Hi,

Has anybody ever used Victoria Expeditions for safari? They seem to have very good itineraries but before booking I would like to hear some feedback.

Here is their website www.victoriatz.com

Also would you advise to do a safari in Tanzania & Zanzibar in terms of weather in January/February 2008 ?

Many thanks.
Katerina

Jan/Feb is summer in East Africa. Expect hot temps (80s-90s), though usually relatively dry on the mainland. Evenings will cool down to 60s.

On the coast (ZNZ) is hot, and humid, so recommend you consider air conditioned accommodations, especially for sleeping.

Two trips in the dry season don't make me an expert but I'll respond anyway.

The southern Serengeti has the bulk of the migration and perhaps baby wildes that time of year. So it is an excellent time to go and it is when I'll do Trip #3 to Tanzania.

No knowledge on Victoria Expeditions or Zanzibar.

We did a 17 day safari of Tanzania in January and had very hot & dry weather. It was perfect for us.

We also did 2 nights in Zanzibar. Zanzibar was very hot. We stayed in a small private hotel with no AC we had no choice but to use the mosquito nets which made it even hotter! LOL

Although most of our hotels in Africa were not "tourist" places I would stay at one of the nicer places on Zanzibar next time.

Many thanks for your replies.

Should I be concerned that nobody heard of Victoria Expeditions? Where could I find out any info?

Their itineraries are exactly what I was looking for but I am rather hesitant to book without any feedback...

Could anybody recommend another company specialising in Tanzania and Zanzibar with reseanable prices?

What is your advice?

Thank you.
Katerina

I went to their site and saw TATO affiliation (whom you can contact)and a recommendation in the Arukikata Travelguide's 2002/2003, with which I am not familiar but I’d love to be enlightened by those who use it.

I saw they were in the Tanzania Rough Guide for 2003. Rough Guide holds sway with me. I’d be interested if they have been in any more recent editions, if any have been published. Their website says they don’t contract out, which is good.

A report of a person who hired them out of Arusha. You’ll have to see what she that of them.
http://travel.guardian.co.uk/article...nia.netjetters

There are listed by this hospital as an outfitter
http://www.haydom.no/no/en/TravelToHaydom.htm

Here is another report with them
http://reisverslagen.tomsweb.net/tan...a-English.html

Just because Fodorites don’t know about them, does not mean there is anything wrong with them.

I’d ask them for references that you could speak to. I'd ask how long they've been operating.

I’d post their itinerary here for comments suggestions.

Other Tanzania outfitter possibilities that have been used by Fodorites with success, but I don’t know if all of these do BOTH climbs and Zanzibar, along with a safari.

Sunny Safaris
Good Earth
Roy’s
Green Footprints
Kiliwarriors

Weather, copied in poor format:

Dar Es Salaam
High / Low / Rain
January 87° 77° 3.1
February 88° 77° 2.1
March 80° 60° 2.9
April 76° 61° 6.3
May 74° 59° 4.7
June 73° 56° 1.2
July 71° 54° 0.5
August 72° 54° 0.5
September 76° 55° 1.0
October 78° 58° 1.7
November 75° 60° 4.7
December 75° 59° 3.0


Temperature
(Maximum Celsius)
Area J F M A M J J A S O N D
Serengeti 27 28 28 25 24 22 20 18 22 25 25 27

Rainfall chart.
Area J F M A M J J A S O N D
Serengeti 6 5 13 24 11 0 0 0 3 6 13 11

atravelynn,

Thank you so much for the effort, I really appreciate it!

I will check the links you supplied and ask the company for references.

Thanks again.
Katerina

Hi again, here is one of the safari itineraries that we're highly interested in and I would like your feedback if possible:

Day 1 - Transfer from point of arrival to Arusha.

Day 2 - Depart Arusha at 09.00 am for a 30 minutes drive to Arusha National Park. Here you will participate in a half day walking safari and a half day game drive. You will be accompanied by an armed ranger for the walk. At sunset, you will return to Arusha for dinner and overnight.

Day 3 - Depart Arusha at 09.00 am for a full day in Lake Manyara National
Park. Overnight at the rim of the Great Rift Valley,overlooking Lake Manyara.

Day 4 - Early breakfast at 6.00 am. Game drive en route to Serengeti National Park.

Day 5 - A full day in Serengeti

Day 6 - Another game drive in Serengeti. In the afternoon you drive en route (optional stopover at Olduvai) to the rim of Ngorongoro Crater for dinner and overnight with an excellent view of the crater floor!

Day 7 - A full day in the Ngorongoro Crater.

Day 8 - Transfer to Tarangire National Park for a day of game viewing. In the late afternoon, return to Arusha for overnight.

Day 9 - Transfer to Arusha Airport for flight to Zanzibar



Day 13 - Transfer to Stone Town for a last night.

Day 14 - Return to Arusha or Dar es Salaam for connecting flight home.

A balloon safari can be done in Serengeti on day 5.

Many thanks.
Katerina

This looks fine. I'd do one more day in the Southern Serengeti, even if it meant giving up Tarangire, which is not at its prime in Jan-Feb. Can you include where you are staying?

No comments on Zanzibar. I don't know why I thought you were climbing Kili. You're not.

Most any Africa agent could do this.

atravelynn,

Again many thanks for your comments.

The accommodation provided by Victoria Expeditions is as follows:
Arusha - New Arusha Hotel or Impala Hotel
Great Rift Valley - E Unoto Retreat or Lake Manyara Hotel
Serengeti - Serengeti Sopa Lodge or Seronera Wildlife Lodge
Ngorongoro - Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge or Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge

I have also contacted Sunny Safaris but their prices seem to be quite high 7 days 6 nights Tanzania $1888 per person per night...

Also contacted Kiliwarriors but haven't heard from them yet.

Anybody heard of DM Tours? This company seems to be recommended a lot on Tripadvisor and I was wondering if anybody from Fodors used them.

Many thanks.
Katerina

DM is a tour operator based in Mombasa, Kenya so I don't think it would make sense to contact them about a safari in Tanzania.

Is the Victoria Expeditions itinerary a group one and the Sunny itinerary private? That could account for the cost difference.

There have been some comments about Victoria Expeditions on Tripadvisor. Try a search there. Also try Lonely Planet Thorntree.

Hi Patty,

DM Tours is a company indeed based in Mombasa however they offer safaris in Tanzania as well. Their prices seem to be very encouraging so we'll see what quote they come back with.

The Sunny safaris itinerary seems to be private. I have asked them to quote for a group safari.

We are now also considering to add few days in Kenya to our Tanzania itinerary. Do you think this is wise considering the time of the year? (Jan/Feb 08)

Many thanks for all your kind help.
Katerina

<b>I have also contacted Sunny Safaris but their prices seem to be quite high 7 days 6 nights Tanzania $1888 per person per night...</b>

I agree, staying at the Wildlife Lodges and paying $1,888 per night per person does seem a *bit* high

Bill

Bill H,

Thanks for the correction!
Clearly it was too early for my brain to register that I made a mistake - of course it is $1888 per person per 6 nights NOT per night, sorry for the typo.

Katerina

If your budget and calendar allow time in Kenya, you should do it. Here is a chart of the best wildlife viewing spots in different months.

http://www.africa-adventure.com/dsp_besttime.html

atravelynn,

That is wonderful, this will help a lot in deciding where to go. Thanks for the info!!!!

Katerina

One more question; is it worth splitting our time between Stone Town and Zanzibar beach?

Thanks.
Katerina

Regarding Stone Town and the beach, it depends on what you are looking for. Stone Town is great for wandering around, doing some shopping, doing the cultural sights, going out for meals, etc..... if you just want to lie on a beach, then head for it! I found that after the safari, I had a bit of &quot;cabin-fever&quot; so to speak, and I really just wanted to walk around and take in the sights. The beach in Zanzibar (at least on the East coast where we stayed), is full of hotel complexes on fantastic beaches...but there are no local sights to go and vist and so on. So, it really depends on what your expectations are. We spent two nights at Stone Town and three nights at the beach...if we could do it again, we would probably just stay in Stone Town, but with various day trips to see the dolphins, Spice Tour, Jozani forest, etc....

I liked splitting the time between Stone Town and the beach, but as ally says, it really depends on what you're looking for. I normally don't care for lying around on a beach but found it was a nice way to truly relax after safari and before the long, long flight(s) home.

Keep posting your itinerary questions and good luck.

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