I posted a message asking for advice on going to kenya as a woman travelling alone.. i got some good resposes thanks.. but reading through some of the messages on here there are lots of tips and stuff.. I am going on a package holiday and will consider safari when i get there.. Is anyone on here not loaded?? (in england that means wealthy) i work in a betting shop 12 hours a day 6 days a week and its taken me all year to save for this.. maybe i should have asked for budget holiday tips.. what will general things cost.. ie water, cigs, lunch... may sound boring but i want a taste of the country. I am hoping to find somewhere to return to teach english... i spent a month in morrocco last year but its not a good place for a poor white woman

There are many people on here that aren't loaded... I think my total income for this year will be less than the cost for a large proportion of the trips discussed on this board.

However it's often all about priorities. Back when I had a permie job (I'm now self employed) I can't tell you how many times I'd come across people who I KNEW were earning a higher annual salary, had lower rent/ mortgage payments and who would come out with stuff about how lucky we were to be able to afford this or that trip.

Of course they had new cars or dropped £100 or more on a single night out (on drinks, club entry and who knows what), would buy more new clothes, shoes and handbags than I could fit into my house let alone ever use, spent a tonne more on music CDs ... you get the picture.

In 2004 we did an absolutely fantastic 9 week trip to Southern Africa - we saved for about 3 years plus cashed in both our TESSA ISA things that came up that year. It was worth it though! For us, anyways!

On top of that many people here invest a LOT of time in really researching their trip and wringing out the most possible from their budgets and making them go much further than those who simply drop into the nearest travel agent shop could imagine.

There are some here who are very wealthy, though even they like to find a bargain and search for good value. But many here are doing every day jobs on every day salaries just like you.

Dear Pentway,

I've been saving for 3 yrs for my trip next month! It's a mobile tent safari in Botswana so that keeps the costs down. In addtion to my regular job as a Vet Tech(not a high paying profession) but , I put any unexpected money I get into my "Africa Fund." Any money I save using coupons at the grocery store, any soda bottle deposit refunds, occassional pet sitting jobs, and money from my craft business of animal related jewelry(more of a hobby than an income) etc. It all goes into my Africa Fund. Little by little it starts to add up. Even so, I still had to pay for part of my trip with a credit card! But it is worth every stinkin' penny! I think it was someone on a different Fodors site that said "you can always make more money,but you can't make more time." I'm a single parent at an age a lot of people are planning for retirment. I'll have to work till I drop dead, but I want to wring out every moment I can while I'm around!
You can do it!
Lily

Another voice. I am a teacher. That means that I am in the upper end of the lower income bracket. I have also saved for years, but still couldn't possbibly afford the kind of safari usually discussed here.

I found a great camping safari - non participatry - for a reasonable sum. There are a number of them out there, but if you want to check it out, I'm going with Into Africa:
http://www.intoafrica.co.uk/index.htm

If you cclick on Our Trips you can see that a solo traveller can join a small group for a full week's safari for US $1,595. That is all inclusive.

BTW - If you want really cheap and on your own do check out the Lonely Planet forum ThornTree:
http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/

Good Luck!

Many income levels post here--the loaded and the unloaded. I'm a teacher too and the only income source for my family of two. Extra jobs help pay my travel costs, which I admit are large in proportion to my other expenses.

I just tune in to the advice that fits my budget, so info on flying other than coach is not pertinent, pre- and post-safari spa experiences are not of interest, fancy hotels at the airport don't matter, the assortment of wines at various camps carries no weight, etc. But these things do contribute to a successful holiday for some people, so it's good that they are mentioned in reports and discussions.

Lonely Planet's ThornTree forum caters to more budget minded trips than this forum and may provide the information you seek.

Teaching English in a foreign country is also a good way to explore the world at a discount. Hope that works out for you.

You mentioned you are on a "package holiday" and will decide on a safari when you get to Africa. Maybe the company you are doing the package with can help with the safari.

One comment that might come off as preachy and judgmental on my part, but here goes anyway. How much extra could you put toward your travels or anything else if you did not buy those cigs?

My addiction is small chocolate bites (Doves is the brand) and I calculated that if I gave those up I'd save about $35 a year. Not enough to give them up.

Is a betting shop a place where people gamble? Just curious what that is.

My husband and I are retired from a University. We go to southern Africa about every 2 or 3 years, and always include a safari in our trip. Our biggest budget item is the airfare, and we usually pay nothing for it, because we use Frequent Flyer miles. We get these not by flying frequently, but by using a credit card that gives FF miles, and using that card for every possible expense --groceries, clothes, etc. (Naturally, we pay the whole bill every month, so as not to pay the sky-high interest rate.)

We almost always do self-drive safaris in the national parks, rather than expensive ones in the private game reserves. The pros and cons of each of these types are discussed in lots of the postings here.

Like others have mentioned, we spend our money only on the things important to us, so that we have enough left for travel, which is REALLY important to us.

You don't need to be loaded to experience the wonders of Africa.

atravelynn: In much of Europe, a betting shop is a place where you can make bets on horse races and other sports events (mostly), or anything else on which the owners (usually a large company) offers odds. It is not, as far as I know, a place that offers gaming tables or slot machines -- for that, you would need to go to a casino.

Not loaded and never wished I was--until I started reading this board.

Save and scrimp and scrimp and save. Then blow it all. And start all over again.

If you can possibly afford it, do try to take a short safari while you're in Kenya. If you like camping (I do), this might be the way for you to go.

Have a great trip.

Pentway.. I am also not loaded - and you'd be surprised how many people here aren't - see how often cost comes up? There are quite a few posts with less expensive tips. Cost us well under $3000 for two for everything for 13 days in Kenya our first time and I think "Nyamera"'s trip was even cheaper. "Patty" mixed in some inexpensive places with some places for loaded people. Those are what I can think of offhand, and look at the East African Trip Report Index to see those reports and others. The thing is that a lot of people on this board are CRAZY -especially me, I think.
I have no perspective on cost anymore.

The Lonely Planet and Rough Guide books have lots of inexpensive suggestions - the main problem is transportation because you may no longer fancy the matatus and buses - how are your knees and back? And your nerves? It can be expensive to get around. Anyway, good planning wand lots of reading will help you to get value for your money. Food, cigs and water are very inexpensive if you stick with local - especially compared to the UK! Unless you are volunterring for food and board I doubt there is much of a chance of making a living teaching English in Kenya. For a start most people who are interested already speak it pretty well and those who don't are generally on very low incomes - opportunities would probably be in niche fields like how to write advertising copy - but I could be wrong.

If you are on a package tour you are almost certainly going to the coast - Tsavo can easily be visited from there, as can a few other, smaller parks (see the guidebooks to find out what you will be near). It'll be easy to find people to share transport costs or join up with a group departure. A trip without at least a couple of nights out in the wilderness is not a "taste" of Kenya - believe me it's like going to the best restuarant in town and ordering beans on toast for ten quid

Really, kimburu? I write advertising copy. Do you think I can market myself???

Sincerely,
Anywhere but here

I'm sure you can get a job anywhere in the world where the first language is not English, Leely. I've met a surprising number of people who do that here in South East Asia - even in places like Singapore where English is, like in Kenya, the offical language of business. Most usually, actually proofing or improving the copy at advertising firms. The teaching was just an example - probably would have a limited clientele in Kenya. What the pay is like is another matter of course! Usually it seems to be seen as a job for younger (read "cheaper&quot people.

Give it a try! Make it clear you don't want to be employed as an expat to improve your chances, because otherwise they'll think you're going to cost a fortune (to them) in allowances and home leaves. Personal contacts are always best for this kind of thing if you can make them happen.

(My current job includes communications - believe it or not - and I used to teach English for Specific Purposes to business people in a few countries in my younger days and got quite a few job offers of this type - in case you wonder how I came up with the idea).

Rizzuto, So that's a betting shop.

pentway -

What does your "packaged holiday" consist of? If we saw what you are considering we could provide some ideas and suggestions. Post the itinerary here.

There's a safari for every budget, so don't let some of those "over-the-top" ones, put you off.

Hi Pentway,

I’m definitely unloaded. It looks like my total income for this year will be less than the "cheaper" safaris on this board. My habit since 2003 of going to Kenya every June has been discontinued this year and that’s very serious since living in Kenya is the only future I can imagine. It’s obvious that very loaded people write a disproportionate part of the posts here. Kimburu has made some heroic attempts to counterbalance this.

You can travel around Kenya very cheaply and have a good lunch for less than £ 1.5 and, outside Nairobi, you can get a nice ensuite hotel room for £ 3, water is not expensive and a lot cheaper at supermarket than at restaurants, hotels and lodges, I have no idea about cigs, try some Kenyan drug like miraa, it’s probably healthier. But, there’s NO WAY AT ALL you can visit game parks without spending a lot of money. Good “budget camping” is $ 100 pppd.

Kenya is even poorer than Morocco and all people with some education speak very good English, so English teaching doesn’t sound like a way to earn money in Kenya. I’d say it’s usually done on a volunteering basis, more often paying than being paid. A normal salary for a qualified Kenyan teacher is $ 100 <u>a month.</u> I suppose a qualified teacher from the UK with lots of experience and contacts could, with some luck, get a job at an expat school and be able to go on safari a couple of times a year (I know that at the Swedish school in Nairobi, besides the “licence to be incompetent”, you need 5 years experience just to be allowed to send them your CV, though some stupid people who think they can teach Spanish send theirs anyway). Contacts is what’s most important and some people – not people like me – are very lucky.

I’m interesting in knowing more about your package holiday, like where you’re staying and what’s the price. I’ve understood that there can be good offers on beach holiday packages from England and Germany. Many posters on Tripadvisor’s Kenya board go on package holidays to the coast and some short safari to Tsavo, but they usually stay at expensive beach resorts. At a betting shop there should be some illicit way to get hold of money …

Another teacher here. I can travel because I live in a tiny house, and I save every penny I can.

On second thought, yes I am loaded, compared to the majority of the people I encounter who live in Africa (guides, camp staff, residents of nearby villages) and compared to the majority of the people in the world. I guess it's all relative.

I work for a software outfit and earn enough to let me do the traveling which I love (though hardly enough to both travel and pay off my mortgage). I'm wildly wealthy by the standards of many places I visit, and about average for the not-so-tony Boston suburb where I live.

I'm envious of most teachers, Europeans, and others who typically have far more annual vacation time than the paltry 3+ weeks that I have to budget ruthlessly.

kimburu, thanks for the tips. I'd imagined that kind of thing is for younger people--funny because I always think of myself doing that when I'm a little older.

pentway, yes, reading other responses, I should say of course I'm loaded. Maybe not in terms of Fodor's posters, but definitely in relation to the vast majority of people on this planet. And all my privileges stem from an accident of birth. Certainly it's not due to any effort on my part that I was born to non-struggling parents in a wealthy part of the world.

Good luck. Please enjoy Kenya.

rizzuto -

That's why as a teacher I can travel.
Because I have all those extra holidays to work and save the extra income

Hi pentway,
One picks one's priorities and mine is traveling above all else. I have wash and wear hair, short nails and not so fancy clothes - so what if I look like I rolled out of a trash can - I just say &quot;Don't you know darling, this is the style, where ever have you been, do you not read the current magazines&quot; I also don't buy lots of unnec. 'stuff' - hate to dust and dislike clutter, anyhow. No more expensive chai teas to go either - oy.

So keep your eyes peeled and read as many posts here and thorntree as possible and go to as many sites as you can and you'll pick up some great money saving tech. to help find your way to Africa.
Best of luck!
Sherry