stamiya

Hi all ~ I've been reading posts for a few months now, and have contacted a couple of operators for information. I now know the dates of our trip (3 weeks in sept. 2010), so its time (maybe PAST time) to start firming up the itinerary and booking accommodations. We will be flying into and out of Dar Es Salaam from the U.S. This is our 2nd trip to Africa (2005 was Zambia and part of S. Africa) because, like most others, that first "trip of a lifetime" has become an obsession with seeing more of Africa! We've chosen East Africa this time to see the Tanzania parks on the northern circuit and, of course, the migration if we are lucky enough to hit the right combination of timing and rains, etc. We are most interested in smaller tented camps. We've already seen the Big Five and most of the Little Five, so we really just want the experience of East Africa (and of course lots of animals...). We would prefer to skip long drives on bad roads, understanding that flights will increase the overall cost. We'd also like to see something of Zanzibar (Stonetown, spice tour, maybe some fishing or snorkeling or both).

So, here's our current thinking on places to see: Arusha National Park (for Colobus monkeys and lakes); Tarangire (for elephants, etc); Lake Manyara (climbing lions? flocks of flamingos?); Ngorongoro Crater (just because its so unique and beautiful); Masai Mara (or other serengeti area for migration and cats); Zanzibar (Stonetown and beach?).

We don't really care about seeing Nairobi, although Sheldrick elephant orphanage would be very special, I'm sure. Anyway, we haven't yet picked an operator, although we've liked Roy Safaris the best of the ones we contacted late last year. Any help you could give us in suggesting places, time to spend in each place and the order of places to visit (and whether its practical for us to drive or fly between places) would be really appreciated! Thanks in advance, and I've so enjoyed reading all the posts on this forum. You guys are great!

Regards, Sharon T.

atravelynn

Your current thinking seems to make sense to me.

1 Arusha

1 Manyara, though don't count on tree climbing lions, they are rare, but can be seen (rarely) in Tarangire too--Sept is not the best month for Manyara, but is ideal for Tarangire, so you could eliminate Manyara if you needed a day. Then fly straight to Serengeti, probably Kogatende.

3-4 Northern Serengeti

1-2 Crater--You might consider Lemala Camp, one of the few tented camps at the crater, since you mentioned you want tents. I believe it uses the same access road that Sopa does.

2-3 Tarangire and back to JRO and fly to NBO

4 in Mara (If you are making the effort to include the Mara, I'd stay no fewer than 4 nts) Small tented camp? I'd like to try Serian or Rekero. I liked Little Governor's.

3-4 back to Tanzania and Zanzibar

4 days travel to/from
_____

21 ish

Maybe we'll cross paths in the Mara.

You could remove Serengeti and add more time elsewhere, especially if you had 4 nts in the Mara

Here are flight in TZ timetables, though times may not be entered for Sept 2010.

http://www.regionaltanzania.com/timetable.asp


Here are approx driving times.

http://safari.go2africa.com/africa-t...avel-times.asp

You can see what Kenya Airways has for flts between NBO and JRO and here is Precision Air's schedule

http://www.precisionairtz.com/flightschedule.asp#search

stamiya

Atravelyn, thanks so much for the help. Do you have other camps you would recommend?

Flowerpower, I know you've done a lot of research, etc. for Sept. 2010. Would you mind sharing your final itinerary? I'm trying to decide which camps or lodges to stay at and having a terrible time making a decision! There are soooooo many of them! Thanks for any help you or atravelyn (or anyone else) can provide,

Sharon T.

atravelynn

If you go to Tanzania, I'd try a mobile tented camp that ventures far north.

Nomad
AndBeyond has a mobile that was called Serengeti Under Canvas, maybe that's still the name
Lemala does a mobile, but not sure if it goes up north
Sayara maybe
Check out Flycatchers who have N. Serengeti tents

sandi

Lemala now has camp in the north (also a new one opening 1st June in the west... whoopie), besides their current camps at Ngorongoro and in first-quarter of year at Ndutu.

There's the andBeyond Klein's (very expensive) in the North on private conservancy to be booked only on a GP-game package basis using their guides/vehicles.

Also in North is Sayari and even Olakira. The latter previously had been in Central when not at Ndutu, but now will spend the period June-Oct in the north, opposite their sister camp Sayari. Opposite, meaning farther west towards Bolonggia (sp... sorry). They're offering bush walks between the two if interested.

In Central, there is Dunia Camp. As with Sayari and Olakira are sister camps part of the Asilia group of properties. There might be discounts if combining these three (or only two).

Of course, the andBeyond Serengeti Under Canvas (SUC) camps, which move (3 or 4 separate small camps) depending on season/where game located and remains in an area for a few months at a time.

While Nomad's is another camp only booked on the GP-game package basis using their guide/vehicle, but private for each tent, the others above can all be booked on a FB-full-board basis with your own private guide/vehicle.

In the area mid-way between Central/North Serengeti, there are Migration Camp and Kempinski's Bilila Lodge.

Sister properties to Migration Camp would be Treetops at Tarangire, The Manor at Ngorongoro and Arusha Coffee Lodge at Arusha - all Elewana properties and also expensive.

In Western Serengeti, there is Mbalageti (lovely canvas cottages), Kirawira (a lux Serena property), also Lemala Ewanjan (new), Grumeti River (an andBeyond property) along with Nomad and a SUC camp - which area is great between June/July.

These above are all in the higher-priced category.

Yes, there are many choices and plenty in the mid-priced range, if needed. Of course the decision of where and for how many days being budget dependent, but you can combine mid-priced with expensive.

Good luck.

joanw

Hi, I just want to recommend our operator, Naked Wilderness, whom we did a private safari in Kenya with. I had sent my itinerary to several operators and their price and quick responses were the best. Popsi answered all our questions, dealt with changes in itinerary, and made recommendations so nicely and efficiently. They also do Tanzania as well.The price came out to be the same as a group tour, except there were just the 2 of us and our wonderful guide, Dominique.

canadian_robin

We travelled the Northern Circuit this past August - our first visit to East Africa after a couple of trips to SA, Namibia and Botswana. We loved it and are already planning a return visit. We started at Serian Camp and the Mara, then headed south to the Serengeti (Western Corridor, Seronera, and Lobo), then Olduvai Gorge, then Ngorongoro Crater, then Lake Manyara and Tarangire and finally Arusha.

The Mara and the migration was definitely a highlight and we loved Serian Camp, which Lynn mentions.

In August, our best sightings in the Serengeti were in Lobo, (the northern region of the Serengeti) and the Seronera valley (central region).

Our stay at Olduvai Tented Camp, which is run by Masai, was another highlight - I would recommend a night there.

At Ngorongoro, we stayed at Lemala Camp, which we loved. The big advantage of the camp is that it is near the Sopa descent road, so you can be in the crater long before vehicles arrive from the other end. The crater was was a fantastic experience - I would recommend two visits if you can afford the US$200/(all)day fee.

If we shorten our itinerary the next time, I would likely drop Manyara, although we did see the tree climbing lions. It is a lovely park but, of all the parks we visited, it would fall at the bottom of our list - not really saying that much considering what an amazing time we had.

Tarangire was another highlight - amazing scenery and some of our best game viewing. I can't wait to return.

If you go to Arusha, I would highly recommend the Arusha Coffee Lodge. A fantastic place! Also the Masai market - great selection and prices!

Here is the link to our photos and trip report - it is still a work in progress, but I am just finishing the crater and then will just have to add Tarangire and Manyara - they will be next. There are photos of Serian Camp, the Coffee Lodge in Arusha, Lemala Camp, Olduvai Camp, and the tree-climbing lions, amongst many other things.
Robin

http://bert-and-bin.smugmug.com/Trav...38901400_BHybf

stamiya

Thanks for all the input. I've been looking at various properties and this is what I'm sort of thinking might work for the last 3 weeks in September 2010 for a private safari for two:


Day 1; Arrive Dar es Salaam 8 p.m.; Overnight Dar (budget accommodations)
Day 2; transfer to Arusha, visit Arusha Nat’l Park. Overnight Arusha
Day 3; Drive to Tarangire; Overnight Boundary Hill Lodge
Day 4; Boundary Hill Lodge, Tarangire game drives
Day 5; Boundary Hill Lodge, Tarangire game drives
Day 6; drive to Ngorongoro Crater, overnight Sopa lodge
Day 7; Sopa Lodge, Ngorongoro Crater
Day 8; Fly (?) to Masai Mara or Northern Serengeti;
Days 9-15; Masai Mara and/or Northern Serengeti (Serian Camp? Migration Camp? Lemala new camp in N. Serengeti?) We could split our time between N. Serengeti and Masai Mara depending on migration?
Day 16; fly to Zanzibar from ???; Overnight Stonetown Emerson Green or Zanzibar Palace
Day 17; Spice tour, red colobus monkeys, overnight Ras Nungwi or other comparable beach accommodation (prefer smaller resort rather than larger, good beach with snorkeling from beach)
Day 18-21: Zanzibar Beach accommodation
Day 22: fly to Dar, Fly home (9 p.m. flight out of Dar)

Please give me your expert opinions on this possible itinerary. Is this practical (considering our desire to avoid really long road trips on bad roads)? Thanks again for all your help. This is a great resource for us neophyte travelers to East Africa!

sandi

Day 2 - gather will be flight DAR/ARK.
Day 3-5 - Tarangire - 3/nts seems long for this park, while lovely, 2/nts often sufficient.
Day 8 - Mara or Serengeti - know you cannot cross between the two by land, so have to decide which. The land crossing point can take you a full-dya of driving.

If you want the Mara, then that would be
- from Ngorongoro drive to Arusha; connect to flight to Nairobi; connect to flight to Mara.

If staying in the N.Serengeti with more lodging accommodations here, suggest, and since you'll be driving, stop in Central 1/nt to break up what would otherwise be a full day on the road from Ngorongoro.
- if you wanted to fly to N.Serengeti, you'd have to drive back (2.5/hrs) to Lake Manyara airstrip for this flight (there's an early morning about 8:30am and afternoon at abut 3pm; you could already be on your way to Central Serengeti, even a stop at Oldupai Gorge.

Then from NSerengeti you can fly via Arusha to Zanzibar.

While the bulk of the Migration is in the Mara, there's plenty (hundred thousand) of game remaining on the NSerengeti side that you don't have to split the time unless you wish. And if you wish, then I'd take a day or two from Zanzibar to fit this all in with at least 3/nts each Masai Mara/N.Serengeti.

stamiya

thanks, Sandi. Where would you stay to get the best of Northern Serengeti? Since we'd be spending a number of days there, are there different areas that would be best accessed from a couple of different camps?

atravelynn

I like your above itinerary. So often East Africa is a bit rushed to get everything in, but yours is not. I've spent 3 nts in Tarangire and liked that pace, also did 2 nts, which is fine. You may be able to do some walking outside Tarangire with that amount of time. Or, if this interests you, I've read that in the Silale Swamps (which are commonly visited) you can often see pythons in the trees if you are interested in looking for them. An extra day would allow more time for that unusual sighting.

When you mention you'd be spending a number of days in N. Serengeti, does that mean you'd go there instead of the Mara? Or would you obtain the days from reducing several other locations?

In N. Serengeti there are mobiles operated by AndBeyond, Lemala (it is called Lemala Mara but it is not in the Maasai Mara), Nomad, and Olakira. Some camps are Kleins, Sayari, and Flycatchers operates one. There is Lobo Lodge that is not quite as far north.

stamiya

Hi, Atravelyn ~ I've basically allowed 7 full days for the Serengeti. My big problem is not knowing how to split those days up. Should we do 3 and 4 days in two different camps in northern Serengeti, or 3 days in N. Serengeti and 3 days in Masai Mara (allowing a travel day between), or all 7 days in Masai Mara (split between 2 camps?). I guess I'm looking for opinions as to whether the two areas present sufficiently differing experiences and/or scenery to justify the hassle of traveling between them. Any comments would be greatly appreciated! Thanks,

Sharon

atravelynn

<i>"While the bulk of the Migration is in the Mara, there's plenty (hundred thousand) of game remaining on the NSerengeti side that you don't have to split the time unless you wish. And if you wish, then I'd take a day or two from Zanzibar to fit this all in with at least 3/nts each Masai Mara/N.Serengeti."</i>

Rather than justifying the hassle of travel based on different experiences and/or scenery, I'd decide if skipping the Serengeti would be acceptable to you on this trip. On my first and only trip (so I thought) I wanted to see the Serengeti along with the Mara and did both.

If setting foot in the famed Serengeti is not important to you, then I'd do two places in the Mara. You might consider Serian which has its own mobile--so you'd have your two places. If the cost of that was too high, you could pair Mara Serena with a variety of tented camps. I did Serena/Little Govs on my first trip and that was great.

There would be fewer people in N. Serengeti, which would make it a different experience. The predator action is also usually less than the Mara.

If you did add the Serengeti, I'd probably do a drive to Central, then 2 nights in Northern. I would reduce the 4 nights of beach down to 2 to gain 2. You'd still need 1 more night for 3 total nts in the Serengeti, and you could even eke out 2 addtional nts, which would yield 4 for the Serengeti.

Here's where that 1 night or 2 nights could come from after you reduced the beach time:

1 from Tarangire as 2 nts is standard
1 from Sopa Crater. If you go from Sopa to Central Serengeti, you could do your crater visit that morning. However that would be two 1-nighters in a row then--Sopa 1 and Central Serengeti 1.
1 night from Mara, which would still give you a nice long 6 night stay, and still lends itself to a 3/3 split if you wished.

Personally, I'd take almost all of the time away from the beach because I can enjoy beaches closer to home, but understand you may want some beach time at the end.

You have a variety of great choices, all of which will provide an outstanding trip.

atravelynn

Check out some of Fabio's pics and his brief report in which he included both N. Serengeti and the Mara during a similar time frame as you hope to travel.

http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...rip-report.cfm

stamiya

yes, I've been reading Fabio's report and his descriptions of places he stayed. I'm still torn re: Masai Mara or N. Serengeti. Splitting 7 days between them doesn't really seem practical given the travel issues and additional expense involved in getting from Tanzania into Kenya. I guess the real question is whether we will have a significantly better experience in late Sept. in the Masai Mara as opposed to N. Serengeti. The trouble with planning a trip like this is the awful feeling that if you choose wrong, you'll be terribly disappointed and won't have the luxury of consoling yourself (and your DH) with "oh, well, there's always next time". We'd really appreciate your opinions, either way. Thanks, all.

atravelynn

"The trouble with planning a trip like this is the awful feeling that if you choose wrong..."

You can't choose wrong with these choices. It is not like either the Mara will be good or N. Serengeti will be good, but it can't be good both places. The Mara in Sept is an excellent choice, though there will be more people. It is the choice I made for an upcoming trip.

Why don't you have a couple of options costed for you. Finances may decide it, then you can let yourself off the hook for the choice and just go and have a fantastic time.

I'd bet when you return, your sentiment will be, "We did the right thing."

ShayTay

Are you locked in to flying into and out of DAR? My suggestion would be to fly in to Nairobi and go to the Mara first. Then fly to Tanzania via Precision Air and go to Arusha NP. From Arusha, I'd suggest driving to the Crater first, do that, then drive back to Tarangire. From Tarangire, you're only a couple of hours out of Arusha and wouldn't have to rush to catch your flight to Zanzibar. DAR is only about a 20-minute flight from Zanzibar, so you could fly home out of there.

I suggest the Mara because I've been to the northern Serengeti (Simiyu Camp, a seasonal tented camp not yet mentioned) and also the Mara (Governors' Camp) in September. If you're wanting to see the Migration herds, I think the Mara is your best bet.

stamiya

We are locked in on the flights to and from DAR (frequent flier miles). Maybe I'll check on the cost of flying from Dar to Nairobi then back to Arusha. This is becoming painful.

Leely2

re: "This is becoming painful." I think it's highly likely you will have a good time and see <i>plenty</i> of wildlife in landscapes new to you, regardless of whether you go to the Mara or Serengeti. If TZ-northern-circuit-only is a better option for you given flights to/from Dar, why not split your stay in the Serengeti, say a few days central and a few days north? It's a very big park.

stamiya

How does this look for a revised Sept. itinerary?

Arrive Dar es Salaam 8 p.m. 9/7/10
Day 1; Overnight Dar (budget accommodations)
Day 2; fly to Arusha, Overnight Arusha
Day 3; Drive to Tarangire; Overnight Boundary Hill Lodge; visit Masai village and school?
Day 4; Boundary Hill Lodge, Tarangire game drives
Day 5; Boundary Hill Lodge, Tarangire game drives
Day 6; drive to Ngorongoro Crater, overnight [Sopa lodge?] [Lemala Ngorongoro?]
Day 7; [Sopa Lodge] [Lemala], Ngorongoro Crater
Day 8; Drive to Seronera area [Olakira Camp?]; game drive
Days 9, 10; [Olakira Camp?], Seronera; game drives
Days 11-15; Drive to Northern Serengeti (Serian Camp? Migration Camp? Lemala new camp in N. Serengeti? Sayari Camp?); game drives
Day 16; fly to Zanzibar from ???; Overnight Stonetown Emerson Green or Zanzibar Palace
Day 17; Drive to Beach Area (Pongwe or Ras Nungwi or ??, overnight beach accommodation (prefer smaller resort rather than larger, good beach with snorkeling from beach)
Day 18-21: Zanzibar Beach, Spice tour, red colobus monkeys tour
Day 22: fly to Dar, Fly home (9 p.m. flight out of Dar)

Based on probably cost of getting into and out of Nairobi, we'll probly skip the Masai Mara - this trip, anyway... Any comments would be appreciated. I think most of these places have been given good reviews on this board and on TripAdvisor, but by now I've looked at so many places and read so many reviews...well, I'm sure you've all been through it before! Thanks again,

Sharon