moondoggie

I just received the new Fodor's Safari Planning Book--it looks like it is very well written with lots of good travel advice. Anyone else got opinions for us first timers on this this book?

thit_cho

Yes, I found it much, much more useful than their previous smaller guide, and this guide looks like a natural first stop for someone undertaking their first safari. Aside from Mark Nolting's book, I can't think of any general book for help in planning a safari, and the Fodors guide will be much easier to find than the Nolting book. They seem to have filled a gap, and hopefully it will direct others to the forum.

LyndaS

Katie, or Alexis, if you are out there is there a 'were you quoted' from this book ?

I am sure we will know all of the names on that 'were you quoted' list!

Kmania

I was at Borders a couple of weeks ago and had picked this up to look at it. I dropped it off with my husband while I went to look for some more books. When I came back, he said 'Did you know you're in this book?' I didn't believe him at first, but that have one of my comments about our visit to Tarangire. So naturally I had to buy the book! Now I've been quoted in a safari book and a wine book, which is pretty funny, considering that I'm a freelance writer who specializes in pets.

Denbasking

Kmania: That is hilarious. What is the name of the wine book and where does one get to read your specialized pet writing?

thit_cho: Glad you made it safely home. I guess I will look to see if you have added to your thread some time when the forum is back up after the outage. It must have been interesting to hear the thoughts on the situation from your contacts.

Kavey

Kmania, it was always my understanding that, if you are quoted from the forums in one of their books, you can request that they send you a free copy.

whiskey

I am also a first timer and found the book provided a very good overview of the various countries and their highlights, as well as some helpful planning tips and general advice. It helped me narrow my focus a bit so I had a (slight) clue of what I was interested in when I started to do some further digging and made inquiries of operators. I actually had picked up the book a few week ends ago on the way to the cottage so I could to do some preliminary reading for a safari my sister and I hope to do in 2009 and then got so excited about going I couldn't wait and decided to try something on my own this fall [I leave Oct 1!!]

whiskey

irecommend

I was the lucky winner of this book at the Toronto Fodors GTG and as I am leaving for Kenya and Tanzania in Sept
I have been reading it daily. Seems quite thorough and the price was right!

whiskey

irecommend I am also from TO, doing kenya and tanzania in Oct. What's your itinerary? (sorry to hijack the thread)

whiskey

Kmania

Hi Denbasking,

The wine book is the Wall Street Journal Guide To Wine: New and Improved, in which I'm quoted on how I have a soft spot for white zin because that's what got me started drinking wine. I write the pet column (Creature Comforts) for MSNBC.com and I write for dog and cat magazines such as Dog World, Catnip, and Your Dog. I have an article on freestyle (dancing with dogs) in the current issue of Dog World.

irecommend

whisky,
Flying to Nairobi Oct 4.
Ten days in Kenya, next 10 days in Tanzania with the last four in Zanzibar. I will see if I can pull up the full itinerary. What about you?

divine54

where can i have a look at that book......cannot trace it here

thx

div

whiskey

divine54 I found it at a Chapters book store (similar to Barnes and Noble in the US I guess) in the travel guide section.

irecommend I leave TO Oct 1, a night in London and then to Nairobi Oct 3. I am doing a fairly short trip - just 9 nights in total. Have a great time.

Katie_H

Hello! I'm sorry that I did not see this thread earlier. I'm so glad that those of you who have checked the guide out so far are pleased.

We should be placing an announcement of members quoted in recent guides up on the site next week.

But... I can post the names for the Safari book here shortly. Just give me one moment...

Kmania-- congratulations on being quoted. We do extend an offer of a complimentary guide to quoted members; you'll be able to request a Safari guide or another guide of your choosing.

Katie_H

Here's the list:

richardfh
hamishbear
Mohammed
santharamhari
Novak
Patty
saridder
acabot
dhruvgupta
MyDogKyle
rsnyder
Hick
Traveller88
Kmania
jenack
ShayTay
Jocilen
HariS
Celia
ekscrunchy
Bert
atravelynn
canadian_robin
Gardyloo
WildDogs
Tropical_gal
Kavey
MisterAviator
jasher
Fabio

If you see your name here, drop me an email at [email protected] with your mailing address.

Kudos to everyone, quoted or not, for making this particular forum here on Fodor's the resource that it is.

divine54

whiskey - thank you very much!

div

LyndaS

Thanks, Katie, looks like I am off to buy the book!

321go

Got the book a week ago, and really wished it had been around when I first thought about traveling to South Africa; it would have been quite helpful. Good job!

AlexisK

Hi everyone. Speaking as the editor of this guide, I can't help but be a proud parent. This book was a joy, and at times a killer, but to hear all of you talking about it's helpfulness and validity, well I'm just smiling from ear to ear (and speechless).

As it was Fodor's first full-color book, it was a bit of a leap for the powers-that-be to go with this as the lead, but I think it has proven to be a smart, beautiful choice. I only wish we could have done a photo contest with this book. There are so many gorgeous images posted in this forum; they were great inspiration for me. Hopefully we can entertain that possiblity for the next edition.

I'm glad to hear that you feel the book was well-written. Kate Turkington is a very knowledgable writer and long-time safari goer and wrote great prose. I'll be sure to forward your thoughts to her.

And remember to keep the reports, advice, questions, and pictures coming. There will be another guide and we will be looking to all of you again for advice and guidance.

jesron

I like the book, but I am surprised that they donīt cover Uganda and Zambia. I wonder what made them leave those 2 countries out. I also would have liked Zimbabwe to be included even though I understand that there are no reasons to write about a country that hardly any will visit.