How do you travel to Arusha, Tanzania next year?

[Roger Clark]

I was looking at a trip to the Serengeti, and booking a flight from Amsterdam to Arusha.

I wrote this a few minutes ago, but it it wrong:
It seems that KLM no longer flies to Arusha! So to get to Arusha from Amsterdam, KLM flies to Dar Es Salaam, arriving just befor midnight, then a Precision Air the next day. Thus it will take almost 24 hours to get to Arusha from Amsterdam.
It used to be very easy with a direct KLM flight to Arusha: leave Amsterdam about 10am, arrive Arusha 8:30 pmm and that is still true (I mistakenly tried to go in to Arusha, not JRO (Kilamanjaro). KLM sill flies direct to JRO.

So I was asking about alternatives. So I guess I still will. How do you get to Arusha/JRO? Have you flown Ethiopian Air through Ethiopa or Nairobi, for example?

Roger

[Tom Graham]

Suggest you put this question up on the Fodors travel site forum for Africa - http://www.fodors.com/community/africa-the-middle-east/
When in 2011 are you interested in going? If it is Feb-Mar for the wildebeest calving, available lodging will be hard to find.
Tom

[Paul Taylor]

Your question is a bit confusing, but I think I see what you mean. Yes, JRO is effectively Arusha (and Moshi) airport. Ethiopian Airlines is known as a slightly risky proposition. They have very few planes and if one breaks down you will have to wait for it to be fixed and they will likely offer very limited assistance. There are stories of people spending a day or more in Ethiopia waiting for a connecting flight. There are also stories of people who had no problems, of course.

Kenya Airways offers an alternative (but I am not sure they fly to the US and they are part of an alliance with KLM, so unlikely to offer a better option, except to Nairobi) as do British Airways and Emirates.... there are others. Remember you don't have to go through Amsterdam and more options will open up (like Emirates).

[Ken Watkins]

James,

At the moment you cannot fly into Arusha Airport on an international flight, the direct flights from Nairobi stopped some time ago.

The airport is actually called Kilimanjaro (JRO) it is around 70 kms from Arusha, KLM seem to be still flying there (they paid for the airport). You have lots more choice into Nairobi and getting the Precision Air shuttle to JRO although the departures do not exactly mesh with the arrivals from overseas (http://www.precisionairtz.com/index.php/flight-schedule/table/6?resetfilters=0)

Your other choice would be Dar Es Salaam, but then you have a long and probably very expensive flight west.

[Roger Clark]

Tom, Paul, Ken,

Sorry for any confusion. Yes, I already have my lodge rooms and outfitter booked in a private tour at peak times, including 5 nights at Ndutu, just need to get flights. Regarding Ethiopian Air, I'm not sure KLM is any better, On my last trip in 2009, one of our group stayed a couple of extra days, On his return on KLM, the plane broke down in Dar Es Salaam and he had to wait 2 days being put up in very low end hotels and bad food. And I got food poisoning on the KLM flight home. So I'm willing to try something new. Another one of my group last time did Ethiopian Air from Washington Dulles and started out on the same flight from Denver, and he got to Arusha about 6 hours before me (I went through Amsterdam). He said Ethiopian Air was fine, but your point about contingency with few planes is certainly a consideration.

Another question. If I did an alternative flight with Precision Air, what is the effective carry-on policy? Can one take on board a photo backpack filled with heave lenses like 500 mm f/4 plus a small laptop bag? Actually, I've decided to take my 300 f/2.8 (with 1D4 and 5D2) so I have more mobility, especially while hiking, That will save some weight.

Roger

[Paul Taylor]

True re KLM I guess - my mum is forever complaining about them but using them again and again because they are cheap! I still think you'll find problems less frequent with KLM and I'd personally rather have it happen in Dar or Nairobi than in Addis Adaba. Read the ariline review sites is all I can say. But how often does it happen? Not often at worst, and worth a shot if you have a visa on arrival option in Addis and a couple of local sights to visit..... IMHO (IMHO, if I were travelling without my less-tolerant-of-unscheduled-diversions wife). You do not even want to know what I have heard about food handling on some African airlines, although my own experiences have always been fine in terms of both timeliness and food.

Ken can tell you better about 500/4 size carry-ons. I can tell you no problems up to around 300/2.8 and mini laptop weight/bulk (over 5kg in total) although my (limited in this case) experience has been that getting overhead space can be tricky if the plane is full and you might need to be prepared to cram it under the seat in front, leaving you more than a little cramped. Anyway, that and an excess baggage penalty is not a bad worst-case scenario.

[Ken Watkins]

Roger,

Firstly apologies for calling you James.

Regarding carrying on the 500mm, I have never really had a problem since buying the early version of Think Tank Airport Accelerator this takes the lens snugly, and will fit almost any overhead bin.

Nowadays with the weight restriction, I needed to reduce the weight (19kg), so I bought a Vested Interest jacket which holds both 1D bodies, a couple of smaller lense plus my back up systems. Nobody took any notice of it on my recent trip to Tanzania, despite the fact that it weghed nearly 9 Kgs.

Cheers

Ken

[Roger Clark]

Paul, Ken,

Thanks for the info. Yeah the Ethiopian Air reviews are pretty scary. It is bizarre how one can look like a stuffed turkey with a full photo vest and get on board with all that gear! But I have seen random photographers pulled out of line in Amsterdam at KLM boarding for Tanzania and told their photo backpack is too heavy. They then take out the 500 f/4 with camera attached, and a few lenses that they can stuff in pockets and have to check an almost empty backpack. So then they carry on the 500 f/4 bare. How safe is that (both for the camera+lens and it it hits someone? It seems the trick is to make the gear seem light as you handle it so not get pulled aside. It also seems that the airlines do everything they can to make you not want to fly! Also, at security, get behind someone with obvious huge overweight bags so they concentrate on them and not your photo gear.

Roger

[Marc Mol]

Another question. If I did an alternative flight with Precision Air, what is the effective carry-on policy? Can one take on board a photo backpack filled with heave lenses like 500 mm f/4 plus a small laptop bag? Actually, I've decided to take my 300 f/2.8 (with 1D4 and 5D2) so I have more mobility, especially while hiking, That will save some weight.

Roger

Hi Roger
I agree with Ken also.
I have just returned from 4 weeks in Kenya & Tanzania and flew Precision Air in and around Tanz and had no problem with my (excess) 17kg Kiboko backpack. I can't say the same for Safilink flights out of Wilson where I negotiated my bribe (sorry,.... fine) down to US$74!!:2eyes2:

Cheers
Marc

[Hilary Hann]

Roger, have you considered flying through the Middle East? I fly Qatar Airways out of Australia, through Doha and straight into Nairobi … then you can take a flight over to Kilimanjaro. I have used Emirates on a similar routing. I would have thought both airlines fly directly from the USA into Doha or Dubai. I'm sure that there is a reason why more people don't consider this option from the States but I'm not aware of it.

As far as the weight restrictions, I agree with others. I stuff lens and bodies into my coat pocket (specially modified). I make a pocket out of small diameter bubble wrap with a flap, the long lenses slip into it and the whole thing goes into my pocket which then has a velco attachment which we made. I stuff the coat carefully into the overhead locker and nothing can fall out of the pockets and lenses and bodies are protected by the bubble wrap.

Marc, I must have smiled more to the Safarilink officers … my excess baggage cost $25! :D