Lion World Tours and Tinga
 

Lion is offering a 9 day trip to JNB and then CPT from JFK. The deal includes 4 nights in Capetown at More Quarters (part of Cape Cadogan Hotel) and 3 nights at Lion Sands River Lodge which includes 6 game drives. All transportation, Winelands tour, all breakfasts, and all meals at the camp. You're on your own in Capetown.

We are going the last half of September. As it turned out Lion Sands was booked and they substituted Tinga Suites, a 5-star rated camp, which seems to be an even better deal looking at its web site. Same number of drives with some walks added.

I don't see any downsides to this and the price was so much lower than what we've been looking at for the past year that it was an offer we couldn't refuse. The cost is $2999 plus $190 taxes and $150 extra for the DFW-JFK legs. The routing from DFW to JFK is a bit circuitous because they use United with no non-stops to JFK.

Has anyone been to either of these camps, especially Tinga?

Does anyone know what the recommended gratuity is at camps?

Any other comments appreciated.

I have been to Lion Sands dating back to when it was Sabi Sabi River Lodge. Matt, Elizabeth, and Molly from our office are at Tinga right now (i.e. tonight). They are loving it there! Just got some emails from Matt. He has been to almost every safari lodge in the Sabi Sands and he has been at Lion Sands 3+ times so he has a good experience base to judge from.

After Lion Sands bought Tinga a few months back I put a group of 18 into the lodge last month. The guests all rated it 5-star. So - YES - I highly endorse Tinga. It is in the Kruger and not in the private sabi sands which is probably the big difference.

The deal you got is nothing that special especially given the fact that you have to make multiple connections to JNB on United/SAA. You would probably accomplish the same trip on Delta for just a little more and make two less stops. Lion Sands has good combo-rates in the hands of many of their partner tour operators in the USA. The deal you got is probably stay3pay2 at their hotel and stay3pay2 at the lodge. If you really want Lion Sands (I highly recommend) just move your dates a few days +/- or go on safari first? Won't you have to overnight in JFK to catch the flight to Jo'burg?

Bottom line - you have a good deal at a good price if you don't mind the flights.

Craig Beal - owner - Travel Beyond

Craig - since Tinga is in Kruger NP does that mean no night drives or off road? Tinga looks beautiful, but no off-road would be a big minus for me.

winnick - South Africa Airways (a United partner) has similar trips. Check what they have on special at flysaavacations.com. I don't see much downside except it's only 9 days and 2 1/2 are travel, plus another half day from CT to the Kruger area. I love Cape Town, but the safari is even better. If you could extend it a few days and add another camp, it would be excellent. I know it gets more pricey, but you're going really far for a short time.

Christabir - I actually don't know the off road and night drive rules in the private concessions within Kruger (Hamiltons, Jocks, Tinga, etc). I will find out.

Until two months ago, Lion World was the contract holder for SAA Vacations and they ran that program for the airline.

Craig Beal - owner - Travel Beyond

Craig, et al, thanks for the replies. The only reason we were going from JFK was to arrive in the day at CPT. IAD departures are in the early evening and you arrive at almost midnight. I thought arriving while it was light out would give us some time to walk around and eventually sleep and get acclimated easier. If we did leave from IAD then we could get an AA flight in the morning, avoid the hotel room, or even going to JFK.

Any comments about the nighttime arrival?

I did check SAA's vacation site and their lowest appeared to be $1000 more pp, and with one less safari drive day (you spent the day washing elephants).

Winnick - You do arrive in CPT around midnight but you can overnight in Jo'burg instead.

As Lion World if they work with Delta Vacations. Book your flights DFW-ATL-JNB on Delta Vacations in U-class (U-class not available any other way). Land in Jo-burg, overnight at an airport hotel, go on safari at Lion Sands the next morning and then fly to Cape Town. For the first two nights, use the Portswood hotel then transfer to the Cape Cadogan using stay3pay2 for the last two nights. Portswood is at the V&A waterfront so you spend a day or two there as you are forced to book at least two nights hotel using Delta Vacations and Portswood is the cheapest one in the program at the waterfront. After your mandatory two nights, move to Cape Cadogan for three (total of five).

Cost: Lion Sands + transfers from MQP = $1500
Delta + Portswood + JNB hotel = $1500
Cape Cadogan = $300
Flights JNB-MQP, MQP-CPT, & CPT-JNB = $400

The $3340 price above did not include the hotel in New York as you have to fly United with SAA.

The Lion World trip uses CPT-JNB-MQP instead of the direct flight CPT-MQP so there is some value in the savings.

Craig Beal - owner - Travel Beyond

To answer the question about night drives at Tinga, its the same as Lion Sands. The afternoon drive stays out until after dark. Sometimes you get luck and can go out after dinner but you must be back by 10:00 PM

Mike

Tanya from our office has visited both Lion Sands and Tinga on numerous occasions. I had a quick chat to her, asking her to compare Lion Sands River Lodge with Tinga Narina (not sure which Tinga lodge you are referring to?). She said that the accommodation at Tinga was much more luxurious than that at LS River, and of course Tinga Narina has maximised it's great setting on the banks of the Sabie River, with each luxury unit offering splendid views of the river. During her last visit to Tinga, the lodge was not yet under management of the Mores (Lion Sands), so she can't comment on the current level of service, food, etc., however when comparing her past Tinga safaris with those at LS River Lodge, she does rate the service and food at LS River much higher. I am sure that this has improved since the Mores took over at Tinga. On the game viewing side of things, of course Tinga is on one of the most beautiful concession in the Kruger National Park, and game viewing can be rewarding. Unfortunately no off road driving was ever permitted during any of her visits, and this does have a negative impact on the game drive experience, as you are only able to view animals that are visible from the road. From a game viewing perspective, in our experience, Lion Sands is higher rated than Tinga. Hope this helps, and good luck with your safari arrangements!
Mike Karantonis

Ranger, thanks. It sounds like we'll be fine.

I did have one other question. Anyone. How are gratuities handled on safari? Does the lodge suggest a recommended daily rate or is there some guideline? The last thing we'd want to do is treat our guides poorly.

Winnick, I can only tell you what I do, and so far I have not had any complaints (not that they would but they seem to like me coming back).

Tips are handled at the time you leave the lodge. Cash is nice, but if you do not have any, you can put the tips on a credit card.

#1 Ranger $10-15 per day per person. If you feel they have gone above and beyond. more is appropriate. I have tipped as much as $20-25 if they have taken me out longer or for unscheduled drives.

#2 Tracker 1/2 of what I have paid the ranger.

#3 General staff around $8-10 per day

I hope this helps. I have also done tips in American dollars but they do prefer Rand.

Mike

Mytmoss, thanks, that's what I needed.

One other question. I'm going to need to charge various devices, like batteries and an iPad. Is there any problem usually? I'd imagine given where we're staying that there should be electric available, but I would not be surprised if it was not continuous. My backup would be a solar charger that folds up compactly, though the charge times are significant.

I have brought MANY devices that need charging or power. Make sure you bring adapters for South Africa. I know the rooms at Lion Sands have outlets. If necessary, you can request and a plug in strip which is what I did. Lion Sands I know for sure has backup generators that can be used if the power does go out.

Mike

winnick - go buy a little extension cord with several plugs on it - then only one adaptor/converter is needed and you can charge several things at once.

They do not sell South African extension cords in the US and even if they did, a free one from the lodge would be nice and it is one less thing to pack and lug around.

Mike

no - i mean buy a US extension cord that you then plug into the converter/adaptor that is plugged into the wall - it has several US receptors - so therefore - only one adaptor needed to plug in several US devices!!

Interesting idea, I never thought of plugging a US extension cord into an adapter.

Thanks... still means carrying it around with me along with all my other stuff, but its a good thought.

Mike

Re flights to South Africa. I hate'm! I very much pay attention to total travel time. Will pay extra to cut 35 hours down to 28. Some folks not as fussy, some folks like to stay overnight in say Amsterdam then fly last leg to Africa the next day.

regards - tom

Mike - if you buy a short one (like 3 feet) it doesn't take up much room and doesn't weigh very much. It is a staple on my packing list!!

I like the idea of the electric strip. I am now on the lookout for a small one. In some camps that don't have reliable power, having a car charger can be useful for charging while in safari vehicle.

Re tipping. I always pay cash in US or preferred in Rand. I overtip - I used to rely on tips. I do 20 (min) for guide, 10-15 tracker and same for housekeeping, pp/pn. We (DH and I) have been the only people in a vehicle by chance, so we give a little extra. I give all tips in a thank you note and give personally after our last game drive. Housekeeping I leave note in room before final game drive. When figuring the budget, I add 10-20% for tips. I also lose a bit in conversion, as I multiply USD by 7 or whatever is the closest number at the time, and round up to the nearest 10 Rand. If I can afford to be there, I can afford to overtip by a few dollars.

Re flights. I use FF miles from Europe to JNB in biz, and buy coach or premium econ US to Europe. DH is very tall. Could NEVER take coach non-stop! For me, a shorter home flight is more important than the going leg.

Here are some small useful strips with USB and elec charging and surge protection - probably a good idea. The Belkin has no cord, really portable. No suggestion to buy from this particular store. They are widely available:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search...131+4288605988

Thanks for the tip!