July 26 trip
Is anyone going on the July 26 tour? We're thinking about booking an Arusha National Park day trip for the 25th or 26th.
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Is anyone going on the July 26 tour? We're thinking about booking an Arusha National Park day trip for the 25th or 26th.
Comments
I do not know where you are flying from, but Africa is a long way away. You will not see anything at the Arusha National Park that you wiill not see on the tour. The hotel in Arusha is a good place to rest up for a very active adventure.
It is certainly a long flight. Jet lag should be considered. If you are arriving one or two days early then I think it is worth seeing the Arusha National park. You will see white bushy tailed colobus monkeys you will not see anywhere else. Last year our group saw a cheetah, the first that had been seen for a long time, we were on the Bridges tour and the park was included . The tour leader could not believe it.
You could also ask to start the trip a little later in the morning. The first time we went to the park, we included a walking safari but if you do not include that, there is plenty of time. The vegetation is also very different there, a lot of trees and bushes unlike the Mara and Serengeti.
The hotel used in Arusha is now a Melia and it has a small coffee plantation you can walk around and a small craft village you can take a guided tour of. There is a huge but freezing swimming pool and you can also get a great massage.
Our 💭 bonus last year was that Jane Goodall was filming a documentary and was staying there and we got to see her, my husband got to have a conversation with her, an absolute thrill for him.
TamC we are on the 7/26 tour, but not doing the Arusha park - we are coming in on the 15th to have a day to rest up though. Look forward to meeting you on the tour!
We were there when Goodall was there as well, but we never met. We did not do the Arusha National Park, but I’m sure it is nice. We have done this tour four times, but have never done every game drive. It is fairly intense. We are not young anymore, but I’m not sure that.we were not the only ones who took a half day off. Up before dawn and back often after dark, plus evening activities. You need to evaluate your capabilities. You may not enjoy it if you are ‘wasted’.
SeaLord, I wish I could talk you into the Tanzania Zanzibar tour, mainly because you visit the Western Serengeti which is fantastic, famous for so many elephants and last year we saw lots of lions. This is the place where you will see magnificent baobab trees too. It is a less visited area of the country. We first went there when we came across you on your first K and T tour. Zanzibar is also interesting and the hotel there is now much better than the one we stayed in with Tauck. I’ve rarely noticed anyone missing a game drive on our tours. I hope you can get back to East Africa. Next for us is Madagascar.
Sounds like Mary is on the July 16 tour. I'm still hoping someone on the July 26 tour will see this and join us on the Arusha National Park day tour. The Mulala Culture Tour that someone mentioned on another thread looks interesting as an alternate.
To be honest, I would prefer to do that Arusha tour on our own so we have a bit of a say when we want to start off and return etc and more room to stand in the vehicle for picture taking. Just my opinion of what we would do
TamC, you may need to give it time. I'm on the tour in just a couple of weeks. I booked the same Arusha NP trip you are considering. I asked my TD to send an email to our group extending an invite for others to join my friend and me. We've had one person join us so far and the email just went out this morning. (Hopefully your TD reaches out to everyone prior to the trip. I don't think all of them do that.)
Kearsley's will also add folks to your vehicle if you let them know you are interested. I told them I want to be back by 3:00-3:30 to give me time to get cleaned up before our 4:30 meeting with our TD.
Counting down the days to what I am expecting to be a fantastic trip!
This is a fantastic trip. Stop worrying about the details. Just relax and enjoy it. It does not need any enhancements. The trip is intense. If you are wise enough to arrive early, get some rest. The trip does not need any added activities unless your name starts with Alan or British. You will see everything on the Tauck itinerary. It is possible that you might see a couple additional animals at the Arusha park, but you probably would enjoy the trip more if you had some rest from your journey. Africa is a long way awayl
Sealord: you are absolutely correct about rest and pacing yourself for these vacations of a lifetime. There’s nothing worse than being too exhausted or sick and then missing out on an excursion. The days are jammed packed starting early and ending late. I am on the very younger side of 70 and I miss dinners intentionally because first of all, I’m not hungry from the fabulous late lunches, Sometimes I wish the lunches on a Tauck tour didn’t take take 2 - 3 hours long! Dinners in Europe (I know it’s cultural) are too late for me, and truth be told, it’s nice to have just a little bit of down time. I’ve seen people make extra sight-seeing activities or dining reservations in advance of a trip starting, and then canceling them because they were fatigued from travel. No matter what I do, air travel knocks the socks off me. It’s mentioned that the most memorable experiences are when they are not planned which happens to us all the time.
I agree with y'all on the recovery time after getting to the destination--I always spend the day after arrival enjoying the beautiful hotels and spas--or walking down for the Dead Sea float in Jordan.
I add in something local the following day--seems that Tauck sometimes skims over the starting and ending points, depending on the tour, so it's nice to have an activity of my choosing--like the microlight over Victoria Falls or the Elephant Cafe at the beginning of the B,Z,SA tour, or a private tour of Amman and its markets. I took British's recommendation for Arusha NP this time since she said the landscape is somewhat different from our other stops on the tour... and those colobus monkeys are so darn cute. (Are we likely to see them elsewhere on tour?) The nature walk to some falls on this tour appealed to me too.
For 2025, Day 1 doesn't include anything other than a 4:30pm TD briefing--dinner isn't even included at all. So it's even a bit worse than the limited programming we usually get on the first and last days of tours. Welcome Dinner is on Day 2 after what looks to be a very full day of travel to the crater with a stop at Lake Manyara NP.
@Sealord, Do we spend much time out of the jeeps on this tour? I loved the Botswana safari and understand this one will be different, but for some reason I'm not expecting many coffee breaks under baobab trees or daily sundowners in the middle of the bush.
My downfall is always staying up too late after dinner because I'm sorting pictures or calling home to excitedly report back the events of the day!
We have taken the tour twice, but have been to Tanzania four times now, always starting in Arusha. The last K and T tour, last time we hiked down into Oldupai gorge as part of the tour and a walking safari, which I think was near either Mt Kenya Safari club or the Four Seasons. I’m not sure if they do either any more.
You will not see Colobus monkeys anywhere but Arusha National Park. You don’t generally see baobab trees unless you go to the Western Serengeti that this tour does not go to.
If you do the Arusha Park tour that includes a hike to the waterfalls, which you will have to say you want, it’s going to be a long day, so you will probably have to start the day pretty early to be back in time for the 4-30pm meeting that I advise you don’t miss.
The fairly new to itinerary Melia hotel in Arusha has good spa treatments, a small coffee plantation in the grounds which you can walk around on your own and a little craft village there too….they will give you a little tour without any obligation to buy anything. This hotel is nowhere near the hotel Tauck originally used, we drove past that one last time. The town is in a ribbon development style and it’s interesting to drive through but not worth asking for a private tour. The pool is very nice but absolutely freezing!
Please write a review when you return and compare it with the Botswana tour which you will see is very different.
HooHeel- there will be lots of coffee breaks and sundowners in the bush - even more than the Botswana tour. I loved both. You will see more animals on K & T, and in very large numbers.
As with most Tauck trips, there are built in ‘surprises’. I’m not going to reveal any more than I already have, and that is probably too much. It is obviously our favorite trip since we have done it four times. Each time was a different experience.