In message 85HSb.3262$1O.1782@fed1read05
"Mark" wrote:

We (two retired married couples) are in the process of arranging an African
safari in June, 2004. The tour company we are considering is "Good Earth
Tours", based in Austin, Texas (goodearthtours.com), and the itinerary we
are considering is: Tanzania and Kenya: Explore Serengeti Mara - 14 days:


[big snip of itinerary]

We are also considering the additional options of staying at the Ngorongora
Crater Lodge
Were any advantages of this mentioned?
It probably doesn't really matter much.

and going on a Balloon Safari.
Jury's out on this.
See thread " Tanzania...got 4 weeks to play with".
Your call, but it's expensive...and only c1 hr actually in the air.

This tour company uses a Land
Rover/Cruiser in Tanzania, and in Kenya, minibus is used equipped with
pop-up roof.

That's usual.

We would appreciate hearing from anyone who can make knowledgeable
recommendations concerning "Good Earth Tours", and also any comments
concerning our proposed itinerary would be appreciated.

The itinerary looks fairly standard for a brochure safari.
Be aware that you'll be spending a lot of your time travelling about from
place to place rather than watching game. Just look at the wording carefully.
People don't usually realise this until they've had one safari!

The main thing I'd question is the need to visit the Mara on this particular
itinerary. The Masai Mara is contiguous with the Serengeti: the habitats are
just about the same.

In June, the migration may just hve reached the Mara (towards the end of the
month) but you can't rely on it. Once we were in the Mara in the 2nd week of
July and the migration hadn't arrived yet. However, it will be heading north
in the Serengeti, and there will be masses of animals there. So you could
find the Mara very disappointing by comparison. I note you're flying there,
so it's adding a considerable cost onto your trip. In addition, I see you'd
be staying at Mara Serena Lodge. I'm sure that this is a very good lodge,
(we've stayed at other Serena properties) but it definitely isn't the place
to be early in migration. The wildebeest don't build up there until August.
Early in the migration (and remember, there may be no wildebeest at all in
the Mara in June) the lodge to stay at is Keekorok, which is very near the
Tanzanian border.

A lot of the safari companies do itineraries like this because people think
they're getting more 'bangs for bucks' with more parks visited on their
tour. You'd be far better staying at fewer parks for longer at each. The
companies don't seem to have latched onto this, and it's difficult to get an
'off the shelf' safari which does this.

However, I see that there are four of you, so it would be very easy to
arrange a tailor-made tour, maybe confining yourself to the Northern circuit
of Tanzania. If you choose a good company, this won't necessarily be that
much more expensive than a brochure safari (also see the four weeks in Tz
thread). You'll be saving money on the extra visas for Kenya and on the
flights to and from the Mara to put towards the tailor-made anyway.

*You* can specify where you want to stay, how many nights in each, and very
importantly, how much time you spend watching the game (specify
"driver/guide at your disposal".) You will also be able to decide between
you what you want to do (hopefully you can agree!) and tell the driver: for
example if you want to see particular species, if you want to spend time in
a particular area or with a group of elephants of whatever, or to specify
that you want to stay away from crowds (very easy if you don't chase every
single big cat which comes your way) or shops.
In particular, stay longer in the Serengeti, and I'd recommend two full days
in Ngorongoro.

Sadly, I can't recommend any US companies
for tailor-making (because I don't live in the States, not because there
aren't any!), but I'm sure someone will be along soon who can.....

Don't get me wrong: if you do this suggested trip, you'll enjoy it.
It's just that there are ways of making it better.

Safari njema

--
Virtual Liz at http://www.v-liz.co.uk
Kenya; Tanzania; India; Seychelles; Namibia
"I speak of Africa and golden joys"