SA Safari Phinda/Singita
 

I am having trouble trying to figure out which one to go to? I thought Singita seemed like the best choice but how does Singita compare to Phinda? Are they both luxurious but offer different experiences? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Phinda is fenced-in.....

If you love Cheetah, Phinda is the place to go. If you prefer Leopards, Singita is the place to be.

http://www.pbase.com/mytmoss/cheetah_of_phinda

Mike

<b>Travcarib</b>
I know of one huge cheetah enthusiast who did not care for Phinda due to the fences that were visible on game drives, the emphasis on Big 5 viewing, and the lack of emphasis on the cheetah conservation mission of Phinda.

Never been to either, but I will go to Phinda this June. You can do many activities at Phinda. They even have a 7-day plan where you do something different each day, such as rhino tracking, boat ride, village visit, air safari to look at marine wildlife, etc.

From what everyone has mentioned on this site, the favorite Phinda lodges are Vlei (higher end) and Forest. I'm staying at Forest due to the lower cost and because I think its location works best for rhino tracking, which I’ll be doing several days.

Since you mentioned luxury, here are some Phinda awards:

2007: Phinda Forest Lodge has been listed in the US Conde Nast Traveler's 2007 Gold List

In the Best by Food category of the Cond&eacute; Nast Traveller Gold List, Phinda Forest Lodge was named second in Africa &amp; Middle East

In the category of Best Hotels in the World for Rooms, the Cond&eacute; Nast Traveller Gold List named Phinda Private Game Reserve the best in Africa

But Singita is the big award winner for luxury:

Travel and Leisure Magazine 'World's Best Service Awards - Overall Winner World's Best Hotel is Singita – in 2004, 2005, 2006. Maybe since time began, I only researched back to 04. Didn’t see 07 results yet.

I would not have been content with only Phinda for my South Africa safari so I am visiting Mala Mala in the Sabi Sands as well.

Now a question for you, <b>Travcarib</b> assuming you travel in the Caribbean and maybe snorkel and take some underwater photos. What kind of underwater camera do you recommend for pix while snorkeling?

<b>Mytmoss</b> Sorry, if I've asked you this in the past, how did you feel about the fences at Phinda?

Atavelynn, you ask a good question re the fences. Phinda is exceptionally large, about 16000 Hectre if I recall. Because of the large size, I so rarely saw any fences. I did see them while on a leopard tracking excursion (which you pay extra and supports Leopard research). Phinda is exceptionally well run and IF you are staying at the Forest Lodge, ask NOW for Walter to be your ranger. I have a contact at CCAfrica where you can make that request. He is local from Madagascar and he has gone from a tracker to a ranger. He is incredibly knowledgeable and he knows how to get the most for you. I went back there a 2nd time just to have him again as my ranger. If you see him, say hi to him for me, Mike Moss. I too would not make Phinda my only stop, however I have not seen Cheetah anywhere else that even comes close to what I saw there. I hope this helps and enjoy yourself there!

Thank you very much Mike. It does help.

Travcarib: I have stayed at both Singita and Phinda and enjoyed both a great deal. However, I would not return to Phinda, whereas I would absolutely love to return to Singita. The game viewing was comparable, but the accomodations, service, cuisine and overall experience at Singita far surpasses Phinda. The staff a Singita anticipates your every need and fulfills it before you even realize you have a need! Everything about Singita is exceptional. Also, I did not enjoy seeing the fences at Phinda, as it felt a bit like a game park. Please keep in mind that this is just one person's opinion. I'm sure there are many people that prefer Phinda for their unique tracking programs.

I do not think you can compare the luxury of Singita to almost anywhere else in the safari circuit. The rooms and food are superb and the service is great. I have stayed at both Ebony and Boulders and have had wonderful times at each with incredible sightings...but...as I have returned to Africa a few times since I recognize that part of the ambiance of the bush are the closeness to the animals and the sounds of the night. There are some wonderful tented camps with high levels of luxury (Mombo, Kings Pool, Jao just to name a few) in Botswana and I supsect that Tanda Tula and Ngala tented camp in S. Africa, while not nearly as luxurious as Singita, would offer almost as rich (pun intended) an experience. If you are set on one or the other, Singita or Phinda and money is no object then Singita gets my vote. The one advantage to Phinda is that is covers more biomes and therefore a bit more diversity of animals but with the fences...I don't know it sounds to me that would be a distraction.
I heard that Singita was refurbing a bit and I had always felt that the rooms at Boulders were better (not by too much though) but the lodge at Ebony was much warmer.
I also felt the staff at Boulders was warmer too but that was just my take.
Regards,
Eric

Phinda is actually upto 21,000 hectares with additional properties added last year. However, it's hard to miss the fences on most drives.

I'm one that hates fences too, but my experience at Phinda was wonderful and I would return again in a heartbeat.

Not having been to Singita, I can't comment, but I think you're comparing apples to oranges.

Singita is known for it's luxury and accommodation while Phinda is known for it's variety of activities and it's emphasis on conservation.

me and my wife have been to malamala three times hands dowh best place to go. the only reasion sigita rates higher than malamala is becouse each room has a dipping pool. to me if it dont have a high dive its not a swimming pool. if ypur going to see game and service malamala is the place to go

We stayed at both Singita Ebony and Phinda forest on our trip last summer. Singita is much more luxurious and the game viewing was more intimate. But Phinda was very nice and we appreciated the emphasis on conservation.

Mandelieu, Did you do a report on Phinda? If so, could you put in a link.

Sorry if I've read it and forgot.

Sorry, I didn't write a full report, although I have responded to several postings with details of our Phinda experience. I'd be happy to answer any specific questions. Overall, I'd say that the accomodations at Forest are beautiful, food and service are good, and game viewing was good but we didn't get as close to the animals as we did at Singita. Some of this seems to be a philosophical difference between the two lodges about how close the vehicles should get. We did a leopard research drive with Trestan and that was fascinating. We also enjoyed the diverse environments at Phinda. We didn't get a chance to do any of the optional excursions, although some of them sounded very interesting. Feel free to ask for any more specifics.

Mandelieu,

The trip report is not a mandatory requirement! Thanks for being open to questions.

How many nights were you at Phinda? Did you see any cheetah?

Did the fences distract or bother you?

We stayed at Phinda for 3 nights and had great cheetah sightings. I was aware of the fences at times, but didn't find them overly bothersome. We covered a fair amount of territory in our game drives, so we weren't constantly seeing the fences.

Thank you Mandelieu!

I stayed at both Singita Sweeni and Phinda Rock Lodge. Singita Sweeni had the better lodge, food and wine. It had great service, fantastic game drives and beautiful sights. Phinda Rock Lodge was gorgeous but not up to the same level as Singita as far as food, wine and lodging goes. The game viewing was much better here though. I have reviews and pictures at http://www.bombasticlife.com

Phinda game viewing was better than Singita? Did I read you right Bombastic?