Hi all,
we (my wife and 2 1/2 yr old boy) are comming to SA over july and august (6-7 weeks) were planning on traveling from johanesburg to CT via some places.

Do we need to do Kruger? want the safari experience but is this the best place to do it? do not want to spend thousands on two or three nights.

any other places that would be better?

any places not to be missed?

thank you

In my mind Kruger is a great park and it would be a pity to spend all that time in SA and not visit it. You could stay a couple nights in Kruger at rest camps, which shouldn't break the bank, and do your self-drive (see http://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/). You could combine that with a couple nights in one of the adjoining private game reserves for more intimate wildlife viewing. You could work with a local travel agent to pick a reserve lodge that will fit with your budget. Keep in mind that Kruger is in a malaria area and preventive medication is normally advised.

Best of luck, Steve

With a self-drive at Kruger, staying at rest camps, you're okay with your little one.

At the private reserves, most camps/lodgesdo not allow children younger than 12/yrs (some 8/yrs) to go out on game drives unless you arrange for private exclusive use of the vehicle.

It's important that children understand rules/regs (usually by age 6-7) and when sharing with other guests, simply aren't welcomed; they make noises (even cry), move about, attract animals.

As a wildlife lover, I agree that it would be a shame to visit SA and not give any time over to safari but it does depend on your personal interests.

Also, as many of the wildlife areas are in malaria zones, you'll need to get advice from your doctor about what anti-malarials are suitable for your 2 1/2 year old and whether you are happy to go that route. If so, there are a number of parks you can choose from, including Kruger, which you can either visit on a self-drive basis or opt for a private lodge with inclusive game drives.

If you decide against malaria zones, then you're more restricted but still have some safari options including a some in the Cape region and I think also in Limpopo region.

It would be good to know your total number of nights and your budget for the safari segment too (and number of nights you'd like to give to it).

We also did a self drive and stayed at a very well priced "resort" by the Crocodile Bridge gate. We spent 4 nights and found it amazing. Drove ourselves from Joberg and then flew from kruger to the winelands.

"want the safari experience but is this the best place to do it? "

In South Africa, I believe it is. Or the neighboring private Sabi Sands Game Reserve. There is a wide range of prices in both, but SSGR is generally more expensive.

As Kavey mentioned, are anti-malaria drugs an issue for your young child? There are parts of South Africa that are free of malaria.

Sdb2, Would you have a travel agent in mind who is in country? I am also looking for more moderate accommodations than many that are mentioned ( Sabi Sands, Mala Mala are all out of our budget .
sincerely,
Evelyn

Some more moderate accommodations that have gotten good reviews include Elephant Plains and Arathusa in SSGR and Gomo Gomo in Timbavati.

Hello and thank you,

We have decided that we need to do the Kruger area, so will do a self frive for maybe 4days and then would like to go to Gomo Gomo for 2-3 nights, this looks like a good price for us and has a higher level of luxury to finish with. we are then going to travel around SA for 5 more weeks.
Ideas of things to do?
Whale watcing
Shark dive
Wine route stellenbosh(sp)
Garden route
cape town and then back to Jberg to fly out.

Remember as mentioned above - 1) malarial risk with small child, 2) many -private- camps have age limit of 6 years old on game drives. Sort those out first if you can to save some time.

regards - tom

We spent a total of 5 weeks in South Africa a few years ago. We self-drove too. Our itinerary was:

6 nts Cape Town
3 nts Franschhoek, winelands
1 nt Swellendam
2 nt Oudtshoorn
3 nts Knysna area
2 nts Addo
Fly to Durban
1 nt Durban/ Ballito
2 nts Umfolozi
1 nts Hluhluwe
3 nts St Lucia
2 nts Ndumo
3 nts Ithala
1 nt Kruger Berg en Dal
3 nts Kruger Olifants
1 nt Jo’burg

We then went on to do:
3 nts Savuti Camp, Botswana
3 nts Jacana Camp, Botswana
2 nts Tubu Tree, Botswana
1 nt Gudigwa Camp, Botswana
4 nts Little Mombo, Botswana
4 nts Jacks Camp, Botswana
1 nt Hilltop House, Windhoek, Namibia
4 nts Wolwedans Dunes Lodge, Namibia

venturesome4 (Evelyn)-

For the last four years I have used Leanne Zahn ([email protected]) at Ngwe Safari/Regal African Safaris (www.ngwesafari.co.za, based in Jo'burg) for safari/travel reservations in SA, Botswana and Tanzania. She recently helped a friend of mine, who also needed to work within budget, with her SA travel plans (March '09). I believe Leanne set her up at Umlani Camp in the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, which adjoins Kruger. My friend loved her trip and had good game viewing (she came back with Mal d'Afrique and walks about moaning how she misses Africa).

Best, Steve

We stayed at Grand Kruger which was great and very family friendly

http://www.grandkrugerlodge.co.za/