Possible Trip
 

I have learned so much from this board and would like any input on this possible trip.
One night D'Oreal Grande Hotel Joburg; 3 nights Ngala in SA;1 night Grace Rosebank;3 nights Savute Under Canvas;2 nights Nxabega;2 nights Sandibe;3 nights Vambura Plains;2nights Victoria Falls Hotel; 4 nights Victoria & Albert Hotel Capetown. We may have to reduce the nights at Vumbura Plains to make the cost more reasonable. My cost is over $32,000. for two without international air,but including charter air. Does that sound reasonable.

Joburg; Doreale Grande Hotel $200/nt x 2 people = $400

3 nights Ngala in SA; $600/nt x 2 people x 3 nts = $3600

1 night Grace Rosebank; $275/nt x 2 people = $550

3 nights Savute Under Canvas; (Is that Savuti Camp?) $550/nt x 2 people x 3 nts = $3300

2 nights Nxabega; $800/nt x 2 people x 2 nts = $3200

2 nights Sandibe;$800/nt x 2 people x 2 nits = $3200

3 nights Vumbura Plains; $1350/nt x 2 people x 3 nts = $8100

2 nights Victoria Falls Hotel; $225/nt x 2 people x 2 nts = $900

Assume about 7 charters at $250/person x 2 people = $3500

Then Maun to Vic Falls & transfer = $500 for both of you


Then Vic Falls to Cape Town = $800 for both of you

4 nights Victoria & Albert Hotel $250/nt x 2 people x 4 nts = $2000

Using e-gnu for a source for the Africa part of the trip I get just over $30,000


I tried to round up and overestimate. I thought I used High Season rates, too. So $32,000 seems a bit high.

I’d go Little Vumbura instead of Vumbura Plains because LV is about $750/pp/nt vs. over $1300 for Vumbura Plains. You do your wildlife viewing in the exact same place. LV is very nice. Vum Plains is really fancy with sorbet between meals and such. I stayed at Vum Plains because I was upgraded from LV. It is exquisite, but so is the price.

I like Southern Sun at the airport in Joburg. It might be slightly less than the Joburg places you are staying. It is a comfortable, good quality place.

Good luck.

I booked the D'oreal Grande on line with Agoda and paid $250 for the 2 of us incl breakfast.
We are also staying at Ngala tented for three nights and have paid zar 3.265 each per night ( this is for June). The lodge is quite a bit less.
Have a great trip

When are you traveling? If you are traveling in the next 7-8 months and water levels aren't an issue, I would suggest staying on the Zambian side of the Vic Falls. The Vic Falls Hotel is in my opinion pretty tired.

Another thing to consider is that the beggars and hawkers are pretty desperate in Zim and can get a bit much. On the other hand, they desperately need business, so it is a bit of a hard nut.

Personal opinion? Stay on the Zambian side of the falls.

Pelican,

Since you are staying multiple nights at some CCAfrica camps, you may be eligible for their longer-stay discount. I would ask your TA about that.

CW

Wow, that is a bit high, but you are also going for quite an extended time. I don't know if you have a TA yet or not, but I would highly recommend Rikke Williams at go2africa.com. She put together a great trip for us a few years back and got us some good prices on things. She was also incredibly helpful when we got to Cape Town and had to make some last minute changes due to weather.

We stayed at Nxbega and it is fabulous. You will love it there.

I would put in a vote for the Zim side of Victoria Falls. The majority of the falls are in Zimbabwe and we stayed at the Ilala Lodge which is within about a 10 minute walk to the falls. You might also consider the Portwood Hotel in the waterfront area of Cape Town as a way to reduce some costs. It was lovely. The service was incredible and the rooms were very comfortable. It isn't right at the waterfront, but it is a 5 minute walk at most.

Regardless - enjoy Africa. It has been the best trip so far and we've been a lot of wonderful places.

Thank you, especially atravelynn. I am going back to the drawing board on some of the prices with my agent at AfricantravelInc. They have been very pleasant to work with and I will post further.