emma69

Hi, I am in the very early stages of looking at a safari for 2023 and frankly, it is overwhelming! I have never been to Africa, and would love to get some pointers on where to begin (and ultimately I think this is a trip I need to book through a great travel agent - if anyone has Canadian recommendations please share!) I am looking at maybe Jan or Feb 2023, just because that works with my works schedule and seems to be mid range (not really rainy, but not super popular either) Happy to be told if I am wrong!

I am looking for decent accommodation without an absurd price tag - as this means different things to different people, of the ones I have looked at so far, &beyond look to be the right sort of style / amenities / price point, but that's only because they came up first on google! Like the idea of all meals and drinks included for ease, but I don't know what the norm is. Open to other suggestions. I would like somewhere with a little character, decent food (for a vegetarian!) and running water / power. A pool or bath /hot tub would be lovely, although I appreciate not always possible. I am thinking of maybe 3 different places over a week or so, but am very open to guidance. I am also open to the idea of one or two great accommodations, and one boring, if it is in the right place / has other reasons. I am not a princess, but will probably only make this particular trip once, so am a little bit more flexible in seeing how I can make things work - I don't have a fixed budget in mind, but am also not a millionaire.

In terms of animals, I am not super fussy, I would love to see zebras, giraffes, elephants, etc. and it would be great to see lions, hippos, rhinos etc. but I won't be massively upset if I don't (I don't have a MUST see type list). Variety would be good. Apart from snakes. I do not want to see those!!! From what I have been reading about the migration etc. I am not sure I feel the need to be in the thick of it - if there are less tourist-swarming options, that would be cool too. I am not an avid photographer or anything either, I am going for the experience, not Insta! Quite like the idea of a hot air balloon ride. I've read about walking safaris and night safaris, only possible in certain places - are there particular reasons I would prefer / need those over a standard vehicle?

Places that have come up so far that look good to me (again, as a complete novice!) include Ngorongor crater, the Maasai Mara, and Serengeti. I would like a few days at a beach at the end. I have no idea if it is better to fly or drive between places (my gut says fly but ???) I like the idea of having everything cohesively arranged so I don't have to do much (completely alien to me, I am normally a micro manager of my travel arrangements, but this is way outside my comfort zone) but I am also not prepared to do the 'group' thing on a bus, I want to be on Emma-time and frankly, making small talk with Mr and Mrs Jones 8 hours a day is my idea of hell! I also want my tourism to be ethical, meaning I don't want to be supporting trophy-hunting, or organizations that don't respect indigenous people.

I would really appreciate any pointers, advice, first hand recommendations. I also don't know when I need to book this, a year out, 6 months out, 2 years out?

Many thanks!