mreynolds767 wrote:
So here is my Feb 2025 Kenya story - maybe you can replicate my success.
I wanted to do a budget - drive myself with family with me on a fairly short trip.
Went on google maps and mapped out my trip from Naoribi and back. Identified the parks I wanted to go to and found what lodges are in each park. Went to the individual lodge websites and made bookings, paid for the entry passes to the parks myself online. All of the lodges were high quality - larger than most of the private places but inside the park so give us the most hours of drive time within the gates.
They were all setup by the British for hunting trips 100 years ago or so and had character and pools.
Below is a link to a brand that has many in Kenya, Taszania and elsewhere. https://www.serenahotels.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoq1_4f2I3kP8fLZ-Prrt5vePH1vo3MBosjX5iD9sV3nmz8PNVHE
For the landcruiser I was planning on renting my own and self driving BUT out of shear dumb luck I contacted https://www.explorerkenya.com/
for a quote from then on the rental as the equipped vehicle quote I had was about $200 a day plus my expenses, gas, etc... I was just shopping around at the time.
Robert shockingly told me to email him my itinerary and he would send a quote with driver and all vehicle expenses included.
He emailed me back a price that was less than it would have been for my self drive once I added vehicle park fees and gas but his quote included a private driver the entire time and all vehicle expenses.
The times and stops were exactly what I requested.
He also explained that for each of the lodges I had booked the driver can stay and eat for free in their own quarters
It was a no-brainer and one of my best ever travel decisions.
I never disclosed I was a photographer.
Driver was prompt picking us up first day where I requested and dropped us back at the airport at the end.
Every day had 2 private game drives out as early as allowed and returned always as late as allowed and he was an amazing driver that had been driving/guiding all his life, knew local Masai to call about sightings outside of the parks, communicated on the radio with other drivers about in park sightings, etc....
I got very lucky to get the driver I did - Joseph is their driver they use for photography trips and had the most equipped truck for photography even though I booked a lower class.
Of course you need to give a good tip in the end for your driver if they do a great job.
Tips, meals and everything I paid a fraction of that $1K per night per person rate.
I highly recommend you reach out to Explorer Kenya.
Maybe exactly what I did might not be possible in peak months cost wise but think they can offer you something far cheaper than any photography tours I have seen.
Drivers are so much cheaper from Naoribi so the key is to drive everywhere - not fly!!! Once you fly to those remote airstrips you are limited to the expensive drivers plus of course the added cost for those flights.
This is great information and probably what a lot of people are looking for here. With that said, by going this route you are limited to the national parks and cannot enter the conservancies correct? How many people were in the vehicle with you? Did you go to the Mara NP and Amboseli NP and then back to Nairobi or did you visit other parks? Did you do Nairobi NP as well? How long was your trip? If you were just traveling solo how much would you estimate it would be for 1 person per day with all park fees, accommodations, and driver/vehicle? $600 or less possibly?
I think you can stay at the conservancies with your own driver but that may vary from place to place.
If you see one you like email them and ask.
There seems to be some blurred lines over what is a conservatory and what is a private lodge that is not inside a park but owns property. Or at least the distinction is confusing to me.
Some of the private lodges outside of the parks you can definitely come with your own driver / probably the larger ones though. The small ones may not have a separate building to house the drivers which could the problem.
Was unexpected that the lodges had these buildings and our driver and the other drivers nightly mostly all knew each other and had a billiard table, bar and other things in their building to keep them entertained. Hotel guests were not allowed in the driver’s building - I suspect it was not that well kept and they slept in bunk / dormitory type rooms.
Was just 3 of us - me, wife and daughter plus the driver the entire time. Tons of space , I was the only photographer so could move all around, high, low, etc…
One day our driver called the Massai he knew while in Amboseli and he had tracked one the super tuskers at a nearby conservatory. We had to pay a fee to enter but our driver drove - we met the Massai guide who mostly walked through the bush and we followed in the truck but he also drove with us in some rough off road stretches. We were driving where there was no trail just 5 foot tall brush.
At one point with him by my side I was able to get out of the car and lay on the ground to get some really low photos.
That is not allowed inside the parks.
For 1 it will be expensive because the 3 of us only occupied 1 triple room in the lodges so didn’t cost all that much more for 3 than 1 I imagine (food was included so the only difference would the food portion).
Where we stayed i think it was more per person but overall priced more like a per room nightly fee like a hotel not a per person nightly rate and the driver would have been the same if there were 1 or 3 of us.
I would guess at the nice lodges maybe all in could be $800 per night.
There are some inexpensive lodges outside the parks that could cut down costs by a couple hundred nightly ; if I were doing it solo I would
not have needed the luxury lodges we stayed in but as I mentioned there are time advantages as all of the parks close after dark and you have to be out so staying inside can give you 30 minutes more of so inside the park at both sunrise and sunset.
FYI: no where we stayed in Kenya not even in Nairobi had air conditioning and it was hot in Feb
Kenya has many parks you can drive to Samburu, Mara, Amboseli, Tsavo East, Tsavo West, etc… plus other lakes with wildlife present - some of the drives are long. Google maps seems off by 25% or so especially on the “highway” routes which are slow traveling due to large trucks.
The entire Kenya experience as a safari traveler is a very sanitized look at the country - you feel like visiting royalty - one that is obviously too good to be true.
I like about driving that you get to at least see more of the real life as you drive through.
mreynolds767 wrote:
So here is my Feb 2025 Kenya story - maybe you can replicate my success.
I wanted to do a budget - drive myself with family with me on a fairly short trip.
Went on google maps and mapped out my trip from Naoribi and back. Identified the parks I wanted to go to and found what lodges are in each park. Went to the individual lodge websites and made bookings, paid for the entry passes to the parks myself online. All of the lodges were high quality - larger than most of the private places but inside the park so give us the most hours of drive time within the gates.
They were all setup by the British for hunting trips 100 years ago or so and had character and pools.
Below is a link to a brand that has many in Kenya, Taszania and elsewhere. https://www.serenahotels.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoq1_4f2I3kP8fLZ-Prrt5vePH1vo3MBosjX5iD9sV3nmz8PNVHE
For the landcruiser I was planning on renting my own and self driving BUT out of shear dumb luck I contacted https://www.explorerkenya.com/
for a quote from then on the rental as the equipped vehicle quote I had was about $200 a day plus my expenses, gas, etc... I was just shopping around at the time.
Robert shockingly told me to email him my itinerary and he would send a quote with driver and all vehicle expenses included.
He emailed me back a price that was less than it would have been for my self drive once I added vehicle park fees and gas but his quote included a private driver the entire time and all vehicle expenses.
The times and stops were exactly what I requested.
He also explained that for each of the lodges I had booked the driver can stay and eat for free in their own quarters
It was a no-brainer and one of my best ever travel decisions.
I never disclosed I was a photographer.
Driver was prompt picking us up first day where I requested and dropped us back at the airport at the end.
Every day had 2 private game drives out as early as allowed and returned always as late as allowed and he was an amazing driver that had been driving/guiding all his life, knew local Masai to call about sightings outside of the parks, communicated on the radio with other drivers about in park sightings, etc....
I got very lucky to get the driver I did - Joseph is their driver they use for photography trips and had the most equipped truck for photography even though I booked a lower class.
Of course you need to give a good tip in the end for your driver if they do a great job.
Tips, meals and everything I paid a fraction of that $1K per night per person rate.
I highly recommend you reach out to Explorer Kenya.
Maybe exactly what I did might not be possible in peak months cost wise but think they can offer you something far cheaper than any photography tours I have seen.
Drivers are so much cheaper from Naoribi so the key is to drive everywhere - not fly!!! Once you fly to those remote airstrips you are limited to the expensive drivers plus of course the added cost for those flights.
...Show more →
Thank you very much for all of the valuable info. What you describe is pretty much what I have in mind.
Were there many other vehicles in the parks in February?
Lodges were full
Number of trucks was only bad when there was a sighting that was radioed out ; then was pretty crazy.
Many times had no one else nearby.
Feb is a mini dry season so is not peak but still fairly busy. As it got near end of month so things slowed down a little and they were all getting ready for slow business in March when the rains come back. According to our driver many drivers were without work in the coming weeks and asking around about opportunities. I think it is a good time to go factoring in budget.
rdcny wrote:
Serengeti: Some news about tourists on safari (plus their vehicles) - this is from a few weeks ago during the migration: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMXYZztKuHs/
What a total shit show. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if anything will be done about this considering the amount of tourist dollars flowing in. You'll never see this in the Mara conservancies: https://www.instagram.com/p/DMXbV0YKUrv/?img_index=3
rdcny wrote:
Serengeti: Some news about tourists on safari (plus their vehicles) - this is from a few weeks ago during the migration: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMXYZztKuHs/
Thats appalling , thanks for sharing, I watched the video, the vehicles were actually blocking the crossing and the Wildebeest were having to jump down the cliff
This is terrible. Problem is, all the guides know it is wrong on so many levels and yet they are driven by the prospects of bigger tips. I've seen photographers egging the driver on even when he is protesting. Clearly more often than not, the photographer wins.
All the people who ask me for help planning their safari, want to witness the migration, esp the crossing. Documentaries while doing a lot of good have also created expectations that anybody can see the sights that are shown on TV in a single short visit. They do not realize that the film makers camp out for weeks and months to get the few minutes of footage that is ultimately shown.
All of us who've been traveling to Africa know that it is getting harder and harder to have good sightings because the animal density is going down every year. Add to that the madness and feeding frenzy when there is something good to see means bad news for everyone. No wonder the conservancies are getting more popular - and more expensive.
Hi, wondering if anyone has used Emirates for flying with photo gear. Are they very strict about taking photo backpacks as hand luggage? (mostly considering weight)
The one time I flew Emirates they were weighing hand luggage even before you got to the gate. I had to put my jacket on and slip a couple of lenses into the pockets. That was the last time I flew on Emirates.
The one time I flew Emirates they were weighing hand luggage even before you got to the gate. I had to put my jacket on and slip a couple of lenses into the pockets. That was the last time I flew on Emirates.
Oh, that's pretty bad news and concerning. Some weeks ago, I just booked my flight to NZ on Emirates for next March, leaving from Munich via Dubai to Christchurch. I never was flying Emirates up to now. On all my travels around the world over the past 30+ years with various airlines ,including flights to Africa, I have never had a problem with my heavy photobag (15+kg) plus laptop and accessoires placed in a second hand bag (5+kg) - with one ultimately fortunate exception : So far, the only critical situation as for the weight of the hand luggage happened in Ushuaia after my return from Antarctica. In fact, this airport and staff is known for trouble in this regard.. Most fellow photogs had to check in their precious and sensitive gear at additional charges, some at least tried to carry their expensive supertele lenses tied with the strap around the neck. Personally, I was incredibly lucky that they surprisingly let me pass through the gate without weighing my backpack. This all has nothing to do with Emirates which is not operating there, of course.
Anyway, I can only hope that your experience with Emirates doesn't mirror their general approach - or that I will have luck again, at least. Even though it's certainly pointless to bring 15+ kg of gear including the big Superteles to NZ that you use in Africa, I don't see any way to comply with the strict carry-on weight limits either or circumvent the restrictions by packing much of the cameras and lenses in a jacket. However, I definitely won't put them into the checked luggage There are numerous cases of damaged or lost gear and luggage and the airlines refuse any responsibility. So I have to wait and see what the situation is at check-in .
I apologize that the comment is a bit out of topic in this specific Africa thread, but it may reflect a general problem.
thanks folks for chiming in. I also checked on the African Safaris fb group and it seems the ppl over there that flew Emirates to Africa did not have any issues.
I weighted my fully loaded backpack yesterday and that was about 9kg, so not very bad at all. I can always take a camera and lens out and put it around my neck or stuff it in some pockets. Travelling light this time, photo-wise (but still including 2x R5, 400 2.8, 70-200 2.8 and a 1.4x).
Also checked with my local contact in Zambia about the bush flight regarding our total weight (including ourselves) and that was fine.
Just saw this and not sure if you made plans already but I went with my wife in Feb 2024 and had a private safari with: https://thehabitatadventures.com/.
Fantastic driver and guide - just the two of us in the jeep. I planed for 10 years but I always had a major conference end of February and that is when we wanted to go ... to see lots of babies! The advantage of a private safari is you are not hooked to 6 people in the jeep or 18 or so in 3 jeeps. You go out when you want and stay out as long as you want. Goodluck (owner/guide/driver) knew his way around and booked the entire trip for us. We went to: Tarangire, Lake Eyasi, Maasai Visit, Norongoro, & Serengeti. If you have not been told - there are the public parks and there are private areas. While in the public parks the guides are required to stay on the road - but in the private areas they can go where ever they can navigate your jeep. Ours was a mixture. We also wanted to learn more about the culture and people and Goodluck arranged for 4 cultural visits (Maasai Village, the Bushman, the Blacksmith's, and a owner of a Banana plantation/grove). Meeting the people really provided an opportunity to photograph the "entire country" and not just the animals. One more thing - Goodluck to us to meet these groups and we were the only people at most of the sites. We would travel and see other groups at cultural visits and there were dozens of jeeps. It was really very personnel.
As for gear I took some of my own and rented some: 2 R5s, RFs 100-500, 70-200 2.8, and 24-70 2.8. I would say that 80% of my pictures were with the 100-500 and it did not disappoint. Also, I took two large pillow cases to protect my gear while driving. Because there was only 2 of us in the jeep - I had an entire row for my stuff and could easily move side to side in the jeep (to me this was the biggest advantage of fewer people in the jeep.
We flew United & Ethiopian Air - 1 stop in (Addis Ababa) from several major US Cities (United partner). Service and flight was pretty good. KLM flies direct from Amsterdam (you can partner with Delta).
One thing I never was able to find - a good backup device that did not require Internet connectivity. I ended up bringing a laptop and small USB disk - and backed up every day (shot in both Raw and L-JPG).
This was supposed to be tied to an earlier post where the picture of all the Jeeps - around a water hole - was talked about....
Saw an article before I went in Feb 2024 and there is a name for this: A Toyota Showroom !!
The article went on to talk about (someone was proposing) an APP where the guides would need to book ahead of time where they wanted to go - and the flow/number of vehicles would then be controlled !! Sort of like an OpenTable for Safari Locations.
Has anyone used the Starlink Mini while traveling in southern Africa? It does not seem to work in South Africa or Namibia...but does work in Botswana where we are headed in November:
I am retired now and I'm going to get to Africa one day. But, I just have so many in country (US) locations on my bucket list to visit. For the price of a trip to Africa, I can probably do all of them. I foresee my Africa gear as the 400 2.8 with TCs and either the 100-500 or 200-800 lens. After my Alaska cruise and visiting various locations, I really want to spend some time in Alaska, particularly Icy Strait Point, Hoona Alaska for some bears. Africa...one day...
Nascent industry, but as operators grow (most asian universities have a drone program now in all fields) along with imaging equipment, I think it'll get more and more immersive and viable. You can also use a VR headset to make it even better.
Methodical wrote:
I am retired now and I'm going to get to Africa one day. But, I just have so many in country (US) locations on my bucket list to visit. For the price of a trip to Africa, I can probably do all of them. I foresee my Africa gear as the 400 2.8 with TCs and either the 100-500 or 200-800 lens. After my Alaska cruise and visiting various locations, I really want to spend some time in Alaska, particularly Icy Strait Point, Hoona Alaska for some bears. Africa...one day...
rdcny wrote:
Has anyone used the Starlink Mini while traveling in southern Africa? It does not seem to work in South Africa or Namibia...but does work in Botswana where we are headed in November:
I used one on a trip in July 2024 in South Africa and Botswana - set to global roaming and it worked well. Very fast.
However since then it has been blocked in South Africa and Namibia but works in Botswana.
It is possible you might get away with using it for a while in South Africa if you have a subscription from another country and if you constantly move, so not in the same location for more than a week or two but don't count on it.
Oh and you might also need a VPN if you have subscription streaming services because they may be geoblocked. I used NordVPN which worked great so had access to my Australian services via the VPN.
