JessePenn

Hey everyone,
Thanks so much for all your vigorous responses. They have been a great help. I will further explore Good Earth Tours and Roy. Thanks to Chris for positive comments on Thomson. So far, they are top of the list but I want to continue to explore. I'll keep reading everyone's feedback. Thanks again. Jesse

rsnyder

JessePenn, I too have had great experience with Roy Safaris (via NYC-based Africa Serendipity--you wanted a US contact). We opted for AS not only to coordinate safaris in two countries but also based on staff's extensive travel, great communications, and contacts in East Africa. In fact, we just made payment for return trip this coming May.

On first two trips thru Roy we had same guide, Nicholas, and are pleased he should be with us in May. The "level" of accommodations is up to us and we are hardly "ritzy". Heck, we enjoy select Sopa locations as another way to balance budget when we opt to upscale at others. Also, traveling low season is great way to extend our budget and enjoy accommodations we probably could not afford at other times.

By all means provide your list of interests to a handful of companies and then do the comparisons. The more specific you are (number of night incountry, parks/areas to visit, level of accommodations (even specific lodges/camps), interests, etc) the easier it is to sort out the top two or three companies. Also, excluding international air fare, I like to calculate cost per person per night as an index for comparisons. That plus reviews on forums.

Planning is half the fun, so to speak. Besides building excitement is a great way to educate oneself as to where you are going, etc.

Dick

julien2011

Hi,
In January this year i and my wife, we went for 7 days safari in Tanzania.
We booked the safari with a safari company based in Tanzania, we bought on our own flight tickets from UK to Tanzania and the safari company handled the safari and accommodations in lodges, most of them in the parks.
We booked with Greatzone Safaris and our guide Vincent was excellent, charming and with a wide knowledge of wildlife.
In all safari we spent the nights in lodges which were pretty good, though the safari company arranges the campings as well.
You can inquire for the safari with the same safari company, the address; [email protected]
www.greatzoneafrica.com
All the best in preparation of your trip to Africa,
julien.

Calo

Guess I'll add my 2 cents here and let you know about our very positive experiences with Warrior Trails. The company is owned/operated out of Arusha by Clamian, a Maasai born in the Ngorongoro highlands. On the Warrior Trails website, Clamian states, "...My Maasai heritage and knowledge combined with my vast experience in the safari industry means that your WT safari will be one of the most remarkable and unique journeys you will ever take." A lot of safari companies make a lot of claims, but this one has been truly accurate for my trips with Warrior Trails.

Here is the link to my trip report for our July 2011 trip with them. There is also another trip report somewhere on this site for our 2008 trip:

http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...-july-2011.cfm

Have fun with the planning, Jesse.

TC

We loved our trip working with Lenny from Africa Travel Resouse. We spent 22 days on the ground in Southern Tanzania at a cost of $9000 per person. Seems your 10 day Itin should be no problem. While ATR is a UK based company, Lenny was very attentive with answers to all my many questions via email or a phone call. Many on this board have used ATR? My trip report is posted for your reading.

TC

Africa Travel Resource! Sorry, I can't spell yet today.

ussini

Hi JessePenn, I am just beginning to plan a Tanzania safari and am considering similar tour companies as you (Thomson, Roys, Good Earth). Was curious who you decided to go with & why. Thanks for your help!

porcupinelane

We contacted ~10+ Tanzanian travel operators for the Tanzanian safari portion of our Tanzania/Rwanda trip.

In case you're interested on the price quotes we got, and how we did the comparison, we posted here:
http://www.porcupinelane.com

A direct link to the price comparisons/spreadsheet:
http://www.porcupinelane.com/how-we-...parison-part-3

NGail

Has anyone done a Tanzania safari with teenagers? Any of these companies?

sandi

Not my own teens (don't have any), but have planned for families with children & teens (10, 15 & 17), even a few with younger children (2 & 4/yr olds), using Roy Safaris as the in-country outfitter.

Know there have been a few threads/trip reports by those who have traveled with teens. What are your concerns or questions?

However, as this thread is over a year old, would suggest you start your own thread for current info and to keep all of your interests under your own heading as you proceed with planning.

NGail

Hi Sandi-
Thanks for your reply.
We just got back from Tanzania (with OAT) and loved the country so much, we thought of taking our grandkids there someday.
I agree, if ever it becomes a real possibility, I'll start a fresh thread.