In Arusha (Tanzania) there is about 3000 thousand companies offering safari trips, so there is plenty to choose from…
What should you know before choosing?
They have more or less the same offers and routes, but differ in prices. You can negotiate, but prices for entry to national parks are very expensive and this will not change (and that is the biggest part of the price).
Cars may differ slightly from each other, e.g. some (rather more expensive) are equipped with wi-fi, which is an advantage for some, but not for those who want to disconnect from the world and unhealthy electromagnetic waves. I also saw few cars supposedly better, but they were wide open (no roof) and I think that this is unnecessary risk and stress.
The basic version and the most popular one is sleeping in a camping site – tents. Accommodation in a lodge (which is larger, stationary tent, with bathroom etc.) is very expensive inside national parks. Outside parks the prices are lower.
I checked both options and loved them.
You also need to decide how many people you want to go with in a car. We can choose a bus, a car for 6 people (plus a chef and a guide) or less. The price varies depending on the number of people in the car.
I think that most important is a guide. It depends from him to a large extent, whether you will feel safe and how interesting and fun it will be.
Some safari parks, like Serengeti, are huge areas, just as some countries. The roads are rough and you have to be a great driver to handle it. You also have to be a great navigator so you don’t get lost because sometimes you see grass up to the horizon and that’s it.
A good guide knows where to go, finds animals hidden in the grass, keeps people safe, informs about interesting facts, tells you how to behave with animals and in various situations.
If there is also a good chef driving along, what more can you wish for 🙂
I found exactly this type of guide and I can recommend him. It turned out that he was also a guide to the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro for over 20 years (!!!), he had a lot of interesting things and stories to tell, and he kept us safe.
The probability that you will find a cool guide is very high, because most of them are friendly and responsible. I met and talked to many inside safari park, and everyone seemed to do their job well.
Tips are paid separately for the guide and the chef (on top of the price for the trip). It’s worth remembering when planning your budget.
You can also go on a safari by yourself, but I would advice against it. My partner explored this possibility… But it turns out that it is first of all dangerous, it’s easy to get lost, more expensive than with the company (as you have to rent a good 4WD car). If you do not speak Swahili and do not have a radio, you will not understand where the animals are, and where to go. Nobody will help you over the radio, if you get lost or your tire or car breaks down, and you can’t get out of the car (as you are in the wild animals territory). If you are going for the first time and are not sure of your abilities, then for the safety reasons maybe you should not do it alone. Safari is a no joke.
Malvina Dunder 
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