Anyone been to Tanzania ?

And can recommend any cheap Safari tours ? With cheap being the operative word as travelling on a tight budget.
Thanks,
Colin

Exodus and Dragoman do fairly cheap tours - if you don't mind driving and camping. You'd be able to get a couple of days in the Ngorongoro crater around there (if I recall correctly).

I've been a few years ago - certainly back then safari and cheap and tanzania didn't tend to go in the same sentence - prices tended to be pretty high -mainly I think because Park Fees are fairly high - distances are very large and infrastructure is pretty poor.

If you're on a tight budget it might be worth considering Kenya instead - I believe it was a good bit cheaper there .... though as I say this is from a few years ago ... others may have more up to date information.

Tanzania is very expensive alright. Have you considered Namibia for Safari? I had a great time there.

Namibia or Kenya could be a good idea alrgiht. I'll do some web browsing today and see what I can find.

I went with http://www.goodearthtours.com a 7 day package for $700 and that was just 2 of us with our own guide and cook camping. You could also try these people who seem cheap enough for the same sort of itinerary - only thing is they go from Kenya: http://www.planetkenyasafaris.com/packages/packagedetails.asp?packageId=2001092900042

"Have you considered Namibia for Safari?" ..thinking of Namibia myself but it is so last minute that I would be thinking of going at the end of next week. Could get the required shots tomorrow evening but am concerned that they wouldnt provide proper protection getting them this close to departure. Is it fairly rough over there?Reckin it would it be time enough to get the shots tomorrow and then fly say a week later.

I know ultimately the decision is up to me but just looking for opinions. Went to Sth Africa about 4 years ago and tho I got all the shots, other that Kruger National Park, it is so "first world" that if you take proper precautions, I prob wouldnt get the shots again unless going out into the wild.

what did ya do in Namibia Cahir and how long did u stay? Was it expensive?

Emmt,

I went to Namibia a few years ago and had a great time. I've also been to South Africa but found that a bit "touristy". I was there for about 3 weeks, flew from Paris to J'burg and then to Windhoek.

I was staying with people who lived in Swakopmund so we based ourselves there and did a few trips. Went camping in a Leopard park - sorry I can't remember any names of the places at the moment. That was cool, the main camping area had a load of animals living there, these were animals who had been injured when young and were taken care of by the owners of the campsite.
We also camped at a mountain (Brandenburg I think it was called) and climbed it the next day to see all the really old cave drawings.

Spent a few nights at a safari lodge and got to see loads of wild animals - believe it or not I thought the elephants were probably the scariest as they came running after us! I'll try to dig out the name of the lodge but I know it wasn't in the "main" safari park. At night time we went to watch the wild lions being fed - that was really scary as we were just looking through a gap in a wooden fence. The park people put out fresh zebra meat once or twice a week so the lions knew where to go for food.

Back in Swakopmund/Walvis Bay we went sandboarding and quad biking on the sand dunes - the views were amazing. Swakopmund also has a decent enough nightlife, pubs, clubs, restaurants, casino etc but as females we found it wasn't particularly nice to be out without a man in the group, otherwise we just got hassled so much.

Will try to think of more stuff. I found it incredibly cheap. Most of the time we had somewhere to stay but camping and the lodge cost very little. Food and drink were unbelievably cheap - even cheaper than South Africa. Flights cost around IRE£600.

The lonely planet guidebook was really good and fairly accurate at the time - you should take a look at that.

Shots are the same as for South Africa so you should be covered for most (well, the ones that you don't need a booster for after a year).

You're a gem Cahir. I loved South Africa but Namibia sounds wonderful. Been lots of other places but so far there has been nothing to compare to the sights and smells of Africa!

A friend advised me that it was really expensive in Namibia but its good to find out that it isnt. Probably a bit dearer now but still when you compare it to ireland...

Gonna get the Lonely Planet guide book and start planning...thanks again

Just had a quick look through some digital photos I took in Namibia and found some of a load of seals. There's a place just up the coast from Swakopmund where the the seals go every year to give birth - it was amazing and really really smelly!

Interesting AAM thread re: Tanzania and Zanzibar from recent times:

http://www.askaboutmoney.com//showthread.php?t=10895

Was thinking of doing this myself maybe next year.

Last question for Cahir....would you reckon 10-12 days would be good for Namibia? Would you get a good look at what is there or would you be better with more time?

Myself and hubby want a relaxing hol after a bad year (for hubby so want him to have a good time) but dont want to go all the way if the time is too short or long. we have about 14 nights to play with...

We are planning 1 night in Windhoek, then to Sossusvlei for 2 nights, 1-2 nights in Swakopmund and 3-4 nights in Etosha.

Cheers
Emmt

10 - 12 days should be fine to do what you want to do. We spent the first night in Windhoek (really jetlagged) and went to a restaurant that was actually in the zoo. The food was really good. Should be quicker to travel there now as I think you can get a direct flight to South Africa and then on to Windhoek without having to change somewhere in Europe.
Hope you have a good time.

Hi

thinking of going to Tanzania and Zanzibar for the first two weeks in May.

Has anyone else been at this time of year?

We are a little bit concerned that the weather may be poor at this time of year butr have not been able to get a straight answer from any of the travel agents we have discussed this with.

Depends what you mean by poor. Winter here tends to be summer there and summer is the rainy season, tho' there hasn't been much of that the last few years.
Winter there tends to be better for seeing animals as they tend to congregate at waterholes.
As you are looking to go in early May you are just about on the cusp of the seasons so I can understand The reluctance of the travel agents to be specific.

Why don't you Google on Tanzania to get an idea for yourself of when the rains are due?

Enjoy.

emmt said:

Last question for Cahir....would you reckon 10-12 days would be good for Namibia? Would you get a good look at what is there or would you be better with more time?

Myself and hubby want a relaxing hol after a bad year (for hubby so want him to have a good time) but dont want to go all the way if the time is too short or long. we have about 14 nights to play with...

We are planning 1 night in Windhoek, then to Sossusvlei for 2 nights, 1-2 nights in Swakopmund and 3-4 nights in Etosha.

Cheers
Emmt

Click to expand...

Emmt,

What you have outlined here is amazing. However if you can at all I would try to go to Chobe National Park in Botswana. Etosha is beautiful but Chobe completely blows your mind. It would be ideal if you could squeeze both in. I have been to both Namibia and Tanzania - Namibia is much much better - just an absolutely stunning country.

If you're going to Tanzania you should climb Kilimanjaro, well worth doing. Also go to Ngorongora crater. A natural habitat for many wildlife, amazing place.

if you're going to Namibia I would fly into the capital and go on a trek across the country. We stayed with some tribes in the middle of nowhere and had an amazing time. Don't forget to do some dune boarding down the sand dunes....superb...