Hi Detroit,

I think going to Africa in November is a great idea for your honeymoon. There are several places you could go to have an excellent safari and also some complementary experiences like Cape Town, Victoria Falls, or a beach in Zanzibar or Mozambique that would work well with this plan depending on where you choose to conduct your safari. Your viable choices for November are indeed Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa and Botswana if you want to do a big-five safari.

Keep in mind that East Africa (think Nairobi, Kenya) and Johannesburg are as far apart as LA and New York so, in general, it is best to stick with East Africa only or Southern Africa only. The safari lodges in Zambia and Zimbabwe are generally in the process of shutting down for the summer rainy season in November and don’t re-open until April or May. There are, of course, exceptions. This is why I am not going to mention Zimbabwe or Zambia as options.

November is historically a short, rainy season in Tanzania. With the recent changes in world weather patterns this could increase the amount or the intensity of a rain event in November in Tanzania. With the cotton soil that predominates some areas, game drives can be very difficult if not impossible if it rains. This factor tilts my recommendation for you toward a trip to Southern Africa. I was in Kenya two months ago and the rain started early on the Mara this year. It was almost impossible to game drive once the rains started and for about 6-12 hours after it ended.

November will be an excellent time to go on safari in Botswana as prices literally plummet (50-60%) on November 1. The animals don’t keep track of rates and dates and in my opinion November offers the best value of any time of year for Botswana. The only drawback for some people is the daytime heat of 95-100F. I know you hear this all the time but it really is a dry heat like Arizona or Las Vegas in June and it is always comfortable at night and in the evenings and mornings. It is highly unlikely that any significant rain will have started yet as the rainy season in Botswana BEGINS in November and ends in March.

Before the recession of 2008-2009 every safari lodge I recommend in Botswana was sold at peak season pricing. The first thing that happened in September 2008 was that every lodge converted November to low season rates. That has never changed since. In fact with specials like Wilderness Safaris’ Six Country and Kwando’s Five River the November time period is still cheaper than November 2005 for the same camps where the specials apply. I did hear that Wilderness Safaris is “clawing back” rates at Chitabe and Duma Tau for the next round of six season starting on Nov 1, 2014.

South Africa would be an excellent choice in November. It is arguably the best month of the year for Cape Town. You could also combine South Africa and Botswana as you have to go through South Africa to get to Botswana unless you take a very circuitous and expensive route to Botswana. Here are some options for you to consider for a 10-11 day trip with seven nights on safari and four nights in Cape Town at three different price points:

MORE Hotels Circuit: Lion Sands River Lodge x 3 + Madikwe Kopana x 3 + Cape Cadogan x 4 (about $6,500 per person).

Rattray’s Circuit: MalaMala x 3 + Mashatu x 3 + Cape Grace x 4 (about $7,500 per person)

Luxury Circuit: Singita Boulders x 3 + Tswalu x 4 + One & Only Cape Town x 3 (about $10,500 per person).

*All prices above are estimates only but include all transfers, flights, etc. within Africa.

I hope this helps. Shout if you have any more questions. If you really are from Detroit, there are excellent SkyTeam options in Nairobi, Arusha, Cape Town and Johannesburg using Delta/KLM via Amsterdam. I live in Minneapolis and I actually prefer to fly to Africa through AMS vs. the ATL non-stop to Jo’burg on Delta.

Craig Beal – owner – Travel Beyond
2011-2013 Travel & Leisure A-List agent for Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia