To tailor make or not to tailor make, that is the question....
Many companies promote that they can customise and / or "tailor make" your safari adventure in Tanzania or any other African country for that matter. So what does it really mean, and is it really necessary?
At the lowest level you have the ready packaged trip, where your choice is when to travel, the destination (country) and possibly an alternative or two in terms of hotels and lodges, but the trip is pretty much set as it is sold.
Then you have the "tailor made" trips. Promoted as a customised trip, but in reality you basically have an option between a few parks/areas and a bit more selection on the lodge and hotel side. But is that really tailor made?
In our opinion to be able to call a trip tailor made, you should have very few limitations in terms of what you can and can not include. For a trip to be truly tailor made, your safari planner / expert, need to have expert competence in several areas so that you are able to get in-depth comparisons of areas, seasons, ideal combinations and of course lodges, camps and hotels that are to be included. A safari planner should have personally visited all these places to be able to provide the proper guidance to you as a traveler. Second hand advise and knowledge is simply not good enough when in comes to our continent, as things can change dramatically from one year to another. And even from one season to another. For example; visiting an area in two different seasons within the same year, can provide a very different experience, and your planner should be able to explain, discuss and share this knowledge with you, so that you are able to make the right choices for YOUR trip.
Do you really need a tailor made safari, isn't that for the advanced experts?
On the contrary! The less experience you have in terms of traveling in and around Africa, the greater the need to have an expert / safari planner. The reason is that there is so much to choose from, so to get proper advise on what to do, when to visit and where to stay -could be crucial for your trip. Besides, tailor made should actually not cost you any more
. We believe this should be included as part of the service for all companies selling and promoting Africa. Both for security reasons, and also for the "flow" of the adventure itself.
Getting your African adventure tailor made by an expert safari planner, is most likely the best "travel insurance" you can get! After all, it's YOUR adventure, not just "anybody´s vacation".