kak113

I have always thought we would honeymoon in South Africa and had also hoped to tack in a trip to Victoria Falls. With about 12 days, is it feasible to think we could do a 3-4 day safari, a few days in Capetown, an overnight in wine country and still see Vic Falls? Or is that better suited to a safari somewhere else?

If we went to MalaMala would we fly into Johannesburg? I think from a honeymoon perspective it might be best to do the CapeTown and wine country part first and then ease into the early morning wakeups of the safari.

Any advice appreciated!

annhig

hi, kak,

tight, but possible, IMO.

Vic falls 2 nights,
safari 4 nights
2 nights winelands
4 nights CPT.

or vice versa.

have you asked CC Africa and other agents for quotes yet - they may have other ideas too.

regards, ann

CarlaM

That would be a wonderful trip with a great variety of activities and can be accomplished in your time frame.

Our trip was 12 days:
Capetown
Vic Falls
Chobe, Botswana (the best for last!)

sandi

If flying from the States, I believe your ticket to South Africa via JNB, will include the leg to Capetown... at least ours did when we visited. Therefore, I would visit CPT first for at least 4/nts.

You can then fly from CPT via JNB to VFA for 2/nts; return to JNB and conclude with safari.

The trip to VFA can be expensive with return air, hotels and transfers; you return to JNB, based on flight schedules, usually in the evening and require an o/n before heading next morning to the Kruger area, either the park or on the private conservation lands.

Day 1 - Arv JNB, connect to CPT - o/n
Day 2 - CPT - Cape Point, Boulder Beach, Table Mountain - CPT o/n
Day 3 - Robbin Is, Malay District, other town tour, Kirstenbosch Gardens - CPT o/n
Day 4 - Winelands - o/n
Day 5 - Winelands; afternoon to CPT airport to JNB - o/n near airport
Day 6 - Fly to VFA - o/n
Day 7 - VFA, falls tour; afternoon flight to JNB - o/n airport hotel
Day 8 - Fly to Kruger - Sabi Sands, Timbavati or Manyaletti Reserves - o/n
Days 9, 10, 11 - Safari
Day 12 - Return to JNB, homebound flight.

Depending on flight schedules, you might be able to avoid one of those JNB overnights. But, it's all doable.

hlg22

kak113,
I am doing a very similar itinerary but with 15 days (Sunday-Sunday) (leaving on the 26th!). We decided on 5 nights in Cape Town, 3 nights on safari in Sabi Sands, 1 night in Johannesburg (necessary as it was impossible to get the flights to line up to go on the last morning game drive and still get to Vic Falls same day), and 3 nights in Livingstone/Vic Falls. Our detailed itinerary is:

Day 1: Depart US
Day 2: Arrive CPT (evening)
Day 3: City tour, Table Mtn., Robben Island
Day 4: Cape Point, etc.
Day 5: Full day Winelands
Day 6: Not planned, probably will visit cheetahs at Spier, do Table Mountain if we miss it the first time due to weather, and/or do a township tour.
Day 7: Fly CPT-JNB and JNB-MQP, transfer to Sabi Sands (Exeter Leadwood Lodge)
Day 8: On safari
Day 9: On safari
Day 10: After morning game drive, transfer to MQP, fly MQP-JNB, overnight in JNB
Day 11: Fly JNB-Livingstone, Afternoon sundowner cruise
Day 12: Visit the falls, high tea on Livingstone Island
Day 13: Day trip to Chobe, Botswana
Day 14: Fly Livingstone-JNB and JNB-US
Day 15: Arrive in U.S. very early morning.

So, for example, you could do an overnight in the Winelands rather than doing it as a day trip from CPT, cut out the free day in CPT and the Chobe day and be really close to your 12 day limit...

kak113

HLG22-
are you planning to do a river cruise on your day in Chobe? I am now thinking that if I can do 15 days I'd get to add on that and hopefully see the hippos!

hlg22

kak113,
Yes, the Chobe day trip is a game-viewing cruise in the morning, and a game drive in the afternoon. The cruise portion is a big reason we decided to do it as well. I know how easy it is to add a day or two - my trip was originally just going to be to Cape Town! I don't know if you've already started working with a travel agent, but I've been very impressed so far with Premier Tours. They put our trip together on very short notice and have been responsive and a pleasure to deal with. I am reserving final judgment until I see how the trip goes, but I've been quite happy so far. Anyway, here is the exact description of the Chobe trip from our itinerary:

"On September 07 you have a guided tour of Chobe National Park. The Chobe National Park in Botswana is only a 1¾-hour drive from Livingstone. It is one of the greatest game reserves in southern Africa and famous for the number of elephant that live there. The Chobe River flows lazily through the Caprivi flood plains and provides a haven for huge herds of buffalo and elephant, zebra, wildebeest and impala which are followed closely by the predators - lion, hyena, the elusive leopard and the odd pack of the now rare wild dog. The bird life is exceptional. Getting to Chobe includes crossing the Zambezi River on a boat at the point where 4 counties meet - Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia. The Safari starts with a morning game-viewing cruise on the Chobe River. Tea, coffee, drinks and snacks are served on board. Large flocks of birds, big pods of hippos and very large crocodiles are all about. Disembark for lunch at the Chobe Marina Lodge overlooking the Chobe River and the plains beyond. Then onto open safari vehicles for an afternoon game drive into the park. The game drive meanders its way back to Customs and Immigration, crossing the Zambezi and back to Livingstone. The Chobe Day Trips begin at 07.30 and then guests are back at the hotel by about 18.30."