xolinlevh

So me and a buddy of mine are planning on doing a extended trip to Africa in mid-late Feb. Thinking of flying into JNB and making our way from there. No real set itinerary but hope to see Tanzania, few game reserves, and try to see as much as we can.

We are having a bit of a disagreement on the overall cost of the trip. Tickets are not a problem (miles to book em) but he really thinks we can do the trip, 3 weeks, for about $700. I think thats just impossible (and insanely naive). He says a friend of his who went to Africa says you can get "very nice" hotels for about $50 a night, so staying for 3 weeks and splitting the cost would only be $375 each...for 3 weeks. I think that's TOTALLY impossible, $50 hotels in the states are somewhat sketchy, and i doubt that ones in Africa are better. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I was planning to budget atleast a couple thousand for the trip....

What would you guys budget for lodging/food/transport, for about 3 weeks in Africa. Not expecting luxury hotels more budget end, but something decent, clean, and reliable.

Macspreader

Wirelessly posted (Vodafone/1.0/HTC_Touch_Pro2/1.14.161.6 (50207) Opera/9.50 (Windows NT 5.1; U; en))

Spent two weeks this summer in a $8/ night place in Tz, followed by 2 at $500/night in NBO. Apart from the lack of pool, the Tz property was every bit as acceptable, albeit somewhat more rural. The staff in Tz were great, and the food quite fine.

YMMV, of course.

JillGoAfricaAdv

$50/night is not anything I'm aware of.. even a basic 2-star guesthouse is more than that. Plus you have the cost of meals (usually at the lodging) and a driver to get there and then game drives so that you get to see the animals... I'd seriously double that budget for lodging, but then add in the costs of the food and transport. $300 per person per day is not unreasonable, though if you are creative and not picky, you may be able to be a bit less... or if you self-drive. That is another consideration, Tanzania is a long way from JNB!

Jill

JDiver

One of the cheaper ways to see some beasties would be to hire a self-drive, rent or take your own camping gear and camp in the various government rest camps in Etosha and other Namibia national parks. There are still considerations - food, park fees, camping fees, etc. etc.

We've spent some economical times (but again, transport costs must be taken into consideration,) in Malawi as well.

$50 a day? Not most people. And "three weeks - JNB - include Tanzania" I'd say please tell your friend to do a bit of study - Africa is over 50 countries, and the second largest Continent (scale: Africa is three times larger than the USA). The more you move around, the more it will cost.

B747-437B

Africa is probably the most expensive continent to be a tourist. Hotels are for the most part more expensive than in the West (the only places I have ever had to pay $500+ for a regular business hotel room are in Africa) and basic amenities that one takes for granted in the West (eg. safe drinking water) come at significant cost.

$50/day is doable, but not as a "tourist". As someone who goes and lives in a rural village perhaps, but your insurance premiums alone for doing something like that will probably be around the $50/day level.

I concur with the other poster who says that $200-300/day is the minimum that one should budget to safely do Africa as a Western tourist on the cheap.

mad_rich

I would encourage you to do some research, before you commit to anything. Buy a guidebook, read some magazine articles, and come up with a plan. What do you want to see? People or animals? City or rural? North or South? As JDiver says, 'Africa' is a big place with a lot of countries, each with their own charms and trials, each with something to see.

It's certainly possible to get by on less than $50/ day, but you'll have to choose your destination carefully (and try not to travel the length of the continent), live frugally and take buses. You can pretty much cross out most of the big national parks and game reserves on that budget, although I'm sure that smaller ones will be available to you.

Where do you plan to stay, and how much luxury do you need? A friend cycled through Mozambique spending most nights in a bivvy bag by the side of the road, and occasionally taking up offers of local accommodation. Very cheap, but you need to know what you're letting yourself into.

If you want clean, comfortable, US-style accommodation you'll generally have to pay for it. Like B747-473B says, $500 for a decent room in a city is not unknown.

One place which, in my experience, you can scrub from your list if you're on a budget is Botswana. Their strategy has been to attract high-value tourists who will pay hundreds of dollars a night for camping, and several hundred more for a private plane transfer. You can hang around in Gaborone or Francistown for a couple of days on a budget, but there is little point in doing that.

It all comes down to how comfortable you are 'going native'. I like to think that I'm pretty good at it, but when the chips are down the credit card comes out...

Either way, it is important to reach an agreement with your friend before you leave. If he is planning on $50/ day and you are happy to spend $200, it might be an unpleasant trip for both of you.

Frosty1

Wow where do you people stay in Africa that cost $500.00 a day.

you can rent a vehicle and spend a week in Kruger for almost that amount.
There are lodges around JNB that cost about 45.00 a night with breakfast.
noon meal is about $12.00 and at night about $25 to 30. Of course if you want fine wine and lots of booze yes it will cost much more.
Here is a neat place to stay but out of the way. http://ndlovulodge-com.win27.glodns.net/default.asp or you can look here http://www.sa-venues.com/accommodati...urgairport.php. For a car check out Thrifty they have good prices. You can stay in a guest camp in Kruger cabin for about $115 per night for 2 people.
Do lots of research on prices and where to stay. The dollar buys 8.15 Rand today. Dont go into the center of Joburg for any reason not safe.

B747-437B

Lagos? Luanda? Kinshasa?

johan rebel

Unlikely to figure on many tourist itineraries, though.

Johan

johan rebel

You had better stick to camping, though. Prices for accommodation in Namibian National Parks have reached ridiculous levels, and are hardly value for money.

Johan

Frosty1

That is very true Johan. I visit South Africa and Botswana along with Lesotho almost 2 times a year. I have never spent that kind of money for sure. I dont need a plunge pool or champagne.

rankourabu

If you only have 3 weeks, why dont you look into something more organized such as Intrepid or Oasis trips - that will take care of food, sightseeing, transport and lodging, you shouldnt pay more than $150 a day that way.

Thymless

We are leaving in two weeks for our trip to South Africa. We are two middle aged women so our tastes may be quite different from yours but after 18 months of planning this is our budget breakdown....

We are flying into Cape Town and found hiring a recommended tour guide the most economical and best way for two women to travel up the coast and see exactly what we wanted. We have three nights in CPT and then drive 4 nights up the coast. Then fly from Port Elizabeth into Durban and drive a rental to our safari lodge in Zwanzulu Natal. After 6 nights there we drive back to Durban-fly to JNB and then home. Total cost w/o initial airfare to South Africa and back has been @ $3,000.00 each incl currency conversion costs and taxes.

We have selected specifically what experiences we wanted and sights to see. Our tour guide/driver made many good recommendations after he got an idea of our taste. I was then able to review on line the B&B's he selected and so I am comfortable with all aspects. The use of a guide actually saved us money over the cost of doing our own rental, lodging and food.

Flts with in South Africa are quite reasonable, and we only selected SAA or British Airways. Flts to Durban and Durban to JNB was total less than $500 for both of us for both flts.

Car rentals were all over the place especially since we wanted only an automatic ~ a week w full coverage was @ $235 from Hertz through London company.

Cost of our guide was about $1200 each but incl his knowledge, A/C van and a week of lodging and one or two meals a day and all enterance fees.

Week at our nice upper scale lodge incl all meals and two safari drives a day- $1,100 each. Tented safari's etc can be a bit cheaper. You can also do self drives thru many parks but we liked idea of a guide.

There are many great sites out there help you plan- I used Trip advisor, Frommer's - Lonely planet and of course South Africa tourism sites. I emailed a bit with people who actually had just returned and got lots of good advice from them as well.

I imagine like any trip more work you put in the better your costs and results.

JDiver

There is possibly the most important thing anyone has said in this thread.

As Johan pointed out, for example, my pricing of Namibian rest camps are over 20 years out of date - I'd have to study and choose to pay more, or hire a vehicle and camping gear (possible if you know what you are doing). Of course, I'd recommended camping anyway - but it may also be possible it must be a covered vehicle, as "bakkies" (pickups) were prohibited at one time.

(And one of those overland lorry / truck trips, or part of one, is not a bad option for the adventurous and budget-conscious.)

MSPeconomist

Even your friend's calculation is wrong. To stay three weeks, call it twenty nights, at $50 per night (plus taxes, service fees, tips?) would cost $1000 for lodging for the two of you sharing a room or $500 each, not $375. To calculate $375 per person, the total would be $750, which buys only fifteen nights. Does your friend plan to spend every third night sleeping on a bus or worse? In major cities, I would find it hard to believe that you can rely on finding a safe and acceptable place to sleep for only $50 per night, although it could be more realistic in small towns and rural areas.

Don't forget that language and health issues become more serious concerns when you go off the beaten path. Sleeping in a hut exposes you to more diseases and you need to plan in advance if you will be far from acceptable medical care.