Tourist Information
I am looking for a vacation to Tanzania to climb the mountain and take a safari?
Question: I am looking for a vacation to Tanzania to climb the mountain and take a safari?
We are planning on going next year Mid July to August for about 2 weeks. We want to take a five day climb of the mountain then a safari or the other way around.
(tanzania vacation)
Best answer:
Answer by Josh H
My relatives live in Mombasa, Kenya which is right above Tanzania. You have alot of options. If you want to save alot of money, you can stay in hostels and use public transportation, buses, trains,e.t.c. This can be very cheap and cost in the ranges of $ 30 per day per person plus food. Or you could get a travel agent and book hotels, and a tour guide to climb Kilimanjaro and then take you to Serengeti for the Safari. If you are just going to climb, then it should be very cheap just a small fee, serengeti will cost a little more but it will still be modest. Another thing is if you are only going for 2 wks, you should try to avoid doing it in the summer unless you have no options. I usually only travel to cape verde, Kenya, and Mozambique on Fall break, spring, e.t.c because air fare in the summer on average is about $ 1800, and in the low season its about $ 700, also when its summer here in the U.S its the rainy cold season in east africa but when its fall/winter here its summer there so the weather works out better and cheaper.
http://kenya.com/safari_info.asp?safari_id=3
heres a link to a vacation package, its among one of the best i’ve seen for east africa
if you just want Kilimajaro, heres a link
http://www.tusker.com/tuskerTrips_Kilimanjaro_points.cfm?source=overt&kwrd=kilimanjarotrek
Your trip can be extremely cheap but it can also be extremely expensive, it just depends on your budget and how you plan it.
July-September is Peak tourist season in Tanzania so more expensive.
There are 2 rainy seasons in Tanzania short rains Nov-Dec and long rains March-May. This is not the good time for Safaris as the grass is tall and animals are in hiding. This is also the summer in Tanzania. Good season starts towards end of May so you could get the best combination of prices and animal viewing in June.
There are over a dozen National Parks in Tanzania each famous for different Animals, some well known others very pristine and wild. There are several game reserves where controlled hunting is still permitted.
2 weeks is an ideal period to explore Tanzania. It takes about 4-5 days to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro followed by the most famous North Circuit (3-10 days) comprising of Arusha Snake Park, Lake Manyara National Park (tree climbing Lions), Tarangire National Park (Elephants), Ngorongoro Crater (undoubtedly the best in the world for its veriety of ecosystems) and Serengeti National Park (with a high concentration of all animals). All these are in one streight East west Line so you could fly in directly to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Amsterdam, keep driving west and come out to Mwanza, on Lake Victoria.
The less known parks are Mt. Mahale on L. Tanganika for Primates, no vehicles, only walking safaris and access by boat from Kigoma – drive from Mwanza and nearby Katavi National Park.
The Southern Circuit is much more wild and pristine consisting of Mikumi National Park, Ruaha National Park and the biggest and most unexplored of all – The Selous National Park. About 8-10 hrs drive from Dar-es-Salaam.
Other additional add ons could be 2-3 day trek to nearby Active Volcano from Ngrorongoro crater; Baloon safari in Serengeti; Train journey through Northern Selous; Great beaches and old stone town of Zanzibar the center of Slave trade accessible by a 15min flight from Dar-es-Salaam or through 1 hr cruise.
Typical park fees are $ 30-50 /pp for ea 24 hrs and typical accommodation choices in most parks range from star hotels, to tented camps to camping sites and vary from the range of $ 200-500 /pp per night full board in star hotels to $ 30-50/night for camping sites. Vehicles with giude come in range of $ 120-250/day depending on season.
Almost all national parks have an airport with customs and immigration office but only accessible to small chartered flights
Ideally local travel agents would offer a better bargain. I could give you the contacts of about half a dozen reliable ones and you could shop around.