banshee

I have been studying this board for some time now. It is amazing how much information everyone has contributed. Thanks to everyone as I have already learned a lot. My husband and I already have our airline tickets (thanks to frequent flier miles)from Atlanta to Joburg and return. We are traveling in the beginning of July. We have 11 nights to spend on vacation (not including nights in flight. I am thinking of the following itinerary, in general, and not necessarily in this order: 1 night Joburg to recover from jet lag, 3 nights in Kruger, 3 nights in Cape Town, 2 nights in VF, and possibly 2 nights in Chobe. Our return flight doesn't leave Joburg until 6 PM. Chobe was sort of any after thought as it is so close to VF and I have heard the wildlife is so good in Chobe and July is a great season there. What do others think? Is the game viewing significantly different than what I will see in Kruger? Another thought is to do a day trip into Chobe from VF. (And spend the extra night or two in VF) I have read a little about this on this forum, some thinking you miss too much, etc. I am thinking of staying at the Chobe Game Lodge, if there is availability. It is very expensive-over $600 US, so in that sense it makes the idea of a day trip there seem reasonable if you are getting to see enough. Does anyone know what times these day trips depart and return to VF? I believe the sunset cruise on the Chobe is supposed to be great. Is there a significant difference between the sunset cruise on Chobe and the one on the Zambezi? Originally I was thinking of staying at the Royal Livingstone, but after reading the posts here, I think I am leaning toward staying at the Victoria Falls Hotel on the Zim side, since it seems like the falls in July on the Zambia side will be dry. Also, is the visa really $100 even just to cross over into Zambia for a day? WOW! As far as Kruger, there is a special winter package of 3 nights at Lion Sands (I would do the lesser priced River Lodge)and get 3 nights free at the Cadogan in Cape Town. Sounds like a good deal, although I was thinking of wanting to stay near the water front. What do people think of the Lion Sands River Lodge? I also believe the Simbambili has a special winter price (I'm not sure) and it seems like the Simbambali is well thought of on this forum. Would anyone have a comparison of the two properties? I believe the price may come out almost the same, minus the Cadogan bonus. If I didn't go to Chobe, or only went to Chobe for one night, perhaps I would add a 4th night in Cape Town. I also have not selected a tour company yet, although I have gotten several quotes. So far the US based companies have been more money. I received quotes from 2 South African companies and am currently waiting to get a price from another South African company- Go2Africa. There have been some posts on here. I am wondering if it matters whether I choose a company that is a member of ASTA as opposed to a company that is only a member of SATSA (security wise, I mean, since we are talking about thousands of dollars)?
Thanks in advance for any help here.

RBCal

I used Go2Africa last year and thought they did a good job at a reasonable price. In my opinion, stay in Chobe and do a day trip to Victoria Falls. The falls can be seen in a few hours and there is little else there besides white water rafting and bungee jumping. The game viewing at Chobe will be much more interesting than the falls.

CarlaM

My first trip Dec 2005, I did the sunset cruise on the Chobe River and the Zambezi in Vic Falls (low season) and they BOTH were great. I stayed in Capetown for 4 nights which was perfect for all I wanted to see & do.

11 days will be wonderful for you! I have photos posted, just click on my name for previous posts if you want to take a look.

spiegelcjs

Although our trip is already finalized for June I am courious. Where did you find the information on the specials in Kruger and Cape Cadagon. We are staying at the Cape Cadagon the first few days in June rather than spending a lot of money on a hotel in Cape Town . My tour operator suggested this as a nice small botique hotel although not located on the V&A Waterfront. We are staying at Mala Mala main camp in Kruger for 3 days from Cape Town.

KayeN

Hi Banshee

I have stayed several times at Lion Sands Ivory Lodge and as River Lodge is right next door, I would imagine that it has a similar outlook. The Sabie River on which both lodges are, is an extremely pretty outlook. On the other side of the Sabie River is Kruger National Park, so you are not in Kruger as such, but in the Sabi Sands a collection of private game reserves next to Kruger National Park. Have not stayed at Simbambili so will not comment, but the 3 nights at Lion Sands I have always had reasonable gameviewing and this past December I had a total of 6 gamedrives, and half of them had wild dog which is fantastic!

Kind regards,

Kaye

for spiegelcjs

I am a huge fan of MalaMala, which is also in the Sabi Sands, and their eastern boundary is with Kruger National Park.

banshee

Thanks to everyone for their advice so far. Spiegelcjs, I found out about the Lion Sands/Cape Cadogan special from Rhino Safaris. I had asked them for a preliminary quote on my itinerary. I also saw the special posted on Go2Africa website. The Lion Sands special included either the River or the Ivory Lodge (which is so much more). I also got a quote from Go2Africa. Her first quote included the Djuma Vuyatela, which seems to get some questionable reviews here. I have also asked her about Simbambiili, because on their web site they quote the per person night rate in July as R2755. Lion Sands River is R2825. I thought the accomodation looked better at Simbambili. What do others think? I am also asking her about Exeter. I guess the weather is quite cold at night in July. Does anyone know if these lodges heat your room? I believe the Vuyatela and Simbambili have fireplaces in their bar/lounge area. Does anyone know if Lion Sands does? I think Exeter Leadwood even has a fireplace in the guest rooms.
RBCal- I'm glad to know you used Go2AFrica and all went well. I haven't decided on an operator just yet but I have been corresponding a lot with them. Their prices seem fair. Actually Rhino Safaris prices weren't too bad. Any other suggestions about chosing a tour company (this one or others)would be appreciated and SA operators or US.

I am hoping to stay in both Victoria Falls and Chobe. I am still trying to work out connections between Joburg-VF-Kruger-Cape Town with 11 nights to work with and jet lag from the US.

Thanks for the assistance.

santharamhari

Banshee,

I believe Eric (eyelaser) on these boards has been to djuma vuyutela and liked his experiences there....

All your Sabi Sands options sound good......

Hari

jasher

Hello,

It sounds like you have a great trip coming up. In terms of the logistics, here's what I would suggest:

Joburg x1 (depending on when your flight gets in, you could potentially connect straight through to Cape Town and spend your jet-lag recovery day there)
Cape Town x3
Lion Sands x3
Fly to Joburg and connect up to Vic Falls. Vic Falls x2
Chobe x2
Fly back to Joburg from Vic Falls

In July you will be fine on either side of the falls. However, I do think the Vic Falls Hotel offers excellent value for money compared to the Royal Livingstone.

If you were to stay in Zambia, you could get the visa fee waived -- your agent would be able to arrange this.

In terms of ASTA vs SATSA, the main difference is that ASTA is an American organisation which may offer more protection to you if something goes wrong (and you're from the US). If you have a problem with an ASTA member agency ASTA has a consumer complaints division which assists in resolving disputes. Losing its ASTA membership would be damaging for the agency, so they would have a strong motivation to solve the problem quickly and fairly.

Cheers,
Julian

trapsma

Two years ago, I went to South Africa with Victoria Falls as a side trip. We spent two nights in Victoria Falls, enjoying every minute of it. Besides the falls, which were spectacular,we went to a game dinner, a sunset cruise, and an elephant ride. Our hotel was on a preserve, so at any time during daylight hours, we could see the animals meandering to the watering hole. We were not allowed off the paths; I understood why when we heard a lion outside our window during the night - along with a few screeching monkeys.

I also enjoyed South Africa. We had a private guide, so we could pretty well choose what we wanted and how long we wanted to spend at each area. I am going again this year for two weeks to the Port Elizabeth area. My companion is renting a car, so we will be sightseeing on our own. He will be on a hunt for the last five days, at which time I'll be relaxing on the ranch. There are usually festive evening activities at these camps as well as opportunities to go into a nearby town.