Africa Safari's

[eclipseman]

I am planning on going to Kenya & Tanzania in December & January . Does anyone know of any good tour groups or land providers that are geared towards photography. Also any areas that are must see's in both country's. My budget can't quite afford Andy Bigg's tours yet.
Any help would be much appreciated.

Doug

[Professional]

Please Please Please, when you go there then when you come back post here about how it was going on, how much does it cost you? where did you go, and what you did photograph.
I am planning to go to Africa next year [one of those 2 countries you posted or both], so i will watch all previous experiences until i travel there.

[DCB]

I am planning on going to Kenya & Tanzania in December & January . Does anyone know of any good tour groups or land providers that are geared towards photography. Also any areas that are must see's in both country's. My budget can't quite afford Andy Bigg's tours yet.
Any help would be much appreciated.

Doug

Joe and Mary Ann McDonald organize Africa photo safaris geared for serious photography.  However, they only do 2 or 3 of these a year.

http://www.hoothollow.com/Main%20subheadin...0Worldwide.html

Dave

[Tucson Jim]

I used to work with Tom before we retired, but had no idea he did Photography.  He is a very likable guy and fun to be around.  He is planning a 12 day Photo Safari in Kenya and Tanzania in January.  I don't know if he still has slots available but it looks like fun and the price seems pretty good to me.

http://wildlifephototour.com/photography-w...hotography-tour

Tucson Jim

[RichFisher]

Joe and Mary Ann McDonald organize Africa photo safaris geared for serious photography.  However, they only do 2 or 3 of these a year.

I have been to Africa with Joe and Mary Ann several times and they run a great trip.  They handle all the details and make sure the trip runs smoothly.  This is no small feat, just remember TIA - This Is Africa.  Things work differently over there.  Short a vehicle, crowd more people in.

A photography safari is different than a tourist safari.  Meals are nice but not essential.  A tourist would get board watching a den hoping a mother cat would return for her cubs. ...  Plus in a tourist safari everyone gets their own window, in a photo safari everyone gets their own row.

Just a few thoughts.

Rich

[stever]

i think the advice about photo tours vs. "sightseeing" tours - i've been on a couple "sightseeing" tours in various parts of the world and wouldn't consider doing that in Africa (and in general, 2 people can usually arrange a private tour with car and guide for very little more than a group tour most places and see more in a shorter period of time)

if you have 2 or 3 people it's not unreasonable to book a vehicle directly with the African tour company - i'd highly recommend Ranger Safaris in Tanzania and Kenya.  They have the largest fleet of new and nearly new vehicles.  In Ngorongoro and the central Serengeti this is important as vehicles must stay on the roads - with radio contact between many vehicles your odds of good sightings are improved.

unless you're spending more than 10 days, i'd recommend concentrating on Tanzania.  between Tarangire, Ngorongoro, central Serengeti, and northern Serengeti you'll have a pretty good variety of conditions and wildlife.  one thing to consider is that the restriction to roads in the central Serengiti is limiting - if you really want to get close a 24 hour photo pass costs $1000 per vehicle and allows off-road and night-time shooting - it takes about 2 weeks to obtain