Hello all. I am cross-posting this three different countries - my apologies if you see this more than once.

We are a family of 5, with the youngest 12 years old, traveling from North East US. We are limited, unfortunately, to the last two weeks in August 2017. I would like to go on a safari where we see a maximum amount of animals, and also be in a relatively stable political environment (safety concerns).

South Africa is my first choice so that we may do a combination of sightseeing and game drives, and perhaps get a beach day or two in. However, I know that Tanzania and Kenya are the traditional parks to visit.

Question: Where do I start regarding educating myself on the migratory patterns and overall which are the better parks to visit? I normally plan and execute the trips myself, and do not have the budget for luxury travel. This is my initial foray into this and realize that I have a short time frame to plan since August is around the corner (for trips of this magnitude). Also, I read on this forum that South Africa is navigable on your own with a rental car and GPS. We are comfortable driving in places unknown to us.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Warning, wordy post follows.

There are plenty of online resources regarding the Kenya/Tanzania migrations, e.g. https://www.rhinoafrica.com/experien...eest-migration

With only two weeks you're going to have to manage your time carefully, but it's certainly doable. You're going to get plenty of opinions of where to go, but to me, given your stated aims, it's pretty easy.

Late August is the ideal time to visit the parks and reserves around Kruger National Park in the north of South Africa. In addition to the park itself (which is very affordable but which doesn't allow off-road game drives) there are numerous private reserves and lodges on the park's periphery, many of them unfenced, allowing unimpeded movement of the wildlife from one area to another. These reserves and lodges/camps come in all price and amenity ranges, from the basic to over-the-top deluxe. Some are more kid-friendly than others.

As you plan, I'd look for a game lodge in one of the reserves around Kruger; the Sabi Sand reserve, Thornybush, Timbavati, Balule... all will offer terrific game viewing and have numerous lodges to investigate. I would look at at least two nights, preferably three, depending on how far your budget will stretch.

Search this board for travel or booking agent recommendations. I've always done my own booking online; there are umpteen third-party resources, but there are also excellent "human" resources including some people who post regularly on this board.

Anyway, here's an imaginary schedule I'd suggest using as a template. Note this is all based on personal experience and might not work for you, but sometimes examples are better than abstract advice. It's worth every dime you're paying for it.

Fly into Johannesburg and spend a night near the airport to overcome jetlag. You could take a day tour around Joburg or Soweto.

The next day, pick up a rental vehicle and drive to the Panorama Route town of Graskop. Graskop is a pleasant little town (the Graskop Hotel is affordable and funky/lovely) but its main advantage is that it's surrounded by the stunning Panorama route scenery (God's Window, Three Rondavels, Blyde Canyon etc.) while being in easy range of Kruger and the various adjacent reserves.

Tour around the area, spend the night in Graskop (Harrie's Pancakes is just down from the hotel and is a great and affordable place for dinner.)

The next morning head to your game lodge. The reason for the "staging" night in Graskop is that getting from Joburg to most of the lodges by car often results in an arrival time that's too late for the evening game drive that night. Since you're paying (dearly) for this experience, my view is to plan your arrival time early enough in the day that you're settled in by the time you muster for the drive. A night at the Graskop Hotel costs a fraction of a night in a game lodge. (Map for this portion - https://goo.gl/maps/rYixtvkP3ZQ2 )

Spend two or three nights at the lodge. You will see an incredible variety of wildlife and be thoroughly addicted by this point.

Then drive back to Joburg, drop the car, and fly to Port Elizabeth (PLZ.) (Airfare is around US$60 per person and saves two days' drive.) Pick up another vehicle and drive to Addo Elephant National Park, a short distance from the airport.

Addo is a self-drive park with plenty of affordable accommodation nearby. While obviously there are a lot of elephants (hence the name) Addo also has a wide variety of species including plenty of predators, birds, you name it. Spend a couple of days driving around Addo.

Then take 2 or 3 days to drive toward Cape Town along the Garden Route. Stop at Jeffreys Bay to watch the surfers (made famous in the 1960s <i>Endless Summer</i> movie) and at Hermanus, where you might see whales right offshore. You can stick a toe in the Indian Ocean but remember it's late winter in August.

Bypass Cape Town by visiting Stellenbosch, a lovely university town surrounded by the gorgeous winelands, and continue north to historic and picturesque Paternoster on the Atlantic coast a couple of hours north of Cape Town.

From Paternoster head south through West Coast National Park toward Cape Town. In late August through September this area is covered in breathtaking wildflower displays, and while the national park has a limited number of four-legged species (still pretty good) it's noteworthy for a huge range of birds present. (Between Kruger, the Garden Route and West Coast NP, if there was ever a time to dive into bird watching, this is it.)

Then end up in Cape Town for the remainder of your time, and fly home from there. (Map for this portion of the trip - https://goo.gl/maps/UzEFUmwD3Hy )

Here's a list showing overnight locations:
1 JNB airport
2 Graskop
3 Game lodge
4 Game lodge
5 Game lodge
6 JNB airport
7 Addo
8 Addo
9 Garden Route
10 Garden Route
11 Paternoster
12 Cape Town
13 Cape Town
14 Cape Town/fly

Again, this is all personal and not meant as a "must-do" thing, but only to show a possible plan that would give you a great deal of diversity and a real snapshot of this marvelous country.

THANK YOU, Gardyloo (all caps intentional). This is amazing (and very helpful). Have you done Kenya and/or Tanzania?

I've not been to South Africa, but I have been to Kenya twice going on my third next month. With "just" two weeks I'd limit yourself to one country. I imagine the logistics of transferring from South Africa to Kenya and then on to a camp in Kenya would eat up the better part of 2 days. I've been to Tanzania once and enjoyed it but once I went to Kenya, I was utterly hooked. I'm in love with it, everything is just better, especially wildlife sightings.

August is high time in the Maasai Mara for the great wildebeest migration. If you have in mind vast herds trying for those dramatic river crossings, that happens then. The map on this site gives you information on *generally* when the herds are in or near the Mara. https://www.expertafrica.com/tanzani...eest-migration

You could stay in the Maasai Mara Reserve itself to be nearer the migration activity but it is mobbed with vehicle traffic as it is a public national park and it is peak season. There are private conservancies (conservation areas) around the Reserve though that are limited to those staying in camps there. You could stay in these less trafficked conservancies and day-trip into the Reserve for migration activity, or just take advantage of the quieter conservancies and all the wildlife they have. Camps like Porini, Asilia, Kicheche, Offbeat Safaris all have a presence in the various conservancies and are highly regarded. If you're interested in the migration, that's where I'd start. There are also other parts of Kenya with much wildlife on offer, like north in Ol Pejeta (for rhinos) and south to Amboseli (for vast numbers of elephants).

I'd find a good safari planner and ask them for help in planning based on your requirements. In any event, you may be a bit late for this August I think for the migration as it starts booking up to a year in advance. I know folks who cannot get their first choice of accommodation at this point in time for this summer. That's not to say it's impossible but it just might narrow options available to you.

<i>Have you done Kenya and/or Tanzania?</i>

No. My late wife went to Kenya and Uganda on business a few of times and did some "safari light" activities, but not to the big parks during the migrations. I've been to Chobe in Botswana (and also to a few other safari locales in South Africa, such as Phinda and Madikwe) but given your time and (I assume) budget I think the Kruger area is your best bet. The additional activities like the coast, beautiful Cape Town etc., add to the benefit of SA for a first-timer. Fair warning, though: it's seriously addictive, and before you get on the plane coming home you'll be plotting your next trip.

Thank you amyb and gardyloo. Amyb: not my intent to do three countries. Wanted to pick the best one from the three. I had briefly considered wanting to do the gorilla encounter in Rwanda, but figured need to ease myself into that, plus my 12 year old would not be old enough for that.
Gardyloo - I have not priced this out but trying to keep it manageable since I still have to pay for my college for my brood lol.
Appreciate the tips and look forward to any other tips you or others may have.

Hello KaneezM,

I see that you’ve received some very good and sound advice from Gardyloo on a South Africa option. I too agree with her suggestion on a nice budget minded family trip. With that said, I’d encourage you to keep two things in mind: 1) Self-drive in South Africa will require you to drive on the other side of the road. If you have experience driving on the other side; great. If not, you may want to think about this a bit. Learning to drive on the other side with family in tow can be a white knuckle experience. You can always hire a vehicle and guide to do the driving for you if driving on the other side seems daunting. 2) Although Cape Town and the Western Cape is lovely, you should note that August weather isn’t the most ideal. On an average year, Cape Town gets about 14 wet days in August. I wouldn’t discourage you from going so much as just wanting to make you aware for planning purposes.

I don’t think you should focus too much on visiting “traditional places” so much as finding the right experiences for you and your family. If you go on a well planned trip to South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania or any other safari destination, you are going to see heaps of beasties. However, there is no doubt that the sheer volume and density of wildlife in East Africa is greater than southern Africa. So, if “maximum animals” is defined by the number of animals you see, I’d say that Kenya and Tanzania will be your best bet. However, in South Africa and other safari destinations, you will get tremendous wildlife viewing as well with great wildlife diversity.

Aside from wildlife viewing, there are some other distinctions between East and South Africa. First, most Game Reserves, National Park and Conservancies in E. Africa are unfenced. Whereas in South Africa, most game areas are fenced. This is for protection of wildlife and rural communities surrounding the game areas. For me, South Africa is what I refer to as “safari light” and there is certainly a higher sense of “management” of these wildlife areas. I also find the landscape to be very inspiring in E. Africa. The low bushveld environment of the Kruger area isn’t quite as dramatic, albeit still pretty. The cultural emphasis on safari is much higher in E. Africa compared to South Africa. For me, I prefer a safari experience in E. Africa over South Africa, however, if you are seeking a well-rounded family vacation combining some safari, some beach and some city, South Africa will be your one-stop destination.

In terms of safety, I’d say that if you take a trip planned by a bona fide Africa specialist, one destination isn’t more inherently dangerous than the other. On safari, keep in mind that you are in fairly remote wildlife areas and it’s very rare that you’ll get any whiff of what’s happening in the rest of the country unless you consciously make an effort to be “connected”. I’ve travelled with my family (including young children) to South Africa and planning our next to Kenya. I have no hesitations about taking my family to any of these destinations. Now, if you plan to do a self-drive through South Africa, I would think that safety could be slightly compromised compared a flying safari or one where you have a driver/guide/vehicle. I say this as you may not always be aware of where you are driving and taking precautions that you may not always think about living in the US (ie stowing your purse, even when you are driving, in a non-visible location). This is where the value of a vehicle/driver/guide service could come handy. But with good planning and being aware, self-drive should be fine. Note that GPS will give you the shortest routing and possibly traffic alerts, nothing more. If you are super keen on the self-drive and don’t want a “guided” overland trip, but want a bit more handholding than planning everything on your own, I’d take a look at Safari Drive. They will provide a fully kitted vehicle, provide you with safe GPS routing, and make all of your reservations for you. Essentially, all you have to do is show up and drive!


There are some really great budget minded options in Kenya which I think you and your family will really enjoy of are comfortable with the notion of camping (beds, linens, toilets and showers provided). You can look into a camel support walking safari with Karisia on their Air BNC spec for 3-4 nights. Great mix of active safari, culture and game viewing. Porini also have the “Adventure Camps” in private conservancies surrounding the Masai Mara and Amboseli. For budget minded travelers, this is a great camping option that gives you all the benefits of a private conservancy stay. Plus, the beaches in Kenya are phenomenal and lots of options for budget minded family-friendly options.

If you are super keen on the self-drive, but want a bit more handholding than planning everything on your own, I’d take a look at Safari Drive. They will provide a fully kitted vehicle, provide you with safe GPS routing, and make all of your reservations for you. Essentially, all you have to do is show up and drive!

Finally, I see you are in the North East area in the US. I have some industry contacts that you may wish to engage in your trip planning. I have no financial incentives for recommending these companies – I just happen to know that they are good! You can reach out to Pierre at Classic Africa or Darren at Travel Sommelier.

Wishing you and your family an amazing safari in August!

Sincerely,
Kota Tabuchi – Managing Director: Africa – Travel Beyond