Hi
Can anyone recommend Roy Safaris? I have been quoted 1125 USD for 5 days/4 nights. Also, it is 1 night Ngorongoro and 3 nights Serengeti. Do you think this is OK? Seems like most tours go to more places.
Thanks in advance.


I have not used Roy, but as I recall they tend to have a good reputation on LP.
For 5 days/4 nights your options are: Taranagire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro, and the Serengeti. Depending on when you'll be traveling Roy may be trying to maximize time in the Serengeti (perhaps because the migration is in easilly reached areas?). I thought Tarangire was really beautiful, so if I was adding a place that would be my recommendation. It would then look something like this: day 1 - Tarangire; day 2 - Tarangire, then long drive to Serengeti; day 3 - Serengeti; day 4 - Serengeti, then drive to Ngorongoro accomodations; day 5 - Ngorongoro Crater, then drive to Arusha/Airport/etc.

I have seen their vehicles in the Serengeti. They look ok. You want more time in Seregeti and just travel thru Norongoro. The airport is about 50 miles from Arusha. You can do day trips from Arusha. JC

Hi,
I think that is very expensive.
There are many good safari companies that offer competitive rates.
I would reccommend Hima tours for you. They will charge you less than US$ 1000 for everything.
Just let me know if you are interested so that I can communicate with them for the precise information.
Please use: gastolekule@gmail.com for easier communication.
Thanks.
Gasto.

If you will be on the Serengeti in mid to late Feb then try to spend 3 days/2 nights as mid-Feb to early March is peak wildabeast calving season - up to 8000 calves born each day. NGO is worth a look - you may be able to inc Lake Manyara (half a day). Tarangire is Elephant Central in northern TZ. Double check if the quoted price includes all you park fees (if not you will have to add around 250-350 US - maybe more). Rgs Orion_Mike

I've heard good things about Roys, though that you pay for the a/c in the trucks.
Depends when you are going, we went in January and the lack of a/c was irrelevant, didn't notice - we used Bobby's who were about 30% cheaper.
Over that time frame you may want to consider skipping the Serengeti and doing only Ngorongoro, Manyara and/or Tarangire, I know they aren't as romatic but you will still see all the animals and will spend less time in the truck getting there.

I went on a Roy Safaris tour. It was SO wonderful. Our guides could spot anything. Really well planned, organized. I didn't mind paying a little bit extra to not sleep on the ground. We climbed mt meru and visited a local tribe. we went to a school. It was really educational and fun seeing the animals.
The only thing was that we pretty much ate the same thing every day. It was good, but breakfast, lunch, dinner-pretty much the same. That was in NO way a deal-breaker. The places we stayed were SO beautiful. They had bathrooms, bars, and nice rooms. I went on a budget safari in 2000 and went to the bathroom outside, couldn't shower for 6 days, and slept on the ground.
The negative part about this trip was when we left the airport-the guide from Roy Safaris dropped us off-he couldn't go past the gate. Once we were in, the airport security wouldn't put out bags on the plane. I think they actually watched as our guide drive away. We were stuck paying off crooked guards $20 a bag. We called roy safaris when we got back and they were angry, but honestly I'm not sure what they could have done.