lexi123

Hi all,

I also posted this on the Travel Tips forum but wanted to see a variety of opinions, so came here too.

My parents kindly offered to take me on a graduation trip for my graduation gift. We are a little late on the planning boat, but hopefully you can still help. I have wanted to explore continental Europe for a while now, and would likely visit Paris--Barcelona--Rome if we went that route (my mother is British so I've visited London many times). However, my father also suggested the idea of an African safari, which appeals to me in that I'm not sure when I'll get the opportunity in the near future. We would have two or three weeks in late June for the trip and a budget of around 25,000 USD. If we went to Europe, we would be able to fly stand-by easily as the flights to Paris from where I live in the Western US are relatively unpacked.

PS: After reading one of the responses on my initial post, I also begun to think about Paris-Barcelona-Morocco. Thoughts?

DebitNM

"we would be able to fly stand-by easily as the flights to Paris"
Do you have an airline employee in the family? Not sure how unpacked flights to Europe are in June or what kind of stand by flights for which you may be eligible.s

As for Africa, you may be too late for safari. We booked 6 months in advance and lots of places were booked.

You need to decide ASAP.

Personally, after doing several European trips; our trip to Africa was extraordinary. Europe is easy to do; Africa not so much. I'd pick Africa.

DebitNM

[I see on your other thread that your father is a pilot; so ignore that part of my comment]

historytraveler

Having lived in South Africa and doing a number of safaris and having lived and travel extensively in Europe, I would definetly do the safari.

Leely2

Safari, no contest.

tripplanner001

I agree with the others and say go for Africa. Given the time of year, aim for South Africa. Start in Cape Town, spend a couple of days in the Winelands if that interests you, and then go to east to St. Lucia / Phinda / Sabi Sand / Kruger. Europe is easier to experience at any time and at probably lower cost.

Leely2

p.s. Tanzania is excellent in June (Great Migration can make booking tough and expensive, though), and Kenya, especially the conservancies, is wonderful too. I've been to each country twice in June, a stellar time of year in East Africa should that be your choice.

Yes, Paris-Barcelona-Rome would be a fun trip, but you are right to assume that a Europe trip is easier to arrange and generally far less expensive than a safari.

lexi123

So Africa it probably is then--are we going to be too late, booking wise, for a good safari experience? South Africa looks like the best choice, since and it appears to be the low season there. Can anyone recommend a good safari company? We would be looking for the equivalent of luxury tents and would be happy with a 8-10 day tour.

tuscanlifeedit

Try your question on the Africa forum. I think you'll get recommendations there. Also check there for trip reports.

I travel to Europe, but if I were young, I'd go to Africa. I feel that I've aged out of that opportunity for health reasons, and I regret not having gone earlier.

Go to Africa.

DebitNM

Try to aim for about 3 nights in 3 different locaions; more than that in 1 location gets old fast. You want to be able to see as much as possible and varied.

At this late date; I would use the services of a travel specialist to do the coordinating and booking. There are some good ones that often post helpful info on the Africa board.

DebitNM

Darren was very helpful and knowledgeable:

http://compassodyssey.net

Seamus

Have done both and in your situation would absolutely go for safari in Africa. You will likely pay top dollar this close in, but it will be worth it. Agree with Deb that an experienced agent will be very helpful.

Since your dad is a pilot you may want to try for flights that give you a bit of a break en route. We spent a day in Amsterdam before proceeding to Nairobi and it helped with jet lag.

bilboburgler

Morocco is wonderful and I'd choose Fez or Marrakesh (my favorite) which would let you travel into the Low Atlas mountains. The people of Morocco are very friendly and generally well educated but lack the wealth that oil/coal gives to other countries (Eg UK, USA etc) ;-) Clearly many people speak English but you'll also find French speakers which will chime with your Paris visit.

StCirq

African safari for sure. We absolutely loved our stay at cottars.com.

Second choice would be Morocco for me, too.

jan47ete

Don't forget Egypt is in Africa also unless you were really committed to Africa for just the safari.

Having done a safari, Europe and Egypt would go with comments above that Europe is good and easy anytime but Africa the continent, safari itself or a combo would be great.

lexi123

Cottars does 6 nights for the price of 4, and they'll give us a lower rate since my brother and I are both under 18. That would make the safari portion of our trip $11,760. Reasonable? Not sure how availability will work out, though. My father is harping about how Kenya isn't very safe right now, but I haven't seen much evidence of this. He is in favor of South Africa.

It could make sense to do this:

Fly into Amsterdam or Paris (staff travel, around 400 USD)
Spent 3-4 days there
Fly into Cairo
From Cairo, go to Nairobi. Then fly back.

It's a bit of a jaunt around the world, and I think my parents are unlikely to go for it. Alternatively we could do this:

Fly into Paris. Spent 4 or 5 days there.
From Paris, go to Morocco. We could visit Casablanca, Fez, Marrakech, etc. 10 days or so.

Or this:
Spend a day on the plane getting to Cape Town and suffer through it

Thoughts?

StCirq

Gosh, we didn't pay anywhere near that much for Cottars, but there were only 2 of us and we stayed only 3 nights, and we were working for his wife at the UN in Nairobi, and it was 2009, so I think we probably benefited from some sort of deal. It may well be more luxurious now than it was then, too, though for us it was pretty darn luxurious.

Kenya wasn't very "safe" when we were there, either, I guess. The horrific attack on the shopping mall (that was right near us at our hotel in Nairobi) happened a couple of weeks after we left. We ate lunch there the day we arrived in Nairobi, actually. At any rate, I haven't heard anything lately that would lead me to believe that Kenya is particularly unsafe now, and I live in Europe and hear African news almost every night, as well as European.

At any rate, you're unlikely to be unsafe while actually on safari, unless you're worried about lion attacks (if it's still on the Cottars' site, check out their family history - fascinating, including several relatives who were felled by wild animals, and an interesting connection to Teddy Roosevelt). You'll just have to get in and out of Nairobi unless you want to travel more around the area.

We flew to Nairobi via Schipol. Easy. We spent 3 days in Amsterdam on the way back, and that was a nice transition back to the USA, when we lived there. Seems to me USA to Amsterdam to Cairo to Nairobi and back would be a bit much.

Nonconformist

My brother loved Botswana for a tented safari a few years back - so much that he's planning on going back this year.

Leely2

I've stayed at Kicheche camps in Kenya a few times--they are terrific but may be pricey these days. June used to be green season in Kenya (less expensive) and high season in TZ but I think green season has shrunk to the 1st half of June at many camps.

Take a look at Offbeat Camps and Porini too. Post on the Africa board and you may also want to ask advice on safaritalk.net

Dianedancer

Just looked at cottars. $1k per person per night? Yow!!