Budget safari in Tanzania?

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michele987654
michele987654

Hello,

I am thinking of visiting Tanzania in July/August, however I am put off by the high costs that I see circulating.

My needs are basic and I travel on a tight budget. I usually travel by public transportation, eat at local places, stay at budget hostels (or camp). While in Tanzania I would like to see Serengeti, Mount Neru, etc.
However, I am worried by the high prices I have seen in this forum, something like 800-1000$ for a 3-4 day safari (!) in Serengeti. I was wondering if these costs can be lower when I get there. Of course, I do not mind (at all) to join groups, etc. What is considered a "reasonable" prices?

Any help/suggestion from other travelers is very much welcome!

cheers,

Michele

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lucapal
lucapal

The prices are very high because......the entry fees are very high,the infrastructure is not very good (so things have to be moved around in small quantities,which costs).....lodges have to transport everything in and out...staff to guest ratios are very high (and most of those staff live in the lodge)...and the tourism policy is ''high paying-low density''.....

So....safaris (particularly in Tanzania) are expensive.......

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Jessy_M
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michele987654
michele987654

Hello lucapal,

Thanks for your reply. However, I am not interested in the "why" safaris are expensive. Similar arguments apply to other countries, where -by the way- costs are (at least so appears) not as high as in Tanzania.

I am more interested in "what" are the costs. Is it possible to self-drive? is it worth considering hiring a car? what is the cost (in that case)? and so on...

Help/suggestion from other fellow travelers is very welcome.

thanks again,

Michele

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Jessy_M
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j_morg
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lucapal
lucapal

Good luck OP.

Be careful with posters like that one you got above (#2 and 4).this part of the forum is full of spammers.

The last reply is a realistic price for a very low budget safari (for Tanzania)....US$200 per night,per person.Most cost considerably more.....

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lucapal
lucapal

And..you don't need to teach me about safaris in other countries...I've done them in South Africa,Botswana,Namibia,Zambia,Kenya etc etc.Not to mention in the rest of the world.....

Some are cheaper than Tanzania.some similar in price.

For sure Tanzania (and esp Serengeti) cannot be done ''cheaply'' (for the reasons i gave you above).....yes,you can self drive,but you still have to pay tolls,park fees,crater fees and everything else!

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kyuubi
kyuubi

We did two days one night safari in tarangire and ngorongoro for 340 usd pp with meru treks. This is maybe the cheapest it can get really... They have a website, but also their office is located somewhere in the center of Arusha, so visit and ask. Overall it was ok and exceeded expectations as I was expecting worse for this price.

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albeto
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