I am Overwhelmed - Tanzania Summer 2009

I should also add that this is our first trip to Africa, and that we would like our lodgings to be on the upscale side, but probably not ultra-luxury.

Your schedule is similar to what I had with my family in August 2006, though we stayed at different lodges. Others will have to opine on July vs. August, however by the time we got to Serengeti the migration was over. Still very enjoyable.

BUT, I really advise against stopping at Mto Wa Mbu. My wife absolutely hated it, and my teenage daughters rated it only a bit higher. Very aggressive vendors, dirty. It is surely intended to give tourists a peak at typical local life, but it seemed like more of a tourist trap.

We also found Arusha to be way less than charming, though probably a necessary start and stopping point for the trip.

Others on this forum are much more knowledgable than I, but looks like you have a good trip planned. I don't know your guide company (Shaka), but was very pleased with ours, Multichoice Safaris (guide Hubbart...excellent)

bookingsmultichoice@habari.co.tz

During July I'd try to spend several days in the western Serengeti. In August, the northern Serengeti. That may, however, require very long drives or a couple of short flights, which would of course increase the cost of the safari.

I haven't heard of the company you are using, nor have I stayed at any of camps/lodges on your list.

frankly - late july/AUGUST I WOULD GO TO THE MASSAI MARA FOR THE MIGRATION !

We're going (again) in July this year. Just a couple of comments...

After your tour of Arusha NP are you returning to Arusha for an overnight? I'd consider going from the park straight to Tarangire rather than back to Arusha.

Where are you staying on day 6?

Unless you have a burning desire to be on Lake Victoria, I'm not sure that I'd stay there, but it depends on what your interests are. If you eliminate the 2 days at Speke Bay you could add 2 days in the Central or Northern Serengeti. If you are really wanting to see Lake Victoria, you can easily drive there from Mbalageti.

Ndutu isn't a great place to be in July or August, but I expect your agent is suggesting a stop there to break up the drive from Mbalageti to the Farmhouse.

You don't mention a visit to the Crater?

Thanks to everyone for the information. I am going to re-work this itinerary based on everyone's input. I also looked at a couple of group tour itineraries, and will incorporate some of those ideas as well. I'd like to get back to you in a day or two with a revised itinerary for your thoughts.

Thank you!

Don't know about Shaka.

Day 1 - Arumeru River Lodge
Day 2 - Arusha NP

I want to include this park on my next TZ trip for the forested terrain and a chance to see colobus monkeys. It is possible to walk and canoe here if that is of interest to you. For an entire day you could do half traditonal game drive and half walk/canoe

Day 3&4 - Tarangire - Maramboi Tented Camp

Don't know camp. 2 days here in July or Aug should give you good ele activity. I believe. I found the most wildlife to be nearer to the entrance. Here is something on Maramboi

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=4&tid=34871954

Day 5 - Lake Manyara - E Unoto Retreat Lodge

Don’t know lodge but here is a thread on Manyara lodging
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=4&tid=35132105

Good hippo and baboons here.


Day 6 - Mto Wa Mbu Village visit

I don’t know that I’d want a whole day for the village, maybe half a day. What specifically will you do? Is it market day?

Day 7&8 - Serengeti NP - Speke Bay Lodge

Late August, north is good. In early July, not so good.

Day 9&10 - Mbalageti Tented Camp
In June and certainly to mid July good—this is Western Serengeti I believe.

Day 11 - Ndutu Safari Lodge
You do not belong in Southern Serengeti in July-Aug. Unless you requested a stay here, this is not good. Perhaps it is to shorten the drive, but I think you could get to the crater in reasonable time from Western Serengeti.

Day 12 - Ngorongoro Farm House
I prefer to stay at Sopa for its access road. But this is fine. Are you doing 1 or 2 crater visits?

Day 13&14 - Lake Eyasi - Kisima Ngeda Tented Camp
This should be a good cultural experience.

Day 15 - drive back to Arusha
On Day 15 do you overnight, immediately catch a plane?


Here are a variety of TZ itineraries from various companies with costings
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=4&tid=35128087

Another couple recent TZ planning links
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=4&tid=35132215
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=4&tid=35121490


This might be of interest to you re: Serengeti
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=4&tid=35093453

Just so you know, Speke Bay is on the shores of Lake Victoria, not in Serengeti NP although you have to drive through the Serengeti to get there. Did you have some specific plans for Lake Victoria? As Calo mentioned, it can also be visited as a day trip from the western Serengeti. It will be an extremely long drive to Speke Bay from the Lake Manyara area if that's where you're staying on Day 6.

Just wanted to add my two cents on visiting Mto Wa Mbu. We had a great experience there, doing a walking tour with our Green Footprint Adventures guide and also visiting a medical clinic where my husband had a chance to talk at some length with the doctor in charge of the clinic. I thought it was a very worthwhile stop, and much more interesting and "real" than the touristy Maasai village we visited. We did not experience aggressive vendors (of course people try to sell you things if you walk through the market, but it was no big deal) or think it was unpleasant in any way. If you click on my name you can find my trip report, which goes into more detail about that day.

As much as I enjoyed my visit there, I agree that it doesn't need to take an entire day on your itinerary. We spent half a day there and then the afternoon visiting the kids at the Rift Valley Children's Village, which was amazing. If I could do it over, I would have spent a little less time in Mto Wa Mbu, just because the drive between the two places was long and we had less time with the kids than I would have liked. Our schedule that day was ultimately determined by a broken-down vehicle, but we found plenty of things to entertain us in Mto Wa Mbu while we waited for the repairs. I would recommend a visit there, and especially to the RVCV.

I found this trip through Wilderness Travel that seems to be more in-line with some of your comments. It is a luxury end tour, but what do you think? I like that it is more flying than driving, I think.

Day 1: Nairobi - Norfolk Hotel

Days 2-4 - Fly to Masai Mara Game reserve - Kichwa Tembo Bateleur Camp

Days 5-7 Fly to Campi ya Kanzi or Tortillis Camp - Chyulu Hills

Day 8 - Fly to Namanga - Moivaro Plantation

Day 9-10 - N. Crater - N Crater lodge

Days 11-13 - Fly to Grumeti River Camp or Klein's Camp

Day 14 - Fly back to Arusha for flight home.

Wildernenss Travel wants $9795 plus internal airfare for this trip, but if the itinerary was good, I thought I may present it to a couple of travel agents recommended on this site. Is that normal to do?

You can certainly send the itinerary to other operators for comparison. You could also make some tweaks and then send it. Are you more likely to go in July or August? I don't know what your budget is but these are all very high end properties so you could downgrade if necessary. BTW Day 8 should be fly to Arusha or Kilimanjaro, not Namanga.

We can go either July or August, so whatever works best.

It seems as though you are waffling a bit on whether to visit Tanzania (your initial post), or a combination of Tanzania and Kenya (your most recent post). I know the options can seem limitless and overwhelming.

The first decision you have to make is where exactly you want to go. This will be based in part on what your interests are. You'll also have to think about whether you want a private safari or travel with others. Private safaris can be planned for about the same cost, and sometimes even less than group trips. The nice thing about a private safari is that you determine where/when you want to go and what to include in your itinerary. On the other hand, for some people it is vital to have the social element of traveling with a group. After you figure out where you want to go and what you want to see/do, consider your budget and the types of accommodations at which you'd like to stay.

For July and August you will hardly go wrong with a safari to either or both Kenya and Tanzania. Visiting both countries will involve extra costs such as internal flights and visas. It is easy to get caught up in trying to include everything in your itinerary, and then run the risk of ending up with a trip that is so busy you'll be exhausted and frustrated.

Have you had a look at Lynda's New East Africa Trip Report Index? Read some of the July/August itineraries:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=4&tid=34860283

If you can come back to us with your decision about which country/countries to visit, we can help you settle on an itinerary which you can then submit for quotes. Keep the questions coming.

Megdean,
Calo is giving you excellent advice. I originally commented on where to go in July-August in Tanzania, because that is what your original post mentioned. But now that you are also considering Kenya, you do have alot more options. Personally, I believe Tanzania is more productive in July, and in August you will want some days in the Mara. In two weeks you could combine both countries, but you do want to make sure you aren't traveling too much, as Calo mentioned.

If you can travel either July or August, take a look at the links Calo provided and let us know what interests you the most. We can then offer more advice.

OK, after reading lots of stuff (such as Calo's suggested itinerary in a Janu. posting) and with the help of Go2Africa, we are currently with the following. We decided just to stay in Tanzania, and travel around mid-June to mid-July 2009. What do you think re. routing and lodging? We are OK with exclusive properties, unless there is a better option.

Day 1: Arusha - Onsea Hotel

Day 2&3: Tarangire - Oliver's Camp or T. Treetop Lodge (2 nights)

Day 4: Ngor. CA - Plantation Lodge or LM Treetop Lodge (if we don't do the one in Tarangire) or Crater Lodge.

Day 5: Morning drive into crater.

Day 6: Serengeti - Olakira Camp or Kusini

Day 7: Serengeti - Olakira. Balloon ride

Day 8&9&10: Suyan Camp

Day 11: fly from Kleins airstrip to Zanzibar. Stay at either Beyt Al Chai, Emerald & Green (new name...), or Africa House Hotel

Day 12: same

Day 13&14: Beach area - would like suggestions. Options: Matemwe Lodge, The Palms, other??

Day 15: fly home


Thank you!

I should mention we'd try to include the Ngiresi Village visit on day 2

Great decision to stay with Tz in June/July.

Suggestions:

If you're doing a morning Crater tour on Day 4 I'd suggest you try to get accommodation on the rim. Have a peek at Eben's great map of the accommodations at/near the Crater:
http://go-safari.com/NCA/NCAMapMay28b.jpg

Notice that Plantation is far enough away from the Crater that you'd have too long a drive for an early morning game drive.

LM Tree Lodge is not where to stay on Day 4! It is a 2 hour drive from Manyara to the Crater, plus the lodge is buried at the far end of the park adding to that drive time:
http://go-safari.com/images/Manyara.jpg

Of Plantation, Tree Lodge or Wildlife Lodge, Wildlife Lodge makes the most sense for an early morning Crater drive. It is the lowest end choice of the 4 at the rim.

Kusini is located in the southern Serengeti - not a good place to stay in June/July. It's better at other times of the year when the migration is in that region. Olakira would be my choice over Kusini.

Otherwise, I think the itinerary looks really nice.

This is a very rushed response as I dash out the door to work. I hope it's not too disjointed.

Day 4 - If you are going into the Crater the next morning, I don't think you'd want to stay at Lake Manyara...too far away. Plantation Lodge is closer (at Karatu), but if they are enforcing the half day rule, you'd lose some of your game viewing time. It would be best to stay on the Crater rim such as at the Crater Lodge, Serena, or Sopa. Between Tarangire and the Crater rim, you could do a half day visit in Lake Manyara NP.

In Stone Town, you might find the Africa House to be a bit noisy. 236 Hurumzi is what used to be Emerson & Green; it's "interesting". If you wanted to stay at the nicest place in Stone Town, the Serena would be your best bet. On the beach, I've not stayed at either property you mentioned. I prefer the smaller places such as Pongwe.

I agree with Calo, that Olakira would definitely be in a better location than Kusini at this time of year. I think Olakira will be good in either June or July. In addition to Olakira, if you travel in July, then I think Suyan is a good choice, or perhaps Sayari. If you travel in June I'd replace Suyan with a camp in the Western Corridor, perhaps Grumeti.

I think the OP is choosing between Plantation, LMTL and Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, not Wildlife Lodge. In any case, Crater Lodge is on the rim so would have the easiest access of the 3. If the OP would like a high end tented camp on the rim, there's Lemala camp on the Sopa side http://www.go-safari.com/NCA/NCAMapMay28.jpg

You're right, Patty. Sorry about the confusion over Wildlife vs Crater Lodge! I should never try to post something while rushing to get out the door.

Crater Lodge is over-the-top luxurious if you are so inclined or your budget can tolerate it. Lemala would be a good choice if you pack some warm clothes for a cool overnight in a tent.

Thanks everyone. I think we want to do Crater lodge - what the heck! And Grumeti sounds like a good sub for Suyan if we end up there in July. The next step will be for us to get our flights finalized - we are using freq flyer miles, so need to wait until mid-late July to start trying to get a flight for June 2009. Thanks for everyone's input. I'll let you know what we end up with.