flyingaway2

Hi there,
We were hoping for some feedback on our East Africa itinerary before I send it to some tour operators for pricing (incl lodging options).
We're heading to Africa in Jan 2008 for approx 3 months, and hope to do East Africa for the first 1-1.5 months before heading south.

Day 1 - Arrive Nairobi, stay overnight
Day 2 - head out to Samburu (2 nights)
Day 4 - head to Naivasha area for visiting Hells Gate or Crescent Island (do the walking/biking type safari) for 2 nights
Day 6 - head to Kisumu for 3 nights
Day 9 - go to Homa Bay for 2 nights
Day 11 - head to Busia (Uganda border) and to Jinja for 2 nights in Jinja
Day 13 - to Kampala for 2 nights
Day 15 - head to Kabale (Lake Bunyoni) for 4 nights
Day 19 - head towards Kigali (Rwanda) for the gorilla trek (total 4 nights)
Day 23 - take a flight from Kigali to Kiliminjaro, staying in Kiliminjaro for 2 nights (will probably get into Tanzania the first week of Feb)
Day 25 - drive to Ngnorogoro Crater and stay for 2 nights
Day 27 - drive to the Serengeti and stay for 4 nights
Day 31 - head to Dar Es Salaam for 3 nights
Day 33 - fly to Zanzibar for 3 nights
Day 36 - return to Dar Es Salaam and fly to Mombasa for 3 nights
Day 39 - from Mombasa, head up to Lamu for another 3 nights
Day 42 - head from Lamu, Kenya to South Africa via Nairobi

A few notes:
- we decided to do the gorilla trek in Rwanda vs Uganda because we want to see the Genocide Museum and visit Rwanda after the extrocities
- we know we can do a lot more games in Kenya & Tanzania, but to save costs we thought we'd do 4 parks (total of 10 days).

We plan to do most of the trip via road travel (shuttle bus) to save costs and will only fly when the distances exceed 10 hours by road. Would appreciate some expert advice from all of the Africa experts on Fodors - are we doing too much, not enough time in one place, too much time in another etc? Is there any other place that people highly recommend?

Everyone's help is much appreciated!

allycb

Hi there!
My initial reaction is one of complete jealousy! What a fantastic trip and how lucky you are to have so much time!
Can only comment very briefly on my experience in Tanzania, but I am sure the many experts on the board will have more info' for you.
4 nights in the Serengeti and 2 nights in the Crater will give you a good taste of a safari in Tanzania, and obviously staying longer will bump up the costs. Bear in mind that it is a very long way from the Serengeti to Dar-es-salam. You might want to consider flying from Kilimanjaro Airport to Zanzibar and then spending time in Dar-es-salam after Zanzibar. You also seem to have a lot of beach time planned in....I would perhaps consider spending longer in say Zanzibar where there is plenty to do (we stayed 5 nights and that was just about right), and perhaps less in Mombasa?
Keep us posted as to your plans!

chacheetah

I'm throwing my plans out the window and coming with you..
but I am flying.
Cc

sandi

January is summer in East Africa, so beach time and water is good. And, while is will be hot on the mainland during safari, it's dry. Once you hit the coast, the humidity will hit. Just be sure to get accommodations that, at minimum, have ceiling fans... a/c would be better, but as it appears you're on a budget, this amenity might not fit.

Oh, to be able to travel for months at a time. I can only dream!

flyingaway2

Thanks for your responses!

Allycb - great idea about flying directly from Kilimanjaro to Zanzibar and then doing the return into Dar Es Salaam. This will definitely save us some time. I think we're also going to look into seeing how much a flight from Dar Es Salaam to Lamu will be so that we don't have to stop in Mombasa (which we were doing mainly to break the drive).

We'll keep everyone posted as we update our itinerary. Thanks again!