Well, our first real planning evening is soon to be over. We are a group of 5 travelling to Kenya and Tanzania june/july 2007. Here is the itinerary we will be giving several tour operators:

June 12: Arrive Nairobi - Fairview Hotel 3 nights.
June 16: Fly to Mara - 4 nights (haven't picked the camp, but want a tented camp and safari walks.
June 20: Fly back to Nairobi, fly to Lamu (3 nights in Lamu, want to stay in Lamu Town.
June 24: Fly to Mombasa - 3 nights at Diani Beach, Shambani cottages (Boabab villa).
June 28: Drive to Tsavo East - 2 nights at Kilaguni Lodge
June 30: Drive back to Mombasa, fly to Arusha (possible?), drive to Ngorogoro. 2 nights at Sopa Lodge
July 2: Fly from Arusha to Zanzibar. 2 nights at E&G, 3 nights at Paje-Ndame Village
July 7: Home.....

I stayed at a few of these so here goes.

Fairview: Great choice
Lamu: We stayed at Lamu Palace.We loved it but it is not luxury if thats what you want,also they had a new manager when we were there and he was a brilliant cook and was making major design changes to the Hotel.There are lots of good choices and staying right in Lamu is the best choice.You can easily get a Dhow to Manda or Shella.
Kilaguni:because of the drought there was lots of action at the waterholes and the food was great.The rooms are small but we spend little time in our rooms and we could have sat outside and watched the waterholes all night.
Sopa:Its ok nothing more.
We stayed at Governors in the Mara and really loved it.Lots of game great views,and excellent food.

Siro

Fairview is a great choice. Mara take a look at serian www.serian.net expensive but value for money alternately kicheche would match the price bracket of your other choices. Not sure if you can fly to Arusha direct ex MSA though. You may have to do either MSA-Nbi-Ars or Msa-Dar-Ars.

Hi Siro,

Fairview sounds nice, but it’s not in a central location and you could get a very comfortable hotel for a lot less money.

In the Mara you could look at Basecamp and Ilkeliani that are certainly expensive enough, but if you have a lot of money, consider Rekero Tented Camp or Serian.

In Lamu I’d recommend Yumbe House - 1100 shillings (aprox. $15) for a single with breakfast -, unless you “need” A/C and alcoholic beverages. It’s a beautiful old Swahili house with a courtyard. The rooms are less beautiful, but most are airy and they have nets, fans, charm and bathrooms.

I had a quick look at Baobab Villa and it’s looks like you’ll get luxury for a very reasonable price pp.

Kilaguni – there’s a typo. It’s in Tsavo West, in case anyone gets confused.

Ngorogoro Sopa looks nice enough and is the most reasonably priced on the crater rim, I believe.

Zanzibar – have a look at the Clove Hotel as well http://www.zanzibarhotel.nl/

I don’t think there are direct flights from Mombasa to Arusha. It’d be better to drive from Tsavo West to Nairobi and then fly to Arusha.

Thanks for your replies

Been looking at Palace in Lamu. We are not in for the luxury part here. The most important is to stay in town. We are checking into renting a house from a German woman but know little about it. We have considered Yumbe (read your report Nyamera, thx). But I think it's ruled out because of the alcohol and a/c thing. Looks nice though.

Kilaguni is one of the few absolute accommodations, sentimental reasons. And yes, it certainly is Tsavo West, sorry about that.

We've chosen Sopa (crater) because of the location. Seems like a great idea sitting in the dining area watching the sunset (hope I'm not wrong about this...?)

Mara: Been looking into your suggestions and have yet to decide. Serian looks great though. My parents are not so eager on the safaripart (been there, done that..). Therefore we're looking for a comfy and nice place where the rest of the group (me!) can enjoy safariwalks and gamedrives, while my parents can enjoy the views from the camp if they wish to relaxe. We are waiting for a reprot from a South-African friend who just got back from Mara. He has a friend in Mara with a "upmarket tented camp" (his words), but don't kvow which one and if it is possible to get some "friendly prices".

Fairview in Nairobi: I'm not sure, but I think my parents have stayed there some thirty years ago.. And it's as far as I know located ok considering the places (my old school, house and so forth) we are going to visit. But I will look into other hotels.

Zanzibar: My mother is sooooo excited about E&G after seeing pictures, no chance of changing that I think. Anyone have anything to say about Paje-Ndame Village? Lonely Planet describes it as a bit overpriced and tatti.

Our next move is to look into operators. We are having a bit of disagreement about leaving everything for a Norwegian outfitter or contact operators in K/Tz ourselves. Most likely I will be back with quistions about this. For now I will do some more reading at Fodor

Sorry, not sure what you mean with "your post refers" (my english has unforunately deteriorated).

I'll look into breakawayafrica and don't mind further suggestions... We'll be flying out from Norway if it makes any difference.

Siro,
I think Lamu Palace is your only option if you want A/C and alcoholic beverages in Lamu Town. I even think it’s the only place with A/C, unless you rent some a private luxury house – maybe the German lady’s house. I thought only Americans needed A/C … For alcohol you also have Jannat House and Petley’s Inn, but Jannat doesn’t have A/C and Petley’s is no longer a hotel. Before going to Lamu I’d heard Petley’s had been destroyed in a fire and I was surprised to see it standing there with one of the three bars that serve beer. I can’t find a website, so I don’t think it’s back in business. Though I did see people with suitcases at Petley’s, but that might have been a dream.

Re. Paje-Ndame Village: I wouldn’t like to stay at a place where I’d have to play ”kubb”. Have a look at Kinazi Upepo
http://www.kinaziupepo.com/
I’ve never been to Zanzibar.

Some Kenyan operators:
Southern & Eastern http://www.essafari.co.ke/
Southern Cross http://www.southerncrosssafaris.com/
Gametrackers http://www.gametrackersafaris.com/

Some Tanzanian operators:
Roy’s http://www.roysafaris.com/index.html
Sunny Safaris http://www.sunnysafaris.com/
Ranger Safaris http://www.rangersafaris.com/frameset.htm

BTW your friend has a very interesting friend.

Nyamera
I guess some Scandinavians are hooked on that a/c thing... although I don't think it is all that important for our group. But isn't it hot and humid in Lamu Town?

Paje-Ndame.... hmmmmm, "kubb"... I see what you mean. I haven't actually been through their website before now. It seems like we will be spending quite som time with fellow Scandinavians (not all that surprising..) if we choose to stay there. Interesting alternative you gave me, thank you.

I'll check out the operators. On your trip(s), did you use any of them? Are they tied up to spesific camps/lodges? Will we be able to lower our budget if we bypass a Norwegian travel operator?

Well, I don't know about my (parents) friend's friend but I hope he turns out to be interesting Our friend is interesting but is frentic about security in Kenya. He hates Nairobi and is pleading us not to go there or to do self-driving anywhere. He was actually our neighbor in Nairobi 30 years ago.

Thanks again
Siro

Siro,
Lamu is hot and humid, but not unbearably so. There are fans.

I’ve seen the operators recommended by other people here on Fodor’s. At least the Kenyan ones aren’t tied up. On my first trip I used Basecamp Travel in Sweden. I’ve recommended Basecamp Travel Nairobi to people, but as they apparently don’t reply to emails I’ve stopped doing that. On my second trip I just emailed a camp in Tsavo East and took the bus there. Then I continued to the coast. On my third trip I bought a flying package to Samburu from Let’s go Travel in Nairobi. They’re good if you want something on their website, but I got the impression you can’t discuss other things with them. Then I took the bus to Nakuru and a camp I had emailed directly and after that I booked hotel and flight to Lamu with Lamu Homes. It would have been easier to do that myself, but I’d wasted a lot of Lamu Homes’ time asking about cheaper accommodation that you can’t contact via email, so I thought I should book with them. Yes, you’ll probably save same money using Kenyan and Tanzanian operators.

Isn’t owning “an upmarket tented camp” enough to be called “interesting?
I like Nairobi and I feel quite safe walking in the city centre.

If he ownes it he is VERY interesting! I'm not quite sure yet... awaiting an email from South-Africa and doing some serious hoping

Hi Siro, I'll be going to tanzania (15 days) and kenya (5 days) in june this year. for my kenya part I've received several quotations, and after my selection, two with good prices (and good reputation), were left. Finally, comparing prices, the most interesting for us turned out Southern Cross Safaris (if you do a search on them, you'll find good reviews of people who have experienced them). And I must say, untill now, I've been very pleased with the way things have been communicated. Benjamin for Southern Cross has really helped me look for what I wanted, continuously proposing me alternatives for the next reason why not that lodge or that lodge. Finally, he managed to get me my dream lodge, Shompole for 2 nights and another lodge Olonana for 2 nights as well, at a very reasonable price, way more competitive than I've seen of other operators (I'm talking about several hundreds of dollars). Another lodge I really liked, mainly because of the personal communication with the owner, is the Serian lodge. However, as we've already said we'd book with Benjamin, we can't turn back, though next time we come we really want to visit the Serian lodge. I think the owner, alex walker, really goes out of his way to please his customers, judging from the way he was responsive to my emails.... if you're looking for ultra personalised service, look no further

janischa,
Thank you, I will look into it. Sounds like a nice deal

My parents friend seems to have connections at Ol Seki Mara Camp. Been searching the Fodor but I can only find a link. Anyone stayed here or know anything about it?

Siro,
It seams like Ol Seki is quite new. You’ll have to go there and then write a report!

Finally, answer and itinerary suggestion has arrived from the travel agency. I would really appreciate any coment from you guys.

Here goes:

June 12: Arrive Kili Airport 7.30 pm. Transport to Impala Hotel.
June 13: Transport to Ngorongoro after breakfast. Full board. But it doesn't say if they include park fees and game drives.
June 14: Full day at the Crater
June 15: Return to Arusha. Bus to Nairobi. Transport to Wilson, fly to Mara. Stay at either Base Camp or Mara Serena Lodge. Full board.
June 16: All day in Mara
June 17: All day in Mara
June 18: Fly to Nairobi, Panafric Hotel (we are going to request Fairview I think). Rest of the day by ourselves.
June 19: Nairobi by orselves
June 20: Nairobi by ourselves
June 21: Transport to Wilson after breakfast, fly to Lamu. Stay at Petley's Inn (a bit unclear whether they mean Petley's or Palace, they say both). Half board.
June 22: Lamu by ourselves
June 23: Lamu by ourselves
June 24: Fly to Mombasa, pick up a car (Toyota Rav 4), drive without guide to Tsavo West. Stay at Kilaguni Lodge. Own activity the rest of the day.
June 25: Full day Tsavo
June 26: Full day Tsavo
June 27: Drive to Mombasa, stay at Shambani Cottages, selfcatering
June 28: Full day Mombasa, with rented car.
June 29: Full day Mombasa, with rented car.
June 30: Fly to Zanzibar. Transport to the east coast, Ndame
July 1: Full day Ndame
July 2: Full day Ndame
July 3: Transport to Stone Town, stay at Tembo House.
July 4: Full day Stone Town
July 5: Home.....

this will cost us 5200$ pp. This includes airfare from Oslo, planes in Kenya/Tanzania, busshuttle, transport to and from hotels, rented car 7 days, airport taxes excl. Zanzibar, "safaripakkage" 2 nights in Ngorongoro, "safaripakkage" 3 nights in Mara, "safaripakkage" 3 nights in Tsavo.
Does not include visas. I have asked what a "safari pakkage" includes (own car with guide, gamedrives, parkfees etc.) Are ther other things I should clearify with the outfitter?

Originally our itinerary was to do Kenya first, then the Crater and Zanzibar. Our outfitter has suggested otherwise. Any coments?

The "safaripackage" better include your game drives and park fees.

Go for the Fairview if you can get; it's a lovely hotel.

You probably wound up with Tanzania first, based on what accommodations were available in Tanzania. June is rather busy here and space at this point is very limited. Kenya, on the otherhand, doesn't get busy before end of the month and the prices increase (as July 1)... easier to get space in Kenya.

You're sure going to be covering a lot of ground. We'll be waiting for your trip report when you get home.

thanks Sandi

Are we covering too much ground?

A trip report is the least I can do after getting loads of inspiration from this forum.

You've got 3-weeks (which most of us would love)... so not too busy, just visiting lots of places. And certainly giving yourself enough time at each (rather than 1-nighters, that many pre-packaged itineraries have). So, go for it.

Siro,
On Lamu Homes new website it appears as if Petley’s is back in business and that it’s the Palace’s sister hotel. Request Petley’s if possible (just because I’m curious)
http://www.lamuhomes.com/hotelPalaceHotel.htm

I’m looking forward to your trip report.