Originally Posted by
willliamjia
I am planning my first safari trip next July/August. We booked round trip tickets to JNB. Our plan is first to Victoria fall/Chobe, then Masai Mara, north Serengeti and around area. We have about 12 nights. We have already booked 5-night in JW Masai Mara. Any suggestion for other hotels/resort or camp and time spending? How to arrange our itinerary? First time in those area. Thanks!
Unless you have Bonvoy points to burn, JW Marriott (opened earlier this year) would be far down my list of safari camp/lodge choices, IMO. As threepointkid mentioned above, the Great Plains camps are tops in my book - we're headed back to Mara Plains for a third time next June. In general, the Mara Conservancies offer a far superior safari experience to properties in the main reserve.
It's a hassle to travel between the Mara region and Serengeti. If you're going to be in Chobe/Victoria Falls anyway, I'd suggest you add on an Okavango trip instead of visiting Northern Serengeti. Logistically, it would be far easier that way. P.S. - I'd skip Chobe if I were you. It's a bit of a mass tourism spot given its accessibility to VF (by vehicle, in fact.) Tons of elephants, but the quality of wildlife viewings and the sheer number of tourists was a turn off for us.