henkybaby

Maybe this will give you some ideas: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...ss-comair.html

If you want the names of some of the hotels we stayed in, just PM me.

LHR-HUB

Personally, I like PE.
(although I often have to go there for work and have many friends in town, so never a dull moment - always invited for Braais and out to dinner etc.)

Adoo is great if you want to see game easily without too much bother or hassle. Took my son there during the World Cup and he loved it. One day of driving around and we saw much more than a 4 day break in the bush previously (but those animals do have a habit of moving around, so you never know what you'll see). I would say in Adoo, you're guaranteed to see most things (but lion are hard to find).

Durban, for me, is too hot and humid (depends on season, obviously). Also I find Umhlanga is now too overcommercial and full of ex-pat retirees sitting around their apartments and shared pools You may as well go to Spain.

^+1 for Cape Town. Good climate (esp. in Dec-Feb when the Cape Doctor blows all the flies and midgies away). So much to see and do within an hour drive away. Garden route up to PE is great - recommend staying over in Jeffrie's Bay to watch (or do) some surfing if that's your thing - and also stopping in George and playing a round at Fancourt if you like golf.
Also on the way is Plettenberg Bay which is quite a nice, take it easy town, and also take a trip to Oudtshoorn to see the Kango Caves, Croc ranch and Cheetah santuary (usually able to stroke and "play" with cubs).


I think the thread sums up SA perfectly - a real mix of cultures, things to do and see etc. Different people like different things (the world would be boring if we didn't) and so there are no "right" or "wrong" answers about what to do.
I think everyone would agree, though, that the food and wine are generally superb value for money, and you can live like a Lord for a Serf's wage.

Whatever you decide to do - have fun. You will want to go back.

Prospero

Moving this thread over to the Africa forum for further input.

Prospero
Moderator: BAEC forum

Jamjaw

Wow!

Thanks for the all info guys... Seems there are so many differing views, but most people seem to agree to binning JNB... And we have done a 2 day safari in Kenya before, so I think we would not count as "first timers" and as such might well prefer Kreuger?

Need to get flights sorted, and then have no doubt I will be back for some hotel advice!

wingzing

For what it's worth, this morning I booked two in Club World BOS-LHR-CPT using the Visa (US) 2 for 1 vouchers. 180,000 miles and (!) $2,600 in taxes and fees for the pair of tickets.

The Comair flights within SA were off limits.

Also, I tried to book two one-ways (in case I needed to change the return flight after departure) using two vouchers and the agent said one-ways were not permitted under the T&C.

Gardyloo

Just be careful in your car driving around Addo...

Roger

Sorry, duplicate.

Roger

It sounds like you were using a special offer linked to your credit card with separate conditions, which probebly limited you to BA mainline only, i.e. as far as CPT (or JNB). Comair is a franchise and your T+Cs probably excluded franchise flights.

There's no problem booking such flights as revenue flights including one ways.

Jamjaw

Ok... I have now got the flights booked. Would only let me book on BA (not comair), so have booked the following:

Arrive CPT 11 Nov 2011 6am
Depart JNB 21 Nov 2011 9pm

This has led me to come up with the following itenerary:

11th: Go to hotel (likely cape town hilton).
12th - 16th: Explore Cape Town and the wonderful coast
17th: Fly to airport near Kruger for a stay at a lodge (??in sabi sands??)
18th - 20th: Safari
21st: Fly to JNB for flight

Does this make more sense than my initial one? If so, I assume I should hire a car in CPT and go along the coast for the standard activities (Whale watching, pengiuns, winelands etc).

I then need suggestions for a nice lodge in a private reserve near Krueger which is not too expensive (probably looking at max £900 (10k ZAR) for the 4 days).

Thanks in advance for any info!

wideman

Jamjaw,

If space is available, you'd get a terrific bang for your buck, or pound sterling, at one of the andBeyond camps in the area. Their low season begins on Nov 15, they add no single supplement, your 4th night is free, and they offer excellent lodges with highly respected guides. Kirkman's and Ngala Tented are about 36/3700 ZAR, so 3x would cover your 4 nights.

Jamjaw

Is it better to book these direct? Or go through a travel agent? If a travel agent, any suggestions on who is good to use?

wideman

You could book directly with andByond, but you're better off using an agent. In my experience, andBeyond is a pain to deal with directly, and you will never do better than rack rates by going direct.

I am using Go2Africa for an upcoming trip, but I frankly can't recommend them. A fellow who posts here under the name SafariCraig runs a travel agency that specializes in safaris (http://travelbeyond.com/), and he seems to be pretty well-informed. (He also posts more regularly on other boards, where I also post, but under the ID DonTopaz).

dysan1

Enjoy the trip. Probably the most standard one done in SA by Brits. I hope you enjoy, i'd have chosen differently but each to their own

anc-ord772

First off, great thread with a lot of information. Going to save some space and piggyback off of the OP as the time frame is the same.

What would your trip look like? My fiance and I are going to South Africa on our honeymoon in June - 12 days.

Relaxation is priority number one, but I would love to go on safari. The preliminary itinerary is as follows:

Cape Town: 5 Nights - We want to stay in a B&B or Boutique hotel with very personalized service. I am focusing on the Four Rosmead and Kensington Place. We could also stay at The 12 Apostles, which is at the top end of our price range, but is uber fancy. That being said, it is perhaps not the right accommodations for a couple exploring Cape Town and mostly going without the hotel amenities. Does that sound right?

Durban: 4 Nights - Still under research. Hotel recommendations near the beach or boutique gems are appreciated! We were very interested in taking a Rovos railroad trip from Durbin to Pretoria, but it doesn't seem to run in the winter and it is too expensive. Ah well, we are excited to spend time on the beach since it will be warmer than Cape Town.

Kruger: 2 Nights - I feel like we would kick ourselves if we skip a safari while in South Africa. It sounds like we could also consider a big game reserve near Cape Town, and skip Kruger... but I feel as first timers Kruger is what we want. We would have to fly from Durban the day of our safari, and would not arrive into Kruger Mpumalanga Airport until about 11am. The few guide sites I read said arrive by 10am, so not sure about flexibility. I will take it into consideration when choosing a vendor. Unfortunately we would return back to Johannesburg the same day as our departure (19:30), and that makes us nervous.

I have also reviewed the following helpful threads - 1st time trip south africa / cape town advice - 6 days ok / 9 days cpt 8 days cpt plus 1 day jnb. I would really appreciate your thoughts!

Thank you,

ANC

johan rebel

Since you are starting from Durban, why not go on safari in KwaZulu-Natal?

Hluhluwe-iMfolozi, Phinda, Mkuze Falls, Tembe, iSimangaliso all come to mind, and there are more.

Johan