Hi all,

I am looking for or recommendations for a Tanzanian based/owned tour company to put together a (heaven forbid) non hunting trip in 2020. The ability to to handle a trip to Rwanda for mountain gorillas is a must.

As always, when in doubt or need ask AR

Hi Dulcinea, the best non-hunting safari tours as for me are offered at Altezza Travel. The agency itself is local and situated at the foot of Kilimanjaro mountain. They know the best and can tailor the tours they already have to your demands. I can sincerely recommend it as my friends, and I took a safari trip last July. There are numerous tours available 4-days like "Bushbuck" or longer with the visiting some awesome wild nature at the well-known lake like Manyara - for example, "Eland." As we were looking just for a safari tour, we took "Hartebeest" and drove for 5 days in 3 National Parks. You could also book a private tour, but it will be naturally one class more expensive. And concerning the gorillas in Rwanda, you'd better ask in advance, and I'm sure they can arrange it with the supporting agencies in Rwanda as well. If you want to know more information read this travel guide https://en.altezza.travel/arti...anzania-safari-guide. Good luck!

This would be a bit different, but check out a guided tour with Gary Kramer. Gary is one of the preeminent wildlife photographers in the world, and has led something like 45 groups all over Africa. If you get Ducks Unlimited or National Geographic, you’ve seen Gary’s work. He’s an avid hunter and was formerly the manager of the Sacramento National Refuge complex, back when he worked for US Fish and Wildlife. After retiring from the Federal Government, he’s become quite successful in leading tours to Africa that he personally plans. Check him out at Garykramer.net.

Cyprus is a great country for relaxation and excursions. I really liked the ancient Limassol with its amazing architecture. I advise you to immediately rent a car to move around the island, since the taxi in the resort is very expensive and public transport is always crowded. Have a good trip!

Having just returned from Tanzania, I’m going to recommend Thomas Dames of Derek Dames Safaris. He’s based in Nairobi, part of Ker & Downey Safaris. Tom is a PH with 18 years experience, primarily hunting under Danny Mc Callum but also Robin Hurt, but he also runs his family’s photographic safari business. He’s first rate, we would hunt with him again but I’m also planning a future photo safari trip hosted by him. Some friends, including the President of the bank I work for, are talking with him right now about a 2021 trip and the itinerary is “over the top”. They’ll be visiting both Kenya and Tanzania. Tom definitely knows how to host a photo trip of whatever level you desire. www.derekdames.com. Tell him Dan & Danny recommended him to you.

We had a fantastic buffalo hunt with Tom, he’s a great host as well as hunter and I look forward to the next time we visit Africa with him.

Dulcinea, I know the gorilla aspect is something he does, as we spent time discussing that very topic. Tom says it’s fantastic.

Feel free to PM me if you have questions or would like his WhatsApp contact information.

We like Overseas Adventure Travel, OAT. They specialize in small groups and have tours all over the world. We just returned from our fourth trip with them and second Africa trip. Their guides are very good as are their camps. They have two of their own camps in the Serengeti. They include some culture on their trips as welI. On our last trip whiie we were transfering camps we spent the night in Arusha and visited some out of the way places like an Albino ladies craft workshop and home, some backstreets, museum etc. In Karatu we visited a school sponsored by OAT, shopped for groceries to be donated in the local marketplace and went to two villages in the area. On our last trip there were three OAT employees from Boston headquarters getting "on the ground" experience. OAT has a local person in Arusha as well working for their charitable arm. After the OAT part of our trip we went to Namibia on our own and OAT handled all the airline planning and reservations for that as well, gratis. They're a good company to work with.

Thanks all.
We booked with Hills in the Mist Tours for Rwanda and African Scenic Safaris’s for Tanzania. Our daughter used Scenic for a short budget trip after a med school rotation.
Both companies promptly answered all questions and both made several suggestions that will allow us to do more in the allotted time.

I am so looking forward to the gorilla trip, life will be complete then!!!

Keith

I stay at the Seacliff like most hunters do and sent my clients there also, they had Seacliff line up side tours and were always satisfied. Seacliff has the advantage of being located there using the tourist requests on a daily bases and they stay up to date and the locals go out of the way for their business..Good people to do business with. When I would check in they always said your usual room I assume..Hell I felt like some kind of a celeb, oh well that was back when a booking agent got a lot of perks from hotels and airlines, got first class seats with a toilet seat ticket in the rear of the plane..We traveled a lot and they took care of us..I don't think that treatment exists today..

But the Seacliff will take care of tourist needs.