jturkanis10

My fiancee and I are in the early stages of planning a honeymoon in March 2014. We will likely try to get away for 14-17 days and currently live in NYC, which is nice given the flight options.

We, as with most people, are trying to do as much as possible in the time we have. Ideally, we would love to spend 3-4 days in Cape Town, 4-5 days at 2-3 Safari Camps (South Africa or Botswana), and 4-5 days on a beach (Seychelles??).

Is this even possible given our time restrictions? If so, we heard Seychelles may be in the rainy season. Is there another place you would recommend for R&R on the beach?

Also, any travel agents you would recommend?

All advice would be greatly appreciated.

capetownfolk

Hi there

The weather in Cape Town in March is lovely and you could very easily combine your 3-4 days Cape Town with 4-5 days beach and enjoy our beaches.
Here is a link to a beach guide
http://www.uncoverthecape.co.za/loca...tions/beaches/

I think possibly you are doing too much flying

Have fun planning your honeymoon and congratulations on your upcoming wedding

mkhonzo

Three inspirational and iconic destinations in your honeymoon plan, but too much costly (time and $) travel to make it a real "honeymoon".

OK, that is my opinion, you might have the appetite for lengthy flights, particularly Seychelles, which is around a 5 hour affair.

I agree with the first post: Cape Town is simply idyllic in March, for that matter so is the balance of that coast line, so maybe spice it up a bit and chill out in Plettenberg Bay, Nature's Valley for the beach component of your trip.

Suggest that you travel as follows:

NYC - CPT. Four/five nights in Cape Town. Plenty to see and so such as a day trip up the west coast. Are you comfortable driving yourself?

Table Mountain and Peninsula excursion, penguins along the way and lunch stop options at some great little restaurants along the way.

Day trip out to the winelands, maybe overnight combining this with the west coast excursion? Up to Langebaan, lunch in Paternoster, overnight in Ceres, back through the passes into Franxschoek & Stellenbosch with tasting stops along the way. maybe pause in the valley for the night.... options are endless & if you enjoy being behind the wheel continue on across the karoo through Oudtshoorn and on to Plett/Natures Valley.

Finish with a drive to Port Elizabeth, hop on a plane to JNB, connect to the Kruger area where you could spend three or four nights at a lodge for your safari experience!

Then go home and start planning the return trip..

I have worked with Paul at Natural Migrations, he only tailor makes trips and from my experience is game to work within your budget and time frame for the best solution to your needs etc.

Safari_Craig

March is a great time for a honeymoon in South Africa especially since the winter heat is abating. As you stated that you want the beach element and Cape Town, your safari days are rightfully limited to 5-6 nights. For this reason, I suggest not going to northern Botswana and instead just doing two safaris in South Africa. Northern Botswana deserves at least six nights and by choosing Northern Botswana it may force one more overnight in Jo’burg vs. going on safari only in South Africa and adding the beach from there.

I don’t have an idea what your budget it but later on I will suggest a few options at different price-points. As stated above, Cape Town will be fantastic in March. I have been there several times in March and the Winelands should not be missed either. I suggest a 4-2 or 3-2 split for nights in Cape Town and the Wine Country. For one of your two safari spots, I suggest a private game reserve adjacent to the Kruger National Park with no fence separating the Park from the private reserve. For your second safari you should try to get far away from the first safari spot to get geographic diversity. I will give specific suggestions below.

For the beach I suggest Mozambique instead of any of the other places. Mozambique is easy to get to from Cape Town and hopefully flights will resume from the Kruger Area to Vilanculos soon. Until a few months ago there was a flight several times per week from an airport very close to Kruger to Vilanculos. Either way, I am going to suggest you go on safari first and the beach last. So, access to Mozambique will not be an issue for you. Getting to the Seychelles from South Africa will be quite a “schlep” and I much more often recommend that the Seychelles be combined with a safari in East Africa. Mauritius is a totally different experience from Mozambique and I don’t recommend it often.

So, here is what I am thinking:

*Go on safari first as it is easiest to get over jetlag on a regimented safari. Also, with the non-stop on SAA from JFK-JNB you can be on safari the day of arrival and not miss an activity.

5-star – about $15,000 per person
Day 1 JFK-JNB. Land. FEDAIR to Singita. Try to get Lewis Suites to save a little $$$.
Day 2,3 Singita
Day 4,5,6,7 Fly 10am Singita-JNB then JNB-Tswalu for four nights using stay4/fly-free special.
Day 8,9,10,11 Fly free Tswalu-Cape Town. Four nights at Cape Grace using stay4pay3.
Day 12,13,14,15,16 Azura Lodge in Mozambique using stay5pay4.
Day 17 Fly home via JNB

4-star – about $10,000 per person
Day 1 JFK-JNB. Land. FEDAIR to Lion Sands River Lodge
Day 2,3 Lion Sands
Day 4,5 Two hour road transfer to Camp Jabuilani.
Day 6,7 Fly to Cape Town. Two nights in the wine country at LeQuartier Francais in the wine country.
Day 8,9,10,11 More Quarters 1br apartment in Cape Town.
12,13,14,15 Benguerra Lodge in Mozambique using stay4pay3.
Day 16 Fly home via JNB

4-star – about $9,000 per person
Day 1 JFK-JNB-Nelspruit/MQP. Road transfer to MalaMala Main Camp.
Day 2,3 MalaMala
Day 4,5,6 Fly scheduled charter to Mashatu in Botswana.
Day 7,8 Fly to Cape Town. Two nights in wine country at Rusthof Guest House.
Day 9,10,11,12 Four nights at More Quarters in Cape Town.
Day 13,14,15,16 Fly to Mozambique and stay at White Pearl.
Day 17 Fly home via JNB


Agents: Paul Swart is very good. He is a friend and competitor of mine. I have met him several times. He has a company in Bend Oregon and would be a good resource/agent for this trip. There are also a few more companies “closer to home” such as Heritage Tours (Joel Zack) or maybe Rumit Mehta at Immersion Journeys in Manhattan. This is highly debatable but I don’t suggest contacting more than two agents as it can work against you.

Hope this helps.
Craig Beal – owner – Travel Beyond
2011 & 2012 Travel & Leisure A-List agent for Botswana and Zimbabwe

ekscrunchy

ttt

barefootbeach

safariCrag....why don't you recommend Maurtius?

loribarber1

South Africa is a great place to visit - my husband and I have been there twice, most recently this year. The beaches near Cape Town are wonderful, so you could get your beach time there. If you like wine tasting, Stellenbosch is beautiful (short drive from Cape Town). We didn't do safari in South Africa on this trip - we went to Tanzania. But on the last visit, we went to Kruger. Here's the blog post about our recent visit if you'd like to see, http://latitudeb.com/south-africa/.