Honeymoon in Southern Africa Tips...
Oct 18th, 2005, 08:22 AM
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Honeymoon in Southern Africa Tips...
my fiance and i are trying to plan a honeymoon for next September (around the 4th-16th) - somewhere exotic where we haven't been before. I've been to Cape Town and Kenya. We're looking at Victoria Falls area for some adrenaline adventure, then a safari around that area (Botswana/Zambia/Tanzania) then a few days for some beach time - I was looking at Mozambique and the islands right off the coast or if we decide to do the safari in tanzania, maybe Zanzibar could be our beach option.
We are in our late 20s, and are active, and sociable...we like a little luxury, good food and drinks...we aren't filthy rich, but we'll spluge within reason for our honeymooon
so my questions are:
which hotel should we stay at around Victoria Falls?
should we head to botswana, northern South Africa, Zambia or Tanzania for our safari time? and which lodges?
where should we go for some good beach time? resort suggestions?
We are in our late 20s, and are active, and sociable...we like a little luxury, good food and drinks...we aren't filthy rich, but we'll spluge within reason for our honeymooon
so my questions are:
which hotel should we stay at around Victoria Falls?
should we head to botswana, northern South Africa, Zambia or Tanzania for our safari time? and which lodges?
where should we go for some good beach time? resort suggestions?
Oct 18th, 2005, 09:01 AM
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Splendid idea to honeymoon in Africa!
It is not practical to combine Tanzania and the Bots/Vic Falls element of your trip. I would urge you to consider these options.
1) Tanzania safari with the coast. possibly Seychelles, but they can be expensive.
2) Bots/Vic Falls and Mozambique Islands.
If you opt for the latter here are some considerations.
Flights to the Islands are NOT daily & you will need to go via Vilanculos. You can do this via Maputo and then up to Vilanculos too.
Due to connections etc you might find yourself needing to spend a night in JNB.
That said and depending on your arrival in Africa I would suggest the following.
-Arrive JNB early 08h00.
-Connect at 10h00 to Victoria Falls. (Sept falls viewed from Zambia can be "iffy"
- Two nights Vic Falls. This will allow time to run the river, sunset river cruise and a bungee jump, plus of course a walk around the falls.
- Five nights in Botswana. Combine Northern Bots with the delta 2 & 3 nights respectively.
- flight, Maun to Johannesburg. Overnight.
- Flight to Vilanculos, connect to the islands.
- Number of night depends on your desire and the availability of return flights.
Choices that you can consider: Indigo Bay, Marlin Lodge and Benguerra Island Lodge.
It is not practical to combine Tanzania and the Bots/Vic Falls element of your trip. I would urge you to consider these options.
1) Tanzania safari with the coast. possibly Seychelles, but they can be expensive.
2) Bots/Vic Falls and Mozambique Islands.
If you opt for the latter here are some considerations.
Flights to the Islands are NOT daily & you will need to go via Vilanculos. You can do this via Maputo and then up to Vilanculos too.
Due to connections etc you might find yourself needing to spend a night in JNB.
That said and depending on your arrival in Africa I would suggest the following.
-Arrive JNB early 08h00.
-Connect at 10h00 to Victoria Falls. (Sept falls viewed from Zambia can be "iffy"
- Two nights Vic Falls. This will allow time to run the river, sunset river cruise and a bungee jump, plus of course a walk around the falls.
- Five nights in Botswana. Combine Northern Bots with the delta 2 & 3 nights respectively.
- flight, Maun to Johannesburg. Overnight.
- Flight to Vilanculos, connect to the islands.
- Number of night depends on your desire and the availability of return flights.
Choices that you can consider: Indigo Bay, Marlin Lodge and Benguerra Island Lodge.
Oct 18th, 2005, 12:18 PM
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Victoria Falls is wonderful! and Botswana is great also. I would recommend staying on the Zimbabwe side in Victoria Falls sicne you can then walk to the falls. We stayed at Ilala Lodge which was a wonderful, comfortable, clean place. The rooms look right out onto a nature preserve area and my parents found a baboon on their little patio when they checked in 
! You can hear the falls at night and see the mist from them as you eat breakfast on the patio. The dinners in their restaurant are quite good and the service is wonderful. In Botswana we stayed at one of the CCAfrica camps in the Delta and I would highly recommend it - Nxabega. They have the Hemingway style tents and it is a totally all-inclusive place - food, game drives, all drinks, laundry, etc. The beds are very comfortable and the staff can't do enough for you. I have mentioned at dinner one night that I had become addicted to passion fruit in Africa and the next day there wasn't any on the lunch buffet. So the manager brought me at least 8 of them! I can't help you with the rest of the places, but it sounds like a wonderful honeymoon.
! You can hear the falls at night and see the mist from them as you eat breakfast on the patio. The dinners in their restaurant are quite good and the service is wonderful. In Botswana we stayed at one of the CCAfrica camps in the Delta and I would highly recommend it - Nxabega. They have the Hemingway style tents and it is a totally all-inclusive place - food, game drives, all drinks, laundry, etc. The beds are very comfortable and the staff can't do enough for you. I have mentioned at dinner one night that I had become addicted to passion fruit in Africa and the next day there wasn't any on the lunch buffet. So the manager brought me at least 8 of them! I can't help you with the rest of the places, but it sounds like a wonderful honeymoon.
Oct 19th, 2005, 09:47 AM
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Thanks for your input!
I was wondering if on my way to the islands (or somewhere else along the way) is there anything cultural to do in Vilanculos? I don't want to go through three countries in africa without getting some cultural stimulation in addition to the natural highlights. I love african drums and music. just a thought
I was wondering if on my way to the islands (or somewhere else along the way) is there anything cultural to do in Vilanculos? I don't want to go through three countries in africa without getting some cultural stimulation in addition to the natural highlights. I love african drums and music. just a thought
Oct 19th, 2005, 10:32 AM
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Hi,
We had a fabulous honeymoon in Namibia in May of this year(I know you don't mention Namibia in your post but it's definitely worth considering), including 4 wonderful days at Impalila Island Lodge which is only a couple of hours from Victoria Falls. Our trip report is here: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34632364 - perhaps it'll give you some inspiration!
We had a fabulous honeymoon in Namibia in May of this year(I know you don't mention Namibia in your post but it's definitely worth considering), including 4 wonderful days at Impalila Island Lodge which is only a couple of hours from Victoria Falls. Our trip report is here: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34632364 - perhaps it'll give you some inspiration!
Oct 19th, 2005, 11:08 AM
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If you are going to stay in Vic Falls have a look at Songwe Village. It is operated by Kwando safaris and is a cultural experience. I was there for two nights in September this year.
The management of the camp are Zambians, their mission in liife is to share cultural aspects of Zambian tribal life. While this element may appear a little canned, it is an eye opening experience and well worth it. In addition their little camps lies close to a real village that has a population of around 1500 people and they arrange tours of the village, which are led by the local villagers. it is unpretencious as it is simply that, a tour of the village. The villagers do not dress up and perform for the tourists, you see life as it is.
Not sure about vilanculos, however know that the flight connections to the islands are quite tight so you really only pass through. You might get "down and dirty" in Maputo itself. There life is hard, but up beat. A stroll through the market is interesting enough and offers insights to the culture of city residing Mozambiquens,
The management of the camp are Zambians, their mission in liife is to share cultural aspects of Zambian tribal life. While this element may appear a little canned, it is an eye opening experience and well worth it. In addition their little camps lies close to a real village that has a population of around 1500 people and they arrange tours of the village, which are led by the local villagers. it is unpretencious as it is simply that, a tour of the village. The villagers do not dress up and perform for the tourists, you see life as it is.
Not sure about vilanculos, however know that the flight connections to the islands are quite tight so you really only pass through. You might get "down and dirty" in Maputo itself. There life is hard, but up beat. A stroll through the market is interesting enough and offers insights to the culture of city residing Mozambiquens,
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