Originally Posted by
konagirl2
I presume you want to be guided and I presume you want to stay in permanent accommodation like a lodge rather than camping (since you mention a resort hotel rather than the national park that you visited). Apologies if those assumptions are incorrect. In which case $500 a day is a reasonably moderate budget for some places. (Not luxury but certainly not what I would call a "budget safari"). I also assume you are planning for the 'future' so the season is unknown.
Does your US$500 a day need to include local transport too? Africa is a huge continent with huge diversity, there are literally hundreds of options, from savanna to rainforest to desert to cape fynbos. But with only 3-4 days then not losing time to transport becomes an important consideration. For easy transport options I would look at Kenya / north Tanzania (connect through Nairobi to JRO or a bush flight); or South Africa (via JNB).
If you head for Tanzania, with only 3-4 days I would suggest you stick with the Lake Manyara-Tarangire-Ngorongoro loop. Unless you can afford bush flights into the Serengeti - and whereabouts you want to be in the Serengeti depends on the season. These areas are about wide open grasslands, views and driving lots of miles looking for big herds.
Whereas, places that are affordable like the Kruger National Park and adjacent (unfenced) private reserves can have a higher density and variety of wildlife and most of the iconic savanna species, so you generally travel less far with denser vegetation. To get a variety of views ' landscapes, you either need to spend some time in the National Park or move around and with just 3-4 days that's not ideal. A big plus for the Kruger area is you can fly very close on commercial aircraft and either take a short road transfer or bush flight onwards. And costs can be lower than other locations, depending on the level of facilities and luxury you require.
I agree another option with easy transport and affordable safari options is to fly to Vic Falls / Livingstone and do a few days in Chobe NP (Botswana) from Kasane or stay in Hwange NP (Zimbabwe). You'll see a variety in 3-4 days of iconic savanna species. You'll never see 'everything' in one place.
Ghana isn't a safari destination because it is mostly rainforest not savanna. It has wildlife, some unique and/or very rare, but different species to e.g. the Serengeti.
Enjoy the planning / reading up and let's hope we're all in a better position in a few months time.
Thanks for the response. Ideally looking for a lodge or tent camp with an all inclusive style package with daily game drives and meals. Would prefer to just be able to show up and know that everything is taken care. It seems like a lot of lodges have private airstrips or tiny nearby airports but hard to determine what it costs to fly there.
Definitely planning for an unknown future date but earliest travel would probably be sometime in the summer but everything depends on the virus.
Would probably be looking to spend 10 days to 2 weeks in Africa and open to doing 2 3 day stints in the bush to see a greater diversity of wildlife. Still in early planning stages and for now trying to make a list of lodges and camps that meet my budget. $500 is definitely not Singita level but also not roughing it and having to plan everything myself.