Advice needed for Tanzania/Zanzibar trip next July 2016.

My experiences on the Serengeti are a bit out of date so will not comment. As for public transport to Zanzibar you have a number of choices - bus from Arusha (takes about 9 hours depending on traffic, bus & road condition), but will also require an overnight stay in Dar es Salaam (the first bus out of Arusha will still arrive after the last ferry sailing); fly either from Arusha or Kilimanjaro International Airports - save a whole lot of time - gives you more time to enjoy the island. I think the last time I flew it cost around $135 US (but that was about 3 or 4 years ago). So now its up to you to do some more research on current costs, hotel, ferry V flying. Cheers

I have not been to the Serengeti. From my research when I looked at it, unless the tour says so you should stay at the same accommodation the entire time. It's easy to fly from Arusha or Mbeya (depending on where you are in the park) to Zanzibar either directly or through Dar.

Another option would be to take the bus to Dar and then the ferry to Zanzibar. I would not recommend it from Mbeya as it's about 16-18 hours and you may have to spend the night in Dar. From Arusha, it's about 10-11 hours to Dar.

There are pros and cons to both options depending on how much time you have for travel between places, what you want to see and experience and your budget.

Hi
For tour operators I suggest that you check out few companies on TripAdvisor and send them a request of quotation. Just tell them what you are expecting to see on your safari and they will make you an itinerary. They are after all professionals so they know how to get as much out of your safari as possible.
For some airlines tour operators can even get a contract price so it could be cheaper. Just ask them about the flight to Zanzibar and compare the price they give you to the ones from the airlines directly.

Literally just come back from Tz. Had the best experience of my life (and that is coming from someone who has many medical issues!). Got a lot of mixed comments whilst in and around Africa in terms of people with good and bad experiences, but i have to say hand on my heart - EVERYBODY who stayed at Kili Cottages at Moshi was so super happy with how they were looked after (we were actually a little skeptical at first. Only to now be gushing on about them ourselves! ha.) They also run a tour company called Gaia Africana Travel. This pretty much meant that anything any of us wanted sorted - was sorted and for a very reasonable price. We didn't realise they offered as much as they did to which meant that we had booked a 3 day safari with someone else that included Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara. This was great. Saw Lions, Leopard, Cheetar, Black Rhino, Giraffes, Elephants, Hyena, Hippo, Zebra, Ostrich...and the list is endless. Though Gaia were surprised the tour people we had gone with had suggested Lake Manyara at that time of year, as you really don't see Lake Manyara at its best this time of year (as we discovered). For anyone who wants to get advice of migration patterns look up Kazi Kathibu on FB. He is a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic Safari Driver (or just ask Gaia to get in touch with Kazi for you). Gaia organised day trips for us to Materuni Village Experience which was showing village life of the Chagga people whilst making your way to the fab waterfalls there. The day includes the entire coffee process (of which you also get to enjoy the coffee and food ;) talked and walked through the plantation in terms of medicinal benefits and how certain foods/resources are used...plus explanation of everything grown there. Oh...and not far from Moshi is a little trip to the hot springs...also very fun. Definite 'must do's' if you fancy a real taste of what Tanzania has to offer! Feel free to message if you have any other questions. Have a great time!!!!!!!! :)

If you ave any problems finding any of these places on google, please just inbox me and i am more than happy to give you my FB details so that you can take a peak at some of these people via Facebook because some of these guys have not quite cracked the internet presence thing just yet.

Wow thanks so much for the great feedback,Im going to message you a few questions if thats ok! :)

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