Jean_Valjean

We were at the NY Times travel show yesterday (a great source of information, by the way), and it looks like we finally found an agreeable solution to our travel plans. We're planning what we believe will be our last 'major' trip before having children, and we have been torn between Egypt and a Kenya / Tanzania safari.

At the show, we found this company called "Cultural Vacations and Safaris". They offer a 14 day Egypt + Tanzania tour. It starts in Cairo, flies to Luxor, then to Aswan, back to Cairo, then to Kilimanjaro, Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Lake Manyara and then back.

It seems that they use really good hotels (Oberoi, Conrad, Serena, Sonesta), but also that you have to make a few compromises: no Nile cruise, no Abu Simbel option. Price seems reasonable at somewhere around $6,000 per person including air from the US.

Has anyone here booked this, or other tours from this company? Any comments? As I said, this will be the last splurge before the kids come, and we want it to be really spectacular!

Thanks in advance!

jasher

Hello,

It's hard to tell without seeing a detailed itinerary, but the combination of so many destinations with 14 days makes alarm bells go off -- you're likely to spend more time on planes than you are experiencing the countries you are visiting. Tanzania alone could easily take two weeks, and even a relatively cursory look at Egypt can easily run a week to 10 days.

If I were you, I'd choose quality of time spent over quantity of places visited -- you'll want some time to relax and really experience the places you are visiting.

Cheers,
Julian

Jean_Valjean

Here's the itinerary for this trip:

Day 1: Travel
Day 2: Cairo (Evening)
Day 3: Cairo (Pyramids, Memphis, Sakkara)
Day 4: Cairo - Luxor (flight, Valley of Kings, Queens, Temple of Luxor and Karnak)
Day 5: Luxor - Aswan (flight, Dams, Elephantine Island)
Day 6: Aswan - Cairo (flight, Bazaar, Old Cairo)
Day 7: Cairo - Kilimanjaro (Egyptian Museum, overnight flight)
Day 8: Kilimanjaro - Ngorongoro
Day 9: Ngorongoro
Day 10: Ngorongoro - Serengeti (drive)
Day 11: Serengeti
Day 12: Serengeti - Lake Manyara (drive)
Day 13: Kilimanjaro, Evening flight to Europe
Day 14: Back to US.

It does seem ambitious!

sandi

Very ambitious.
What time of the year are you considering and which year? Many of the properties in Kenya and Tanzania are booked for travel almost thru the end of 2006.

Time of year can have an impact where to visit in East Africa. Different time can be better in the Mara in Kenya, then the Serengeti in Tanzania.

While the weather is pretty good year-round in Egypt, the summer months are unbearably hot (May thru September).

Honestly, I'd choose one destination over the other, unless you can extend the trip to at minimum 3-weeks. You can cover more in Egypt, including a visit to Abu Simbel (not to be missed) and a 5-day/4-nt cruise on the Nile in 10-days, leaving remaining 10-days for either Kenya or Tanzania or a combination of both.

You're going to be covering long distances, and the itinerary offered is a bit much. Pack-unpack-pack every other day... you'll need a vacation when you arrive home.

Bevann

I would not consider the time allowed for Egypt a good value. On days 4, 5, 6, you will have about half day at the destination after the airport and flight time.

Jean_Valjean

With your suggestions, I've rescheduled this a bit. I've added a couple of days, and will do the cruise part in Egypt. So days 4 to 6 now become days 4 to 8. 5 days and 4 nights on the Oberoi Philae. That's a good ship, right?

I'm also thinking about adding one day on the back end, in Tanzania. If you had one extra day, where would you spend it?

Thanks again!

sandi

The Oberoi Philae is one of the best ships on the Nile.

In Tanzania, even though you don't mention time of year - still, you should spend at least 3-days in the Serengeti.

Jean_Valjean

This would be the last week in May and the first week in June. I know that Egypt may be really hot, but for what I hear it is a great time to go to Tanzania, right after the rain season.

sandi

If it's this coming June in Tanzania, sure hope your tour operator can find space.

Jean_Valjean

They tell me that they don't have capacity issues... Lodges are guaranteed (Serengeti Serena, Ngorongoro Serena and Lake Manyara Serena)... the pictures look amazing, by the way.

dglewis

Hi,
If you managed to extend this vacation to around 20 days for Egypt and Tanzania safari, I'd be interested to know. I guess this might come to around 4000 without airfare?

Jean_Valjean

6,000 with airfare, great hotels, a lot of meals and all transfers included...

For what I've seen, it looks like a good deal...we're staying at places like:

- Mena House Oberoi in Cairo
- Oberoi Philae for the cruise portion
- Mt. Meru Game Lodge
- Kirawira Tented Camp (3 nights)
- Ngorongoro Serena
- Lake Manyara Serena

Again, for what I've seen, it seems reasonable. The total tour is 18 days.

Idnas71

I thought I would "top" this old thread to see if the original poster was still hanging around. I'd love to hear how the Cultural Vacations trip went for you, Jean. (Or for anyone else who might have taken a tour with them.) I've just contacted them myself to see what they can put together for me for October of 2008.

Thanks!

Jean_Valjean

Idnas71,

I hadn't visited this site in ages, and I just found your post. Our experience with Cultural Vacations was perfect in every sense. They were responsive, informative, thorough and detailed. Everything they sold us happened exactly as they said. In a way, it was a perfectly uneventful trip, with no unpleasant surprises from lack of planning. I would wholeheartedly recommend them.