Africa including long rail trip

I am beginning to plan a trip to Africa. I will be using AA award miles to get a business class ticket from California, and will book that 330 days out, so I am looking at 2004, 2005.

I like in California, near the coast and wineries and have done quite a bit of traveling, like to see what is unique both to the place I’m going and new to me.

I’ve read a couple of basic guide books and am totally overwhelmed with the choices to make. So much seems to wonderful. I don’t expect to ever return. I’m thinking 3 - 4 weeks.

I don’t like to pack/unpack often, like to settle in and have a base. Usually three hotels per trip works out well. I’ve found three trips where the train is the hotel that seem good possibilities - the Shongololo Southern Cross, and the Rovos Rail trip from Cape Town to Dar Es Salaam, or their African Collage. High on my list are Harare and Johannesburg because I know colleagues there. Beyond that, I like to see people, culture, food, local events, markets, ... some animals, of course though I am not especially a fancier.

I tried to start organizing around convenient flight schedules, probably AA/BA, maybe CX. I can get from LHR non-stop on BA to CPT, NBO, DAR, JNB. But I haven’t been able to find a web site that lists all the local flights from a particular airport. For instance from VFA, or from DAR where two of the train trips end. I’m not sure how much it matters to try to include every flight on the award ticket.

Once I fix some of the details it will be easier to work out the rest, including season. I’d appreciate suggestions for any of this.

Sylvia

I definitely recommend Capetown and the surrounding winelands but have also heard GREAT things re: Rovos Rail. You could also do a short safari in Kruger Nat'l Park and stay at one of the over-the-top luxury lodges there.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by SylviaCaras:
I’ve read a couple of basic guide books and am totally overwhelmed with the choices to make. So much seems to wonderful. I don’t expect to ever return. I’m thinking 3 - 4 weeks.</font>

We ran into the same thing. South Africa is a treasure chest full of exciting, wonderful opportunities. So, the traveler is left to distill it down to what they want to see. Since we did almost exactly what you're doing (except we're going on BA via LHR), we had to plan most of our entire trip a year ahead. We got the books and made a list and just worked on narrowing it down to what would fit into our time there, without trying to over do it.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">But I haven’t been able to find a web site that lists all the local flights from a particular airport. For instance from VFA, or from DAR where two of the train trips end. I’m not sure how much it matters to try to include every flight on the award ticket.</font>

Try this site:
http://airtravelcenter.com/query2.htm
Scroll down to a link to "Airline Timetables Worldwide" and click on it. Then put in your dates, departing and arriving airport codes and it'll give you every flight on every airline between those two points.

Good luck and hope your trip is everything you hope it will be!

In July I went to southern Africa for a month, to Capetown, took Shongololo Southern Cross from Joburg to Victoria Falls, went to Lusaka land Livingstone (colleagues) and then home.

Highlights for me were absorbing the holism of the parks (first experienced in Kruger), Chobe afternoon cruise, Cape Point. Shongololo was good choice for this first trip.

Now, I want to go back, am focusing on Namibia desert and Botswana elephants, and avoiding LHR. (It's hard for me to imagine a 11 hour flight and a 6" wide carry-on.) So I'm thinking of IB via MAD and a train trip in Seville and then ...

I'm having a hard time making air connections within Africa work, instead generating lots of one night stops before the next plane.

I think I need a travel agent, wonder if anyone has an excellent suggestion.

And I'm curious, most of the tours have one night or two nights in places. Is that because most people are short of time and want to see a lot? Or because even if one stop doesn't have many desired animals the next one would? Or is it because there really isnt much to do after one or two game drives, so people move on? Or something else?

I'm wondering if staying at these lodges for 4 or more nights each would be pleasant or not.

I'm still thinking of Rovos Rail, July '08, Tanzania and then Uganda.

Sylvia

Check out the Fodors.com Africa forum-you'll get lots of good advice and I think everyone would agree that a stay of at least two nights is preferable, usually more.

Personally, I consider 5 nights the absolute minimum, but I'm hardly your run-of-the-mill safari goer.

Johan

We went in April; met a group of friends in Cape Town. Stayed five nights in Cape Town, then rode Rovos Rail for two nights (to Pretoria). Four nights in Singita Boulders.

Cape Town was a beautiful city, we stayed at Cape Grace so walked along the waterfront most evenings. Rovos Rail was so terribly overpriced, in all our opinions. There were 35 of us, we took up the whole train except for 5 other people, and they insisted that we dress for dinner. We did, but hated carrying that extra baggage.

Singita and the game viewing were over the top! Sleep became a rare and precious commodity because nobody wanted to miss a game drive, and dinner ran really late every night.

I'm convincing myself to take Rovos July '08, now want *one* place to stop first that's easy to get to, one more leg, from either CPT or JNB, one long long travel day(s), third week in June, '08. I was hoping for Sossusvlei but I can't make the logistics work, am open to ideas. After the train I will spend some time in Tanzania on a tour and then fly home.

Sylvia