vacdrmr

Hi,
I have gained so much knowledge from this forum . I do have a couple of questions from all you seasoned safari goers.
We will be in Tanzania on the 1st of June. We had earlier planned on going there the third week but had to prepone the trip. Since we are going in early June our tour operator has suggested that we spend a couple of days in the Western region instead of all our time in the Central region.
Here is our suggested itinerary. Any input will be greatly appreciated.
Day 1 - Drive to Tarangire Park - Tarangire Sopa Lodge
Day 2- More game drive in Tarangire
Day 3- Drive to Lake Manyara - Kirurumu Tented Lodge
DAy 4 - Drive to Serengeti - Seronera Wildlife lodge
Day 5 & Day 6 - Drive to Western Serengeti - Mbalageti Serengeti Lodge
Day 7- Mbuzi Mawe Camp
Day 8 & Day 9- Drive to Ngorongoro crate/ visit Masai village & Olduvai camp, game drive in the crater
Day 9 - More game drives in the crater
Day 10 - Leave for Kilimanjaro

Please give me your thoughts on the four days in the Serengeti. Should we stay for two days in the western ? Also any thought on the Mbalageti Serengeti Lodge. Are the tented chalets a lot better than the standard lodge?
I was also considering the Tarangire Treetops. Is it worth paying all that much more for that experience? Or should we stay somewhere closer to the park where the game viewing would be better?
We will be flying out of Dar. We have about half a day there. Any suggestions on what to do there?

Leely

It's alot of moving around, but if you're game (ha ha) I don't think it's a bad idea to hit the Western Serengeti in June.

From reading the threads on this board, June in the Serengeti is a gamble: where the highest density of game will be on any given week/day is dependent on so many factors. But you'll also be in the Seronera Valley, where sometimes it seems like lions-lions-everywhere. A good balance.

We are also going in June, although later in the month, and we will spend three days "out West."

Eben's website go-safari.com has photos of the tented chalets and regular rooms at Mbalageti. There are also photos of the lodges/camps in the other parks, including Treetops.

Good luck!

sonali74

June beginning, well last time I visited kirawira excat june beginning the herds were in between seronera area and kirwira, more towards central region,I would recommend 1 night at western region, 2 central serengeti and 1 night muzi mawe, Sonali.

vacdrmr

Sonali & Leely, thank you so much for your response. It looks like we will have plenty of game viewing in the Central region. How long of a drive would it be from the Central to the Western region? Is it worth the long drive for just one day?
Thanks a lot info on the lodges. I was wondering if anyone had stayed at tented chalets & the tree tops. It is quite a bit extra for those places & wasn't sure if it was worth it.
Is the Sopa lodge in Tarangire the one closest to the park entrance. Another suggestion was to stay at Kikoti camp. Which would be your choice?

vacdrmr

Hi,
If I had to cut short our trip by a day which one would you cut. Should I cut day 2 Tarangire or Day 9 in the crater. If I cut the Tarangire Park, we would have a half day game drive in Tarangire on Day 1. Is that sufficient?
If we cut day 9 at the crater, we will have half a day game drive in the crater on day 8 & a very short game drive on the morning of the 9th before proceeding to JRO.
Please let me know which would be the best choice.

Leely

Hmm, tough choice. Given what I've read about Tarangire in early June (I've only been there in July, which was great), I think I'd cut the extra day there. Maybe leave Arusha as early as possible to get a 3/4 day game drive?

Another option, to give you more time, would be either to fly back from Serengeti to Arusha or fly to Serengeti to Arusha. I would rather spend my budget on a flight than nicer accommodations, but this is definitely a matter of personal preference.

Availability at the various camps will also determine your itinerary.

I can't remember that anyone on this board has stayed at Mbalageti. I know Sandi and Eben have both visited, checked out the rooms, etc. You could try doing a search here for that.

Leely

Also, I don't know the price difference between the tented chalets and the regular rooms at Mbalageti--but if it were me and my budget could handle it I'd definitely go for the tents!

There are photos of the Mbalageti on go-safri.com, and also on Sandi's trip report from this past May (look up the East Africa Trip Report Index and you can find Sandi's report with link to photos).

It's really hard to say if something is "worth it" for someone else.

vacdrmr

Hi,
Thanks to all of you for all your responses. We are now awaiting confirmation from the tour operators for all our stays. One of them responded that Mbuzi Mawe is booked for that day. I am so disappointed. I am still hoping that by some chance we will be able to get it.What would be your next choice as an alternate stay? We currently have two nights in the Wildlife lodge & one day in the Mbalageti camp. Please let me know.

Leely

vacdrmr,

So the new Serengeti portion is:
2 nights Wildlife and 1 night Mbalageti?

This is really a question for Sandi or climbhigh. What does your tour op suggest? They should know what your options are at this point.

Hang in there.

tshelto

Please excuse my ignorance, but I am new to this board. How do I find the "East Africa Trip Report Index"? Thanks.

Leely

You can search for the Index by using the search box at the top of your screen, but here's a link to it. It's a work in progress tackled by a poster here, LyndaS:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34725679