emetro

Hello All:
I am getting ready to commit to a safari in late July and would love your insight and input to my choice of guide and itinerary. I am a single mom traveling with two teenage boys ages 18 and 15. Here goes...

Micato, The Lingingstone Wing Safari

Day 1 - Nairobi
Norfolk Hotel

Day 2 – Nairobi
Safari briefing, city tour

Day 3 – Amboseli
Fly to Amboseli National Park
Amboseli Serena Lodge/ Ol Tukai Lodge

Day 4 – Amboseli
Amboseli Serena Lodge/Ol Tukai Lodge

Day 5 – Nairobi and drive to The Ark/Mountain Lodge
Treetop Lodge

Day 6 –Ol Pejeta Ranch
Sweetwaters Tented Camp

Day 7 – Mount Kenay Safari Club

Day 8 –Maasai Mara
Mara Safari Club/Kichwa Tembo Camp

Day 9 Massai Mara
Mara Safari Club/ Kichwa Tembo Camp

Day 10 Nairobi

And home.

Many thanks!
Erin

atravelynn

Lucky boys!

The trip reports of those who have gone with Micato are all highly positive. One other plus to Micato is late July is high season and even now properties are filling up. If Micato has space for you, then you don't need to worry about booking individual properties.

However, the general consensus of those on this board, and me too, is that Micato is quite costly. There are many other reputable agents that offer high quality, excellent guiding, a better itinerary, and complete reliablity for less money. You can even have your own private safari very easily. Taking your boys, you want don't want cheap and risky and I understand and agree.

Here is a sampling of some of those agents. You can call them to give yourself an education, get some alternate itineraries, or the same itinerary at their cost. It will let you know where Micato stands in relation to other alternatives so you can either choose Micato from a knowledgable standpoint or go elsewhere.

Africa Adventure
Africa Serendipty
Eastern & Southern Safaris
Good Earth
Roys

Here are some of my comments on your itinerary and hopefully others will add theirs.
-Amboseli with Ol Tukai is good, but will be dusty that time of year.
-The Ark or Treetops are fun places and interesting night time water hole accommodations.
-Sweetwaters has a Jane Goodall Chimp Sanctuary with chimps that are not wild, but have been rescued from bad situations. It's the only place in Kenya for chimps. Your best shot at rhino in this itinerary.
-Mt. Kenya Safari Club tends to be a bit fancy (one of the few fancy places) with decent game. With Ark/Treetops and Sweetwaters, you don't need Mt. Kenya from a geographic standpoint to round things out. But the accommodations are supposed to be really nice. I don't know that fancy & really nice is what your boys need. Maybe at this point Mom does, though.
-Only 2 nights in the Mara at this time of year is not a good plan. To me this is the biggest drawback. The accommodations would be fine but you need at least 3 nights here with 4 being good too.

Finally, see what others have done by checking this East Africa thread, prepared by LyndaS who used Micato and was quite happy with her trip.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34860283

Please post again on this thread as you make your decisions.

LyndaS

Erin - Lynn is right - we LOVED the Micato trip, they are a first rate company and it was a first rate trip. I would go again with them in a heartbeat - actually as I put in one post, I would go with them everytime we go to Africa (which is I hope MANY many more times!) as long as I could afford it each time!

We loved the flying to and from the camps/lodges, we loved the camps & lodges themseleves - on the Stanley Wing (which we took), as well as your Livingstone Wing, they are not the most luurious there are, and they are bigger than most people on this board like, but we thought they were great. I still felt as though we were in Africa even though there was 100-150 other people in the lodges - I really didn't even notice other people too much at all. Besides, we like other people around us, which is why a group trip appealed to us. It was chosen on purpose.

And, we loved the 24 x 7 concierge that you get with each group, as well as the comfort of knowing that whatever goes wrong - small or large - it will be fixed. Their vehicles (extended Toyota Land Cruisers) were comfortable, reliable & roomy - it never felt like we were 'crammed in'. (which we weren't). Their driver/guides were very knoweledgable & friendly & personable.

A real first rate trip for sure.

And, we found that all in the group were very considerate of one another, everyone really made a good and true effort to always think of the group as a whole (well, except where the baby cheetahs were concerned when I could have thrown Sylvia out fo the van! - see my trip report). We found that everyone in our group were very savvy travellers which could have accounted for this.

Lynn is right though about most of the people on this board do like to take private safaris, and like to say where and when they would like to go and stay. I can understand that, but we really wanted to do a group trip as we love to be with people. We have travelled to the ends of the earth with groups of friends (and still remained friends!) but we had never traveled with a group of strangers before. And, we loved it!

Lynn, your response was well phrased by the way, you really are a fabulous resource to this board!

The itineray looks great by the way, we went to most of the same places (Amboseli, the Mara, Mt Kenya, Sweetwaters). We didn't go the the Ark though, or into the Aberdares. Some on this board say it has had it's time, but I believe Patty was saying that they are renovating it - by July I'm sure it will be much better!

emetro

Thanks so much for your guidance. I will take a look at the other guide services and itineraries before I make the final decision. Ideally, I would like to visit the Serengeti and the Crater in addition to Maasia Mara.

atravelynn

Why thank you Lynda. Haven't I read you've been hinting at a return? How goes that?

emetro,
Serengeti, Crater, Mara are a good combo and easily combined. I have gone to those places in late July. The Mara was more productive gamewise at that time, but both were worthwhile. I'd do Tanzania with the Serengeti before Kenya if going in late July since the Serengeti generally has more animals in early July and the Maasai Mara has more animals in later July.

Late July is an excellent and therefore popular time to go so I would not delay.

sandi

For late July/early August, you can easily find a better itinerary, especially with teens along and looking at the Micato price of close to $10K each, it's hefty.

If you can arrive Kilimanjaro*, you can do the following:
Day 1 - Arv. JRO - o/n
Day 2 - Drive to Tarangire - o/n
Day 3 - Tarangire - o/n
Day 4 - Drive to Ngorongoro; afternoon crater tour - o/n
Day 5 - Morning crater tour (or not); drive via Olduvai Gorge to Serengeti - o/n
Day 6 - Serengeti - o/n
Day 7 - Fly to Arusha; fly to Wilson; connect to Masai Mara - o/n
Day 8 - Masai Mara - o/n
Day 9 - Masai Mara - o/n
Day 10- Fly to NBO; sightseeing; homebound.

*If arriving NBO, you'd just o/n here then next morning, Day 2 fly to JRO and commence with drive to Tarangire.

Tarangire will provide the elephant and amazing landscape experieince; Ngorongoro is Ngorongoro; in the Serengeti the predators; and in the Mara everything else, with some of the migrating herds already here.

And for the same price (probably way less), you can probably get nicer accommodations than what Micato is offering. Assume you'd be looking for a triple, though difficult with grown children; the 15/yr old might be eligible for a discount.

emetro

Thank you all for your insight!

Exploring a bit more...Africa Adventure Co. offers an interesting tour that includes stays in tented camps which seem perfect for teenage boys.

Day 1 - travel

Day 2 - Nairobi - Nairobi Serena Hotel

Day 3 and 4 - Fly to Kilimanjaro.
Ngorongoro Crater. 2 nights Ngo. Sopa Lodge or Ngo. Serena Lodge.

Day 5 - Lake Manyara. Lake Manyara Lodge.

Day 6 and 7 - Tarangire Park. 2 nights Kikoti tented camp.

Day 8 - On to Arusha. overnight at Mountain Village.

Day 9 through 12 - Fly to Niarobi and on to Masai Mara. 4 nights Mara Intrepid, Little Governor's, Mara Explorer or mobile camp.

Day 13 and 14 Fly to Nairobi and back home.

Has anyone traveled with The African Adventure Company?

Any experience staying at any of the camps/lodges?

As best I can tell the travel distance between parks is about 3 hours. Yes? No?


Many thanks....

Geelong2007

emetro
this last itinerary by Africa Adventure Co. doesnt offer the Serengeti and to me looks rather mediocre
What a waste to go to Tanzania without going there
Sandi's itinerary is far better
go and by a guide book The Lonely Planet or the Rough guide then choose some operators, email them Sandi's itinerary and see what the Operators say
you can then compare accom. and costs etc

atravelynn

This is a nice itinerary. Any agent could offer these properties.

<b>Traveled with AAC?</b> Yes, I have several times in East Africa and Southern Africa and all has been perfect.

I've written on Fodors before that this is one agent I have put to the test by needing help beyond itinerary setup and execution and they came through. Once in 2001 I had a trip for 4 all set for Uganda &amp; Kenya, and at the last minute there were Uganda border security issues that fell short of a state dept warning but caused us concern for our safety and for whether gorilla tracking would even be allowed when we were there. AAC traded our Uganda plans for exactly what I requested as a replacement in Tanzania with very litte lead time. Among us we had 12 gorilla permits that we did not use and did not have to pay for and they made airline changes and did not charge us any change fees.

Another time, a cancelled Air Botswana flight left dozens stranded in Johannesburg when we arrived too late for our international flights out. One collect callto AAC and I was on another airline carrier's flight home with only a day of delay while others were still stranded, waiting, and sorting out their options.

Not that other agents couldn't and wouldn't do that. But they DID do this for me, plus other things. I've used other agents for Africa as well with no problem, but never required this extra assistance.

Having given those compliments, when other posters have checked AAC's East Africa itineraries with competitors' they have sometimes posted that AAC was more expensive. I have not found that when I check around, but it could be that I haven't been back to Kenya-Tanzania for awhile so I've not been comparing those itineraries or it could be that I'm a repeat client. Or maybe those finding AAC to be higher were comparing apples and oranges. In East Africa guide quality can vary widely and paying for excellent guides is important. Whatever the reasons for cost differences, thought I'd mention it.

<b>Stayed in those lodges/camps?</b>
Crater--Sopa. I loved it for the private access road, wildlife around the lodge, and view. Others prefer the slightly higher scale Serena. I've also stayed at the less costly Wildlife Lodge and thought it was real nice too.

Manayara Lodge--just fine, not too fancy. Monkeys all around.

Tarangire--not stayed at that place. There are lots of posts on places in Tarangire. You can do walks and night drives at Kikoti.

Mara--Of the 3, I stayed at Little Gov's and loved it.

Three hours is about right for driving.

You are giving up some cool places in Kenya that were offered with Micato and you are giving up the days in the Serengeti that Sandi suggested. But late July is a little better in the Mara than the Serengeti from my experience.

Now you have 3 itineraries. The plot thickens.

Geelong2007

In August 2006 I visited Tranagire and spent some time driving around outside the park visited
Tarangire Treetops, Boundary Hill Lodge and Kikoti
Kikoti is in the middle of nowhere, mediocre tents, mediocre views and has been built to cater for the large groups that Ranger Safaris and Thomsons have
as far as I am concerend a place to avoid
no matter what itinerary you choose I wouldnt stay there

atravelynn

Here are a bunch of threads that include discussions on where to stay in Tarangire. If you look at them, you might want to use the Find feature to zero in on Tarangire because some of these threads are all over the place.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34462187

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34684705

ttp://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=4&amp;tid=34788527

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34553773

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34909905

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34920311

Geelong2007

Wow
I stand humbled
BUT I still wouldn't go to Kikoti or while I am at it Tarangire Safari Lodge for that matter
the rooms/tents are so much like a bootcamp
for a good look at Tarangire Lodges camps
check out the go-safari.com site
BUT all pale into comparison when you look at Tarangire Treetops and Boundary Hill lodge these two are luxury

emetro

Sandi..
Any chance I could book this through
you?
Erin

atravelynn

Erin,

Sandi won't be able to respond here. You can google Africa Serendipity.

emetro

Thanks!