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What are the differences between safari companies?
Safari companies also differ greatly in the level of service they
provide. Most visitors to Africa have never been there before and
depend upon the safari company to be their host and to take care of their
needs. Since most people are not able to speak Swahili and
are not familiar with Africa, even the smallest task can seem daunting.
Trinity Safaris recognizes this and provides a very high level of
customer service. This includes pick up from the airport,
making hotel reservations, arranging for all meals, assisting with
shopping and bargaining at the local markets, arranging for special needs,
providing drinking water, sunscreen, and guide services for wildlife information,
paying your park entrance fees, giving advice, and so forth.
Safari companies generally have access to the same public destinations,
such as national parks, lodges, and camp sites. In addition, organizations
like ours that work with local villages and conservation groups are welcome
on private lands and wildlife reserves that most commercial safari companies
have never visited. On private conservation lands visitors have
much more freedom to do activities that are not available in national parks
such as walking safaris, night time game viewing and horseback safaris.
Since our organizations work directly with many local villages, our
clients are treated as guests when they visit, not as tourists.
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What should I expect on a safari?
Your safari company will take you on your planned itinerary and take
care of everything along the way. You can expect to cover
quite a bit of the countryside and visit several parks and stay at several
campsites and/or lodges. For their first safari to Africa,
most people want to visit all the famous places such as
the Serengeti,
Ngorongoro Crater,
Lake Manyara and
Tarangire National Parks.
All of these parks lie on an established route and are in the same region,
so it is possible to visit them all on a short safari.
If you choose to go on a camping trip, you will be driven
with all of your gear to your destination.
All safari vehicles have open roofs and roof racks, so it handling
your gear will be no problem. Once you have arrived, the
cook and driver will unpack and set up camp.
You will be able to hear the sounds of the wild animals in the distance
at night. In the morning the cook will
have a delicious, hot breakfast waiting for you when you wake up.
He will pack a lunch for your game drive and when you get back,
there will be tea and snacks waiting. There will also
be a hot towelette for cleaning up before your four course
dinner. The cook will have taken care of special requests
such as camera batteries, sunscreen or perhaps a cold beer,
and, when feasible, will have heated the water for your shower.
Africans are very welcoming of visitors and making them feel at home is
an important part of the African tradition. You will have a chance
to meet and enjoy the company of these wonderful people, and they will
make every effort to help you feel at home.
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Is it safe?
Africa is a huge continent and although the international news often
focuses on disasters, it has millions of very healthy, happy and
peaceful people. Tanzania is one of the most stable and peaceful
countries in Africa.
There are currently no vaccinations required for visiting Tanzania,
although travelers usually make sure their normal vaccinations are up to date.
Visitors to Africa may consider taking malaria pills during their
stay. Malaria exists in Tanzania, but is easily preventable and treatable.
Tanzania has a good system of hospitals and clinics and many have western doctors,
but some types of specialized equipment are not locally available. Patients
requiring this type of equipment are air evacuated to Nairobi which has
excellent facilities.
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What are the health issues?
Consult with you doctor about any vaccinations
you should receive prior to your trip, but at this time, none is
required. You should also be
aware that malaria is common in most parts of Africa, but it is not
something that should cause the traveler undue concern.
There is effective malaria medication available as a preventive
and as a curative. Virtually none of the long term
foreign residents of Tanzania take any malaria preventive,
and the occasional case is easily treated.
Any food or water that your cook prepares on the safari will be
healthy and safe, but otherwise make sure you drink only bottled
or boiled water and eat at established restaurants.
Northern Tanzania has a very pleasant climate.
You should not expect to find the steamy jungles, hordes of insects
and quicksand that you have seen in Tarzan movies.
The climate and much of the flora around the Kilimanjaro and Arusha regions
is reminiscent of that on Maui. In other areas like the Serengeti,
you will find open savannahs and acacia woodlands.
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How much does a safari cost?
Safari in Africa is one of the best deals around, considering that
prices include everything like park fees, lodging/camping fees, food,
fuel, salaries, transport, equipment, etc. Camping safaris are
the most economical (and a lot of fun), but many visitors also enjoy
luxury safaris.
Our safaris range in price from $100-$250/person/day, depending on if
you prefer camping safaris or luxury lodge accommodations. Either way,
these prices include virtually everything from the moment you arrive in
country to the time you depart. Therefore, it is easy to plan your
budget. You will only need a little pocket money for
film, drinks, souvineers and tips.
The cost of your safari is also affected by the number of people in your
group. If you come on safari as an individual or a couple,
unless you specify otherwise, we will try to put you
together with other individuals to make it more economical for you.
If you want more flexibility or privacy, or are on a honeymoon trip,
just let us know.
We generally like to have only four passengers in our
six passenger Land Rover/Land Cruiser vehicles, so everyone has plenty
of room. This is both economical and comfortable.
The prices on our package tours
are listed individually. These will give you a general idea of the types of
tours and prices that are most popular.
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What are the money issues?
We welcome credit card payments for our safaris; however, you should know
that most Tanzanian businesses, including other safari outfitters, do
not. It can also be difficult to pay directly for services in
Tanzania with traveler's checks. Cashing traveler's checks is generally
not a problem in the city if you have a passport and copies of receipts.
In all major Tanzanian cities there are reliable banking services, but in
the country there will be none. The international lodges accept credit
cards and sometimes cash traveler's checks, but charge a fee for these
services.
It is not necessary to bring a lot of money on safari, but we recommend you bring
some cash in addition to traveler's checks for your convenience. Although
virtually all of your expenses will be covered on your safari, there are wonderful
shopping opportunities for fabrics, carvings, tanzanite gemstones, and gold.
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What are the accommodations like?
In the national parks there are two options: luxury lodges and
open camp sites (with toilets, water, guards, etc.) Outside
the parks there are very nice commercial campsites, some of which have
restaurants, bars, kitchens, hot showers, bungalows and even swimming pools.
If you are on a camping safari, we will provide all camping equipment,
such as tents, comfortable beds, sheets, pillows, blankets and sleeping bags.
If you are on a lodge safari, we will make all arrangements and reservations for
the lodges which will provide all of your meals and a picnic lunch for game drives.
These lodges are very nice and some are quite luxurious.
Some people like to combine camping safaris with one or
two nights in the lodges. We encourage our clients to consider
this type of safari or even one that includes a stay at a luxury tented camp.
We are happy to provide this service, but not all safari companies do because of
the extra work involved in making the arrangements.
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How do I choose a safari?
"Safari" is the swahili word for journey, and there are as many different types of
journeys as there are people. This is why we emphasize flexibility
in our offerings. We encourage you to discuss with us the kind of
experience you want so that we can design an excursion to meet your needs.
There are several factors involved in choosing a safari, including:
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Flexibility - Animals move. National parks are not zoos, and unlike
the parks in South Africa, they are not fenced in. There is no one that
can predict exactly when and where herds of wildebeest will be on the Serengeti.
Amazingly, most safari companies will book clients on a fixed, one week safari
excursion months in advance without mentioning that there might not be very
many animals there when the clients arrive! With this type of company,
it is not possible to change schedules to follow animal migrations.
Trinity Safaris is not a typical commerical safari company. We will
adjust our schedule and movement on site to make sure you have the
best advantage in seeing the things that interest you most.
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Adventure/Comfort level -
-
Cost -
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What is the best time of year to visit?
Anytime of the year is a good time to visit because the weather is
fine all year round.
If you come for wildlife viewing, more animals are
clustered around water sources in the dry season making them easier to
find. But wildlife is abundant throughout the year and can be found
in any season.
Althouth there is a wet season and a dry
season, neither has extreme temperatures and rarely go above 85 F.
Nights can be cool at high altitudes, however, so it is advisable to
bring a sweater and a light jacket for the cool nights and early mornings
in the highlands or mountains.
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What is the weather like?
There are two "rainy" seasons. The first is expected in November,
but is often absent. The longer rainy season starts mid-March or April
and goes through May. During a rainy season you should expect occasional
short bursts of rain, often in the morning, generally followed by sunshine the rest of the
day. Both rainy periods are rather pleasant periods after the long
dry season, so it is not necessary to plan your trip to avoid it.
Temperatures range from ....
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What kind of vehicles are used?
Our company uses only tough Land Cruisers or Land Rovers. We like
to limit the number of passengers in each vehicle to four or five
persons. Our vehicles are rigorously maintained and are
outfitted with safety equipment and and two-way radios.
We encourage owner-operated safari vehicles in our organization so,
unlike the large commerical safari companies, our guides
always drive the same vehicle and know it inside and out.
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How much is the airfare?
Airfare from the United States currently ranges from about $1,000 to
$1,700 round trip, depending up on the time of year, airline and departure
point. Pirces increase during the high season which is from June
12th through Septempber 16th.
You can check with your local travel agent, or we can help you find
the lowest airfare through our agents in Tanzania.
For more information, check out:
http://newafrica.com/travelguides
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