bencd

My wife and I are going to South Africa for our first time in February and have a great two week itinerary planned.

I would very much appreciate any ideas for the five days we currently have at the end of our trip. We will effectively be in JNB and flying out of there five days later. We were keen to go to Vic Falls, but it seems like two days would be more than enough there. Are there better options?

We will have been to Mala Mala for a few days, so the only thing I am not keen on is more safari time. Also, I would like to stay within a six-hour flight of JNB, as we will most likely have to fly back there.

Some options we have considered are:
- Rwanda - To see Kilgali and Gorillas (I said no more safari, not no more animals!)
- Vic Falls (as above)

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Bwino

Rwanda for the Gorillas would be wonderful, it is an absolutely unforgettable experience.

Victoria Falls from both Zimbabwe and Zambia would also be great, I could easily spend 5 days in that area.

Depending on what you want to do, see and experience I would also consider Capetown (if your itinerary does not include it), or perhaps an island - Lamu, Zanzibar, Madagascar, Mauritius.

atravelynn

You could go to Cape Town and easily spend 5 nights. I spent 9 days there recently, but 7 mornings were on a shark boat. This link lists many activities in Cape Town.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35120876

There are many flights between Cape Town and Joburg.

Two days, maybe 3 at Vic Falls if you wanted to do white water rafting and bungee jumping, are plenty.

If you think this is your one and only trip ever to Africa and you have always wanted to see the gorillas, then here is your chance with a gift of 5 spare days.

If you think you may someday return to Africa, then I'd save the gorillas for another time because up and back from Joburg is an expensive and time consuming add-on.

bencd

We have five days at the beginning of the trip in CPT, so we have that covered.

While it is my first time to SA, it surely will not be my last. The problem with Rwanda does not seem to be one of cost, as much time getting there from JNB. So perhaps that eliminates Rwanda.

I thought of Mauritius and it might be a relaxing time to follow a fairly busy itinerary in S.A., plus I think SAA flies there direct, so that is a plus.

My only fear with Vic Falls is that we might be able to do something grander (with the five days) and two days at Vic Falls would eat into that time.

However, maybe my question should be what to do with three days after Vic Falls.

Bwino

Hi bencd, maybe you really need to ask yourself what you want from those 5 days. SAA definitely flies direct to Mauritius two or three times a week.

Mauritius is very different from mainland Africa and there are plenty of cultural experiences to be had here although a lot of visitors to Mauritius don't leave the 5 star hotels and modern shopping areas.

Kavey

I would agree, first decide what kind of experience are you looking for?

City break?
Relaxing beach time?
Wildlife experience? (not regular safari)
Activity? (Hiking, climbing, watersports)
Natural wonder?

bencd

Thanks for the responses.

Kavey,
I am pretty open to beach time, wildlife and natural wonders. What I was looking for was someone who could clearly identify the one thing they thought was great. My three original ideas give some idea of varied options I would consider, but I was just looking for a little direction.

Thanks,
Ben

City break?
Relaxing beach time?
Wildlife experience? (not regular safari)
Activity? (Hiking, climbing, watersports)
Natural wonder?

PredatorBiologist

bencd: you could have pristine beach and fantastic marine wildlife if you go to the Bazaruto Archipelago in Mozambique. It's island paradise with terrific reefs to match.

Depending on what day you finish at Mala Mala, Pelican Air has direct flights on Tuesday and Friday from Kruger Mpumalanga International Air to Vilanculous, the main land gateway to the Archipelago. It's only an hour and a half flight. The other days of the week there are flights from Johannesburg to Vilanculous that are just over 2 hours but it leaves at 10:20 a.m. so you would have to waste an overnight in Johannesburg in that case.

Kavey

Well, I'm one of those that can never have too much safari time, so for me, it'd be a case of adding another safari destination. You could opt for something completely different to Mala Mala, maybe Ndumo (great for birds and so beautiful with the yellow fever trees and yellow sycamore trees reflected in the lakes or pans) or Hluhluwe-Imfolozi (great for rhinos as well as other game viewing).

I'm not a beach girl but I've heard amazing things about barefoot resorts in Mozambique. Likewise, Malawi is said to be an up and coming destination in terms of beach resorts that are charming but not yet too slick and jaded.

I'm not sure of flight costs/ timings but maybe you have enough time for a lemur safari in Madagascar?

The gorillas still sounds like a good option, assuming transfers aren't too time-consuming to make it work for you.