safari in early august: kenia or tanzania?

hi
my husband and i are planning to go to kenya or tanzania during the
first week of august, then to go for the second one to zanzibar.
we would like to contact a local travel agency to arrange a 7/8 days
safari, plus transport and accommodation in zanzibar.
it will be our first time in africa, any advice is so welcome

i suppose we have two options, before flying to zanzibar:
1 - we go to tanzania, kilimangiaro airport, and we visit serengeti and
ngorongoro parks.
2 - we fly to nairobi and visit nairobi park and masai mara.

-can anybody suggest me what area would be better, as far as it concerns
the most probable presence of animal and their migration?
-if we choose nr. 1, will we have enough time to go to tarangire and
lake manyara, too?
-if we choose nr. 2, what else would you suggest to visit?
-does anybody have any contact/experience with a local agency there?
-does anybody know any good place in zanzibar?

--
ciao
GiorgiaG
mail to pervinca at tiscali dot fr

In message
pervinca wrote:

hi
my husband and i are planning to go to kenya or tanzania during the
first week of august, then to go for the second one to zanzibar.
we would like to contact a local travel agency to arrange a 7/8 days
safari, plus transport and accommodation in zanzibar.
it will be our first time in africa, any advice is so welcome

i suppose we have two options, before flying to zanzibar:
1 - we go to tanzania, kilimangiaro airport, and we visit serengeti and
ngorongoro parks.
2 - we fly to nairobi and visit nairobi park and masai mara.

-can anybody suggest me what area would be better, as far as it concerns
the most probable presence of animal and their migration?
In August, the Mara would be the better option.

-if we choose nr. 1, will we have enough time to go to tarangire and
lake manyara, too?
In theory yes, but I don't recommend it.
If you choose only to safari for a week, you don't want to spend all
your time travelling from place to place, you want to be watching the
animals. Tarangire and Manyara are great places, but you need at least
12 days to sensibly visit all four reserves, preferably four.

-if we choose nr. 2, what else would you suggest to visit?
Serengeti is huge. We spend six nights there and could easily have
spent longer.
We spent two full days in Ngorongoro, and didn't get to all parts of
the caldera even once!

-does anybody have any contact/experience with a local agency there?
Not recently, but we used Leopard Tours and would probably do so
again, unless we could find a way of going with our driver from our Tz
trip and getting insured. (He's now got his own company, I hear.)

-does anybody know any good place in zanzibar?
What's your interest/budget?
Is there any way you can increase your safari time? Two weeks safari
and 4-7 days in Zanzibar might be a better balance, and maybe consider
putting Zanzibar at the beginning of the trip.

Safari njema

Liz

--
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Photo blog of Make Povery History rally in Edinburgh 2 July 2005:
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In message I wrote:

Tarangire and Manyara are great places, but you need at least
12 days to sensibly visit all four reserves, preferably four.
^^^^ 14!

Slainte

Liz


--
Virtual Liz: http://www.v-liz.com
Kenya; Tanzania; Namibia; India; Seychelles; Galapagos
Photo blog of Make Povery History rally in Edinburgh 2 July 2005:
http://www.v-liz.com/g8rally/protest.htm

On Wed, 22 Mar 2006 23:23:37 GMT, Liz wrote:

Is there any way you can increase your safari time? Two weeks safari
and 4-7 days in Zanzibar might be a better balance, and maybe consider
putting Zanzibar at the beginning of the trip.

I can only agree with Liz. How about dropping Zanzibar
altogether?

Hans-Georg

--
No mail, please.

Hans-Georg Michna wrote:
On Wed, 22 Mar 2006 23:23:37 GMT, Liz wrote:
Is there any way you can increase your safari time? Two weeks safari
and 4-7 days in Zanzibar might be a better balance, and maybe consider
putting Zanzibar at the beginning of the trip.

I can only agree with Liz. How about dropping Zanzibar
altogether?

in that case my husband would drop *me* in the ocean
--
ciao
GiorgiaG
mail to pervinca at tiscali dot fr

Liz wrote:
In message
pervinca wrote:
-can anybody suggest me what area would be better, as far as it concerns
the most probable presence of animal and their migration?

In August, the Mara would be the better option.

if we fly to nairobi and visit mara, what would you suggest: to cross
the border and visit serengeti - as dave suggested - or to go to amboseli?

-does anybody have any contact/experience with a local agency there?

Not recently, but we used Leopard Tours and would probably do so
again, unless we could find a way of going with our driver from our Tz
trip and getting insured. (He's now got his own company, I hear.)


-does anybody know any good place in zanzibar?

What's your interest/budget?

we would like to rest and enjoy the beaches, and to explore the island
with short trips. i'd love to go to pemba, too.
experiencing local good food will be a priority

Is there any way you can increase your safari time? Two weeks safari
and 4-7 days in Zanzibar might be a better balance,

in that case, would you rather suggest to visit: mara + serengeti +
ngorongoro, or serengeti + ngorongoro + manyara + tarangire?

and maybe consider
putting Zanzibar at the beginning of the trip.

why? i thought safari is tiring, it is better to rest afterwards...

Safari njema

thanks a lot liz, i was hoping you were going to answer after having
googled a bit
--
ciao
GiorgiaG
mail to pervinca at tiscali dot fr

pervinca wrote:
Liz wrote:

In message
pervinca wrote:

-does anybody know any good place in zanzibar?

What's your interest/budget?

sorry, i forgot the budget.
actually i have no idea, but we'd like a very nice place, with some kind
of atmosphere. let's say something like a four stars charming hotel.
thanks again
--
ciao
GiorgiaG
mail to pervinca at tiscali dot fr

In message
pervinca wrote:

Liz wrote:
In message
pervinca wrote:
-can anybody suggest me what area would be better, as far as it concerns
the most probable presence of animal and their migration?

In August, the Mara would be the better option.

if we fly to nairobi and visit mara, what would you suggest: to cross
the border and visit serengeti - as dave suggested - or to go to amboseli?
I really like Amboseli, but if it were me I'd always choose
Samburu/Buffalo Springs for the contrast of habitat and the different
animals and birds you'll see there.
The Mara is contiguous with Serengeti and has much the same wildlife.
Of course, you never know what you're going to see, but you can't go
straight from one to the other, it's quite a convoluted route.
I didn't see Dave's post: I seem to be missing quite a few news posts
since the w/e.


we would like to rest and enjoy the beaches, and to explore the island
with short trips. i'd love to go to pemba, too.
experiencing local good food will be a priority
On our first visit to Zanzibar we stayed at Mbweni Ruins Hotel, which
has its own beach, a bit outside Stone Town. However, they have their
own transport into town, or you can get a taxi. We went into town from
there, and also went out to visit Chumbe Island. We didn't get to
Pemba.
I can't remember the name of the place we stayed for the second trip,
but it was also nice and in the town. Also there are some bigger
hotels in town, I think there's a Serena, and some hotels right out of
town on the other side of the island.
It's a few years since we were there, but at the time Emerson and
Green's (which was called the New Emerson's to distinguish it from the
old one) was the place to visit for dinner. You booked through your
own hotel: we were told this before we went and I could hardly believe
it, but it seemed to be expected! If anyone has been there recently,
could they confirm it's as great as it used to be? You could also stay
there - we saw some of the rooms, which were characterful.
Both places we stayed at also had nice restaurants.
There was a nice seafront restaurant called Blues. Someone posted here
saying it had closed but they were hoping to open it again - I haven't
heard since, maybe someone else has?

Is there any way you can increase your safari time? Two weeks safari
and 4-7 days in Zanzibar might be a better balance,

in that case, would you rather suggest to visit: mara + serengeti +
ngorongoro, or serengeti + ngorongoro + manyara + tarangire?
If sticking to Tanzania, we flew to Nairobi and visited the national
park, then got a bus down to Arusha (I'd try to avoid this in future)
did Tarangire (2 nts) + Ngorongoro (3 nts) + Serengeti (6 nights) +
Lake Manyara (2 nights) + Selous (5 nights) + Zanzibar (4 nights) and
flew back from Dar. We could have done with another night at Manyara
and at Ngorongoro.

In August, though, I think you'd be better to stick to Kenya, as most
of the migration will be in the Mara by then. I'd definitely do the
Mara and stay there for 3-5 nights; also 5 nights at Samburu/Buffalo
Springs (I suppose you could cut it to 3 or 4!) a night at one of the
tree lodges (Treetops, The Ark or Mountain Lodge) and if you had time,
Amboseli or Nakuru. As you suggested, Nairobi NP is also well worth a
visit! This wouldn't be the most sensible order to do it in, but your
tour operator would advise! You can (or certainly could) fly to/from
Zanzibar from Nairobi.

Another time we went to Zanzibar/Chumbe first (via Dar), then flew to
Mombasa and went stright up to Shimba Hills, Tsavos East and West,
Amboseli, Samburu, Naro Moru and Nairobi NP and flew back from
Nairobi.

and maybe consider
putting Zanzibar at the beginning of the trip.
why? i thought safari is tiring, it is better to rest afterwards...
It's not tiring, you're in a vehicle most of the time, and most
itineraries have quite a long break in the middle of the day when
you're just hanging around the lodge. If you're on a private tour, you
can specify that you want your driver/guide to be 'at your disposal'
which means you can go out whenever you want, but standard brochure
safaris usually have a game drive before breakfast and one in the late
afternoon.
We go out early morning, after breakfast and late afternoon - I have a
very low boredom threshold for 'leisure time around pool', though most
of the lodges offer guided bird walks, visits to tribal villages etc
nowadays. I try to get a swim before lunch for some exercise and grab
a doze after lunch and sorting out my camera stuff. It gets dark just
after 18.30, and there isn't usually much to do after dinner (some of
the big lodges have naturalist slide shows or even videos, so you can
have an early night ready for your early morning drive. Some smaller
lodges/camps have night drives (extra cost usually) which are
variable, it's just your luck on the night.

Safari njema

thanks a lot liz, i was hoping you were going to answer after having
googled a bit
Teehee!

I'm quite opinionated, also I've only been to Africa in July, so
listen to what others have to say too.
Your needs/expectations could be quite different to mine!
Whatever, you'll have a great time, provided you don't try to cram too
much into your trip. Either take a longer trip or plan on making more
than one safari.
I'm really longing to get back again....
Apart from anything else, my advice could be getting a bit dated.
:-(
But I'm sure most things don't change quickly, except that lots of new
lodges keep opening!


Apart from the tree lodges, stay at least two, preferably three nights
at any one place.

Safari njema

Liz

--
Virtual Liz: http://www.v-liz.com
Kenya; Tanzania; Namibia; India; Seychelles; Galapagos
Photo blog of Make Povery History rally in Edinburgh 2 July 2005:
http://www.v-liz.com/g8rally/protest.htm

Liz wrote:
In message
pervinca wrote:

if we fly to nairobi and visit mara, what would you suggest: to cross
the border and visit serengeti - as dave suggested - or to go to amboseli?

I really like Amboseli, but if it were me I'd always choose
Samburu/Buffalo Springs for the contrast of habitat and the different
animals and birds you'll see there.

good suggestion, i'll look for some infos about that.

The Mara is contiguous with Serengeti and has much the same wildlife.
Of course, you never know what you're going to see, but you can't go
straight from one to the other, it's quite a convoluted route.

ok, good to know.

On our first visit to Zanzibar we stayed at Mbweni Ruins Hotel, which
has its own beach, a bit outside Stone Town. However, they have their
own transport into town, or you can get a taxi. We went into town from
there, and also went out to visit Chumbe Island. We didn't get to
Pemba.
I can't remember the name of the place we stayed for the second trip,
but it was also nice and in the town. Also there are some bigger
hotels in town, I think there's a Serena, and some hotels right out of
town on the other side of the island.



It's a few years since we were there, but at the time Emerson and
Green's (which was called the New Emerson's to distinguish it from the
old one) was the place to visit for dinner.

i will try it for sure

In August, though, I think you'd be better to stick to Kenya, as most
of the migration will be in the Mara by then. I'd definitely do the
Mara and stay there for 3-5 nights; also 5 nights at Samburu/Buffalo
Springs (I suppose you could cut it to 3 or 4!) a night at one of the
tree lodges (Treetops, The Ark or Mountain Lodge) and if you had time,
Amboseli or Nakuru. As you suggested, Nairobi NP is also well worth a
visit! This wouldn't be the most sensible order to do it in, but your
tour operator would advise!

you know, this will probably be our trip.

You can (or certainly could) fly to/from
Zanzibar from Nairobi.

yes, i checked, at least twice per day.
nfortunately, we found no prime tickets to nairobi

i thought safari is tiring, it is better to rest afterwards...

It's not tiring, you're in a vehicle most of the time, and most
itineraries have quite a long break in the middle of the day when
you're just hanging around the lodge. If you're on a private tour, you
can specify that you want your driver/guide to be 'at your disposal'
which means you can go out whenever you want, but standard brochure
safaris usually have a game drive before breakfast and one in the late
afternoon.
We go out early morning, after breakfast and late afternoon - I have a
very low boredom threshold for 'leisure time around pool', though most
of the lodges offer guided bird walks, visits to tribal villages etc
nowadays. I try to get a swim before lunch for some exercise and grab
a doze after lunch and sorting out my camera stuff. It gets dark just
after 18.30, and there isn't usually much to do after dinner (some of
the big lodges have naturalist slide shows or even videos, so you can
have an early night ready for your early morning drive. Some smaller
lodges/camps have night drives (extra cost usually) which are
variable, it's just your luck on the night.

hmm, i am a real dummy...

thanks a lot liz, i was hoping you were going to answer after having
googled a bit

Teehee!



I'm quite opinionated, also I've only been to Africa in July, so
listen to what others have to say too.
Your needs/expectations could be quite different to mine!
Whatever, you'll have a great time, provided you don't try to cram too
much into your trip. Either take a longer trip or plan on making more
than one safari.

that's what we want to avoid, we know the story...

I'm really longing to get back again....

wow, i guess i will really understand only after having been there, won't i?

Apart from anything else, my advice could be getting a bit dated.
:-(
But I'm sure most things don't change quickly, except that lots of new
lodges keep opening!

Apart from the tree lodges, stay at least two, preferably three nights
at any one place.

thank you so much for your advice, it's only thanks to that that i'll
manage to organize that holiday!

Safari njema

warmest regards, liz, and my best wishes to be back there soon ))
--
ciao
GiorgiaG
mail to pervinca at tiscali dot fr

In message
pervinca wrote:

Liz wrote:

Apart from the tree lodges, stay at least two, preferably three nights
at any one place.
thank you so much for your advice, it's only thanks to that that i'll
manage to organize that holiday!
You'll have a fantastic time.
Remember to post back to tell us how you got on!

warmest regards, liz, and my best wishes to be back there soon ))
Thanks.
I just have to find a travelling companion and I'll be there!

Slainte

liz


--
Virtual Liz: http://www.v-liz.com
Kenya; Tanzania; Namibia; India; Seychelles; Galapagos
Photo blog of Make Povery History rally in Edinburgh 2 July 2005:
http://www.v-liz.com/g8rally/protest.htm