Can anyone give me ballpark numbers for a nice (not budget) 2 week vacation for a family of 4 (2 teenage girls) in Tanzania? Can we do it for $12,000? Is it closer to $20,000? We'd be flying from Boston and going in March 2009

Hi... I think Sandi would be the best person.... know the flight prices etc etc....

Tanz is really nice... which parks are u planning to visit... u must do serengeti and the crater, manyara or tarangire...or do both parks....zanzibar should be nice

let us know what u plan

Sonali

Here's a basic 13 day family trip (3 days flying to/from Tz, 10 nights on safari) using mid-range lodges for around $12,000 plus airfare ...
http://www.goodearthtours.com/tanzan...ily_lodge.html

You can see some of their other itineraries at this link:
http://www.goodearthtours.com/tanzania_itineraries.html

I'm not specifically recommending this company (Good Earth) but they have a pretty decent reputation for mid-range but relatively low cost safaris. We've actually used a different company who has somewhat higher quality trips at similar prices, but they don't post detailed itineraries and prices like Good Earth does.

Bill

Prices will vary depending on type of accommodations and parks visited. Children under 16 sharing with parents are entitled to a discount (will vary); can be 1/parent w/ 1/child; both girls in 1/room, parents in another.

Air from BOS will range from $1300-$1500/person. NW/KLM flies from here via AMSterdam, direct into Kilimanjaro (JRO) from where you'd commence safari. Assuming 12/days on the ground and visiting in March which is one of the "summer" months, you might want to consider a few days on the beach at conclusion of safari. Days on the beach are also less expensive than those on safari. If so, Zanzibar is ideal and instead of returning to JRO for homebound flight, you can fly to Dar-es-Salaam (DAR) 15/min flight to catch the late KLM via AMS, back to BOS.

During March, the migrating wildebeest herds ("calving" their young) are in the Ndutu area or Southern Serengeti, where you should concentrate. Also the Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara. This is also a peak time to travel with prices to match. I would also suggest traveling earlier in the month as the rains start later when the "long" rains start (Apr/May).

An itinerary to consider:
Day 1 - Arv. JRO, o/n in Arusha
Day 2 - Visit Arusha Natl Pk, walking & canoe safari; maybe a school visit or a village visit - o/n Arusha
Day 3 - Drive to Ngorongoro Crater; afternoon crater tour - o/n
Day 4 - Ngo - morning crater tour; afternoon crater rim walk or Olmoti crater trek - o/n
Day 5 - Drive to Ndutu or So.Serengeti - o/n Ndutu Ldg or a tented camp
Days 6 & 7 - Ndutu or So.Serengeti
Day 8 - Drive to Lk Manyara - o/n
Day 9 - Drive to Arusha; fly to Zanzibar - beach resort
Days 10 & 11 - ZNZ - beach resort
Day 12 - Drive to Stone Town; town tour, shopping; evening transfer to ZNZ airpot for flight to DAR and homebound flight.

The GoodEarth itineraries BillH shows are group departures, if you choose to travel with a group and other youngsters. But you can arrange a private itinerary for your family as you wish, where to visit, for how long, your choice of lodging, etc. Any number of tour operators/outfitters can arrange such.

2009 prices will not be available before mid-'08 (starting June), but if you wish space at Ndutu Lodge especially, small and in demand, I'd suggest you book this as early as you can.

Thank you to everyone who replied, from the info you gave and links you provided, I'm thinking this will be about a $20,000 vacation. A little more than I expected, but I think I may start some more extensive research. We're definitely thinking of some beach days at the end. It does seem everyone flies NW/KLM, why is that? Do they have the most direct flights? My husband was thinking we'd fly through London.

<b>It does seem everyone flies NW/KLM, why is that? Do they have the most direct flights?</b>

The ONLY direct flight from Europe to Kilimanjaro is the KLM flight from Amsterdam. Going out isn't so bad (you leave early AM, arrive at night) but the flight back is awful, leaving late at night, stopping in Dar for an hour and arriving at Amsterdam near sunrise. I hate this flight! Too tall to sleep on the plane.

<b>My husband was thinking we'd fly through London.</b>

You can fly to Nairobi or maybe Dar from London and then catch a connecting flight to Arusha, or drive from Nairobi. I think up to 40% of safari visitors do something like this, especially if visiting Kenya as well as Tz.

Bill

We're flying through London again after debating whether to change this year and fly via Amsterdam. From the west coast of Canada it is actually cheaper for us to fly through London, and we want to stop over in Nairobi on the way home, so this arrangement works best for us. With the Amsterdam flight, as Bill mentions, there is no option to stop in Nairobi.

If you wish to visit Kenya (Nairobi, the Masai Mara, other) you can certainly fly via AMS. KLM flies into NBO, JRO and DAR; flies home from all three.

Many fly into NBO, spend whatever time in Kenya and then head into Tanzania via road or air. Their homebound flight can be out of JRO if only doing safari on the mainland, or if beach holiday on Zanzibar, depart from DAR.