My 27 year old daughter and I are traveling to Tanzania mid August - doing the northern safari circuit with Good Earth Tours. It will just be the two of us and the driver/guide.
I just received an email from the government of Australia re: safety in Tanzania - They have labeled all travel to Tanzania as Proceed with Extreme Caution due to incidences of assaults in the national parks, threat of terrorism, you name it. I have read the comments in the Tanzania forums but no one seems to be concerned about safety or have had any bad experience over there. How common are these assaults in the National Parks? Any site I should visit see current reports? ( My third time in Africa (Egypt, Morocco) but first time in Sub-Saharan) So, yeah, I'm nervous!

Izaina, have been to Tanzania 4 times since 2002 and another trip this coming Nov. Been to Arusha, Dar and certainly in the "bush" considerable time over the 4 trip. Never once encountered a safety issue in regards to assaults/terrorism. Only time I ever was concerned reafety of my family was during shopping in Arusha with over zealous street venders but even then no one ever touched us or invaded our "personal" space.
I appreciate any government alerting its citizens as to possible issues when traveling outside its borders. But, one has to take such with some common sense. For sure one should not flaunt one's jewelry and other material goods to attract attention of possible robbers, muggers, etc. Nor would I walk the streets of DAR, Arusha, etc after sundown. Plus, bear in mind the incidence of crime in our own cities back home. Who would have thought New York City would experience a major terrorist attack in 2001?

... nor that NYC is now the safest major city in the US.

rsnyder put it well. Governments have to advise their citizens, and this info holds true regardless where one travels.

Have there been incidents of banditry? I'd be foolish to say "No." But the reason we hear about it is because of the rarety. In 14/years of traveling to East Africa - Kenya and Tanzania - haven't encountered any such situations.

We just returned from the Northern Circuit last week. I went with my husband and eleven year old boys. At no time did we ever feel threatened or unsafe. At night we were escorted back to our tents by Maasai but that was more from a threat of animals, not people!

I've read the Australian government warnings and I think they they err on the side of caution. If you avoided all the countries they gave a warning for you wouldn't leave home.

I've been to Tanzania a few times (I was even married there) and have never had a problem. Like anywhere, if you use a little common sense you should be fine unless you're very unlucky.

Thanks, everyone! I feel a little bit better already. True, pangono, that if we avoided all countries with risk, we'd never leave home! I asked Narry of Good Earth Tours about reports of assaults in the Tanzania National Parks and he just forwarded me an email they got from TATOZ informing them that on July 22/09 two vehicles with tourists were held at gunpoint at Kleins Camp & robbed-but that at the request of TATOZ, "the government intervened and the area is now secured." I guess TATOZ sends these reports out to TZ tour operators whenever anything happens concerning tourists, and Narry says he gets one of these about every 3 months. He also said this could happen and has happened anywhere, even in the National Parks. So... I'm traveling with my fingers crossed.

We just returned from the western Serengeti in Tanzania. We felt very safe. The people were lovely, and we would go back there in a heartbeat!

Izaina,

I've visited Tanzania twice now with GE, once in a group of 4 and once solo. I felt safe at all times, however as rsnyder writes its best not to walk around after dark in town and definitely not in the bush.

I live in Hobart and usually check the Smart Traveller website before heading off overseas. I think DFAT err on the side of caution and have always found the situation 'on the ground' to be safe and have not had cause to worry. Of course, travellers can always be in the wrong place at the wrong time or just plain unlucky. Based on my experience, your chances of misadventure in Northern Tanzania whilst travelling with GE are negligable.

Have a great safari and enjoy each day to the max.

Cheers,


Pol.

Izaina,

I went to Tanzania with Good Earth Tours last year - a private safari with just me, another woman, and our driver. I can tell you that at no time did I feel like I was in any danger at all.

The Good Earth driver/guides are very good at their jobs. Just follow their directions and I'm sure you won't have any problems. Trust him to know the area and to know where you shouldn't wander.

To be honest, anywhere you travel is going to have an element of risk - even if it's down the street for groceries. Personally, I felt safer in Tanzania than I did on other trips I've taken to places that had no travel warnings.

Just use common sense and trust your driver and you won't have any issues. But most of all, enjoy the trip! I found it to be a wonderful country and the people very welcoming and helpful.

Carrie

Thanks Carrie and Pol! - Our traveling situation is pretty similar - traveling with GE one or two of us and the driver. We certainly will not be doing any walking around without a guide- day or night. The only walks in our itinerary are short hikes at Arusha Park and on the Ngorongoro rim- I'm still debating whether we should stop at Mto Wa Mbu - have heard pros and cons about it - but if we do we would be with our guide at all times.
Who were your GE driver/guides? Any one in particular you'd recommend?

Izaina, my guide was Saidi (more commonly spelled Sayid) and he was really an amazing spotter - plus, very pleasant and professional. I would recommend him for sure although I have a feeling all their guides are excellent - I meet a couple others while I was there and I would have been more than happy to have toured with them.

As far as your village visit, I was glad I did it once, but I probably would not do it again. I think if it is your first time to Tanzania that it could be a very interesting experience. However, I was with a travel partner who had a very hard time with it and it really overshadowed my experience. I did get some excellent ornaments for my tree and a couple nice necklaces (but be prepared to barter! and don't be shocked by their first quote and cause a scene like my travel partner did ;-).

Let me know if you have any other questions about Good Earth (or anything else)and I'd be happy to share my experience. Have you posted your itinerary yet? I think your safari is situated further north than mine was.

Carrie

Carrie-
Narry is supposed to notify me who our guide will be soon - I've read good comments about their guides and Saidi/Sayid was one of them. Thanks! They all look very friendly in their picture. Yes, we are going way up north, trying to follow the migration.
Here's our itinerary:
Day 1 - Arusha - Arumeru River Lodge
Day 2 - Visit Arusha Park
Day 3- Tarangire - Maramboi Permanent Tented Camp
Day 4 - Lake Manyara - Gibbs Farm Cottages
Day 5 - Serengeti Central - Serengeti Serena
Day 6 - Serengeti North - Migration Camp
Day 7 - Back to Serengeti Serena
Day 8 - Ngorongoro Serena Lodge
Day 9 - Descend into crater at 6:00 AM for game drive then back to Arusha/JRO for departure.

Day 1 - Arusha - Arumeru River Lodge
Izaina -

You do realize that your itinerary consists of all 1/nighters. That's going to be moving every day; something most visitors avoid unless it's absolutely necessary. You'll be spending more time transiting than game driving. Not sure whether budget it much of an issue, but you can drive to the farthest point - Serengeti/Migration and return from there by air. I also wouldn't be jumping around in the Serengeti to/from.

Tarangire is a better park to visit in August; also hit the Crater on the way out and then fly back from the Serengeti.

Day 1 - Arv. JRO - o/n
Day 2 - Arusha NP
Day 3 - Tarangire - o/n Maramboi
Day 4 - Tarangire - o/n Maramboi
Day 5 - To Ngorongoro; afternoon crater tour - o/n Sopa
Day 6 - Ngo - morning crater tour; afternoon drive to Central Serengeti - o/n Serena or Mbuzi Mawe
Day 7 - Game drive in morning in Central then head towards N.Serengeti - o/n Migration
Day 8 - N.Serengeti - o/n Migration
Day 9 - Fly to Arusha/JRO - homebound

Sandi-
I think there's a huge extra fee for visiting the crater twice so we'll just go for our alloted 6 hours, that's ok. Good point about our trip being mostly all 1 nighters, but the traveling time is only a couple of hours except for the first and last day - 4 hours. I don't like little planes, so flying back from Migration is out of the question, however, I might tweak our itinerary a bit (if GE is ok with that) and stay 2 nights in Tarangire. Also reconsidering our travel to Migration.. Appreciate the suggestions!

Understand about the fee to do the optional morning visit to Crater. You could, instead that next morning, just head on into the Serengeti. Likewise, if you don't want to get into the small planes, then the original itinerary which had you driving back from Serengeti via Ngorongoro, works.

But see if you can get to stay at a few stops for more than 1/nt. Even though these appear to be short drives, once inside the Serengeti these aren't tarmac roads - dirt, gravel, bumpity, bumpity - can be quite exhausting/tiring and actually take longer than expected.

The planes out of Seronera aren't always small. Ours last year was a 2-engine plane with lots of seats (Regional Air.)

I'd agree with Sandi... DON'T do a bunch of one-nighters! It may seem that the transit times are small, but you also waste time packing and unpacking. Also, you'll never get a chance to get your laundry done anywhere, as you need a full day in a camp for that.

Sandi & ShayTay: I just spoke to Narry of Good Earth Tours and he told me that any transit time in the Serengeti back and forth to Migration Camp or otherwise is like a game drive in itself, we'll be spotting animals, etc. because we are in the park itself. (One good thing is that laundry is included at Migration Camp so we'll come home with clean clothes!) Also, I think we'd be living out of our duffle bags even if we stay 2 nights in one place...
The original GE itinerary was 2 consecutive nights at Serena, 1 night at Migration. then drive to the crater. That entailed a 5 hour drive - just too long - so we split the traveling time by going up to Migration on the 2nd day at the Serengeti instead. Staying three nights at Migration Camp is beyond our budget... When we reserved with GE, we pretty much followed their itinerary except for a couple of changes in the lodgings. The driving times are GE's & I checked the mileage on Bing. Somehow, our itinerary doesn't seem so bad or exhausting when you look at the details, I think. (I hope!).
2 days in Arusha
3rd. After breakfast in Arusha, drive to Tarangire 2.5 hr drive (139 mi) game drive, lunch boxes, Maramboi Camp.
4th Morning drive in Tarangire, then drive to Lake Manyara 2.45 hr dr. (125 mi) Lunch. PM drive in the park. Gibbs Farm Cottage (Aaaaah!)
5th After breakfast, leave for Serengeti. 4 hrs. drive. (148 mi) PM drive in Serengeti - Serena (This is the long one..but we'd be there at around noon.)
6th Breakfast, depart for Migration lodge. 2.5 hrs. Game drives in the afternoon in Northern Serengeti. Laundry time!
7th More game drives in Northern Serengeti the next day, box lunch, return to Central Serengeti. 2.5 hrs. Serena.
8th: short game drive in the Serengeti in the morning, then drive to Ngorongoro, visit Masaai village and Oldupai Gorge on the way. Afternoon walking safari at the rim of crater. @2.5 hrs drive. 101.7 mi.
9th: This is our last day, early morning game drives in the crater, lunch, drive back to Arusha, 3.45 hrs drive - 152 mi., tea stop, board plane. Sleep!

One question I have for you, though: what is the road between Lake Manyara and Serengeti like?
Thanks!

From Manyara to entry of Ngorongoro is tarmac. Goody, goody! Then, it's dirt, gravel, mud, bumpty, bump. The drive (5th)from Gibb's to Serena/Serengeti will likely take way more than 4/hrs, especially if you stop for game viewing along the way.

Likewise on 8th, figure more time than shown. This part of the drive isn't in the best shape. From Central to Ngorongoro can take 4/hrs.

Drive times are always estimates, and don't go by what is assumed in the West where roads are in good condition.

As to laundry, with the exception of a few camps that actually have driers, cloths are line dried. So even with cost included at Migration Camp, if no sun you might get your cloths returned damp. Another reason why 2 full-days suggested.

Izaina,

I agree with the others - your itinerary has quite a bit of driving and from my experience you won't be seeing much on the transfer drives themselves (as far as animals anyway - lots of other cars and landscapes). I'm afraid you might be disappointed with the pace of this.

Since you're doing a private safari, you may want to adjust the itinerary a little if possible. I remember the drive from the Serengeti to the Crater taking most of the day but we did do a short game drive in the morning prior to leaving the Serengeti. If it were me, I would skip Lake Manyara and spend more time in the Serengeti. I might also skip Arusha and fly directly into the Northern Serengeti to start your safari (our plane was small, but not tiny - probably held 20 people?) and then do the rest of your itinerary in reverse (or fly back at the end if you do Tarangire first).

I loved the Northern Serengeti - it was my favorite area. If you were to stay there 3 nights (at Serena or other) and really wanted to try and track down the Migration, you could always have your driver drive you up to the Migration area just for the day. It's a long drive, but Saidi did it for us. Once you're there, you can do lunch and a game drive in the Migration area before you head back. We even went over the little bridge into Kenya for a short jaunt - an added bonus! Again, a long drive so not for everyone to do in a day, but it was wonderful for us.

Good luck with your planning!

Carrie

P.S. And if you decide to do the Crater, you should do the early morning drive if possible.

P.S. I was looking for lodging in the Northern Serengeti - I stayed at Lobo Wildlife Lodge, but I'm afraid I can't recommend it if you want more of a mid-range or luxury lodging as it was very "budget". However, it was in a good area for taking that drive up to the Mara River. I'm not sure if there if there is anything else in the area or not that would meet your needs - maybe something to ask Narry if you are considering that drive as opposed to doing 1 nighters.