possible tanzania itinerary - what do you think?
Dec 21st, 2009, 11:45 PM
#41
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 878
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Flying is OK, and we looked into flying to or from the Serengeti, but it added too much to the cost and we felt like we might miss something flying one way. I wouldn't fly from the Ngorongoro beacuse the airport is a third of the way to Arusha already and the road is good! We saw such different things going and coming we would have missed some really neat sighting if we had flown one way!
The road is paved from Manyara to Ngorongoro. From there the road is dirt but OK; you start seeing a few animals; cape buffalo, zebbra and giraffe mostly along with Massai going about their daily life with their herds. There is section of terrible road just before the gate, but once you get to the Serengeti gate the roads improves some and more importantly you will begin to see more animals. There are several roads that take you to the Sopa turn off, your guide will know which is best for the animals you want to look for and the time you have. We wanted to look for cats. By the time we got to the Sopa we had seem 11, leopards and lions! We had left Gibbs at 8AM and got to the Sopa at 3PM with many stops along the way. Gibbs to the Sopa is about the Same distance as Manyara to Sopa, so if you left Manyara at say 10 after your morning game drive, you could get to the Sopa by 5 with plenty of time for a Serengeti game drive on the way.
You can catch an afternoon flight from Kili if you spend the night at the Ngorongoro Sopa, you just can't do a game drive on the Crater floor and do the afternoon flight. Our schedule went like this:
8:15 left Lodge; stopped for shopping on the road to Arusha; 11:45 arrived at Arusha for lunch and a bit more shopping(bought my stone...they didn't have much in set stones and we can bring unset stones into US duty free); 1:15PM headed to Kili; 3:40 flight to Nairbo and on to Dubai. Even with a night flight, it would be a rushed visit to the crater floor and a long travel day. You need to plan on 4-5 hours Crater to Kili plus some time for "opps"!
You need to give youself enought time to really enjoy Ngorongoro Crater. It is a world class Site and definitely worth two drives. It is a breautiful place and would be worth the time to visit if there were no animals! The animals are the icing on the cake! The Crater has its own eco system and is very different from the Serengeti. To be honest, for us it was our best safari experience. We loved our time in the Serengeti and our time in Kruger National Park, but the Crater was the best!
Each Park is different. We got closer to the animals and there were more of them on the crater floor than in the Serengeti(except when we were with the migration). One highlight...We spent a wonderful hour watching a lioness and her two cubs play with each other...had the sighting all to ourselves!
You are planning on three nights at the Serengeti Sopa so you will have two full days to explore large areas looking for the animals. Plan on two nights at the Ngorongoro Sopa so you can have a full six hours on the Crater floor on your full day. If you are willing to spring for the extra fee, you can do a game drive in the Crater on the way to the lodge...that would definitely be more fun than just driving all the way around on the rim. Or you could do what we did and combine two days entrance fees (6 hurs each) for a full day (12 hours on the floor).
We spent three nights at Crater lodge and had planned for two days of game drives on the floor. The weather was beautiful on day one, so we opted for 12 hours that day...good move as the weather wasn't so nice the next morning...so we did something else later that day. It is always good to have some flexiblity when dealing with nature!
Hope all this helps...
The road is paved from Manyara to Ngorongoro. From there the road is dirt but OK; you start seeing a few animals; cape buffalo, zebbra and giraffe mostly along with Massai going about their daily life with their herds. There is section of terrible road just before the gate, but once you get to the Serengeti gate the roads improves some and more importantly you will begin to see more animals. There are several roads that take you to the Sopa turn off, your guide will know which is best for the animals you want to look for and the time you have. We wanted to look for cats. By the time we got to the Sopa we had seem 11, leopards and lions! We had left Gibbs at 8AM and got to the Sopa at 3PM with many stops along the way. Gibbs to the Sopa is about the Same distance as Manyara to Sopa, so if you left Manyara at say 10 after your morning game drive, you could get to the Sopa by 5 with plenty of time for a Serengeti game drive on the way.
You can catch an afternoon flight from Kili if you spend the night at the Ngorongoro Sopa, you just can't do a game drive on the Crater floor and do the afternoon flight. Our schedule went like this:
8:15 left Lodge; stopped for shopping on the road to Arusha; 11:45 arrived at Arusha for lunch and a bit more shopping(bought my stone...they didn't have much in set stones and we can bring unset stones into US duty free); 1:15PM headed to Kili; 3:40 flight to Nairbo and on to Dubai. Even with a night flight, it would be a rushed visit to the crater floor and a long travel day. You need to plan on 4-5 hours Crater to Kili plus some time for "opps"!
You need to give youself enought time to really enjoy Ngorongoro Crater. It is a world class Site and definitely worth two drives. It is a breautiful place and would be worth the time to visit if there were no animals! The animals are the icing on the cake! The Crater has its own eco system and is very different from the Serengeti. To be honest, for us it was our best safari experience. We loved our time in the Serengeti and our time in Kruger National Park, but the Crater was the best!
Each Park is different. We got closer to the animals and there were more of them on the crater floor than in the Serengeti(except when we were with the migration). One highlight...We spent a wonderful hour watching a lioness and her two cubs play with each other...had the sighting all to ourselves!
You are planning on three nights at the Serengeti Sopa so you will have two full days to explore large areas looking for the animals. Plan on two nights at the Ngorongoro Sopa so you can have a full six hours on the Crater floor on your full day. If you are willing to spring for the extra fee, you can do a game drive in the Crater on the way to the lodge...that would definitely be more fun than just driving all the way around on the rim. Or you could do what we did and combine two days entrance fees (6 hurs each) for a full day (12 hours on the floor).
We spent three nights at Crater lodge and had planned for two days of game drives on the floor. The weather was beautiful on day one, so we opted for 12 hours that day...good move as the weather wasn't so nice the next morning...so we did something else later that day. It is always good to have some flexiblity when dealing with nature!
Hope all this helps...
Dec 22nd, 2009, 08:10 AM
#42
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 131
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
ok, i'm convinced. thanks so much again! i'm going to go ahead and tweak my itinerary as per your suggestions, then get it sent off to AAC and maybe a couple other operators, and see who wins $-wise. cwn, can't remember what you did in egypt, but i posted my egypt itinerary on the egypt forum, and maybe you or anyone else out there might have some insight on that as well. so far i've just gotten people telling me i'm crazy for trying to do so much. yes, i already knew that! 
although most of that itinerary is what AAC already did for me. anyway, here's the link, if you get a chance to look at it...
http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...ppreciated.cfm
although most of that itinerary is what AAC already did for me. anyway, here's the link, if you get a chance to look at it...http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...ppreciated.cfm
Dec 22nd, 2009, 01:09 PM
#43
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 14,440
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
2 crater visits are worth it--with nature it is always different.
Once you reach the Serengeti, you can see animals on your drive to your lodging.
Earlier in the crater or other places coincides with predators coming home from a night of hunting, so you increase your odds of seeing them, especially the more unusual ones like aardwolf, honey badger, etc. But you never know. You also will be out amongst the animals or interesting scenery when the sun comes up and when it is low and offers good light. Plus, it beats the crowds.
Once you reach the Serengeti, you can see animals on your drive to your lodging.
Earlier in the crater or other places coincides with predators coming home from a night of hunting, so you increase your odds of seeing them, especially the more unusual ones like aardwolf, honey badger, etc. But you never know. You also will be out amongst the animals or interesting scenery when the sun comes up and when it is low and offers good light. Plus, it beats the crowds.
Dec 22nd, 2009, 02:28 PM
#44
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 131
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
ok, very cool. it definitely makes more sense to stay our last night at the crater (therefore getting in 2 drives) instead of arusha. i guess we'll be planning on some early mornings. what is the schedule typically like on a day of game driving? and, perhaps more importantly, what schedule would YOU recommend? obviously the earlier the better? which probably means having a breakfast packed "to go"? thanks again! don't suppose you've been to egypt?
