Is anyone going on the October 7 Classic Safari? We are booked from Canada, there are 4 of us travelling together, would love to get to know some fellow travellers!
Andrea,
I've been following the forums (fora?,) and somehow missed your post.
We are on the same tour as you are and there are 4 of us as well.
I'm Bill, my wife is Donna and our two traveling buddies are Mark and Kathy. We all hail from New Jersey although our friends also have a residence in Naples, Florida. We're all in our mid-60's (well, I'm on the high end of "mid"!) and this will be our first time in Africa and our first tour with Tauck.
We're very excited! We all got our vaccinations yesterday and stopped at the Columbia outlet to do some clothes shopping. Visas are being processed by VisaCentral.
We arrive on the 6th (needed that extra day to acclimatize!) and are flying from Newark through Amsterdam.
Donna and I have been retired for 7 years and are working through our travel bucket list. (Mark and Kathy just starting their retirement, but we travel frequently with them. The safari has been on the list from the beginning and we figured we'd better get on it while all our parts still work! (Or at least the ones we'll need for the trip!)
Donna and I spent most of the summer moving into an over 55 community and so we've been a bit busy. Just starting to look a bit closer on the trip's day to day stuff - hence the recheck on the forum.
Looking forward to meeting you in person and perhaps sharing some info beforehand.
Regards,
Bill Robertson
My wife and I just returned from this, our first Tauck trip. Our overall impression is very positive. The pure magic of the wildlife and magnificent vistas of the grand scale of Africa must be seen and experienced in person to appreciate. This was the trip of a lifetime.
There are a few things that travelers should know in advance and a few areas for suggested improvement of this itinerary:
Due to the grand scale of Africa and the complete lack of infrastructure, nearly all vehicle travel is on very rough dirt roads. For the daily drives, this is to be expected. However, the drive from Arusha to the Ngorogoro Crater and on to the Serengetti is a full 8 hours.
Daily briefings could be improved with what to expect and/or look for on the daily Safari’s (i.e. “this morning we will be in the following habitat which is where we will hope to see Rhino or Leopard, or Cheetah or none of the above …”).
Drivers were excellent but they are contracted by Tauck along with the vehicles (not employees of Tauck). As a result, I found the information about the wildlife and environment from driver to driver to be inconsistent.
We visited a Maasai village which was very informative, but ended in a high-pressure sales pitch by the entire village to buy cheap trinkets as souvenirs most of which were not made by the villagers but purchased and resold as if they were. Tauck could have and should have avoided this process. Just say no thanks, save your money for the cultural center where the items are in fact legitimate. We would have liked to spend more time at the cultural center (the brochure says you will have lunch, but in our case we had only 45 minutes, time for a coffee.
There were no less than 4 additional “diversions” from the Safari format that resulted in fundraising efforts to solicit money from Tauck travelers, each of which seemed to be encouraged/supported by Tauck. [They were the animal orphanage; the Chimpanzee sanctuary, the spinners and weavers, and the “Tauck” sponsored school] We should have been alerted to these efforts (told that we would be asked for contributions) and offered the opportunity to use the time as free time (i.e. to opt in or out). Each are worthy causes; my objection is simply that Tauck does not disclose these efforts in advance and put travelers on notice that they “will be asked for monetary contributions”.
Well, I have taken four Tauck safaris and never been asked to contribute to anything.
You are not told what animals to expect because it can never be guaranteed and anyway, they like to surprise and delight you on showing you a 'new' animal siting. We have always found all local guides extremely knowledgeable. It is policy now and sometimes the country law that local guides are used to create employment for the people of that country. Also, it's not all about animals, it's about the culture too. In fact, our next Africa experience coming up, it's all about the scenery, then culture, then animals. And some of us do not like to spend endless amounts of time shopping and Tauck makes that clear in their literature, that shopping opportunities are not what they are about. I just thought I would show another point of view from a regular Tauck customer. Also, please do let Tauck know what you think because if the majority of their customers feel like you do, they will change things.
Drivers were excellent but they are contracted by Tauck along with the vehicles (not employees of Tauck). As a result, I found the information about the wildlife and environment from driver to driver to be inconsistent.
This is not too much different than you will find in other countries- these guys are local, but must go through an extensive training program equivalent to an Associates Degree in a country that has small population with relatively low education level and literacy. In addition to 2 or 3 local languages they must be able to speak English and sometimes other languages spoken by tourists. While there were certainly differences, they were all excellent.
We visited a Maasai village which was very informative, but ended in a high-pressure sales pitch by the entire village to buy cheap trinkets as souvenirs most of which were not made by the villagers but purchased and resold as if they were. Tauck could have and should have avoided this process. Just say no thanks, save your money for the cultural center where the items are in fact legitimate.
In addition to being a cultural experience, this is an opportunity for the village to earn meager income for doing something more than just allowing you to view their simple way of living. You were under no obligation to buy anything which I am sure your TD explained. If you think it was high-pressure sales, try walking downtown Arusha without a guide to protect you, or walk down the street in Tijuana or most third-world countries, or even some parts of New York City. Again, our TD explained all this. He also told us about the Cultural Center.
We would have liked to spend more time at the cultural center (the brochure says you will have lunch, but in our case we had only 45 minutes, time for a coffee. There were no less than 4 additional “diversions” from the Safari format that resulted in fundraising efforts to solicit money from Tauck travelers, each of which seemed to be encouraged/supported by Tauck. [They were the animal orphanage; the Chimpanzee sanctuary, the spinners and weavers, and the “Tauck” sponsored school] We should have been alerted to these efforts (told that we would be asked for contributions) and offered the opportunity to use the time as free time (i.e. to opt in or out). Each are worthy causes; my objection is simply that Tauck does not disclose these efforts in advance and put travelers on notice that they “will be asked for monetary contributions”.
Either things have changed or you were under a mistaken impression. I can't imagine that your TD didn't explain this. Our TD and others who have taken this tour said their TD explained as well. If not, then that is an oversight by the TD, and valid issue to raise in your critique. There was absolutely no high pressure pitches made at the spinners and weavers and, in fact, no pitch at all was made, the same for the Jane Goodall Chimp Sanctuary. The visit to the William Holden Conservancy was on our own, so a nominal (but still optional) donation showing appreciation for the facility and the guide is not out of line, but again, not required.
Thank you so much for this detailed reply to my post! I thought I would get an email if someone replied, so I didn't check back unitl now, just 7 days prior to our trip! This trip has also been on our bucket list for years! We are all in our mid 50s, and it is our first time in Africa. John & I did a river cruise with Tauck 2 years ago, we were extremely impressed with the quality and level of service. I think we are all in for a fantastic holiday!
We are all Canadian. John is from Edmonton but found his way to Toronto where we met over 25 years ago (this trip is a 25th wedding anniversary), so we settled here in Toronto. Our friends are both from Toronto as well, their names are Cindy & Dave. We were out for dinner last winter, they asked us where our next trip was, and there was still room on our trip so they decided to join us! I like to joke that was an expensive dinner, lol!!
We are all ready with lots of beige clothing, binoculaurs, etc, and feel ready! We are arriving 2 nights early, hopefully we will find each other! John & I are flying via Istanbul, and Cindy & Dave via Amsterdam. They are staying one night in Amsterdam en route.
I hope your move went well, and you are all ready for this incredible adventure!
I apologize again for the very late reply, and thank you again for taking the time to reply way back in August!
Andrea,
Looking forward to seeing you at the Duluti - hopefully sometime on Saturday. (We figure we won't get to the lodge until 10 PM or later on Friday evening.)
As I write this we're in Pennsylvania getting a couple of days of "grandkid fix" before we leave! Home tomorrow to put the final touches on packing, but 95% of it's already done. (I hope we all look good in khaki!)
It should be a super trip!
Safe travels!
Bill
We just returned from Kenya and Tanzania (early Oct) and have a few suggestions/comments. Prepare for lots of travel on rough, ofttimes dusty roads. Most roads are not paved. If you have back issues I would suggest sitting in the middle or front seats of the vehicle. You can get a pretty good kick in the back seats. If given the opportunity to purchase Tanzanite in Tanzania I would refrain. We were told that prices were good relative to the states but the two stones we bought were just under and over the appraised values we received at home. Check out the artwork instead. Bitting bugs were never an issue until we reached our hotel in Nairobi (Fairmont Norfolk Nairobi). Lots of mosquitos there. No bitting flies or mosquitos at any other locations on our trip. We started out using Malarone for malaria but stopped it after a few days because of low-grade nausea. People from other parts of the U.S. were told by their health officials that they didn't need the meds. Take some Deet to be on the safe side in Nairobi. We used it occasionally during the trip but didn't really need it until Nairobi. Take more cash than you think you will need. Especially small bills (1's, 5's and 10's). We were told no plastic bags into Kenya. However, no one ever asked about them or looked. I would avoid taking any large plastic shopping bags but the bag for your liquids should be ok. Also, we were asked for our yellow fever card upon arrival in Tanzania. Some people were told in the states that it wouldn't be needed. Be sure to take a swim suit. There are some very nice swimming pools at the hotels. This was a great trip. The local people were wonderful, our tour guide was exceptional, the animals were spectacular, and the hotels were very nice, especially the Four Seasons and the Fairmont Mount Kenya. We had great weather for the entire trip. We had a couple of cool mornings and game drives but it never got very cold and didn't stay that way very long.
So Biker bill is yet another traveler who encountered being asked for a Yellow fever certificate. Our group was asked in Botswana but everyone had had the vaccine. Biker bill what happened when people on your tours did not have the certificate for people in the future reading this thread?
Also, as the Malaria meds does not work immediately when it is taken, but takes several days, what happens to the people who were not taking meds but were bitten by a mosquito carrying Malaria? I have spoken to several doctors now who have treated people with Malaria that they contracted in Africa. Is anyone reading this forum that has had Malaria after visiting the various countries that Tauck visits?
British, we were not with our fellow Tauck travelers when we were asked for our yellow fever documents. Our tour director told those in our group without documents that he could get around the requirement if necessary. Our guide also said that he does not know of anyone on a Tauck tour getting malaria. He himself just uses Deet and never uses the malaria meds. Most of our tour was at higher (and cooler) elevations so mosquitos were not an issue.
Thanks for the report of your trip, Minder. I'm hoping the other people who posted are correct that your experience of being repeatedly asked for money or pressured to buy things was unusual. I'll be going on the tour in December and I hope I wont' be hassled for money. Does anyone from the Tauck staff ever weigh in on these forums?
Thanks for the report of your trip, Minder. I'm hoping the other people who posted are correct that your experience of being repeatedly asked for money or pressured to buy things was unusual. I'll be going on the tour in December and I hope I wont' be hassled for money. Does anyone from the Tauck staff ever weigh in on these forums?
Yes, Tauck Tim and Tauck Emily, but rarely. If you want specific info or answers, you are better calling Tauck than ask on this forum.
Thanks for the report of your trip, Minder. I'm hoping the other people who posted are correct that your experience of being repeatedly asked for money or pressured to buy things was unusual. I'll be going on the tour in December and I hope I wont' be hassled for money. Does anyone from the Tauck staff ever weigh in on these forums?
Formal solicitations for money were non-existant. The opportunities were there, such as at the small animal sanctuary just outside the gate to the Mount Kenya Safari Club. It is free to visit, and a guide is provided, so a small donation to keep the place running is not out of line. It is here we were provided the opportunity to pet some of the socialized rescue animals including a Bongo and a Cheetah!
But, you gotta remember, third world street vendors vary by country and can be quite aggressive in some places. You aren't really exposed to those on this trip unless you go to the market near the entrance to the Duluti or into Arusha town. The two exceptions where they could not be avoided because you leave the bus are at the TZ/Kenya border crossing where the Masai (women) vendors will really try hard to make a sale but are not physically aggressive and to a much lesser degree at the Amboseli National park entrance where they were persistent but more in a pleading, passive way. To me it was very interesting to watch from a sociological perspective.
There are a few things that travelers should know in advance and a few areas for suggested improvement of this itinerary:
Due to the grand scale of Africa and the complete lack of infrastructure, nearly all vehicle travel is on very rough dirt roads. For the daily drives, this is to be expected. However, the drive from Arusha to the Ngorogoro Crater and on to the Serengetti is a full 8 hours.
We are going on this trip in August. The itinerary shows an overnight at the crater. Do you mean that it is a full 8 hours drive from Arusha to the crater and another full 8 hours from the crater to the Serengetti? Just curious.
We are going on this trip in August. The itinerary shows an overnight at the crater. Do you mean that it is a full 8 hours drive from Arusha to the crater and another full 8 hours from the crater to the Serengetti? Just curious.
Thanks
Minder's info is incomplete.
First you will have regular bathroom stops (no more than 2 hr. apart?) There is no doubt that you will have a number of early starts and long (8+ hour) days, but, the journeys are broken up, you make stops, and there are things to see along the way. You are not in Kansas any more!
It is a full day from Arusha to Ngorongoro, but first you go to Lake Manyara National Park (*2hr 5min Lake Duluti Serena to Lake Manyara) where you have a bathroom break before a game drive. The road is paved but not in the park. After the game drive which includes an overlook where you can get out of the vehicles, you travel a short distance to the Lake Manyara Serena Lodge for a leisurely lunch and time to look around- you have a mountaintop view of the entire Manyara Conservation area. We stopped for a bathroom break at the entrance to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We also stopped to observe a herd of Cape Buffalo and then spent about 20 minutes at a crater overlook/photo op before arriving at Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge in late afternoon. After cleaning up and settling in we watched (and photographed) the beautiful sunset from our deck. (*Lake Manyara to Ngorongoro 1hr 33 min.)
After two nights at Ngorongoro, we headed out around 8:00 AM, initially on a paved road, but later mostly unimproved roads. The first stop was at a local school partially supported by Tauck to see the facilities, staff, and some students, before we continued on to the Serengeti. (*Ngorongoro to Oldupai 58 min.) We stopped at Oldupai gorge for about an hour+/- for a briefing about the Leakys, their digs, and research on early man; and to visit to the small museum. Next (*1 hr 4 min. Oldupai to Naabi Hill Gate) was a stop at the Naabi Hill Gate entrance to the Serengeti National Park for a bathroom break, (box) lunch, and time to stretch and walk around a typical kopje. From then on it was all unimproved gravel road. We made a number of brief stops starting a few miles from the Four Seasons for animal viewing- an enroute game drive. We saw bunches of lions and other animals. We arrived at the Four Seasons late afternoon. (*1hr 32min. from Naabi Hill Gate to Four Seasons)
Times below are from the "go sheet" provided by our TD and are approximate. They may not be your exact timing or sequence of events.
Some of my favorite parts of the Africa tours are the drives between the different locations. One imparticular on the Tanzania Zanzibar tour takes you on winding dirt roads with baobab trees all around, a small stream, a watering hole full of zebra, ahhh the memories! It was like heaven on earth, oh and the Ngorongoro is like Eden? Africa has fifty countries, it's huge, you have to expect some larger distances.
Minder was a first time poster and quite niave, he should have realized about many of the things he mentioned before he took the tour. Glad I didn't have to travel with someone who was ungrateful about a trip of a lifetime when some people would give their eye teeth to afford to do a tour in Africa.
Minder might have a lot of validity to his impressions. I have friends who recently returned from this trip and were upset enough by their experience at the Maasai village that they have written a letter to Tauck ( no response as I last heard). It seems their experience was VERY different from ours. They were given a price sheet and someone walked them through the vendors while they made some selections, not bargaining with individuals. They were given a total at the end which was completely outrageous! They bargained a bit, but it wasn’t pleasant. Furthermore, their TD gave them Shukas to wear, and when they complained about the final price, the guide took their shukas back! They had assumed they were gifts from the TD. Not everyone in their group had that experience and still had the shukas. I told them I thought it was a complete letdown on the part of their TD who should have been there to assist them. I know that One of the most difficult tasks for a TD is helping guests navigate purchases while not profiting or favoring a particular vendor, so this experience makes me wonder about how carefully their TD was watching out for their best interests. They told the TD who did go to retrieve one of the shukas. What a horrible experience!
And, a funny story about the roads...on the day we went from Ngorongo to Oldupai to Serengeti, our TD rode in our truck, so we were the last to leave each stop. We were a bit later than the others leaving Oldupai, so our driver took a “ shortcut!” Oh my, if you thought the regular roads were rough and dusty, this one beat them all! But, we laughed, pulled our buffs over our faces as the dust billowed through the truck and figured it was all part of the experience!
Ok Joyce, as usual, you are wise and. I should not make assumptions. I remember when we took the K and T tour which was a long time ago, the people on our tour were making outrageously cheap offers for the Maasai goods, it really upset us to watch these people who had spent the trip boasting about their wealth and yet offering a pittance to the Maasai. To us it was a way of giving directly to the people of the village not giving to a charity where you never know how much is actually going to the cause. When we took the Tanzania Zanzibar tour in 2013 we went with a purpose of knowing what we wanted to buy and the man who showed us into his home was so grateful that even when we were leaving he ran up to us and said thank you so much for supporting his family and the village. In fact, in that village, most of the money went to paying for the delivery of water to the village in tankers. Every available container is filled when that arrives. It made us feel good anyway but maybe we are suckers. I am wondering whether in past feedback, people have asked for better guidelines on pricing and that is why they were given a list? In general people are not comfortable about bargaining, though our prior traveling companions were clearly happy to 'rob' the locals. We have visited a couple of museums in the US that have similar things for sale in the museum stores and they are very expensive here.
We have never just focused on how many animals we can see when we are in Africa, to us it is so much more. I swear that some of our fellow traveling companions never see the people, they are not interested, they cannot relate to them. They just want to see animals, I am not even sure they even look around at the vegetation and scenery and see every darn thing just through the narrow lens of a camera, which replaces the cell phone screen. In less than three weeks we will be going to Namibia on a tour that focuses a lot more on meeting the people. The scenery will be amazing and if we see animals we know there will only be a few. We have researched as much as we can what to expect from this tour so we do hope we are prepared. Maybe we should take our shukas with us, we got ours on the Botswana tour---we were loaned shukas for the desert and we used them and found them effective, others didn't. We bought some to bring home. I did not need one when I was doing yard work this year because it never got too hot this summer. I bought one for my son, he's just the kind of guy who could pull one off.
I wonder who the tour guides were on the trips, we have met quite a few of the regulars now except Seth who seems to have a god like reputation on this forum. Our tour guides have all been passionate about Africa and some live there permanently and one at least is married to a local in Tanzania. I am sure they have the best interests of the local people at heart as well as the paying Tauck clients. I do hope that visits to Maasai villages and achools are not taken off these tours, otherwise the travelers could save their money and just visit a zoo to see the animals, and yes we hear fellow travelers moan after a few days saying things like, oh just more zebras/wilderbeest/substitute, we don't need to see any more of those, we don't need to stop, can we find more lions?
We traveled the Tanzania and Kenya safari over Christmas and New Year's of 2016. The description of the Masaii village rings true. Our group wore ashukas tied properly by village elders; some in our group were handed elaborately-carved sticks during the group dance. The fancy sticks were for sale. Somehow we kept our ashukas by purchasing a few trinkets while in their village. It was true that the amount was totaled up after one had made all selections, so the price of the ashukas may have been included when we settled our tab. They were a great photo opportunity.
There are two schools that are being "supported" by Tauck. Travelers were encouraged to participate in ceremonies to give students uniforms, et cetera, and the students sing for the group. It was the holiday season and one felt a bit like a humbug if one did not volunteer donations -- especially in the last case where the school was just a clearing in the bushes. (We received an email after the tour advising that construction would begin on a simple school building for the Kenyan students based on "our donations.") There was one jeep of like-minded travelers who decided not to visit the Kenyan school; they felt some pressure about volunteering to support these various charities. The poverty levels you will see are stark, but knowing that beforehand will help you to decide how to handle these gentle suggestions.
@KathrynH Nice to learn your great travel experience. I would love to plan a similar tour to Africa by the end of this year. I would love to see as much as animals around to make our trip a real fun and a memorials experience of our lives.
I do love how these threads start in one direction, and then end up in an entirely different discussion...so, I will confuse matters further! British, your excellent post got me thinking about traveling and what it means to various people. I have heard many Tauck Tour Directors state that their job is all about "managing expectations," and I totally get it. And, I think Tauck does a pretty good job of offering many types of travel appealing to a larger circle of travel tastes. Then, within those types of trips, they offer a variety of activities, again, trying to reach a broad band of tastes. Some people like the more intrepid trips offered with the Exotics, some like the idea of unpacking once and staying in the comfort of one room as in Small Ship Cruising and Riverboating, and others like to do a bit of roaming about in various places and don't mind changing accommodations as in the Land Tours. And, the one type that Tauck does not cater to (thank goodness) the Speedy Bucket-List traveler who wants to check off as many places in as short a time as possible. We actually ran into a group (famous company that also has a very popular, slick, glossy magazine) at the Taj Mahal...Around the World in three weeks for a mere 75K! (Elevator conversation..."The night before last in Tibet, last night at the Taj Mahal and tomorrow wake up with the lions in the Serengeti!") Not my cup of tea, but they were thrilled to be boarding their private jet and checking off places! I don't envy a travel company's job of trying to please such a wide variety of travelers, but I think that for the number of return guests (you and I included), they are doing a pretty good job.
I agree that one of the best parts of our trip to Africa was the people: so friendly, so welcoming and so joyful. I have two pages of the photo book that I created devoted to the thoughtful and smiling faces of the many people that we met. And, our trip to the Maasai village was a highlight for us, as we found their culture so fascinating, and we didn't mind buying some of their wares. I thought the prices we settled on were fair to all. I loved the visit to the school outside the crater, perhaps my connection to education skewed my thinking. The teachers and children were so appreciative of the things we brought, and I had a very emotional hug from the English teacher when my husband mentioned that I, too, was an English teacher. I found the visit to the spinners and weavers very uplifting and bought some weavings there. It reminded me of a project we had seen in Fiji where women were taught to grow orchids and then brought them to the old Raymond Burr (think Perry Mason) house for sorting and then received compensation. What I found very uncomfortable was a visit to an orphanage in Nanyuki, and I am not sure why. There was some pressure, and then probably some self-imposed guilt. However, for some on our trip, that was one of the most important places we visited, and I think that was a good thing. Our TD was very clear about each place we visited, again, managing our expectations. I appreciated the variety of experiences, even if I wasn't crazy about all of them. And, as you pointed out, I appreciated Tauck's sensitivity to the local people. It was nice to hear that the Serena Hotels actually helped support the school we visited, and former Tauck guests were funding a latrine that was being built while we were there.
Now, on to another note...I am very envious of your upcoming trip to Naimbia!
Finally, BTW, I also have two pages of my photo book titled "Back(s) to Africa" as there were far too many times I would raise my camera to take the perfect shot, and the animal would turn around leaving me with a lovely photo of its backside!
What I found very uncomfortable was a visit to an orphanage in Nanyuki, and I am not sure why. There was some pressure, and then probably some self-imposed guilt. However, for some on our trip, that was one of the most important places we visited, and I think that was a good thing.
Excellent post! Are you an English teacher? : )
I can't and say for sure because I wasn't there, but I think the sentiment I quoted from your post may have been a significant factor in the post about being pressured to donate.
Thanks everyone for the replies to my question about hours of driving between destinations. What was clarified was what I was expecting - not 8 hours straight of driving, but broken up into segments. I had just become confused by one entry I had read.
We are very much looking forward to our journey to Africa - for all the aspects - scenery, animals and people - ones living there and ones on our tour.
Comments
I've been following the forums (fora?,) and somehow missed your post.
We are on the same tour as you are and there are 4 of us as well.
I'm Bill, my wife is Donna and our two traveling buddies are Mark and Kathy. We all hail from New Jersey although our friends also have a residence in Naples, Florida. We're all in our mid-60's (well, I'm on the high end of "mid"!) and this will be our first time in Africa and our first tour with Tauck.
We're very excited! We all got our vaccinations yesterday and stopped at the Columbia outlet to do some clothes shopping. Visas are being processed by VisaCentral.
We arrive on the 6th (needed that extra day to acclimatize!) and are flying from Newark through Amsterdam.
Donna and I have been retired for 7 years and are working through our travel bucket list. (Mark and Kathy just starting their retirement, but we travel frequently with them. The safari has been on the list from the beginning and we figured we'd better get on it while all our parts still work! (Or at least the ones we'll need for the trip!)
Donna and I spent most of the summer moving into an over 55 community and so we've been a bit busy. Just starting to look a bit closer on the trip's day to day stuff - hence the recheck on the forum.
Looking forward to meeting you in person and perhaps sharing some info beforehand.
Regards,
Bill Robertson
There are a few things that travelers should know in advance and a few areas for suggested improvement of this itinerary:
Due to the grand scale of Africa and the complete lack of infrastructure, nearly all vehicle travel is on very rough dirt roads. For the daily drives, this is to be expected. However, the drive from Arusha to the Ngorogoro Crater and on to the Serengetti is a full 8 hours.
Daily briefings could be improved with what to expect and/or look for on the daily Safari’s (i.e. “this morning we will be in the following habitat which is where we will hope to see Rhino or Leopard, or Cheetah or none of the above …”).
Drivers were excellent but they are contracted by Tauck along with the vehicles (not employees of Tauck). As a result, I found the information about the wildlife and environment from driver to driver to be inconsistent.
We visited a Maasai village which was very informative, but ended in a high-pressure sales pitch by the entire village to buy cheap trinkets as souvenirs most of which were not made by the villagers but purchased and resold as if they were. Tauck could have and should have avoided this process. Just say no thanks, save your money for the cultural center where the items are in fact legitimate. We would have liked to spend more time at the cultural center (the brochure says you will have lunch, but in our case we had only 45 minutes, time for a coffee.
There were no less than 4 additional “diversions” from the Safari format that resulted in fundraising efforts to solicit money from Tauck travelers, each of which seemed to be encouraged/supported by Tauck. [They were the animal orphanage; the Chimpanzee sanctuary, the spinners and weavers, and the “Tauck” sponsored school] We should have been alerted to these efforts (told that we would be asked for contributions) and offered the opportunity to use the time as free time (i.e. to opt in or out). Each are worthy causes; my objection is simply that Tauck does not disclose these efforts in advance and put travelers on notice that they “will be asked for monetary contributions”.
You are not told what animals to expect because it can never be guaranteed and anyway, they like to surprise and delight you on showing you a 'new' animal siting. We have always found all local guides extremely knowledgeable. It is policy now and sometimes the country law that local guides are used to create employment for the people of that country. Also, it's not all about animals, it's about the culture too. In fact, our next Africa experience coming up, it's all about the scenery, then culture, then animals. And some of us do not like to spend endless amounts of time shopping and Tauck makes that clear in their literature, that shopping opportunities are not what they are about. I just thought I would show another point of view from a regular Tauck customer. Also, please do let Tauck know what you think because if the majority of their customers feel like you do, they will change things.
This is not too much different than you will find in other countries- these guys are local, but must go through an extensive training program equivalent to an Associates Degree in a country that has small population with relatively low education level and literacy. In addition to 2 or 3 local languages they must be able to speak English and sometimes other languages spoken by tourists. While there were certainly differences, they were all excellent.
In addition to being a cultural experience, this is an opportunity for the village to earn meager income for doing something more than just allowing you to view their simple way of living. You were under no obligation to buy anything which I am sure your TD explained. If you think it was high-pressure sales, try walking downtown Arusha without a guide to protect you, or walk down the street in Tijuana or most third-world countries, or even some parts of New York City. Again, our TD explained all this. He also told us about the Cultural Center.
Either things have changed or you were under a mistaken impression. I can't imagine that your TD didn't explain this. Our TD and others who have taken this tour said their TD explained as well. If not, then that is an oversight by the TD, and valid issue to raise in your critique. There was absolutely no high pressure pitches made at the spinners and weavers and, in fact, no pitch at all was made, the same for the Jane Goodall Chimp Sanctuary. The visit to the William Holden Conservancy was on our own, so a nominal (but still optional) donation showing appreciation for the facility and the guide is not out of line, but again, not required.
Thank you so much for this detailed reply to my post! I thought I would get an email if someone replied, so I didn't check back unitl now, just 7 days prior to our trip! This trip has also been on our bucket list for years! We are all in our mid 50s, and it is our first time in Africa. John & I did a river cruise with Tauck 2 years ago, we were extremely impressed with the quality and level of service. I think we are all in for a fantastic holiday!
We are all Canadian. John is from Edmonton but found his way to Toronto where we met over 25 years ago (this trip is a 25th wedding anniversary), so we settled here in Toronto. Our friends are both from Toronto as well, their names are Cindy & Dave. We were out for dinner last winter, they asked us where our next trip was, and there was still room on our trip so they decided to join us! I like to joke that was an expensive dinner, lol!!
We are all ready with lots of beige clothing, binoculaurs, etc, and feel ready! We are arriving 2 nights early, hopefully we will find each other! John & I are flying via Istanbul, and Cindy & Dave via Amsterdam. They are staying one night in Amsterdam en route.
I hope your move went well, and you are all ready for this incredible adventure!
I apologize again for the very late reply, and thank you again for taking the time to reply way back in August!
Warm Regards,
Andrea
Looking forward to seeing you at the Duluti - hopefully sometime on Saturday. (We figure we won't get to the lodge until 10 PM or later on Friday evening.)
As I write this we're in Pennsylvania getting a couple of days of "grandkid fix" before we leave! Home tomorrow to put the final touches on packing, but 95% of it's already done. (I hope we all look good in khaki!)
It should be a super trip!
Safe travels!
Bill
Also, as the Malaria meds does not work immediately when it is taken, but takes several days, what happens to the people who were not taking meds but were bitten by a mosquito carrying Malaria? I have spoken to several doctors now who have treated people with Malaria that they contracted in Africa. Is anyone reading this forum that has had Malaria after visiting the various countries that Tauck visits?
Yes, Tauck Tim and Tauck Emily, but rarely. If you want specific info or answers, you are better calling Tauck than ask on this forum.
Tim will be out of the office for a bit- nuptials and honeymoon!
Formal solicitations for money were non-existant. The opportunities were there, such as at the small animal sanctuary just outside the gate to the Mount Kenya Safari Club. It is free to visit, and a guide is provided, so a small donation to keep the place running is not out of line. It is here we were provided the opportunity to pet some of the socialized rescue animals including a Bongo and a Cheetah!
But, you gotta remember, third world street vendors vary by country and can be quite aggressive in some places. You aren't really exposed to those on this trip unless you go to the market near the entrance to the Duluti or into Arusha town. The two exceptions where they could not be avoided because you leave the bus are at the TZ/Kenya border crossing where the Masai (women) vendors will really try hard to make a sale but are not physically aggressive and to a much lesser degree at the Amboseli National park entrance where they were persistent but more in a pleading, passive way. To me it was very interesting to watch from a sociological perspective.
We are going on this trip in August. The itinerary shows an overnight at the crater. Do you mean that it is a full 8 hours drive from Arusha to the crater and another full 8 hours from the crater to the Serengetti? Just curious.
Thanks
Minder's info is incomplete.
First you will have regular bathroom stops (no more than 2 hr. apart?) There is no doubt that you will have a number of early starts and long (8+ hour) days, but, the journeys are broken up, you make stops, and there are things to see along the way. You are not in Kansas any more!
It is a full day from Arusha to Ngorongoro, but first you go to Lake Manyara National Park (*2hr 5min Lake Duluti Serena to Lake Manyara) where you have a bathroom break before a game drive. The road is paved but not in the park. After the game drive which includes an overlook where you can get out of the vehicles, you travel a short distance to the Lake Manyara Serena Lodge for a leisurely lunch and time to look around- you have a mountaintop view of the entire Manyara Conservation area. We stopped for a bathroom break at the entrance to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We also stopped to observe a herd of Cape Buffalo and then spent about 20 minutes at a crater overlook/photo op before arriving at Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge in late afternoon. After cleaning up and settling in we watched (and photographed) the beautiful sunset from our deck. (*Lake Manyara to Ngorongoro 1hr 33 min.)
After two nights at Ngorongoro, we headed out around 8:00 AM, initially on a paved road, but later mostly unimproved roads. The first stop was at a local school partially supported by Tauck to see the facilities, staff, and some students, before we continued on to the Serengeti. (*Ngorongoro to Oldupai 58 min.) We stopped at Oldupai gorge for about an hour+/- for a briefing about the Leakys, their digs, and research on early man; and to visit to the small museum. Next (*1 hr 4 min. Oldupai to Naabi Hill Gate) was a stop at the Naabi Hill Gate entrance to the Serengeti National Park for a bathroom break, (box) lunch, and time to stretch and walk around a typical kopje. From then on it was all unimproved gravel road. We made a number of brief stops starting a few miles from the Four Seasons for animal viewing- an enroute game drive. We saw bunches of lions and other animals. We arrived at the Four Seasons late afternoon. (*1hr 32min. from Naabi Hill Gate to Four Seasons)
Times below are from the "go sheet" provided by our TD and are approximate. They may not be your exact timing or sequence of events.
Day 2
7:30 Morning meeting
8:30 Depart Arusha
1:00 PM Lunch
5:00 Arrive Ngorongoro Serena
6:45 Welcome reception
7:30 Dinner
Day 4
8:00 Meet in Reception and depart
5:00 Arrive Four Seasons
7:00 Dinner
*You can actually check the driving times on Google/Google maps.
Minder was a first time poster and quite niave, he should have realized about many of the things he mentioned before he took the tour. Glad I didn't have to travel with someone who was ungrateful about a trip of a lifetime when some people would give their eye teeth to afford to do a tour in Africa.
And, a funny story about the roads...on the day we went from Ngorongo to Oldupai to Serengeti, our TD rode in our truck, so we were the last to leave each stop. We were a bit later than the others leaving Oldupai, so our driver took a “ shortcut!” Oh my, if you thought the regular roads were rough and dusty, this one beat them all! But, we laughed, pulled our buffs over our faces as the dust billowed through the truck and figured it was all part of the experience!
We have never just focused on how many animals we can see when we are in Africa, to us it is so much more. I swear that some of our fellow traveling companions never see the people, they are not interested, they cannot relate to them. They just want to see animals, I am not even sure they even look around at the vegetation and scenery and see every darn thing just through the narrow lens of a camera, which replaces the cell phone screen. In less than three weeks we will be going to Namibia on a tour that focuses a lot more on meeting the people. The scenery will be amazing and if we see animals we know there will only be a few. We have researched as much as we can what to expect from this tour so we do hope we are prepared. Maybe we should take our shukas with us, we got ours on the Botswana tour---we were loaned shukas for the desert and we used them and found them effective, others didn't. We bought some to bring home. I did not need one when I was doing yard work this year because it never got too hot this summer. I bought one for my son, he's just the kind of guy who could pull one off.
I wonder who the tour guides were on the trips, we have met quite a few of the regulars now except Seth who seems to have a god like reputation on this forum. Our tour guides have all been passionate about Africa and some live there permanently and one at least is married to a local in Tanzania. I am sure they have the best interests of the local people at heart as well as the paying Tauck clients. I do hope that visits to Maasai villages and achools are not taken off these tours, otherwise the travelers could save their money and just visit a zoo to see the animals, and yes we hear fellow travelers moan after a few days saying things like, oh just more zebras/wilderbeest/substitute, we don't need to see any more of those, we don't need to stop, can we find more lions?
There are two schools that are being "supported" by Tauck. Travelers were encouraged to participate in ceremonies to give students uniforms, et cetera, and the students sing for the group. It was the holiday season and one felt a bit like a humbug if one did not volunteer donations -- especially in the last case where the school was just a clearing in the bushes. (We received an email after the tour advising that construction would begin on a simple school building for the Kenyan students based on "our donations.") There was one jeep of like-minded travelers who decided not to visit the Kenyan school; they felt some pressure about volunteering to support these various charities. The poverty levels you will see are stark, but knowing that beforehand will help you to decide how to handle these gentle suggestions.
thanks
I agree that one of the best parts of our trip to Africa was the people: so friendly, so welcoming and so joyful. I have two pages of the photo book that I created devoted to the thoughtful and smiling faces of the many people that we met. And, our trip to the Maasai village was a highlight for us, as we found their culture so fascinating, and we didn't mind buying some of their wares. I thought the prices we settled on were fair to all. I loved the visit to the school outside the crater, perhaps my connection to education skewed my thinking. The teachers and children were so appreciative of the things we brought, and I had a very emotional hug from the English teacher when my husband mentioned that I, too, was an English teacher. I found the visit to the spinners and weavers very uplifting and bought some weavings there. It reminded me of a project we had seen in Fiji where women were taught to grow orchids and then brought them to the old Raymond Burr (think Perry Mason) house for sorting and then received compensation. What I found very uncomfortable was a visit to an orphanage in Nanyuki, and I am not sure why. There was some pressure, and then probably some self-imposed guilt. However, for some on our trip, that was one of the most important places we visited, and I think that was a good thing. Our TD was very clear about each place we visited, again, managing our expectations. I appreciated the variety of experiences, even if I wasn't crazy about all of them. And, as you pointed out, I appreciated Tauck's sensitivity to the local people. It was nice to hear that the Serena Hotels actually helped support the school we visited, and former Tauck guests were funding a latrine that was being built while we were there.
Now, on to another note...I am very envious of your upcoming trip to Naimbia!
Finally, BTW, I also have two pages of my photo book titled "Back(s) to Africa" as there were far too many times I would raise my camera to take the perfect shot, and the animal would turn around leaving me with a lovely photo of its backside!
Excellent post! Are you an English teacher? : )
I can't and say for sure because I wasn't there, but I think the sentiment I quoted from your post may have been a significant factor in the post about being pressured to donate.
Hah! I are!!! (retired now, though!)
Yeh, I knew that. : ) Hey, did you get my follow-up email about Cesky Krumlov? I've had a few computer issues lately.
We are very much looking forward to our journey to Africa - for all the aspects - scenery, animals and people - ones living there and ones on our tour.
Thanks again.