We had a 9 day tour in Kenya and Tanzania that included 8 days of safari. It was a private tour for four persons. The lodgings were top rated and it was virtually all inclusive. Our guides were excellent.
Cost for the safari was about $4,500 per person. This comes to about $500 a day per person.
The wildlife was amazing and we saw all the big seven except the rino which is frequently hard to find.
I can't imaging doing a safari on your own. My Son did a safari in South Africa at Kruger and enjoyed it but thought the East Africa safari was much better.
We saw thousands of wildebeests in massive herds, as well as seeing the yearly river crossing by the herd in Tanzania. That was special. We saw scores of lions and in some places they were only about 10 yards from our vehicle. We say leopards and cheetah as well as many more species, in their own habitat, not a fenced in area.
Also, our lodging was in amazing hotels, all but two nights (we were in tented camps-there were still cool, since we would hear the animals outside out tent at night). We didn't have to self do anything but show up in the morning and had wonderful meals, including box lunches in our vehicle while on a game drive.
Posted by
Used to be Steilacoom, now it’s Las Vegas
2195 posts
So glad to hear your trip went well! Many of us have been following all that went into your pre-trip, so it’s great to hear that you had such a good time.
Posted by
Last Frontier aka Alaska 🏔️
3235 posts
So glad to hear and not sure of your exact dates, but we may have been near each other at the same time! Isn’t Africa fabulous?!
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14015 posts
Thanks so much for the update! Glad you saw all that you did.
How was the transit thru AMS? You spent the night, right?
Posted by
OP
7688 posts
AMS airport was busy on our way to Africa. We did an overnight at the Airport Hilton and got through check in and security in about 2.5 hours. On the way back from Africa, we spent a week in Amsterdam, loved it.
The airport was less busy than on our way to Africa, of course it was a Wednesday and on the way to Africa it was a Saturday.
The airport seems to be close to back to normal now.
Posted by
Tunbridge Wells
6113 posts
We took a 12 day safari in Tanzania with Birding Africa, which couldn’t have been bettered. Their current pricing works out at $500 a day fully inclusive, based on a group of 6 people with 2 guides and a driver. At that price, I think most providers are decent, as you found. We had elephant rubbing themselves against our vehicle at one point, which was a bit scary.
I have seen rhino in South Africa on a separate trip. It depends where and when you go on safari and the quality of the guides.
Our guide in Tanzania had been leading safaris there for a decade or more and said he had never seen as many zebra and wildebeest over a 2 day period - he said the trip immediately after ours probably wasn’t going to see any, as they would all have passed through.
Posted by
Reno, NV, USA
2428 posts
What were the dates of your trip? I am hoping to see the wildebeest crossing the Mara River. I know there are no guarantees on that but I am hoping to maximize my chances.
Posted by
OP
7688 posts
We were on Safari from 6-15 August. I think the day we saw the crossing was the 10th.
Posted by
Reno, NV, USA
2428 posts
Thanks so much. That is very helpful. I know it’s catch as catch can because another friend was there about that time and missed it.