Apart from Intrepid and GAP Adventures is there any company you recommend for tours within Africa? I'm open to which countries I visit - I was thinking about South Africa & Mozambique or Kenya & Tanzania or perhaps Ethiopia. I've been to Morocco and Egypt but no where else - so I'm open to pretty much anything and everything that this continent has to offer, specifically wildlife, safaris, hiking, experiencing local culture/customs, etc.

If you know of specific tours that you'd recommend that would be great - I'm looking to around Christmas time for a maximum of 25 days, that is reasonably price for single travellers. I prefer to go with a company that uses as much local resources as possible so as much money goes to the locals as opposed to foreign companies.

Itinerary like this is good: http://www.drifters.com/index.asp?pgid=71

Thanks in advance!

Hello,
Normally the difference comes on the prices & quality of the ground outfitters, which you will have to do a little research and compare their products(which is not easy as there are hundreds of them)

It is important that you specify your budget when you make an inquiry to safari companies, as it makes it easier for them to suggest the relevant itinerary & accommodation.

Cost of trips depends on the following factors
-Accommodation choice
-Transport between destinations (flying,driving etc.)
-Number of people traveling with you (if you are on your own definitely price per person will be expensive due to single supplements bla blaa)
-Seasons (December is high season but prime time to do a safari)
-Destinations you prefer visiting (e.g Serengeti park fees is more expensive than Maasai Mara)

Normally a good round experience will cost about 1468$ - 213$ per person and perday using a good guide + vehicle & budget accommodation (no luxury:-))

To narrow down your list I would advise you take the quote from the different companies and the one that you can afford but make sure it includes the below:

All Accommodation as specified on the proposal
Game drives
Park entrance fees
Meals as indicated (B= breakfast, L= lunch, D= dinner)
Services of a professional safari guide
Exclusive use of 4WD vehicle
Mineral water in vehicle

We did safari two years ago and kili climb though our safari was very short, just only four days to lake manyara n.p, ngorongoro crater and serengeti n.p!! we arranged through mar tours & safaris.

We were very well pleased with the service they provided. Baraka handled our account; he was very responsive by email while planning the trip, answered all questions, and the tour was exactly what we had been promised. The Toyota Land Cruiser was in excellent condition. mar tours & Safaris has had it modified to include a refrigerated cooler for bottles of water or other drinks, a very nice touch.

Our driver, David, was a gem. He is extremely knowledgeable about the habits of animals. His commentaries were fascinating, and he knew how to track animals and where they would head. We saw families of elephants rolling in the mud just a few feet from the Land Cruiser, a pair of lionesses playing with a cub, a leopard sleeping in a tree with its kill, rhinos, hippos, giraffes, cheetahs, zebra, water buffalo, and of course all types of antelope. (Ask David for his story about the Dik Dik and why he didn't eat his mother's cooking one night )

I do highly recommend stopping for an hour at Oldupai Gorge where the Leakeys did their excavations. How can you pass up a visit to the home of humankind? I also recommend stopping at one of the Masaai villages. We hesitated about doing this, thinking it would be too commercialized or fake, but in fact we were very happy that we had stopped. The village is clearly organized to open their homes to tourists, but it is definitely not like Colonial Williamsburg. You do get to see the basic existence which the Masaai have chosen to continue to live in; I don't know how else you would get to be invited into a Masaai home.

For tours in Africa in the locations that you are asking about I would suggest checking out some of BootsnAll's offerings. We work with a variety of companies--including GAP and Intrepid as well as others--to offer trips throughout the continent. We also have our own trips in Tanzania for Safaris and climbing Kilimanjaro.

Here are a few resources for you to look through:

http://adventures.bootsnall.com/destinations/africa/

http://www.southafricalogue.com/

http://www.mtkilimanjarologue.com/

http://www.africatravelguide.com

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Hi..

I worked for a company called Out of Africa Safaris for 6 years, based in Cape Town . They offer great tours around Southern Africa. Professional and personalised.

Have a good one