dandimere

We'll be going to Singita this summer. We are scheduled to fly on Federal Air from Johannesburg to Singita. I was wondering about the feasibility of driving from Johannesburg to Singita. First, is this possible to do? If yes, what are the pros and cons of driving vs. flying?

Should we expect the charter flight to make stops on the way to Singita to drop passengers off at other reserves?

Thanks.

Roccco

dandimere,

I would definitely suggest that you fly to Singita rather than drive. There is no need to endure a 6 hour drive, only to arrive a bit tired and then hop on a 3.5 hour game drive.

Your FedAir flight may or may not include stops along the way. For my own visit to Singita, we did stop at nearby Leopard Hills to drop off some guests. It was really hardly any inconvenience, as we were on the ground for five minutes, tops, and then we were up in the air again and at Singita with a few minutes.

Are you nervous about flying? If so, FedAir (as are the other companies that transfer guests from JNB to the lodges) is a very reputable company.

Your other alternate would be to fly South African Airways to Hoedspruit, followed by perhaps a 1.5 hour road transfer. However, this does take away from the mystique of flying directly into the Sabi Sand, as you drive through cities/towns not far at all from the Sabi Sand Game Reserve. Plus, the savings is very minimal.

Have a great time at Singita!

jasher

Hello Dandimere,

The drive from Joburg to Singita is a long one (realistically, about 8 hours), and there's not much to see along the way. If you did this, you would either need to leave very early (around 6am to be safe) in order to arrive in time for the afternoon activity, or overnight in Hazyview or Nelspruit before driving on to Singita in the morning. If you wanted to drive, I would advise overnighting -- after 8 hours on the road you aren't really going to want to spend another 3-4 hours in a Land Rover for your game drive.

if you didn't want to keep your hire car, you would need to pay to have it picked up from the lodge.

Personally, I'd recommend flying. The plane may make stops along the way, but it's not normally more than one or two. I really enjoy the light air flights -- you are often low enough to make out animals on the landscape.

Cheers,
Julian

dandimere

Thanks Rocco and Julian! Flying it will be.

santharamhari

Good idea........i've done both driving and flying on seperate trips. There's nothing extraordinary to see on the drive from Joburg. Yes, they may stop at other lodges to drop other guests.......

Hari

Ericka

I did the Federal Air flight last year to Singita. The plane was of good size (for a puddle-jumper) and they served a nice little box lunch. We stopped at Londolozi but that was (as Rocco said) only 5 minutes. The pilots were also very nice.

mkhonzo

Just to throw a spanner in the works here;
1) Drive time to Sabi Sands, from JNB, is closer to 41/2 hours.
Add another 30 minutes for game sightings en-route from the gate to singita.
2) First hour and a half not that interesting, much like kansas country side with the odd coal mine and slag heap, but as you pass belfast the countryside is really gorgeous & I would think this is particularly interesting for a first time visitor.
3) Being a 41/2 drive, leaving JNB around 07h00 gets you into Singita in good time for lunch, siesta/spa treatment then safari.
IMO for the first time visitor this is a unique way of getting into the lowveld and a ton less expensive than flying Fed Air.

Last comment, the 11h30 fed air flight lands at around 12h30/13h00 at Singita. You will have arrived at JNB international around 10h00/10h30 for the flight, so would have checked out of your Sandton hotel around 08h30/09h00.

So is the $300 something flight worth two hours?

dandimere

I enjoy driving because it gives me a perspective on the area. I'm wondering whether we should hire a driver or rent a car. The drive will only be one direction because we'll be flying back to Johannesburg from Singita Lebombo. I imagine this would present a challenge regarding renting a car.

mkhonzo

No, one way rentals are available from AVIS, I have had experience with them in the past, they'll pick the car up at Singita, so you aren't stuck with the additional days either.

You can ask them about their chauffuer drive service, which could mean an upgrade to a luxury car with a driver, certainly worth looking into.

The raods are GOOD to GREAT and you'll fine that there are good amenities en-route. So if you don't mind the wrong side of the road and the steering wheel on the passengers side, self drive.

jasher

Hello,

It's certainly possible to do a one-way rental, though this will incur a one-way penalty charge and a pick-up charge. You can drop the car at Singita and have the rental company pick it up - not all rental companies do this, so you would need to check.

At current exchange rates, the flight is about $200 US. You'll need to do the maths and see if the savings is worth it to you.

Cheers,
Julian

cary999

FWIW, I plan to drive from Joburg to MalaMala this September. It will take probably 4 more days (than flying) and here's why I want to do it.
1) Gives some time to recover from the rigors of two long plane flights (USA LAX to JNB). When you're spending $1,200 per room per night at MalaMala ($3,000 for Singita), I would not like to just sleep in it for two days.
2) Get to see some "regular" SA. Maybe see the great escarpment. Just leisurely drive towards Kruger.
3) Spend a couple days in Kruger just to see what it is like.

Then drive to MalaMala and leave the car there. Avis will "collect" the car for $20. Although I'm not sure about using Avis. Anyone have suggestons on car rental companies for this? I have a couple of guide books, an excellent map of Kruger NP (by Globetrotter) that also shows a bit of the surrounding area. It shows the roads out of Kruger (Suzuka main camp) up into Sabi Sand Reserve. Roads to Sabi Sabi, Kirkmans, MalaMala, Londolozi, Singita, Inyati and a few others.
I have not worked out the details for this excursion. Any comments/suggestions most welcome.
regards - tom

napamatt

Tom

Do it, its fun. The escarpment is very beautiful and there are some great hotels up in the hills, for the night before and the night after you leave Mala Mala.
The road into SSGR is well signposted from the main road to the Kruger gate.

cary999

napamatt
Thanks for the encouragement. Nice to have that when contemplating the unknown.
I was actually thinking of spending perhaps two nights in Kruger (before Mala). You, anyone else, have any suggestions about which camp in Kruger etc? Thanks all.
regards - tom

Roccco

Tom,

No personal experience, but the following lodges in Kruger NP would still have low season pricing in September (while many others begin high season pricing in September).

The Outpost
http://www.theoutpost.co.za/

Jock Safari Lodge
http://www.jocksafarilodge.com/

Lukimbi Safari Lodge
http://www.jocksafarilodge.com/

Tinga Private Game Lodge
http://www.flashworx.biz/tinga/

Good luck.

Roccco

Correction...Lukimbi may be found here:

http://www.lukimbi.com/

santharamhari

I'm curious about both Outpost and Jock's as i've read about them in Africa Geographic magazine. Anyone visited either???

Hari

Celia

We drove from Jo'burg to Kruger this past February. (We've done it many times before too.) If you don't mind driving on the "wrong" side, it's a great thing to do. The roads are good - 4-lane almost the whole way, there are plenty of gas stations, and you see some of the country.

kerikeri

hi all-
how do you find federal air's web page? i have been wanting to contact them directly to thank them for their kindness when we had a big problem and neber was able to locate it. my apologies if they have since built a web presence and this is obvious.
kerkeri

mkhonzo

Here is the GM's email:
[email protected]

kerikeri

thanks for that!