“What is the difference between a “DELUXE” program and a “LUXURY” program?”

When looking out our website, one is likely to eventually come across the CHOOSE YOUR SAFARI section of our website.  Super!  This is a great place to start.

But as one starts perusing the options featured there, a common source for head-scratching is the various categories of programs available to choose from, specifically “DELUXE” vs “LUXURY”.

First of all, the difference between a “DELUXE” program and a “LUXURY” program is simply the accommodations; there is no difference in the quality of your vehicle or the caliber of your guide. A luxury program simply features higher-end properties compared to a deluxe program, or sometimes just a higher room category at the same lodge.

As a general rule of thumb, LUXURY venues are typically the smaller and more intimate tented lodges (10-20 rooms), with a heavier focus on atmosphere, individualized service and gourmet food.  (One exception to this is the Four Seasons Bilila Lodge, which is a large  hotel (73 rooms) but still offers a very high standard of LUXURY, so we classify it as such.  But *usually* that former ‘rule of thumb’ holds true.)

Ironically, sometimes the LUXURY venues offer less traditional amenities compared to a larger DELUXE venues.  The various ‘tented lodges’ (ie, Swala Tented Lodge, Lake Masek Tented Lodge) are a great example of this; you may not have a TV in your room, but you may hear lion’s roaring in the distance!

With regards to the sample itineraries on our website, there is sometimes overlap between the various categories of lodging.  Let’s use the October 10-day program for example, you can see Buffalo Luxury Camp is featured in both the LUXURY sample program as well as the DELUXE sample program.  This overlap happens sometimes when looking at regions with limited choices for accommodations (such as the ‘North’ Serengeti), or when a particular property offers a very high-end type of experience at a very good value.  Another example is Mbalageti Tented Lodge, which offers different categories of rooms such as their flagship “presidential suite” that is featured in our higher end programs.

Similarly, our ULTRA-LUXURY programs simply feature the highest-end properties available in any given area (such as the Crater Lodge), but may otherwise feature many of the same lodges already featured in the LUXURY program.

Sometimes the sample programs on our website offer slightly different itineraries too (ie, some may feature Tarangire National Park while others skip Tarangire and focus more time in the Serengeti), but again these are just samples to show you what is possible; we can always customize any program to spend more time in areas that hold the most interest for you.

You don’t have to stick with the sample programs on our website, but often this is a great place to start. As mentioned above, we can always customize the program to feature your priorities regarding lodges, duration, budget and parks/areas visited. Just give us a call and we’ll be happy to help you get started!

One of most important items to take on any african safari is arguably a great pair of binoculars. Binoculars are critical for wildlife viewing are will greatly enhance the enjoyment on your safari experience by allowing you to closely watch the behavior of each animal or bird. We provide complimentary high quality Nikon Action 7 x 35 binoculars for every guest for the duration of their trip. To take your safari tour to the next level, you might want to consider investing in a higher power set of binoculars with image stabilization (IS). Our top pick is the Cannon 12×36 IS Image Stabilized binocular, which will allow you to spot a cheetah at 1,000 meters!

“What are the guides like at Africa Dream Safaris?”

At the end of the day, the single most important factor in our clients having a successful safari is the quality of their GUIDE. And boy do we know it. Our guides are all local Tanzanians, well educated and they all speak fluent English. We hire only the very best, and once we hire someone great we continue to invest in them and their training. It is important to us that our guides are the most educated and passionate in the industry. Our guides are well educated and happy to be working for ADS! Here at ADS, our guides are the heart and soul of our company. They are our employees sure, but they are also our family.

You will have the same guide-driver for the entire trip.  Your guide will be responsible for helping you plan your days by giving you suggestions, although ultimately the decisions are up to you. Probably the most important aspect of his job is that he is responsible for finding the animals – after all, that’s why you’ve come! Thus he must understand intimately the animals’ habitats and behaviors. It is important for your guide to have experience so he is not afraid to go off the beaten path for fear of getting lost, otherwise you may never make it far from the main road! It is important that he is well educated and a good communicator because he will be responsible for communicating information about the animals, trees, insects, ecosystem etc to his guests. It is important that he is a professional, and has a pleasant personality because you will be with him for the entire trip! It is important that he is passionate about his job, because we all know enthusiasm is contagious and can greatly enhance one’s enjoyment of the trip. This is the guide profile here at ADS.

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Another related question:  “Why is it better to have a dedicated ‘private guide’ instead of utilizing different guides that are employed at the various lodges?”

Some companies will shuffle you between different camps without a dedicated driver guide, and that means you will have a new guide at each location and you will need to go out on shared game drives with other guests. That means you lose the ability to control your own schedule and the amount of time focused on your interests. By the time you’re done shuffling between the various driver guides, you may have heard the same lesson on dung beetles 20 times, which is always repeated 1) because the driver guide is new to you and he doesn’t know what you’ve heard, and 2) for the benefit of other new guests in the vehicle with you. And you never do make it far from the driveway to find the leopard or cheetah cubs or other interesting animals that may be a little bit more difficult to find.

Getting ready to depart on your safari trip? Remember there is a 33-pound weight limit on most flights within Africa. Furthermore, due to the risk of delayed luggage on all international air carriers, we recommend a 22-inch rolling suitcase, which will fit in a typical overhead bin. For more packing information and recommendations refer to our luggage guide entitled ‘What To Bring On Your African Safari‘. Thanks for choosing ADS – offering exclusive african safari tours to Tanzania.