How we ended up on safari in Tanzania

Before we get into the details of the specifics describing how we ended up on a 10-day trip of a lifetime in Tanzania, it’s important to discuss a few things first.

2020 is throwing us for a loop and the world feels absolutely unhinged. Every part of most people’s lives have been affected by COVID-19. Amongst many other things, our travels we had planned for the year were severely impacted, and by impacted, I mean thrown out the window completely. The key message I want to deliver, however, is the word planned. We still traveled this year and ultimately, ended up visiting amazing places, it just wasn’t what we planned for ourselves. Travel has become a hot topic in the midst of all the chaos and many people may feel like leaving the country wasn’t the safest thing to do. We decided it was, and we’re happy we did it. Not only did we get to experience the greatest adventure we’ve had thus far, we got the opportunity to do it big. When I originally priced out a Tanzania itinerary, it wasn’t something I thought was going to be possible for a least a few years.

Which brings me to my second point. We are not typically high-end travelers. In fact, we’ve never used a travel agency once before this trip nor have we ever stayed at such luxury accommodations. Am I spoiled forever now? Probably. Was it worth it and would I pay full price post COVID to do it all over again? In a heartbeat! I normally pride myself on doing my own research, navigating foreign countries on our own, saving pennies, and discovering hidden gems with no one else’s help. Africa was different though. Like I said, it wasn’t planned and what typically takes at least 6 months for me to figure out all the details (international trips anyway), we landed in Arusha about 2 months after I decided we could make this trip possible. Also, when I first started daydreaming about Tanzania, I had one place in mind of where I knew I wanted to stay, if only for a night: TAASA Lodge. Again, I don’t usually get drawn into the hype and glamour and high price tags, but TAASA was something I was drawn to. I stumbled upon a deal for TAASA specifically while trying to figure out if a trip was still possible during these COVID times and I took it as a sign that now was our chance – and clearly, we never turned back.

What I didn’t realize was that the owner of TAASA, Jim Roane, also manages his own travel agency, Roane Travel Design, and suddenly after my first phone call with Jim (I contacted TAASA through their website and was connected with Jim shortly after), every single detail that needed to be figured out from the time we got on the plane to leave the US to the time we left Africa was done for us. What was even better, Jim was amazing to work with.  In order to get the trip we ended up having, he worked with us specifically around our budget and what we hoped to do, with a mutual acknowledgement that our conversation was happening only because my budget, and what we wanted to do, could be now be considered due to COVID. Rest assured, the thing that won’t go away even after COVID does is Jim’s commitment to making it work for you and your family. No matter your budget, Jim will tell you what you can do with it. It may not be 10 days (8 of those spent on safari) like we did – or maybe it is and more – but regardless, you’ll have an experience you won’t soon forget. For full transparency, we started our conversation at what $15,000 would get us (we ended up spending a little more after working through everything).

So let’s breakdown our itinerary. We left Minneapolis early afternoon, flew through Boston, then Amsterdam with Delta (COVID temporarily eliminated non-stop flights from MSP to AMS), and then finally on to Kilimanjaro with KLM airline, and landed there just after 9pm local time – the next day. We stayed 2 nights in Arusha then flew into the Central Serengeti from the Arusha airport and met our safari guides (from TAASA who stayed with us the rest of our trip until heading back to Arusha). After 2 nights in the Central Serengeti, we headed north and spent our last 5 nights in the Northern Serengeti at TAASA Lodge. To get home, we flew back to Arusha from an airstrip near TAASA, grabbed lunch and snuck in one last Tanzanian adventure before jumping on a plane back to the United States. Our flight left Tanzania just after 9pm, we then flew to Dar es Salaam (stayed on the same plane), flew on to Amsterdam, through Detroit on the return trip, and then landed back in Minneapolis later afternoon – again, the next day.

While we had no trouble feeling like we were the only tourists in Tanzania at times, we did get the opportunity to connect with a few other travelers along the way. Nearly everyone else we talked to was flying onto one of Tanzania’s islands off the coast after their stay in the Northern Serengeti (namely, Zanzibar). While I would have loved an island vacation as part of our itinerary, I knew we didn’t have the time (there’s only so much time off employers want to hand out), but what we did instead that few others didn’t was travel elsewhere within the Serengeti. The absolute one thing I have no regrets about whatsoever is that we didn’t miss the opportunity to explore other parts of mainland Tanzania and see the transformation between the Central and Northern Serengeti unfold right before our eyes. The day we left our tented camp in the central to safari north was one of my favorite memories from our trip. The Central Serengeti was mainly flat plains and a tan landscape. Driving north brought lush green fields, dense patches of trees and brush, boulders, and bigger mountain silhouettes. The wildlife was abundant in both places but the trees, plants, and animals varied from central to north. Ultimately, we learned so much more about the Serengeti’s ecosystem because of our time spent in both places.

The factor that ultimately determined our main concentration in the northern Serengeti was the opportunity to witness the Great Migration. We were a little late in the season to have a good chance on seeing a Mara River crossing and ultimately after waiting at the river for 3 hours, we called it quits and headed back to camp (we were so close though – the wildebeests gathered right on the river’s edge only to decide the timing wasn’t right) Luckily for us, the river crossing doesn’t define The Great Migration, it’s only a part of it. The migration is actually one big looped cycle that never stops! If you go to Tanzania and want to see the Great Migration, you just have to know what part of the cycle is occurring to know where to focus your time. What we were able to see were the herds and herds of zebras and wildebeests grazing and roaming the plains. It is certainly a sight to see to come upon the savanna and see hundreds, if not thousands of animals scattered everywhere!

So what would I do if I got the chance to go back to Tanzania one day? Instead of flying into the Serengeti, I would safari from Arusha and make a stop at Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire National Park, and Lake Manyara. It would even be fun to go farther west and explore the surrounding areas of Lake Victoria. And yes, someday, I would love to go Zanzibar and see more of the coast.  The possibilities are truly endless!

Did I inspire you to visit Tanzania? Let me know in the comments!