I am planning a trip to Kilimanjaro and Tanzania for July 2010. I was wondering if anyone has had experience with Kensington travel agents. They were highly rated by national Geographic’s. Their pricing seem reasonable, especially after I dealt with a travel agent that a friend recommended.

Itinerary Summary aprox $5,000 per person with out airfare

Day 1 : Sat, Jul 17 2010
Nairobi Kensington Cares **
Nairobi Other - Flying Doctors
Transfer - Airport - Game Van/Guide
Hotel
Country Lodge
standard1 DBL,1 SGL (B)


Day 2 : Sun, Jul 18 2010
Nairobi Tour - Private - Elephant orphanage
Tour - Private - Giraffe/Blixen
Tour - Private - Transportation - Game Van/Guide
Hotel
Country Lodge
standard1 DBL,1 SGL (B)


Day 3 : Mon, Jul 19 2010
Nairobi Transfer - Masai Mara - 4X4/Guide
Lunch
Masai Mara Afternoon Game Drive
Dinner
Hotel
Kensington Mara West
chalet (full board)1 TPL (BLD)


Day 4 : Tue, Jul 20 2010
Masai Mara Morning Game Drive 2 Family - KT 4X4/Guide
Lunch
Afternoon Game Drive 2 -
Dinner
Hotel
Kensington Mara West
chalet (full board)1 TPL (BLD)


Day 5 : Wed, Jul 21 2010
Masai Mara Transfer - Serengeti (with sightseeing) (9hr) - KT 4X4/Guide
Isebania Isebania Border Crossing
Picnic Lunch
Serengeti Dinner
Hotel
Kensington Serengeti
full board1 TPL (BLD)


Day 6 : Thu, Jul 22 2010
Serengeti Morning Game Drive - 4X4/Guide
Lunch
Afternoon Game Drive 2
Dinner
Hotel
Kensington Serengeti
full board1 TPL (BLD)


Day 7 : Fri, Jul 23 2010
Serengeti Transfer - Ngorongoro Conservation Area - 4X4/Guide
Tour - Private - Olduvlai Gorge - Entrance
Picnic Lunch
Ngorongoro Optional Activity
Dinner
Hotel
Kensington Endoro
chalet suite1 TPL (BLD)


Day 8 : Sat, Jul 24 2010
Ngorongoro Private vehicle - 4X4/Guide
Crater Tour for Plantation Lodges - 4X4/Guide
Lunch
Dinner
Hotel
Kensington Endoro
chalet suite1 TPL (BLD)


Day 9 : Sun, Jul 25 2010
Lake Eyasi Game Tracking & Local Village - 4X4/Guide
Lunch
Ngorongoro Dinner
Hotel
Kensington Endoro
chalet suite1 TPL (BLD)


Day 10 : Mon, Jul 26 2010
Ngorongoro Transfer - Arusha - 4X4/Guide
Picnic Lunch
kili drop off.
Arusha Dinner at leisure
Hotel
Coffee Lodge
lodge1 TPL (B)


Day 11 : Tue, Jul 27 2010
Ngorongoro Transfer - Amboseli drive (6hr) - 4X4/Guide
Arusha Transfer - Amboseli - 4X4/Guide
Deluxe Lunch -
Amboseli Afternoon Game Drive -
Dinner
Hotel
Serena Amboseli
lodge1 TPL (BLD)


Day 12 : Wed, Jul 28 2010
Amboseli Morning Game Drive & Transfer to Nairobi - KT 4X4/Guide
Nairobi Tour - Private - Souvenir shopping
Kensington Office
Transfer - Airport - Game Van/Guide

I'd stay another day in the Mara.

Would they sub Ol Tukai in Amboseli for Serena?

Where is their Serengeti camp? Late July you probably want Central to North.

What is crater tour for Plantation Lodges? You go with that lodge's group/vehicle?

How many crater trips do you get and how long?

Who is the ground operator? Is it Kensington or a local company?


I'd ask for drive times to be sure it is what you expect.

You should expect $450/day for this sort of trip in TZ so it's in the ballpark. Who is the ground operator? Is it Kensington or a local company?


Have a great trip!

I know of them and have visited their camp in the Mara. I'm sure you would have a good time as long as you like tented camps which in fact are fairly luxurious. Also the migration of millions of Wildebeast and Zebra will be the area of the Mara - so a great spectacle. Thanks, Alan of Uniglobe Lets Go Travel, Kenya, www.uniglobeletsgotravel.com .

Kensington is reputable, but with all that driving you are cutting short the stay in both the Mara and/or Serengeti with only 1/full-day at each. That's shortchanging you. End July is a tricky time for where exactly to catch the migration... can already be in the Mara or the northern Serengeti. There is no indication where the Serengeti camp is sited. Interesting that the only segment where they show drive times (9/hrs from Mara/Serengeti) where many others are also very long, i.e., 5-6/hrs from NBO/Mara; 4+/hrs from Serengeti to Ngorongoro; 4.5/hrs to Arusha; 4.5/hrs from Arusha/Amboseli. And, that Lake Eyasi, which I can't figure if you're visiting there and if so... all in 1/day? on that nasty bumpy road...ugh!

You're constantly on the move with average of 1/nt most places.

Personally, they're trying to do too much in 12/days with more time being spent in transit than game viewing.

If traveling end-July, leaving the Masai Mara for the end when the herds will be here, consider:
Day 1 - Arv. NBO - o/n
Day 2 - NBO - sightseeing NBO
Day 3 - Drive (4.5/hrs) to Amboseli - o/n
Day 4 - Amboseli - o/n
Day 5 - Drive (1.5/hrs) via Namanga border to (1.5/hrs) Arusha; lunch (1/hr) to (2.5/hrs) Lake Manyara - o/n
Day 6 - Drive (2.5/hrs) to Ngorongoro; afternoon crater tour - o/n
Day 7 - Ngo - morning crater tour; afternoon leisure or Olmoto crater trek or crater rim walk - o/n
Day 8 - Drive (4.5/hrs) to Arusha; fly 1:45pm to NBO; connect to 3pm flight to Masai Mara - o/n
Days 9, 10 & 11 - Masai Mara - o/n
Day 12 - Fly 11am to NBO; day-room; transfer to airport for homebound.

There are plenty of tour operators or in-country outfitters who can provide the above itinerary as a private tour, just you and your travel partner/s on your schedule and choice of properties, whether lodges or tented camps... at competitive pricing.

My 2-cents!

Thanks for all your input. I now have more of an idea of what to look at for the schedule. Any other thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

I believe Kensington' Serengeti camp is in the western Serengeti and their Mara camp is in the Talek area.

Do you specifically want to visit both countries? Are there any areas that are must do's for you?

Hi Folks.

What time other than end of July would be good for migration? If you miss the migration will the rest of what you still be worth the trip?
Our Goals on this safari are:
1. Kilimanjaro is a must. We only need to get to the bottom. I need to deliver a memento of a deceased friend per her last wishes.
2. One of travelers is an Elephant fanatic. She would love to touch, feed bath and ride them. Unfortunately that means Nairobi Tour - Private - Elephant orphanage. There does not appear to be any place in Tanzania that has that facility.
3. The Migration of the animals is what we would love to see. We have been told it is magnificent.
4. Ngorongoro Conservation Area Crater is high on our list This is the write up:
a. Endoro Lodge has been revamped and relocated to the foot of the Ngorongoro Highland Forest just outside of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Private transportation and guide in the Ngorongoro national park. Includes national park fees. You'll be up early this morning as you drive approximately 20 minutes from your camp or lodge to the main gates of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The crater is roughly 20 km/12 mi wide and 600 m/2,000 ft deep, once you've reached the top of the caldera it takes about 45 minutes to decend to the crater floor. The floor is home to a rich and highly concentrated wildlife. Some 20,000 mammals of size live there, including about 20 black rhinoceros, making the crater the best place in Tanzania to see the rhino. The crater floor also has one of the highest carnivore densities in the world. Lions, cheetahs, hyaenas and jackals are commonly seen, while leopards, servals and bat-eared foxes may be seen with some good luck..
b. Once again reading up on it makes it sound like if visit there you will see almost every species of animal you will see on all the games drives in Tanzania.
5. The Masai Mara and Serengeti once again are place recommend by the tour agencies. I need to learn a little more about the difference of each to see if we need to go to both.
6. Lastly we would like to have a day or two to recoup in Zanzibar.

End-July the herds can already be at the very Northern Serengeti or in the Masai Mara/Kenya. Realize though that with millions of animals they don't all make it into Kenya. The area in Northern Serengeti is very large, but with few properties, most being camps in the lux category. Only Lobo Wildlife Lodge is in the budget range, and while the scenery is lovely, a bit south of the north and doesn't get good reviews for cleanliness and food.

Unless you fly up here, the drive, i.e., from Ngorongoro would necessitate 1/nt stop mid-way in Central to continue drive next day. From here, it's recommended to fly back to Arusha as the drive takes 10+/hrs and not a good idea... winds up being a wasted day.

Elephants are best found at Tarangire NP which has a mini-migration between July/Oct, known for large herds, wildies, giraffe, zebra, predators, and the baobab tree landscape. In Nairobi, at the Elephant Orphanage, you can view daily between 11am-12N when open to the public, where you can touch the chubbies and watch them with their handlers, or if adopting one of them, visit at dusk to put yours to sleep. No riding ellees!

If your friend is interested in riding elephants... get thee to Southeast Asia or a few expensive camps in South Africa or Botswana. Besides, nowadays people are opting not to "ride" ellees regardless where being offered.

As for Kilimanjaro, realize that if arriving at JRO airport, the mountain is east (by 1/hr) in Moshi, whereas, Arusha from where most safaris commence is west (1/hr) of the airport. So it's a 2/hr drive between Kili/Arusha.

Ngorongoro is an excellent stop and unique to Tanzania with wide diversity of game. Realize though that crater tours are limited to 6/hrs each, but can be arranged to do back-to-back visits - one on afternoon of arrival, another next morning.

Zanzibar deserves minimum 3/days, as you'll require flight from the mainland and back again for homebound departure. If choosing to visit ZNZ by road, it's a 8-10/hr bus ride to Dar-es-Salaam, then a ferry (2-3/hrs) or short 15/min flight to the island.

Our Goals on this safari are:

1. Kilimanjaro is a must. We only need to get to the bottom. I need to deliver a memento of a deceased friend per her last wishes.
--When in your above itinerary were you going to get to the base of Kili? I think you need to allocate a day for this round trip excursion.

2. One of travelers is an Elephant fanatic. She would love to touch, feed bath and ride them.
--A real ele fanatic would probably not ride them. As Sandi mentions, there are places like Abu’s in Botswana where I believe you can humanely ride eles, but that costs thousands per day. She could adopt an ele at Sheldrick’s and spend time with it midday and/or before its bedtime, A day in NBO is a good idea for more than Sheldrick’s. It can allow a buffer day up front in the trip, there is Giraffe Center, Nat’l Museum, Karen Blixen’s home, bead factory, etc.

3. The Migration of the animals is what we would love to see. We have been told it is magnificent.
--Late July and even better Aug in the Mara for 3-4 days would allow you to see huge herds and much more.

4. Ngorongoro Conservation Area Crater is high on our list This is the write up:
--You definitely should go to the crater. Decide if you wish a morning visit, an afternoon visit, or morn and aft.

b. Once again reading up on it makes it sound like if visit there you will see almost every species of animal you will see on all the games drives in Tanzania.
--Herds of eles are not common there. Too hard for them to negotiate the steep crater. Lone bulls are commonly found. But the crater does have the largest animal concentration in Africa I think. There also is a higher concentration of cars there than other places.

5. The Masai Mara and Serengeti once again are place recommend by the tour agencies. I need to learn a little more about the difference of each to see if we need to go to both.
--You would “need” to do both if it was important to you to see both of these famed locations. But the herds migrate between the two countries, so if you go to one or the other, you’ll see the same species. I wanted to go to both on my first trip, which departed late July. If you need to cut time, I’d go in Aug and go to the Maasai Mara.

6. Lastly we would like to have a day or two to recoup in Zanzibar.
--You’d want the Mara at the end, so that means flying back to Tanzania. I’ve seen reasonable flt schedules to accomplish that. Others with more expertise on Zanzibar can help you out there.

You are figuring out the key aspects of your trip and heading in the right direction.

Did you end up using Kensington? if so, what was your opinion...we are looking to do the same August 2011...tentatively: Mara West - 3 nights, Mbalageti Camp (Serengeti 9 hr drive) 2 nights, Bougainvillea Safari Lodge Ngorongoro 2 nights, and ultimately on to Cape Town. COMMENTS? looking at this or RHINOAFRICA (the reverse). Cape 5 nights, Kruger (Arathusa) 4 nights, to Chobe Safari Lodge (3 nights, day trip Vic Falls, off to Mara 4 nights at Kichwa Tembo...thoughts appreciated by anyone/everyone! Cheers, GOCL

I would like to continue the Kensington question, did you end up using them? How about gocl? Did you use them in August? I was investigating the same on their company. I have heard they are great if it all goes well, if something goes awry they are not so great.

Anybody agree/disagree?

I'm strongly considering Kensington for Kenyaalso. Diana, the only thing i read that indicated what you said "heard they are great ...if something goes awry, they are not so great" was one comment on Tripadvisor,about a flight downgrade. Is this what you're referring to. or was there something else you read or heard, and if so, what was it specifically?

So far I've enquired of only two companies. Kensington replied almsot immediately, and based on my onward travel plans, immediately provided a solution.
The other company so far (three days ago) has sent a "canned" response only, with no further reply based on my answers to their questions.