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Kenya Tanzania Safari
We are going on the Feb. 1. safari, along with 4 other couples from the Phoenix area. Any others on this trip?
Diane and Bob Rottman
Diane and Bob Rottman
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Weather, you will be arriving in the dry season, it’s unlikely you will encounter any precipitation unless the rains come early.
Animal sitings,, every day will be different especially as unlike in Southern Africa there are no private concessions that you will be staying in. Certain animals do have terratories but they are vast, so they may be around one day and then have moved on the next.
Enjoy!
We will be on the same flights through Atlanta and Amsterdam. Look forward to meeting you all!
Bill and Linda, Charleston, SC
Anne - the weather for the trip changes from cool in the morning to warm and sometimes very warm and it does get very dusty in places. Please, keep in mind we went in July and you will be going in February so there can be some weather differences. Layers as others have suggested is the best way to go. My wife brought pajamas for the Crater and still used a sweater. Another point few mention is that you leave for the balloon ride early in the morning before sunrise and it is very cold then so you will definitely have to take layers for that. But as the sun comes up it does warm up. Of the many pictures we have of the balloon ride we have 2 pictures of our balloon - before and after sunrise - and you can see people bundled up early but less so later. BTW, the pilot of the balloon takes many pictures throughout and then sells CDs later that evening at the hotel. We bought the CD for a small cost (although many did not), but we were very happy we did. We have some great photos we treasure in addition to the ones we took ourselves.
We are booked for this year in late July, so I am happy to hear of your weather and clothing experience and would welcome any further suggestions you have.
Our one problem is that since it is unlikely that we will visit Africa again we are trying to tack on a few days in Capetown before or after our K and T trip. We finally found a reasonable way to get from Nairobi to Capetown at the end of our trip but that means starting in Arusha and ending in Capetown. We leave in SF so does anyone have any suggestions about plane travel for the international flights? Sherry
Sherry - Sorry, but at the end of K&T we went from Nairobi to Paris to Virginia (home). There was a couple that did go on to South Africa after our trip for a second safari but I'm unaware of their flights but know it's possible. It's probably easier to go to Capetown at the end of K&T then going there before K&T and then trying to get to Arusha. I'm sure a number of the daily Forum writers will provide some insight for you. Good luck and enjoy the fantastic trip!
When we did K&T in 2015 we flew on Ethiopian Airlines (in Business Class) and were pleasantly surprised. We flew from Dulles (IAD) non-stop to Addis Ababa (ADD) then non-stop to Arusha (JRO) in a Boeing 777 with 2 - 3 - 2 seating layout and full lay-flat seats (actually more room than any aircraft before or since.) The return routing on ET was Nairobi (NBO) - Addis (ADD) - (Dublin (DUB) 1 hr gas only stop, no deplane)- Dulles (IAD). No crazy long layovers in Amsterdam or Heathrow, in fact both layovers in ADD were a tad less than 3 hr. which we spent in the ET's "Cloud 9" lounge. At the time, ET's fare beat all others, including Tauck.
Last year when I was looking at flying to Africa for the Botswana, South Africa, Zambia tour, I discovered ET has a flight from Cape Town (CPT) to ADD. I think the connection at ADD for their flight to IAD might have been less than optimal however. Anyway it is something to check out. There are some other air threads in the K&T forum archives, including one where someone did back to back K&T and Botswana- that might give you some ideas too.
I just looked on the ET website starting at SFO and using random dates at the end of July (17-31 Jul)- ET now also flies from Chicago (ORD), so you can book a single ET ticket (includes partner flights (United and Air Canada) from/to SFO) for everything except for the NBO to CPT leg (that might be possible on ET too*). It was discussed by someone in a K&T archives thread.
Sample flights for my constructive dates:
SFO - (UA 302) - ORD (2 + 37 layover) - ADD (2+45 layover) - JRO (ET uses nice, fairly new aircraft on the last two legs- 787-8 Dreamliner to ADD + A350 to JRO!)
Return:
CPT - ADD (45 min layover - possible at ADD) - YYZ (Toronto) (1 + 35 layover) (AC 741) - SFO
$5512 USD p/p r/t (Business Restricted- cancellation restrictions)
* OK, I just reran the flights on the ET website and added the NBO to CPT leg- I think the flight from the Mara arrives too late (and at a different airport in Nairobi) to make a same day flight on ET so you would need to spend the night in Nairobi (gift of time?). I recommend catching the first/early (0500) ET flight to Cape Town, because you'll beat the HORRENDOUS!!! Nairobi traffic, besides Tauck will provide the transfer (I know for a fact someone did exactly that- check the archives). The flight from Nairobi has a 1 hr. layover in ADD before heading to CPT, however. The major outbound and inbound legs would be the same as above. One big advantage is that everything would be on one reservation.
You can run it yourself on ET's website with your actual dates, but for my random dates, the cost came out to be $7381 p/p, r/t (Business Restricted- cancellation restrictions) (each leg is priced separately so you need to select all flights to get the total. Also, if your flight search is for two passengers, unlike Delta, etc. which shows total cost p/p, ET shows the total for both- the price can be a shock if you forget that! : ) )
NBO 0500 - ADD (1 hr layover) - 1345 CPT
Availability is limited for the dates I used, so you would need to get right on this! Let us know what you come up with.
When we were in the Ngorongoro Crater it was cool, but we still managed to sleep without nightware which I know always makes AlanS laugh. I do remember the hot water bottles but I thought there was a radiator in the bathroom, but it was some time ago so I can’t remember for sure. You should not need more than a couple of sweatshirts for the tour even if you end up sleeping in one. We always pack a down puffer jacket that weighs virtually nothing and packs into a very small included bag. We used them for the balloon ride and any early morning coolness.
We will be taking the tour again inDecember with the add on to Rwanda and we can’t wait, we will be booking our flights as soon as they open up, so I will tell you what we get then. Last time we flew in coach and used the Delta KLM. The tour is very different now, no Four Seasons or Mount Kenya and no down time then. We preferred that but I guess people want the luxury of The Four Seasons amd to do there own thing some days. The camps we went to were excellent then and there were more game drives included than now.
My husband has an ex work colleague who was going on K and T this summer, but he just cancelled after the recent terrorist attack. We were speaking to someone on our last Tauck tour who was on the Botswana tour and a big group cancelled last minute, so they ended up with just five people on the tour, how great that would be.
Thanks for your replies and your added information. I think we have ironed out the kinks and we are a go!(July 21-K&T)
We are flying into Arusha (DELTA/KLM through Amsterdam) and out of Capetown(DELTA/Air France through Paris). We have one additional flight from Nairobi to Capetown on Air Kenya (direct thru Livingston) at the end of the K and T trip which we had to book with a private contractor because Tauck was not amenable to booking that for us. Our international flights to/from SFO are about $5500 business
The only obstacle now is that we have to spend an overnight in Amsterdam (yay!) and will arrive into Arusha 3 days before the K and T trip. So far the hotel which Tauck stages from is not available for our extra days. Unfortunately because of the flight schedules the trip is now 3 days longer and "no room at the inn" right now. Hopefully all will resolve in the next few days.
Thanks again for all your help.
BTW, the only reason I say we will probably not do a second trip to Africa is that we are not getting any younger (LOL)
Sherry
What is the NBO to CPT leg going to set you back?
How many days/nights will you need alt lodging? Check the other Tauck tours that start in Arusha- I believe there is one that doesn’t stay at the Serena. Maybe Tauck can book you in that hotel.
I just looked for the hotel website, but it says the website is under construction and just has an email for reservations, so I do hope Tauck will help you.
What is the NBO to CPT leg going to set you back ? about $650 per person
Our K and T does not stay at the Serena, it stays at the River Tree. According to that website the River Tree is sold out for one of the 2 extra days we need. I am open to the Serena or any other place that Tauck recommends but we are not very happy and having to move about from hotel to hotel.
Another choice is for us to stay in Amsterdam an additional night on our outbound flight and eliminate one of the days in Arusha. Unfortunately this whole problem arose when Tauck couldn't get us on Amsterdam---> Aursha flight on a later date. We will see what happens in the next few days.
Again, although we are not thrilled with the extra days in Arusha I am sure we will find something interesting to do (shop?) and or rest before the actual Tauck tour starts. In the meantime I thank you for and welcome any suggestions of things to do while there. Sherry
If you haven’t been to Africa before. I would not suggest ‘shopping ‘ in Arusha unescorted, I would just plan on going to the Cultural center as Alan suggests, you will find everything you might like there, plus there is great shopping in Cape Town and at the Cape Town airport.
As far as flights. You say Tauck had difficulty getting your flight. Have you tried booking it yourselves, there may be more seats available on the Delta Amsterdam that way. Their allocation may all be gone. Our first time in Africa, which was one of our early trips with Tauck, we had them book our flights and they had us going Via Detroit to Amsterdam. We later realized that we could have gone directly to Amsterdam but they never gave us that option and we had not researched it properly. The next time we went we asked them to book it from our home airport, otherwise they would have done the same. These days we do a lot more research about flights. Until recently we mainly booked through Tauck, now we often book our own flights. There is often more choice than Tauck can give.
I did look at the flights myself. There was a $2K difference in the price we are paying with Tauck and the price we were quoted independently. I agree, we often find better prices on our own, but not this time.
Our brochure for ehte July 21 2019 Great migration uses the River Trees Resort, the "other" K and T uses the Serena. I'd be happy with either as long as we don't have to relocate mid stay.
Thanks for your suggestions. Sherry
Sherry, you had me and British confused! K&T still stays at the Arusha Serena. You actually posted on the wrong forum- as your updated post states you are on T&K Great Migration which stays at the River Trees which is only a few miles / 19 min east of the Serena. Looking at the website, it appears the River Trees is the nicer of the two places, it has pool which the Serena does not. We stayed at the Serena in 2015 and think the rooms are a bit tired. How many nights will you spend at each place? Did you get a gift of time for at least one night at the RT? Will Tauck provide transport from the Serena to River Trees?
I've never even looked at the Migration tour, I just can't figure out how they can predict in advance when the migration will be since it depends on when the rains come. I'm going to take a look now to see the differences.
Thanks Sealord, will check this out. We arrive Arusha on July 18 and need 2 nights before our trip reservation at the River Trees on July 20
Looks like a heavily booked time frame. Recommend you try searching on Trip Advisor or Booking.com. I found a couple rooms that looked great, but they were not close to your departure hotel.