Singita
 

For all those who have been to Singita -- how did you make your reservation? Did you do it through an agent, through singita's website, or some other avenue? I just used the Relais & Chateau website and it appears they are sold out a year in advance. Any suggestions?

I made my reservation through an agent for my trip to Singita last year. When I tried to book directly, I had no luck.<BR>However, with the agent, not even an African travel specialist, I was able to get the exact dates I needed.<BR><BR>I would imagine that you would not have a problem booking so far in advance.<BR><BR>Try a few of these websites specializing in African travel:<BR><BR>www.attractiveafrica.com<BR>www.tag asafaris.com<BR>www.africantravelinc.com<BR>www.e-gnu.com<BR>www.safarinow.com<BR><BR>Good luck.

My reservations for Singita this May were made in February by my travel agent, www.classicafrica.com<BR><BR>It surprises me that Singita is booked a year in advance, if I was able to book four months in advance. Booking through Classic Africa cost me no more than the rates posted on Singita's website. Good luck with your plans, as Singita is a pretty remarkable place.

Singita is not booked up a year in advance, that's just a web fluke. It's just that some of these direct booking websites are not working for all hotels/camps even though they are listed. Just book through a web travel agent by emailing them. See what discounts on the rack rate they give you - even the high-end can be tweaked this way.

I think that the Relais Chateaux people get a certain amount of rooms per night to sell and thats it ! Have fun at singita it looks awesome... for what its worth.. I have just found a website called http://singita.go2africa.com and they have rates that look as if they are less than the rates on the Singita Website. They also have some shots of their new Lebombo lodge in the kruger. Looks amazing.

Thanks everyone -- it was so kind of you to reply. The answer appears to be as follows:<BR>First, the Relais &amp; Chateaux website is essentially worthless and should be not used for bookings.<BR>However, incredibly, it is true that, for some dates, Singita does indeed book up a year in advance. I contacted both tagasafaris.com and Singita directly to get the booking for my dates (late March 2004). Tagasafaris responded first and got me the absolute last suite available at Singita. This was confirmed by Singita, who later told me no rooms were available because tagasafaris had just booked the last room.<BR>So the moral is this: If you have inflexible dates and want to stay at Singita, even a year ahead may be too late. Note: The dates before and after my preferred dates are still open -- so flexibility may be key.