South africa- safari
 

Hello, Can anyone tell me of any south african safari companies that are fairly reasonable (200 a night)? We would like to see the big five but cannot justify 500 a night? Also, how is the diving around capetown? is the beaches nice?

Hi Marisa<BR><BR>From your comment about "500 a night" - I am assuming USD - and other similar comments on this forum I am becoming very concerned about quotes to foreign tourists. There are a number of stunning private lodges that quote considerably less than that, and your 200 a night (which translates to over 2000 ZAR) should get you in somewhere really lovely. I don't know what can be casuing this - but I suggest you deal directly with SA based travel agents to get a good deal. Cape Town waters are dominated by the Antartic current so the water is generally cold (irrespective of which ocean). It is nothing like tropical - for that you need to head to the KwaZulu-Natal north coast. There were recent postings under SA about shark diving around Cape Town. If you want to go diving and see wildlife and enjoy stunning beaches - you can get all three in close proximity in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Most visitors stick to Cape Town and the area around Kruger, but in my opinion KZN is much, much better. So that I don't get shouted down by all the loyal Capetonians (!), if you are in Cape Town the best beach is Camps Bay. It is very picturesque with good surf and the 12 apostles mountains as a backdrop.

Try Hylton/Ross (or Hylton-Ross, not sure which now). Don't know their prices, but they took care of us on a Cape Town extension and everything we did was very cheap. However, we didn't use them for safari--just Cape Town area. But since everything else was cheap, it seems their safaris would be too. Very reliable and accommodating.

Overseas Adventure Travel (www.oattravel.com)has a lovely 2+ week trip to Botswana/Zimbabwe/Namibia for around $5000+. and that price includes pretty much everything except tips and visas. Food, transfers, travel between lodges, Air from US and Internal Air. I went on this trip 2 years ago and it remains one of my favorites. The lodges were great, as were the guides and activities.

Try mtbeds.com or mtbeds.co.za. Huge website with all kinds of safari accomodations in all kinds of price ranges throughout SA. They have the rack rates and specials. Lot's of information and pictures and you begin to get a sense for comparisons. Hope this helps. also lastminutetravel.com and go to the South African site also maybe helpful.

You are not the first person who has mentioned these prices and I have to wonder where you are getting them or are you reading Rands as dollars? I suggest you try a S.A. agent and you will find any number of them at ananzi.co.za the S.A. search engine. The prices you are quoting are a bit high for the game reserves. We just spent a few days at Kapama in deluxe accommodation for about $300 all inclusine but they had cheaper as well. And that is just one game reserve - there are dozens all over the counrty.<BR>Karen <BR>

Just back from Safari (Londolozi) and Cape Town. I noticed that although we paid well over 650USD each the Tourist Info centre in Cape Town had deals at many of the top camps for 1200rand so only 120USD! Get in touch direct with them! Driving seems fine in CapeTown although for a UK citizen it is great driving on the 'correct' side of the road!