To Safari or not to Safari

When we first started talking about doing Kilimanjaro next summer, the idea of a safari seemed like a perfect compliment to our trip. It doesn't seem to make sense to travel for over 24 hours to Tanzania, climb Kilimanjaro and then hop right on a plane and come home without truly enjoying the African Serengeti. 

So what one earth could stop us? Well, there are actually two things. Time and money. My very wise Grandfather once told me there's plenty of time to make yourself money, but money can never buy you back your time. Well in this case, Rich and I both have full-time jobs that usually keep our vacations to around 5 days. We took 10 days for our honeymoon nearly 4 years ago and haven't taken much more than a long weekend here and there since. We've already determined that getting to Kilimanjaro, climbing and then returning will take 11 days, travel included. Add a safari after our climb and we will need to each have 21 days off in order to make it happen. Couple that with an additional $2300 per person and we have a big decision to make! 

We feel like the timing next summer could not be better in terms of our careers. My contract ends next August and I will be graduating from my MBA program in July, and Rich will have just returned and will be awaiting moving orders. My Dad-- well he's worked hard for the last 30 years, so he's now enjoying retirement (if you call running an oil company in your spare time "retired"). 

Decision date is rapidly approaching though, so we have a lot to think about in the meantime. If we do add on a safari it will be with the same company we choose to do our Kili climb with so that we save money and also don't have to worry about transferring our gear. 

Picking the Right Touring Company

It can be a bit overwhelming trying to decide on the right touring company for the big climb. There are literally hundreds of websites out there claiming to be the best, cheapest or most popular company around. Unfortunately, not all of them live up to their claims. Over the past few months, Dad and Mom and Rich and I have been collecting itineraries and quotes from several companies. At first, we started online, read reviews and looked into which route we wanted to do. However, we quickly found there is a lot of contradictory information out there and that we needed to talk to people who had actually done the climb and see who they used.


We're still deciding exactly which company is "the one" for us, but here are the options right now based on price, route, climb dates and of course suggestions from friends and family that have gone before us on this journey!


1) Africa Travel Resource (www.africatravelresource.com)
ATR came highly recommended by a friend of mine from college who'd done the climb a few years ago. He liked that the company focused on a moderate climb pace, offered single or double-occupancy options and had climbs going throughout the year. I found their website to be extremely helpful for planning purposes and have visited it frequently trying to figure out which route would be best for our group. Also, they staff at ATR have been really terrific to work with, despite being headquartered in England.
Route: Shira
Days climbing: 7
Distance: 110 kms
Cost: $2,835 USD per person excluding flights
Description: The 7 night, 8 day Shira approaches from the far west of the mountain and is a tough undualting route of approximately 110kms. Starting across the stunning wilderness of the Shira Plateau and Lent Hills the route skirts the southern face of Kibo before following the old Machame route to the summit. Although it gets quite busy once you join the Machame route for the last few days, we stagger our campsites to avoid staying at the busier ones.


2) World Wide Trekking (http://www.wwtrek.com/)
This one came to me as a recommendation from a friend on Twitter and LinkedIn who had just finished the trip with his wife. My good friend @Ginidietrich recommended I reach out to Ces for insight on what to and not to do in terms of booking a travel company. Ces has already been a huge resource in picking a good company to use and I hope to continue to ask him questions as the trip approaches and I prepare to purchase gear and start training. What's great about this company is that they have an all-inclusive Kilimanjaro hike and safari in one trip. Now wouldn't that be fun!

Route: Machame

Days climbing: 8

Days on safari: 5

Cost: $5,900 USD per person excluding flights

Description: 14 days / 13 nights, 7 nights lodging, 6 nights camping, 3 meals a day, all transportation, all park fees, guides and staff, consultation, gear lists and trip preparation.

3) Civilized Adventures (http://www.civilizedadv.com)

CA is headquartered in my hometown of Calgary, Canada. Several of my parent's friends' that have climbed Kili have used this company and had rave reviews. One really appealing thing about CA is that they have a 96% success rate on reaching the summit. That's well above industry standards and demonstrates that they care about making each traveler's trip a success. Also, this company incorporates a safari at the end. 

Route: Machame

Days climbing: 8

Days on safari: 7

Cost: $4,600 USD per person excluding flights

Description: Kilimanjaro calls many adventurers to its slopes every year. Trekking to the peak takes you from the plains of Africa through rainforest, heather and moorland, and finally to the glaciated peak that rises above the clouds at 5,895m. Reaching the summit is both a physical and a mental challenge.

So now the tough part begins-- which one do we go with?