Planning first trip to Africa overwhelmed – need help!
 

We are well traveled couple, and most of the trips I planned myself with Fodorites help.
However, I never been to Africa (except Morocco), and really would like to go next year. I am thinking of South Africa, since it looks like it can provide the most diverse experience.
I have been reading this board, and Tripadvisor forum, and I have several books at home, but I feel overwhelmed. I am lost on where to start. Where do I go for help for my individual planning and a quote? Are there any reputable agencies that provide this type of planning? I see a lot of names here, but cannot figure out where to go first.
We will have about 16 days, and would like to visit Cape Town are, Kruger, Victoria Falls, and maybe a small part of Botswana (or maybe not). It looks like it is doable within my timeframe, but I am not sure it is doable within my budget (seems like internal flights and lodges are very expensive). We do not need luxurious accommodation, but would like the comfortable ones. My budget is around $4000 per person (not including the international tickets).

I even consider a group tour, even though I do not like traveling with tour groups. However, the tour seems reasonably prices and covers some of the places I would like to visit.
Like this one www. Smartours.com .

Could you please share your thoughts? What is the best way to start? Is this doable on my limited budget? Has anyone done similar trips?
Thank you in advance for your help!

If you can and want to self-drive, I would recommend it. Especially since you don't like travelling with groups. The rest of the planning depends on whether you want to self-drive.

I would also definitely recommend doing the trip yourself and not as part of a a tour group.

If it were me, I would fly to Cape Town and spend a few days there (3 to 4 nights). Then I would fly from CT to Joburg, self-drive to Kruger and spend about ten days on safari in Kruger. See www.sanparks.org - there is a drop-down menu of parks near the top. You could substitute the last three nights in Kruger with a stay at one of the private reserves that border Kruger - finish with a bit of luxury. Here is the link to one of the more reasonably priced options.
http://www.honeyguidecamp.com/
We stayed at Honeyguide in 2005 and loved it. For reasonable internal flights, have a look at kulula.com.

Personally, I would not add Vic Falls or Botswana onto this trip - it would involve more time spent travelling, more expense and there is plenty to see in SA. I would save Botswana for a future visit - and, believe me, there will be future visits. It's not a question of <i>if</i> you'll return to Africa, but more a question of <i>when</i> you'll return. Robin

To be honest I do not understand why so many people here decide on doing so much in just one trip. You spend more time traveling around than actually seeing stuff.

My humble opinion; Botswana merits a separate visit to Africa. And Vic Falls is best combined with Chobe NP.

So I'd stick to South Africa this first time, if I were you, Helen.

Actually, it's the perfect introduction to sub-Saharan Africa, as South Africa has a western feel.

I'd start in the Cape, see the sights (table mountain, robben island, the penguins, the national garden etc) and then drive the garden route. Plenty of things to do and see (Knysna & Featherbed island, the whales, the little karoo, ostrich farms, the outeniqua train, etc). This part you could do solo (rent a car), but a guided tour would be about the same (there's pro's & cons for both).

From Port Elizabeth I'd fly to Jo'Burg and do the Blyde rivier. Then finally do a safari. An affordable option with an incredible amount of photo opportunities is Elephant Plains. But I'd add a 2nd lodge to that, something less "safari on steroids". Something to rough it up just a little. You see, EP is a "hotel" in my eyes, with airco, massages, swimming pools and an electrified fence around it. You need to add a place that focuses more on the non-big-5 stuff, something with a more personal touch, a place where you can see wildlife from within your hut/tent. Perhaps even a place that does walking safaris. You'll appreciate the lowveld much more after such a lodge.

Tip; there's plenty of lodges in the greater Kruger area (ic the private reserves west of Kruger) that have a combined offer with a lodge from the Blyde Rivier area. Could save you quite a bit of money.

Note that for a safari you need to count at least 3 night/2days per area/lodge you visit, and you need at least 2 lodges (read: a minimum of 5 days) to really have the chance of seeing most types of animals (although nothing is guaranteed). A safari of 3 nights would actually feel just like a visit to a big zoo.
So if you say you have about 16 days, then that would mean 7-8 days in the Cape & the garden route, and 8-9 days in the eastern part of the country (2-3 days in Blyde rivier and 6 days on safari).

4000$ is not a lot (given the weak $), but I guess it can be done. Adding Bots or Zim to that is really not a good idea on that budget though.

Please do not spend your money on travel agents. They'll take a big chunk out of your budget, and add no value. You can just as easily email all lodges and B&B's yourself. They can also hook you up with local tour operators, transfer companies, and even advise on car rental etc.

Final note; I'll be posting my trip report to the Kruger private reserves in the upcoming weeks, but there's already a thread on this board where I made an extensive list of all affordable (*) lodges in the Kruger area (well, at least for Klaserie, Timbavati, Manyeleti and Sabi Sands reserves). You'll have to look for it though (am not used to using the search function on this board myself).

Lots of luck!

J.

(* We had about the same budget as you)

Sorry, I should have added that you could book this entire trip online if you wish. SAN (South Africa National) Parks has a great website (I provided the link above), and their online booking system is highly organized and well run. We book our vehicles from avis.co.za. and it is also possible to book Honeyguide online. On the other hand, as this is your first trip to Africa, you may wish to use an operator to make the bookings for you. I can't recommend one, I'm afraid, because I have not used one - we do our own bookings. However, if you scan the SA trip reports on this forum, you'll note that there are a few companies that come up often and have excellent reputations. Robin

This is the thread pixelpower is referring. I have it bookmarked. Great info in here.
http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...und-kruger.cfm

You can do it all yourself without a travel agent, but I am a fan of TA's for places I'm not familiar or comfortable. You can make that decision. I've gotten a lot of info from Wild Wings for "affordable" safaris. As I would not have self-driven my first time to S Africa, there are some interesting multi-night safaris to Kruger NP as well as to the areas around Kruger on private reserves on that web site. (google it) I have posted an "affordable" 3 week trip that does Kruger and KwaZulu Natal. There is also the trip that LeslieS is doing - Sabi Sands, Pafuri and Mashatu. That is a lovely 10 night/11 day trip, and can be arranged in your range and can be arranged with drivers or self drive.

I know - too many options. And Robin is right - you will go back. I'm going for the third time in 6 years, and planning more. (save your frequent flyer miles!)

Helen,

Where are you from? If you are American I can likely recommend a good safari agent/planer near you that you can meet face to face. There are at least 100 safari agencies in the USA that I know of.

For the lodges mentioned above (honeyguide and elepant plains) most safari agents will not charge you more than booking with the lodge. This is because the above mentioned lodges pay sufficient comission (15%-30%) to agents to allow them to profitably sell them to you at "rack rate" (i.e. internet price).

If they do chage more they will tell you upfront if you ask. Of course there are more than 500 safari lodges in South Africa and many of them will negotiate with direct clients. But, most safari lodges that you hear about from Americans will not be in this group of negotiable lodges.

There are a few operators in the USA that have contracts with SANPARKS. My company is one of them but we charge about about 10% more than booking directly with the Kruger National Park since they only pay us 10% comission and we have to cover the credit card fee leaving the gross profit at 7% (not enought to keep the doors open).

A good lodge to combine with Elephant Plains would be Pafuri in the northern Kruger National Park or Mashatu in SE Botswana (or both). You cannot afford to go to Vic Falls or Okavango Delta on your budget but the Tuli Block reserves like Mashatu in Botswana would be within your budget.

Example:
rent car in Jo'burg.
drive 6.5 hours to Elephant Plains or Arathusa for three nights (about ZAR 6,000 per person).
drive 5.0 hours to Pafuri for three nights (about ZAR 7,000 per person).
drive 4 hours to Mashatu tented camp for three nights (about %$900 per person).
drive back 6 hours to Jo'burg and fly to Cape Town.

The above nine day safari would be aroun $3,000-$3,500 per person and would be OUTSTANDING.

Craig Beal - owner - Travel Beyond

Guys, thank you so much for your help so far!

I just need to go back and review this information, and make my decisions. Let me just explain my desire to do so much in one trip. South Africa is far, expensive, and we have a very short vacation time, so a return trip may not be planned too soon. I also looked at Smartours, and saw that they have falls, and Botswana, and Kruger in two weeks, and for a decent price, so I thought I can do it too.
However, what you said makes sense, so I'll review and set my priorities.

I am reading about self drive safari, but I do not think this is something we will be comfortable to do for a first time. My concern would be the safety and the fact that we will not see as much as on guided game drive.

Craig, yes, we are from US, Chicago area, northwestern suburbs to be precise.

So, thank you a lot again! I will do some research, and probably come back with more questions....

I think it is a good to use a Travel Agent for your first trip to Africa. This gets tossed around here once in a while. TAs do not necessarily cost you more, you do not automatically save money by doing self booking. Try not to let your brain explode with research and analysis :) . And come back here with questions.

regards - tom

Helen,

You should consider contacting Eyes on Africa in Chicago. They are a competitor of my company but they are well regarded in the industry. I am not sure if they are experts at self drive safaris but I really do think you should consider that option given your long travel time.

Smart Tours? Are you sure? Just keep in mind that they are cheap for a reason. Yes - they are a good company and well regarded. I met one of their senior people at the South Africa Tourist Board 2010 award ceremony in April where they got the award "best budget tour operator". But - they are cheap because their tours use the cheapest possible hotels and their tours never have you staying inside a national park. Their tours offer a total time on safari of two days IF you add the Vic Falls extension.

On day seven The Protea Hotel Paul Kruger Gate is OUTSIDE the Kruger National Park in a town and you will go into the park each day for your game drives (two total). See below from their web site. Also - no lunch is even included! Only 2% of the Kruger National Park is visible from the roads and it is against the law to go off road. At Elephant Plains you can drive off road and usually the rangers will do it for good sightings but not to chase an Impalla...

"DAY 7: Kruger National Park Safari. Today is devoted to exhilarating and unforgettable game drives to discover Kruger Park's abundant wildlife. A local safari ranger leads you on a morning game drive, in open vehicles, in search of the parks many residents including the "Big Five": Lion, elephant, buffalo and rhino and hopefully the more elusive leopard. You may also spot hippopotamus and crocodiles as well as zebras and giraffes. Plains game and bird life also abound. Have your camera ready! After a break for lunch at your own expense, continue your thrilling exploration with an additional afternoon guided open-vehicle safari. Later return to your hotel where you may relax poolside before enjoying the lavish included dinner. (B,D)"

Vic Falls Safari lodge is 2.5 hours by road from the Chobe where you will go on your one day game drive in Botswana. Best animal viewing is after sunrise and before sunset. You will be driving two hours on a bus to the park or home from the park during that time. This is not worth it in my opinion and the safari in Chobe (Botswana) is not included in the cost:

Day 15: A day at leisure. You may join a fascinating optional excursion across the border to Chobe National Park in Botswana. Chobe boasts one of the largest populations of elephants in the world along with lions, hippos and zebras. (B)

Hope this helps. Rent a car, drive the Kruger yourself and spend more than two days on safari is my humble advice.

Craig Beal - owner - Travel Beyond

Thank you, Tom :) Thank you, Craig for all this analysis! Ok, Smartours are out then... I actually did not consider them seriously, but just thought their route looked attractive. After reading all of this, I understand that I need to spend more time on safari, and try various places for it.

Thank you so much for ALL your help so far!!!

Helen, did I miss where you mentioned what time of year you're planning to travel? It makes a significant difference, both in cost and in itinerary.

I will be on a Smartours adventure to South Africa next week. Having read a lot of reviews and talked to people who have taken this trip I am very excited. Its a great value, includes the international and domestic flights. Time on safari in both Kruger and Hluhluwe plus additional time if you want. Many meals are included. It offers highlights of Capetown, Kruger, Swaziland, Zululand, Soweto and Hluhluwe National Park. Plus you can add on Victoria Falls and Chobe.
It is not for people who want to spend hours in the bush, but rather a great overview of the country of South Africa. Learning about history, culture and wildlife.
I

Gardyloo, actually I did not say when I will be traveling, but I am just trying to decide. I am very flexible in this respect. From what I heard, the best time to travel is from May to October. Is this correct?

wlbox, yes, I read a lot of good reviews about this trip too. People said it was a great diverse tour with a lot of opportunities to see the country and learn about the culture. However, they mentioned that they did not see a lot of wild life. Have a wonderful trip!!!! I am sure you are going to love it! And please post back here... :)

I suppose its obvious, but Africa has a lot to offer and see. So for a trip of 2 weeks you really have to know what want and your priorities. Not to mention budget.

regards - tom

Does anyone know what is the good airfare from US (Chicago) to JNB or Cape Town?

Unfortunately, I do not have enough miles at this point. The current prices I see for 2011 are around $1440 and even more expensive to Captown.

$1440 about right, ORD-JNB. I just used kayak.com searching May 2011 and came back with Swiss Air ORD-JNB $1, 322. But going has long 11hr layover in Zurich.

regards - tom

The layover in Zurich is not bad! I do not mind spedning 11 hours in Zurich or even take a train to Lucern :)

Is May OK for SA? I need to checke the lodges availability to decide on my dates, I think

I was safari in SA in May of 2007 and it was good. May is fall there heading into winter (but not like Chicago winter!!). Some mornings were chilly, you go out on game drive at 6am. Anyway, in fact my present thinking is to go back in May of 2011. To the Timbavati, Sabi Sand reserves, I go to SA only for safari. FWIW, here's link to my Fodors trip report of that May 2007 safari.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...4&tid=35016274

regards - tom

Helen - sign up with South Africa airways e-mail specials. They'll send you their specials.

I went to Cape Town in 2006. It's a beautiful, exciting city. If you like cities, definitely go. And the penguins at Cape Hope are special. Robben Island was a major highlight.

We are going back for our third trip in June 2011. We were there in 2009 and froze and it rained (very unusual) for four straight days. If you watched the World Cup, it was frigid this year too. But it's when the brush and grass starts to dry up and die back so the animals are easier to see. But a hot water bottle in bed and layers (plus gloves) on safari makes it OK. Just be prepared. I was not in 2006.

2011 will be our first self drive. I'm not sure if I'd do a self drive my first time. Transfers can be expensive, but so are rentals that sit unused while at a safari camp. I agree with Tom, Sabi Sands and Timbavati are perfect safari destinations, as well as the trip mentioned above (Sabi Sand, Pafuri, Mashatu). All arrangements can be made through the camps or a travel agent.

We've done the long layover in Europe. It's not so bad, but if you want to leave the airport, add a couple of nights there. And the layover on the way home is usually shorter, which works well.

Enjoy the planning. It's lots of fun. Keep us informed!

There are a lot of excellent ideas and points here. I'll pitch a couple of ideas/comments. I'll try to link these into some kind of logic.

First, I'd recommend late August to early September as the time frame, rather than May. I'll get to my reasons in a minute.

Second, I'd start in the north (Kruger/Sabi) and then go south from there (Cape Town). Putting the Cape last in September will give the weather a little more chance to improve.

Third, I'd splurge for the best game viewing I can afford, which for a first timer - IMO - should be Sabi Sands. The costs are assuredly high, but I can see rack rates at, e.g., Elephant Plains, at ~US$230 per person/night inclusive, i.e. $460 per day for a couple. IMO that's good value at an excellent lodge.

I'd book air tickets through JNB to Hoedspruit, then arrange a car transfer from HDS to Elephant Plains - around $290 round trip for two persons. (This is probably cheaper than, for example, renting a car and having it sit around for a couple of days at the lodge.)

Stay at least two nights, three if you can, at Sabi Sands.

Then return to Hoedspruit and through Johannesburg to Cape Town. Spend three or four days in Cape Town, then rent a car and off you go. (By this time you'll have gotten over your jetlag, and you'll have been in enough vehicles that the combination of compromised alertness + driving on the left ought to be less a problem.)

I'd then spend several days - maybe 5 or 6, touring around the Western Cape. Visit the wine districts, but at some point head up the west (Atlantic) coast to the West Coast National Park, a couple of driving hours north from Cape Town.

Here's one of the main reasons I suggest August/September: wildflowers. In the spring, the area from around Darling more or less all the way to the Namibia border has areas where the wildflowers will knock your socks off. At the southern end of this area, around Paternoster, you also have great coastal scenery, and the West Coast National Park (self-drive visits) have not only great wildflowers, but also wildlife including various antelope and zebra, foxes and wildcats, numerous migratory birds... it's not Big Five stuff, but it's gorgeous and very close to Cape Town. Paternoster is a beautiful little whitewashed/thatched-roof fishing village (so the local fish is pretty good) that we fell in love with.

Then back to the airport and off you go.

Regarding flights, have a look at Chicago to London on American Airlines, using their morning departure from Chicago (evening arrival in London.) Book a room at Heathrow on Priceline and sleep in a bed that night, rather than gutting it out to make a direct connection. Western Europe and SA are on the same time zones (more or less) so getting over as much jetlag as possible in Europe will make your time in SA more rewarding. Plus, by hitting the game reserves first, the early/late hours enforced by game drives will be less onerous than trying to wander around Cape Town as a zombie.

As others have suggested, leave Victoria Falls and Botswana for the next trip. (And oh yes, you'll be planning it on the plane flying home.)

Some photos:

Paternoster - http://gardyloo.us/aug24b%20016s.jpg and http://gardyloo.us/aug24b%20026s.jpg

West Coast NP - http://gardyloo.us/aug24b%20044s.jpg and http://gardyloo.us/aug24b%20066s.jpg

You guys are just amazing!!! I can believe all these wonderful advice I am getting!!!

Gardyloo, thank you so much! August/September actually work better for me, so just need to look for the right priced tickets.

Christabir, I have just signed up for specials. Will see what they offer. The budget is so limited, that I would love if I could get a ticket cheaper than $1400.

Pixelpower, I am reading your report - great stuff!

Craig, I already looked into the agency you suggested. So, possibly, I will use them.

Thank you so much everyone again!

Gardyloo, by the way, the pictures of the wildflowers are unbelievable!

Another option - if you have enough, use air miles for Europe to jnb, buy the fare from US to Europe. That's what we do. And airfare to Madrid from here is usually the cheapest way so use Iberia if you are able. The connections are long, but it can be worth saving a few dollars. Take the savings and add more nights in the bush. :)

I prefer doing any city at the beginning. The safari is the highlight. August/September is also better for wildlife viewing - but it's so far away!

Hi Helen 63
I have been twice to South Africa on safari in the Eastern Cape Low
season is 1 May to 30 September.After that the prices go way up. Weather was nice and sunny.

Christa, this is such good idea, that never come to my mind. I just checked, on American there is 60,000 mile requirements from Europe. I am little short of it now, but will have it soon (just opened another card with miles bonus :)).

However, it will take me a couple of month to get my bonus miles. How far in advance do you normally buy your milage tickets?

I just noticed that for May, the ticket from Chigago to JNB and Cape Town to Chicago, only maybe $200 more expensive than round trip from Chicago to JNB. However, for August, for some reason that Cape town leg adds about $600 to the cost. Not sure why. Hopefully, this will change.

Thank you, Jessy!

Hello Helen, If I may add my two cents.....I know the urge to see and do it all is strong for all the reasons you state -- Africa is far and expensive. However, I caution you to consider this carefully. I have been to Africa twice. On the first trip we changed locations every two days, on the one this year we stayed put in each location for four days. It was a world of difference.

What I loved about the first trip were the animals and some of the camps, what I didn't love was all the moving about. We never really had the opportunity to take advantage of the camps, get to know anyone, or wait patiently for things to happen in a natural way. It was always hurry, hurry, hurry along to the next thing. The safari this year gave me just what I wanted, time in each place to enjoy all the area had to offer at a leisurely pace.

I did a cost analysis between the two trips. Our first was a total of 17 days for about $15,000, of which we spent only 5 or 6 full days on game drives. The rest was all moving from one place to the other. Making the cost <u>per game drive day</u> nearly $3000 each. Compared to our most recent itinerary of 22 full days of actual game drives for $18,000. Making those game drive days cost a little over $800 each. Definitely more bang for the buck.....and that is what I wanted.

I urge you to think beyond the initial cost and time investment to the quality of your days and dollars. Africa is marvelous -- too marvelous to short change. IMHO, better to come home with a few spectacular memories than a book full of places ticked off a list. Whatever your choice, I guaranty you will fall in love. Happy travels.

Helen, a word about mileage redemption tickets.

If you decide to go in late August/September, and plan to use AA miles, now is the time to get those miles in your account and book the outbound flights. FF redemptions with AA miles have a 330 day window; i.e. the farthest out you can book today is 330 days from now, i.e. September 2, 2011. However, AA now only makes one-way awards, so if you're going over anytime before September, you could book that direction now.

AA's redemption rate from N. America to Africa using the all-partners award is 37,500 miles each way in economy, 75,000 miles each way in business class. (That compares with 30,000 miles each way for Europe <> Africa, thus rendering the transatlantic flight's "cost" only 7500 miles each way.) Thus in economy the N. America <> Africa award is a significantly better deal. IMO the business class Europe <> Africa award at 75,000 miles round trip is a killer deal, by comparison.

With FF redemption tickets, however, you can fly all the way to your final destination, even if it means changing planes a couple of times. So for example you could fly ORD-LHR-JNB-MQP (Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport, near Nelspruit) thereby saving the cost of an internal flight within SA (JNB-MQP is on Comair, the British Airways affiliate in SA, on a 737.) You could still do as I suggested and take the morning AA flight from Chicago to London, then have almost 24 hours to sleep and get accustomed to the time zone before flying to JNB the following evening. We do this all the time - book a hotel at Heathrow (Priceline, usually around $80 all in) and spend the day in Windsor or London before getting to the airport for an evening departure. Because it's less than 24 hrs connecting, you also avoid the high UK airport duty that you would pay for a Europe - Africa redemption.

A road transfer from MQP to a Sabi Sands lodge would be a little more money and take a little longer than from Hoedspruit, but it wouldn't be a killer, and you'd still get to the lodge in time for the first evening game drive (so you're not wasting money by arriving too late in the afternoon to join it - you've paid for it after all.)

You'd then need to get to Cape Town using separate tickets (which could also be award tickets bought using AA miles - 10,000 miles for a one-way economy ticket, say MQP-JNB-CPT using Comair). Then returning, it's a second one-way Africa > N. America ticket, CPT-LHR-ORD.

If you don't have enough miles to book all legs now, you could book the outbound while waiting for the credit card miles to arrive. Conversely, you could simply purchase the miles from AA for around 2.5 cents per mile, i.e. 10,000 miles for $250. That would put them in your account in time to book the remaining flights.

Right now British Airways is showing tons of availability between London and Joburg for next August, and getting over the Atlantic on AA/BA (given their new joint operating agreement) will be a piece of cake for the time being. I expect it will be the same returning if you book close to the "opening" day (i.e. D minus 330.)

Hope this doesn't just add more confusion to the mix...

Helen - you can use your AA miles on British Airways and Iberia. Use them for the Europe to JNB/CT leg - not the US to Europe leg. Call the AAdvantage number and they will help you. You can make reservations with miles about 11 1/2 months out. We have good luck as long as you are a bit flexible with your dates. I always make my flight arrangements first and then work my vacation around them.

I agree with TC - stay at least 3 nights/camp.

Gardyloo, Christa,

I just performed my milege situation analysis.
So, before we get our new miles with new cards, here is what we have currently:
My husband has $55,000
I have $41,000
So, if I go purchasing route, and fly from US, I will need to buy 20,000 for my husband ($500) and 34,000 for myself (about $75). There are fee for booking these types of otickets around $80-$100 per person. So, in total my tickets will be about $600 for my husband and $850 for me. This is this basically the price of one regular ticket. This sounds good to me? What do you think? It would be more expensive to buy mileage tickets from Europe, and then the airfare to Europe, in this situation.

Now, from economicalperspective - I think I have to go JNB first, so I can incorporate my internal flight to Kruger. If I go Capetown first, there is not way I can include any internal flights on my mileage. Am I correct on this?

Gardyloo, do you ask them for a stopover in LHR when you book?

Thank you SOOOO much again! Your advice is just invaluable!!!

I apologize for all my spelling and grammar errors... Typing quickly from work, no time to spell check or think :)

One more thing. If I buy one way tickets first, and then wait for some time for my card to arrive and post the bonus miles (probably 6-8 weeks), I think I would run a risk, that the return flight may not be available. Isn't this true?

I think with milage tickets, I have a better chance for August. So, I want to try around Labor day to make my vacation a little longer

That's one of the problems with having to work.

I have no trouble getting FF flights for Europe to JNB. But I am more flexible than most. We got our tix for last June's trip in March. This year, August for our June trip. Around holidays makes FF's more difficult. Trying to get flights to Europe is the tough leg. But wait for the bonus miles. It'll save you money. Gardy's right - We do business class for that long flight and it makes more sense.

Here's the chart -

http://www.aa.com/i18n/disclaimers/a...rtnerChart.jsp

All the fees on AA went up last week in a business merger with BA and IB.

Stopovers: If you use AA miles all the way (ORD-LHR-JNB, or ORD-LHR-CPT, or ORD-LHR-JNB-MQP etc.) then AA no longer allows en-route stopovers at LHR or JNB etc. Their definition of "stopover" generally means greater than 24 hours, but if there's an earlier connection with space available they can make you connect on the first out. Thus if you were flying to, say, Joburg, you might be put on an overnight flight from ORD to London that arrives in the morning, then connect out that same evening on another overnight straight to JNB, with anywhere from 6-10 hours to cool your heels at Heathrow between flights. Bleh.

If, however, you take the morning flight to London (departs ORD at 9:00 AM) it arrives at Heathrow at 10:30 PM or so, long after that evening's JNB and CPT flights have departed. So in that case you'd connect out the following evening on the first available flight. Hence you'd have a night in a bed and a day to get up late and recuperate before flying south. As a rule the morning flights to LHR tend to have plenty of FF award seats compared to busier evening flights.

If you pay for a transatlantic ticket and use miles for Europe <> Africa, same deal - no intermediate stopovers.

As for buying miles, you need to crunch the numbers and decide what's best. Right now I'm seeing fares of around $2100 per person for ORD-LHR-JNB//CPT-LHR-ORD for BA or AA in late August; if you spend $1500 all together for the two of you to buy the additional miles, that reduces your out-of-pocket cost by over $2500 (2 x $2100 = $4200.)

Put another way your total of 150,000 miles has a value of almost 3 cents per mile ($4200/150,000) i.e. a "profit" even over the purchased mileage cost. I know it's all a bit esoteric, but I'd tend to view that $2500+ in savings as license to spend more nights in a game lodge.

I'd buy the miles now, then use the credit card bonus miles (you'd need 20,000 miles total) to "pay" for the one-way flight(s) between Kruger and Cape Town. The reason is that the transatlantic and Europe <> Africa seats might be harder to book the longer you wait.

<i>(just opened another card with miles bonus :)).</i>

Helen, Not sure what you mean by the above statement, however, if you mean that you already had one card and now have taken out another, please read the fine print. I noticed that on the Delta AM EX offers it specifically states that the miles are awarded to first time card holders ONLY. Even though they continue to send me the offers every week, I would not be eligible for the bonus miles, having already had (and canceled) one of their cards last year. Maybe your deal is different, or I've misunderstood your statement, just don't want you to plan too much and be disappointed if the miles don't come through.

TC, I know what you are saying. I had a similar situation with United from Chase card. This is a different deal. I own AA Master Card and AMex from the Citibank, but now they indtroduced AA Visa from the Citibank too. So, I will be a new cardholder for Citibank Visa.

Crista, thank you again for sharing!I know, there are lot of disadvantages of having to work :), but I need my vacation funds!!!

Gardyloo, I feel smarter now!!! I travel for about 15 years, and I did not know things like this, and never performed the mileage cost/benefit analysis :) Thank you so much for doing this for me. So, I guess, this is how I will proceed. I kind of agree with Crista that I would want leave safari for last, but I guess from financial perspective, I will try to book ORD-LHR-JNB-MQP.

Hi Helen,

I was in your position a few years ago and posted a similar cry for help on this board. The response was phenomenal and I am eternally grateful for everyones' help.

Rather than trying to add more fact/info, I'll pass along two recurring comments that were made to me:
1. No matter where you end up going you'll have a wonderful time, and
2. It probably won't be your last time

I was fairly confident that #1 was true but skeptical about #2, given my bank account. However, I just returned from my second safari and am quite sure that there will be a third. So, rest assured that your upcoming adventure will be one of a lifetime, and enjoy!!

regards,
anita

Thank you, Anita! Well, I will keep my hopes high that my bank account will tolerate the subsequnet trips :)
I have no doubts that I will have the desire to come back...

Christa, Cary, just finished reading your trip reports. Sounds so cool!

How much are the transfers between the lodges cost (like if I Sasbi Sand, Parfuri and Mahsuta)?

As I understand, the options are:
- either book the airfare thru MQP - and have us transferred between the lodges, and then fly back to JNB
- or fly to JNB, rent a car(per Craig suggestion), drive ourselves between the lodges, and then back to JNB. Is driving easy enough?

I would like to review these two options, before I book my flight.

<i>I own AA Master Card and AMex from the Citibank, but now they indtroduced AA Visa from the Citibank too. So, I will be a new cardholder for Citibank Visa.</i>

O.K. I hope this is correct. But the miles will be going into the same AA account number and I think that is how they track. Just saying........you want to be sure. Its still Citibank and AA. Has this worked for anyone else here?