Travelers often ask me for a packing list when they go on safari. To some degree, packing is a bit personal, so here is my personal packing list for my Tanzania safari plus some important commentary:

Head:

* Tilley Airflo Hat - always comes with me to Africa

* Sunglasses - needs no explanation

* Scarf/wrap - I usually bring along a …

As I travel more in Africa and experience safaris in different countries, I start to pick up on the unique features of each country. In South Africa and Botswana, you are typically flying into an airstrip near your lodge and doing game drives in open air safari vehicles with guides that are based out of the game lodge. In Botswana, you normally …

Hot air balloon safaris are offered in many places in Tanzania – Tarangire, Serengeti, Ruaha, Grumeti, and more. I had never been in a balloon before, so I made sure to add this to my itinerary. My balloon safari was operated by Serengeti Balloon Safaris in Seronera (central Serengeti).

It is well known that night game drives are …

Tarangire was my favorite park, rather unexpectedly. I feel like it's the unsung hero of Tanzania; the little brother to the Serengeti. It's vast -- not nearly as vast as the Serengeti, but it almost felt bigger because we hardly saw another game drive vehicle in two days. It made me feel incredibly small to be out for an entire day and …

A lot of people skip Lake Natron and I'm really glad I included it. Natron is hard to get to. It took us 4 hours of driving to get between Tarangire and Natron. Only about 45 minutes of that is on pavement, then it's a dirt road the rest of the way. The first two hours on the dirt road was decent for us. The last hour and a half was …

I'm going to get flack for this, but Ngorongoro was my least favorite safari location on my trip. From a geological perspective, I thought it was fascinating and I liked driving along the rim, but when we descended the crater for our game drive, I was struck by how busy it was down there. It was far more crowded with game drive vehicles in …

In the past, I would include Lake Manyara National Park in most of my Tanzania safari itineraries. Manyara is famous for its tree-climbing lions. Why is this unique? While a leopard sleeping lazily in the treetops is a common sight on safari in Tanzania, this strange behavior exhibited by lions has been the subject of interest and wonder. Lions …

And here's what we all came for: Serengeti National Park. I half wish I could say it was overrated, crowded, didn't have much wildlife, etc. But that's no the case at all. The hype is real. Just driving in on the main road, we saw several lions sitting along the dirt highway.

This is where the Big 5 happened for us. We saw 2 …

I've had many past travelers ask me about buying Tanzanite during their trip. Tanzanite is a blue/violet gemstone found only in Tanzania, specifically in the Manyara region.

As you drive up the escarpment from Lake Manyara towards Karatu, there are two large stores that sell lose stones and an array of jewelry. The Tanzanite Experience is …