I’ve recently travelled to the Serengeti, enjoyed incredible experiences at the Tortilis Camps, and created memories to last a lifetime.

I’ll be writing more about this on other platforms, including that cheetah encounter where four juveniles jumped up onto the Landcruiser and curiously poked their faces just centimeters away from my own. One could have licked me if he stuck his tongue out. It was incredible.

But that’s not what this blog post is about. The purpose of this post is to provide some insight into the best way to get to the top African Safari destination, the Serengeti.

Road Trip?

At one point I contemplated driving (from Cape Town, South Africa), but that included the following alerts from google maps.

It was only an old-school romantic travel notion at best and with the reality of the many challenges to driving, I logged out of the approved used section of the Landrover.com site and I returned to skyscanner.net to look for the best flights.

Kilimanjaro

For those not familiar with Northern Tanzania and the semantics of travel in this part of East Africa, Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) is not just an Airport to serve the highest mountain on the African continent. As the name suggests, it’s an International Airport that serves regional and long haul International flights.

Kilimanjaro can handle a Boeing 747, and almost 50% of those travelling through the Airport are just like you and me – camera-wielding, safari hungry, International tourists

Some of the airlines which fly to the Airport from Europe: Emirates, KLM, Ethiopian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Air France and Kenya Airways. Finding a direct flight is very difficult and most of the airlines fly via one of the larger hubs close by. The most popular and convenient is probably Addis Ababa or Nairobi, which is where the layovers happen for the well priced Ethiopian and Kenya Airways respectively.

If you’re coming in from the USA, United is the local carrier, which has the connections into Kilimanjaro. And Qatar Airways is a good option from the likes of Hong Kong, Moscow or Tokyo.

Connected

On my latest trip, I stopped over in both Addis Ababa and Dar Es Salam. Surprisingly both of these simple, small Airports both had easy to use, free wifi. Hopefully, your stopover is not too long to feel the need to kill large amounts of time streaming your favourite series.

Being connected to wifi is a huge help when you need to be connected to for other vital internet using services for checking updates on flights, weather forecasts, and what’s happening at your destination on Instagram.

Reception

Wherever you are coming from, it’s generally a long trip getting to these exquisitely remote safari locations. The friendly, convenient and warm reception by the Tortilis Camps staff at Kilimanjaro International Airport is all that more appreciated after the journey, and the seamless transition from my flight into the impressive safari Landcruisers made me realize I’d chosen the right company to take me on this Serengeti safari adventure.

Book With The Pros

Planning a trip can be great fun. When flying to Northern Tanzania though, the details can take your attention and energy away from the fun part of the trip. Fortunately, the extremely experienced and professional bookers at the Tortilis Camps can take care of all your travel details including your flights. Get in touch for a comprehensive itinerary booking, and come and meet the cheetahs!