Tanz June/July itinerary -- first draft
 

As a result of a lot of the good advice I have received from members of this forum, I have been working on a more specific itinerary for our June/July 2008 trip, and specifically the Tanzania portion. So, here is what we have as a rough draft, developed with our travel agent, that I would appreciate your comments on. There are specific questions that I have put in [brackets] throughout the itinerary. Keep in mind that our objective in the Serengeti is to hook up with the migration herds, and I know that is somewhat iffy because the timing is not exact.
Anyway, I'd appreciate all of your comments on all aspects of this itinerary. Thanks in advance for your advice.

June 16-23: In Cape Town doing shark expeditions from Simon's Town and Gansbaai.

Day 1: June 23 - Arrive Arusha. Met and transferred to Hotel for Overnight. Arusha Mountain Lodge or Arusha Coffee Lodge.

Day 2 - June 24: Drive to Tarangire. PM Game drive. Overnight Oliver's Camp.

Days 3 & 4- June 25 & 26: Tarangire (Oliver's Camp)

Day 5 - June 27: Drive to Ngorongoro. PM crater tour after lunch. Overnight at Ngorongoro Serena Lodge. [Two questions here: (1) is it a good idea to do the Crater in the afternoon? Our TA says that new regulations restrict people to only a half day in the crater, so presumably there will be fewer people around, but would it be better to have the half day be a morning rather than afternoon? (2) Is it worth the extra expense to stay at the CCAfrica Crater Lodge instead of the Serena?]

Day 6 - June 28: Drive to Grumeti River Camp.

Days 7 & 8: June 29 & 30: Serengeti: Grumeti River Camp.

Day 9: July 1: Drive to Sayari Camp or Tanzania Under Canvas [Given the time of year, is it better to stay in CCAfrica's new seasonally-mobile Tanzania Under Canvas camp, or to head all the way north to Sayari? If the mobile camp is in the western corridor at that time of year, is it unwise to combine that with the Grumeti River Camp because they are too close to each other? Or is it sufficiently likely that the herds will be in the western corridor then, so it's better to spend our entire visit in the Serengeti in that general region? This is a very perplexing decision for me].

Days 10 & 11 - July 2 & 3: Sayari Camp or Tanzania Under Canvas.

Day 12 - July 4: Fly back to Arusha and onward to Dar Es Salaam. Possible overnight in Dar Es Salaam.

Day 13 - July 5: Fly to Johannesburg and connect back to the US.

Thanks again for any insight you may have.

Chris

Nice itinerary.

I don't think there's any significant pros/cons of morning vs. afternoon game drives in Ngorongoro. I did a morning drive, it was a bit overcast and chilly, but it cleared up around lunch time. One nice thing about morning drives is that you can get into the park first - it seemed like a lot of vehicles started showing up in the afternoon out of Arusha. I think people do it as a daytrip or a quick overnight, so morning may be less crowded. Bear in mind that "less crowded" is relative as you can expect lots and lots of company regardless.

An afternoon drive may be best given that you have a long drive ahead of you the next day to Grumeti.

My general rule for luxury accommodations is that I have to stay 2 nights for it to be worthwhile. If I'm just popping in for dinner, one night's sleep, and then an early breakfast - the extra expense of the luxury lodge isn't worth it. If you're paying for luxury amenities, you'll want time to fully enjoy them. The Ngorongoro Serena is very nice, though I found the beds a bit too firm and the food mediocre (though, I had just come from Kirawira and was headed to Gibb's Farm next, so the Serena did suffer by comparison.)

I would definitely try to hit different areas of the Serengeti rather than two camps in the Western Corridor. According to the Go-Safari.com website, CCUC is in the central serengeti in June and the western corridor in July, though you're right on the edge between.

I was there in late June/early July last year, and the herds were in the Western Corridor and the Northern Serengeti. I lucked out in that I was at EMC mobile camp for two nights in the Lobo area and Kirawira in the Western Corridor for two nights.

So, it's usually best to pick two areas to give you the best chance of seeing the herds. Check with CC Africa if they have any idea when they would move, and plan accordingly. Perhaps do CCUC first in the central Serengeti and then Grumeti next? I believe there's a discount if you stay at two CC Africa locations, so it's worth looking into. And, in fact, I believe CC Africa runs a tented camp in Tarangire, as well.

<b>(1) is it a good idea to do the Crater in the afternoon?</b>

If you have a choice the mornings are much better for photography. Better light, fewer people, more active animals (assuming you go down at 6 AM instead of 8 AM). You have to be out by 6 PM which means you have to leave the crater floor just as the PM light is getting decent.

<b>Is it worth the extra expense to stay at the CCAfrica Crater Lodge instead of the Serena?</b>

Dunno but as an alternate you could consider the Sopa, which is lower rated than Serena (and much lower than Crater Lodge, but $1,400 cheaper). Then you can get in an extra game drive since it's on the opposite side ... easy from Tarangire to drive up the hill and have lunch at say the Serena, then descend into the crater and drive across the floor with the light behind you to the Sopa side.

Next morning reverse this, driving down early (if you are up for it) on the much easier access road and doing a photo game drive until it's time to leave for Grumeti (which will be a long drive from there).

That's what we always do when staying at the crater, though our last day there is our departure day and we drive across and then into Arusha for the late KLM flight to AMS. But this is the way to increase the number of game drives.

Bill

Chris, why three nights at Tarangire? Because you're way out at Oliver's? If it were my itinerary (and oh boy do I wish it were!), I'd cut a night at Tarangire as I've been in both July and late June and July was much, much better. You could add a night at the Crater and free your schedule. You could add Manyara. Or you could add a night in Serengeti.

Where to go in late June/early July besides western corridor? That's a tough call. I'd be tempted to head north after west, but what a gamble.

I prefer morning in the Crater, although both my visits were before the 1/2-day rule was being enforced.

Again, these are all just my opinions. I hope you enjoy this trip. I am envious.

On the Crater Lodge question, I too would opt for Sopa. The logistics were great and I enjoyed the accommodation.

This will be a fabulous trip.

Thank you all for your very thoughtful responses, especially with regard to the Crater. I am not accustomed to the bewildering array of choices in terms of accommodation (Rwanda/Uganda was a piece of cake by comparison to plan).

Leely asked why three nights in Tarangire. No particular reason is driving that -- I think it was my travel agent's way of balancing out the itinerary, and her view was that only one night at the Crater was warranted because of the new 1/2 day rule. I had told her I wanted to emphasize Tarangire over Manyara because of my belief that Taragire would be better in late June than Manyara. But the allocation of days is not set in stone, we can still change whatever.

With regard to the CCAfrica Under Canvas seasonally-mobile camp, the question of exactly where it is at any particular time of year is also vexing my travel agent. She has tried with no success to find out exactly when and where it moves, and she is not sure the CCAfrica people even know yet.

Like Leely, my inclination is to head north after the western corridor, which would suggest dividing our Serengeti time between Grumeti and Sayari. Or perhaps I should consider something else, like the Nomad Migration Camp or one of the other mobile or semi-mobile options. If anyone has any suggestions to help me add something in place of Sayari/Under Canvas, I would love to hear it.

I am not sure how all this will end up, and there is a good bit of just pure guesswork in the planning (esp. with regard to the migration), but we are very excited about the idea of another safari nonetheless.

Thank you again for your comments.

Chris

Chris, we are going to Tanzania in June 07, and staying at many of the same places. Arusha Coffee Lodge, Ngorongoro crater lodge, Grumeti River Lodge, TUC. We were told that the CCA TUC would not be too much of an overlap with Grumeti River.
You can email me at [email protected].

Considering that Oliver's is way at the farthest end of Tarangire and a long drive on day of arrival and again when departing for Ngorongoro (add about 2/hrs just to exit Tarangire, then about 3/hrs to the Crater), then 3/days might make sense. So it would be a very early departue to arrive Ngrongoro.

Half-day visit into the crater can be sufficient for most and you can do this on arrival. Then next morning, early, visit again. There will be a fee for the 2nd visit. We offer our clients these back-to-back visits as full-days are no longer available. This is finally going into effect as 1st July 2007.

Once out in the Serengeti, if you can get space at Grumeti, this is ideal for end June into July. As it's uncertain where CCA TUC will be sited, I'd go for Grumeti. When it comes to the northern areas, it might be too early for Sayari, as the herds might not yet have started/gotten that far north.

While it doesn't quite compare to TUC, you might want to consider Migration Camp (a permanent tented camp... not the same as Nomad's) in the area mid-way between Mbuzi Mawe and Klein's Camp.

Otherwise, it's a bit early to know where any of the mobile/seasonal camps (Olakira, usually in Seronera); TUC or Nomad's might be sited this far out. Even the camps can't assure you, rather &quot;bst guess.&quot;

I'd suggest you hold Grumeti (which is often difficult to get), pending further information on the other seasonal camps.

Sandi and Clematis -- thanks for those thoughts. I think that my travel agent's suggestion to definitely go to Grumeti is a sound one for that time of year. I will also check into the possibility of two half-day Crater visits, as we would love to do this.
Clematis -- I will write you an e-mail in the next day or so. Thanks for your offer to share your thoughts from your similar itinerary.
Chris