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Tanzania Grand Family Safari June 24-July 3 2018

MNtraveler70

My husband and I are taking our 12 year old granddaughter on this trip. Wondering about other families and ages of children. We plan to arrive the evening of June 22 as we'll need time to adjust after flying from San Francisco.

Comments

InaB

we are going the week before - June 17 with two grandkids (12 & 15) from Los Altos - and we're arriving two days early for time adjustment purposes.

governors4

InaB I am taking my 15 year old granddaughter on the June 17 trip. We are arriving one day early. Are your grandchildren boys or girls?

alidor30

We are not going until Christmas time but I have a question for all of you. WIll you be taking malaria pills with you?

MNtraveler70

Yes. We'll be taking Malarone pills (anti-malaria).

governors4

alidor30 wrote:

We are not going until Christmas time but I have a question for all of you. WIll you be taking malaria pills with you?

governors4

We will take malaria pills with us

obsessedbybooks

We'll be joining you on the June 24-July 3 trip with our 14-year-old daughter; we're all very excited!

MNtraveler70

Great! Will you be arriving the 24th or earlier? We arrive on the evening of the 22nd (KLM from Amsterdam flight).

obsessedbybooks

We are also arriving on Friday the 22nd on a KLM from Amsterdam - we are probably on the same flight. We were going to do something local through the hotel on Saturday, such as a safari to Arusha National Park which I noticed they offered, so when we are given that choice through Tauck we'll do the Kilimanjaro hike without thinking we're missing anything. On Sunday we were just going to rest and stay at the hotel until I assume we gather at night with the group.

dejinva

We will be arriving June 23rd. I have four grandchildren with me: girls ages 6, 9, 12. Boy age 9.

We are all taking malaria pills. Also bringing my daughter, son-in-law, and sister.

cb2labs

dejinva wrote:

We will be arriving June 23rd. I have four grandchildren with me: girls ages 6, 9, 12. Boy age 9.

We are all taking malaria pills. Also bringing my daughter, son-in-law, and sister.

After you return and settle back in, I would be very interested in your comments on this family safari and how the children did. I have granddaughters 6 and 8, and trying to decide how long to wait until I take them with me. Would love to have you review your trip if possible!

British

Me too, I am planning on taking my two older grandchildren who are only five months apart when they are ten, five more years to go????. There are plenty of people asking about this safari but no one has ever reported back how things went that I can remember.

swicegoodsteven

Pre-tour
Just back... our tour was second week of June and was EXCELLENT.

After returning home and looking back, I would say our best decision was arriving two days early.

Our KLM flight arrived in the evening, and Tauck provided jeep/driver met us and took us to the hotel (Arumeru River Lodge). We were in our rooms around 10:15pm. The hotel told us they would cook dinner for us if we needed but honestly, we were not hungry after eating so much on the plane.

We obviously booked the extra nights through Tauck and breakfast was included (lunch and dinners were not). The breakfast buffet was small by american standards, but we really had plenty. Cooked to order eggs, fruit, juice, coffee, hot teas, bread, a pound cake, sausage, bacon, a pancake thing that was more like a crepe and potatoes. For the most part, our breakfast menus were the same at all of the hotels for the next 13 days. Before our tour, dinners were by menu at the Arumeru River Lodge. While the menu was not extensive, it offered enough and was reasonable! Menu included grilled steak, chicken, burgers and a fish selection. I would rate the food very good (admittedly food is subjective). The hit was actually a salad with grilled chicken!

First day, we ate breakfast (we were awake early) and the front desk arranged a walking rainforest tour. We saw monkeys for the first time and that was exciting, but considering the entire trip, this was the least thrilling adventure of our trip. But, the truth is, we needed something to do. You probably would not want to leave the compound unless you were with a guide. We skipped lunch and ate some crackers we brought with us and took a short nap. We spent a short time out by the pool and then ate dinner. After dinner, we played cards in the lobby (a hot fire in the fireplace to keep bugs away) and forced ourselves to stay awake until around 9.

Second day: after breakfast, the hotel arranged for a driver to take us to the Arusha National Park. It turned out our driver was the same gentleman who picked us up at the airport and who would also be one our our drivers on the Tauck Tour. We paid the hotel his fee and the hotel packed boxed lunches for us (small sandwich, boiled egg, fruit, dessert and fried rice). This tour allowed us to do the Kilimanjaro hike with Tauck the next day when our tour officially began. Arusha National Park was a giant improvement from the rainforest tour. Our driver, Humphrey, was absolutely the nicest and most gentle man who wanted us to enjoy ourselves. We broke out our boxed lunches at a picnic area, and as we always do, we said a blessing before our meal. We thanked the Lord for the beautiful day and for Humphrey --
and he seemed moved. This set up a special bond with Humphrey that continued through our tour. We saw animals on our tour and got excited-- and Humphrey kept telling us to "wait" because we would see MANY more. We ate dinner at the hotel and met our tour guide Chris that evening in the lobby.

Third day: Our Tauck tour actually began. Since we had done Arusha National Park the day before, we chose the Kilimanjaro hike (along with most people on our tour). The hike was rated "easy," but it was more difficult than "mild." There were some steep steps and roots. The hotel packed boxed lunches (slightly different -- sadly no fried rice this time but some wonderful potato salad like we make in the american south). After couple of hours rest at the hotel, we began our Tauck food program-- a welcome reception with snacks and drinks on the lawn before our buffet dinner. From then on, plenty, I mean PLENTY of food.

Again, my advice is to arrive a day or two early.

Africa18

Thanks for the tip on arriving early. How was the drive between parks?