Our Safari Tour Package
Day 14 marks the end of our honeymoon phrase 1. In the previous articles I've talked about various lodges, national parks and guides, but I didn't mention how those were arranged.
Back in March, once we'd identified Africa as our honeymoon destination (having to give up on South America due to Zika), we did research separately to see where we'd like to go and what we'd like to see. We contributed on each other's effort and eventually decided that we would book a tour for Kenya and Tanzania.
Then, we checked out different safari offers on www.SafariBookings.com, and eventually booked a 14 day package with Right Choice Safaris (see our experience with this tour operator below). It's a private tour for the two of us and nearly all-inclusive, so it's pricey (For price & package details, please see below).
Why didn't we rent a car and book the lodges instead? Because 1) some of the drives are long and not on good roads; 2) the car rental fee is high as the pick-up and drop-off locations are in two different countries; 3) room rates of the lodges listed online can easily cost a few hundred dollars a night.
So, what did we get for our package? Here's a brief summary of our 14 day 13 night safari package called "Safari and Spice Island". The links below go to our articles about individual lodges & parks that we've previously posted.
Day 1: Nairobi
Arrived in Nairobi and a local guide picked us up.
Dinner: Carnivore
Accommodation: Sarova Panafric Hotel
Day 2: Nairobi - Masai Mara
Depart Nairobi for Masai Mara via Great Rift Valley.
Afternoon game drive in Masai Mara.
Accommodation: Mara Simba Lodge
Day 3: Masai Mara
Full day game drive in Masai Mara.
Accommodation: Mara Simba Lodge
Day 4: Masai Mara
Full day game drive in Masai Mara. Witnessed the great migration.
Accommodation: Mara Simba Lodge
Day 5: Masai Mara - Isebania - Serengeti
Leaving Masai Mara in Kenya and going to Serengeti in Tanzania.
Crossed the boarder at Isebania. Switched vehicle and had another local guide.
Accommodation: Serengeti Kati Kati Camp
Day 6: Serengeti National Park
Full day game drive in Serengeti.
Accommodation: Serengeti Kati Kati Camp
Day 7: Serengeti - Ngorongoro
Half day game drive in Serengeti before leaving for Ngorongoro.
Accommodation: Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge
Day 8: Ngorongoro
Full day game drive in Ngorongoro in search of black rhinos.
Accommodation: Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge
Day 9: Ngorongoro - Manyara
Leaving Ngorongoro for Lake Manyara.
Game drive in Lake Manyara national park
Accommodation: Lake Manyara Serena Lodge
Day 10: Lake Manyara – Arusha- Zanzibar
Leaving Lake Manyara for Arusha domestic airport. Flew to Zanzibar.
Accommodation: Bluebay Beach Resort
Day 11, 12 & 13: Zanzibar
Leisure time at the Bluebay Beach Resort on Zanzibar.
Day 14: The End
Leaving Zanzibar after breakfast. The end of the safari package.
Cost: $4,330 per person (based on double occupancy)
Inclusive in this safari package:
- Airport transfer, accommodation and meals in Nairobi
- Exclusive transportation in 4x4 land cruiser with HF radio communication and pop-up roof for easy viewing and photographing
- Full board accommodation on safari
- All park entrance fees
- Services of English speaking skilled and experienced driver/guide
- Extensive game drives in the national parks
- Drinking mineral water
- All-inclusive package at Bluebay Beach Resort on Zanzibar
- One way domestic flight from Arusha to Zanzibar
- Airport transfers in Zanzibar
Not included in the safari package fee:
- Beverages and alcoholic drinks
- International flights
- Visas, if applicable
- Laundry
- Optional activities (e.g. sunrise balloon tour) and person expenses
- Tips ($10 per person per day)
Both of us feel that booking the safari package was a right decision. It would've been quite tiring with all the drives (note that only Mr. Husband can drive) and would've been very difficult to spot most of the wildlife. The guides and the lodges also exceeded our expectations.
The only problem was that we had a bit of "miscommunication" with the owner of the tour operator. We exchanged quite a number of emails to customize our package a bit, and I asked for our finalized itinerary before we'd paid the deposit. Everything looked fine and we paid the deposit and the balance prior to our departure. We also received confirmation that all payments have been settled.
Upon arrival at hotel on the first day, while we're still sitting in the lobby waiting to check in, that person called us (through the guide) and talked to both Mr. Husband and me. Apart from saying hello, he gave us a friendly reminder that we're due to pay USD 300 for the 4x4 in Kenya!
We told him it's mentioned as inclusive in the package. He said we were wrong. We went through the content of our email exchange with him, but he just raised his voice and insisted that we had to pay. It's not about the $300 because it's not a big amount compared with what we'd paid for the package. It's just not right to cheat us like that, especially we'd confirmed if he'd received the full package fee.
I then asked him what other surprises he'd prepared for us, what else we didn't know about. He said the half day excursion to Stone Town in Zanzibar was also not included. $100 per person for 4 hours. I was so angry that I could hit him if he was in front of me. Why ruining our honeymoon like this at the point of our arrival after a long flight?
At one point he asked if I was okay with the arrangements, and I said not okay but what could I do? I went on to say he couldn't expect positive feedback from us. It really hit him and he yelled at me. It was really ugly. I'm usually very careful and like to confirm and reconfirm things. I'm very sure I was not at fault. Mr. Husband said people in that country (or men in general I think) don't take it so well if they're being confronted by a woman. I was in fact very disappointed in myself for not confirming a few more times and print out the whole email thread.
That night, Mr. Husband forwarded him the confirmed itinerary he sent us, and expressed our disappointment. The next day he responded and said he would waive the $300 fee for the 4x4 in Kenya. Still, this incident has left bitter taste in our mouth.
