Olakira Camp, Serengeti
 

Sorry, I should've posted this earlier.

Olakira Camp is operated by Asilia and is another offering in their expanding selection of high-quality lodges & camps.

Rack rates are around $320 in low season (March, mid-June, Sep - early Dec) and $350 in high season.

Dec 10 - March 31 the camp is near Ndutu.
June 1 - July 31 the camp is near Seronera
Aug 1 - Nov 30 the camp is near Klein's at Soit Sambu.

It is a great new option!

climbhigh,

I'm curious: how does one find out what these kind of camps cost? What we are paying for Nomad semi-permanent next year is (to my mind, but I'm of modest means) nose-bleed high.

Then when I got another itinerary using EMC they said what was driving the cost of that itinerary up was not EMC but Kirawira.

I'm actually all set for my next trip, but I'm worried that I'm really going to get hooked on this kind of "camping." And then I'll have to go out and get a higher-paying job.

BTW these rates are per person sharing but include meals, soft drinks, local beer and house wine.

Eben,
Is that the rate when arriving in your own vehicle (without game drives)? Thanks.

Leely,
Have you asked ATR or other tour operators to break down the per night cost for you at each camp? They should be able to give you those figures and then you can see what you're paying for each location.

Oh yeah, and a higher paying job would definitely help! Maybe I should consider giving myself a raise :?

Patty - Could you give me a raise, too? :-D

Patty,

Well, as we went with ATR and Nomad (rather than Roy and EMC), I'm not sure. I do know Nomad through ATR is 1500/nt--or maybe it's 1600, I don't have the itinerary with me. But that's 2 tents out of four, so perhaps that includes the single supplement.

I have no doubt that's the most expensive part of our trip.

((@))
First I have decide how much of a raise to give my 2 ((&)) who accompany me to the office every day as their sole compensation for all of their hard work these years has only been one biscuit per day, then I can start thinking about yours ;)

Patty, yes. Activities such as game drives, walks, champagne, transfers will be extra.

Leely, a few years ago these shared, seasonal camps were the best kept secrets in Tanzania! But lack of beds at the lodges and a renewed focus on quality not quantity tourism is creating new opportunities (anmd competition) for this style of safari. Thank goodness!

Expect to pay between $350 and $480 per person per night (rack) for this class of camps - Nomad, Sayari, EMC, Olakira and others. Outfitters can often do better than rack!

The owners of these camps are now more visible than ever with decent web sites and most are reachable by phone or email for rate inquiries and more.

climbhigh,
Thanks for the information on this and other camps. I'm torn between really wanting to love the Nomad experience and hoping I don't love it too much and thus start to outprice myself for my next trip. ;)

I believe that our price for Nomad in high season (Feb.) is about $1000 for 2 pn ($500 pppn) and about $700pn for the single person with us. That includes everything except tips (and perhaps premium alcohol)--so personal driver/guide, vehicle, food, drinks, laundry are included. If I understood climbhigh's pricing for Olakira, if you add game drives it is probably comparable or close to Nomad.

park fees included also.

Bat's pricing sounds right to me. ATR quoted me roughly $1700 for 3 people for the Nomad Serengeti Safari Camp in July. From the Asilia website, their Sayari camp is all inclusive which includes game drives in open vehicles so I can't imagine that it would be extra for Olakira.

Lifelist, it's not that simple!

At most shared tented camps you choose between a "Game Package" and a "Full Board Package"!

When you use a 3rd party ground operator (outfitter), the FB option is more common as you arrive in your own vehicle with a guide. The rate is cheaper but there are exclusions such as transfers and game drives.

If you "fly-in", the GP option is better and include game drives, transfers, etc.

The rack rates I presented are for FB - game drives are excluded.

so climbhighsleeplow--do I understand correctly--you should add perhaps $150pp for the cost of your own driver/vehicle to represent the total cost?

Indeed or more depending on how many share the private car, Bat.

I imagine the average daily rate for car/driver in 2006 will be $180 - $300 depending how much the driver gets paid and so on. This cost is shared by the number of clients.

Then you have to add each person's $50 Serengeti park fees.

Thanks.
After you posted your numbers I realized I was pricing an imaginary 2 person trip so I was thinking maybe $250-300/day. The park fees (which I do not resent BTW) sure can add up. We recently received a notice that our price had gone up because of the new Ngo and Serengeti park fees increase. [the contract reserved that right--so it was not a surprise]. Interestingly, the Nomad portion of the trip did not get raised--perhaps they had already anticipated the price increase in their initial pricing. So that was kind of nice, given that they were a budget-busting, extravagant part of the trip to begin with.

None of these tented camps include park entry fees in their rates! This may explain why your Nomad quotes are unchanged!

OK, NOW I am confused. So how would we go into the park? Do you think that we will be asked to pay once we are there? I have the impression that we do not have to.

Now I'm confused--just when I thought I had figured it out. We (and I assume you, too, bat) are being "handed over" to Nomad. I was assuming that our outfitter is arranging for game drives, i.e. game drives even while at Nomad are included in total cost.

Actually, now that I think about it, this is a question for my outfitter. Worry, worry.