amycyma

I am planning my first safari,(while i still have not finalized WHERE i am going), i have requested information from various safari operators (CC Africa, African Adventure Co, Siyabona Africa so far) after i looked at their sites and liked some of the trips they described. They all immediately responded, and seem to want to offer me customized trips. Is this the best way to do it??
and which tour operators are recommended and which ones to stay away from??
thanks in advance for your input.

atravelynn

If it is within your budget, then I believe customized is the best way to go. You do exactly what you want to do with a customized trip. This approach is more common in Africa than other places because it works so well. For you and your son (and maybe other family members) to have your own vehicle/guide in Tanzania, is less expensive than some of the higher end group trips.

If you customize in Botswana, you'll likely fly from camp to camp and share the vehicle with another couple people.

CC Africa aka &Beyond is very reputable. I found that booking direct with CC Africa or with an Africa agent that offered both CC Africa properties along with other options was the same cost.

Africa Adventure Co is also reputable and reliable and I've gone with them and have an upcoming trip with them. When problems have occurred from cancelled flights to security issue to changes beyond their control, they have always fixed things up so that the problem disappeared or was greatly minimized.

Siyabona has a good reputation from and I've been interested in some of their itineraries. I've had camp managers in Botswana recommend them.

Any of these 3 should provide a memorable trip for you.

Jed

We did a customized trip with another couple, and it is the way to go. You don't need a group.

"We had this private tour planned by Julian Harrison of Premier Tours of Philadelphia, who is a SA specialist."

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35086423

amycyma

thanks Lynn you have been most helpful, as is everyone on this site.
are there different levels of customized.
for instance if i decide i want to be a 3 camps in botswana and then 1 in Zambia, the tour operator would arrange for me to get to these camps-correct.
then once in these camps, are my choices dictated by what the camp offers and when- ie drives, mokoro trips, walking- or does a customized trip mean that i would have my own personal guide to do what i want when i want to for as long as i choose ( that sounds to me very expensive, and isolating- thou possibly appealing.

thit_cho

<<does a customized trip mean that i would have my own personal guide to do what i want when i want to for as long as i choose ( that sounds to me very expensive, and isolating- thou possibly appealing.>>

Generally (and I write "generally" because for the right amount of money, you can do exactly what you want) a customized trip, at least in Botswana, involves selecting your camps and length of stay, but you would typically join other guests for activities. That's what I did -- I selected two Wilderness Safaris camps in Botswana and traveled between them, but I joined other guests for drives (for more money, I could have had my own vehicle, but I'm not a serious enough photographer that warranted my own vehicle). After Botswana, I moved to Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, and the operator put all of that together for me, including some private planes for transfers (for example, I had my own plane from Lilongwe, Malawi to South Luangwa NP in Zambia). But, once I got to my lodge in South Luangwa, I joined other guests for the drives.

laughternlife

I have a safari booked for January through Acacia Africa. I have not been yet but have been speaking with someone who just came back from a safari through Acacia and had nothing but great reviews. Acacia runs their own tours and owns their trucks as well which was a plus for me when booking. I would take a look at them as well.

Truely in the end there are several good companies it might come down to what you want to see and which company offers a tours that covers those attractions.

sandi

There are varied activities at camps/lodges to pretty much keep you pretty busy but for mealtimes and maybe an hour or so mid-day. If traveling solo on a first trip, it's nice to share activities with other guests. Management is pretty good ascertaining guests' wishes and pairing them up with others with similar activities during their stays.

In Botswana, specifically, where you will find camps that specialize in water or land or both water/land activities, so it's up to you to decide what fits best.

Zambia offers game drives, but is also known for walking and water activities.

South Africa, offering city and game viewing.

East African countries of Kenya, Tanzania for the migration if important and timed correctly.

And, finally Rwanda or Uganda for gorilla trekking.

Unless you're an avid photographer, being out early and late and know you want to spend hours away from camp tracking animals, it might not be worth the expense for a private vehicle. And, depending on time of year and camp occupancy, you might be fortunate to have a guide and/or vehicle to yourself.

As a suggestion, don't overbook where you visit - countries, number of locations within each; air flights add up between countries and camps; visas for most countries, etc. Allow for sufficient time at each location so not moving every other day.

amycyma

experiencing the bush, the animals is my first priority and of course while not a professional photographer, i love taking photos, but not enough to need my own vehicle. i am taking this trip with my son as his college graduation present, a trip we have long hoped to do, and its now or never (with him at any rate). so while i want to be with him, to share the wonders, i can share with others too.
but then enough of that and on to my QUESTION
i don't want to keep hopping on planes, but i do want to see as much variety as i can. i am thinking minimum of 3 nights in a camp, is that too few? or would 4 be best. with a total of about 14 days.

atravelynn

Three nights is fairly standard for Botswana when you have 2 weeks total. In Tanzania, some locations are fine with 2 nights. Four nights would be better with a longer trip or if you just a couple of places you wanted to see.

For example, I could see 4 nights in an Okavango Delta Camp and 4 nights in a Linyanti or Chobe accommodation. Throw in Vic Falls for a night or two and there is your Botswana trip.

The air transfers between camps in Botswana are arranged midday so as not to interfere with your game activities. They offer some nice views and you have no traditional airport hassles at the airstrips so the hopping on and off planes is not a big ordeal.

Since you mentioned sharing a vehicle with others is fine with you, and if you found some standard itineraries that were appealing, then a group departure would probably be the most economical option. In Tanzania, you would likely be doing more 2-night than 3-night stays. That is typical of a Northern Circuit route in Tanzania.

Let's hope your son is studying in college as hard as you are researching this graduation trip!

amycyma

should i consider going to the Kalahari?? say doing 3, okovango, 3 linyati, 2-3 kalahari, 2 vic falls. or is 4, 4 (no kalahari) better, or 3, 3, 3 (chobe??) 2 .
OOHHHHHH how does one decide

cary999

You're flying in from? I'm in USA and flying to Africa is like flying to Europe twice. In both time and money. So, I want to spend at least two weeks there. I also like to stay four or more nights at each camp.

regards - tom

atravelynn

<b>should i consider going to the Kalahari?? say doing 3, okovango, 3 linyati, 2-3 kalahari, 2 vic falls. </b>

That would give you a tremendous diversity of environments, flora, fauna, and even some culture.

Don't expect lots of wildlife in the Kalahari in the dry season, except for the meerkats, which are worth the trip to the desert in my mind. And maybe the rare brown hyena, but maybe not. I didn't see it. You should see other hyenas on the rest of your trip. Any other animals are a bonus.

If you could possibly do 3 nights in the Kalahari, then you would be certain to have time for all the activities that places like San and Jack's offer. I liked the view from San and at the time it was less expensive than Jack's. Jack's and San are in the Makgadikgadi Pans of the Kalahari.

There is also Deception Valley or similar in the more central Kalahari, where seeing desert lions is more likely than seeing cats in the Makgadikgadi Pans. I've only been to San Camp.

San/Jack's would offer some of the cultural activities you are looking for because you can walk with the bushmen. This is a 1-2 hour walk near the camp and they will likely be in jeans and T-shirt, but it is a fun time.

This is an excerpt from my Aug 2005 report on walking with bushmen. I was late to the activity due to some botched flights.

<i>Upon arrival at camp I could see a few guests and three Bushmen (from the Ju/Was tribe of San people with the / being a clicking sound) just a few hundred feet from camp.

I hopped out of the vehicle and joined the Bushman Walk in progress. They were stopped and watching the Bushmen dig out a scorpion from deep in the ground. When asked what they use the scorpion for the response was for nothing; they just dig them out for entertainment and let them go. It’s the Kalahari’s answer to Gameboy or Ipod. If the scorpion stings during this amusing game, special leaves must be eaten to induce vomiting to rid the body of poison. Neither leaves nor vomiting were required during our demo, thank goodness.

The Bushmen proceeded to show us medicinal plants and explain their life in the desert. As interesting as it was to learn about the Bushman way of life, just hearing them talk to one another with their five different clicking sounds (of which I could do two) was equally fascinating.

They demonstrated their skills with their homemade weapons—spear, club, bow and arrow, and then let us try. Throughout our walk they kept reminding us, especially those straying in various directions, “There are many holes, follow the Bushmen!” They were referring to all those burrows I saw from the plane.</i>

You can also ride quad bikes here, which I am sure your son would love and so would you because I did even though I thought I would not.

Another excerpt on the quads.

<i>The quad bikes at San were a pleasant surprise for me. My concern was that they would be too intrusive and damaging to the desert. But their use is limited to the dry season when the ground is hard, and the trails are strictly controlled with a single file path. In fact, these ATVs are lighter and do less damage than a heavier vehicle. There was certainly no wildlife that could have been scared in the areas that the ATVs operated. We drove into vast emptiness in daytime and at sunset.

We also used the quad bikes to reach an area where remnants of Stone Age tools and weapons were strewn about. We walked around scouring the ground for anything looking like a knife or arrow and found numerous relics, picked them up, admired them, then returned them to the sand. To think that the last hands to have touched some of those items may have been from 20,000 years ago was mind boggling.

Anyway, I was converted from holding an anti-ATV position to being like, “Dude, how fast can these go?” and then confirming those 30 mph capabilities on the straight-aways!</i>

In addition to the meerkats (which usually take an entire morning and you can request to visit again, which I did in the afternoon), here is some of the other wildlife seen in August, one of the poorest times for wildlife in the Kalahari.

<i>Day drives produced kudu, ostrich, black backed jackals and a distant aardwolf that earned Kaelo an excellence in spotting award, in my opinion. Our vehicle stopped suddenly as Kaelo announced, “I saw two ears and then I didn’t.” An aardwolf was hunkering down in stubby brush about 30 meters away.
A Black Korhaan was within inches of it, getting a better look. Kaelo maneuvered the vehicle and we used our binoculars to get our own better look.

On night drives we saw many spring hare and another aardwolf at very close range so that its stripes were clear.</i>

But again, other than the meerkats, which are pretty spectacular, you don't go to the Kalahari in the dry season expecting much big game viewing. You go for the vastness, and emptiness of the beautiful desert environment, plus the other activities mentioned and to see a whole different part of Botswana.

If the above seems interesting to you and your son, then I'd add the Kalahari. If you mainly want to see lots of animals and can skip the meerkats, then I would not go to the Kalahari.


<b>OOHHHHHH how does one decide</b>

It is obvious many of us cannot decide becaue we keep going back to the places we did not get to the last time or we just repeat the same park, same camp because nature is never the same.

Price may also play a factor in your final choice among good alternatives.

amycyma

Lynn-i had read your trip report, which is what GAVE me the thought of going to the Kalahari, (besides an anthropology course i took oh so many years ago).
I guess i will discuss it with my son, but as i am sure he is primarily interested in ANIMALS, i may have to come back again.
and as to whether he is studying as hard as i am researching-i will never know...

and in answer to where i am coming from, its NY

will i get a feel for Botswana if i only stay in 2 places for 4 nights as i only have about 2 weeks.

and thanks for those other websites.

another question regarding Botswana- giving that i am going at the end of may just at the beginning of the dry season i think- will some of the camps be water only, and others a combo?
does one see as much from the mokoro s from a vehicle.

atravelynn

Here is some discussion on late May travel to Botswana.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35137079

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35002646

You don't see as much from a Mekoro as from a vehicle. In May even at an Okavango Delta camp such as Little Vumbura, you'd be able to do drives and not just mekoros.

In 2 weeks you can't get the real feel of Botswana, whether you are in 2 or 3 camps, or even several more. I don't know if you could get the real feel in 2 months even.

Since you mention your son may interested mostly in animals, if I were you, I think I would stay at Little Vumbura, Chitabe (either Lediba or Main Camp) and Savuti or Duma Tau. No particular order, probably 3 nights at each.

LV is in the classic delta area where you can spend time on the water in a mekoro or motorboat if you wish. In fact you do a 5-10 minute boat ride to get to your camp. But you can also do game drives and the area has great overall wildlife.

Chitabe is in the delta, but in a dry part, also with strong game.

Duma Tau or Savuti are in the Linyanti area which also has lots of animals. If rains and floods are prolific, there may be a little more water in this area in May and that could reduce game viewing, but it will still be good.

atravelynn

I should add my suggestions are Wilderness camps because that's where I've stayed. CCAFfrica's Sandibe Camp is very near Chitabe. Kwando also has camps in the delta and Linyanti. So do some other operations such as Orient Express.