East African safari or South African safari

Old Sep 9th, 2008, 01:03 PM
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JYD
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East African safari or South African safari

We are beginning to plan for a safari next year. Since this will be a once in a lifetime trip, should we go east africa or south africa?
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Old Sep 9th, 2008, 01:19 PM
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JYD
PROMISE! it will be a once in a lifetime trip!

if that's the case:

late august or september massai mara/kenya for 7 days in one of the governors camps.

if you have a bit longer include amboseli and there tortilis for 4 nights which offers the opportunity to also see mount kilimanjaro.

pls advise on interests and budget/lenghts of travel without long-haul.

based on that you will most definately get more quality recommendations!

why i suggest massai mara: after you have witnessed the great migration, the big cats and all that you will be spoiled for the rest of africa ;-)

div
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Old Sep 9th, 2008, 02:10 PM
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We faced the same dilemma and resolved the problem by doing both; I'm in the process of doing my trip report -- you can click on my name to find it. I'll be posting the itinerary at the end. Warning: the once-in-a-lifetime price tag was not for the faint-hearted, but could be reduced by cutting out Rwanda and/or Vic Falls. We could also have saved $$ in some cases by doing ground transfers, rather than air.

We too said "once in a lifetime" and everyone laughed! It's still too soon to say if we'll return (we're still reliving the experience while sorting through 4000 photos), but I could be tempted!!
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Old Sep 10th, 2008, 03:47 AM
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I initially was looking at Masai travel and was looking at the 13 day east africa safari. I have some friends at work that are from South Africa and they are guiding me to south africa. for my husband and I we were trying to keep the cost around $15,000.
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Old Sep 10th, 2008, 05:01 AM
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jyd

the budget is okay for that lenght of trip but hopefully without long-haul tickets.
if 15.000 have to cover long-haul as well i would consider the kichech main camp instead of governors camp for the massai mara.

for the mara:
http://www.kicheche.com/
http://www.governorscamp.com/

for meru and shaba, amboseli:
http://www.chelipeacock.com/

due to budget restrictions you should try to limit flying as much as possible. means focussing on to max of 3 destinations and avoid camp-hopping.
if you were to write for a travel magazine camp-hopping is a must. but it doesn't allow a deep experience (mostly at least) of each destination.

south africa is fine for safaris but not as wild as e.g. kenya or tanzania.
and the action there is not as diverse as in east africa!

a very personal proposal:

i would fly to nairobi, stay there for 1 night at either giraffe manor or ngong house.
fly up to either shaba national park für joy's camp or meru national park for elsa's kopje or tortilis/amboseli.
i woukd not go only for 2 nights! so make a choice.
the rest would be spent in ONE camp in the massai mara!
time of travel: beginning/mid september in order to witness the migration.

but that's only my choice ......
others might have completely different ones.......


div

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Old Sep 10th, 2008, 08:11 AM
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I have never been to East Africa so I am biased but I love Southern Africa. We have been to Botswana(before it got so expensive!), Zambia and am now going to South Africa and Namibia. One thing about South Africa is that you can do more than safari if you want to. There is a wealth of things to do around Cape Town and some beautiful routes to drive.

Everyone here seems to love wherever they go -- I never see complaints about East or South Africa. We chose Botswana because of the Delta and the Kalahari -- diversity -- the first time. We chose Zambia because of the cost and the raving of people on here. Namibia was chosen for the scenery and we will do Sabi Sands and Phinda for the cats and, we hope rhino.

You will not go wrong with whichever place you choose. I believe you can spend less in East Africa than in Southern Africa. You will also have more vehicles there than in Botswana or Zambia or the private areas around Kruger. But I understant the migration is amazing to see.
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Old Sep 10th, 2008, 06:07 PM
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The answer could be Yes, as Skibumette mentioned. That's the short answer.

It depends on how long you have to travel, what you hope to see/do, and when you are going.

These links help with the above questions.

http://www.africa-adventure.com/dsp_besttime.html

http://www.bornfreesafaris.com/best_travel.htm

The perfect safari for anytime of year is detailed here in East Africa
http://www.kiliwarriors.com/

The long answer is next, copied from some other posts.

Kenya/Tanzania (this assumes you'd do them together)
Pros:
The variety and sheer numbers of animals seen for what you spend makes it a great value. You can Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, a World Heritage Site with one of the highest concentrations of wildlife in Africa.
Experience the migration, maybe even a river crossing, if you time things correctly, and at least huge herds if the timing is off
Camel safaris possible
Cultural interactions with Masai (and Samburu) are easy to do
If you go a bit north in Kenya, it is possible to see different species of zebra, giraffe, and ostrich.
Can see chimps—Easily at Sweetwaters in Kenya, they are at a Jane Goodall sanctuary and not wild. You can also go to Mahale in Tanzania but that’s more travel and expense.
Closer proximity to the gorillas for less travel time/expense to get there (if you were to go to Uganda/Rwanda) Can also see chimps there.
The vast and remote Southern Tanzania is an option, that’s where Mahale is
If you are doing gorilla safaris in Uganda and Rwanda or other activities there, it is closer than Southern Africa.

Cons:
Not as secluded as parts of Southern Africa, though wisely choosing camps/lodges can help a lot
Fewer opportunities to walk, although they do exist
Few water activities, boat safaris or canoeing
Fewer night drive opportunities, although they do exist
Open vehicles are less common with pop-ups being used instead in most areas. Private concessions allow the open vehicles.


Zambia/Zimbabwe
Pros:
Adventure--walking, canoeing, boat safaris
Remote, secluded
Night drives are status quo
Good Cultural interactions--I know of 2 village stays, one in Zambia and one in Zimbabwe. Probably more
Can see Victoria Falls, a Natural World Wonder from both countries.

Cons:
On foot or by boat/canoe, you cannot get as close nor linger with wildlife.
Good game, but not quite in the abundance of the Masai Mara, Serengeti, Botswana, or South Africa.

Botswana:
Very secluded and beautiful luxury tented camps, not crowded at all
Great game
One of best places to see wild dogs
Can do several days of elephant safaris at Abu's (very expensive and I've never been there)
Some places allow walking
The Okavango delta, which you can experience on boats or in mekoros--long narrow boats poled by expert polers.
Many places offer night drives
Can experience the Kalahari Desert--meerkats and San Bushmen

Cons:
If you wish to see the "Big 5" you would have to include the Moremi area, which has rhino, but is very expensive
Expensive compared to East Africa, but luxury mobile safaris bring down the cost. (I’ve done one and it was superb.)

South Africa
Pros:
Can easily combine safari with other activities from shark viewing to vineyards to garden route
Kruger allows self drive and budget options
Sabi Sands, the private reserves next to Kruger, have some of the best leopard viewing on the continent of this elusive species
Sabi Sands is one of the easies/quickest places to see Big 5
Wide variety of good safari options for varying budgets

Cons:
Some of the private reserves are fenced and/or managed, which is a negative for some


Namibia, Malawi, Mozambique in Southern Africa = no personal experience


Hee are a couple of other links that may be helpful.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...4&tid=34837132

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...4&tid=34972854

Bert’s questionnaire
http://www.fisheaglesafaris.com/choosedestination.htm

Ultimate Africa’s country ranking site
http://www.ultimateafrica.com/newoptions.htm

Ultimate Africa’s narrative
http://www.ultimateafrica.com/travel...endations.html

Finally, a variety of reports are contained in these 2 indexes of Southern Africa then East Africa.


http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...4&tid=34772027

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...4&tid=34860283


If you cannot say Yes and do both, then there is no wrong answer by sticking with just East or Southern. I've never heard anyone say after a first trip to Africa, "I think we goofed by going to East Africa instead of Southern Africa." I've never heard, "I think we goofed by going to Southern Africa instead of East Africa."

What I do hear a lot of is, "Now that we've been to Kenya and Tanzania, we'd love to try South Africa." Or, "Botswana was great and next time I'd like to see the migration in Tanzania." Or, "Kenya was my once-in-a-lifetime triptb but next year I'm going canoeing and walking in Zambia."

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Old Sep 11th, 2008, 03:00 AM
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JYD
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Thank you so much for your detailed reply! I will look at all the links and try to make a decision. Maybe we will have to make two trips after all!
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Old Sep 11th, 2008, 03:13 AM
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Hi There JYD

I can hopefully make this easy.
If it is a once in a lifetime trip then you should go to South Africa.

The reason I say this hands down is simply because if you may not ever come again you probably would like to see as much as possible within your budget and time limits. You should book in at any Lodge in the Sabi Sands (prices vary....)and within three nights you should have seen it all. The sightings will also bee of a far superior quality due to the off roading. Also instead of driving around with a driver guide you will actually get a Field Guide who has a far superior knowledge and can walk with you as well.

I am biased as I have worked in all the countries mentioned above and I am not the greatest fan of East Africa. With Johannesburg being central you can easily go to the Cape, Botswana and Vic Falls as part of your trip and really do it all.

Cheers

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