1) Does anybody have experience with booking directly with camps and receiving a discount off the rack rate because they don't have to pay the tour operator fee then.

If so, did you still book the internal Kenyan air travel through an agent/tour operator?

Finally, is it customary for tour operators to charge an approximate 5% premium for their services (in addition to the rack rate for all the properties).

Curiouscat2,

(As a disclaimer, I do feel responsible in this particular subject to let you know that I am a tour operator)

I booked five personal safaris prior to starting my own tour operation. My experience has been that the best camps either will not book direct with an individual or will do so at about a maximum of a 5% discount, as they are not trying to undercut their agents.

I do find it very unusual for an operator to ask for a 5% premium over rack rate. A quality tour operator will likely be able to sell for slightly UNDER rack rates and still have an adequate commission.

Hi Curiouscat2,

In 2004 I paid $120 pn (including full board single tent, game drives, park fees and pick up in Voi) after haggling via the Internet with the owner of a beautiful smaller camp in Tsavo with elephants almost inside the tents. It wasn’t high season. Last year I paid $60 instead of $70 for full board in a single banda at Mbweha Camp outside Lake Nakuru emailing the camp directly, but I didn’t get a package and game drives were expensive, so I went on lots of walks outside the park instead. I took the bus to Voi and Nakuru, but some camps sell their own fly-in packages, or otherwise you can book the flight directly with Air Kenya or with an agent. Lamu Homes charged me the same price for a flight to Lamu as Air Kenya’s office on Lamu charged me for the return. I don’t know if there are agents that can get you a better price for flights. It would be interesting to know.

In Kenya I'm pretty sure you won't do much better than Nyamera did (i.e. bargain the price down a bit if there is no chance of them being full). In fact in my experience the tour operators who sell non-package rooms over the internet offer considerably better prices than the lodges (note I said "non-package&quot. Let's Go and Africapoint do it.

Working out the pricing of tour operators in Kenya is not something I'd want to even begin with - there certainly appear to be a lot of factors and I suspect the phase of the moon plays a part. If you are getting charged an extra 5% that obviously is odd - tell you what....where do you want to go? I'll book it for you at 2% above the rack rate - guaranteed ;-)

Personally I booked everything through a respectable operator this trip after doing half and half last time because I know if something goes wrong they'll make sure it doesn't get too bad for me (alternative transport or accommodation can be arranged and they'll take care of arguing about the refunds, etc..). By "too bad for me" I mean sleeping on the ground outside the room for three nights until my wife cools down. It is certainly possible to do it cheaper arranging things yourself in some cases - and in others you'll just end up paying the same or more. Depends wher you are going and what you want to do there. Try it both ways and see what works for you. Booking the accommodation non-package directly and the air travel through a tour operator seems to me to likely be the most expensive combination you could come up with... but you can try if you've got the time.

In Kenya I'm pretty sure you won't do much better than Nyamera did (i.e. bargain the price down a bit if there is no chance of them being full). In fact in my experience the tour operators who sell non-package rooms over the internet usually offer better prices than the lodges directly(note I said "non-package&quot. A couple of companies do this. I have only used Let's Go but others have used Africapoint and had a room waiting for them when they arrived. Both these places will also do air travel.

If you are getting charged an extra 5% on the rack rate non-package and are considering it, I have an offer for you..tell me where you want to go and I'll book it for you at 2% above the rack rate - guaranteed. ;-)

Personally I booked everything through a respectable operator this trip after doing half and half last time because I know if something goes wrong they'll make sure it doesn't get too bad for me (alternative transport or accommodation can be arranged and they'll take care of arguing about the refunds, etc..). By "too bad for me" I mean sleeping on the ground outside the room for three nights until my wife cools down. It is certainly possible to do it cheaper arranging things yourself in some cases - and in others you'll just end up paying the same or more. Depends where and when and how you are going and what you want to do there. Try it both ways and see what works for you. Should be fun for a curious cat...

Oh dear, the first post was the draft ... Fodor's board is having some problems again... or is it just me?