pcex

Hello! I'm looking into a safari in Sept. or Oct. My ideal itinerary would include both Kenya and Tanzania. Has anyone had any experience with either Somak Tours or African Horizons? I'm loathe to just book off the internet without some references or feedback. There are so many tour operators; how does one identify the better ones? Thanks for the help.

atravelynn

http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...lease-read.cfm

Because Somak built a property in the Mara in what they knew was sensitive rhino habitat, I would never travel with that company. Their destructive and greedy actions should not be rewarded.

For more assistance, list the itinerary you are interested in.

Good luck.

cary999

FWIW, twice in the last 8 years I've tried to work up a Kenya safari with a Somak office in Brea CA. Both times we had "a failure to communicate".

regards - tom

pcex

Thanks atravelynn and cary999. There are too many other companies out there to do business with one that is irresponsible. I'm currently considering the following itinerary:
1 nt Arusha
1 nt Lake Manyara ( Kirurumu Tent Camp)
2 nts Serengeti (Mbuzi Mawe Tent Camp)
2 nts Ngorongoro (Plantation Lodge)
1 nt Tarangire
1nt Nairobi (Southern Sun Mayfair)
2 nts Lake Elementaita (Sunbird Lodge)
3 nts Masai Mara (Mara Simba lodge)
The trip is with Albatros Travel at about $4400 p.p. but I still need to add travel between Tanz. and Kenya.
Comments?
Thanks!

cary999

Lots of moving about between camps. The ones in Tanzania I believe will require a few hours drive (half day?) in transit. I don't like that, it's wasted time. I don't know enough transit details to advise you on what to cut or where. Perhaps stay -only- in Tanzanian or Kenyian camps (not both).

regards - tom

atravelynn

Approx drive times

Arusha to Lake Manyara = 2.5 hrs
Manyara to Central Serengeti = 5-ish hrs
Central Serengeti to Crater = 3+ hours
Crater to Tarangire = 3.5 hours

You can either fly Kilimanjaro to Nairobi or drive Arusha to Nairobi, driving takes around 6 hours

NBO to Nakuru (Elementaita is nearby) = 2.5 hrs
Nakuru to Mara = 6-7 hours

You can either drive or fly Mara back to NBO, driving takes 5-6 hours

The time of year you are going is very good for elephants in Tarangire. Of all your parks, Tarangire offers the best elephant viewing. Could you add one more day there? It is more typical to stay 1 nt Nakuru 2nts Tarangire than it is to stay 2 nts Nakuru 1 nt Tarangire. (Elementaita is your "Nakuru" stop.)

Sept/Oct are months when the migration (that is not in the Maasai Mara of Kenya) is usually in the Northern Serengeti. You are in Central Serengeti. The water source in Central Serengeti means animals congregate year round, but probably not many migtrating wildes and zebras.

Is this a private or group departure? Don't know about Albatross.

This is similar to the itinerary for my 1st trip. Quite a bit of moving around. It worked out fine for an overview.

To help you decide on where to go and how many nights, what do you hope to see and do on this safari? If you start there, then the itinerary can be built around your goals.

On the drives to/from camps you will not typically see wildlife, except to/from Serengti and maybe a few hours outside of the Mara. Best to spend more time in fewer places if you wish to maximize sightings.

If you look at the second chart in this link, it shows wildlife most likely seen in different parks. That can help you decide where you want to go.

http://www.africa-adventure.com/best_time_to_go

This itinerary can be improved upon, but it would give you a good trip at a great time of year to travel.

pcex

Thanks to everyone for your input. I'm trying to work with a group departure in Tanzania to keep costs down, then a private tour on Kenya. I may switch the Kenya portion to just 3 nights at Mara Porini with GameWatchers. It would be nice to experience a private conservancy as well as Masai Mara.

sandi

1 nt Arusha
1 nt Lake Manyara ( Kirurumu Tent Camp)
2 nts Serengeti (Mbuzi Mawe Tent Camp)
2 nts Ngorongoro (Plantation Lodge)
1 nt Tarangire
1nt Nairobi (Southern Sun Mayfair)
2 nts Lake Elementaita (Sunbird Lodge)
3 nts Masai Mara (Mara Simba lodge)

Based on the above, be aware that for the 2nts at Ngorongoro, the Plantation Lodge (lovely) isn't at the crater (certainly not on the rim), but about a 30/min drive farther east in the town of Karatu. Thus if using this to visit the crater it's not only a longer drive from the Serengeti, but to visit the crater, you drive west those 30/min and then back another 30/min to the lodge.

Better to spend 1/nt on Crater rim, which will from the Serengeti likely get you there too late for a full 6/hrs on the crater floor, but you can do the crater tour next morning and then just head onto Tarangire (skip Plantation Ldg in Karatu altogether) and spend 2/nts at this lovely park.

If you decide to do one country as "group" know that you will be stuck with their itinerary - often rushed, set lodging, etc. so you might not get sufficient time at any one area.

Sept/Oct is really great for the Masai Mara in Kenya, rather than just the Central area of the Serengeti. So you might want to consider this. Porini Mara Camp (6/tents) is lovely, but is rather expensive; you might want to consider their Porini Lion Camp (10/tents), which is a tad less and just as nice, and closer to the Reserve itself.

As to the Elementaita stop for 2/nts, does this include a 1/day visit to Lake Nakuru? This is usually why you'll find 2/nts in the "lakes" area (if not Nakuru proper)... to enable you to visit Nakuru.

<i>"but I still need to add travel between Tanz. and Kenya."</i> Sorry, but I don't quite understand. On departing Tarangire, does Albatros leave you in the middle of nowhere and not get you to Nairobi? The way it shows, it would be assumed that there is some transport from Tarangire to Nairobi... gather this is probably by road (figure about 8-9/hrs). I'd have Albatros verify.

pcex

Sandi,
Thanks for your great comments. I should have stated that it's through 2 different tour operators. Albatros's tour ends in Arusha. We can get airport transfers and flights to Nairobi from them or we can go by shuttle. I know it's a long drive, but in some ways, I'd like to do that. If we're going to fly, maybe we should go from the Serengeti directly to Mara. I'm sure that can be done.
Porini Mars has a promotion at $1225 for 4 days/ 3 nights including shuttle to/ from Nairobi. That seemed to be a pretty good price. My other option is 2 nts. Sweetwaters Tent Camp and 3 nts. Mara Simba Lodge. I lean toward Porini.
Comments? Thanks to all.

WindowlessOffice

I haven't been to Sweetwaters or Mara Simba, but I stayed at three of the Porini properties last year and absolutely loved them. The staff was very friendly and welcoming (in fairness, nearly all camps I've seen reviewed here have gotten great word of mouth), the guiding was wonderful, and I loved that the camps were located in private conservancies. The privacy was particularly welcome because it meant that ours was almost always the only vehicle at a sighting -- watching lions mating or cheetah brothers wrestling one another, with no other vehicles in sight, was a thrilling thing. We left the conservancies and entered the parks as often as we liked, but I found that the viewing was often better in the conservancies and it was great to have the option to return to the privately held areas.

Whatever you decide, I'm sure it will be lovely. Have a great trip!