Ladi

My fiance and I want to go on a safari for our honeymoon, which we leave for in the last full week in September. We want to relax the first few days (eg beach time), go on an 'authentic' safari, and anything else the region has to offer. We'd prefer to go with eco-friendly companies/hotels. We're debating between a trip to South Africa/Botswana (with safari/Cape Town/wine tasting and ??) vs. Tanzania (safari/ Zanzibar / Ngorongoro crater). Which region is better late September-early October for safari and romance? We'll have 2 weeks, maybe a little more, to travel.

sonali74

Hi Ladi, definately masai mara - serengeti ecosystem and botswana both should be good

Sonali

atravelynn

Congrats on your wedding.

To help you decide these two links show the best wildlife viewing, different parks, different months.

http://www.africa-adventure.com/dsp_besttime.html

http://www.bornfreesafaris.com/best_travel.htm

These links are for weather. Some refer to Oct as the suicide month in Botswana for heat. I’ve never traveled to Botswana then.

http://www.classicescapes.com/ta-weather.html

http://www.classicescapes.com/ke-weather.html

http://www.uyaphi.com/afriweather.htm

http://www.classicescapes.com/bw-weather.html

Ladi

Thanks! Looks like Tarangire/S Africa and Botswana are all good. Is one area's safaris more luxurious than the other (it's our honeymoon so we don't rough it too much)? Also, which area offers a better combo with other, non-safari related activities?

atravelynn

Most luxurious: some of the lodges in the Sabi Sands of Africa. You can stay at very nice places with legendary game viewing for around $600/night per person. I really liked Mala Mala. The highest end properties are much more than that.

Botswana has beautiful luxury tented camps that can run $700/night per person. Some much more. The wildlife is excellent.

Since you asked about non-safari activities, I'll mention Phinda in South Africa. It has 4 accommodations. The 2 highest end are Vlei and Rock Lodge. The more moderate are Forest and Mountain Lodge. I stayed at Forest, in a sand forest and thought the glass cabin/suites were beautiful. You can do other activities at Phinda, including horseback riding on the beach, flight of the fish eagle aerial safari over the ocean, canoeing, a village visit, scuba diving. Phinda is fenced, unlike the other places mentioned.

http://www.wildlifeafrica.co.za/ccaf...t-safaris.html

South Africa has Cape Town and the winelands, all non-safari.