How to estimate safari cost
 

Hi y'all,

I have friends who are thinking of taking a safari to either Tanzania or Tanzania and Kenya. They are at the very early stages of research, so not quite ready to send out requests for quotes to safari companies.

They have started looking at the parks and various lodging options. They are also leaning towards a private vehicle and guide, and at this point, don't think they would take internal flights.

The question is how to estimate the cost per day per person, taking into account the rates listed on various lodging websites and adding onto that the cost of the vehicle, guide, park fees, etc.

Any thoughts on this? They just want to get an estimate so they can come up with a budget before sending out for quotes.

Thanks!

I'm slightly ahead of your friend's timing organizing a private driver tour of Tanzania in January of 2009 - we're staying at good places but not really expensive ones - our current itinerary works out to about $440/day/person - which at first I was very shocked at. I didn't realize it was so expensive (then I added Rwanda - yikes!)

The prices listed on the websites of any reputable operators offering safaris to Kenya & Tanzania include the driver/guide, vehicle/transportation costs, park fees, lodging, and full board each day on safari. Those things are in there, not add-ons.

The prices do not include (except for some group itineraries such as OAT or International Expeditions) international air, they don't include flights between countries, laundry, tips, some beverages--sometimes you buy your own water & sometimes not, visa fees, and things like that.

Here are some sites that show costs for a private trip--meaning a trip for 2.

Eastern and Southern Safaris
http://www.essafari.co.ke/index.htm

Africa Adventures’ private safaris
http://www.africa-adventure.com/cate...guided_safaris

Kensington Tours
http://www.kensingtontours.com/index.cfm

Go2Africa—this link is for Kenya, but you can check for Tanzania and other places
http://www.go2africa.com/kenya/tours?c=182

Good Earth
http://www.goodearthtours.com/

www.e-gnu.com lists specific properties and rates—but not every property.

If you joined these friends and became a group of 4, you could do a private foursome trip for a real good deal.

Y'all,

Thanks for this. I traveled by myself, so wasn't sure how much of my per day cost was related to single supplements and the like. This will help my friends adjust their expectations and budget!

Sounds like it would be a group of 3 if you went.

Bookmarking!!

It's kind of difficult getting an exact breakdown because while you can get an idea for the rack rates at various accommodations, the operators aren't paying that.

I kind of figured it out since I asked for quotes for 3 people and 4 people. Figure the driver/guide/vehicle at around $200-250 a day. The rest are lodging costs, park fees, and anything else extra (like internal flights) Single supplements were something like 50% for lodging. Also, sometimes you have to pay for things like pick up from the airport.

One thing about the guide/vehicle is that this is a fixed cost, so the more people in the group, the lower the per person expense.