availability any day of the year. I thought it was an amazing country, but I wouldn't have wanted to try driving myself around! I don't even know if that is allowed, I know on Kili you have to use guides and such so check out Zara and see what you think...
Reply to this I'm on a RTW trip and leave Istanbul tomorrow for Nairobi (arrive 19 Aug.) I need a nice place to stay for about $60 or less. From there I want to go to Arusha for a safari or maybe two. My plans are to spend about a month in Kenya and already have a ticket from Dar es Salaam back to Nairobi at the end of the month. I'm a solo woman traveling so would like a comfy place where I feel safe in Nairobi. Thanks for any advice. I will read responses over next couple of days.
Reply to this I leave UK on 18 August through Doha arriving Nairobi on 19th August same time as you!. I will post a message on arrival so check your post on Saturday for any help that I can give. my phone in Nairobi is 0722247139.Thanks.Patrick
Reply to this Maria,
you can book safaris a day in advance no worries, but suggest 2 days before. With Kili, give yourself a few more days. By using same tour company for both, you can negociate a better price.
Climbing Kili is expensive, and there are some dodgy characters out there, among some very honest and kind people. The key is to find them!
If you are going to organise it all when you get over there (and save yourself some money):
My advice is to obviously stay well away from the touts at the bus station and on the streets. You will be swamped with people wanting you to use their safaris, and trips up Kili in Arusha. The hardest part is finding the right and reliable company to take you. There is no set way to find them. They will all have "comments books" from "past satisfied customers", not all are genuine, so be careful.
It sounds obvoius but find a company that actaually has an office in Arusha, rather than just a guide telling you he has one; actually go to the office, and see if they have offices in Dar, and / or Moshi as well. If they do then they may be more established. Check equipment for Kili before going.
BUT
the best, safest, nicest but not really the easiest way for you to find an good company is to simply go up to one of the Gates leading to one of the many routes up Kili, tell the chap at the gate you are there to meet someone coming off the mountain, in order to get past him, and chat to people coming down the mountain. They will have lots of valuable info to tell you, plus you get an idea of the Kili experience as well as meeting guides and porters. I did it and loved it. You will see people in Arusha too.
Think if you want to do the 5 or 8 day trek. That was the choice I had. The longer the better (to acclimatize) but more expensive.
Have a lovely time, and let us all know how it went please.
Reply to this Hi P, I am back in Nairobi. We landed yesterday. I hope you have found out the best way to go about travelling to Tanzania. While in Kenya, if you need any information contact me and I will do my best to find out as much as I can. For those who have asked for cost-cutting measures, I will try to find out from my old contacts here in Nairobi then I will post it here. As for information around Nairobi, it is easy to find out , my home is just behind the Nairobi National Park.
Cheers.
Patrick
Reply to this Hey I am planning a trip to Arusha, Tanzania through Cross-Cultural Solutions (a program similar to the peace corps) and I was wondering if any one had any travel tips i;e what to pack, to see, places to eat, not to go. Can you get a 2-3 day safari from Arusha for cheapish?
Reply to this Great. I am back from Kenya. I had three weeks of a very very good time. The only down side is that my flight was d elayed in Doha for 8 hours! Qatar Airways did not find it prudent to warn us, they did not provide us with blankets and when we pesterred them they provided a only few blankets! Only the Pilot apologised later on our way to Gatwick UK.
I collected useful information and contacts for those want to travel safely and cheaply.
Ricia, I hope you found your way round? I did not hear from you while I was in Nairobi so I imagined all was fine with you?
Those with quetions please, email me any time and I will do my best to give you some tips.
Ciao.
Pat
Reply to this Fraser,
I recommend a trip to Ruwenzori-to watch the Gorrillas. A trip from Nairobi via Kampala Uganda should be a life time experience. You will have a chance to see the Great Rift Valley, Natural Hot Springs near Nakuru,The Maasai Country, The Flamingoes (they are migrating this season) all can be combined and squeezed into a single day at very low rates en route to the Gorrilla mountains.
Reply to this Hey folks, Those who love wild life will be pleased to know that the annual animal pilgrimage is underway. The million or so wildebeest and other animals have started their ritualistic migration from Maasa Mara Kenya to Serengeti/Ngororongoro Tanzania.
This spectacular site was captured live this week on American televiosn by Good Morning America crew. Those heading to Tanzania be on the lookout.
p
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