Er Principe

Hi to all, I just came back a few days ago from a 25 days trip to Tanzania and
Zanzibar. The journey was quite wonderful, and we organized everything there, no
reservations were made from here (Rome), except for the safari. If anyone of you
might need advise, suggestions or any kind of information, I will be glad to help.

Bartek

Hello,

I am going to Kenya and Tanzania on 11.09.2002. Couple of questions?

1. Have you climbed Kili? With what company?
2. How did you get to Zanzibar? What cost?
3. What hotel in Stone Town? Was it OK?
4. Have you visited Zanzibar's East coast? Impressions?

Thank you,

Bartek

U¿ytkownik "Er Principe" <[email protected]> napisa³ w wiadomoÅ“ci
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    > Hi to all, I just came back a few days ago from a 25 days trip to Tanzania and
    > Zanzibar. The journey was quite wonderful, and we organized everything there, no
    > reservations were made from here (Rome), except for the safari. If anyone of you
    > might need advise, suggestions or any kind of
information,
    > I will be glad to help.

FOX

Hi,

Good to hear it is possible to arrange things when you get there, can you give me a rough idea of the cost of your trip??

Thanks
Sarah

Er Principe

    > 1. Have you climbed Kili? With what company?

Well, to be honest we just spent one day on the Kili, and we used a local company in
Moshi booked the day before. I don't remember their name, but it was the first
company listed in the LP guide in the MOSHI chapter. The hike was fine (and easy) and
the price was USD 50 pp. If you want you can also try to organize your climb with the
hotel in Moshi or Marangu in which you will (probably) spend the night. Normally it's
cheap and you also get a discount.

    > 2. How did you get to Zanzibar? What cost?

We got to ZNZ by the Sea Star Ferry Boat, for USD 35 pp. Do not buy first class
tickets, they're not worth the price. And do not buy the tickets from the guys
who will stop you in Dar, go directly to the Sea Star/ Sea Bus kiosk just in
front of the port.

    > 3. What hotel in Stone Town? Was it OK?

We spent two nights in the Baghani House, a very nice hotel, for USD 60 (double room,
price per night). Book in advance, hotels in ZNZ are often quite full.

    > 4. Have you visited Zanzibar's East coast? Impressions?

We went to Matemwe (Matemwe Beach Village), and I think it was great! Do not go to
Nungwi, there are too many tourists. The Beach Village is held by a South African
girl called Gail, who has been fantastic to us, a very nice place and a very nice
person. It is not a budget hotel, therefore you can also plan to stay in the Matemwe
Beach Resort, a simple but clean guesthouse just 500 meters from the Beach Village
for only USD 40 per night (double room). The Beach Village is more expensive but
quite more beatiful, so go there if you can. The east coast is really marvellous. The
Beach Village organizes divings and snorkellings as well, a very nice experience you
cannot miss.

    > Thank you,

You're welcome

Maurizio

Er Principe

    > Good to hear it is possible to arrange things when you get there, can you give me a
    > rough idea of the cost of your trip??

Well, it was NOT a cheap journey. The travel itself (Rome-Brussels-Nairobi) was about
? 1.000, but it was that expensive because we booked the flight only 1 month before
departure. The safari (6 days) was about ? 600, including 2 nights in lodges
(Seronera Wildlife + Ngorongoro Wildlife). Then we spent a lot of money around,
therefore the total cost was not less than ? 2.500/3.000 ea. (the last days in
Zanzibar were quite expensive, but it was our choice).

Consider that:
- We stayed there for 25 days.
- We did not pay much attention to te total cost of the trip: the accomodations we
chose were not "hi-luxe" hotels, but neither the cheapest guesthouses. We spent
about USD 50/60 per night (double room). I think that once you are in Africa,
according to your possibilities, it is good to make things easy and comfortable...
- We decided to make the trip back to Nairobi by airplane from Dar es Saalam,
therefore we could save about USD 250 ea. for the ticket going by bus (even if the
trip from Dar to Nairobi is not less than 18 hours!!)
- We didn't find any ticket from Rome to Dar or Kilimanjaro Airport at that time: we
could save money also on this.
- Most of what you spend there is for safari. Ours was a budget safari, I know that
you can spend quite more than the amount we spent, but in my opinion it is not
worth the difference you pay.

Consider also that we spent a lot of money BEFORE departure for vaccinations, tools,
clothes, backpacks and so on. Even if it is NOT a cheap destination, if you want you
can spend DEFINITELY less than we did, it only depends on your parameters. And once
again, arrange things there thanks to the "Bible-Lonely Planet Guide": there are
hotels for any price, safaris for anyone.

Have a nice trip, and do not hesitate to ask for more information (and sorry for my
bad english)

Maurizio