On Safari in Kenya & Tanzania: Up Close with the Big Five - 2022

PACING

• You’ll visit 6 destinations in 2 countries in 15 nights, with seven 2-night stays and one 1-night stay
• There are seven transfers between destinations and several 5- to 8-hour days in safari vehicles
• All transportation is conducted by motorcoach and 6-passenger wildlife safari vehicles, providing guaranteed window seating with pop-up roofs for photo-taking

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• This trip is rated moderately active and not wheelchair-friendly or appropriate for passengers with neck or back troubles due to the poor road conditions and bumpy nature of game drives in National Parks
• There is easy to moderate walking on this adventure, but travelers should be able to walk 1-2 miles unassisted
• Travelers who use CPAP machines should be aware that the rugged and bumpy conditions we’ll experience on some of the roads we’ll use to transfer between destinations have caused damage to (and even broken) many machines. In addition, while electricity is available everywhere you will go, it is not always reliable. Distilled water is generally not available, either. We will certainly be as careful and accommodating as we can, but travelers who use CPAP machines should be aware of these facts when considering a safari

TERRAIN & TRANSPORTATION

• Vantage will provide African safari bags for this journey, as there are weight and size restrictions on luggage in the vehicles. Roads in East Africa can be very poor and rough, especially after rain
• Travel speed throughout your African safari tour is greatly reduced for safety and comfort, and distances can be tiring and very bumpy at times
• You will travel by small coach in Nairobi and 4x4 Land Cruisers with pop-up roofs in Kenya and Tanzania. On safari game drives, you will spend 5- to 8-hours in safari vehicles
• All safari transportation is conducted with 6-passenger wildlife safari vehicles, each providing guaranteed window seating with pop-up roofs for photo-taking. Vantage will provide African safari bags for this journey, as there are weight and size restrictions on luggage in the vehicles
• Roads in East Africa are very poor and rough, especially after rain. Travel speed throughout your African safari tour is greatly reduced for safety and comfort, and distances can be tiring and very bumpy at times
• Surfaces encountered will include dirt roads, paths, paving stones, and tile. Rough roads mean bumpy rides, so this tour is not appropriate for passengers with neck or back troubles

CLIMATE

• This tour covers a large area, so travelers can expect to encounter a range of temperatures and humidity. Temperatures rarely exceed 90°F, with December and January being the hottest months and July and August the coldest (especially on early morning game drives and at night). The long rains are supposed to fall from late April to early June, with short rain in October and November
• The migration of thousands of wildebeest and zebra is a year-round event as they follow the lush grass in a north-south loop, clockwise around the Serengeti, into the Maasai Mara and back again. We hope to see some big wildebeest migration herds in the parts of the Serengeti we visit from February to May (with wildebeest giving birth in February), and in the Masai Mara from July to September