I'm not planning to take my mobile phone or lap-top computer with me on the trip. However, since I'm travelling alone, will I be vulnerable by being out of touch?
While we do not plan to use our cell phone while on our tour. There are time when we do use them at airports in route as well as when we are back in our home country to up date our love ones, re: being back in the country, and if plane arrival time has changed.
We are the Tampa Bay area and will be flying out of here on 12/12/13 to Atlanta then to Amsterdam and on to Tanzania. Arriving on the 13th.....Anyone on this tour we would love to hear from you.
We had our cell phone with us but only used it to text pics of animals to the grand kids every day. Sometimes it took several hours before a text went through. Seems like almost everyone had cell phones with them to check email, text family, etc.
Hi GeorgiaFL...On our first safari my wife asked me to leave my lap top behind. I'm a blogger and she was worried I would spend the entire trip writing. Actually, I evolved a better way. I make sure the date / time stamp in my camera is reset to Africa time when we arrive. My pictures provide a daily visual record of the trip. If I sense there may be facts that I might forget, I make mini-entries in the shirt pocket notebook I carry everywhere. It takes only moments. That system has really worked well for me. I don't have to lug my computer through airport security or worry about it being safe in hotels while I am in the field on game drives.
The cell phone was another story. We took an offer to add temporary international service to our U.S. service. What a mistake. Our carrier conveniently forgot to advise us of all the details and we came home to a $200+ bill for several calls. We paid the bill and cancelled the carrier. Then, we went on-line and found a phone that allowed us to send text messages from Africa at no charge. The cost of receiving a text message is 80 cents. That allowed us to stay in touch with family at a reasonable cost.
We will return to Africa again in January for our fourth safari. Now, we travel with my wife's I-pad and our little texting cell phone. We use the I-pad to store some of our digital photos (so we don't need so many memory cards) and to check world news whenever we get to a location offering Wi-Fi.
Hi GeorgiaFL,
We recently returned from Kenya and Tanzania. I had my iphone and my ipad.
I only used the wifi feature and kept the cellular option off except when I was at
a hotel.
I was able to text, IM, and sometimes Face Time with our daughter and grandson.
Wifi was difficult to connect to at some hotels unless you went to the lobby.
Usually there was no problem there.
I wasn't able to connect in the rooms of some hotels or got a poor connection.
Oddly, I was able to use my ipad more successfully.
The airports were for the most part OK. You do have to jump thru a couple
of sign-up hoops tho. Even if they say you have to pay, you can usually qualify
for a few minutes free which varies at each airport. But, it's enough time to say your OK and
waiting for the next flite.
All of that said, I'm glad I took my phone and ipad. Actually got a couple of amazing pictures
with my iphone.
You might give a second thought to not taking your phone. Hope it doesn't happen, but you might need to get ahold of Tauck if your flights are late or cancelled. And, you never know if another type of emergency should arise. Having it with you might be useful, even if you decide you don't want to answer the calls, it is nice to have it if you need it.
Comments
We are the Tampa Bay area and will be flying out of here on 12/12/13 to Atlanta then to Amsterdam and on to Tanzania. Arriving on the 13th.....Anyone on this tour we would love to hear from you.
The cell phone was another story. We took an offer to add temporary international service to our U.S. service. What a mistake. Our carrier conveniently forgot to advise us of all the details and we came home to a $200+ bill for several calls. We paid the bill and cancelled the carrier. Then, we went on-line and found a phone that allowed us to send text messages from Africa at no charge. The cost of receiving a text message is 80 cents. That allowed us to stay in touch with family at a reasonable cost.
We will return to Africa again in January for our fourth safari. Now, we travel with my wife's I-pad and our little texting cell phone. We use the I-pad to store some of our digital photos (so we don't need so many memory cards) and to check world news whenever we get to a location offering Wi-Fi.
Good luck...Leo M
We recently returned from Kenya and Tanzania. I had my iphone and my ipad.
I only used the wifi feature and kept the cellular option off except when I was at
a hotel.
I was able to text, IM, and sometimes Face Time with our daughter and grandson.
Wifi was difficult to connect to at some hotels unless you went to the lobby.
Usually there was no problem there.
I wasn't able to connect in the rooms of some hotels or got a poor connection.
Oddly, I was able to use my ipad more successfully.
The airports were for the most part OK. You do have to jump thru a couple
of sign-up hoops tho. Even if they say you have to pay, you can usually qualify
for a few minutes free which varies at each airport. But, it's enough time to say your OK and
waiting for the next flite.
All of that said, I'm glad I took my phone and ipad. Actually got a couple of amazing pictures
with my iphone.
Hope this helps you make a decision.