BootsnAll Travel Community

My partner and I are heading to Africa for 6 months in January next year (2008).

We are planning on starting in Tanzania and visiting Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda and Ethiopia from where we fly to Spain.

Currently we are looking at
Tanzania: 5 weeks.
Malawi: 2 weeks
Rwanda: 2 weeks
Uganda: 3 weeks
Ethiopia: 5 weeks
Volunteering: 4 weeks. Probably in Uganda or Rwanda.

These time frames are very flexible though.

We were thinking that we would like to start with a safari in Tanzania to help us settle into the african culture. However this is looking prohibitively expensive.

So my question is. What are the prices like when you actually get there because the rates over the internet look around $150 USD per day.

Is there any other way to do this? Is this caused by park entry fees? Where are the best parks to go? Can any be done just by hiring a guide?

Does it make more sense just to do the safari in another country or is Tanzania simply the best?

Any advice on itinerary would be welcome too.

Thanks

Spazza

Hi,
I went on a camping safari last summer. I had booked through an adventure travel agency in Canada and so it was obviously expensive. But I can tell you that the local agency in Arusha was Nature Discovery and that they were very good and reliable. Don't know how much they charge per day, but I definitly recommend them. So if you feel like checking them out:

www.naturediscovery.com

You can also ask them some questions you have.
Have a nice trip!

I am going to Tanzania and Uganda this summer. I had already booked my safari in Tanzania before doing a lot of research on Uganda. The environments are very different, but you can see a lot of the same animals much more cheaply in Uganda than in Tanzania, so you might want to do a lot of reserach on the options there. Maybe not all the same, but a lot. If I were to do it again, I might skip Tanzania and just go to Uganda, but that's in part personal preference.

If you go to TripAdvisor's Tanzania board, there is a lot of good info there about Safaris. There are safari operators (legit ones) as well as people who've been on them. There was one thread that actually detailed out what goes into the fees. You'll save a lot by booking a) with a local company directly and b) once you get there. You just need to make sure you know which are the legit companies and which are not before you choose one on-site. You might want to make a list in advance of the reputable ones mentioned on the boards there, and use those.

Park fees are a part of the costs. In Uganda if you want to see Gorillas, the permit fee alone is $500 and there's no getting around that (without doing something illegal).

Thanks for the advice guys.

I have noted down that name for when I get there travelclown, thanks.

quote:

You just need to make sure you know which are the legit companies and which are not before you choose one on-site. You might want to make a list in advance of the reputable ones mentioned on the boards there, and use those.

I especially liked this advice. I wouldn't have thought of that.

Make sure you keep us posted on the safaris in Uganda, Snarky

Cheers

Spazza

Hey Everyone,

I am planning on travelling from Kenya to South Africa in May, do I need to plan all of my stuff before I go or do you just figure out trains/buses and visas when you get there? How safe was it, is it easy to meet people that want to go the same routes?

Hi Kasiacameroon,

Nice to meet you.

My first planed I plan to visit Nigeria just once but seems information for me very rare. I interesting Nigeria.

I saw many people taking about travelling from Kenya to South Africa. Is there any interesting? can you share with me? Actually I can't give you any information about travelling from Kenya to South Africa. But if I get any info about that I will bring to share with me. If you have any idea about Nigeria please pass me a bit.


Might be I change my plan to go to India first.



I am just a poor girl that never have a poor life.

Just curious . . . .How does going on a Safari help settle into the African culture?

I don't think they meant a safari per se would help settle, but any type of 'guided tour' when you first get to a country takes some pressure off you arriving wide eyed and bushy tailed and needing to figure everything out on your own.

When I went to africa I started with a safari which meant I had someone meeting me at the airport and making reservations for me for the first week I was there. After that I was on my own, but I had a better sense of the 'lay of the land' so to speak after I'd been there a week.

That's exactly what I meant snarky.

you can rent a car and explore parks on your own (not in all cases, though). i've never personally felt an immense appreciation of having a guide, but many disagree with me on that. i prefer spotting stuff on my own and reading info in books, as it saves a lot of money.

Have you done that gtrob? Which parks were you able to do that in? Thanks

Spazza