Are there different types and lengths of safaris? We will be in Tanzania for a week in early-mid June for a safari. Don't know the best area to visit to see the most animals for that time of year. Any input into guides or tours would be appreciated.

Jill,

A week is enough time to do a safari. Will you be in the north or the south of the country?

If you do a search for the East Africa Trip Report index you will find the names of the various tour operators people have used.

Here's the link to the index, Jill:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34725679

I guess if I had 6 nights, 7 days for a northern circuit safari, I'd do 2 nights Crater and 4 nights Serengeti. But there are certainly many variations...and many, many choices. If you're planning for June 2006, accommodation availability may well determine your itinerary.

Good luck!

Thank you Leely. I don't know whether we'll be North or South (kind of depends on which airport has the lower airfare. Availability is an issue as this is a bit last minute, but I'm sure we'll prevail. Thanks again.

Jill, given seeing "most" animals, the northern parks might be your best area. I don't know how the recent drought will affect the wildebeast migration but June can be a very good month for seeing thousand of them. We experienced that in 2002 trip. Then, two years later practically to the week we missed the big herds but there will still many around as well as numerous elephant, giraffe, lions, etc. The suggested Crater and Serengeti trip should defintely work out to be a nice safari for you. Will see more people than similar length trip in southern parks but abundance of game should make up for it. Either way, north or south, I don't think you will regret it. The East Africa trip index as mentioned by Leely is a great source of information from a whole lot of posters using a variety of companies throughout practically the entire year. You may find lodging difficult to schedule this late in the year particularly in the northern areas so I would not wait too long. Enjoy the research. Dick

Jill,

Safaris can be any length from a couple days to months. Your week will allow for a nice safari. If you are going this June, you may want to get right on your bookings. It is a very popular time with camps filling fast.

For guides and tours, here is a list of agents that have been used successfully by Fodorites For Tanzania.

Africa Adventure
Africa Dream Safaris
Africa Serendipty
Africa Travel Resource
Eastern & Southern Safaris
Gametrackers
Go2Africa
Good Earth
Roys
Southern Cross Safaris
Thomsons
WildTrek Safaris

There are other agents too, beyond these. Have a good trip and please post again.