5 Days Budget Tanzania Safari: Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater

At the recommendation of a colleague, I decided to take a safari in the middle of COVID outbreak. I needed a vacation and to go somewhere where I could safely be socially distant. There's no better place than the Serengeti to have enough space. From the moment that our guides pick us up from the airport (Fredy -- the guide -- and Godi -- the chef), it was a blasty blast. Fredy is a kindhearted, warm, gentle, fun, exceptionally intelligent and knowledgeable guide. Though he wouldn't ever let me out of the car to take pictures (I would jokingly tease him about this and put no serious thought towards it), he drove us around to our heart's content, showing us every large and tiny creature the Serengeti and Ngorongoro (and other parks) had to offer. At our request, he'd take us to watch the sun rise and sunset, he'd take us out to see elephants, he found a beautiful pride of lions which, due to the lack of other tourists, we had the pleasure of spending hours watching, and he'd just let us sit out in the open fields listening to the sounds of nature. He could tell you anything/everything about every single creature we saw. Godi accompanied us for each stop and had the most incredible food prepared for breakfast, lunch, and dinner -- spaghetti, pizza, eggs, salad, fruit...you name it, he had it prepared. More to the point, Godi was also an incredible guide and just overall stellar human. His family history is sooo interesting and unique! Between the two of them, each morning started with coffee and conversation, we'd go out seeking fun animals, listen to fun music, talk about life, each lunch, nap, do it all over again, watch the sunset over the acacia trees, and then eat dinner while playing cards. Truly, it was the adventure of a lifetime. I couldn't recommend this safari enough to anyone/everyone. You'd be LUCKY to have Fredy and Godi be your guides. You'd be even luckier to see all of these incredible animals in their natural habitat, including our own curious selves. Tips: Take photos! But, also take in each scene. Remember the sights and smells. Photos can capture a moment in time, but it's difficult to capture an experience! Also, be sure to have fun music queued up. :) And, bring a deck of cards.

When my friend and I booked a last minute trip with Alaitol Safaris, I had no idea I was about to embark upon a trip of a lifetime. Our tour guide, Freddy, took us around every day and used his encyclopedia-like mind to share the most amazing facts about the habitat and the animals. Our chef, Godi, adjusted to our diets and made delicious vegetarian dishes every meal. Honestly, I can't recommend this enough and hope you all are able to have this experience as well.