africa- serengeti-anyone been?

[dancingbear]

hey all...

hoping to go to africa! was wondering if anyone has gone on a tour of the serengeti? its really hard trying to find where to start. pretty much looking for a name of a safte/trusty tour operator.

thanks.

db

[NewRider]

Once I blessed the rains down in Africa but that was just me getting wasted while listening to Toto.

[Ms Zimmy]

I know a few people. My cousin is working for the UN right now in that area. I also have an old co-worker. Want me to try and find an email address?

[Blane]

haven't been, but have been to Tanzania and will probably be going a couple more times in the coming months. I work with some people who have lived there, so if you have specific questions beyond a tour guide feel free to PM me. Am planning a trip to Arusha park in March.

[DevO]

I've been! Well not right to the Serengetti but right in the area (Arusha). Busy at work at the moment though.. I'll post some thoughts soon.

[dancingbear]

thanks.

cant wait to hear your thoughts kevo.

thats cool ms. zimmy but if blane is there as well i will email him/her..thanks though.

i really got to get on this to book flights.

[DevO]

Hey! Last year at Christmas I did a trip in Tanzania. We flew right to Zanzibar and spent much of the next 9-10 days up in the north at Baraka Guesthouse on Nungwi beach. Nungwi is a popular spot with backpackers, can be kinda loud at night.. But we were meeting up with friends, about 8 of us and we were ready to party so it suited us fine! If you wander down the street away from the beach and past the initial storefronts, you get into a village with delicious and cheap street food, less than 1/4 the prices you pay on the beach.

We also hit the quieter east coast, a place called Pongwe, which was beautiful. Stone Town has lots to see and eat too. (Freddie Mercury's place of birth!)

We then took a crowded overnight ferry to Dar Es Salaam. We didn't spend any time in Dar, just a quick taxi from the port to the super sketchy bus station and hopped on a bus to Arusha. Scandinavian buslines I think we took and it was fine. (just one flat tire).

Arusha is the starting point for those hitting the northern Tanzania safari circuit and/or climbing Kilimanjaro. In Arusha we stayed at a place called L'Oasis Lodge which I highly recommend! www.loasislodge.com The 1st time through we stayed in their "Annex" which is just a simple motel room, much cheaper but did the job and this also includes their kick-ass breakfast (one of the few times I had bacon in Africa). The 2nd time through was at the end of our trip and we splurged for one of their very charming and cozy cabins. There is a village around the corner with cheap internet and street food available. We didn't see a whole lot of Arusha itself, though it would be neat to visit the place where they have the Rwanda genocide tribunals.

SAFARI: We did a 3-day, 2-night safari with Sunny Safaris. Sunny Safaris gets good reviews (at the time of my research) and also came recommended by a friend. They've been around a long time, and cost a LOT.. On the bright side, it was just my girlfriend and I, with the guide/driver and our cook (no other tourists). BUT -- We were not at all impressed with our guide, and that makes a big difference. I forget his name unfortunately, but he was very moody and grumpy and didn't offer much insight into what we were seeing on the safari. The food was good enough. Our cook was a really nice man. The accom - tent, in a camping park that resembled a KOA camping park. (Certainly not a solitary tent set up ina plain with an epic mountain backdrop like in the photos!) The parks we went to were amazing though: Ngorogoro Crater is right out of The Lion King, just amazing!!! We also saw the smaller Tarangire natioanl park and one other one (damn can't remember the name). Serengetti is the next one down the road but that would have been an extra day/night and extra hundreds of dollars so we didn't make it there.

That's about it for now, but shoot me some questions if you have any!