adels171955

My husband and I, both about 70, are planning a first time safari in Tanzania and Kenya for January 2025. We are looking for a moderately priced small group guided tour, preferably with hotels not tents and flights instead of long bus rides between destinations? Your recommendations are most appreciated!

KTtravel

I know Road Scholar and OAT (Overseas Adventure Travel) offer group trips to these areas. We have taken two Road Scholar trips to other areas which I really enjoyed.

We found the price for planning a private trip was not that much more than a group grip for these countries and we liked being able to plan our own with a safari planning company. If you do a search on this thread, you can read trip reports from those who have taken trips planned by various planners. We visited Kenya in 2022 and enjoyed our trip arranged through The Wild Source.

adels171955

Thank you for your reply and recommendations. I will look into both! Thanks

TravelBeyond

Hi adels171955,



January in Tanzania will be gorgeous, if you wanted to consider pushing the trip to February you will have a chance to witness the wildebeest birthing season that (historicall) happens in the Southern Serengeti in February. Almost all the accommodations in Tanzania for safari will either be a lodge style, which means it’s a permanent structure (brick & mortar) or tented style. I know the word tent can seem a little scary, but many of the tented accommodations in Tanzania are just as nice or nicer than most hotel rooms. Flying is possible and you would take what’s called a shared light aircraft flight between the properties, these are prop planes that usually have 12-16 seats on them. Most flights between camps are around an hour or less. As KTtravel mentioned, planning a private trip where you can pick and choose properties and experiences based on your interests/budget isn’t that much more than a small group trip, sometimes it can be less! Kenya is also great in January and in fact Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park and Kenya’s Masai Mara are the same ecosystem, they’re just separated by an imaginary border. You may find that you only need to go to Tanzania or Kenya based on what you want to see and do. Good luck with your planning!

adels171955

Thank you Jenny!

hopester

Hi Adels171955. I've visited Tanzania twice (in 2009 and again this year in February when we also visited Uganda). I also visited Kenya in 2020 (when we also visited Uganda and Rwanda). On all three occasions, we did safari. In Kenya, we flew into the Mara from Nairobi and did tented camping (which is glamping for sure!). If you want more information on what we did in Kenya, I'm happy to provide it. Here I want to share what I recommend related to Tanzania safari.

I HIGHLY recommend a visit to Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti, particularly if you can visit in late January/early February when the great migration is in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (picture thousands and thousands of wildebeast and zebra as far as the eye can see). You can fly or drive into the Serengeti. The Crater and Conservation Area are between Arusha (which is generally the starting point for safari adventures in Tanzania) and the Serengeti, so often people drive to the Crater for an overnight or two and then proceed to the Serengeti (a few hours more on the road). While flying is more time efficient, please consider driving between the Crater and Serengeti as the migration is truly something to see. If you prefer lodges over tented camping, you may want to check out the Serena and Sopa Lodges as options (both have lodges in a variety of locations in Tanzania). I stayed in the Sopa Lodge in 2009 on the edge of the Crater and it was quite lovely. Each time I have traveled to East Africa, I have worked with a tour company based in Africa. On the last two trips, I worked with Phoenix Safaris to put together a customized trip. Your tour operator will be able to book everything for you (althoug we booked our own international flights between the U.S. and Africa). They can advise on how to see all the things you want to see and where flying or driving makes the most sense. It's really about what you want to see and how much you are trying to fit into your trip.

Each time we have visited, we have had our own private vehicle and driver. We were just two in 2009, a group of four in 2020, and a group of five in 2024. While you can easily see the Crater in just a few hours-long game drive, you will want more time in the Serengeti. We were also tacking on chimp and gorilla trekking on our trips so had to limit our time on safari, but I found that two nights in the Serengeti worked well for us. We got an afternoon drive the first day, a full day game drive on day two, and additional wild life viewing when we left the Serengeti on the third day. Many people do longer safaris; while that would increase your chances of seeing harder to spot animals (e.g., cheetah, leopards), I have to say that we had tremendous luck in our viewings. Regardless of how short your visit to the Serengeti, you will undoubtedly see giraffe, elephants, zebra, wildebeast, hippos, and all manner of gazelle and impala, ostrich, and many, many other birds. We also had great luck seeing lions (32 in all on this most recent trip).

I have also done chimp trekking in the Mahale Mountains in Western Tanzania (which is beyond incredible). That requires hiking in the rain forest, so that may not appeal to you. My next trip will be in 2026 when we'll also go to Zanzibar, which i have not yet visited. Please let me know if you have any question and I'll try to answer them. I have done a lot of planning for our trips and am very happy to share what I have learned.

I'm including a few photos here.

Heimdall

I took a similar safari trip several years ago in February, and can assure you the migratory herds in SW Serengeti were amazing! Miles and miles of herds between Seronera Valley, where we were flown from Arusha, and Ngorongoro Crater. Not only were there wildebeest and zebra, but several species of antelope, including eland and Grant’’s gazelle. Keeping pace with the herds were predators, including lion, cheetah and spotted hyena.

I have to say I found Serena Lodges to be superior to Sopa, but both are very nice. The Serena Lodge in Seronera Valley had rooms in individual rondavols with the restaurant in the main building. The grounds were safe, but we encountered a lion keeping guard of its kill only a few hundred yards from the lodge. One thing I found fascinating was a tree with weaver bird nests in the middle of the complex.

We stayed at a Sopa Lodge on the rim of the crater, with spectacular views. The rim is about 2,000 ft above the crater floor and over 7,000 ft altitude, so it was cold in the evenings. In the crater you can see most of the “Big 5”, and we even had a family of lion cubs crawl under our vehicle for shade, with mama lioness keeping watch right outside the window. Two leopards crossed the road in front of one of our vehicles as we left Sopa for the next game park.