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Current (Feb 2015) Internet and Cell Phone coverage for this tour
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Just back from a great safari to Tanzania and Kenya and thought I'd summarize a couple of items in easy-to-find threads.
Internet: as promised is available and included at all venues. That said, it varies quite a bit. At most locations it was best, and in some cases (Maasai Mara) ONLY available,in the main building. It was very good at the Four Seasons Serengeti (opted for high speed since we had three devices...bill goes to Tauck). In all locations it was adequate for Skype voice if in the best covered areas (lounge/lobby), sometimes room.
Cell: we're on AT&T which has the most extensive international arrangements, so your experience may vary with other carriers. Africa bypassed the wired phone era in most remote places (where you are on Safari) and went straight to cell. You'll see Maasai wearing traditional garb with staff and large knife along with cell phones! Cell coverage was very good virtually everywhere we went except at the Serena Maasai Mara where there was no coverage in the main lodge. This is the tented camp and we were out on the right wing and had cell coverage in our tent, but not the lodge. So, for AT&T at least, you can pretty much count on cell connectivity everywhere. Cost will depend on your international plan. We only enable international service without a plan for emergencies only relying on Skype for actual calls back home.
Internet: as promised is available and included at all venues. That said, it varies quite a bit. At most locations it was best, and in some cases (Maasai Mara) ONLY available,in the main building. It was very good at the Four Seasons Serengeti (opted for high speed since we had three devices...bill goes to Tauck). In all locations it was adequate for Skype voice if in the best covered areas (lounge/lobby), sometimes room.
Cell: we're on AT&T which has the most extensive international arrangements, so your experience may vary with other carriers. Africa bypassed the wired phone era in most remote places (where you are on Safari) and went straight to cell. You'll see Maasai wearing traditional garb with staff and large knife along with cell phones! Cell coverage was very good virtually everywhere we went except at the Serena Maasai Mara where there was no coverage in the main lodge. This is the tented camp and we were out on the right wing and had cell coverage in our tent, but not the lodge. So, for AT&T at least, you can pretty much count on cell connectivity everywhere. Cost will depend on your international plan. We only enable international service without a plan for emergencies only relying on Skype for actual calls back home.
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Would you please post some info about your trip? I am sure I'm not the only one who would LOVE to hear about our upcoming adventure.
Also, I have heard that there are some hotels that can transfer our pix onto discs while we are there. Did you use that service? Anything else of interest you might share?
I never even turn my cell phone on while I am away, but I do use texting on my iPad which is free, or email. With the time differences it is difficult to find convenient times for both to make calls, there is very little time to make calls anyway. Our family never expects to hear from us when we are away, and we never expect to hear from them. That was always the way before cell phones. Sometimes we are expecting news, like a grandchild being born earlier than expected and of course there are emergencies. In this case we know that relatives can always call Tauck and they will surely get a message to us. thankfully, that has never happened. The email and text has worked fine and it doesn't matter what time of day it is sent. When I have time I write my diary and send a bulk email to those who love to hear my adventures. I usually type it all up in the 'Notes' app first and then cut and paste it into an email, so that if there is a loss of wifi signal I do not lose the email when it is half typed up. I then use this diary entry as a base for notes I put in my photo book.
I did not hear anyone mention about putting photos on discs this time. We are able to transfer our photos straight to ipad, but I really rely on my husband to mess around doing that stuff. Our Tour Guide made us all a lovely Dvd copy of photos Of the entire tour with plenty of photos of us all in them and presented us with the dvd on the last day. They were great. Our tour guide was Susan. We have also had a Toir guide called Rachel on Two of our AFRICA tours. Both these girls are very special people. For any other technical details or photo hints, I hope someone like ALAN S will help you here. Even if you have an older camera, he will probably know some kind of wonderful gadget or way of downloading photos that you can try.
Several of the hotels had business centers which might have been able to do this, but we never inquired nor can confirm.
Details will be forthcoming. Back less than 24 hours at the moment. I have/will also added details to other threads (like departure from Nairobi) where it is more likely to be found in specific searches.
BLUF: it was an extremely good trip!
As for the camera I'll be using....my friend's husband will be loaning me his "professional grade" camera, which I will be taking many lessons about how to use. We're going to the zoo and other locations so I can understand how to do something more than point and shoot! While I've taken some wonderful pix that way, this trip will need a greater zoom than I've ever used and he's excited to try and teach the unteachable me how to be a photographer. Guess I'll have to bring home a great set of pix to show him assuming he is successful in his challenge.
I'm planning on bringing my Ipad, perhaps that will be the smartest thing to do.....I'm sure someone on the tour can help me figure that out. And a DVD of the trip...how wonderful. It is exciting to know that even if I fail as a photographer, I will not come home empty handed. That's a huge weight off my shoulders.
And yes, AlanP has posted some great stuff for those who need tech support. I wish I had even a little of his expertise!
Portolan- thank you for your information....I'll look for your details tomorrow.
I have been looking forward to this trip for so many years. It seems something has always come up to put it on hold- volcanoes erupting and shutting down airspace, family issues, etc.. This time, it's full steam ahead and I'm glad I'm getting to go while there are still animals to see. Retirement is great!!!! Yet another wise choice I've made.
Camera. Since I have been mentioned, I'll offer a few additional comments and suggestions- Since you will be using a "professional" camera and probably don't have much experience- my biggest suggestion is to learn how to use it in the "fully automatic" (the default) mode. Don't get hung up on everything that camera can do- it can do a lot, but could take you a very long time to get proficient! I have a middle grade Canon digital SLR that can also do a lot, but I almost always use it in the full auto mode. If you don't take that recommendation, you'll spend all your time messing with the camera and not enjoying animals and your surroundings!
iPad and photos. My wife brought her iPad but I also brought my laptop on our last three trips (and will take it on the K&T tour in June). Even though I use a very large capacity (64 GB) memory card in my camera which will hold over 1000 hi-res photos, I download photos to the computer every night, just in case. I also transfer some photos to the iPad so my wife can post a few of them on Facebook or send in emails (we use WiFi and never activate 3G data). That may be hard or take a painfully long amount of time, due to bandwidth limitations at hotels on the K&T tour.
Memory Card Adapter. If you want to view your photos on the iPad instead of using the camera's small screen, you will need an adapter, adapter cord, or Apple compatible memory card reader (available at Apple stores, online, or at Walmart, Best Buy, etc.) to transfer photos, since the iPad has an Apple-unique (Lightening) input jack and no memory card reader. The camera will likely be supplied with a cable having mini-USB plug on the camera end and a standard USB plug on the other (for laptops & PCs) so you will need an adapter to connect the USB to the iPad, or you will need an Apple memory card reader kit. By the way, I always transfer photos using a cable because I don't want to open the camera to remove the memory card and possibly get dust in the camera or damage the card. In addition to viewing and sending photos, we sometimes take the iPad to meals or on the bus to show our fellow travelers any photos we have take of them or of something interesting on our trip. There are a variety of adapter configurations that will work.
Standard female USB to Apple:
Apple card reader:
Typing email. To save online time and ensure I don't lose the email, I use British's procedure- type them in Word or other text editing program first. Then I copy and paste the text into the email and send it when I finally get connected. We have all gotten so used to always being in contact with family and friends. Truthfully, so far, we have never had a need to make or receive a call on any of our trips. We do our "Look where we are!" or "Look what we are doing!" a little later via email.
I agree with AlanS. Set the camera to auto, and forget about it.
I do have to comment about taking a large capacity card for your camera. My camera is a Canon 60D DSLR, and I generally take several thousand pictures during a trip. I take several (usually 4) 16GB high quality cards with me on every trip. I would not risk having all of my pictures on one card. Although failure on high quality cards are rare, they are possible.
Regarding the DVD's from the Tour Director, it is not guaranteed every guide will do it, it's just one of the 'Above and Beyond' things that so many Tauck Tour directors will do. Here's the hint, if you see your tour director taking lots of photos on tour, it's likely it is for something like a Dvd for you. We even had a special music track that a friend or maybe a previous tour guest had composed for her, but it was beautifully put together and some of the photos were of the same shots we had but better.
How wonderful to know that function is on the camera. I will be sure to ask about it after my friend's husband takes me to the zoo so we can practice taking pictures!! And the idea to take multiple cards with me is a great one.
Of all my many wonderful trips around the world, the pictures on this one are ones I'm the most looking forward to taking, hence the stress. All your advice is being written down and will be with me in May.
Now, who do I speak with to arrange good weather and wonderful animal sightings???