Dawniebee

Hello -

My husband and I planning our first trip to Africa in September / October. I've been working with Africa Travel Resource (ATR) and have found my agent to be very helpful and easy to work with, but I have seen mixed reviews online. Has anyone would would be willing to share their experience booked with them recently?

We are planning to visit both Namibia and Botswana and the itinerary that's been proposed is as follows:
Night 1:Windhoek : Olive Grove Guesthouse
Night 2:Sossusvlei : Desert Homestead
Night 3:Sossusvlei : Desert Homestead
Night 4:Sossusvlei : Desert Homestead
Night 5:Swakopmund : Strand Hotel Swakopmund
Night 6:Twyfelfontein : Doro Nawas Camp
Night 7:Twyfelfontein : Doro Nawas Camp
Night 8:Windhoek : Olive Grove Guesthouse
Night 9:Okavango Khwai River : Sable Alley
Night 10:Okavango Khwai River : Sable Alley
Night 11:Okavango Khwai River : Sable Alley
Night 12:Okavango Khwai River : Khwai Skybeds
Night 13:Okavango Khwai River : Hyena Pan
Night 14:Chobe : Chobe Forest Reserve : Chobe Elephant Camp
Night 15:Chobe : Chobe Forest Reserve : Chobe Elephant Camp

I'd also appreciate any feedback that you might be able to offer on the itinerary. The camps look great to me and fit our budget, but as a first time traveler to these countries, I want to make sure to get this right. Thank you in advance for your replies!

amyb

I recently booked my 6th safari with them (for next year) but I know many safarigoers on Safaritalk.net who have used them repeatedly with very good results. I chose them for this safari since it was a country I'd not been to before (Zambia) and the folks on Safaritalk who had had excellent trips to Zambia that looked like something I'd want to do had also booked with them. The trip planning could not have been easier, fun and stress-free. Richard was my planner and he was great. For a splurge for my milestone birthday, they threw in a couple of special extras at no charge to me, which I thought was a nice touch. They have been around for ages and they have relationships with so many camps that they get the best prices.

You could float your itinerary by the people on Safaritalk and they'd better tell you about those camps (I haven't been to those destinations yet). There is a Trip Planning forum where we routinely post proposed itineraries for evaluation. But if you're looking for peace of mind about booking with them, I didn't hesitate. One guy I know has booked with them upwards of a dozen times now and wouldn't think of working with anyone else.

Dawniebee

Thanks for your feedback Amy, this is really helpful!

KathBC

You will love Namibia and the sand dunes are like nothing I've ever seen before!

I'm guessing you're driving to Sossusvlei as 3 nights there is probably 1 night more than you need.

If budget allows try to stay at the Sossus Dune Lodge which is situated in the park and allows you to get to Big Daddy & Deadvlei for the sunrise and just over an hour before the crowds arrive. There were 6 of us that left from the lodge and we had the whole place to ourselves as the sun rose...pretty amazing!

Take that extra day and add it to Swakopmund which will give you time to take a day tour thru Walvis Bay & out to Sandwich Harbour where the dunes meet the Atlantic. A truly amazing experience!

Elizabeth_S