Quick Poll: How many of you bring/are bringing a cell phone on safari?
 

Just curious how many of you are bringing a cell phone on your safari. I have thought of doing this in the event of an emergency and to let my family know I'm ok periodically. However, I would have to either buy/rent a GSM phone or rent a satellite phone in order to "possibly" get coverage (no provider will guarantee coverage where we are going - they just say that they support wireless in Kenya & Tanzania). Based on this, I thought maybe I would just go without a phone, but curious to take a quick poll of others...Thanks!

I took my Blackberry and actually had great reception. Yes, there were a few areas where I couldn't get reception, but more often than not I was OK. We were gone 3 weeks and couldn't be out of contact for that long due to a variety of reasons. But, our guide did have a cell phone and mentioned that people used his on occasion. I use AT&T/Cingular here in the states.
Duane

I am bringing one in Sept to Kenya/Tanz. for my first safari. I bought a used quad band cell from somebody on this forum who it worked for over there and I am hoping for the best as I will be getting to some pretty remote places. With two young children at home and me being gone for quite awhile, I wanted to make sure my wife and I could stay in contact in case of emergency. That is the only reason I am taking one.

I will be taking a blackberry with interntional service fron ATT.

Don't own one, don't bring one. Totally unconnected when I leave the office or home!

Many of the lodges and camps have internet service for a small fee to send a message home. Your safari vehicle/guide should all have 2-way radio service back to headquarters; most guides have cellphones.

For those travellers with children, elderly parents or someone at home for whom you feel it's necessary to be in touch then go for a mobile, absolutely.

Be sure to leave contact information with those at home - children, parents, friends, etc. (but not your job, please) the name of our in-country tour outfitter/s (for all countries you are visiting), their email address, phone and fax numbers... in case they have to reach you. Your tour outfitter will then be able to reach you out on the plains and knows where you are at all times.

Also leave photocopy of your itinerary, passport info page, credit cards, etc. with a responsible person at home.

And, don't forget to bring your Travel Insurance info, policy #, name of provider as this is required by your outfitter, in case of emergency. Some outfitters absolutely will not accept you for travel medical/evacuation without insurance.

Not a chance.

One of the guys we traveled with last January had a Verizon cell phone and had clear reception at Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro crater rim (he said it was as clear as calling from home) and spotty reception at Ndutu (which uses the Ngorongoro tower, so was a bit dependent on angle and weather).

I think some safari companies will provide a phone with a SIM card for US calls for a few bucks. I think poster dsxxx mentioned having this feature tossed in on his recent trip to Tanzania, for example. I would think Kenya should have better coverage than Tanzania.

I think you can access email at many lodges, which some use as a substitute for cell phones.

Bill

Never brought one but this year doing a self-drive through Kruger, will probably rent one just in case of emergency.

We're renting a satellite phone for periodic calls (and text msgs) home to let family know we're ok, and for emergencies.

We generally have one with us so that when we get back home we can call the car park company to send a bus to pick us up and take us back to our car (or, if we've been flash and dropped the bigger bucks, to bring our car to us at the airport).

On the trip itself it remains switched off.

The only exception was in South Africa where we were doing a self-drive and would occasionally use it to call ahead and make restaurant reservations or let a booked accommodation know we were running late. Probably cost more than finding a local pay phone but was a lot more convenient.

Definitely plan to bring something so son and parents can get ahold of us in an emergency-we'll be fine, it's them I'll be worried about.

We had with us a T-mobile phone which our friend found to have better reception than his rented satellite phone (in the central serengeti/crater area)

I take 2 different approaches.

1) I have a satellite phone which I turn on only to make outgoing calls and also to check SMS messages. Incoming SMS messages are completely free, and I can tell people to go to a web site to send messages to the phone. Cost for voice calls is about $1.30 per minute.

2) I have tried my Tmobile Blackberry 7105t phone with a Tanzania Celtel SIM card, and it works great. Just remember to call Tmobile to have them unlock your phone for you, otherwise other SIM cards won't work in your phone. Same with AT&T. The bad news is that after 12 months of trying, I have been unable to configure my 7105t Blackberry for GPRS data. So I cannot receive or send emails. I can send/receive SMS messages, though.

I recently purchased a Nokia 6233 in Arusha, and now have complete GPRS data on this phone. So I have my Blackberry with USA phone number, as well as my Nokia 6233 with a local Tanzania Celtel number, including data access. So I check my emails a few times each day, only responding to those who are in need of an answer before my safari is over.

My next plan is to try to figure out how to use the 6233 as a modem over bluetooth for my Macbook computer. I have successfully done this on a pc, but not without a ton of work. This will enable me to check my emails on my Macbook, using the 6233 as my modem for the internet. Pretty snazzy.

If you are traveling to Africa and want cell phone reception, you will have to be on GSM service. In other words, Verizon and Sprint phones will not work, as they are on a totally different network. There are some phones that Verizon/Sprint offers that are 'world phones', which means they also speak the GSM language. These phones are not as common in their lineup, though. Look for the Blackberry 8830, for example.

If you are looking to make calls daily, or anticipate using many minutes, I highly recommend using a local SIM card. International rates are much much less expensive this way. If you use your original SIM card from your home country, whatever service you have in Africa will need to have a reciprocal billing agreement in place in order for your phone to work. Sometimes you think you have service, but after a call or two the African carrier can cut you off if this billing agreement is not in place. So the safe bet is to purchase a SIM card when you arrive. In Kenya and Tanzania the Celtel SIM cards are only a few dollars with no minutes included.

Happy calling!

Andy,
Hope you don't mind an extra question here but since you sound quite tech savvy, what do you recommend for a Blackberry/Smartphone that will work in Africa/Europe/Asia(or most parts thereof) and that will only be used for email and an occasional phone call? I would like to have one number to keep and the price per min, for calls is not that impt. since mostly email will be used. I have been reading about some drawbacks with the new Verizon Worldphone. Thanks.

Great question, and one that I cannot fully answer at this time. I have yet to be able to take a blackberry over to Africa (Tanzania, Kenya, Bots or Namibia) and have both voice and data access. I heard that Celtel Tanzania recently started offering blackberry service in Dar es Salaam, but I haven't seen their offering on their web site yet.

I would jump onto the iPhone bandwagon if I could get it unlocked, but I haven't heard of anything official that lets one do this.

So I do not know which, if any, Blackberry model will work with GPRS data, and consequently push email, in Africa. I would love to hear if anybody has this working.

No how, no way. For me, it's about getting as far away from all of that as I can.

Excellent advice Sandi about what info to leave at home and take with you. And we do that.

Perhaps one other thing. I thought of this after the fact, after my May safari traveling solo, (but no harm done), that I should have and next time will, when I check into the camp give the office information about my medical travel insurance. So that there is minimal delay should I require treatment. I did have that info on my person but why not have it with the office also.

regards - tom

yes. took to Kenya last August. Used Celtel. Poor reception in Samburu (could only get good reception when upslope on game drives, only got, even then poor, reception in camp at Larsen's), great in Mara and Lamu.

I thought a lot of fun to call friends in U.S. at end of game drive, "I am looking at a Somali ostrich at the moment."

Note: Safaricom appeared to be opposite of Celtel. Workers in Samburu all used and those in Mara said it did not work well there.

You must be joking..............that would be the last thing I would take!!
And the very reason why most of us go to these remote places. :-\

Marc

you nailed it, africaaddict!

It will be on the bottom of the duffel, turned off, only for use to/from airport in the states.

How did we manage before we had cell phones? We muddled through, and it wasn't so bad.

Momliz -- exactly my thoughts!

I did take my quad-band Razr phone to SA last year and signed on for international service (Cingular now AT&T). I turned it on every day or two to check to see if there were any messages. I don't use it as my primary phone so only a few people have the number.

I did need to stay in touch, and I did have to call home to address a semi-emergency.

I did not bring it to chat or to do business. Just had it in case of emergency and it all worked out well for me.

It was convinient on our stopover in London and, like Kavey, upon arrival back home.

CW

I would love to leave all electronics at home but with now leaving a child here and elderly parents, I don't think I could/would go without some way of staying in touch-no chatting, just an "is everything ok."

if you did get an emergency call, how long would it take to get back home? if you're at a remote camp without daily flights or full flights going out, then to JNB or Nairobi etc. and waiting for a seat on a plane could take days. might as well finish your safari and get the bad news when you get home.

My family always gets an accurate list of all the camps including schedule, phone numbers and email adresses of the operators - in case of emergencies they can reach me anytime. That worked in the past, and will work in the future.

Buffalo Springs, Kenya - up the hill, we saw wonderful oryx - and suddenly: daadeedoodooo... we reached cell phone coverage and one of these id*** had forgotten to switch his cell phone off... a moment I will never forget. THE DAY WAS SPOILED.

I agree with Dennis. What good am I in an emergency when I'm 36 hours away at the soonest? The problem/situation will just have to be dealt with as best as possible by those present. If I can't risk that then I should not be that far away to begin with. Stuff happens, life goes on.

regards - tom

Yes, I am taking my blackberry with me but leaving it off. It proved to be very valuable last year when one of my family members got sick. It would have been impossible for those at the hospital to communicate with those at the hotel (and home) without it. Even having it just to help rework our return flights was well worth it.

If people need to get ahold of me for a real emergency (not work), they know to call my assistant. She'll have all the contact information to get in touch with me. Obviously, I can't do anything from Africa. Not to be morbid, but if there was a death in the family, I'd want to know immediately so I could make it back for the funeral.

As above, we have one with us more for before we leave UK and after we return to the UK than for use in Africa.

I do appreciate that some with elderly parents or young children might want more contact with their families but I assume that anyone who is a primary carer to someone has ensured that those left at home are absolutely empowered to make any decisions necessary when it comes to caring for those individuals.

Infact, before our 9 week trip in 2004, we had some serious discussions with husband's siblings as his father had been seriously ill for some time. We decided in advance, given the nature of the trip (including a wedding renewal ceremony), the relationship between my husband and his father, the number of other siblings still in UK to offer any necessary support to mum, that should he pass away whilst we were gone we would like to receive the news but would not come home early. This is what came to pass, less than a week before we were due home anyway. Given where we were it was 2 days after his death that the news got through to us and we didn't go home early. We missed the funeral service but went to visit the rest of the family, and also his grave, when we got home.

Not being there for the service didn't make my husband a bad or callous son/ person, didn't deprive anyone of much needed support, didn't change anything at all.

Having a satellite phone would not have changed our decisions.

What I have NEVER understood is those folk who are convinced that they are so indispensable at work that they absolutely must be in contact during their hard earned holiday time! Bizaare! In managers particularly, I find it a sign either of poor management - a good manager should be able to put a strong enough team in place that they can manage in his/ her absence for a couple of weeks or a paranoid manager who is scared to delegate real responsibility to their team because they fear that they will be deemed redundant by their own managers!!! Arrogance, inefficiency or paranoia - take your pick!!!!

Kavey, keep in mind that some of us are actually working when we are in Africa, and work for ourselves. My wife's 'work', our 17 month old son, increases when I am away, and she is less able to field my emails for me while I am gone.

As much as I hate checking emails daily, I do so because I am a personal service company that tries my best to not leave my customers with unanswered questions each day. Since my typical Africa trip is usually around three weeks, I like to call my wife often to keep the normal communication going. I also have the ability to call the florist back home once a week.

:-)

Like hills, if we had a death in the family, I'd want to come home immediately and if my teenage son was hospitalized or had some serious problem at his college, I'd want to come home immediately.

Let me clarify my post, my family member that got sick was with me on vacation in Peru. The blackberry helped us in Peru communicate with each other and delay our return flights.

I am considering taking a cell to let my family know I am ok while away for 3 weeks - also, I am thinking it will be helpful in the event of an emergency. Although, in the event of an emergency, I guess our guide could use his satellite to reach whoever needed. Unless HE is the one with the emergency!!

calling the florist at home while away is the only reason that I would have a phone on ;)

Trust me. It goes a *long* way. Being in Africa about 9 or 10 weeks each year is hard on a family, so sending flowers is the least I can do to show her that I appreciate her.

Took my quad-band Razr with me in Tanzania. Had good reception all over the Northern Circuit, and even at certain campsites on Kilimanjaro.

It came in useful when coordinating our group. I went early to climb Kilimanjaro, my parents were coming later from San Francisco, and my aunt was coming from Cleveland. My aunt's flight got cancelled, so she had to re-route, but was going to be delayed.

I had a message waiting for me at my hotel when I got back from Kilimanjaro, and was able to use the phone to figure out what was going on. Of course, I could of just used the hotel's phone, so the cell phone wasn't essential, but it was nice to have.

We take ours wherever we go, and have decided to go with a global roaming plan rather than switching phone nos. every time we buy a local SIM.

Have had okay coverage in most of SA and parts of Botswana, bupkis in Zimbabwe, never tried in Zambia. Can't speak to Kenya/Tanzania.

This is a horror I never thought of. Tell me, are people's cell phones ringing while on safari?

I took my cell phone on the trip and dialed my wife's family on the road headed to look Manyara. I think I turned it on in the Mara just to see if it got reception. I think it did.

but there was no way I would keep a cell phone on while on safari.

can you imagine how annoying it would be to be gorilla tracking and hear some ($&%^%^ with a cell phone?

>>>Don't own one, don't bring one. Totally unconnected when I leave the office or home! >>>>

I'm with you, Sandi. NO WAY!

waynehazle, I guess other people already find it very annoying on the road to Manyara.