Tanzania Luxury Family Tour Review: Safari, Arusha, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti, Tarangire, Wildlife, Cooking Class, Culture

I have just returned from a safari to Tanzania with my husband and 13 year old grandchild.  The trip was arranged by Melanie at our travel agency. We began the trip in Arusha and from there went to Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater and then to the Serengeti. Melanie has a deep knowledge of Africa and is a super planner and took care of every detail to make this a most memorable adventure.  She asked many questions about what we were looking for in a safari and proposed lots of alternative plans until we fine tuned our choices.   She was very solicitous  of our specific needs.  My husband has a bad knee, Melanie made sure each accommodation we had was in the center of the action and required no extra walking.  She even arranged for a little stepstool for each vehicle so my husband would not need to struggle to step up into the car.   Melanie guided me in arranging our frequent flyer flights and an overnight stay in Amsterdam even though she was not receiving any commission on these arrangements.  She advised me in regard to securing a Visa for Tanzania and making sure I had no issues in taking my grandson out of the USA without a hitch.  She went over and above from beginning to end in putting this vacation together for us.

We stayed in a variety of accommodations. At Tarangire we stayed at a super luxurious lodge that sits atop a ridge with a view that can only be described as spectacular.  We spent our days on safari with our guide who was expert at spotting and identifying the animals as we encountered them.  He was a font of knowledge, and my grandson was enthralled with what he knew and the game we were seeing.  He was an exceptional guide and we were lucky to have him for 5 days.  Our next stop was a hotel which overlooked Manyara Lake.  Not only did we explore the National Park, but it was special because Melanie arranged for a lesson in the art of cooking  African style for my grandson once she learned he was a budding chef.  We also took a tuk tuk tour of the local village to get a sense of the local culture.  From there we drove to the Ngogongoro Crater.  Melanie’s knowledge of the area was key because she selected a tented camp that overlooked the crater which allowed us to be one of the first safari vehicles to enter the Crater the following morning.  The Crater was quite an experience and we were awed by its beauty and abundance of game.  Again our guide was most able.  No trip to Tanzania is complete without viewing and understanding the migration.  Instead of a day long drive to view the migration, Melanie arranged for a small plane to fly us to Grumeti, in a seamless transfer we were picked up by our new guide who took us to the a luxurious moving tented camp in Serengeti.  What a place!  In our daily drives we were able to view the migrations and witness a multitude of animals who were both the hunters and the hunted.  Our guide had encyclopedic knowledge about everything surrounding us.  Our grandson was in heaven and used his camera to record over 1,000 photos.  We made a lifetime of memories together.

Throughout out trip Melanie kept tabs on us, always knowing where we were and providing advice.  She provided a heads up on changes in the airline schedule and was always available for a What’s App call.  We had a wonderful adventure in Tanzania and highly recommend Melanie and the travel company.