susiesan

I have enough UA miles for DH and I to travel to Africa in J on a *A carrier. I am interested in a safari vacation, looking for wildlife. Time frame for trip would be Sept.-Dec. 2015 with a total trip time of 2 weeks. I do not want a luxury trip;middle or even some budget accommodations will do. I don't want to spend hours and hours every day driving from place to place.

Which country or countries would be recommended for a first time African safari? I've looked at fly-in safaris in Namibia, South African trips that include Kruger and Vic Falls, and Tanzania trips.

I have plenty of time to narrow the destination down, and I'll try for the ff tickets 11 months in advance.

TheFerret

It depends, do you also want to do city things as well? If so, I would recommend South Africa, and add a side trip to Cape Town.

susiesan

We do tend to enjoy time in cities at either the beginning or end of a trip. I have always had Cape Town on my list of places to visit someday.

Another factor is that we are not fond of big group tours. Something wit ha combo of self drive and/or on-our-own time with small groups travel if it makes the cost more affordable will work.

tanglin

I would definitely recommend South Africa for the range of choice and the cities too.

I have been on only one safari, at this place (below). It's a small game reserve with limited capacity for guests but was very nice. You'll see a reasonable range of wildlife, probably not as prolific as a bigger resort, but definitely not bad. They did several game drives a day, and a night drive also if you want.

http://www.nambitihills.com/

SanDiego1K

Given the preferences you have stated, I, too, recommend South Africa. We've done self drive in Kruger and loved it. Look at this thread for some superb advice I was given for Kruger about 18 months ago. Book your cabin well in advance in Kruger. We've also driven a car around South Africa and visited a number of other games parks, such as Addo. It was very satisfying. You can join the ranger tours, particularly for night tours when you can't drive yourself.

If you were traveling with a bigger budget, I would recommend Tanzania. It offers amazing game parks in a relatively concentrated area, but you really need to go with your own driver and vehicle. The country has a policy of low impact tourism, and a healthy chunk of your safari cost goes for game park admission fees.

Still, I don't want to diminish our experience in South Africa in any way. It's simply a different experience and also an exceptional experience. And Capetown is an exceptionally beautiful city.

Philatravelgirl

I traveled solo in Botswana (Okavango delta and Chobe), Vic Falls and South Africa (Kruger -Sabi sands, Capetown and Garden Route). Kruger can be done on your own drive as posted above and good first time safari - I was pleasantly surprised at all the options available from budget to luxury. definitely a visit to Capetown IMO is a must - what a beautiful city and surrounding areas - wineries, table mountain, etc. I worked with travel agency rhino Africa to work out my 27 day itinerary they are local and quite good. They have good website that helped my research. my safari posts are on my blog at philatravelgirl.com

flightmedic

We did a safari in Kenya a few years ago and in Tanzania this past January. I would first try and determine what your month of travel is. In Kenya, the migration is in the Mara in September (the first month you mentioned) and then moves South into Tanzania. In choosing between these two countries I would go for Kenya in September and then Tanzania if after that.

The safaris in Kenya vs. Tanzania are quite different in format. In Kenya most usually visit a couple of parks traveling between by small plane or vehicle (we did plane travel between 3 parks). At the camp you choose to stay in you use their guide and their vehicle for the game drives. In most cases you are placed in their vehicle with other passengers and will have about 6 people in the vehicle.

In Tanzania most contract with a tour operator in Tanzania (we used Basecamp Tanzania) and you determine your itinerary. You are with your driver/guide (1 person) in your own vehicle for the duration. Our safari was just the me and my wife and the driver for 13 nights. At each camp they have a separate area where the guide sleeps. Tanzania is very large and the itinerary is fun to plan out and again, changes based upon time of year.

In Kenya you will probably start in Nairobi and many visit Sheldrake's Elephant Orphanage and the Giraffe Centre for a day before heading out for safari. For Tanzania the staring point is usually Arusha and regardless of time of year many visit Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara Park, Ngorongoro Crater (a must see) and then head into the Serengeti to wherever the migration is.

In our case we used BA miles and flew first on BA from JFK through LHR to NBO and then arranged private ground transfer (4.5 hours) from Nairobi to Arusha. We did this as we had the BA miles and BA no longer flies into DAR. We did of course have to pay the fuel surcharges. Many others, for Tanzania, will fly through AMS to DAR and then ground (1 hour) to Arusha.

littlejimmy112

I would also put forth Kenya or Tanzania. Personally, while we found South Africa to be the best balance of city/safari, I felt that I got more of the "out in the bush" safari experience in Kenya/Tanzania. Of the two, I really enjoyed Kenya, given that the process was more focused on picking your camp and how to get there, and then using them to manage your game drives/etc. Self-drive wasn't as much of an option, but we always had the vehicle to ourselves (plus guide and driver). Highly recommend the camp below!

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...ional_Res.html

johan rebel

Botswana and Zambia probably offer the best accessible "true" wilderness experiences, i.e. the kind that still convey a sense of being out in the wilds whilst still providing all the amenities.

Johan

Cheetah_SA

Gosh, this is a difficult question to answer. I have only done safaris in South Africa, Botswana, Kenya and Tanzania - here is my quick take on the pros and cons of each:

South Africa
Great range of accommodations from basic to ultra luxurious. A combination of self-drive with basic camps followed by luxury lodge makes for a varied and very satisfying experience.
Self-drive is possible - also easy and very rewarding, especially if you have some time. Really the only option for do-it-yourself safari.
You need to drive away from the more crowded, southern areas to really have the full bush experience. That also gives you the chance to see various types of vegetation and animals.

Botswana
Tends to be very expensive.
Wonderfully diverse experiences to be had including the unique water based camps. The unusual ecosystem is fascinating and the wildlife viewing excellent.
Great to hop between camps on small aircraft and see the Delta from on high.

Kenya and Tanzania
Others have correctly identified the differences in the safari experience in these countries, but they have much in common.
The endless African plains of the Mara and Serengeti feel like the Africa of one's dreams. It feels like it must have been like that for thousands of years. The vastness is majestic and the concentrations of wildlife staggering - especially the migration, obviously.
It is also amazing to see the Masai herding their cattle in this setting.
The Ngorogoro Crater is an extraordinary place and, despite the number of vehicles that descend into it every day, offers amazing game viewing. (To sit in a lodge on the crater rim and watch the moon rise is an almost mystical experience.)


If I could only do one which would I choose? I honestly don't know! I guess ancillary considerations - e.g. costs, possibility of combining with a city break, accessibility, availability of convenient flights/reward seats - would have to sway the decision.

GadgetFreak

We were in Zambia in 2006 and the reason we chose it was that there were "walking safaris" where we could get out and walk rather than just be in a vehicle. It is a very different perspective. We were in South Luwanga National Park (almost certainly spelled that wrong). In addition to walking, we were riding in an open vehicle and it didn't follow prearranged trails all of the time. It also wasn't very crowded.

UA Fan

That sounds scary. Were the guides armed?

GadgetFreak

We were not allowed out of the vehicle without an armed park ranger. The guides themselves were not armed. They briefed us before our first time out what to do in case of an animal incident. Basically, we would stay with the guide and he would move us away from the situation and the ranger would get between us and the animal. Overall it was a spectacular experience, being out and walking is a very different perspective. There were a couple of incidents where we had to react to an animal.

The first we were observing a group of elephants from a safe distance but they noticed us and started moving towards us. The guide told us to freeze and then very slowly start backing away. In the second we were in a clearing and the guide was showing us this large plant with some kind of insect colony that lived in it. So we are circled around this plant as he is explaining. Then I noticed out of the corner of my eye the ranger reach back and flick the piece of tissue paper he kept in the muzzle of his gun out and then unshoulder his rifle. He noticed way before me, because about 10 seconds later a male elephant came into the clearing we were in, maybe 40 yards from us. The guide directed us back into the brush and out of the clearing and after a few the elephant went to the other side of the clearing then disappeared back into the brush and trees. The last time we were sitting out watching the sunset over a river and having cocktails and some nibbly food. They actually did that every night, the "sundowner". But that time they hurried us back to the vehicles, parked some distance away, because a group of hippos was moving along the bank and was heading to a place where they would be between us and the vehicles. And as they said, "we can't let that happen".

They were extremely competent and safety conscious. Overall, it was vastly more interesting to me to be out there and see things from the ground than when we were in a vehicle. Heat overall bothered me more than any fear. But still very much worth it.

UA Fan

I also visited Zambia in 2006 and I had heard about such safaris but didn't have the courage to do that. Plus expensive right?

I once did a lion walk in Zimbabwe, but they were brought up by that park and so were not totally wild.

GadgetFreak

We didn't price it comparatively, it wasn't cheap but I think a very good value . Since it was December it wasn't crowded and we were in the bush camp about 50 km from the park entrance with just one other group of 4 people. We spent about 4 days there then 2 days at the lodge near the entrance. No walking around the lodge and a bit more crowded. At the bush camp they had a generator for emergencies and to charge cameras but everything else was candles and firewood. The camps were not fenced off so we needed escorts to go from the dinner bar area to our lodgings. Once in our rooms for the night they put down floor to ceiling steel bars to keep larger creatures out.

We arranged the entire tour through Cox and Kings who do tours around the world. They work in most places through local companies but seem to evaluate them very thoroughly. They gave us options throughout Africa, including the walking safaris which we ended up taking based on their advisor/planner's recommendation. After the national park in Zambia we went to Livingston to see the falls and then spent a few days in Capetown, also with a guide.