lilypoo

I have enough frequent flier miles to get me to Africa. I am a white female in my 40's who will be traveling alone. I have to keep my costs at an absolute minimum but still want to be able to stay in comfortable centrally located hotels/motels. Can anyone suggest a country in Africa that would be very low cost regarding transportation, restaurants, sight seeing etc? I love to shop, explore cities, and would like to do a short safari (maybe 2 or 3 nights). I have already been to South Africa, Egypt and Morroco. I've considered going back to South Africa again but it seems to be more expensive and, as I said before, I want to keep costs at a minimum. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

atravelynn

Since no one has responded, I'll chime in with Zanzibar in Tanzania for exploring a city. I've never been. You could do a couple of days safari in Tarangire, Lake Manyara, even go to the Ngorongoro Crater.

ShayTay

You could go to Kenya or Tanzania. I'll second Lynn's suggestion of Zanzibar. I don't know which airline you have your FF miles on. There are more options going to Nairobi (NBO) than to Kilimanjaro/Arusha (JRO) or even Dar es Salaam (DAR). It may depend on which country you can get to with your miles, although you can always fly into NBO, then fly onward to JRO on Precision Air.

lilypoo

Tanks for the suggestions but after doing a little research I think Tanzania might be out of my price range especially the safari's. Any other suggestions? Thanks.

christineB

Hi, I'm a 47 year old woman (married with 2 kids) but I travel a lot without my husband as he travels a lot for business. I just got back from South Africa yesterday. I've also been to Egypt, Morroco, Kenya and Zanzibar in the past. On this trip I visited Joburg. I would go straight to Cape Town and stay at the Protea Victoria Junction. It's very reasonably priced and well located. I would devinitely rent a car from Hertz and drive all over the cape. I took a trip to Knynsna (We stayed at Overmeer Guest House and thought it was very good) and it was a beautiful but long drive but there are many wonderful villages along the way each with their own unique history.
We found SA to be much cheaper than the US and always spent around 100 dollars for hotels and guest houses per night. Things like tea at the Mount Nelson were a delight and very reasonable. Though I had already done a safari in Kenya, I understand that they have great ones in Kruger Nat'l Park but we headed toward the ocean in Plettenberg bay as I was with my 13-yr-old daughter. The shopping was certainly available but we prefer more historic attractions. We loved Robben Island and the village of Stellendam and visiting the Constantia Uitsig (sp) vineyards for lunch and the town of Montagu. We stayed at the Klein Oliphant house in Franschoek which was a wonderful village in the winelands. Having a car made it all possible. We spent 2 days in Joburg (because we flew in and out of there so we arranged for a 23-hour layover) and I frankly could have done without it all together. We never felt safe there and there were no real tourist attractions. We did visit Soweto and the Apartheid Museum but I think we could have visited a township in Capetown as well.

As far as traveling alone (I've done it in all the places I mentioned above except this trip which I brought my daughter on) and for what you want, I don't think you can beat Cape Town for ease of communication, mobility, sights, history, safety and natural beauty.

My 3 cents.

Best, Christine

Nyamera

Hello Lilypoo,
I think you should go to Kenya. In Nairobi you’ll pay some $23 (a bit expensive with current exchange rates) for a centrally located single room with bathroom and in smaller towns you’ll pay some $10. There’re cheaper options. Public transport is inexpensive, but renting a car will turn out expensive for one person, I think. You can always find very inexpensive restaurants, but there’re expensive ones as well. There are lots of things to do and see and shop, but the most interesting aspect is the biggest problem: it’s impossible to find an inexpensive safari! Last year the price for a “cheap” group budget safari was $90 pd. As park fees won’t be raised and tourism is down, I don’t think you’ll have to pay more this year, but I wouldn’t trust the quality of this kind of safari. You could try Gametrackers that have group safaris you can join and get good costumer feedback. http://www.gametrackersafaris.com/ Though Jen Bertoni had some <b>minor</b> complaints about her guide. Or, just walk into a safari company and see if you can get a last minute deal. At Lake Naivasha you could get some game viewing without paying for a safari. At the coast there’re tropical beaches and interesting culture. I’d recommend Lamu. It’s a bit remote, but maybe you could use your FF miles.

Patty

I don't know when the last time you were in South Africa was, but the ZAR has depreciated recently making SA more affordable. Namibia pegs their currency to the ZAR, but inexpensive transportation is a problem there.

Dana_M

Lilypoo,
Can you tell us what price range you're trying to stay within? This would help us provide more ideas. Also, how long do you want to travel for? That will have a huge impact on how far your budget goes.

lilypoo

Thanks for all the great info. Since I will be alone I was hoping not to spend more than $40-50 a night for lodging. I realize that safari lodging is much more but I am only looking to do, maybe, a 2 night safari and the rest of the time travel to cities and/or villages in the country that I decide to go to.

sandi

lilypoo -

You're definitely a budget traveler, so suggest you post on Lonely Planets Thorntree forum. Lots of useful info there.

Gritty

lilypoo--

You mentioned that you've been to South Africa before. Have you been to Kruger National Park?

I'm visiting Kruger in 3 weeks, and I'm spending between $30-$70/night for accomodation at their rest camps. You can also cook your own food to save money, or eat at their restaurants (which IMHO are a little expensive for what you get).

In order to stay inside Kruger, you would need to rent a car; that will be one of your biggest expenses.

I'm also spending a few days in Maputo, Mozambique, and am staying at a guesthouse at $40/person/night for a private room. I mention this because you indicated being interested in visiting cities. Maputo is also less than a day's journey from Kruger.

There are also budget options in Zambia's South Luangwa National Park. One popular place is Flatdogs camp. Basic accommodations there are around $20-40/night, although meals and safari activities are extra.

Have you thought about west Africa? I hear rave reviews about Ghana.

Let me know if you'd like more information.