Wild savings on Serengeti safaris
Every so often we get news from deep inside tour companies that certain, very special promotions make history. This is exactly what happened when we learned of 2Afrika’s $995 10-day safari in Tanzania in East Africa. In all of his 22 years working at the helm of this expert Africa outfit, Kenneth Hieber said he’s never seen prices drop this low for Tanzania. When you really think about it, spending less than $100/day for all meals, entrance fees, guided game drives, lodge stays, and more exotic wildlife in the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti and Tarangire national parks than you can imagine, is for many, the deal (and opportunity) of a lifetime.
We’ll get to some of the itinerary specifics in a minute. First, the bad news: This offer—good for departures on Apr. 4, 25, May 16, 30, and June 20, 2005—does not include airfare. So, when booking it’s best to look into flights in and out of Nairobi, Kenya. If you want to cash in your frequent flier miles, go right ahead, now’s the time, as airfares to this corner of the planet can be pricey, astronomical even. The “best” fares we found to Nairobi from various US cities for travel beginning April 2005 are:
- $1,224—New York City (Northwest, KLM, British Airways)
- $1,380—Houston (Continental, British Airways)
- $1,502—Chicago (Continental, British Airways)
- $1,439—Atlanta (Delta, British Airways)
- $1,549—Los Angeles (American Airlines, British Airways)
- $1,603—Minneapolis (American Airlines, British Airways)
2Afrika can help you with your airfare. Just out of curiosity we asked them to price out a NY-Nairobi ticket for us to coincide with its April 2005 safari departure dates. It came back with a lowest fare offer of $1090, which was actually good from Boston and Washington, DC as well as the Big Apple.
The trip itself is pretty packed. You’ll be on the move daily, and by the time it’s all over with you will have slept in five different locales. 2Afrika eases you into safari life gently with a first night’s stay a modern hotel (Kilimanjaro) before heading off to the Sopa Lodge in Arusha/Tarangire National Park for your second night. Nights three and four are near the Wa Mbu Village in the Great Rift Valley at the Lake Manyara Hotel, followed by two more nights at the Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge. The adventure winds down for fours days and three nights at the Serengeti Wildlife Lodge. All along the way, breakfast, lunch and dinner is taken care of, and on certain days you’ll even enjoy a picnic on the grassy plains. Count on about $195 per person for taxes. Just a final note that there is in fact space on trips scheduled to departure prior to April 2005. The cost? $1,195 for exactly the same trip. And, for $400 additional you can balloon over the Serengeti.