Safari itinerary opinions please

[katyintx]

Okay, we’re pretty ready to book!  However, since we’ve never done this before I was hoping for some opinions on the last half of this...  



Sorry if that’s hard to read. So we’re very happy with the trip, but once we get to Serengeti Mara is where I’m struggling. Only because we have the option to have a shared vehicle/guide (6 max, including us) or private. The only reason I’m considering shared is because at that point in the trip, am I going to want to feed my H to a lion and need others as a safety net for him??  Don’t get me wrong, I love my H, but up to this point it will be all private vehicles and we’ll be 9 days in to traveling at that point. Or is it still totally worth it to have a private guide/vehicle the whole time we’re there?  I guess maybe I just need to know how much interaction is typical with others at the camps? 

Also, this will be Labor Day weekend. We can’t book flights yet back to the US, but it looks like we’ll be able to fly from Zanzibar to our home airport, landing in the early afternoon on Monday. That doesn’t give us a ton of recovery time before heading back to work Tuesday, but 1) I work from home so I at least don’t have to wake up super early on Tuesday, AND 2) I get the sense that since they’re 8 hours ahead I’ll be waking up early anyway. Also, this could potentially be a once in a lifetime trip, so I’m thinking power through and don’t have that extra day of recovery by getting in on Sunday...  Is there flaw in my logic - factors I’m not considering? 

[gigem]

Defi stay the max days possible and power through!!!

I don’t have personal experience for shared vs private my only safari without kids was with my sis and dh in a private car and if we got tired of each other we just watched the nature and didn’t talk.

I will preface by saying that I am not great at small talk or very sociable with strangers. However, We see lots of young and older cples or ppl traveling solo on safari that are making friends and socializing and look to be having a great time in groups that they have just met. Dh did a morning drive once with a bunch of young ppl (I say this because we are mid 30’s and they were mid 20’s) and he really enjoyed hearing about their other games srives and other safaris and adventures it was a nice break for him from our kid talk haha.

So although I don’t have any experience with shared tours I would imagine it depends on your personality. I would rather sit and stare out the window and ignore my dh than talk with strangers even for a few hrs game drive none the less a few days haha. Also tmi
But I drink lots of water on safari and like to have the freedom to ask the guide to take a “relief” break which seems a lot harder with a group of strangers haha

[katyintx]

Jul 18, 2018 17:04:02 GMT -5 gigem said:

. Also tmi
But I drink lots of water on safari and like to have the freedom to ask the guide to take a “relief” break which seems a lot harder with a group of strangers haha

Ha this would absolutely be me! 

[katyintx]

Thanks! RockNVoll I think I basically took your words from the last thread about why to do the private guides the whole time and used them in a discussion with my husband. We ended up doing the private guides the whole time!

Also, my H was on board with staying as long as possible and not having much for rest before going back to work, so looks like we’ll be returning on Labor Day!

First payment is made and the countdown is on - only 392 days until we leave. Womp womp...

[klingklang77]

I havent’t been to where you are going, but I’ve been on a few safaris (Zambia, Namibia, Botswana) with my ex. We did private ones and a whole truck full. It really depends on the camp you are staying at. We lucked out with private ones because no one showed up, so it became a private safari.

Get to the truck early to make sure you get a good seat; the ends are the best. There are usually three rows, and each row seats three people. The early morning ones will serve you a light breakfast and a drink. The evening ones will give you a drink and a snack.

You don’t need to worry about lions attacking you; they are too afraid of the safari vehicles. The biggest worry is elephants, rhinos, buffalo, and hippos. But you will be fine!

It is usually communal dining. Get used to eating meat (especially any animal you may have seen that day) and potatoes.