SA Safari Help
Oct 22nd, 2006, 03:46 PM
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SA Safari Help
Hi,
We're in the very preliminary stages of planning a family trip to South Africa for either 2007 or '08. We are mom&dad and 18 y.o. daughter (who will most likely think this is all very boring). We would like to spend a couple of days on safari and a few days in Capetown. Have just ordered some travel guides, but would appreciate any feedback on when is the best time to go for seeing animals, and any ideas on what might be considered fun and interesting for a teen who'd rather vacation by a beach or pool. Thanks for your help!
We're in the very preliminary stages of planning a family trip to South Africa for either 2007 or '08. We are mom&dad and 18 y.o. daughter (who will most likely think this is all very boring). We would like to spend a couple of days on safari and a few days in Capetown. Have just ordered some travel guides, but would appreciate any feedback on when is the best time to go for seeing animals, and any ideas on what might be considered fun and interesting for a teen who'd rather vacation by a beach or pool. Thanks for your help!
Oct 22nd, 2006, 04:44 PM
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I'm not sure where you are from (USA?) but you're going all the way to South Africa for only 5 or 6 days, why such a short visit? Although I guess it is possible to spend 3 days in Cape Town, and then 3 days on Safari (probably Sabi Sands if this your first safari).
As for your 18 year old daughter, why take her with you if you don't think she will like or appreciate the trip, and if she has no interest in seeing animals in the wild. Maybe you have friends or relatives she could stay with, and then you and your husband could enjoy yourselves more. Most of the safari suites are set up for two people per suite anyway, and many
As for your 18 year old daughter, why take her with you if you don't think she will like or appreciate the trip, and if she has no interest in seeing animals in the wild. Maybe you have friends or relatives she could stay with, and then you and your husband could enjoy yourselves more. Most of the safari suites are set up for two people per suite anyway, and many
Oct 22nd, 2006, 06:04 PM
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ElleD9
Here is a link for the best times to see wildlife in Africa.
http://www.africa-adventure.com/dsp_besttime.html
You can do cage diving with great white sharks from Cape Town. Don't have to be a scuba diver. That might catch the teen's interest. You can also just watch from the deck of the boat. I have not done this yet but am planning it.
At Phinda, a reserve in SA, there are a variety of activites from village visits to rhino tracking. You can search for Phinda and CCAfrica (owners) for their site. They even offer a one week trip with a different activity each day, including beach stuff. No personal experience there either but I'm visiting for the first time this June-July.
After an hour or two on safari your daughter might just change her mind on it being boring.
Here is a link for the best times to see wildlife in Africa.
http://www.africa-adventure.com/dsp_besttime.html
You can do cage diving with great white sharks from Cape Town. Don't have to be a scuba diver. That might catch the teen's interest. You can also just watch from the deck of the boat. I have not done this yet but am planning it.
At Phinda, a reserve in SA, there are a variety of activites from village visits to rhino tracking. You can search for Phinda and CCAfrica (owners) for their site. They even offer a one week trip with a different activity each day, including beach stuff. No personal experience there either but I'm visiting for the first time this June-July.
After an hour or two on safari your daughter might just change her mind on it being boring.
Oct 23rd, 2006, 04:15 AM
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Hi Elle, we just got back from Safari with our 21 year old. She found the Safari absolutely awesome. That being said she has inherited the travel bug from both of us and is used to traipsing around the globe from an early age.
We found that most safari lodges had a single supplement and no triples . The exception was the ccafrica properties. We did Londolozi and Phinda. Londo is no longer a ccafrica property ( from March 2007) but I read somewhere that they will not charge you a single supplement if you stay for four days.
We booked private tours for cape town, cape and winelands through cc africa ( Ilios was the company). They were excellent.
In cape town we stayed at the Holiday Inn since they had no single supplement and price was reasonable. They also have a shuttle to the V&A waterfront , a sanitized shopping mall with restaurants though we got the Ilios car to drop us off there for dinner most days.
If you have any specific questions let me know.
We found that most safari lodges had a single supplement and no triples . The exception was the ccafrica properties. We did Londolozi and Phinda. Londo is no longer a ccafrica property ( from March 2007) but I read somewhere that they will not charge you a single supplement if you stay for four days.
We booked private tours for cape town, cape and winelands through cc africa ( Ilios was the company). They were excellent.
In cape town we stayed at the Holiday Inn since they had no single supplement and price was reasonable. They also have a shuttle to the V&A waterfront , a sanitized shopping mall with restaurants though we got the Ilios car to drop us off there for dinner most days.
If you have any specific questions let me know.
Oct 23rd, 2006, 05:03 PM
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Thank you all for your feedback. The calendar was very helpful, atravelynn. We are actually planning on taking two weeks - in addition to South Africa we are hoping to visit Namibia or Botswana, but as I mentioned, we are in the preliminary planning stages. Also good to know about the single supplement/no triples. I think my daughter will love the safari - just want to keep her from getting bored hanging with the old fogies during the rest of the trip. I'm curious, do most of you book your trips directly or use a travel agent?
Thanks
Thanks
Oct 23rd, 2006, 06:37 PM
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I'm glad to see that you are really planning for two weeks! A lot of people have combined South Africa with either Namibia or Botswana.
Yes, I would say that most people use a travel agent that specializes in Southern Africa. Some of the safari operators such as Wilderness (many camps in Botswana and Namibia) and Kwando (I think) do not book directly, that is, you must book their camps through a travel agent. You can book CCAfrica camps directly with CCAFrica, but I'm quite sure there is no cost savings for doing this, so really no advantage.
Some of the Wilderness camps in Botswana have "family" tents, if your 18 year old could share a tent with you. There was a short description of this at Vumbura Plains on a recent trip report: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34886378
You could see how that cost compares to booking two separate tents.
Yes, I would say that most people use a travel agent that specializes in Southern Africa. Some of the safari operators such as Wilderness (many camps in Botswana and Namibia) and Kwando (I think) do not book directly, that is, you must book their camps through a travel agent. You can book CCAfrica camps directly with CCAFrica, but I'm quite sure there is no cost savings for doing this, so really no advantage.
Some of the Wilderness camps in Botswana have "family" tents, if your 18 year old could share a tent with you. There was a short description of this at Vumbura Plains on a recent trip report: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34886378
You could see how that cost compares to booking two separate tents.
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