Honeymoon Safari recos? (want no kids, small groups)
 

As my screen name may imply, I'm not quite as excited about my wedding as my long-standing dream of doing a safari in Africa. I have spent hours (days?) reading through the forums here and am impressed with the knowledge of tours and countries, but didn't see anything fitting my specific questions, so here I am.

My fiance and I are both very flexible as to location within Africa, luxury level, booking our own vs. tour, and strenuousness (i.e. we are both athletic but do not require that to have fun). We are getting married on November 3 2007, so would leave a few days later. I would love and appreciate any recommendations that fit our requirements:
1. Smaller tours
2. Less crowded park (if you see a lion, you do not have a photographic background of 8 other Land Rovers)
3. No (or few) kids
4. Hopefully under $5000, but again, we're flexible within reason.
5. If not a tour, places to stay from which you can see wildlife.
6. Length from 7 days - 15 days.

Thank you very much for any help!

And that's under $5000 per person. We have high hopes for price, but aren't quite deluded enough to ask for this at $2500/person =)

November is the start of the short rains season in East Africa. The benefit of that is fewer tourists, some camps/lodges having lower rates, and not needing to book as early to secure accommodations. We've been twice in November/early December and have rarely encountered multiple vehicles even in parks that are normally popular. Some camps do close during this period but many others stay open. The rains are usually not that heavy (well, except for last year :D ) and has a cooling effect, making it very refreshing. Is the $5000 for both of you or per person and does it include international air? If so, from where? I'd highly recommend a custom tour for just the two of you.

I'll let others tell you more about Southern Africa at that time of year.

Thanks for clarifying that it's per person. And if that doesn't include air, then your budget could easily cover two weeks on a private, driving safari in East Africa if you don't go too high end with your accommodations (maybe mixing moderate places with a few splurges). Like I said, some camps have reduced rates at this time. If it has to include air, we'd need to know where you're flying from.

Thank you for the quick response! The $5000 per person would not include airfare. That's great information about the rainy season, too. We live in Sarasota, FL, so while we wouldn't love to spend our entire vacation in a deluge, cooling rain actually sounds quite nice. =)

Here are links to my reports and photos from that time of year in Kenya/Tanzania:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34719569

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34920145

Also check the East Africa trip report index http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34860283 and Southern Africa trip report index http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34858382 to see where others have gone at that time of year. Have fun planning!

WorstBride - You'll LOVE Africa! I went to Tanzania for a month last summer and it was incredible.

Our safari guide - who is local to Arusha and does small, large, private, camping, schwanky whatever you want - was a guy named Nas who owns a company called Maasai Wanderings with his wife Donna and they are incredible. He'll work with you to put together a trip that meets your needs in terms of lenght of stay, budget, where to go and what to see, luxury v. roughing it, active or not, etc. and his prices were extremely competitive. His guys are great cooks, too! I'd call them today if I could pick up now and go back...

Website is: http://www.maasaiwanderings.com/

Happy Honeymooning!!

As mentioned, November into mid-December is the "short" rains in East Africa. Until last year, when the rains never seemed to want to end, I've often traveled at this time and rarely had more than one or two afternoon thunderstorms (1/2 hr) or rain overnight. At no time did these occurences impact our safari, rather the rain settled the dust and there was non humidity afterwards.

In Kenya, prices go down during this period. In Tanzania, they go down somewhat, but this is still considered "high-season." Some of the seasonal camps in both countries close during this period, but many other small camps are opened.

I mention camps, as these are the places you're less likely to come upon children. But there's no guarantee that there might not be some children on holiday with parents... though if not a school break time (whether in the US or Europe), maybe not even in that case.

For a chance to catch the migrating wildebeest herds, they'll likely be found in the northern Serengeti as they depart the Masai Mara, Kenya. But, it's been known (and I've experienced the herds still in the Masai Mara in November). If this is of interest, the northern area of the Serengeti should be considered. However, the few camps located here tend to be the most expensive.

But, you can find some lovely and quite romantic properties in various areas of Kenya that are ideal for a honeymoon and still provide great game viewing. As above, the prices will be more advantageous in this country.

Thank you very much for the great advice, Patty, WaterGirl, and Sandi!

Good luck!! Have a great time and let us know what you decide....

Hey WorstBrideEver :-) - like your screen name...You should try calling Sandi from Africa Serendipity on this board. She helped my husband & I plan our belated honeymoon to Africa and we leave in just over a month. Can't wait! Sandi was great in customizing everything we wanted for our Kenya/Tanzania safari - we're doing mostly private along the way which will be great for a honeymoon. Her prices were also very reasonable compared to other tour operators we looked at. I don't usually plug travel agencies, but my experience with Sandi/Africa Serendipity has been top notch! Good luck with whatever you decide!

Have you made any more decisions about the honeymoon yet? Do you have a specific country in mind? Are you more interested in cultural or environmental activities?

My fiance & I are getting married on Saturday and we leave Sunday for our 2 week South African honeymoon! I, like you, are more excited about the honeymoon than the wedding! I prefer animals to humans so we are focusing our trip mostly on game viewing; although we may do a cultural experience on the last day or 2 of our honeymooon when we expect to have more leisurely time. We will be staying in 2 private reserves outside Kruger, followed by 4 nights at Thonga Beach Lodge along the northeastern coast.

I will be sure to post all about our experiences when I return.

Good luck with the wedding planning! :)
Kim

I hope I don't confuse things .....!

I've been to Kenya several times and love it. I'm sure you'll find it a very emotional experience and you'll want to return. However, the seasons that used to be predictable are not so these days for reasons we all know.

For example, last year we were there in early November (as covered by your dates) and the Masia Mara was desperate for rain - it didn't arrive until later in the month as Patty said. The previous year we were there in September and parts of the Mara were flooded because the light rains had arrived early.

That said, you should be fine in early November. The light rains are usually what they say they are i.e. not too heavy.

I'm always reluctant to recommend a camp but if you want to go to the Mara, try looking at the website for Mara Explorer (10 nicely appointed tents and great food). It might be booked up by now though.

Chui

imavolio,
What's your itinerary? Sounds like we may be in kenya/tanzania at the same time. Our itinerary is already on the forum -- check under samcat.
Thanks.

Wow, you have absolutely good choice for your honeymoon to Africa. My wife and I we had a wonderful experience in Tanzania.I'm not a good reporter but I think the info will help you in organizing your adventure.

After months of shopping arround we finally ended up booking with a company called Goodearth Tours. We spoke to their Gentlemen in Florida and he customized the safari including 3 days in Zanziber after visiting thousands of species of animal and birds in Manyara, Serengeti, Tarangire and Masai Mara in Kenya.

I'd recomend you to talk to him and see what you'll come up with. Hopefully, you'll write to me when you come back.

Goodluck

Sorry for my delay and replying...just getting back from my bridal shower in Boston (at which it became apparent to all that I don't cook...oh well =D)

Thank you all so much for your advice!!! I really appreciate it! This is our current itinerary:
- Arrive Johannesburg, stay overnight
- At 11am, fly to Garonga Safari Camp in Makalali. Stay for three nights. While there, learn to spell and pronounce "Simbambili."
- Next three nights are at Simbambili in the Sabi Sands game reserve.
- The last four are still a bit in the air. We were originally going to be in Capetown, but wanted something less city-esque. We are now booked for four nights at Rocktail Bay, but may opt for Capetown in the end. I'm guessing we'll stick with Rocktail Bay unless we can see penguins somewhere by Capetown. (Fiance likes penguins. A lot.)

This is coming in at just slightly over our budget (surprise, surprise) at $5200/person, not including air.

We are booking this through Sandy at Uncharted Outposts. She has been wonderful. We were very close to booking with a company called Ngoko Safaris, but they wanted cash only, which was to be put in a "separate Trust [sic]." No thanks, gotta pay with the AmEx and get the security and the points!

Thanks again, everybody. Your advice has helped so much. I will keep you posted on our trip plans and try to help other travelers with these decisions after we get back.