We are embarking on our first ever safari experience in 2010. We would like to cover Kenya and Tanzania, and have listed out the Masai Mara, Amboseli, Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti as our list of places to cover. We are hoping for a 12-13 day safari, starting and ending in Nairobi. We will be flying in from India.

We are in our 50's, well traveled (though never on a safari), and would like to see the big games, scenery, and if possible a part of the great migration. Our questions are:
1. Our visit is flexible between November, December & January. Between these three months, which would be the best time to go ?
2. Does our list of parks above sound reasonable ?
3. Could you recommend a tour operator based in Kenya or Tanzania (not in USA/UK) to take care of all our arrangements ? Would it be reasonable to budget for about $ 3000 per person ($ 6000 per couple) ?

Thanks in advance.

Hi,
I'm very glad for you as its good to move from one place to another. Also good to choose east Africa especially Kenya and Tanzania.
The best time to visit those places is November and December yet January also is not bad so its upon you to choose or decide. About the list of parks is quiet reasonable.
About the tour operator to take care of all your arrangements try All seasons Safaris and Tours in Kenya on www.allseasonssafaris.com. The company is very professional they will serve you well and friendly yet have not yet traveled with them but hear from friends and people who do safaris with them. Don't worry about the price just communicate and see what they can do for you.

Excellent choices for a first time safari. We did nearly the same 10 years ago in January - which was wonderful weather. We did not see any migration, as that timing is not quite right in January.

Have a look at the big Africa trip index on this site put together by LyndaS, for a mass of great information as you plan.

http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...port-index.cfm

Nov/Dec are mid-season in Kenya, but high-season in Tanzania and there can be some rain which shouldn't inhibit safari. January is peak-season in Tanzania when the wildebeests start "calving" their young at the Ngorongoro Crater and Ndutu or Southern Serengeti; and mid-season in Kenya.

Your budget which avgs $250/day person might be too low for 12/days, which have to include your room/tent, meals, guide/vehicle, daily park fees, taxes and transport between both countries, whether air (expensive) or bus (cheapest).

Unless, of course, you choose "budget" camping throughout or at some locations on the routing you show.

As TC above, check the East African Trip Report Index for ideas of where, when, lodging choices, tour operators/agents or planners used.

You can consider:
Day 1 - Arv. NBO - o/n
Day 2 - Drive (5/hrs) to Masai Mara - o/n
Days 3/4 - Masai Mara - o/n
Day 5 - Drive (5/hrs) to NBO; continue drive (4.5/hrs) to Amboseli - o/n
Day 6 - Amboseli - o/n
Day 7 - Drive via Namanga border to Tanzania (another visa required and Yellow Fever inoc and proof of same for entry); continue to Arusha/lunch; continue to Lk. Manyara - on
Day 8 - Drive (2.5/hrs) to Ngorongoro; afternoon crater tour - o/n
Day 9 - Drive (3/hrs) to Ndutu/SESerengeti - o/n
Days 10/11 - Ndutu/SESerengeti - o/n
Day 12 - Drive (4/hrs) to Karatu - o/n
Day 13 - Drive (3.5-4/hrs) to Arusha; shuttle bus 2pm to NBO/JKIA airport and home

Most Kenya or Tanzania tour outfitters have partners in the other country and using one or the other can coordinate both countries.

Thanks for your responses. We have contacted one tour operator, who is recommending November travel. According to him, rates are lower in November, and we can still see some of the great migration in the Masai Mara.

How bad is road transportation between these parks ? Looks like this is what we will have to opt for, in our budget. He is quoting about $ 3750 per person for the trip. Does this look OK ?

The $3,750 is more in line and probably based on all driving and level of lodging. Just bear in mind that while places look close on a map, the distances between are long and roads poor.

Can you post the itinerary and lodging for $3750?

atravelynn, the itinerary that I have got is:

Day 1 & 2 : at Pan Afric Hotel Nairobi. Airport transfer. Visit to Animal orphanage & giraffe centre.
Day 3: Drive to Amboseli. Game viewing. Kibo Safari Camp.
Day 4; Game viewing; Kibo Safari Camp
Day 5: Drive to Ngorongoro Crater, with lunch at Arusha. Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge.
Day 6: Game viewing in crater. Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge.
Day 7 & 8: Serengeti Wildlife Lodge, with game viewing both days.
Day 9, 10, 11:Mara Serena Lodge at the Masai Mara, with game viewing all days.
Day 12: Drive to Nairobi & airport transfer.

All game viewing in private landcruiser, with only the 4 of us.

What do you think of the accommodations, costs, and suggestions for change ?

Just be aware that you will have some very long drives, as:

Day 3 - NBO (4.5/hrs) to Amboseli
Day 5 - Amboseli (3.5-4/hrs) to Arusha, Tanzania (lunch); then 4.5-5/hrs to Ngorongoro - won't arrive till about 5pm
Day 9 - Serengeti (8-10/hrs) to Masai Mara
Day 12 - Masai Mara (5-6/hrs) to NBO.

Accommodations are fine, though prefer Sopa Ldg at Ngorongoro Crater.

sandi, thanks for your inputs. I did not realize that the drives from one location to another are so long. How are the roads ? Any particular drive which will be back-breaking ?

I was going through the accommodation reviews on Trip Advisor. Found decent reviews for all, except for Serengeti Wildlife Lodge. Any one have any experience at this lodging ?

Hello,

I would recommend getting a custom itinerary done. This would be a private safari and they can go where you want. The one I looked into was africadreams.com. They were very prompt and can accomodate your price range.

Hope this helps

Hello doctorjohn. Looked into your suggested africadreams.com ; the site says that the domain name is up for sale ! Does not sound very encouraging to approach them for a safari !

The roads are horrid! Long, hot and very bumpy.

If this is just the 4 of you, then I would think this is a custom itinerary. If you could break up the Serengeti to Mara drive, that would help, but it would add an extra day and cost. That leg of the trip often includes some flights, at extra cost and perhaps an extra day or at least a long day.

The drives can be tedious, but there usually are interesting sights to see along the way. Not so much animals outside of the park, but the people going about their daily routines can be fascinating. After 8-10 hours, you'll be tired, though.

Sorry indian couple,

The website is africandreamsafaris.com

Sounds like a lot of internal travel, and thatz expensive. Itz only 5000k from Mumbai to Nairobi, so why not think about going more than once. You will waste a lot of time getting from Masai Mara to Tanzania for example. Moreover, $3000 dollars seems very low to cover all that distance and pay for safari costs too.
Internal flights are costly, schedules are erratic and the roads are not conducive to comfort and speed.
Itz doubtful that there would be a benefit to booking directly in Kenya; it would be wise to use firms experienced with such trips and dealing with foreign travelers.

Indian Couple: We are going on a 7 day Tanzania Safari In February 2010. It is peak time for migration in Northern Tanzania at that time. The cost of our trip is 3295$ with park fees costing 320$per person.

The safari includes meals, flight from Arusha to the Serengeti and the following lodges: 1 night at Ameru Lodge Arusha, 2 nights kirarwira lodge serengeti, 2 nights Ngorongoro serena lodge, 1 night tarangire safari lodge and 1 night kikoti lodge.


Based on this, I think that 3000/person is very low to budget. You would probably have to use quite basic camps in order to safari for 12 days...but I suppose that can be done.

Doctorjohn you picked a very expensive USA-based safari agency! We checked with them in 2007 before our Tanzania trip and they were thousands of dollars more expensive than the rest.

We ended up going with OAT for various reasons but did saw a vehicle from Unique Safaris with African Dream stickers. I think if you contact Unique Safaris directly you will save several hundred dollars. Base Camp and Roy Safaris also get good reviews for budget to mid-range safaris.

Your itinerary is interesting for February. Why are you not stopping in the southern Serengeti?

I did choose an expensive tour operator...but technically we are going for a "wilderness medical conference"...i use the term loosely. So the safari and flights are basically a write off for me. I think thousands of dollars more expensive is quite a bit of an exageration. I checked out many other outfits offering similar accomodations and prices were not that much different. Maybe a few hundred dollars difference.

Not going to southern serengeti because time does not permit. I am also going to Zanzibar, climbing kiliminjaro, egypt, jordan and israel. I had to cut things out somewhere.

Though you say you aren't stopping at Southern Serengeti due to time, know that the Western Serengeti where Kirawira is located (though a lovely camp) is really best in June/July. You're flying way out there and then have to drive thru the entire Serengeti (unless you're flying) to get to Ngorongoro.

Those 2/nts could be spent at are some lovely camps with availability still in the Southern Serengeti or Ndutu area, which I'd check into. And, it's a shorter flight to and/or drive to Ngorongoro.