tanya_1976

Dear All

Am back with more questions! First of all thanks a lot to everyone for recommending a superb list of outfitters to get in touch with. Without exception, I had a great experience interacting with them, got good responses and thankfully no severe price variations (except maybe one) like I encountered while booking the Botswana trip. I think I am narrowing down to one outfitter who has been highly recommended here and other forums. Before I finalise wanted to share the itinerary and ask a few more questions

Itinerary
2nd september : Dar to Arusha to Kogatende -arrive in time for an hour or so of game drive, meet private guide at Kogatende airstrip
2nd,3rd, nights : Olakira
4th,5th,6th,7th,8th nights : Sayari camp
9th,10th,11th nights : Dunia camp
12th,13th nights: Lemala camp Ngorongoro
14th,15th,16th nights: Oliver's camp
17th after morning game drive flight to Arusha to Dar to reach Dar in time for international flight out at 19:40 PM.

I split the 1st 7 days between Olakira and Sayari due to availability, maximising time in northern Serengeti/Lamai wedge etc.

I am working on the above itinerary with a private guide and vehicle from the outfitter and hence these are all Full Board rates. Now I would like to see what additional activities I could book and so my questions are

1.) For September would you recommend booking walks now or can be done once I am at the respective camps?

2.) I am interested in walks in Sayari, Olivers ( with Alex) and also possibly at Ngorongoro. Oliver's has been highly recommended but would love any feedback on the other two?

3.) What time are these walks generally done or is it flexible and dependant on the group's preference?

3.) Whats your feedback on the balloon ride from Seronera? It is very expensive ( I paid less for a private balloon ride for 2 people in UK!) so if its going to be crowded in there, I would rather avoid, unless view/photo ops are brilliant and its a definite must?

4.) Since I am going to be booking the same private vehicle with a guide, what are the things I should ensure the vehicle is outfitted with. I dont require an AC, watercoolers etc, if they are there nice but not something I would ASK. Bean bags? Binocs? anything else? Unlimited game drive time within the NP rules is the only thing I really care about but maybe I am missing something that I should definitely check and ask for before I book?

5.) I would have my own trip insurance. However should I ask for the Flying Doctors insurance to be included? Its USD 50 so not a big deal but these small small 50s on separate items add up to a sizable amount!

Cant think of any other questions, though there must be many I should be asking. The Botswana trip is a door to door perfectly arranged one whereas for Tanzania it seems I should be more on top of things so any advice thrown this way will be big big help!

Thanks all!

Anita

sangeeta

Anita - can't comment on most of your questions because I lack the knowledge, but this is an itinerary to die for!

About the balloon flights - I think people come down both ways on this. It was something I had looked forward to enormously on our first trip to E. Africa, and must confess that it felt like an anti-climax. The other passengers were fine, but the pilot talked endlessly throughout the flight! I had these visions of floating bird-like over herds of wildies, but the balloon was noisy and panicked the animals. All in all, it wasn't worth the $$$ I plunked down for the 3 of us - I wish I'd spent it on more days there.

But that's how I felt. I know lots of people rave about the experience. I would have felt better about it if it had cost half that much.

Cateyes555

Hi Anita - I did the balloon ride in Seronera in June 2010. At that time it was $499 per person. I am glad I did it, although I wouldn't do it again. It's kind of a once in a life time treat for oneself (although I had been on a balloon ride previously). I thought it was enjoyable. I did not psyche myself up that it was going to be something super fabulous (my advice to anyone) and therefore I was not disappointed. We saw a lot of animals and maybe some of them were a bit spooked, but not unduly. The balloons don't go very high up. Our pilot did not chatter excessively as Sangeeta's did. The flame is super hot and your head really gets painfully hot being so close to it. It was not cold at all, but a hat might help your scalp feel like it's not going to burst into flames The breakfast on the Serengeti is good, but nothing fabulous. I have read others rave about it, but thought it was just ok. It's more that it's unique to be sitting out on the Serengeti having breakfast, than that the food is anything special. My only complaint was that the ride seemed pretty short. This will vary depending on the wind and conditions, but we were only in the air for about 45 min. Hope this helps you with your decision.

I have stayed at Dunia and Lemala Camp - the latter was my favorite for sure! Right in the middle of a lovely acacia forest and very close to one of the crater gates, so easy access.

Bean bags in the land cruiser will be a huge plus! They are vital for good photography and not something I'd really like to have to bring myself, or make once there. In our vehicle they were large and of very heavy canvas. Even if binocs were provided, I can pretty much guarantee they wouldn't be of very good quality. Much better to bring your own. My tour operator automatically provided the flying doctor insurance, so I can't comment on that as an option, but it seems good to have.

Have a great time!

sandi

If the tour operator doesn't include Flying Doctor's, the cost is only $25/person for a 2/week trip.

AMREF is offering tour operators discount price on this to encourage their participation and thus economically worthwhile to include for clients.

If bush walks available, you can arrange these direct with the camp for the hour/s that best suit your schedule, i.e., forego a morning game drive for walk, or walk after lunch for a few hours till afternoon game drive. Discuss with them and price for these.

atravelynn

What a wonderful trip you have planned.

If walking is your priority, I'd book in advance to secure it and make sure the correct personnel are around when you need them.

But here's why I'd suggest waiting. You don't know what will be happening wildlife-wise at each camp. I would not want to have a walk scheduled on a certain day and then find out that something exceptional had been spotted that required a vehicle game drive to see it. I prefer to have more leeway to decide on walks in game-rich areas like you're going to.

tanya_1976

Thanks a lot everyone for all the answers! Have decided to leave the balloon trip for a Feb/March trip sometime in the next 2 years. I will book and pay for the 2 walking safaris now, not book the time for Sayari right now and for Alex's walking safari- leave it to his schedule as he must be a lot in demand ( but ideally post lunch-pre afternoon drives).

On the itinerary, 100% credit goes to 3 TAs and everyone on Fodors who provided feedback on my last thread. I think I have used 90-95% of those recommendations ( except maybe including Mara which I am more inclined to do as a separate trip). One of the TAs is my Bots outfitter and I hope to finalise today or tomorrow with 1 of the other two- both Tanzania local specialists and discovered them here at Fodors - so thanks again for that!!

atravelynn

Why don't you mention the helpful TAs, Tanya? Even if you don't choose them, others will know they were helpful.

tanya_1976

Sure Lynn- always happy to help especially here


The reason I didnt mention names earlier is because these are subjective things and I would hate to churn any new controversies ( or have chew marks on my head ) and also because I think there are far more good operators I didnt come across than those I interacted with (mathematical fact?)and recommending my limited experience is a very tricky thing. Though I did post a list of 4 (or 5 )outfitters, for Tanzania, in another thread complete with contact person and guide recommendations and level of responsiveness.

Hmmm of all my interaction across the last 2.5 months and a mere 2 bookings...

For Botswana, Timeless Africa and Fish Eagle Safaris ( Julian & Bert respectively) I would rate the highest in terms of quality of their input and transparency/responsiveness (and both of them came back with the most competetive pricing). They both communicate very clearly too so you dont have to read between lines on inclusions & exclusions. Not gonna even talk about some of the other TAs I approached for Botswana as few recommendations and in general the pricing was ranging between uncompetetive to ridiculous!

Few entertaining experiences though: "I will be the only agent who would pass this big business because I don't think you should go to Chitabe" or "I am really concerned that you would miss your bookings for Botswana and hence blocked space for Dec 2011 w/o asking you" or that "Newman has been guiding only for 1.5 years". (I have a mailbox full of those gems)

Needless to say Fodors ( and Julian who I interacted the most with for Bots) came to my rescue each time I had this kind of BS sent my way.

For Tanzania, great inputs from Stacy( Duma Explorers), Bill Given (The Wild Source), Narry (GE Tours) and very initially at planning stage Julian.

Both Bill & Stacy had high quality inputs AND the best pricing. Warrior Trails had superb pricing too and Emmanuel was very very responsive but I couldnt get confident about some things like time taken to travel between Northern Serengeti and Crater, pricing was never complete but in parts. GE tours unfortunately for me the pricing was really off (like almost USD 1500 off to where I finally sealed the deal). Bill & Stacy provide very comprehensive quotes so you can see everything thats included and excluded clearly.

I finally booked Botswana with Julian and Tanzania with Bill.

PS: Being a solo traveller ( and this is only my personal belief), I see myself choosing smaller operations that are highly recommended than big travel houses. Even if they just concentrate on Africa but are huge businesses employing several people- I think I am likely to stay away. This is just a personal choice based on better quality of interaction on camps, guides, photography, animal behaviour even things like authentic shopping vs the touristy stuff etc. I feel if the business has just 1 to 3 people involved, per agent official (and unofficial) trips to these camps would be of a much higher quality than in a massive business. Its also important for me to guage my outfitter's passion for Africa and wildlife - how well he/she talks about the guides, the humour, stories- when they talk you can make out small small things fe if they get along really well and enjoy interactions with camp staff or not, do they only talk of the Big 5, What kind of inputs they give on animal behaviour - I dont know these things seem important to me ( makes me weird? )

While its true that the larger businesses would get better pricing terms, what really matters at the end is how much of that improved pricing passes on to me and this aspect I found smaller businesses better for someone like me when I look at both pricing and quality of inputs.

However if I can ever successfully convince my family and friends to accompany me, I will definitely test my economies of scale theory with both big and small operators/agents/outfitters.

Hope this helps.

Cheers