Having to pay for laundry just isn't a big deal to me, because this has been the norm for many of the camps I have visited over the past 10 years. $10 every few days is less than my bar bill.

It just isn't worth getting all worked up over. All businesses have inflation, and there are decisions that companies have to make as a result. Discontinue services, make services pay-per-use, increase prices across the board, etc etc etc.

In your own business have you seen your own products or services go up in price over time? Have your customers understood? Have they complained? If they have complained, what happened? Discontinue price increases? Remove services or water down the product?

I am a business owner, and I understand how these things work. Try not to get emotional about the small things and enjoy your safari.

ab - WAY less than the barbill!!

I can assure you, if you get up close with an Asian Elephant you are going to be a midget in comparison ....... they are pretty big. Sri Lankan elephants are meant to be particularly fiesty, just as they are here in some parts of Southern India. I think a great trip and albeit very different, one travels to discover new places.

That said, I ought to go to Sri lanka very being that it's only a 40 minute flight from here.

Some camps don't charge for your laundry but do for bar drinks. Others charge for laundry but not for bar. Others charge for both. Others don't charge for either. Yikes, they are trying to drive me crazy(ier) !!!

regards - tom

Hari I know I tend to take locations in my own backyard for granted. Thought having &Beyond start up operations in South America would change this, but alas it never came to fruition.

Had to laugh at the dairy cow comparison Tom! Been to Kruger a few times now, and the biggest difference that I'm hoping for in Sri Lanka is a decrease in the number of vehicles/people at a sighting and an increase in the amount of time I'm able to spend with the ellies. Hwange and Chobe also have huge herds, but I still found the traffic distracting (not so much in Hwange).

I'm really not interested in chasing after the Big 5 on safari, but rather in being able to stop and enjoy anything of interest that we may happen to find. I'm also becoming more aware of the diversity of birdlife and would like to spend more time observing them rather than zooming from one predator sighting to the next.

Femi - What is a game drive like in Sri Lanka? Are you permitted to drive yourself in reserves? Or do you have a camp provided guide and vehicle? Maybe an ele is your game drive "vehicle"???

About visiting "foreign" places. There is an old saying that goes -
Live in a place all your life and you have nothing to say about it. Visit a place for a day and you talk about it the rest of your life.

regards - tom

This will be my first visit, but I will be visiting Yala national park (among others). Nights will be spent in tents with cots - sort of mobile safari camping. Safaris include vehicle and ranger. I'm not interested in elephant backed safaris, although I'm sure arrangements could be made. More info here: http://www.leopardsafaris.com/home.html

I would only be unhappy if I couldn't get ANY laundry done on a 2-3 week trip. Who cares if they do it, but charge a few bucks? The cost is insignificant relative to the cost of going to Africa.

I just spent three weeks in Bots and Zim and didn't have to pay for laundry or drinks at any of the camps or lodges. It's certainly more convenient that way, but some people would rather not foot the bill for others (especially for drinks.) The main issue for me is to know what the policy is in advance and the approximate costs, so that I can plan accordingly.

Apparently excluding laundry has no impact on these lodges. What can I say, many customers are idiots. There are tourists who will pay $1500 pppn for getting two 3-hour game drives in a car with other 5-10 people, and fooling around the pool the rest of the day. Unbelievable, but it happens all the time. I see that lodges in Africa are steadily moving towards less services and higher prices. And it makes sense, since there are idiots who will pay anything.

All posters, who don't care being charged for laundry because it's "peanuts" are right.
It isn't much - compared to the trip costs.

But hey - the staff is on site, the lodge does its laundry anyway and the laundry means "peanuts" particularly at high camps/lodges in that regard as well.

I would not expect Elephant Plains to do the laundry FOC: Nor Arathusa or any other 3 - 4 * camp. But SS bush or LS river - we are speaking about 700+US$ pppn - should show generosity particularly as it IS PEANUTS!

Let me stress: It isn't THE MONEY - it's the GREED shown.

Indeed... And do we expect from such people to do anything for "the local community" as they often advertise ? Heck, we very well know the staff are underpaid. I'm perfectly sure that many owners or managers will raid the tip box (I've had it confirmed a couple of times).

Next thing you know, they'll instruct the drivers to choose especially dusty roads so that the lodge laundry will bring them more money

"Let me stress: It isn't THE MONEY - it's the GREED shown."

That is your opinion. Your opinion only, how do you know what their motive is? Where are your facts to prove it?

regards - tom

tom

Sorry, if you need PROOF about the motif - I can't help you!

Obviously it isn't ONLY MY OPINION.

I am puzzled by your defense.

I also don't think they need an apple polisher.

I am sure if they are lurking they smirk when they read your defense.

If you think they deserve it - drink more, book SUV, feed the laundry box and throw your money down their throat.

Happy spending - and pls don't complain about rate increase when it suits you ;-)

We're about to go on our first safari and I'm not sure of the laundry policies at the camps where we'll be staying. Some of the clothes I'm packing can be washed in the sink & will dry overnight so I won't be sending a lot to the laundry in any case.
But - I was really surprised when planning this trip that laundry was included anywhere. It seems so out of the norm - I've never heard of that elsewhere whether 5* hotel or all-inclusive resort - -we've always had to pay for laundry.

So I guess since I'm not used to it being included as you folks who've being doing safaris for years and years I won't miss that.

There's also something else: When you stay in upmarket lodges you send the message that you don't care much about money - all you care is to have a good time. And you expect the owners of the camp/lodge to be in the same spirit. A couple may have payed $15,000 for a 5-day stay. This is all inclusive not because the clients can't pay the extra to have their laundry done, but because it will appear IDIOTIC to charge them more money for it. Heck, it would sound perfectly ok to raise your rates by $100/day and include laundry! But to ask EXTRA money for it when your client already pays $1500 per night, is simply MORONIC. It's like asking them to pay for extra gas if the game drive was longer than expected, or pay for the extra potatoes they asked for in their dinner. Aren't the owners ASHAMED to ask for that much money ?

All inclusive means ALL INCLUSIVE. Unless of course it's something really expensive, like a vintage Dom Perignon.

When I am generous and I spend money as if they grew on trees, I DEMAND that my host is NOT a skinflint.

(the above should read "to ask for that EXTRA money")

Maybe the camps are taking lessons from the airlines?
And some camps charge you for bottled water and cokes. Yet do laundry for free!!

regards - tom

Tom, if I was cheap I wouldn't be going to southern Africa. And your logic is faulty. Rich people look for value too.

But services included is something I consider. It wouldn't make sense to pay an alcohol-included price if a person doesn't drink, so he'd lean toward camps where booze is extra and the board is lower. I drink, so drinks included is cost effective.) On safari I'm choosing location, wildlife viewing and guiding first. But if it's an even choice in those areas, I might lean towards one where laundry is included. We take long safaris--4 to 6 weeks--so we have to wash clothes a lot, and not having to think about the extra charges (or doing it myself) is a plus.

I don't think it's greed. It's a business plan. Not necessarily a smart one, in my opinion. Nickel and diming for little extras has bred much ill will among airline customers, but they do have to find aways of making a profit. Unfortunately, we have to fly to get places. And if we want to see wild animals in remote places, we have to go to Africa.

Our last safari we went to camps that drinks and laundry were excluded. We knew beforehand, so no problem. The drinks were so cheap - it's not worth paying for all inclusive for us. Less than $100 for 7 nights - and we had at least two drinks each every day, plus bottled water. They even left filtered, iced water in carafes in our tents (free!). Laundry can be done ourselves or pay the small fee. Now that I know that good safari experiences can be affordable and comfortable, I won't be going to the $500 + pp/pn camps. I'd rather go more often and skip the free laundry.