Hello Charlie
We had Ally Mnelle as a guide. He was very good and knowledgeable, we have enjoyed our time with him. Also, thanks to his experience, we have seen all the animals we were hoping for in abundance.
Out of the safari, we liked most Tarangire and Lake Manyara. These places had animals literally everywhere (including many sightings of lions from close up, and a leopard) and offered a lovely contrasting ambience between the dry safari of Tarangire and the green lush of the lake.
Serengeti had much fewer animals than Tarangire (although we saw many cats there – lots of lions, a few leopards, and a cheetah family from close – so it was definitely worth the trip), so it didn’t feel as impressive. The Ngorongoro crater was nice, but we had a very misty day, so it felt like quite a hard work to get there, and compared to what we already saw in the previous 3 days, this didn’t seem to have so much more to offer. Still very nice and interesting though, but would be probably at the bottom of our list.
As we are not a camping family (or even very outdoorsy), the arrival at Kati Kati has been a challenge to our system. But, we have very quickly realised that despite its basic impression, it offers all comforts that we need (nice clean washing area and toilette in the tent, warm shower available on request, clean beds etc.). I was really pleasantly surprised by the fantastic food at Kati Kati (very nice served dinners, and breakfast was definitely not lagging behind any of the hotel places we stayed before or after.) And all the staff there are very lovely and the fact that we ate with our guide there made it all feel that everyone is a part of the same group, which was definitely nice.
The Next Paradise was perfect, and I am very grateful that we had the beach bungalow – which meant both a stunning view of the beautiful beach and staying directly at the pool. We have loved our stay there, it was literally a paradise for us.. As our daughter is a pescatarian (eats everything, including fish, but no meat), and it is my preferred diet too, the dinners at Next Paradise were perfect, as the food was based on fish, and was always lovely. Out of all beach places that we have ever visited (and we do usually beach holiday every summer), this was absolutely the best.
Just a few very little things to improve (but these in no way impacted our holidays):
• Money. Based on the instructions, we have taken an amount that we though would cover tip for the guide and other tipping in abundance. We didn’t realise that we will need to settle our bill (for drinks) at Kati Kati in cash. Also our bill for drinks and lunches at Next Paradise (which you can imagine comes to quite a substantial amount after 6 days) would have had 10% discount if paid by cash, or attracted 20% charge if paid by card. This would have been useful to know.
• The itinerary was put together very well. One minor point is that we would have been quite happy to travel directly to Maramboi from the airport (rather than going to Rivertrees), as this would have saved us getting up early and packing, and would give us more time in Tarangire. But it is just a very minor detail.
Overall, we were very happy with the trip. Also, extremely impressed with Tanzania as a country (our first visit to East Africa, so didn’t know what to expect). People are very nice, roads and driving is very safe, and (important for the tourists like us), there are perfectly clean toilettes wherever you go.
We really appreciate the lovely holidays you have put together for us, and will definitely recommend you to friends.
All the best
Monika