travellingafrica

Im planning on a trip to Tanazania and Kenya in August, I have 15days for the trip (and a few either side) and am planning to go with a tour company so as to maximise what i can see and also to travel with other people (im going alone).

I did an African tour last year with Intrepid and loved it, well organised, but it was expensive. Ive been looking at other companies such as Topdeck which are about one third cheaper.

Has anyone used a few compnaies in Africa and who would they recommened? Are Intrepid generally the best? or are the rest generally as good? Any tour compnaies i should avoid?

Any other tips or advise would be appreciated.

Thanks

Patty

Another US operator you might try is https://www.gadventures.com/

Or this Nairobi based one http://www.gametrackersafaris.com/

Both offer group trips. We've always booked locally but our trips were custom, private ones. Are you looking for a camping trip? Not all local operators offer group trips but the ones on the budget end are more likely to.

abram

We only went to Tanzania, but had an absolutely fabulous experience with Easy Travel.

amyb

I used Access2Tanzania for my Tanzanian safari (trip report here, it was wonderful). I used Gamewatchers/Porini Camps for my Kenyan safari, also wonderful, trip report on safaritalk.net. And for my next safari I used Chalo Africa, which specializes in all areas of Africa and had a bit more variety in camps in Kenya than Gamewatchers does. So far the experience with Chalo has been excellent, but I won't know how it ends until Feb 2016!

joanw

Hi, We had a wonderful trip with Naked Wilderness.com. They have organized trips or, with the help of Fodorites, we made our own itinerary. It was just the 2 of us, yet it cost less than a group tour,and we had an extra day and flight. Our wonderful guide was Dominique. I don't know if he still works there, but you could ask. Enjoy!

Kris_m

Hi,

Try to check with this groups organiser agency there in Arusha here its a link http://swaptoursgroups.webs.com/ . I used them when i was the alone as a solo female traveller . Hope my info might help ! .

Cheers ,

Kris

StefanB

Full disclosure up front - I'm one of the partners at Africa Point, an online travel agent and tour operator based in Nairobi. I won't link spam you here as I'm sure you can find us online if you're interested to get in touch.

Whatever you decide, I highly recommend to shop around a little to make sure you get the best deal and with a tour operator/agency that has earned your trust.

When you receive the quotes, make sure you compare apples with apples. Things to watch out for are:
- Group vs Private: this will make quite a big difference in terms of budget. The big advantage about going private is that you are not bound by any fixed schedule and can go on game drives as and when you please.
- Type of Vehicle used: most camps and operators will use pop-ups these days, but I would recommend you to confirm. It's also worth checking if they use a van or a landrover. Typically you can chose whatever your preference, however the landrover will be quite a bit more expensive
- Air/Road transfers: flying into the national parks will save you quite a bit of time, but with 15 days you have enough time to enjoy the rides so you can probably drive. If you decide to fly in you want to check if you get your own vehicle at the lodge/camp or if you will go on scheduled game drives - also check how many game drives/day are included as the extra game drives can be costly. This won't be an issue if you go private with your private guide and vehicle.
- Safari guides: make sure the safari guides are licensed. In Kenya they should have either bronze, silver or gold certified guides.
- Inclusions/Exclusions: this is probably the most obvious one but always worth asking about when you receive a quote. No need for little surprises while en route as it will spoil your trip.
- Kenya vs Tanzania: I second the opinion that game will most likely be low in Tanzani in August. Having said this, mother nature is hard to control and it all depends on the rain etc. From my own experience, the Mara will be heaving with wildlife and the Great Migration is certainly one for the bucket list.

Hope this helps! Hope you have a fabulous time!

pattyroth

We used Roy Safaris in 2007 for our safari and are using them again this summer. They did an excellent job with a fabulous guide. They can plan budget to high end-whatever you wish. They get rave reviews on trip advisor. Roy is a TZ based safari group with a US agent, Susan Wood. I handled everything by email, except for one phone call for the first safari.

amyb

Just to be clear, not every stateside operator subcontracts out to others so that you don't know what you are getting. Access 2 Tanzania, while based here in the US, also has a TZ presence and owns its own vehicles and employs its own guides, most of whom have been working with them for 10+ years; they will book you into whatever lodges/camps you're interested in or will help you determine what are best for your itinerary. Gamewatchers has a US presence but will book you either into the Porini Camps (which are Gamewatchers' own camps with their own guides and vehicles) or any other non-Porini camps you may be interested in.

This is a careful distinction that should not be overlooked. I can't speak to any of the others mentioned above, but both operators gave me a level of comfort in addition to doing reference calls with prior travelers to confirm what I had learned about them researching online.

Jada

Sorry to jump in the forum with a question rather than answers but I am planning something similar and was wondering if there are travel agencies (local or intl) that specialize/can accommodate solo travelers in Africa? I am trying to avoid families/honeymooners but stay safe.

amyb

Jada, all three companies I've worked with have handled solo travelers just fine.

Patty

Jada, are you a solo traveler wishing to travel alone or with a group? Almost all tour operators can accommodate solo travelers who wish to travel alone or on custom itineraries. However not all of them will put solo travelers together with others to form a group.

JEBrooks

You asked, “any tour companies I should avoid”. Absolutely, Micato.

The following is my opinion and based on my experience.

I recently returned from the 16 day Micato Stanley Wing Safari. The actual safari is 13 days. They include the 3 days of flying to make the trip appear longer. The Kenya & Tanzania: A Classic Safari by Tauck is 13 days. Their advertising is accurate, they don’t include the time you spend flying. The Tauck Safari costs about $4000 less and includes a hot air balloon ride. Micato charges an additional $480 for this.

I met a nice couple at one of the lodges who travelled with Tauck. There were about 14 people on their safari. There was 6 on mine including me. Their group stayed at 2 of the same lodges that we did. The hotels and lodges for their other nights were much nicer than ours after comparing the two when I got home.

I arrived a day early to recover from the long flight. The extra night cost $535 including BLD. If I had booked it on my own it would have been $225 including breakfast. I don’t think lunch and dinner would have cost $310. Part of our itinerary included lunch at Felix and Jane Pinto’s home. What a waste of time! Felix was a gentleman. Jane spent our time telling us about her wonderful family and trying to sell us another safari.

In the bush we encountered several other safari tour operators. They were travelling in the same type of vehicles we were riding in. Their guides obviously had the same experience that ours had, otherwise we would not have met up with them. Micato is not unique in any way as they so advertise. I was told in advance that Micato has not ever cancelled a safari, even if there was only one person attending. We were to meet with travellers at one point on our trip from the Micato Heart of Kenya and Tanzania Safari and spend about 7 days with them. This did not take place. I found out later their safari was cancelled due to not having enough people.

I hope this answers your question and certainly hope others read this before they make the same mistake I did.

JEBrooks

I want to clarify a statement in my previous reply. Our group was told by a Micato employee that the other safari was cancelled due to not having enough people.