trvlcrzy

Our original itinerary (family of 4) was:
JBG 1 night (unavoidable because of late arrival of SAA flight)
Vic Falls at Royal Livingstone 2 nights
Cape Town at Cape Grace 4 nights
Sabi Sabi Bush lodge 2 nights

After receiving the costing, with flights, I realized that the overnight in JBG and all involved to/from LVI added up to almost $4000!! I am now quickly re-thinking whether we should drop the LVI portion all together. We can get a flight on Kululu (oh my word, just found out about that airline today!! what a cost savings!) from JNB to CPT and avoid the overnight in JNB. I could then either add 2 days to Cape Town and possibly go spend the 1st 2 nights in the Garden Route area (we could also fly into Port Elizabeth on Kululu) or I can find out about adding 1 night to CPT and 1 night to Sabi. An extra night in Sabi won't be cheap, but it's a possibility I guess. What I don't want to do is have to add another flight any place. So, what would YOU do??

mkhonzo

I like your thinking of including the garden route, but urge you to think this through carefully. Two days to drive CT to PE is a tough going as it is close to an 8 hour drive & if you are planning to get into Sabi from JNB, you will need to leave early from PE to make the cxtn to Sabi.

I would also look carefully at the sabi rates, should you cahnge your booking to a three night stay, you might find that they have a thre night fly in deal that makes it MOST attractive too.

I notice that you have pretty much chosen top of the line accommodations throughout your itinerary, should you still wish to see the falls yoou could switch down to the Zambezi Sun, change the Grace to the Portswood, which would free up some $$'s also you do not mention where in JNB you'll be staying, but you'll find that there are a couple of inexpensive hotels near the airport. That isn't ideal, but if it's just the night you might see the value in that.

trvlcrzy

mkhonso, you are a great mindreader!! I had thought about changing to Zambezi Sun if we do keep Vic Falls in the itinerary, and I also wondered if Bush lodge in Sabi Sabi has a special rate for a 3rd night. Cape Grace has a 4-for-3 night special, so that has helped that rate; that was a place that I was willing to make the splurge. I have stayed at the RL in Vic Falls and I know it is wonderful....I just don't know if it is worth it when we have such a rushed schedule. (I can tell that I really need a vacation and get my pace of life on a slower speed!) As for JBG, we are booked at a Holiday Inn because I definitely didn't want to pay top $ for the few hours that we are there...esp. since I didn't want that stopover to begin with!

trvlcrzy

Ok, so another idea (I had NO clue that it was that long a drive in between PE and CPT!!): what about staying somewhere closer to CPT that is near a good winery. We had definitely hoped to make a day trip to the Winelands anyway. Any suggestions for a place there? (btw: our kids are 18 & 21, so it's not like we have to worry about young children activities)

Roccco

Cape Town at Cape Grace 4 nights (late arrival of SAA flight)
Sabi Sabi Bush lodge 3 nights
Vic Falls at Royal Livingstone 2 nights

By leaving very early from Sabi Sabi on your morning of departure, you would be able to be on a 7:30AM light air transfer from KMIA to JNB, giving you time to connect to Livingstone or Victoria Falls. The third night in Sabi Sabi will make it feel much more complete. Your 1 night in Joburg is wasted on such a short itinerary.

Good luck.

jasher

Hello Trvlcrzy,

I'd agree with your idea of dropping Vic Falls and adding some time in the winelands - it will make for a much more relaxed trip. It's a long way to go (and a lot of money to spend) just for two nights. I'd recommend something along these lines:

Cape Town x4
Cape Winelands x2
Londolozi Pioneer Camp x3

I agree with Rocco that 2 nights on safari really isn't enough to experience the bush, so I've bumped it up to 3. I've stayed at Londolozi several times, and had wondeful game-viewing.

In Cape Town, you could save quite a bit of money by going with one of the smaller boutique hotels -- though the Grace is certainly a great place to stay.

In the Winelands, there are a large number of wonderful country hotels and guesthouses. If you want to splurge, take a look at Le Quartier Francais

http://www.lequartier.co.za

With your party of four, their Four Quarters option is particularly appealing.

Cheers,
Julian

santharamhari

Trvlcrzy,

I agree with Julian's recommendation.......

How important is game viewing to you? If it is very important.....i would even suggest you do, Cape Town/winelands 5 nights and Londolozi or similar 4 nights.

Hari

trvlcrzy

Going from Sabi to Vic Falls would probably still not work because we would have to fly thru JNB and I already know that the latest flight from JNB to LVI is 12:15pm. I doubt that we could make the morning game drive, get to the airport, fly from Sabi to JNB and still get there in time for a 12:15 flight. Are there any other options that I haven't been told about for flights into LVI?

trvlcrzy

What other recommendation would you give as an alternative to Cape Grace in terms of a "boutique" hotel? To be honest, The Commodore just doesn't hit me with the whole nautical theme and the Portswood sounds decent but nothing at all to get excited about. Should I consider the V&A? Any other ideas??

jasher

Hello,

I'd recommend looking away from the Waterfront for a boutique hotel -- taxis are cheap and plentiful in Cape Town, so you could stay elsewhere in the City Bowl and still see the Waterfront when you wanted to.

I've stayed at a number of boutique hotels in Cape Town and really enjoyed my time there -- not only are they much better value for money, but they have a lot more character as well. I really enjoyed my stays at:

The Cape Heritage Hotel

http://www.capeheritage.co.za

An African Villa

http://www.capetowncity.co.za

If you want to stay on the coast, take a look at Les Cascades:

http://www.lescascades.co.za/

For Les Cascades it would be best to have a car.

Good luck finding a place!

Cheers,
Julian

mkhonzo

The winelands are forty five minutes drive from the city of Cape Town. So you could base yourelves out there and do day trips into the city environs if you wished. I don't know the prices but am almost positive that the plentiful (& picturesque B&B's) would be way cheaper than any waterfront hotel.

I do believe that a visit to the falls is worth the schlepp of getting there, unless of course you know you will be retruning sometime soon. What you do need to consider is the time of year that you are going to be there, anything after late August and up until the rains of late December means that the falls viewed from Zambia will be dissapointing. In that case you should seriously give some thought to staying on the Zim side: the additional bonus there is that the place is starved of business and you could well negotiate a decent discount.

AS far as the other posts have advised concerning your lodge of choice: I see no reason why you should change, Sabi Bush is great (recently refurbished) while the game viewing throughout the sabi sands is pretty damned good. I do believe that Londoz is long overdue for a splash of paint and some TLC. That said you will not go wrong at any of the S/sand lodges if it is game that you are after.

BTW: I suggested the Portswood simply because it was the other end of the price scale to the Grace, which is in much the same location, however as a suggested means of lessening the price tag on the entire trip so that you could still do it all and not have to into a second morgage.