East African Tour But Not Too Many Safaris?

travelzip — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:01:38 +0000

I am looking for a tour from Kenya to South Africa that goes for roughly 4 weeks. The only thing is I’m not that into animals and the idea of going on endless safaris. Of course i’ll do at least one while in Africa but I don’t want that to be the majority of the tour. Most companies seem to focus on this aspect of Africa whereas I’d rather get into the culture a bit more. Any suggestions?

Go to Uganda. Uganda is a country in Africa bordering Kenya , Tanzania , Congo , Sudan and Rwanda. It has the most interesting people and culture in the whole continent of Africa. Uganda is composed of more than 50 ethnic tribes which are headed by 2 main ethnic tribes of Luo and Bantu
I think you would wish to know the culture of Bantu Tribes and Luo Tribes in Uganda.
By the way, Luos are also found in Kenya and are the fathers of President Baraka Obama

Best Way To Do A Tour Of The Usa? Have Considered Renting A Car, Greyhound Buses….?

travelzip — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:07:16 +0000

Hi.
Next year we are doing a three-month tour of the USA (as part of a round-the-world trip). We are from the UK. We are arriving into San Francisco and driving all the way across to Boston, Massachusetts.
At first we considered renting an RV, but the cost was astronomical for that length of time. So then we downsized to a car, and this is also very expensive when you add in the one-way fees and fuel costs.
So are current idea is the greyhound buses for most of the trip, with a car rental for one week for the old “route 66″ bit between Flagstaff and Oklahoma City. Also there are several stretches on the Greyhound buses that are overnight, so we would save money on hotels for a few nights.
What do you think of this method, what are the Greyhound buses like? Does anyone have any other ideas of how we might travel?
Thanks!

Consider an Amtrak USA Rail Pass and head from S.F. to Los Angeles > Las Vegas > Chicago > Washington D.C > New York > Bostonhttp://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak/sel…
The Western US is all about the scenery and National Parks. The Greyhound bus will not take you there. It will drop you in the inner city and you’ll need a car. Route 66 doesn’t really exist any more. The remaining parts are overrated and pretty boring. If you drive a car here is a suggested itinerary.
From San Francisco go to Yosemite National Parkhttp://www.nps.gov/yose/index.htm
Drive through the park across Route 120 and Tioga Pass, the highest vehicle pass in CA, climb thousands of feet on a mountain road and reach the Alpine meadows of Yosemite.
From there head to Lee Vining and Mono Lake.
The lake is in a caldera of an extinct volcano. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s…
From there take U.S. Route 395 south to I-15 and head to east to Las Vegas.
Route 395 runs along a fault line along the Sierras and you’ll get a view of Mt. Whitney. The geology is pretty wierd. You pass through the Owns Valley. It is is a graben; a downdropped block of land between two vertical faults. The rock formations are really stange.
Spend some time in Vegas and get up at dawn and head north to the canyon country of Southern Utah.
Do the “Great Circle Tour” to see Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches National Parks and the Grand Canyon. Bryce is one of the most fantastic sights in the southwestern U.S. http://www.nps.gov/brca/http://www.nps.gov/zion/index.htm
At Bryce Canyon everyone stays at Ruby’s Inn.http://www.rubysinn.com/
You can cross the Colorado River at Lake Powellhttp://maps.google.com/maps?sourceid=nav…
Utah Route 12 is one of the most scenic roads in the country. Red Canyon and Big Thunder Road in Dixie National Forest is the inspiration for Disneyland’s Big Thunder Mountain (see the picture I took in link below)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:RedRoc…http://www.utah.com/byways/highway_12.ht…http://scenicbyway12.com/
Also check out the Hoover Dam tour, It’s right outside Las Vegas.http://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/service…
Head to Phoenix or back to Las Vegas and take a plane to Chicago.
Chicago is one of the cultural centers of the country. There are tons of things to do there.
Art Institute of Chicago
Adler Planetarium
Shedd Aquarium
Field Museum
Museum of Science and Industry
Architecture river boat tour
The new glass bottom Sears Tower viewing platform
Navy Pier
Major League Baseball
Shopping along Michigan Ave.
Great restaurants (Harry Caray’s)
Theater
Shows
BTW The Art Institute has one of the largest collections of Impressionism in North America as well as an incredible medieval armor collection. Don’t miss it.http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/eur…
The Architecture river boat tour is a great way to see the city and learn about it’s history. You get a spectacular view of dozens of skyscrapers and other important buildings. It’s a relaxing 90 minute tour on the river in the heart of the city.http://www.cruisechicago.com/tours.php
Here are some other links to attractions.http://www.chicagotraveler.com/chicagos-…http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/…
From Chicago head to Washington, New York and Boston.
Walk the Freedom Trail in Boston. It takes you everywhere you want to go, including the North End, which has the best Italian food in the world. The gelato is to die for. Other stops include Paul Revere’s house, the Old North Church, Faneuil Hall, Old Ironsides (U.S.S. Constitution), and Bunker Hill. The tour of U.S.S. Constitution is really neat. Faneuil Hall is where everyone goes to meet, shop, and hang out. (Lots of street theater and other interesting things.)http://www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com/http://www.aviewoncities.com/boston/free…
The Museum of Fine Arts has a great collectionhttp://www.mfa.org/
There is a real interesting museum at Harvard. They have a botanical collection reproduced in blown glass. It’s pretty amazing. Take a walk around the campus and Harvard Square.http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/on_exhibit/t…
For seafood go to one of the many Legal Seafood locations.http://shop.legalseafoods.com/?source=go…
Boston cream pie and Parker House rolls were created at The Parker House Hotel. Stop by for dinner. BTW you can order dinners rolls to go and they sell slices of the pie in the gift shop.http://www.omnihotels.com/FindAHotel/Bos…
BTW if you plan to go to more than one National Park, buy the annual pass. It allows a car an it’s occupants into any National Park. it’s cheaper then paying regular admission and it’s good for a year.http://www.nps.gov/fees_passes.htm

TravelZip - For a Wider View of the World » Tour

East African Tour But Not Too Many Safaris?

Best Way To Do A Tour Of The Usa? Have Considered Renting A Car, Greyhound Buses….?