This is a mechanical question, which I don't think has been asked before (maybe because it's so obvious...). In what order do people on this board generally book their safari and travel arrangements, that is, do you generally book your intercontinental plane tickets before your accommodations/intra-Africa transportation, or vice-versa? I realize that often packages include air-fare, so this may not be an issue for some, but I would likely have to use FF miles; hence the question. Given that some of the more popular lodges book up over a year ahead of time, while airline seats aren't released until 330 days out, do folks just book the safari accommodations first, and hope for the best re: eventually securing plane tickets? Is that risky? Is there anything people do to mitigate that risk?

Thanks very much for the advice.

Im sure other will comment on their own experiences and since I've never used FF miles.

Some people do accommodations first if traveling in peak season, put a hold on what they want and then get working on those FF seats. If for some reason your FF seats are a day off either side of arrival/departure, you can usually be fortunate enough to move your lodging around.

Others, go for the seats first, then work out the accommodations.

Inter- and intra-country flights can often be booked by the agent handling your ground arrangements.

When will you be traveling, where (country) and do you have specific accommodations in mind? All can vary depending!

For your situation, here is what I have done when the one and only accommodation I want is in high demand and fills up over a year in advance, such as at Brooks Falls in Alaska.

#1 get the accommodations
#2 book the ff miles 330 days out

I allow enough flexibility that I could alter the airline flights by a few days in case choice #1 is not available.

If you are using an agent, you may be able to have them hold space for you for a few weeks before sending your deposit. In the interim, you can arrange the flights.

Usually the domestic non-FF mile flights are not that tight, so those don't need to be secured so early.

If you are more interested in the park and would be willing to stay at a couple of accommdations, then 10.5 months out should be fine.

These are the Africa destinations that I've heard book far in advance:

-Mombo and Little Mombo
-The no single supplement room at Mala Mala
-sometimes Chitabe in dry season
-Southern Serengeti accommodations around Feb
-I had trouble with 4 nights in Zibalianja in Aug once because it was such a small camp that a few friends traveling together could easily take up all the rooms.
-gorilla permits for a specifc date around July
- late Aug-Sept at small camps in the Mara

Of course it depends on groups that may book numerous rooms or whole camps.

Where and when are you going?

I've used FF miles for 5 trips and book air first, then confirm accommodations. But I don't normally travel in high season so have only come across a camp availability issue once. That one time was remedied by changing the order of my itinerary. Except for our first trip, I'll usually have already been in contact with a tour operator or the accommodations directly and worked out an itinerary prior to booking air so that as soon as I have the air secured, I can give them the go ahead.

As mentioned, it depends on where, when and what specific accommodations.

We did the ff miles first because there is no guarantee that you can get the flights you want. We booked a private safari (less expensive than the standard group tour with a US tour company)with a local Kenyan operator (found on the internet) and he was able to design and even adjust the safari to meet our needs. For instance, our available flights forced an extra day in Kenya. The operator was able to give us different options (we chose an extra day in the Masai Mara). Also, AA/BA only had coach seats available when we booked. It took until less than a week before departure to upgrade to business class. It made a big difference for the long flights and for their lounges at the airports.

I have always used frequent flier miles on my trips to Africa, and have always booked my flights first -- I have never been wedded to a specific lodge, and even though I have been lucky and gotten the lodges I desired, I would have been happy with second or third choices. I have already booked my flight for next August (not to Africa, but to the Caucasus region), and I'll probably start looking at lodging next May or so -- I knew the flights would quickly disappear, but there are usually several lodging options. But, if you have your heart set on a specific lodge and if they won't charge a non-refundable deposit, you can also secure your lodging as early as possible.

So, I was purposefully vague about the "where" because I honestly don't know yet. I'm planning a fairly long round-the-world trip for 2009, of which Africa would be a central part. Given the length of the trip (6 mo - 1 yr), as well as the fact that many of the other countries/continents we'd be visiting are best in the shoulder seasons, I've assumed that the Africa portion would be during the peak summer season (e.g., June, July, or August). My plan is to start booking the RTW ticket in the early part of next year for some of the other places we're going, but the Africa air-legs won't be available for booking until, say, summer 2008. My concern is that some places I may want to stay at in Africa may start booking up more than a year out (i.e., before I can book the air-portions). That may not be an issue, to the extent that many places generally don't book up until 10.5 months out, as atravelynn suggested. It also may not be an issue, to the extent that I'm prepared to just suck up paying for a revenue ticket, if I can't find a necessary mileage seat (which may be the case, although then I'm probably flying coach, not business). I was just curious what others have done in this situation.

As I said, I'm still figuring out the pros and cons of different destinations in Africa, and didn't want to bog down the board with more of the "Help! Tanzania or Botswana?" kind of posts. Of course...since I was kind of asked, I'm very happy to take any advice people want to offer. My plan is to devote 30 - 40 days to Africa (the only crimp in this being that my wife (a) may not want to spend that much time on safari (i.e., she's afraid it will start seeming redundant after a certain point), and (b) is, let's say, reluctant to fly in small planes). (She's willing to fly in smallish planes, but she won't be happy about it.) So, to the extent anyone wants to suggest a 30-40 day itinerary for us, I'm very happy to hear your suggestions, but I'm also happy to hear folks' views on just the mechanics of booking a trip like this (which sandi, atravelynn, Patty, and kenyatraveler have pretty well answered). In terms of personality profile, we're not really roughing it people and, with the exception of, say, North Island, are generally okay paying the prevailing rates. My tentative plan has been to visit Cape Town, Vic Falls, Botswana, Kenya/Tanzania (or both), Uganda, Zanzibar, and maybe the Seychelles, with the latter two being used to break up the safari and partially appease my wife. Anyway, sorry for doing what I said I wouldn't do in terms of asking a "help plan my trip question"...but I very much welcome the advice.

wow, jgold -

6 months to 1 year - that's not a problem experienced by most travellers on this board, or at all!

if you really want a particular hotel/camp then IMO you'll have to fit your travel around it. that said, I think that there is too much emphasis on the "perfect" lodge. as another poster said - the animals don't know how much you paid."

there is so much else to see in africa. I was really excited by the flora of SA, and we were there in the winter. there is a recent hread on Namibia too which looks fantastic.

Having now had a taste of southern africa, I could easily work out how to spend at least a month there, without going any where near Kenya or Tanzania. come to that, I could easily spend 2 weeks in capetown alone.

Have you got a list of "must dos" yet?

are any of them time -critical - eg the great migration? carnival in Venice? best time for Vic falls?

I think that's where I would start, and then begin to whittle it all down.

happy planning,

regards, ann

Thanks very much annhig for the advice about not getting obsessed about the "perfect trip." Easier said than done, but good advice nonetheless. The tentative itinerary for the trip currently occupies a very large spreadsheet, but given how often it keeps changing, I'd like to wait until I've thought it through a bit more before I impose on the amazing generous people on this board for that level of advice. However, part of the reason for visiting Africa in the summer is that I would like to see the migration (I presume from the Tanzania side). Thanks...

Just to be clear, the 6 months to a year I mentioned above is the length for the overall trip, not the length for Africa (sadly).

If you use FF miles, you will very definitely be limited in your flexibility. I've done trips at peak seasons with both FF miles and with paid tickets, and the FF tickets will work out as long as you give yourself (or travel agent, really) a few options after you've got your tickets.

For a trip of the type you're planning, you might also consider round-the-world tickets. They are reasonably priced, and they give you enormously more flexibility than FF tickets.

I put a hold on the lodges and then worked on the flights.

We booked accommodations first, a year in advance, and got our flights a couple of months later. We had to adjust our dates by a couple of days, but it wasn't a problem.

On our trip to South Africa/Botswana/Zambia last
September, 3 TAs said book the FF flights first. We did (on Delta--and I got the idea they had only 2 FF seats per flight), and had no problem getting the lodges we wanted.
One thing to think about is you may have too many countries for 30-40 days. We spent a month and felt it was too little! (Joburg 1 night; Royal Livingstone hotel, Zambia, 3 nights, incl. Vic Falls; Chobe Game Lodge, Bots, 3 nights; Joberg, 1 night; White River/Panorama Route, 3 nights; Sabi Sand/Londolozi, 3 nights; Phinda/Zululand, 3 nights; Cape Town, 5 nights; Franschoek/Winelands, 3 nights; Blue Train, 1 night; Pretoria, 1 night.
I HATE the small planes, but got sorta used to them. One way to get around too much safari-ing (which I can't imagine!) is to break the trip up with resorts and cities in between.
Leslie

Thanks everyone for these helpful replies. I actually am leaning toward using a round-the-world ticket as rizzuto suggested, presumably either the Oneworld or Global Explorer. However, even with those, I think there are some capacity control issues with First (A) and Business (D) Classes, although clearly it's not as bad as trying to use FF miles. So, net-net, it seems that the way to go is to try and book the lodges, or at least the high-demand ones for summer 2009, as soon as I can (which won't be for a couple of months), then book the plane tickets, and assume that if there's a mismatch, the tour company and I can work it out somehow. A little messy, but probably the best I can do.

As for LAleslie's point about trying to do too much in too little time, yeah, that's a concern. At some point I may need to start dumping other continents if I want to have the necessary time in Africa, but I'm still trying to assemble a "wish list" for each place that I can whittle down from. Anyway, thank you to everyone for the advice.

LAleslie
Your post today shows you went to a number of places on our planned safari. See my post from tonight. Can you respond to my post about Phinda and some of the places that were on your itinerary and mine. Thanks. gfeibleman

sorry, the subject us Help need safari critique

the link is http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...amp;dirtyBit=1

As I've gotten older, I've found I want to spend more time in fewer places when I travel, to get to know each one and not to be rushed into breakneck sightseeing. It's sooo tempting to try to put in as many stops as possible, but after awhile they all blend together, plus you spend far too much time in airports or in transit.
A friend and his wife who went around the world a couple of years ago took a year, bought a round-the-world ticket and only planned the first few countires, but stayed in each a few weeks. After that, they let their noses--and acquaintances along the way--decide where they'd go next. Kinda difficult for certain parts of Africa, though, I know.
I envy you. But it would kill me to be away from our dogs that long.
Leslie

Gfeibleman, I posted on your thread before I saw this. Did you want more detail?