moremiles

Would love to get some advice on an itinerary for our Aug. 05 trip. We thinking of another safari with our son(now 16) but want to do something different that what we did in Botswana. For Tanzania, we're considering 2 nts Swala camp, 2 nts Lake Manyara Tree Lodge, 2nts crater, 3 nts Klein's camp, 2 nts. Grumeti river lodge. It sounds like it might be too many game run days although this time we will be able to visit villages and see local people, not just wildlife. Any suggestions? Thanks

sandi

August is Migration time in East Africa, and while never a guarantee, the wildebeest, zebra and antelope herds should already have arrived in the Masai Mara in Kenya, something you should consider.

In order to do this and if you have to eliminate something, I'd pass on the Grumeti River Lodge, as the herds will be long gone by then.

Taragire is an excellent choice, as during this time there is a smaller migration at this Park.

And you might want to consider some time in the coastal areas at the end of your safari - Zanzibar, Pemba or Mnemba islands. Or if any of you are divers - Mafia Island is excellent.

moremiles

Thanks Sandi. I have been told that we may have a chance to see some of the migration from Klein's camp during the first 2wks of August-speculation, of course, and the advice came from the camp itself. I'm worried that we may be spending too many days game viewing though and since we live at the beach, we are not interested in a beach vacation, although Stone Town does sounds fascinating.

sandi

So many of us who post here can never get enough days on safari, so we tend to feel "the more days, the better" - but in the end it's your decision.

And while you may see some of the herds in/around Kleins, you'll likely see more in the Masai Mara in Kenya. This is where the Migration takes place between August-October.

With the exception of Swala Camp, you appear to be using all CCAfrica properties and CCA does have a property in the Mara, namely, Kichwa Tembo, Bateleur camp - but there are lots of other luxury camps in/around the Mara. If you wanted to include time in the Mara, which from those who do, says is the best experience at this time of year, I'd eliminate Lake Manyara. Sure, Tree Lodge is lovely, but that's it, the lodge. Personally, time would better be spent in the Mara.

If you haven't purchased (or using FF miles) for flights, consider flying into Kilimanjaro in Tanzania - head to Tarangire, then Ngorongoro Crater, then Klein's. Fly from Kleins to Arusha, connect to flight to Zanzibar, spending two-days Stone Town (it's a break from safari) then fly from Zanzibar to Nairobi and onward flight to the Mara. When finished at the Mara, return to NBO from where you can take your homebound flight.

... other options.

moremiles

Thanks so much for the advice! Now our itinerary is looking like Nairobi, 1night, 3nts Bateleur camp, 3nts Klein's, 2 nts Crater, 3nts Grumeti and hopefully we'll catch some of the migration! I'd love to go to Zanzibar but think we'll wait for the next trip when it's just the two of us. Unfortunately, using FF miles, we can only get into JNB so we are spending 2nts at the Michelangelo first and have to purchase airfare for the rest. We're using CCAfrica camps mainly because they use only open vehicles and after Botswana, I can't go back to pop-tops, etc.