solsenz

Help. Still trying to put together a trip in September and have heard both good things about each Country. Any thoughts on which would be better Tanzania or Kenya?
Thanks bunches!

mkulove

Kenya for the Wildebeest Migration.

atravelynn

Depends on what you are looking for, your budget, and how much time you have.

You couldn't go wrong either way, but in Sept, I'd go with Kenya and maximize my time in the Maasai Mara for the wildebeest migration mentioned by Mkulove.

spassvogel

I would do the same as atravelynn.

But all is depending on budget/time/interests.

SV

aby

Hi solsenz
in order to help you better

1.
first of all we must <u>clarify:</u>
Is the comparison between TZ Northern Circuit and KE regular safari circuit??
{It means no Chimp safari in Mahale Mts NP, not Katavi nor Ruaha or Uszungwa or Uluguru or even Seleous N.R.
on the other hand it means no Lake Turkana, no Marsabit no Chalbi Desert no Saiwa Swamp NP, Tana river Primate Reserve etc'
&amp; what about Amboseli or Tsavo ?}

2.
what are your interests? ( except for &quot;big game&quot; any special interest in different cultures? forests / deserts / mountains? ornithology? botany? geology? special love of markets??...)

<font color="brown">what is your time limit?</font>

$$ ?

3.
Let's get out of the square! let's challenge your basic assumption: <b>why &quot;or&quot; ? </b>
Even if inner flights are out of the question -
please note that driving from Nairobi to Arusha is far quicker than driving from Nairobi to Samburu (&amp; get up early in Nairobi and you'll make it for an afternoon game drive in Manyara or Tarangire. not to mention Arusha NP)
so if scaling time and distance you can do both. depends on your time, certain other preferences and flights (e.g. landing in Kilimanjaro and taking off from Nairobi)

4.
what are the &quot;advantages&quot; of each destination??
i've tried to focus on this question in my reply to (and there are 30 more views there)
http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...ya+or+Tanzania

5.
Some reading materials: fodorites' trip reports
http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...Text=New+Index

Bottom line: doesn't matter what you decide, it is a great exciting experience

aby

solsenz

Well, budget is medium, and time is about 13/14 days long. Have heard animals are better in Tanzania, but Kenya gets alot of attention. Love animals, but also looking for something a &quot;bit&quot; less touristy. Yes, they all will be great-just trying to get the best for the buck as most. Thank you for the input.

sandi

With 13-14/days, you can certainly combine both countries. Depending on where arriving/departing - assume arrive JRO/departing NBO (can do with an &quot;open-jaw&quot; ticket) - you can visit Tarangire or Manyara and Ngorongoro; then head into Kenya for visit at Amboseli or Samburu and Masai Mara, where the bulk of the migration will be.

atravelynn

With 13-14 days you can indeed enjoy both locations.

As far as animals being better in TZ, the species are pretty much the same in Northern Tanzania and Kenya, though in Central to Northern Kenya there are unique species of antelope, zebra, giraffe, and ostrich.

If you want fewer tourists, I'd go for Southern Tanzania--Ruaha, Selous, Katavi, and Mahale. Mahale has chimps. This option is probably more than medium budget.

Or I'd go for the Laikapia (central to north) region of Kenya. But I'd still hit the Mara, crowds or not, and probably the crater.

Here's a suggestion:

1 Arrive and o/nt in Arusha, TZ

2 Drive to Tarangire--elephants &amp; baobab trees, plus lots of other animals, you can be alone with animals here

3 Tarangire

4-5 Drive to Ngorongoro Crater--there are crowds but lots and lots of animals. If you're in a private vehicle, take a breakfast box and go early.

6 Transit to Kenya

7, 8, 9, 10 Fly to Laikapia region where there are lots of options without lots of people. I've been to Lewa Downs and loved it. Samburu in that area has more people but lots of great animals. Shaba is near Samburu with fewer people and fewer animals and supposedly better scenery. I'm looking into a one-night stay there.
Meru is where Born Free took place and is not at all crowded. I am looking into a stay there. Not as many animals there as some places in Meru.

11 12 13 14 Fly to the Mara. There are lots of choices in the Mara for lots of budgets.

The above suggestion is similar to a trip I did in 2001 in which I went to all the parks I suggested you do: Tarangire, Crater, Lewa Downs, Mara. I went end of July. Sept should be even better.

sheniz

Hello Solsenz,

Both countries are good for a safari, It only depends with you on how much time you have on your vacation and what your budget is.

If you have much time for example 2 weeks then you can visit both countries, 7 days in Kenya and 7 days in Tanzania but if you have fewer days, then I would advice you have a trip to Kenya.

Safaris in Tanzania is more expensive compared with the Kenyan safari. At the same time Kenya has more tourist destinations compared with Tanzania.

Just indicate how many days you will be on a safari and with that we can be able to help more.