booking S. Africa Itenerary directly or through tour operator
 

Hello, I am planning my first trip to Africa and am working on the following itenerary:

Dec 17-26 - Safari in Tanzania
Dec 26-27 - Victoria Falls
Dec 28-Jan 02 - Cape Town

The safari is with an in-country tour operator in Tanzania, and I can book that direct with them. They also offer ability to book flights, hotels, transfers for other Africa locations. Is it best to go that route, or is there considerable savings in booking direct on my own? There must be important todo's there..For example, I'll need to apply for a visa for Tanzania and the tour operator does that, however when I book flight to Vic Falls(Livingstone airport) do I need to do visa stuff for Zambia and also S. Africa when going to Cape Town? Do you usually use one consolidator to book intl and internal airfares?

I'm looking at places to stay in Vic Falls, and heard Zambia side is a little more calm for tourists, and Royal Livingstone is primary choice, we'll just want to relax their after the safari so luxury is good. I've got a quote from Island-Safari for about 550/nite(they claim its 778 a nite and they get a 30% discount) during last week of dec...is that good? Are transfers from Livingstone airport typically included?

In Cape Town, we want to be in the action of the city and waterfront, do lots of day excursions(instead of expensive hotel), and find a cool locale for New Years Eve. I've read lots of in depth posts from Selwyn. If we want to have close waterfront and more of the luxury/hotel experience w/o the 5 star damage, then City Lodge or Portswood is good? He recommends B&B's when in Cape Town, and the way he describes them I can't resist. Is it best to try and book direct with the B&B's or go through a local operator such as Selwyn? It sounds like the local operators may have pricing power.

Any insights appreciated, can't wait to get out there already...

I don't think a Tanzanian ground operator can get you a visa. You either have to get it through the Tanzanian Embassy in your country of origin (directly or usin a passport/visa service), or purchase it at the airport before you go through Immigration and Customs. Your ground operator will meet you after that.

You might check with Selwyn and see if he can book your Vic Falls/Cape Town trip. If not, I'm sure he'll be able to recommend a South African agent who can do so.

For Tanzania, you have to get your own Visa. If your tour operator is obtaining it for you, it's probably more like using an Expediting Service. Check what they're charging for this service.

It's also very easy to get your Visa for Zimbabwe (VFA) on arrival for about USD$30 (unless they've raised it to $35)... there's also a departure fee of USD$20 flying out to South Africa.

When you arrive South Africa, they provide a tourist visa right there (no charge for Americans... I'm assuming), but for SA, be sure you have two blank facing passport pages.

In all honesty, obtaining you visas on your own is a no-brainer. Whether you do it Tanzania thru the Embassy in Wash, DC or on arrival.

Regarding booking CT accommodation it's certainly easy to negotiate and book directly but I'd consider getting in touch with Selwyn anyway - because he is a registered tour guide he gets a discount from the owners but instead of charging his clients the standard rate and earning commission he always gives the clients the exact rate the accommodation charges him.

That said, when I was booking our 5 week trip I wrote personal and chatty emails to my shortlist in each city and negotiated some really hefty discounts. Often we paid 50-60% of the normal prices. Then again we were travelling in May/ June which is lower season.

Kavey, they must have some really chatty e-mails to get that sort of discount :))! How exactly do you write a personal and chatty e-mail to someone you have never met? Any tips? - Might try this for my next trip (whenever that might be).
Sreuland, With regards to the Portswood in Capetown, we stayed there as part of our honeymoon trip 4 years ago. We were more than pleased with it. The location was fantastic, just a short walk to the Waterfront and in the other direction, the Green market is another short walk away. The hotel itself is VERY nice and the food was always very good (we only ate breakfast there). If I was going back to Cape Town I certainly would not hesitate staying at the Portswood. in 2002, we got a SA agent to book that portion of our trip (Sun City, Manyaleti and Cape Town) - hotels, camp, flights, day excursions, airport transfers. We also went to Zimbabwe to Victoria Falls where we got a Zim TA to organise the hotel and airport transfers. This worked out the cheapest but we didn't investigate the posibility of organising it entirely on our own so that may have been cheaper.

Imelda

Well, I basically wrote an email introducing myself, explaining that I was organising a special trip (a second honeymoon) for my husband and I to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary by renewing our vows which we'd be doing in Namibia. I also told them just a very little bit about us - that we love to travel and that this would be our first visit to South Africa but our second to the Southern Africa region. I went on to explain that because the trip was 9 weeks in length our budget per night was much tighter than our normal budget but that I was doing my best to find the very best I could for our money. I said that whilst I knew there were backpacker places and cheaper options we could opt for I particularly liked their property because (and then listed my genuine reasons, changed in each email to reflect each property on my shortlist). I said that my nightly budget was X and that I knew this was a lot less than their standard rate but asked if they would be willing to offer a substantial discount, especially given the low season. I also mentioned that whilst we were trying to travel on a very tight budget that we did know how to show respect for their beautiful property and that we wouldn't trudge mud into their rugs, leave damp towels hanging over antique chairs or otherwise cause any damage to their property.

I meant every word I said and it worked very well for me. Some guest house owners said they felt intrigued by my email and wanted to meet us and help us with our special celebration. Others perhaps just felt reassured that we would not trash the place.

It's not the right path for everyone but I had spent a huge amount of time creating my shortlist for each town on our route and actually really enjoyed this personal aspect of planning!

At this stage I think that you will be lucky to find a room let alone be afforded a discount in Cape Town.
Those dates are PRIME time so I doubt very much that any Cape property is going to drop the rate. Considering this your best bet is to contact a kind sole like Selwyn in the hopes that he doesn't profit from processing your reservation.
Good luck.

WOW Kavey, now I can see how you got that discount. You are certainly a very talented writer and put a LOT of thought into those e-mails ... I wouldn't even know how to have started an e-mail like that. AND a whole NINE weeks in Africa!!!! Did you by any chance post your itinerary and a trip report??? I would LOVE to read it if you did? When & where did you go? I'm "thinking" about our return to africa - it's never too early to start planning and researchimg, and I have read good things about Namibia (as well as Botswana and Zambia and Tanzania and.... and....!) Anyways, It just might be one to consider for next time ;)

Imelda

Remember once I'd written one letter it was just a matter of adapting the segment about the particular reasons I liked their property so it didn't take that long really!

I did write a report for the 5 weeks in South Africa (search on the term "long report" and it should pop up) but never did get to the Botswana and Namibia bit I'm afraid!