Meet Erica

Hi everyone! My name is Erica and I blog at To the Sea. While Darlene is off in Sweeden she asked me to do a guest post on one of my own favorite places to travel. Since we're both mama bloggers, I figured I'd write about my favorite kid-friendly trip (because we all know it's kind of hard to compare travels before and after, hahaha). 

While my baby girl travelled to countries on four different continents before reaching the age of two, her favorite so far has been one just a few hours from our home. When we were living in Tanzania, we were down the road from Mikumi National Park, an amazing place where lions, elephants, giraffes, and other native animals roam free. A trip to such a places is known as a "safari," which in Swahili means "journey."

...and a journey it was. Well, were. We actually took the trip twice while we were there. We woke up before dawn, hopped in our truck, and watched the landscape change from city to jungle to savannah. One of the first things we saw as we got near the park was a family of elephants crossing the road. It was amazing.

And we hadn't even entered the park at that point!

On our first trip there, we hired a guide. It cost $145USD for six hours. Here's a little of what we saw:

We seriously felt like we were in The Lion King! The second time we went we decided to explore the park on our own. It was just as fabulous...

A safari is a trip I highly recommend for kids of all ages. It's an amazing adventure and learning experience. If you're interested in going on one but are on a budget, stay away from the "big name" safaris (like the Serenghetti, which can end up costing thousands) and look for the smaller parks like Mikumi. There is still plenty to see, and we ended up only paying that $145 for the guide and $70/night for our hotel room. Totally worth it!

Feel free to stop by my blog, where I write more about life in Tanzania and other adventures, and let me know if you have any questions!