Modes of Transport in the game parks
Safari Cars:
At LuxeSafaris we recommend Land Cruisers as the primary choice of Safari vehicle. All our Tanzanis Safaris use Land Cruisers (seats 4 or, in the extended version, 6). Add one more if including the seat next to the driver.
Each passenger has a window seat and easy access to the open roof when in the game areas.
When travelling between parks and/or game lodges, your luggage travels with you in the car. There is adequate space in the luggage area for a reasonable size suitcase for each passenger. Using holdalls or duffel bags also helps fit the luggage in the car. Any overflow will go on empty seats. Advisable to carry only what you really need.
Most good Safari cars also have a refrigerator to carry water bottles. The Image above shows one of our 6 passenger extended Land Cruisers in Arusha, Tanzania. Each passenger has a window seat. adequate room to stand and look out of the open rooftop when on game drives, refrigerator between the two rear seats.
Travelling to and from Game Parks
Whilst there are some game parks not too far from the airports/cities, many of the good and popular game parks are often a few hours drive from the main cities and airports. Masai Mara is about 4 hours drive from Nairobi and Serengeti is about the same from Arusha. The roads are not all tarmac and majority of travel time is on dirt roads, some not that well packed and also depends on the weather conditions.
Budgets allowing, we recommend using internal flights from the main cities to airstrips very near the game lodges (adding approx USD 300 pp to the costs of a return flight) that can cut down the actual travel time from 4-5 hours on mostly uncomfortable roads to a 40 minute flight. The Safari vehicles would pick you up at the airstrip in the Parks and depending on time of day, continue onto a game drive or straight to the Lodge.
Many of our clients also choose to travel by road, taking the opportunity to see the local surroundings on the way and also good on the pocket when travelling in a larger group. LuxeSafaris work with our clients to plan out tailored Safari tour itineraries which minimise long stretches of travel by selecting the order in which game parks are visited and also by including game drives or other attractions along the way to break the journeys.
Travelling from game parks in one country to game parks in another
Crossing from parks in one country to adjoining parks in another country is very simple if you are wildebeeste, zebra or other game animal.
For humans and cars, it is, simply put, the opposite. To cross from from the Serengeti in Tanzania into the Masai Mara in Kenya, there are no formal routes nor any border posts within the parks. The only way is to drive out of the parks, to the nearest border posts (not that near either) and then cross the border, then make your way to the other park. Safari drivers/cars from one country are seldom allowed to work in the other country and operators would need to have a different crew waiting at the border on the other side. If you were to go from the Serengeti to the Masai Mara, it would involve a whole day travelling, a lot of it on not so comfortable roads and then unknown waiting times at the borders. Unless absolutely necessary and you had the time and budget, we would not recommend it and suggest to take flights to achieve the same objective. LuxeSafaris can assist in planning the appropriate itineraries to avoid such waste of time, money and headaches.
At LuxeSafaris we recommend Land Cruisers as the primary choice of Safari vehicle. All our Tanzanis Safaris use Land Cruisers (seats 4 or, in the extended version, 6). Add one more if including the seat next to the driver.
Each passenger has a window seat and easy access to the open roof when in the game areas.
When travelling between parks and/or game lodges, your luggage travels with you in the car. There is adequate space in the luggage area for a reasonable size suitcase for each passenger. Using holdalls or duffel bags also helps fit the luggage in the car. Any overflow will go on empty seats. Advisable to carry only what you really need.
Most good Safari cars also have a refrigerator to carry water bottles. The Image above shows one of our 6 passenger extended Land Cruisers in Arusha, Tanzania. Each passenger has a window seat. adequate room to stand and look out of the open rooftop when on game drives, refrigerator between the two rear seats.
Travelling to and from Game Parks
Whilst there are some game parks not too far from the airports/cities, many of the good and popular game parks are often a few hours drive from the main cities and airports. Masai Mara is about 4 hours drive from Nairobi and Serengeti is about the same from Arusha. The roads are not all tarmac and majority of travel time is on dirt roads, some not that well packed and also depends on the weather conditions.
Budgets allowing, we recommend using internal flights from the main cities to airstrips very near the game lodges (adding approx USD 300 pp to the costs of a return flight) that can cut down the actual travel time from 4-5 hours on mostly uncomfortable roads to a 40 minute flight. The Safari vehicles would pick you up at the airstrip in the Parks and depending on time of day, continue onto a game drive or straight to the Lodge.
Many of our clients also choose to travel by road, taking the opportunity to see the local surroundings on the way and also good on the pocket when travelling in a larger group. LuxeSafaris work with our clients to plan out tailored Safari tour itineraries which minimise long stretches of travel by selecting the order in which game parks are visited and also by including game drives or other attractions along the way to break the journeys.
Travelling from game parks in one country to game parks in another
Crossing from parks in one country to adjoining parks in another country is very simple if you are wildebeeste, zebra or other game animal.
For humans and cars, it is, simply put, the opposite. To cross from from the Serengeti in Tanzania into the Masai Mara in Kenya, there are no formal routes nor any border posts within the parks. The only way is to drive out of the parks, to the nearest border posts (not that near either) and then cross the border, then make your way to the other park. Safari drivers/cars from one country are seldom allowed to work in the other country and operators would need to have a different crew waiting at the border on the other side. If you were to go from the Serengeti to the Masai Mara, it would involve a whole day travelling, a lot of it on not so comfortable roads and then unknown waiting times at the borders. Unless absolutely necessary and you had the time and budget, we would not recommend it and suggest to take flights to achieve the same objective. LuxeSafaris can assist in planning the appropriate itineraries to avoid such waste of time, money and headaches.