maziwanka

I already posted about a safari through okavango, but the more research I'm doing (and I think my tripmates are less inclined to do a self-drive) the more i'm realizing that visiting okavango properly would cost a lot of money (e.g. at least 400-500 a night).

as it stands, we're budget travelers (new law school graduates with tons of loans on our heads; haha), so we can't afford to spend that much per night for 7 nights.

That's why we were thinking of http://www.intrepidtravel.com/trips/URO OR scrapping okavango and going with Kruger for a couple nights since we want to end up in jo'burg anyways.

If you guys had the choice, what would you do and why?

Ideally, we'd still like to do okavango, but i'm worried that my budget will make it a less memorable experience than visiting kruger.

thanks again!

Kavey

On a limited budget I'd opt for a DIY self-drive safari not just in Kruger but in a number of South Africa's parks such as Ithala, Ndumo, Hluhluwe, Umfolozi and more.

That said if you only have 7 nights Kruger is vast and you can easily split your nights between 2 or 3 of the excellent government-run rest camps throughout the park.

Book a rental car, making sure you are insured to drive on non-tarmaced roads. Book accommodation via SANParks. And off you go!

thit_cho

I agree with Kavey. I've been to the Okavango and Kruger (and have faced law school loans), and Kruger is vast, with lots of different environments. Its also a helluva lot cheaper than the delta.

Go to www.sanparks.org and you can get a ton of info on Kruger. With a week, you could do a circuit and cover a lot of the park (which is large). You could also get up to the northern sector, which is quieter and less visited (or so I understand -- I didn't make it north of Satara).

matnikstym

I've never been to Okavango but have been to Kruger and HIGHLY recommend it. We saw an incredible amount and variety of animals. The lodging is clean and well equipped, not luxury by any means but after spending all day on game drives all you need is a comfortable bed, good food and some gin and tonics. With car, lodging, food and gas it was around $3oo a night for 2 people. My trip report and pictures are somewhere here on Fodor's.

And for your friends that are less inclined to do a self-drive-there were no problems at all. One of the advantages of Kruger is you have the option of staying out all day, not just a morning and afternoon game drive as is the practice at most lodges or camps.

Agree with thit_cho~go to the sanparks website and look at the pictures and trip reports. It sold me on the trip and I enjoyed every minute in Kruger.

maziwanka

what camp sites did you guys stay at for Kruger?

Mohammed

I was alo on a budget and recently spent 7 nights in Kruger which was very much cheaper and wonderful - do have a look at
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35137704

Regards,
Mohammed

maziwanka

Man. im checking the wilderness trails and the camp sites for Kruger and most of them seem to be fully booked for the first week of september. sucks!

Kavey

Each camp had several types of accommodation from the bottom level with shared bathroom facilities to the top level with ensuite bathrooms and a small kitchenette in each hut/rondavel/chalet/tent.

In Kruger I stayed 1 night in Berg en Dal and 3 nights in Olifants.

In Ithala I stayed in Ntshondwe which offering the best accommodation of all the rest camps we stayed in. I also found the park the most beautiful though game density was low.

In Hluhluwe we stayed in the safari tents at Mpila.

We didn't stay in Umfolozi as the prices for Hilltop were high. Instead we overnighted in Ubizane, just a few miles outside a gate and much cheaper though that may no longer be the case, you'd have to check. We stayed in a huge and very comfortable round chalet with bedroom, bathroom and kitchenette though we were too lazy to cook so ate dinner and breakfast at the Tree Lodge dining room.

We also went to Ndumo though we stayed in a private tented camp which is no longer running. Would recommend the park though as the lakes and the yellow fever trees and ficus trees provide a distinct and beautiful environment. Good for birding and small animals.

And we also stayed in Addo which was, as expected, good for elephant. Also for kudu and a number of other animals. More crowded as the driving routes are limited so lots of folks on those same short roads but... still a good stop if you're in the Cape.

sniktawk

If you wish to book for any of the SAN parks you generally need to a long way ahead of your proposed dates of travel. You also need to find out when the school holidays are as this is when they are at their busiest.
There is really no comparison in particular in terms of prices, even if you include car hire and petrol you are unlikely to spend more than ZAR2,500 per day between you that's currently around $300. The average price in the Delta must be at least $800 per person per night, but you would be pampered.
There is also no comparison in game viewing, you would definitely see more in Botswana and probably clearly.
If you are on a budget then all of the SAN Parks and the KZN parks are good value for money.

tockoloshe

Just wondering if you are still starting off in Windhoek? It might have a bearing on your route and which area of Kruger to go to - we found that the camps in the northern/central part of Kruger Park were easier to book than the more popular ones in the south and we saw plenty of game.

tockoloshe

Forgot to add that you could feasibly stay outside the Park if you really couldn't get bookings, some nice little guest houses round Hazyview area, but it's much better to stay in the Park if you can, so you can also do night drives and early morning walks.

Kavey

If you're starting out in Windhoek Kruger (and the other parks of Eastern SA) may not be the optimum suggestion as you'll need to waste both time and money getting there from Windhoek.

Instead, might be better to do a self-drive in Namibia itself and visit Etosha for the wildlife component.

Do you have a maximum total budget you can share with us (excluding the international airfare)?

And exactly how many days/ nights do you have to play with?

maziwanka

There seems to be some hope as the website contains reservations that don't really exist.

We're going to jo'burg from victoria falls (probably fly from there).

maziwanka

Hey Kavey - we'll start in jo'burg for the seven days we'll have to play with in Kruger. We're just debating whether to do a self-drive through some of the camps (and maybe a wilderness trail) or an organized tour (through detour africa or outlook). I think we want to spend a maximum of 1500 for each of the three of us for our time in Kruger (maybe a little more if we throw in both a self-drive and a wilderness trail, but hopefully not).

Any thoughts?

maziwanka

Oh, the exact time we have to work with is 9/1-9/10 at the most. Then it's off to mozambique!

Kavey

Maziwanka

Others may be able to recommend affordable private safari camps/ lodges that fall into your budget but that's not something we researched for our trip in 2004. We basically did some utter splurge time in small, intimate and expensive private camps, mostly in Botswana and some budget DIY safari time, mostly in South Africa.

If that 1500 needs to include transport, accommodation and food too then I would imagine that self-drive would be a good option.

I'm not up to date with the prices for car rental, petrol or food though I've had a look at the prices for the park accommodation and they still seem reasonable to me.

You can always do self-drive in the main and book a few guided activities at the various government camps too.

Alternatively, you could look for a locally based tour operator or agent who might be able to book you a private guided tour including transport and a driver-guide.

Kavey

Just had a look at the Detour Africa sight and certainly they have tours in your budget range.

I can't find out much about the accommodation. It says that some nights are spent camping and others are spent in "traditional huts".

I'd want to know what kind of tents were being used, more about the camp sites and facilities (bathrooms etc). I'd also want to know whether these "huts" were ensuite and, better still, where they were/ what they were called.

That said, back in student days I had way more stamina, far lower standards in terms of accommodation I'd happily stay in and probably a higher threshold for "slumming it"!

Kavey

Sorry me again, looked at another itinerary, the 6 day Kruger trip and, if I'm reading it correctly, the whole trip is based in one place, Marc's Treehouse Lodge. I haven't heard of this, not that I'd expect to have, particularly, but that makes it hard to know whether it's well-located for good wildlife viewing.

maziwanka

thanks for the suggestions Kavey - we've definitely looked at some tours since the SANParks might be booked.

Outlook has a cool safari option that we might use. Will update when I receive more information.

cary999

Have you called sanparks on phone and asked them about camp availability?

regards - tom