Hi There
My friend and I planned to go on safari together but she just bailed out on me! Thankfully we were still in the planning stages and hadn't put a deposit down on anything. I'd still like to go it alone. I'm an only child so am used to doing things on my own I've read several entries on this forum by women traveling alone and it seems they all had a great time. I'm just not sure how to go about planning for it. Are there any safari companies/agencies that cater to solo travelers or is it better to just contact lodges on my own? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,
Gretchen

I know that Julian always liked to travel with CC Africa because they didn't charge a single supplement. If you are interested, you might also find some traveling companions here on Fodor's or even in the Yahoo group, Wayfaring Women.

That's good you are still going to Africa.

I don't know if there are solo travel Africa companies. But most will do a trip for just one. I believe the outfitter CCAfrica, which can booked directly or through an agent, is more friendly with single supplements than some. I am going to Phinda, a CCAfrica lodge in South Africa this June, booked through an agent. My favorite camp, Kutandala, in North Luangwa, Zambia, also does not do single supplements. It is mainly a walking camp.

I've almost always gone alone. The planning process is pretty much the same if you are one, two, or a group with the exception that a couple might tend towards romantic accommodations.

Contacting lodges on your own can work if you are using one provider, such as CCAfrica (throughout Africa) or Serena (Kenya and Tanzania). Going direct also seems to work better in South Africa, even when mixing and matching properties, than some other countries.

You can also join a small group or do group mobile safaris. I've enjoyed this type of travel and have made friends for future travel. There is a price advantage here.

If you have an idea of when you are going and where (East Africa, gorilla tracking, Southern Africa, etc.) then more specifics on agents and accommodations and itineraries can be offered.

You'll end up being one of those women going to Africa alone and having a great time. It is one of the easiest places to travel solo.

Thanks for the advice! I'm going to check into CC Africa. I forgot to specify in my original post that I'll be going to Kenya and Tanzania.

G

My friend and I (both single women in our 30's) are going in December to Uganda and Tanz. After 7 months of extensive research we've decided to go with Good Earth Tours and feel very comfortable with our decision. We booked our air through expedia, and plan to buy travel insurance through STA, MedJet and Flying Doctors (yes, all three).

We're both over achieving professionals who are highly orgainzed and thorough in our decision making process (you should see the spreadsheet that we created, it's amazing and certainly a commentary on how we do things). This is the most expensive trip either of us has ever taken, so our choices were not made lightly.

I cannot even begin to express how much great info we've absorbed from those generous enough to post their experiences and knowledge on this message board.

Good luck to you in your planning!

Here are the CC Africa’s properties in Kenya and Tanzania.
KENYA
• Kichwa Tembo in the Maasai Mara
TANZANIA
• Ngorongoro Crater Lodge—quite fancy with your own butler, definitely high end in luxury and price
• Klein's Camp—Northern Serengeti
• Grumeti—Western Serengeti
• Lake Manyara Tree Lodge
• Tanzania Under Canvas—mobile tented camp in Serengeti

These are all more expensive than average, but all get nice reviews.

Here is a chart on the best (and most expensive) times to view wildlife.
http://www.africa-adventure.com/dsp_besttime.html

For Tanzania, you can check this site for the perfect safari in your month of travel.
http://www.kiliwarriors.com/

Good Earth has been used and recommended by many on Fodors. They are in Tanzania with a US office too. Kiliwarriors is in Tanzania with a US contact. Green Footprints is in Tanzania. Eastern & Southern Safaris is in Kenya. Africa Adventure is in Florida. Africa Serendipty is in NYC. All of these have been used with success by Fodorites.

Accommodations are filling up 6 months out.

Good luck and please post your trip’s progress.

I just returned from a trip to TZ and I was a solo female traveler. What I found is that you have to make the first move with introductions. In many of the lodges, you are seated at meals with your vanmates, so that takes the guesswork out of figuring where to sit.
I would always go to the bar, look for a friendly group and ask if I could sit down. No one ever said "No". That way, I got to meet more people than just ones I was traveling with.
I don't know about contacting the lodges yourself - I used United Tour Group who contracts with Pollard Tours and Ranger Tours. I only paid $100 extra, but I know there were other solo travelers in other groups who paid more.
I'd be happy to give you more information.

Lynn,

You left out Mnemba (the only one we didn't get to but I did snorkel on their reef).

George

I did leave that out. Somehow I thought this was just a safari.

So Mnemba is in Zanzibar? I have zero knowledge of that place. But I like to snorkel so maybe that will change some day.

Along the lines of omissions and corrections. I know there is a Pollman's in Kenya that is often paired with Rangers. I used them once and it was very good. I don't know if there is a Pollards.

You are right that the poster mentioned a safari so it depends on which definition of safari they were using. Traditionally it's an overland East Africa trip so I don't know if travel on Zanzibar would have been included. However the term has come to include much more. This site talks about Zanzibar safaris and diving safaris:

http://www.thesafaricompany.co.za/Sa...n_Zanzibar.htm

so using that definition Mnemba would qualify.

Yes, it is one of islands that make up Zanzibar. It's off the northeast coast of Unguja (also called Zanzibar Island).

I travel alone and I book directly with CCAfrica. If you stay a minimum number of days, they will waive the single supplement. They are a quality organization with excellent reserves. If they handle your reservations, you will be in good hands.

Mike

I too had a friend bail, but went ahead and booked a trip to Zambia, Botswana an Namibia with Jenman Safaris. There's a small single supplement to pay, but they're overall a lot less than CC Africa. Not sure of your budget, but trying to keep the whole tour under $6K with flights is challenging. I don't leave until late July, so can email you after my trip. when are you planning to go?

heahsereb, how long is your safari? Were you able to keep it under 6k?

I want to thank everyone for your response to my post. You’ve given me a lot to think about and I’m appreciative and excited about planning my trip! I inquired with CCAfrica. They do have beautiful properties and they seem to be in prime locations but unfortunately they’re out of my price range . After wiping the tears from my eyes, I sent inquiries to Go2Africa, IntoAfrica, Good Earth, and Eastern & Southern. I will be traveling in Sept and you're right, accomodations are filling up quickly! IntoAfrica has a couple of group trips in September that still have availablility, (according to their website), although I'm awaiting official confirmation on that. I will be in Africa for a total of 14 days. I would like to focus on Kenya (8 days) with most days in the Masai Mara and then I go on to Zanzibar for 2/3 full days. Is that enough time in Zanzibar? I would like to do some snorkeling and visit Stone Town and the Jozani Forest as well.

Lynn: thanks for referring me to Kiliwarriors. What a great website! Their "choosing a safari" and "best safaris-September" sections were very helpful.


Once again I can’t thank you all enough for the links and advice. They've helped tremendously!

G.

heasereb: hi, I just read your post. I am also trying to keep my trip under 6K and agree it is very challenging considering I'm going to be there for 2 weeks. I have a friend doing an internship in Nairobi so I'll be staying with her a couple nights which will cut down on costs. I'd love to hear about your trip when you get back. I was also considering those countries initially. The landscape in Namibia looks so beautiful. I would really like to make it there someday.

Gretchen,
You might find Nyamera's planning thread helpful http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34944877

Here's another solo safari planning thread for ideas http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34821452

Hi Gretchen...I just recently went through planning my first safari. For the first 11 days, there will be two of us traveling, then I am continuing on my own for the last 7 days. My budget was also $6000 with slight flexibility.

As a solo traveler, Eastern & Southern basically wrote me off. A coworker of mine used them this past year and got a great price for he and his wife, but as a solo traveler, not so much.

I had contacted several companies and most came back VERY competitively priced for the "sharing" portion. The solo portion is what made the difference.

I ended up booking with Sardius Tours. Felix has been very responsive and answered all questions. He even tried to call me from Nairobi a couple times. My ell phone wasn't cooperating that day, so we gave that up and went back to email.

My last 7 days, as a solo traveler, includes 3 nts mobile tented camp in Serengeti and flying back to NBO from Serengeti on the last day. All private game drives, etc and the price for that last week only was right about $2500. Got the whole thing in within my budget. I might go over just a tad as I'm now thinking about changing to a different camp in the Mara.

Oh, btw, all of this is in January, so a high season as well.

Anyway, just thought I'd share my little bit of knowledge and my experience as a solo.

Shane

Going2Africa,
Interesting comment on E&S with solo travel. Sardius may be a good operator for all us to consider in the future. Looking forward to reading about your experience with them.

Lynn, I suppose I should clarify my point there. E&S (Serah) was very, very nice and pleasant to deal with when I originally thought I had a travel companion. When the plan changed and I was traveling solo for the entire trip, Serah was still pleasant, just very adamant that as a solo traveler it would be ver y expensive. I think that she just didn't want to go through the pricing, etc, knowing all the time that she couldn't meet my budget. I don't blame her.

I just don't want to paint a picture, here, that E&S was rude or anything like that. I think Serah just knew that she couldn't get me what I wanted, and stay within my budget.

Shane

Thanks for the additional info. E&S gets good comments on the forum. We solos are a tricky lot and not all companies cater to us. I always have my antennae up for solo comments and zeroed in on that one.