The place to visit for wold life safaris.
Simply put it was out of this world.
We travelled with Access2Tanzania who helped us plan the trip, where to go, where to stay, meeting our budget, etc, they were simply delightful to work with and I can not thank them enough for their help and patience as we worked on different agendas and pricing.
When we arrived in Arusha (we flew from Dulles on Ethiopian Airlines directly into Addis Ababa and then onto Arusha to arrive by early afternoon) we were met by our guide, Fulgence, and our personal vehicle. He was an excellent guide I would highly recommend him and A2Z. Instead of stopping for a night in Arusha, as is typical when flights arrive in via Amsterdam, we drove directly down to our first stop near Tarangire National Park. This allowed us to start seeing the animals early on the second day.
I have a web site where you can see where we stayed and which parks we visited (http://www.moorecs.com/Tanzania or my photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ian_moore/) and that should give you some ideas as to accommodations, places to see and, of course, the main attraction, the animals.
The tented camps are excellent and provide safe, clean and beautiful accommodations. We stayed two of our ten nights in a wilderness camp where you literally stay in a large tent and your hot water for a shower is brought to you in a bag - it is hoisted above the bathroom end of the tent. Toilets are chemical and at night you fall asleep to the sounds of lions in the distance, hyenas surrounding the camp and the night sounds of Africa - truly a great experience.
We would recommend the tented camps over the lodges which tend to be more European in nature, large dining areas and like a normal hotel anywhere in the world.
As for the animals - you will never go back to the zoo with the same excitement again. Our guide was brilliant in finding the animals and would sit as long as we wanted - you are not limited by the wants of others, simply what your group in your vehicle wants to do. We could stay out as late as we wanted and get up at times that suited us - but don't be lazy, the dawn rides out into the Serengeti for breakfast are worth the early rise. Getting up close to a prides of lions when it is only your vehicle anywhere to be seen is tremendous and our guide found remote locations where we sat for hours watching families of lions with their cubs (right beside our vehicle), a lion stalking a warthog, or a Leopard and her cub hauling their dinner, a gazelle, high into a tree - simply spectacular.
We would recommend that you take some time to visit the local villages or Masai boma. They really enjoy your visit and if you plan on doing this you may want to bring some small books or pencils for the children in the school. There are some pictures on my web sites of the children in the Masai school. You will find the Tanzanians to be a very welcoming people and happy to have visitors.
This is one of those bucket list of adventures and Tanzania has it all - wonderful people, great and varied accommodations and of course an unbelievable range and number of animals. Not to be missed.
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35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Exceptional wildlife and expansive landscapes.
It's hard to beat the wildlife, biodiversity, and expansive landscapes of Tanzania. From the highest peak on the continent to Ngorongoro wildlife rich crater, from the expansive Serengeti to vibrant alleyways of Stonetown on Zanzibar, Tanzania has it all and then some. If you're short on time and want to see big game, head straight to Ngorongoro. You'll see everything but giraffes here - they can't climb down/up the steep crater walls. There's so much wildlife it almost feels like a zoo. If you're more into the search and discovery style safari, and have the time, the Serengeti is for you. Better yet, do both. Climb Mt Killy to brag that you bagged the continent's summit, but for my time and money, I'd climb Mt Kenya - more beautiful and fewer traffic jams on the trail. Finally, the rich swahili culture, white sand beaches, and the alluring alleyways of Stone Town on Zanzibar are not to be missed.
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20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A great place to experience your first safari.
The national parks in Tanzania have a stunning amount of animals (significantly more so than Ugandan parks), and this makes game drives easier there. We visited 5 parks/reserves there, but by far our favorite resort was the Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge at the rim of the crater. The views from the hotel were stunning, and the dining room was very luxurious, so I highly recommend this lodge.
The Serengeti is a must for any safari to Tanzania. If you can be there during the Great Migration (Jan-Mar) you'll see some awe-inspiring wildlife. Unfortunately we went during the summer, so we missed that, but still had an amazing journey.
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Email Eleanore Avery | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
After 25 safaris, Tanzania is the best.
My first safari was to South Africa in 1998. I have made 25 safaris since then and now visit only Tanzania and the Serengeti. I have traveled to West, South and North in Tanzania. I would not return to Katavi and Mahale. I would certainly recommend all the parks in southern (Selous, Ruaha, etc.). Tarangire is great for Elephant lovers in particular and one must visit the Ngorogoro crater at least once. The Serengeti has a year round perpetual migration of Zebras and Wildebeest. In the south one can see the birthing of about 5000 calves a DAY in February...and all the big cats are drawn to this supermarket. The 'middle' of the Serengeti is home to all the cats year round as well as elephants, and very busy, but not to be missed. The north holds my favorite camp...Sayari. This is where I go to witness big migration crossing Mara River in August/Sept., but this area has wildlife all year. Tanzania has everything....all the cats: Lions, Leopards, Cheetahs, Servals and others. I have been to Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ruanda and Tanzania. My favorite wonderful safari experience is still Tanzania, and I am returning for my 26th safari (and 10th arranged by Vuriva safari company) in August 2017.
Selous Game Reserve: less crowded= much more natural experience
Plan your safari very early- possibly before you leave but definitely in your first week. The more people in your group, the cheaper the safari (4 day safari in Serengeti/north circuit will run $600-700 plus flights/bus if you have >2 people in your group, whereas it will be >$1200 if you are alone). I tried for 3 weeks to join groups but couldn’t find any companies that had groups to join, so couldn’t go to the northern circuit.
Instead I went on safari to the southern circuit in Selous. This was an awesome experience and we got to see tons of wildlife in the comfort of luxury tents (true 5 star experience with excellent food and service). You are truly immersed in wildlife 24 hours each day with giraffe walking by your showers. I woke to fresh morning tea just to see a herd of elephants walk right by my tent. Each day you're there you have a choice between a boat, walking or truck safari (2 total per day). The stars at night are the most brilliant I have ever seen (zero light pollution). There is a guard that patrols the camp for lions at all times and you are always escorted at night from the dinning tent back to your own tent (big cats will roam the camp site at times). I always felt comfortable and protected, although the animal sounds at night were pretty exciting. If you want to see pictures you can look at my flickr site at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/drweber82/sets/72157625606892476/
Contact for Selous Safari is: Festus Njogoro, 0774735693 or 0222128485, festus@selous.com.
My friends previously went on safari at Serengeti with Sunny’s Safari, and they said they enjoyed that company.
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Email JerseyMolly | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Unspoiled beauty
It was an amazing trip, I only wish that it was longer, I would've liked to spend more time at the Ngorongoro crater. It was definitely the highlight of this trip, a unique ecosystem that's been preserved in it's present state for many years. We were fortunate to see a pack of hyenas hunt wildebeest, that's not something I'd ever expected to see. At Lake Manyara we were able to observe several families of elephants, they walked right alongside our jeep, so close that we could see their eyelashes. Lake Manyara is also a birder's paradise and a home of great many baboons. One word of caution - it was very dusty, bring a mask or a bandanna to tie around your face, and drink lots of water.
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