Hi! I've been in close contact with Naipenda safaris for the last few days, and they just proposed the following itinerary for a January, private, two person safari, all meals inclusive. The cost, however, seems a little steep, or maybe I'm just a little naive. 3,085 pp for the safari, plus another 162 pp for flight to Serengeti. Anyway, he's pared down itinerary:

Day one: Arrive at JRO and proceed onward to Serengeti flight. Meet guide at Sererona airstrip. Game drive and meals as time allows . Overnight Sopa.

Day two-four: Game drives in Serengeti

Day five: Leave Serengeti for Crater. Stop at Olduvai gorge. Optional Maasai village visit. Overnight Ngorongoro Sopa.

Day six: Full day (or six-hour, depending on park rules) game drive in Crater. Overnight Ngorongoro Sopa.

Day seven: Depart crater for Lake Manyara. Overnight Sopa or Serena (I forget which ;-))

Day eight: Tarangire Park. Overnight Sopa.

Day nine: Returned to Arusha to for outbound flight.

I had good contact with Serah at Naipenda, but found that when the final itinerary was completed, they were priced higher than some of the other better known outfitters.

I hear they provide a good safari, but I prefer to go with a larger and IMHO better outfitter.

Just MHO.

It seems a bit pricey to me, also. You should be able to stay at some tented camps for that price.

Seems a bit high to me too for 8 nights using Sopa accomodations. Have you contacted other operators?

I have to think that Naipenda made a calculation error? It is unusual for a local outfitter to quote this high.

If not, then yes, try Sunny and others often mentioned here.

I would skip the Lake Manyara stay (you can see plenty in only 2-3 hours)and do 2 nights in Tarangire.

Serengeti Sopa is fine but a bit far south for (early?) January as the plains will probably be dry and void of much wildlife. I suspect you will do most of your game drives at Seronera so the Wildlife Lodge may be a better option for you and save you more $$.

I also think you should include a few nights under canvas but that's up to you

Have to agree with Eben, Patty - price is high for accommodations at Sopa and/or Serena properties. Averages $385/pppnt (not including the flight to the Serengeti. And for an itinerary using all Sopa props, there should be some reduction afforded you.

Also in agreement with Eben, visit Manyara, then head to Tarangire to overnight (for total 2-nts.) using the Sopa.

Ask Naipenda to reconfirm these prices. If they don't budge, there are other outfitters who can provide more competitive prices.

Hi guys! Thanks for all of your responses. At least I'm not totally crazy. And I just heard back from Roy's today and they are over $600 pp cheaper, so I think that I'll go with them.

One more thing. Is Tarangire Park a good one to see at this time of year? Susan keeps telling me it's not, but I think we have at least a full day at Lake Manyara (2 nights). I was wondering if this could be better spent somewhere else.

"Is Tarangire Park a good one to see at this time of year?"

We did a similar trip January 2006, 3 nights Tarangire, 2 nights Manyara, 5 nights Ndutu (edge of Serengeti), 3 nights Crater staying at several of the same lodges you mentioned ... we felt Tarangire was the least interesting park of the ones visited, fwiw. The scenery with the baobab trees was nice though. We were mainly trying to photograph wildlife and it was a bit too dispersed at Tarangire in January. Our guides told us Tarangire was excellent later on, say July - Sept. We are going back for 13 days next January and skipping Tarangire.

Roy's is a good choice of outfitters.

Bill

Huladolphin:

Just another datapoint. It's interesting your experience with Naipenda's pricing. I just came back from a private safari with Naipenda, booking through their US business partner (Jo Bertone). It was a 10 day trip including 3 nights on mobile camp, tented camps and smaller lodges (no Sopa) and flight back from Seronera; I booked this after comparing prices to my friends who had already booked a private safari with Roy's on very similar itinerary but 8 days only (they're skipping Lake Manyara) and no flight, staying mostly Sopa and some tented camps. The pricing was very comparable on a pppn basis between the two outfitters.

For what it's worth, we had a great experience with Naipenda. Our guide was fantastic, car was new and in great shape. We also met the owner who used to work for Ranger Safari (if I recall correctly) and has been running Naipenda for 10 or so years and has 10+ vehicles today.