The Real Deal: Round-trip airfare, nine nights' accommodations, meals, game drives, and transfers from $2,895 per person

When: Depart Sept. 20 or Oct. 9, 2006; add $50 for Oct. 21, Nov. 6, or Nov. 20, 2006

Gateways: New York City, Newark, Boston, Washington, D.C., Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles. Note that this is a rare instance when there are no add-on fees for West Coast departures!

Details: Twenty-five meals, 12 game drives, transfers, and all park entrance fees are included. Hotel taxes, airport taxes, and fuel surcharges are an additional $355 per person. U.S. citizens need visas for Kenya and Tanzania; each visa is $50 per person and is purchased upon arrival at the airport (a driver and guide will meet you there). Based on double occupancy; single supplement of $400.

The package is also available for departures from New York City or Newark on Jul. 23, Aug. 6, Aug. 23, and Sept. 4 for $3,325 per person; add $225 for Boston, Washington, Miami, San Francisco or Los Angeles

Book By: No deadline; based on availability

Contact: 2Afrika, 866/462-2374, 2afrika.com

The escorted tour and safari includes round-trip airfare on Virgin Atlantic to London and Kenya Airways to Nairobi, Kenya, transfers to Arusha, Tanzania, and a nine-night stay: one night at the Ilboru Safari Lodge in Arusha, one night at the Tarangire Sopa Lodge in Tarangire National Park, two nights at the Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, three nights at the Seronera Wildlife Lodge in Serengeti National Park, and two nights at Lake Manyara Hotel in the Lake Manyara National Park. (Note that 2Afrika has a selection of similar lodges they work with, and substitutions may be made based on availability.)

Safari game-viewing drives (and transportation between lodges) are in small vans with pop-up roof windows that carry an average of six passengers, each with a window seat. They are outfitted with high frequency two-way radios. Since 2Afrika's trips are limited to 24 people, no more than four vans go on each safari. There are two morning and one afternoon safari game viewing drives at Tarangire National Park, one morning safari at Ngorongoro, three morning and two afternoon safari at Serengeti, and two afternoon and one morning safari at Lake Manyara. A visit to Ngorongoro's Olduvai Gorge Museum, which displays local paleoanthropological artifacts, is also included.

September and October are spring months in Tanzania, and temperatures average in the 60s and 70s Fahrenheit. For more information about Tanzania, visit: tanzaniatouristboard.com

Add a stop-over in London in either direction for an additional $125 per person. For insider tips on where to stay, eat, and play, download our eight-page London Snap Guide.

An extension for the nearby island of Zanzibar is also available with three nights at the Tembo House Hotel in historic Stone Town and airfare for $695 per person. There's an additional $30 departure tax, but no extra visa necessary.

In comparison, the lowest round-trip fare we've found between Nairobi and New York City in mid-September is $1,301 (multiple carriers). For about $1,500 more, 2Afrika covers nine nights' lodging, all meals, 12 safaris, internal transportation, and park entrance fees, and provides the huge convenience of reliable one-stop shopping.