African Safari Diaries : Felicity’s Serena Serengeti Safari in Tanzania

In this edition of ‘African Safari Diaries’ we speak to Felicity, who visited Tanzania for the first time, choosing to safari there on our Serena Serengeti Safari itinerary because of the size, quality, and accessibility of the national wildlife parks, the wealth and diversity of wildlife, and the excellent reputation of Tanzania as a safe and beautiful tourist destination.

1.  Was this your first time visiting Tanzania? What made you decide to visit?

Yes it was my first trip to Tanzania. I chose Tanzania because of the size, quality, accessibility of the national wildlife parks and the wealth and diversity of wildlife, but also because of the excellent reputation of Tanzania as a safe and beautiful tourist destination. A big factor in the the decision was the opportunity to experience a wildlife safari in the best protected, valued and most extensive national parks in the world.

2.  How did you choose your itinerary?

The itinerary was chosen on advice from friends who had visited and from looking at the Somak Holidays brochure.

It was mainly based on very strong recommendations from previous clients who had experienced magical, first class, sensitive, tailored and high quality safaris with Somak.

3.  Where did you stay whilst on your trip and what was your favourite property and place?

We stayed in Serena Hotels throughout – Arusha Serena Hotel, Resort & Spa, Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge, Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge and Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge. The hotels were absolutely fantastic – first class experiences of the accommodation, the staff, the food and the locations. My favourite is hard to find as they were all truly wonderful in different ways, and other than the Arusha Hotel they all had the most fantastic panoramic views over the Lake, Serengeti plains and the Crater.

I think my favourite was the Ngorongoro Crater Serena Lodge because of the incredible and special location on the edge of the crater, the incredible views with Kilimanjaro in the distance,  the beautiful sunrises and sunsets looking over the Crater, the peace and beauty of the location, and the abundant wildlife in and around the lodge. 

4.    What were the highlights and special memories from your trip?

The highlights of the trip were the beautiful wildlife parks full of such a variety and abundance of birds and animals, the peace and tranquility of Lake Manyara, the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater and our truly wonderful, thoughtful, sensitive and responsive guide Rama Mchomvu. 

This was a truly breathtaking, magical and inspiring experience. It was incredibly moving and exciting to see wildlife and birds everywhere, all the time, in great abundance and always up close right next to the cars. Nothing was afraid of us. It was a real highlight to see numerous lions constantly throughout all our days, as well as good close sightings of leopard, cheetah and black rhino. 

There are too far many special memories to list, but I will always be especially grateful to our first class guide Rama who gave us the most magical, unforgettable holiday and experience of a lifetime. Without him I do not think we would have had the wealth and diversity of wildlife experiences. It was better than I ever imagined possible.

5.   Do you have any advice or tips for anyone thinking of going to Tanzania for a holiday?

My advice for anyone thinking of a safari is definitely choose Tanzania – you will get a first class, safe, magical, inspiring experience and see as much wildlife and as many birds as you would imagine or hope to see.

Also, my advice most definitely would be to go to the three main national parks – Lake Manyara, Serengeti and Nogrongoro Crater – but start the trip at Lake Manyara as the first destination not the last destination; they are all completely different and each is very special, interesting and beautiful in its own way. Take a good pair of binoculars.

If after reading about Felicity’s experience you would like to book a similar itinerary, we would love to work with you to plan the safari holiday of a lifetime.

For more information on how our safari experts can help you, call Somak Holidays today on 020 8423 3000.

To find out more about Tanzania visit https://www.somak.com/tanzania

All photos are credited to Felicity Gibling.