Tanzania/Uganda/Kenya then Egypt and Amsterdam

[blkgsr]

So my wife and I are taking a little over 4 week in august for a trip to africa+

doing a planned safari and gorilla trek

seeing the gorillas in Uganda then to Tanzania for the Serengeti and Ngorongro crater

after i think were going to skip on Zanzibar (although i definitely want to go) as we're thinking of going up to Nairobi for a couple days the flying up to Cairo and we want as much time in Egypt as possible.

My wife has been but along time ago.

The plan with Cairo is to do all the major stop but almost more importantly to get some diving in the Red Sea

Then we've book out return out of Amsterdam so the plan was to just get there a couple days before to see the city

Any recommendations for Egypt or quick things to see/do in Amsterdam?

Totally pumped for this trip

[CivicBlues]

How much did you pay for your Safari? How long is it? Did you pay for a private one or are you able to join a group.

Man I really wanna go to Tanzania this year and do Kilimajaro/Safari/Zanzibar. The longer I wait the more prices seem to shoot up every year .


For Egypt the only advice is that you're going to be hassled non-stop from when you land to when you board the plane. I'm a pretty seasoned traveller but Egypt was on a whole 'nother level. We went in May 2011 right after the revolution so we were like the only Tourists around even at the Pyramids. I hear things haven't improved much since then.

[blkgsr]

the safari is ridiculously expensive, i think like $11K per person for the 10 days...now this includes the gorilla trek, flight from uganda into the Serengeti, 2 nights at the ngorongoro crater lodge (look it up, also watch Anthony bourdain in Tanzania), it's also a private guide for the safari part, there's more too, we're doing a hot ballon ride. it's gonna be pretty crazy

my wife's parent are coming for the safari/trek portion and are paying for the VIP upgrade that i would never even contemplate playing so it's a win win for me

my wife wanted to climb kilimajaro, but it's like $2000 and 6 days or something.

i've heard that about egypt but we're pretty seasoned travelers so we know how to handle ourselves.

[Hondaracer]

When I was in AMS we stayed on the outer rim of the city..I guess south of the “Amsterdam” sign and Van Gogh museum etc.

It’s a chill area to stay however it’s about a 40 minute walk to the RLD..the areas surrounding the RLD are super nice and when walking through those neighborhoods I almost wished I had stayed there/closer to the water

[CivicBlues]

Originally Posted by blkgsr

the safari is ridiculously expensive, i think like $11K per person for the 10 days...now this includes the gorilla trek, flight from uganda into the Serengeti, 2 nights at the ngorongoro crater lodge (look it up, also watch Anthony bourdain in Tanzania), it's also a private guide for the safari part, there's more too, we're doing a hot ballon ride. it's gonna be pretty crazy

my wife's parent are coming for the safari/trek portion and are paying for the VIP upgrade that i would never even contemplate playing so it's a win win for me

my wife wanted to climb kilimajaro, but it's like $2000 and 6 days or something.

i've heard that about egypt but we're pretty seasoned travelers so we know how to handle ourselves.

Jesus the moment I drop 22k for 10 days of travel is the moment I have to reassess my life's priorities. But that sounds awesome, I hope you have a great time!

I've looked at G Adventures that had a combined Kili/Safari (4 days)/Zanzibar which cost about $6K but that's obviously with bare bones camping for the Safari portion. No airfares to and fro Tanzania either. I normally don't do tours but seeing as I'll likely do Solo (Wifey not into animal viewing) I seem to have an issue finding groups I can just join in a safari for. Don't want to be the only one with a driver/guide either.

[twitchyzero]

off to kili/northern circuit/zanz in a few weeks

which outfitter are you going with for the safari?

how come you're crossing off zanzibar?

if anyone has pointers for photo gear for private jeep during wet season, please chime in...planning to bring two bodies but haven't finalized my lens setup

[blkgsr]

oh and it's 11K USD lol, just nuts

not sure of the company, it's a full private catered to our wishes type deal

crossing off zanzibar to allow for more time in egypt

[unit]

yeah i didnt bother going on any safaris cause of the price.. would be a cool experience though.

[cafe22]

In Amsterdam, I suggest staying around the Jordaan to avoid the tourist crowd and the area offers a good selection of local restaurant and shops.

[6793026]

i dove in Egypt and I woke up celebrating my 30th b-day looking at the sun rising over the pyramids.

-Sharm El Sheikh is like cancun for Europeans, they love it there. Had a great time diving there.
-I did the balloon ride and it was 100% worth it; only catch, is to make sure you do the 4 AM trek.
Seeing this getting blown up was EPIC and so awesome for pics.

-must go to abu simbel temple egypt

When I walked from the side and saw this head on, I was blown away on how BIG it was. The design and how it was done totally blown me away.
-if you get a chance, learn how to play dominoes and smoke some shisha with the locals

-please do yourself a favor and go to the musuem in Eqypt. It's not SUPER fancy but you can spend days in there looking at mummies. Again, these are true artifacts and not like British Musuem where all their shit were stole during colonization of other countries.

[unit]

looking forward to going to Egypt some time for sure.. my gf wants to do north africa in one trip

[twitchyzero]

Originally Posted by blkgsr

oh and it's 11K USD lol, just nuts

not sure of the company, it's a full private catered to our wishes type deal

crossing off zanzibar to allow for more time in egypt

damn that's like 6 days/country

gorilla trek sounds rad though, let us know how it goes

yeah let's just say this trip is already exceeding all of my travels last year from the wallet's perspective and I'm only doing camping (climb) and stanard lodging (safari)

[CivicBlues]

Originally Posted by twitchyzero

damn that's like 6 days/country

gorilla trek sounds rad though, let us know how it goes

yeah let's just say this trip is already exceeding all of my travels last year from the wallet's perspective and I'm only doing camping (climb) and stanard lodging (safari)

Tell us the deets of your trip! Which outfitters are you going with? How much did you pay?

[blkgsr]

all the major historical stops in egypt are on the list and 100% of course the museum in cairo

just trying to figure out where to dive for a few days. don't think we'll be making it to the sinai/Sharm El Sheikh

[twitchyzero]

https://kiliporters.org/

narrowed down with reviews from TA, then just e-mailed a few for their availabilty and price...safety was a priority so the outfitter must carry emergency backup (ie. oxygen mask)

flights/climb/safari is 6k USD minimum....not including all the crap i still need to process/buy/rent

[blkgsr]

so the time has come, we leave this Wednesday night.

ended up booking a 7day liveaboard dive trip, regigged some other plans to make this work but i'm super excited about the whole thing.

mainly less time in amsterdam, have 23 hours there on the way over. arrive at noon and leave at noon so basically one afternoon and night. then spending 1.5 days there on the way back.

also have a 17 hour layover in dubai on our way from tanzania to egypt. recommendations for things to see. i'm told getting a tourist taxi is an idea?

[roastpuff]

Do a desert safari if you haven't done it before, and then go around the Dubai Mall.

[6793026]

^i couldn't afford anything in that dubai mall. ahahahah

[roastpuff]

Originally Posted by 6793026

^i couldn't afford anything in that dubai mall. ahahahah

Same haha I just went to stay in aircon and gawk at the aquarium.

[blkgsr]

found a few good blogs, obviously being a major hub people extend their lay overs to fit in an "one day tour" of dubai

there's a hop on hop off bus that seems like a good idea, just need to look at little closer at the route

definitely stopping by the mall, and i'd like to see the aqaurium

[unit]

i did a 12 hour layover in dubai once in the middle of the day.
if you book your ticket to go up the burj in advance online, its only like $45.
if you buy your ticket there, i've heard people paying like $100 or $150 or something crazy like that.

you can make a day out of going up the burj, spending 3-4 hours in the mall, and if it's not too hot, then go for a walk outside around the outer perimeter of the mall. dubai has amazing restaurants, so pick a nice place and enjoy excellent service and food.. i ate just outside the mall and it was way cheaper than i expected..

[CivicBlues]

I just got back from Tanzania 2 weeks ago and climbed Kilimanjaro, went on Safari, and relaxed on a beach in Zanzibar. It was the most intense trip I've ever done and there was hardly a minute I wasn't either cold & wet, hot & dusty, or hot & sweaty. But oh was it was glorious - I was literally in tears (of both pain and joy) for parts of the trip and people that know me would say I'm a pretty detached and aloof person in general. The country's landscape and wildlife is absolutely beautiful and only surpassed by the warmth of it's people.

Part 1. Kilimanjaro

I opted for the 6 day Macheme route (4.5 days up and 1.5 days down). Not the shortest or easiest route but definitely much harder than I expected. The hike and terrain itself was not bad but the weather conditions were horrific. It was October and out of the rainy season but we had basically every day washed out in torrential rains which soaked us to the core. The guides themselves told us they'd never seen such weather for this time of year and they were right. It was a huge challenge to stay dry. Clothes that got wet on day 1 were still wet on day 6. As such I barely took any photos the first two days, mostly because it was a complete wash out:

Sign at the Start listing the distances to each camp (cumulative) that we we pass through


Sunrise at camp on day 2 - morning gave us hope that the bad weather would be behind us but it started raining practically every Afternoon henceforth


The hike itself was pretty non-descript and posed little challenge for experienced hikers. Here's a one of our first glimpses of the peak unfettered by clouds


These are some of the guys got me up to the top. Without their constant support and positive attitude it would have been a dour march indeed. Rasta man on the right had some sick 90's hip-hop tunes kept my spirits up.


Porters were a godsend as well. And god-like in their physical endurance. Here they are at the Barranco Wall, the most "technical" part of the climb


And this is us on the Wall. As per usual, it's not as freaky IRL as the picture makes it out to be since you're concentrating on the step in front of you rather than how high you are.


The higher we got the more desolate the scenery became, but the peak was always imposing and ever-present


My tent at base camp. Green tent is the toilet tent. What a view. This was our last stop before our summit attempt starting at midnight that night. Basically we hiked all day and then had rest from 5pm-11pm when we would then wake up for the night hike to the top. This is what broke so many of us in my group. It started to snow that night and it didn't stop for basically 12 hours.


This picture was taken by one of the guides once daylight broke on our overnight hike. Due to blizzard conditions we had obviously missed our goal of a sunrise summit, but this photo perfectly illustrates the conditions that night/morning. That's me on the right in brown, jacket frozen solid in places. Yes, those are plastic baggies around our gloves to keep out the wet.


The Top. Forget all the pics you've seen of the crater and blue skies across the savannah. All we saw was a complete white-out with fine hail pelting us like a sandblaster to the face. Including me, only 5 out of 12 of the group made it to this sign which as you can read represented the very top of Africa. Most of us actually would have made it, but our head guide made a judgement call and turned the slower half of the group around.


In all it was not an experience I would care to do again although I am glad I did it. After 2 weeks back at home and a month after the climb I'm still recovering physically from minor nerve damage to my toes from the absolute beast of the descent. So much of it was enduring being constantly wet and having to improvise ways to stay dry and warm. Nothing, I learned, is ever 100% waterproof. The guides had to basically carry some of us down due to the snowy trail on the descent. Oh, did I also mention that I got diarrhea on day two? I was well acquainted with the green tent for one long night. Good times, good times.

Next up for another day....Safari!

[Hondaracer]

Jesus

[blkgsr]

oh man, great recap.

excited to hear about your safari.

did you do the saraghetti? or a few of the parks?

our time in Tanzania was amazing. I'm sure you felt the same.


i guess i never wrote back in this thread about my trip. if anyone has any questions let me know.

coles notes:

- Unganda (while our time there was short) was amazing. Gorillas and golden monekys
- Tanzania, the Sarenghetti is unbelievable. we also did the ngorongoro crater and tarangire parks
- dubai, well it's dubai. big hot and expensive
- egypt...what a shit hole. some cool sights but over all i've never seen so much garbage in my life without any redeeming qualities for the country. india atleast has food and culture.
- amsterdam, super cool city. we got very lucky with weather

[Hondaracer]

Props for the trip and i'm sure it was an experience but damn, a long ways to go to get your ass beat up for a week lol.. unfortunate timing for the snow because it looks like it would have been amazing to be up top on a clear day

While I long for adventure travel and remote places, and a somewhat self-promoted "outdoorsman" i think i'm a little to soft for this kind of travel lol..