Lifelist,

About 3 years ago, when we booked a trip staying at two CCAfrica properties, our US agent gave us a better rate (if I recall correctly, I think about 10 percent less) than CCAfrica directly, so worth checking with other agents also, the price from CCAFrica is not set in stone.

Since you want to visit Capetown, and Delta has that great fare from SFO to CPT, I would try something like this;

Arrive CPT, several days there,

Cheap flight from CPT to Durban (in the $100 to $150 range).

3 hour road transfer from Durban to Phinda (according to CCAfrica's website in airconditoned minibus). No price shown but say $150. Since you are already in touch with CCAfrica, I would just ask them for this price.

Fed Air flight from Phinda to Exeter. I had this priced at one time but can't remember for sure, but say $500.

Fed Air flight from Exeter to JNB, about $250. It's easy to find that cost on another site like the Leaopard Hills website.

Then, cheap flight from JNB to CPT, say $100 to $150.

So rough guess of total in-country transportation about $1200.

If checking with another agent, I guess I would try to get a qoute of the entire cost of lodging and in-country transportation. Or maybe just the cost of transport from Durban to Phinda, to Exeter, to JNB, since there are plenty of dicount airlines flying JNB, CPT, and Durban that you can probably book cheaper yourself.

That's just my two cents worth, but with the reasonable lodge rate (looks like about $350 per night), no single supplement at CCAfrica (is that correct?), and the $1400 airfare from SFO to CPT, it would be shame if the in-country transport is a deal breaker.

Isabel - the internal flight quotes were all out of JNB (ORT), not CPT.

Brandywine - the quote for the land transport from Richards Bay (apparently closer than Durban) was for around $150 per person, but since I'm a solo traveler and they require at least two people, they charge me double - so make it $300. So, it make it $450 to get from CPT to Phinda. Fed Air flight from JNB to Phinda is $500.

Fed Air flight from Phinda to Exeter is about $500; and the quote I'm getting for Fed Air flight from Exeter to JNB (ORT) is also $500.

So, I've been trying to parse out the internal flight options and find alternates, but even with land transfers, the price still hits $1583 vs. $1849 for air travel. Land transfers only make sense if traveling with a group of people.

I've also started looking at trains and buses, but there's a lot of inconvenience in those options. Self-drive might be an option.

I agree that it's a shame that the internal flights are the deal breaker because everything else is so reasonable.

Oh, and yes, there is no single supplement at CCAfrica.

I don't know, but something seems a bit off to me. For some unknown reason, CCAfrica refuses to post the price of flight transfers on their website. However, the Singita website states that the cost of transfer from Johans. to Singita Sabi Sands as 1937 Rands per person one way. The Leopard Hills site states 1890 Rands per person one way. So why in the world would CCAfrica decide that it costs $500 per person one way (all these camps use scheduled shuttle flights on Fed Air). Maybe I'm a cynic, but if the agent told you the wrong price for that flight, maybe the entire $2000 was not correct. I would check with another agent just to verify.

Hmmm, I bet they're charging me for two seats on the airplanes like they were for the land transfers. I'll ask.

Charge for 2 seats, likely, I've had that happen if no other reservations on a charter.

regards - tom

Tom's right. I've seen it also. Just ask us solos :(

Sorry for the hijack, lifelist, but Tom, are you still planning on the Ndutu area/southern serengeti in February or March? I posted a thread with my proposed itinerary. It includes 5-6 days Ndutu area, 2-3 days Loliondo. I've included dates. The more the merrier. Thus far, it's just me and a friend of mine, who's never been to Africa before. If you're interested, click on my name and you'll find it. Post there.

Back to lifelist:

Brandywine is right. Ask for specifics. You'll then know if you're paying for two seats, and if that price applies only if nobody else books the charter. You'll also be able to compare/contract prices better. There is alot of variation on how things are priced out. A cheaper pppn rate is easily offset by a more expensive transfer. Please don't let this dissuade you.

Dana - I looked at your first 50 of listed posts but did not see it? I'm working with Roy Safaris now hoping to get Ndutu for 8 nights starting Feb 1. But broken in between with 2 days at Serena Serengeti. Also time at Lake Manyara Serena and Sopia Ngorongoro.
Please give me a direct link to your posting or email me - tdgraham at sbcglobal dot net. Thanks.

regards - tom

Hi Tom,
Here's the link. It looks like you're going to be there a few weeks before me.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35117912

I just got the cost breakdown. It's the flight between Phinda and Exeter that's the budget buster at $1000 USD:

Meet & Greet on arrival at the Johannesburg International Airport, hand over to you your personalized travel documents and to escort to the Federal Air lounge for your flight to Phinda.

ZAR 931.00 per single guest

Federal Air Scheduled shuttle flight from Johannesburg to Phinda [One Way]

ZAR 3,827.00 per single guest

Inter-lodge Air transfer from Phinda to Exeter River Lodge [One Way]

ZAR 8,100.00 per single guest

13h30. Federal Air Scheduled shuttle flight from Exeter River Lodge to Johannesburg [One Way]

ZAR 2,090.00 per single guest

Total: ZAR 19, 948.

If I did as suggested, and stayed at one lodge/area - say 6 nights Exeter, 2 nights Ngala, I could drop ZAR 9,927 from the quote, which would put me at just under US$6000 all in - including intnl airfare and hotel in CPT for a few nights. Switching camps adds US $1200 to the cost.

I guess the question is do I really want the same camp for 8 nights?

I just booked my flights in the last week or two through CC Africa for the exact same time as you are traveling (late June/ early July). Here are the rates they charged me.

Federal Air Shuttle Johannesburg to Phinda – ZAR 1,937.00 per person one way

Federal Air Shuttle Phinda to Johannesburg – ZAR 1,890.00 per person one way (these flights depart at 13h00 from Phinda on a daily basis)

They are charging you a single supplement on the scheduled Federal Air flights, which makes no sense at all. You may want to try to book those flights directly with Federal Air.

Am I reading this right - ZAR 931 for a Meet & Greet and escort to Federal Air terminal? And that's all you get for $115?

Last time we had a "Meet and Greet" at JNB the "greeter" was at least 30 mins late and we were worried. We needed that documentation. Since then, no more of that nonsense at JNB. Get that documentation before you leave, it is yours.

And escort to Fed Air Lounge. You don't need that either. Within JNB you walk for about 1 minute to the Fed Air ticket booth. They will shuttle you to their nice lounge at the edge of the airport. No big deal getting there.

regards - tom

O.k., so I sent back a request asking about the flight from JNB to Phinda and whether there was a single supplement there.

I've also asked about whether it's realistic logistically to do a land transfer from Phinda to Durban; catch the 1:40 p.m. flight from Durban to KMIA on SAA (arriving 3:00); and then do a land transfer from KMIA to Exeter. This option would be ZAR 3112 vs. ZAR 8100 - a savings of about $611US.

Hi, I'm going to throw a spanner in the works now and say change your plans completely! I saw that you were considering hiring a car. Why not miss out Phinda completely and drive from Cape Town through the Garden Route to one of the private game reserves in the Eastern Cape then fly from Port Elisabeth to Jo’burg and get a flight to the Sabi Sands from there. This will save you a LOT of money and give you the chance to explore one of the most beautiful areas in South Africa. There really is only one problem with the Eastern Cape; it is not a wilderness area. If you can live with this, the game viewing is excellent and some of the lodges there really do offer exceptional value.

If I were you, I would spend four nights in Cape Town, four nights doing the Garden Route, three nights at a reserve in the Eastern Cape and three nights at a lodge in the Sabi Sands.

O.k., so it does look like I’m paying a single supplement for all of the proposed internal flights – basically paying for two seats. However, I’m told that if anybody else is on the airplane, then I don’t have to pay for the second seat, though this can only be confirmed on the day of the flight. Which means that the ZAR $15,000 in internal transport could be cut in half – a savings of USD $900. But, of course, there is the risk that I do end up the only person on the plane and have to pay for the two seats.

I did a bit of number crunching and it looks like I can avoid the single supplement for the most part by booking my own flights and doing land transfers. The land transfers also have single supplements, which are more likely to apply, but they are considerably cheaper. I can get the cost of the transfers down to around ZAR $11000 with land transfers and SAA flights. So, it costs more than it would if I didn’t have to pay the single supplements, but costs considerably less in the event that I do.

However, the land transfers do add quite a bit more time to the transfers between parks. For example, transferring from Phinda to Exeter is a 1.5-2 hour flight vs. the 6-7 hour odyssey I would have to endure with land transfers, which would mean loss of game drives.

To mitigate the wasted time in transit, I would likely book an overnight in either Durban or JNB. For example, I could do a transfer from Phinda to Durban – staying at some place like Tala Game Reserve (http://www.tala.co.za/) overnight, and then transfer from Durban to KMIA in the morning via SAA; followed by a land transfer to Exeter. Alternatively, I could do Phinda to Richards Bay, and then to JNB for an overnight before moving on the following morning. A night at a JNB airport hotel is not that appealing. Either alternative saves me the USD $500 single supplement a Phinda-Exeter transfer might impose, but costs a day for transit.

In any event, if I follow through with my alternates, I can get the price of the vacation to around USD $5677. That includes RT SFO-CPT, internal transport, 3 nights in Cape Town, 4 nights at Exeter, 4 nights at Phinda, and 1 night in either Durban or JNB. Does not include incidentals or tips. Not bad.

I am waiting on word back from some Mobile Safaris I enquired about before making any decisions, but hopefully I’ll hear from them this week.

For those of you who have traveled between these camps, can anyone tell me the likelihood that I would be the only person on the plane between – JNB/Phinda, Phinda/Exeter, and Exeter/JNB? Would day of the week have any impact?

SA-Guide: I did think about self-drive, but am less comfortable with that option when traveling solo. The distractions of driving on the left, navigating, sightseeing, etc. are o.k. with somebody else along, but I'd prefer not to bother solo.

I do have some family members who would love to come along, but we're waiting for my niece to get old enough for game drives before we all head off on safari, so it'll be a few years yet.

Just to update my own thread - got word back about the Mobile safaris I inquired about, and everything is booked or is out of my budget.

So, it looks like this is coming together.

O.k., booked.

6 nights Cape Town (An African Villa)
4 nights Exeter Forest Lodge
4 nights Phinda Mountain Lodge
SFO-CPT roundtrip on Delta
Taxes, Fees
Trip Insurance

$6500

Price jumps between $250-750 depending on whether I have to pay the single supplement on my flights or not. This gets confirmed 48 hours before departure time.

So, a bit more than I wanted, but not too bad - I waited too long on the flights and they jumped $200, I didn't account for trip insurance at $250, and I didn't expect a single supplement at An African Villa (ZAR 660 vs. ZAR 425). Also, the USD lost a bit of value against the ZAR over the last week.

ccafrica has a great mobile safari in botswana:
maun-vic falls
10 days/9 nights for approx. 3.200US$
instead of cape town i would spend some days in vic falls or cca motswiri lodge in zim.
should be roughly matching your budget.

if CPT is a must:
check
http://www.portfoliocollection.com/
they have great B+B options!

Pippa - I did some checks on mobile safaris in Botswana, and it looks like everything is booked up already.

One of the nights in Cape Town is right after I arrive from the U.S. at 4 p.m., and one night is after I get back from Exeter at around 5 p.m.

So, I'm really only getting 4 full days in Cape Town.