Newbie Starting to plan - have a few questions
 

OK - I really have several questions as all of us African virgins do, but let's start with a few and see where it goes from there.
Firstly, it will be hubby and I going, and I think I want to try and get Kenya and Tanzania in one trip. I am interested in seeing all kinds of animals and at this point do not have a must see. We enjoy just being together experiencing even the smallest things that we have not seen/witnessed before and I have had the urge to go to Africa for a while now just to experience the wonder and beauty of it all.
So having said that, I believe I know what TO I will use but I'd like answers from people here first:
1) I am curious if it will be better to go in June or Sept. What are the benefits of each month as far as what we will see/miss by doing each?
2) What should I expect the price difference to be between these 2 months if any?

I think I want to go in June because I'm not sure if I can handle waiting 3 extra months till September but if there is something about September that would make it more spectacular then......I will wait.

- June: shortly after the "long rains" means grass is high, everything supposed to be GREEN but wildlife is harder to find/see depending where you will be heading.
rates are lower than in peak season which startd mid/end of July

- September: getting drier so wildlife is easier to observe and the Wildebeast migration has already started.

Both above is considered "normal" means if weather brings no or more, earlier or later rain - everything shiftes.

Generally speaking September is the more spectacular month.

When you can wait until June you easily will be able to wait until Sep.

As you state you have decided on a TO - that TO should be able to give you all the technical info as rates, differences etc.

If you want more specifics here pls provide information on

- days on safari
- budget
- other preferentials.

SV

I think June is an outstanding month for East Africa! We have only travelled in May/June to EA, so I cannot compare it to Sept., but I don't feel as though we missed anything at all.

I like June because it is the off season, and that makes it both cheaper & less people around. The savings alone is worth it to me.

It doesn't feel 'crowded' in June - sometimes it seems like you have the whole area to yourself, and there is only one or two other vehicles at a cheetah or lion sighting - & sometimes you are the only ones! From the pictures I have seen in Sept - this is not true.

We have seen the migration all three times (in the Serengeti) when we have gone, and although we have never witnessed a river crossing (and wouldn't at this time of the year), I didn't feel as though we missed out on anything.

Weather - to me - is perfect in May/June. Over the three years, I can count the number of days I have seen rain on one hand - hardly at all. It is a nice even 78-80 degrees each day - not too hot, not too cold. Just right.

I can't comment on how long the grass is in June compared to Sept., but if it is longer, it hasn't been a problem. If there were smaller animals in there that we didn't spot such as caracals, servals, etc., then I guess we missed out on them, but then again I didn't know I was missing them as I didn't know they were there! The big cats, the ellies, the giraffe, hippo etc are pretty easy to spot even in tall grass :-)

"We enjoy just being together.." Isn't that a lovely approach to any venture!

I've gone in very late June and mid to late August, so my personal experience does not match exactly with your time frames.

For the first time I am able to travel in Sept, and that's when I've chosen to head to Kenya.

You asked about cost. If going in June, it is wise to inquire about exact dates and high/low pricing season cutoffs because sometimes mid-June is the break point.

Here is a chart that shows best wildlife viewing in different parks throughout the year, along with temps. As weather patterns change, the chart or any predictions become less useful.

http://www.africa-adventure.com/dsp_besttime.html

If you go to "perfect safaris" this shows "perfect" itineraries for June or Sept.

http://www.kiliwarriors.com/

As the perfect itineraries suggest, how you split your Kenya/Tanzania time will differ whether you go in June or Sept. That's because the wildebeest & zebra migration moves between the Serengeti in TZ and the Maasai Mara in Kenya.

In June, you'd likely spend more time in the Serengeti in TZ, probably the Western Serengeti if you wanted to see the migration. In Sept, maybe you'd go to N. Serengeti or skip the Serengeti entirely for the Maasai Mara in Kenya.

Back to pricing. Airfares tend to drop in Sept and also are less in early June.

I'll give you one good reason not to go in June next year as the World Cup for Soccer is on in South Africa between June 11th and July 11th and as such, prices for safaris, airfares, accommodation etc have gone through the roof.

It would be much better to go in September.

I think dgreen was intending to visit East Africa, not South Africa.

http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-a...n-1400964.html Guess this will help you plan.

Yes, I am planning on East Africa and I considered the World Cup as well - I wonder if the fact that everyone will be in SA if that would make the prices more appealing in EA.
And I know that my TO will be able to give me advise but I wanted advise from those "non-invested" in my trip first.
Although having said that, it seems like everyone here is vested in others travels as they all want everyone else to have a great experience.
I think based on comments now I will contact my TO and ask for itineraries and prices for each time and include that in my decision.
Thansk for the links in here as well as I will add them to my "To Read" list

OK - another question - Hubby likes to fish (bass fishing), I read about some fresh water fishing in TZ and thought I would try to surprise him by including a fishing trip in place of one of the game drives - has anyone done this? Is it worth it? Tell me what you think.

No experience fishing, but I plan to stay at a place in Kenya in the Aberdare region called Fishing Lodge where you can fish. It is a banda, so fairly basic.

I've been to Tanzania in June twice--lovely, perfect. I'll be going to Kenya next June even though it's not migration time in Kenya (I don't care about chasing the migration anymore, I just like the experience). For some reason I have never found any bargains but I'm generally rather pathetic at that kind of thing.

Enjoy your planning!

Just got back yesterday from 11 days in Tanzania. I traveled with my husband on a private safari and used Warrior Trails Ltd. as our guide, driver and trip planner. If you'd like my itinerary and places we stayed (all were fantastic) I'll send it on.


I, too, was a newbie to this forum. And after reading and asking questios, I wrote to several outfitters mentioned on this site...got responses from a few...and then followed up and adjusted our lodgings and itinerary to fit our needs. Warrior Trails ended up being the best choice for us.

They have an assoicate who handles the Kenya part of their travel. So, use a travel agent if you must, but this is something we were able to do just on the web with Warrior Trails and their respresentative in Canada.

I'll throw in my two cents about September (since that's the only time I've been to Kenya and Tanzania). We thought it was a wonderful time to go -- we caught a bit of the migration in the Masai Mara, saw lots of wildlife with that nice, short grass, and did not have trouble with crowds (except at 1 leopard sighting in Samburu). We also had beautiful weather, with some sunny days and some overcast days to add variety to the trip. But from what other people have posted here, I understand that that's the "busy season" compared with June, so some people have had issues with crowds. To some extent I think that depends on your guide. If you let him know you're not interested in chasing after every big cat sighting with everyone else, you can avoid them.

Have you had a chance to read through the East Africa trip reports (which LyndaS has so kindly gathered in one place for us -- if you click on her name or search for the East Africa trip report index you'll find it)? Reading about other people's experiences has helped us make decisions about when and where to go for our own trips.

For both SandraJoy and MyDogKyle - would you share your itineraries please?
I have been going through many of the Trip reports (thanks to LindaS) and am getting lots of advise from these as well.
What I am doing now is going through information here and from a few books, coming up with my ULTIMATE trip and then I will contact my tour operator to help price things out and go from there. I think I may be leaning towards September to catch some of the migration. The hard thing for me is that even though I'm sure I will want to go back after my first time, I'm not sure if my kids will allow me to keep spending their inheritence on my own selfish needs - only a joke people!!! But seriously I may not have enough money to keep returning (there are other places on our "To Go" list) so I want to try to get the most out of it while I can. I figure subsequent visits if I'm able will just be a icing on the cake.
Thanks again for all the help and advice - I appreciate it.
Debbie

Keep in mind:

In June the migration is in the Western corridor of the Serengeti, Tanzania

In Sept, the migration is in the Masai Mara, Kenya

Thus, either month can be ideal. If in June, more concentration would be in Tanzania, while if Sept, time in Kenya. Depending on how many total in-country days, if less than 12/days, it can be rushed/hectic to cover both countries. However, if planned right... it's doable.

Debbie:

Since I went late October and just got home, don't know if my itinerary will be of use to you in June or September...but for what it's worth...her it is:

Day 1 Arusha..Day 2,3 Tarangerie- Boundry Hill Lodge (fantastic) Day 4 Transit..Gibbs Farm lunch..Sopa Lodge at NGO crater, Day 5..NGO crater Day 6 transit and overnite at Ndutu, Day 7, 8..Central Serengeti..Mbuzi Mawe Tentented Camp,
Day 9, 10 Northern Serengeti (Lobo area) Migration Camp (also fantastic) Day 11 Fly to Arusha, lunch at Coffee Plantation..homeward bound PM...it was the dry season with short rains...the migration was earlier this year so plenty of game in the central Seronera area of the Serengeti and also in Lobo..

Debbie, we too were worried about what our son would say when he discovered we had spent all of his inheritance on trips to Africa so we took him with us this last time - showed him first hand :-)

Just had to throw that in! :-) Have fun with your research and check back with us when you start developing an itinerary, the experts here can certainly help you with that!

Hi Debbie. Here's our Kenya/Tanzania itinerary, for the last week of September and first two weeks of October. Our safari companies were Eastern & Southern (for Kenya) and Green Footprint Adventures (for Tanzania):

Day 0 -- fly SFO to NBO (via Chicago and London)
Day 1 -- arrive Nairobi and meet up with Eastern & Southern (Kenya Comfort Hotel)
Day 2 -- Nairobi -- Giraffe Center and Sheldrick's elephant orphanage, then drive to Mt. Kenya (Serena Mountain Lodge)
Day 3 -- drive Mt. Kenya to Samburu -- afternoon game drive (Elephant Bedroom)
Day 4 -- Samburu -- game drives and visit Samburu village
Day 5 -- drive Samburu to Sweetwaters -- afternoon and night game drives (Sweetwaters Tented Camp)
Day 6 -- Sweetwaters -- morning lion tracking with rangers
Day 7 -- drive Sweetwaters to Lake Nakuru -- afternoon game drive (Sarova Lion Hill Lodge)
Day 8 -- drive Lake Nakuru to Masai Mara (Mara Serena)
Day 9 -- Masai Mara -- balloon flight, day and night game drives
Day 10 -- Masai Mara -- "breakfast with the hippos," game drives, Maasai village visit
Day 11 -- fly Mara to Nairobi to Arusha (Karama Lodge)
Day 12 -- Arusha National Park -- game drive and canoeing
Day 13 -- fly to Tarangire -- game drives (Oliver's Camp)
Day 14 -- Tarangire -- walking safari and game drive
Day 15 -- fly to Lake Manyara -- afternoon and night game drives, bush dinner (Kirurumu Lodge)
Day 16 -- Mto Wa Mbu walking tour, and visited the Rift Valley Children's Village near Karatu (Plantation Lodge)
Day 17 -- Ngorongoro Crater -- all-day game drive (Plantation Lodge)
Day 18 -- drive to Arusha, fly to Zanzibar (236 Hurumzi, Stone Town)
Day 19 -- island tour, including Spice Tour, lunch and Jozani Forest monkeys (Pongwe Beach)
Day 20 -- Pongwe Beach laziness
Day 21 -- fly Zanzibar to Nairobi to London, and then eventually home

Ok - thanks for the input. I have pretty much decided that it will be Spetember - (may be late Sept/early Oct.). I have thinking it will be 14 to 16 days with probably no more than 2 days in any one location.
MyDogKyle - how were the Giraffe Center & Elephant Orphanage? I am interested in the orphanage and heard that if you make a "donation" you can get up close with the elephants. Is this true and worth it or just a touristy place to go?
I am close to my intinerary and will post it once I'm sure so that I can get input on it as well.
Thanks,
Debbie

Sheldrick:
Here’s MDK’s report
http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...ptoct-2007.cfm

The part about the eles at Sheldrick is in this excerpt. You’d want to focus on the elephants and not the ice cream bus.
• MyDogKyle on Nov 21, 07 at 9:47pm
PART 3 – “Elephants and an Ice Cream Bus” (Sept. 24th, 2007)

Here’s some other Sheldrick info. to confirm you can get up close and personal with your adoptees if you arrange up front. It is a highlight of many people's trips and a very worthwhile stop for you and the eles you'd be supporting.


http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...nage-visit.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...rphanage-1.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...-orphanage.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...what-to-do.cfm

Giraffe Center:
That same excerpt from MDK has the part about the giraffes. I had a similar experience. Let me add that in the right light the tongues look purplish. You can also stay over night at Giraffe Manor, for more up close and personal time with the giraffes and for a hefty price. I believe the giraffes stick their heads into your windows for breakfast.

Here are some links on Giraffe Manor.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...4&tid=34880046

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...4&tid=35102499

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...4&tid=35020509


Late Sept? I'll miss you, unless we cross paths in the airport.

No more than 2 days in one spot works fine in East Africa, but I'd stay 3+ in the Maasai Mara in Sept/Oct, even if it meant cutting out something somewhere else.

Thanks - I hadn't gotten to MDK's trip report yet but just started reading and it is terrific!!! So much good information.