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Kenya and Tanzania dinner question
As I am beginning to pack for my August 7th K & T trip, I have a question regarding dressing for dinners on this trip. I have been on South Africa, An Elegant Adventure where the four safari days had dinner immediately following afternoon game drives. We ate with our guide and driver with no opportunity to return to our rooms for a quick clean up. Is this the same procedure with this tour? That would eliminate the need to bring more tops. We are not staying at the Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club but at a tented camp which I am assuming will be much more casual. I understand this is a safari and very casual dress is the norm. Any advice or information would be appreciated.
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It will be as you describe on your four days in SA, straight to dinner from the late afternoon game drive. Both are great tours !
Wow, no more Mount Kenya Safari Club! Sealord will be upset.
2022 tours are back at Mount Kenya Safari Club…
Mt Kenya is not in play in 2021 but is back in 2022. You are right, Sealord will be very upset as that is his favorite place on earth! He will probably cancel his trip if he is planning to go in 2021 if they do not go to Mt. Kenya Safari Club!
Denise - we did this trip in July 2018 and it was outstanding! Very informal dress throughout the trip. We had our clothes cleaned at the Amboselli stop and it was very cheap and they do a good job. There are other opportunities for doing that along the trip.
Sealord canceled his 2021 trip ages ago.
I missed that, didn't look at 2022.
Isn't Sealord re-booked for 2022?
Thanks everyone. I sure appreciate all your comments. I am disappointed about the Mr. Kenya Safari Club, but am anxious to do this wonderful trip.
We are on for 2022 and yes I would miss the Mt. Kenya Safari Club.
The Mt. Kenya Safari Club was wonderful … but the hotel and its facilities were certainly not the highlight of the trip (at least for me). Denise, it’s an amazing adventure because of the animals, the people and the culture.
For us, the Mt Kenya Safari Club was sort of a mid-tour chance to have some laundry done and relax, if only for a little bit, since we went on the excursions to see the "spinners & weavers," Ol Pajeta Animal Conservancy/Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, and on our own visited the local Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy adjacent to the hotel entrance which was established by William Holden, and went horseback riding on the grounds and in the surrounding bush. It wasn't "the" highlight, but was very nice.
I'm with you, AlanS. The Mt. Kenya Safari Club was THE highlight but it sure was nice to relax there and listen to the lion across the way talk to us. The excursions around there were great too. When I looked at the 2021 tour and saw it wasn't on the list, I was disappointed. There is one other hotel they didn't use in 2021 (if they even had any trips in 2021). I forget what it was, but it was one of the hotels I enjoyed.
I think they stayed in the Gran Melia Arusha, a modern high-rise, in downtown Arusha instead of the more rustic Lake Duluti Serena. The tour page shows they return to the Serena in 2022. I don't know if any tours have run so far, but there is a departure about every 3 - 4 days starting Aug 4.
Glad to hear they are returning to the Lake Dulati Serena. Downtown Arusha (we drove through it twice) didn't seem to have good options for free time. At the Serena, the hotel offered (free? as I recall) nature walks around the lake. First taste of some of the local fauna and flora. We also took our Gift of Time there and went to Arusha National Park (also arranged through the hotel) on our extra day.
It’s a while ago, but you can’t walk round the lake on your own, so you tip the guide and I believe there is a fee for part of the walk too. I was looking forward to a new hotel since I have been to the Arusha Duluti Serena three times now and I like it, but there is no pool, a big thing for me. The other hotel had it.
I'm very disappointed about the Mt. Kenya Safari Club, it was in the itinerary when I booked the trip and now it's gone, the Sweetwater Serena Camp looks very interesting.
Their website shows the Gran Melia is very nice. It is actually not a "downtown" hotel. It is close . . . but is "An oasis within Arusha set out on 18 acres of beautiful landscaped coffee and tea plantations. It has a spectacular views of Mount Meru." It has a large pool, 3 restaurants, and there is a golf course across the street. It supposedly is a 5 star hotel and part of a WW chain with others locations around the world.
If you've ever departed or returned to the Duluti Serena when the market, just outside the gates, is in progress, it can be quite an experience- just like being downtown!
Hi all! I am a solo female traveler looking to book K & T for 2021 or 2022. I have a couple questions I was hoping you could give some insight on:
I am quite active and am a tad worried about being too sedentary on the tour. Are there opportunity to walk/get some sort of physical activity on the tour?
I am also worried about dining alone. Does the group eat dinners together? Does the group do excursions together with the tour guide or do you independently organize them through the hotels?
3 Also, are there any cultural aspects of this tour (school or village visits, etc)? Thanks!
Hi Katherine, there is little exercise on the tour for sure, although your core gets plenty of workout from trying to keep your body in the seat when on the bumpy roads. There are swimming pools but they can be really cold. The camps won’t have workout places, the hotels might. We give that type of exercise a rest on vacation so I haven’t taken notice, but we do swim when there is time. There is no opportunity to walk anywhere, the properties are very remote. You have to be aware of the threat of wild animals which do occasionally walk through the camps. Elephants and baboons are the main culprits.
Most meals on safari are taken in a group.
Almost all excursions are taken together, there is little opportunity to do anything else, maybe spa treatments.
Please try to read about the tour in more detail, the usual schedule once on safari, is to rise before dawn, maybe as early as 5-30, light snack, go out on a game drive, come back for late breakfast. Rest up in the heat of the day, maybe have a swim, snooze or spa treatment. Go out on a late afternoon safari, returning after sunset, go straight to dinner….you often are not allowed to walk out of your room after sunset without a security guard to guard you from wild animals ….so most do head straight to dinner. Most go straight back to their rooms, although there is sometimes entertainment during dinner, like dancing by locals,…have to get some sleep ready for the next early start.
Cultural aspects, yes, but not sure how Covid impacts this.
We have taken this tour twice, most recently December 2019.
Katharine-My experience with this tour was pre-Covid but I would assume the basics remain the same. Everyday the TD would assign groups of 5 or 6 to the Jeep and guide. The groups got reconfigured daily. I was traveling with 3 other friends - everyday 2 others were added to the group. At meals, I ate with my 3 friends plus others; other times I just grabbed a seat with others in the group. It was a very welcoming group!
Hi Katharine, I am also a solo female traveler and I have K/T booked for October 15, 2022. I agree with British's description of what happens on safari. I have taken one other to South Africa with another provider and I chose the itinerary because it was only 3 days on safari with time in Cape Town/Winelands at the beginning and Victoria Falls at the end. I wasn't sure how I'd like being on safari but it was the best part of the trip. I loved it even though I too am generally quite active. Being on safari is like no other experience in the world. Everyone is always very friendly and you don't have to worry about eating alone, unless you want to. The other trip I was on had some optional activities where you could go visit a school and I found that fascinating and very informative. This Tauck itinerary is so jam packed with activities I'm not sure where you'd fit anything else in. You always have the option of pre/post tour if you're interested.
Hi Denise Rei... in this particular Safari, you don't need to worry about what to wear...
most likely you will be with the same clothes all day long into the time you're back to your room..no time to change... and it's also very informal.. the only time I did took a shower and changed clothes before dinner was at the Four Seasons & the Fairmont , for obvious reasons.. you want to look nice and clean.
In this safari ( K/T) you will encounter a lot of dust , so a quick face & hand wash is more likely to be the routine... then eat and to the room.
The farewell dinner I had was a sundowner out in the woods, so no need to dress up.
Have a Great trip, you will love it.
Gladysorlando984, Hello
I went to the Lake Duluti Serena, it was really nice , but the the Sweetwater Serena Camp looks lovely!
You will love this Safari. Have a great trip.
Katherine, Hi.
) Solo could mean" Lonely " and I never feel lonely 
I did this Safari as a single traveler... (don't like the word SOLO traveler)
So , on with your questions... here's some info. I'm happy to share..
1- I am quite active and am a tad worried about being too sedentary on the tour. Are there opportunity to walk/get some sort of physical activity on the tour?
The Spa is AMAZING!!!!
2- I am also worried about dining alone. Does the group eat dinners together? Does the group do excursions together with the tour guide or do you independently organize them through the hotels?
Unless, you want to spend more time searching to see animals, you really don't need to do any xtra independent excursions.. Tauck covers a lot. (I had this same concern..) and also most of the parks do have a time for all jeeps to go back to the hotels.. so the night predators can go out to hunt & feed.
So, it's up to you if you want more...and it would be booked with the hotel.
3 Also, are there any cultural aspects of this tour (school or village visits, etc)?
Hey, no need to worry! you will come back so Happy and with a total different look on life... Africa changes you from inside out.
You will back dreaming on your next safari tour... I'm going on my 3rd. next year different areas each time
Enjoy your trip to the max.
))