Tanzania/Zanzibar

Bootras Bootras

My wife and I are looking into holidaying in this region next Feb/March. Has anyone any suggestions or reviews? Thinking of a 5 day safari followed by a week by the beach!

bungaro79

if you're going to tanzania then you're probably going to fly into kiliminjaro airport so you'll be leaving on safari from arusha. what this means is even leaving really early then you're probably a good day drive to the serengeti. on the way you can do ngorongoro crater, tarangire or lake manyara. ngorongoro is on the the road to the serengeti and they are the two that i would recommend. the company we went with was basecamptanzania and i have recommeded them to others who have used them and been very happy. achmed, the manager, also sorted out the zanzibar leg of our trip too which also was brilliant. make sure you spend a night or two in stone town as well as your time on the beach.

mickoc

Hi Bungaro,

My partner and I are looking to go on a safari in tanzania and then onto Zanzibar for a week after the safari. We are geting married in Italy and we are planning to go on the honeymoon after. I would like to plan the trip myself and I was thinking about going with base camp. I think it will work out cheaper and our money will go further by doing this.I am planning on flying from milan to Kilmanjiro with air ethiopia costing just over 1k each return.

I want to find out if you think it is better to organise things myself or to leave it to the professionals, it is Africa after all. Was base camp all that you expected and did you organise yourself? Would you say the accomodation they provided on the Safari and Zanzibar of nice standard. Lastly is it worthwile organising yourself.

Thanks in advance if I get a reply.

bungaro79

hi micko,
i couldn't recommend basecamp enough, in fact two of my friends have used them since for their honeymoons and also found them fantastic. achmed, the owner, was great in the planning and was always open to any changes i might have. in general though for the safari you've got two main options, either tents or hotels. you've different levels of both so it'll be down to your budget really. we did the sopa hotels where we could and they were amazing.
in zanzibar there were beach three hotels to pick from and we ended up with matemwe for the beach and then the dhow palace for the few nights in stone town. matemwe was pure luxury and the dhow palace felt really authentic (although no alcohol was allowed on the premises!).
give yourself enough time for the safari as you'll be driving a lot. you won't really be able to do serengeti and ngorongoro in less then 5/6 days if you're leaving from arusha. achmed knows what he's doing so ask him for a few itineraries and see how they compare to your budget and if needs be ask how much it would be to change certain things as he's very flexible if things can be changed.

slowharry

It was a good few years ago but I stayed in the Sopa Lodges (Tarangerie, Serengeti and Ngorrogorro) while on Safari and Breezes resort while on Zanzibar I'd recommend both.

5 days is plenty for the safari just do some research before hand as the herds are migratory and may or may not be in the areas you are in Feb/March

mickoc

Hi Bungaro,

Thanks for your reply.I have been looking at the Sopa hotels and they look beautiful. I know my partner would like to stay in them. I think we will definitely be doing the 5/6 days as from what everybody implies you need the time to see everything.

In regards to Zanzibar she is looking at a hotel called Diamond dream Zanzibar. It was recommended by a tour operator. The matemwe hotel looks very nice and I think I would appreciate the fact that it is so small.

I was thinking of booking flights myself from Italy as this is where we are getting married and then we plan on going to Tanzania after for the safari. I was just wondering if there is a ball park figure you can remember on what the whole excursion would cost including staying at matemwe , no worries if its a bit rude of me to ask. Achmed only has prices from 2011. I was thinking i could save a bit doing things myself instead of a travel agent in Italy. I just need to convince herself. Thanks for your input i appreciate the other info.

mickoc

Hi Slowharry,

I have been looking at breezes resort aswell as it is one of the hotels the tour operator basecamp recommends. I will be going hopefully in August. I was wondering if people found the beaches very windy?

bungaro79

mickoc wrote: »

Hi Bungaro,

Thanks for your reply.I have been looking at the Sopa hotels and they look beautiful. I know my partner would like to stay in them. I think we will definitely be doing the 5/6 days as from what everybody implies you need the time to see everything.

In regards to Zanzibar she is looking at a hotel called Diamond dream Zanzibar. It was recommended by a tour operator. The matemwe hotel looks very nice and I think I would appreciate the fact that it is so small.

I was thinking of booking flights myself from Italy as this is where we are getting married and then we plan on going to Tanzania after for the safari. I was just wondering if there is a ball park figure you can remember on what the whole excursion would cost including staying at matemwe , no worries if its a bit rude of me to ask. Achmed only has prices from 2011. I was thinking i could save a bit doing things myself instead of a travel agent in Italy. I just need to convince herself. Thanks for your input i appreciate the other info.

we didn't use any local tour operator, just basecamp on the tanzania side and they sorted it all for us. off the top of my head i'm thinking it was about 8k in total for the whole honeymoon (flights included which we booked ourselves seperately). get yourself some good travel insurance and you should be fine, give achmed (or whoever you go with) your flight details and they will have someone to collect you at the airport and basically every other thing is paid for. we only had to pay for drinks and souvenirs so we didn't pay out much extra. the price we got included flights to zanzibar, all meals, park entrance fees, etc.

and if you only wanted to book the safari leg of the honeymoon with basecamp then do that, its your honeymoon so make sure you get exactly what you're after. i would recommend staying in stone town for a night, its a very different vibe from the mainland. and make sure you get your yellow fever shot and cert before you come to tanzania!! they will give you the shot at the airport otherwise and you'll pay a lot more for it there!

mickoc

Thanks again bungaro. Its looking like a similiar price to what I am trying to do. Achmed has been decent so far in responding to emails and all the reviews have been good so far. I am glad you told me about the yellow fever beause it is something I had not thought about yet. Ill also look into staying in stone town as it seems to be a place you really recommend. Thanks again.

slowharry

mickoc wrote: »

I have been looking at breezes resort aswell as it is one of the hotels the tour operator basecamp recommends. I will be going hopefully in August. I was wondering if people found the beaches very windy?

don't remember the beach being windy it was in November when I was there. there is a coral reef at the beach so you cant really swim in the ocean at the beach, you have to wade out about 150m past the the coral for the water to be deep enough to swim. not great for swimming but great for snorkelling and diving.

if you end up there try the long island ice t.

retalivity

Bump


Looking at skyscanner for somewhere to go in July and flights to Tanzania seems relatively cheap (€420 return for the dates i'm looking at). Are visas required? What would the weather be like in July? What is dar es salaam like for beaches, things to do safety etc? Would probably be interested in lazing by a beach for a week/10 days rather than trekking or going on safari

Any advice greatly welcomed