Everyone on the forum has been great with their suggestions and comments.

Here is the itinerary we have decided upon. The "final" one.

2007 Itinerary

Day 1) Arrive Kilimanjaro International Airport, meet upon arrival and transfer to Mtn. Village Lodge, overnight (B&B basis)

Day 2) Depart Arusha for Lake Manyara National Park, afternoon game drive, overnight Manyara Serena (B/L/D)

Day 3) Morning game drive in Manyara, afternoon Mto Wa Mbu village visit, overnight Manyara Serena (B/L/D)

Day 4) Depart Manyara for Ngorongoro Crater, afternoon game drive on Crater floor, overnight Ngorongoro Crater Lodge (B/L/D)

Day 5) Morning game drive on Crater floor, afternoon Masai Village visit, overnight Ngorongoro Crater Lodge (B/L/D)

Day 6) Depart Ngorongoro and via Olduvai Gorge proceed to Serengeti National Park, game drive, overnight Serengeti Serena (B/L/D)

Day 7) Full day Serengeti, morning and afternoon game drives, overnight Serengeti Serena (B/L/D)

Day 8) Full day Serengeti, morning and afternoon game drives, overnight Kirawira Camp (B/L/D)

Day 9) Full day Serengeti, morning and afternoon game drives, overnight Kirawira Camp (B/L/D)

Day 10) Full day Serengeti, morning and afternoon game drives, overnight Kirawira Camp (B/L/D)

Day 11) Fly to Arusha, meet upon arrival and transfer to KIA Lodge for dayroom use. Evening transfer to JRO for outbound international flight. End of services.

We are just waiting for the quotations from 3 outfitters and then we will get the air booked (with milage - I hope) and then book the trip.

Any comments or suggestions?

Thanks again.

Hi, dssxxxx--
Before making a final decision on your tour operator, you might want to take a look at the 2Afrika offerings for a similar itinerary. We took one of their Tanzania/Kenya itineraries just a year ago, and it was a marvelous experience. We hadn't planned or asked for it, but we had our driver guide all to ourselves--just the two of us and our guide. He was absolutely fantastic, and we had a trip that we'll never forget at a price that would be hard to beat.

I did check them out and get a price.

They were very expensive and from what I have read, use Predators for their outfitter, which is more budget minded.

But, thanks.

Hi dssxxx, are you able to get firm 2007 prices? Reason I'm asking is that we've had reservations for a Jan 2007 trip for the past 5 months but no firm prices yet ... I'm told the lodges inside the parks (maybe just some of them) aren't committing to firm prices yet because of 1) uncertainty about the price of fuel (the generators for power run on fuel oil, plus the cost of transporting everything in) and 2) uncertainty about whether the parks board might raise the fees the lodges pay them, similar to what happened to tourists last year when in July the parks board announced price hikes for Serengeti and others ... first we were told to wait until April but we still haven't got final costs.

Anyway, just curious if you (or others) are getting firm prices yet for 2007 for in-park lodging.

Thanks.

Bill

Bill,

We are looking at a few companies at the moment. Roy, Sunny, Good Earth and a coule more.

Some have said these are 2006 prices and could raise (they are the higher quotes.... and some have quoted rates for 2007 and these are the lower quotation (Sunny is one).

Hard to figure.

Who did you decide to use.

Thanks.

I am still quoting 2006 prices, pending 2007 prices, maybe by August. And yes, expected increases likely in the 15% range...of course depending on individual properties. Fuel costs will be an issue, as surcharges are already going into effect this July 1 on some Precision and ATC flights. So be prepared for higher numbers in 2007.

"I am still quoting 2006 prices, pending 2007 prices, maybe by August."

Ah, so everyone is hung up waiting for final 2007 prices ... thanks for the info Sandi!

Bill,

What outfitter did you use?

Thanks.

dssxxx, we are using Roy ... as I mentioned on one of your other threads this is because we used them before, they have a few vehicles set up for photographers with long telephoto lenses, and the guides we use are very knowledgeable about birds. So it's a perfect fit for us given our desire to photograph, but not necessarily for you.

Bill