Questions about itinerary for Kenya Tanzania safari

vivamus

I am very much looking forward to my first ever trip to Africa this summer and my 7th journey with Tauck. Could someone be so kind to share information about the itinerary. On the last day when tour ends in Nairobi, Tauck has arranged day use of a hotel. Does one arrive early enough in the day to plan some type of sight-seeing there? I read that the Karen Blixen home is not too far from the hotel. Has anyone visited it or are there other more worthwhile things to do with the time in Nairobi? Also, does the group go to a school? We are not booked on a Bridges trip, so I was uncertain whether we go to visit a school or if that was limited to the Bridges trip If so, I would like to take something along for the children. Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks fellow travelers.

British

I did this Tauck tour some time ago, although it has changed quite a bit. I would call Tauck about the time you arrive in Nairobi.
It looks a if you visit two villages, but even if you do not visit a school, you will encounter children as we did. We were asked, that if we had anything for them or the villagers that we give things to the Elders of the tribe so that they can distribute them in an appropriate manner. Another thing to remember, the guides tell you never to give anything to children begging along the roads because it encourages them to continue to play truant from school and their parents want them to get an education.
As far as seeing anything in Nairobi, wow if you are not totally exhausted by all the predawn trips, it is a very busy city, traffic is a nightmare and you need to be very aware of your surroundings. I would not do anything on your own, but arrange an organized tour maybe through the hotel. Also, Nairobi airport is pretty grim and I say that who is a person who is well traveled to quite a few third world areas these days.
Your first trip to Africa will change your life! Enjoy!

cantraveller

We did this tour in 2012 and visited a school. Most of our tour members took school supplies and I took a soccer ball as well which kids being kids was really appreciated. Any kind of toy would be appreciated including by the teachers. When British is being kind when she describes Nairobi airport. Nairobi its self is unsafe and we were advised to stay at the hotel. You are taking your life in your hands travelling by yourself.
Gary

jdurkin

I'm sure Gary did not mean to imply that it is unsafe to travel as a solo on a Tauck trip to Kenya & Tanzania. I assume he meant to say that he thought it was unwise to wander around Nairobi alone.

Just as it unsafe to wander around, alone or in company, in some parts of many world cities.

joycesw

We did this trip in October, and out of 12 Tauck trips it quickly rose to the top favorite! What a wonderful experience! About Nairobi...We had an overnight in Nairobi on the way to join the group in Arusha. It was only a month or so after the mall shootings and we were wary about venturing out on out own. We stayed at Tribes Hotel (our travel agent's recommendation) and ventured out to the Village Market Mall next door. Security was very heavy, and we certainly felt safe. We even roamed a bit in the Friday Maasai Market which was huge and great fun to explore. Again we never felt unsafe.
On the return to Nairobi after your safari, you arrive about noon and stay at the Serena Hotel. It, too, has heavy security (metal detectors at the doors and luggage scans). Again, never did I feel unsafe. You have a lot of time there and are given a lovely room until you leave at about 6:30 pm. A beautiful lunch and dinner are provided. I guess there was certainly time to explore other sights, but, frankly, most of us were pretty exhausted from the safari experience and used the time to relax, reorganize and repack (you are reunited with your luggage after spending two days at the Mara Safari Club with just the duffle bags).
Traffic in Nairobi is horrendous! If you are planning any outside trip, you should certainly research distances and estimated travel times. Frankly, we have never seen traffic gridlock anywhere in the world like we experienced in Nairobi! A ten minute trip could easily become a one hour trip! Nairobi is a bustling city, and we did not feel unsafe. Frankly, there are places in the USA where we would feel less safe than in Nairobi!
British was being kind when referring to the nairobi airport as "grim." They have had to readjust as the international airport burned down. Most of our group flew out on KLM, but we flew British Air (a different terminal). We flew business and the facilities were, basically, horrible. Our "lounge" was just a regular waiting room, secitioned off, with boxed meals. Flights leave at 10:30 or 11:00 pm, and the amenities are pretty sparse. We ended up going to the only open restaurant for water and a drink (on our own tab...not even a voucher from BA) and felt lucky to share a booth with two businessmen who were on the KLM flight. They, too, were pretty miffed at the conditions. Hopefully, things will be better now.
We visited a school after leaving the Ngorongoro Crater that is supported by the Serena Hotels. Most of us had brought school supplies and items for the school. It was a wonderful experience and gave us insight into the importance of education for so many of these children. Former Tauck guests have been instrumental in providing improvements for this particular school, and it was wonderful to see how much difference they have made in the lives of these children. I believe there is a piece on one of the Tauck website blogs about the donations they have made to this school.
We also visited an orphanage near the Mt Kenya Safari club. A number of people on our tour provided things for the children there. Some of our group felt that visit left the greatest impression on them. After reading so many comments prior to our trip, I believe that each tour tries to visit some sort of school. I got the sense that Tauck felt it was an important connection to share with their guests. And, it is!

LLVicky

We took this trip of a lifetime last fall. The school we visited had blackboards in the rooms and large signboards outside that had information such as pictures with the human internal organs pictured and identified. All the materials our group brought were gathered in one spot and were scheduled to go to a central school office where it would be divided and shared with schools in the area and not just the one we visited. Chalk is probably more important than pens and pencils, since it can be used on rocks as well as blackboards. Games that can be shared by several, such as soccer balls, jump ropes, jacks, cards, etc. Laminating supplies that don't require machinery are good since paper passes thru many hands. Laminated maps for classrooms and paperback books appropriate for 5 - 12 year olds. Money is always appropriate and appreciated.

TauckTim

Hi vivamus,

Like joycesw said, you arrive at the hotel for lunch, generally at around 1 PM, and the buffet dinner is at 6 PM. Personally, after a day of travel I would probably choose to spend that time relaxing in the hotel and enjoying my room and its amenities, as well as packing my things up for the journey home, although of course what you choose to do with your time is entirely up to you.

I hope this helps!

-Tim

smitty1008

Thanks for the information about the end of the safari. I, too, had some questions about arriving and preparing for the flight home. Would anyone happen to know how long we can stay in the 'day' room? Our flight out of Nairobi isn't until 1:00 am.

My family is really looking forward to traveling with Tauck!

British

Call Tauck about this one, they maybe able to get you a time extension if you have to vacate too much in advance,they are good at that sort of thing