Travel and vacations - East African Safari

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East African Safari

Hello,
My friend and I plan to travel to East African coutries to see the
safari/wild animals and the beaches there. We plan to stay at the
beach for about a week after or before seeing the safari.
I would like to know what is the reasonable amount of time we should
spend at the safari to see all the big animals? where we should go?
Kenya or Tanzania or both? what is reasonable price and good travel
company/guide?
I appreciate all your advise :-)
Duncan

East African Safari

On 12 Aug 2004 15:44:34 -0700, (Duncan Mackay)
wrote:

My friend and I plan to travel to East African coutries to see the
safari/wild animals and the beaches there. We plan to stay at the
beach for about a week after or before seeing the safari.
I would like to know what is the reasonable amount of time we should
spend at the safari to see all the big animals? where we should go?
Kenya or Tanzania or both? what is reasonable price and good travel
company/guide?

Duncan,

the beach proposal comes up time and again. A true Frequently
Asked Question.

My personal opinion is that I have stopped going to the beach,
except for historic and exotic places like Lamu, with the
reasoning that it is a pity to waste time on something you don't
have to go to Africa for.

But if you want to go to the beach anyway, my personal opinion
is not to spend your last week there, because you may be bored
after a thrilling wildlife safari.

Kenya is big and Tanzania is huge, so there is not much point in
visiting both on a first time visit to east Africa. Kenya is
cheaper and more developed, so more convenient. Tanzania has
some outstanding places, so I guess it doesn't matter much which
one you choose. I know both, know Kenya better and haven't been
to Tanzania recently, so I will not try to give any more advice
on this.

I'll also stand back on the travel company choice, because I
usually go on my own.

Please have a look at http://www.michna.com/kenya.htm for some
useful information, particularly check lists on what to bring
along. They work for Tanzania just as well.

If you decide to go to Kenya, the most interesting places for a
first time visit are, in my personal view, in descending order
of tourist value:

* Maasai Mara
* Samburu/Buffalo Springs
* Lake Nakuru (flamingos, most big animals, but no elephants)
* Lamu (coast, cultural, no big wild animals)
* The Ark (overnight mountain lodge with floodlit salt lick)
* Amboseli (beneath Mt. Kilimanjaro)
* Tsavo West
* Lake Bogoria (few big animals, flamingos)
* Lake Naivasha (few big animals, hippos, crocodiles, birds)
* Meru
* Nairobi National Park (most big animals, but no elephants)
* Lake Baringo (for bird watchers, no big wild animals)

And several more. My recommendation is to go to the uppermost
places last, i.e. visit Maasai Mara just before you leave. For a
short safari, like one week, the sequence Lake Nakuru, Samburu,
Maasai Mara would be fine, or perhaps because of the shorter
path resequenced to Samburu, Lake Nakuru, Maasai Mara.

For a two week safari a nice sequence could be Amboseli, Lamu
(by plane), Samburu, The Ark, Lake Nakuru, Maasai Mara, but it
is almost too much and a little bit of a rush already.

To all: What do you think of these proposals? Are they OK? Let's
have more opinions and perhaps something similar for Tanzania.

Hans-Georg

--
No mail, please.

East African Safari

I just returned from just such a trip a couple weeks ago. My time was spent
between Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro, and safari.

Zanzibar has superb beaches, but as mentioned before, you can find these all
over the world for a LOT less trouble and expense. That said, I was told the
east side of Zanzibar is the best for beaches, but I did not see it. You can
also learn to scuba or snorkle very cheaply and there are coral reefs very
close by.

If you go to Arusha I highly recommend Roy Safaris. They have a rather poor
web page, but they have good prices and incredibly good guides. If you want
animals on the quick the Arusha National Park is close by and there are many
of the animals you will see in the Serengeti. Also, it is rain forest and
green - much more jungle than the Serengeti which is very dry prairie this
time of year. Roy can arrange trips to just about anywhere you want to go.

Kili is a killer - literally. If you are not prepared it is impossible. Even
if you are prepared it is very, very difficult and impossible for many
people who are in great shape. Don't do this on a lark.

Regardless where you go, bring the outdoor gear you will need. It is very
hard to locate and assemble all the things you need on the spot.

How much? Hard to say. I paid up 6 months ago and got a 7 day Kili climb and
5 days in the Serengeti for about $1,300 which is a good price. Fuel prices
are up there just like everywhere else and so the cost of travel is too.

Have fun!!!!

"Duncan Mackay" wrote in message
om...
Hello,
My friend and I plan to travel to East African coutries to see the
safari/wild animals and the beaches there. We plan to stay at the
beach for about a week after or before seeing the safari.
I would like to know what is the reasonable amount of time we should
spend at the safari to see all the big animals? where we should go?
Kenya or Tanzania or both? what is reasonable price and good travel
company/guide?
I appreciate all your advise :-)
Duncan

Hans-Georg Michna wrote:

I'll also stand back on the travel company choice, because I
usually go on my own.

Hans,
How much would be a day budget (excluding car&fuel)?

Travel agencies ask +/- $100 per day - all inclusive, accomodation in camp,
but drinkable water

--
Pozdrawiam,
Marek

On Mon, 16 Aug 2004 17:38:06 +0200, "Marek MANO"
wrote:

Hans-Georg Michna wrote:

I'll also stand back on the travel company choice, because I
usually go on my own.

How much would be a day budget (excluding car&fuel)?

Travel agencies ask +/- $100 per day - all inclusive, accomodation in camp,
but drinkable water

Marek,

When you travel on your own through the inhabited areas of
Kenya, that can be very cheap, if you accept local
accommodation, not tourist accommodation.

In the nature reserves, however, and that's where I mainly want
to go, the main cost factor is the lodges. They vary between
some $40 (special low season offer) and $200 per person per
night, some luxury lodges are even more expensive. This includes
food, but usually not the drinks.

You can also camp, which costs very little, perhaps $2 per
night.

The next cost factor is the jeep. See www.rasuls.com for some
good prices.

Then you have to pay entrance fees for nature reserves, which
vary and can be up to $30 for up to 24 hours (see
http://www.kws.org/tariffs.htm).

That's about it. You need something to eat and drink. And you
need to get to Africa and back in the first place.

http://www.michna.com/kenya.htm contains some actual lodge
prices. Check them at the end of the document.

When you travel on your own, you can probably beat the safari
operator prices, but only if several people share a jeep and you
select lower price lodges.

Hans-Georg

--
No mail, please.

On Tue, 17 Aug 2004 08:14:44 +0000, Samia wrote:
Uganda is the place! Not much is known about Uganda because of the
economic turmoil it gone through. For over a decade now, Uganda's become
a safe and secure place to visit (except for northern Uganda) please
have a look at (http://travelvideo.tv/news/more.php?id=2459_0_1_0_M).
It's quite a cheap place, accomodation, meals, etc and will have alot to
see, you could:
- go white water rafting on the nile

Can you still do that? When I was there in 2002, I thought the dam was
already under construction. Do the rapids still exist? If so, for how
much longer?

--
Photos and travelogues from Africa and Southeast Asia: http://www.exile.org