Our Tanzania Safari Trip!

Hi! I’ve had a lot of requests for details of our trip to Tanzania and I’m excited to share all of this information with you!

It was an amazing trip and I highly recommend adding it to your bucket list if it’s not there already!

The fabulous people at Classic Escapes helped us plan all of this to celebrate our 10th anniversary.

They handled all of the details, we just approved the final itinerary.

All of the properties we stayed at are part of the Elewana Collection and they were all outstanding!

Classic Escapes arranged a private safari tour with Firoz of Ranger Safaris. He was incredible!

We loved having the same driver/guide for the duration of our adventure and it was wonderful to be able to tailor each day’s activities to what Matthew and I wanted to do.

Below is our itinerary, with a few photos from each lodge and the activities of the day.

You can find more wildlife photos from the trip in my virtual African safari here and my print gallery here.

Day 1 : USA/ En Route

Day 2 : Arusha: Overnight at the ARUSHA COFFEE LODGE.

Property Highlights: The overall peacefulness of the property! It’s so quiet and serene and was very restful after a long journey. Also the bathroom. I would’ve showered anywhere after all that travel time, but this was an especially lovely place to do so!

Days 3/4: Tarangire National Park: Overnights at the TARANGIRE TREETOPS.

Property Highlights: Sleeping in a giant fancy treehouse! It was like our childhood dreams of a perfect hideout came true!

A king size bed, en suite bathroom and a view out into Tarangire National Park. Also, the pool overlooking the watering hole was lovely.

Game Viewing Highlights: Lionesses and cubs up (very!) close, a huge herd of elephants having fun bathing in the mud and a tower of giraffes.

Isn’t that just the most wonderfully appropriate word for a collection of giraffes? I love it.

Day 5: Tarangire National Park/Lake Manyara National Park/Ngorongoro Conservation Area: Overnight at NGORONGORO MANOR.

Property Highlights: Honestly? How luxurious everything was.

From the fireplace in the room to the fact that they draw a bubble bath for you in anticipation of your return from safari, everything is beautiful and your every need is taken care of.

We even found time to get a massage here one evening and it was heavenly.

Game Viewing Highlights: The tree climbing lions and baboons in Lake Manyara on the drive there from Tarangire Treetops.

Day 6: Ngorongoro Crater: Overnight at NGORONGORO MANOR.

Game Viewing Highlights: Almost too many to name!

The rare black rhino, baby animals everywhere, flamingos, and lions feasting on a wildebeest (plus all the scavengers the feast drew.)

Not related to the animals, but our travel agent planned a surprise lunch for us with the amazing people at the Manor.

We had a private spot to eat in the crater complete with a chef to make our food on site!

It was such a treat and such a special way to celebrate our 10th anniversary!

The rhino-induced traffic jam in the crater!

Days 7/8: Oldupai Gorge/Serengeti National Park~South /Central Corridor: Overnights at THE PIONEER CAMP.

Property Highlights: Being so close to nature in the tents and throughout the grounds.

We saw a leopard come drink out of the pool while we were having dinner one night!

Game Viewing Highlights: We spent over an hour right next to lionesses and their cubs, saw a Thomson’s gazelle give birth, saw lions “on their honeymoon” and had multiple cheetah sightings including one mother with 5 cubs!

 

Days 9/10: Serengeti National Park~Northern Corridor: Overnights at SERENGETI MIGRATION CAMP.

Property Highlights: Being situated along the Grumeti river with it’s resident hippos.

Wonderful walking safari is offered along the river to see the hippos and other wildlife. Definitely worth it!

Gorgeous view from our breakfast spot.

Game Viewing Highlights: Hippos, the great wildebeest migration and an up close viewing of lions eating a wildebeest.

Days 11/12: Arusha/En Route/USA: Day room at ARUSHA COFFEE LODGE

 

 

A note on safari in Tanzania vs. South Africa:

Before we started planning this trip to Tanzania I was under the impression that the only place to go for a luxurious safari trip was South Africa.

I knew a decent number of people who had gone on safari there, and figured that if we ever went on safari we would go there too.  However, as we did more research, we began to realize that for a more authentic safari experience we should head to East Africa.

The variety of wildlife there is unparalleled and there are certainly plenty of beautiful places to stay.

While on our trip we spoke to a variety of people on the merits of both Tanzanian and South African safaris. The unanimous opinion (even from native South Africans) was that Tanzania was a better location for safari.

South Africa has a lot of private game reserves, which have brought animals in for tourism purposes that would not naturally be found in those places. They of course also have Kruger National Park, which does feature animals in their natural habitats.

I am not saying this to lessen the experience of a South African safari! I just want people to know that Tanzania is another incredible option!

The South Africans I spoke with said that if you want to go to Africa strictly for the animals on safari and don’t care about wine tasting or super fancy restaurants, then go to Tanzania.

If you’d like to add those extra elements to your trip, then head for South Africa!

 

Helpful hints for a spectacular safari:

• Rent a good camera. Or at least bring something nicer than just your iPhone. Please. You’re traveling all the way across the world and witnessing things you’ll likely never see again. You deserve better than grainy zoomed in photos of lions. I rented a 200-500mm lens from Aperturent. They’re here in Atlanta, but they also have offices in Dallas and DC and they ship anywhere in the country! I used that lens for 95% of the photos I took. I also brought a 50mm and a 24mm with me, but I already had those and would not have rented them if I didn’t own them.
• Bring a portable charger with multiple USB ports. I brought one, and then promptly forgot it in an airport lounge somewhere before we even left America. Don’t do that. Also, try to find a charger for your camera battery that works with a USB cord instead of needing a proper outlet. It makes charging on the go easier. I had purchased this one during the threat of a hurricane a while back and really liked it. Luckily I also bought one for my parents and they gave me theirs once we got back 🙂
• Speaking of electricity, make sure you know what kind of converter you need for where you’re traveling. This is the one we brought with us to Tanzania. It has two spots for USB cords on the bottom which was great so we could charge both phones at the same time.
• Bring a card reader you can plug into your phone. I know that a lot of cameras can transfer images wirelessly now, but you won’t have access to Wi-Fi everywhere. This allows you to review images on a bigger screen even without Wi-Fi. This is the one that I brought with us. It was fairly buggy, so if you can find a better option, use that instead.
• Buy clothes pre-treated with anti-insect repellent. Ex-Officio is a good brand for this and you can usually find some of their stuff for less money on the Sierra website (they’re part of the TJ Maxx umbrella, but specialize in outdoor clothing.) If you want to save some money and treat your clothing on your own, look on Amazon for a spray containing Permethrin. We did a combination of both Ex-Officio clothes and spraying the other clothes.
• Buy good underwear. This sounds lame, but I promise you won’t regret it. Again, Ex-Officio is your best bet here. They are not cheap, but they are the best travel underwear! Trust me, you don’t want to be sitting in regular cotton underwear when you’re traveling for over 24 hours or when you’re sitting in a safari vehicle all day. You’ll still use them after you get back!
• Don’t overpack- do laundry there. We were fortunate that laundry service was included at all of the places we stayed. We stayed at each property for two nights and had laundry done the first day we were in each new location.
• Bring a soft-sided duffel bag. Depending on your travel plans, you may have to fly in a small, local aircraft. We did this on our last day when we flew from the Lobo Airstrip in the Northern Serengeti back to Arusha where the international airport is. These smaller planes have strict luggage requirements and you can’t bring hard luggage, or luggage with wheels. We each had one of these Red Oxx bags and they were perfect! Plenty of different compartments to keep things organized and separate.
• In helping with keeping things organized, you’ve got to bring packing cubes! We used these and they were awesome! Matthew was initially skeptical about them, but he was definitely a packing cube convert by the end of the trip!
• Bring a backpack. You’ll need a smaller bag to take with you in the safari truck every day. I bought this one because it had tons of separate compartments and had a padded section (meant for a laptop) where I kept my camera gear. I loved it. Matthew brought his old school Jansport backpack he’s had forever and that worked well for him.
• If at all possible, do not check any luggage. We each had one duffel and one backpack. That’s it. On the way home we ran into lots of issues with delayed flights and ended up rebooking two separate legs of the trip. If we had checked any luggage, having it end up at our final destination at the correct time as would’ve been a nightmare. If you do have to check luggage, make sure to keep a couple of changes of clothes, chargers and your camera gear with you in your backpack.
• A Kindle. Don’t weigh yourself down with real books! You’re going to have a lot of downtime traveling there and back and it’s great to have some books to read. I think I read 5 books on the trip and I still had time to binge watch nearly a whole season of Big Little Lies on the way back. I read fast, but still, you should be able to finish a couple books during the trip.

If there’s anything else you’d like to know about the trip- just ask! I’m happy to answer any questions you may have, or point you in the direction of someone who can!