Desirees

A lot of choices and some uncertainty with the 2nd strain. The only part of the trip planned are the tickets booked - flying into CPT May 3 and flying out from JNB May 16 at 8:15pm. We want to do a luxury experience seeing the Big 5. We would love to self drive via the Panorama Route for the safari part. Here is a rough plan of our itinerary and I wanted to see what your thoughts are...Thank you SO much in advance for your thought and opinions. And my budget for the 3 nights safari is now up to 5k combined for 2 adults. Initially it was 4K but I want this to be a great experience.

Swanhunter

Personally I wouldn’t be trying to plan anything that far out. It’s unlikely that SA (or anywhere else in Africa) will see a vaccine in any volume by May. Combined with the rapidly growing case count I can only see more restrictions by then, rather than less. You might make a nice plan but very easy for a lodge to close, the curfew to extend, domestic flights curtailed, international flights to change etc etc.

It’s a tragedy for the tourist industry, for sure.

Desirees

Thank you Swanhunter - and yes there is a possibility that might be the case. That is why I will
not be finalizing anything until I see how it it doing. However at the same time - I would like to plan it out... so that when ( and I am an eternal optimist ) I have the pieces in place and ready to pull the trigger

tkelvin69

The Garden Route is a nice drive as well as route 62.

For me, I'd drop one night at Cape Town and add Franschhoek for some great food and wine tasting. Port Elizabeth is fine but I think Addo Elephant Park is a great alternative. Something that requires a bit more driving but is an unique experience would be Hogsback.

If you like gin, make sure you pick up a bottle of six dogs blue. Be sure to mix it with tonic and watch the magic.

konagirl2

With regard to coronavirus I think it is going to remain uncertain, and you need to be flexible even once you are there to be aware of changes that can happen very rapidly. You'll need to think about whether your return flights will need a PCR test (I suspect the need for a negative CPR test will last for quite some time even if you are vaccinated, until lots of data about vaccinated people's infectiousness is available). I have just cancelled a flexible booking I had, so making flexible hotel bookings shouldn't be an issue but yes for the safari part you may need to ask lodges what flexible booking conditions they can offer and either take the risk of a deposit (and possible postponed travel) or keep your options open but know that many lodges will get booked up as people become more willing to fly / want to travel.

If you are spending 6 May driving the Cape Peninsula, you can just stay in your Cape Town accommodation that night to give you the full day (don't know where St Simons Bay is). I agree spending a night in Stellenbosch or Franschhoek means you can enjoy the wines and views at a leisurely pace - Franschhoek has the wine tram to enable drinking and tasting. I wouldn't stay in Port Elizabeth unless you want to get an early flight to JNB. And I would prioritise time around Kruger NP over Addo Elephant NP to minimise driving. For example, 4 nights Cape Town (last day full day of Cape Peninsula) - 1 night Franschhoek - 1 night Hermanus (spend day driving Franschhoek pass, down Sir Lowry's Pass, R44 with penguins and nature reserve, botanic gardens) - 3 nights Knysna - Fly George to JNB and drive to ~Dullstroom - 3 nights safari lodge in greater Kruger - leave lodge about 10 am to get back to JNB.

With your budget (and with far less) you can have a great wildlife experience. Assuming you want to be guided in a private reserve, the Kruger area is great and has loads of options. What is important to you? Do you want a lodge or would you like a permanent tent? Tents can be cool in May but can be luxuriously made out and allow you to hear the night sounds. Do you need luxury, are you fussy about food and wines? Do you want private dining or group dining, do you want butler service? Or are you more interested in the wildlife, do you want the option to walk in the bush? Note you are not going to use the pool in May, so think about what else is important to you. Look on websites for stay 3 - pay 2 deals.

Ilove2fly

We booked our safari with &Beyond, an excellent outfit. With the current situation, I am sure there are a lot of deals out there. We had the stay 3 pay 2 deals. They have luxury tents, cabins, and lodges. I second the need to be cautious. Given the uncertainty of potential flight cancellations, the returning travel might be costly. What is your plan if one of you become sick?

Often1

I would not book anything that is not fully refundable or does not have a significant deposit due. It is entirely possible that you are unable (or do not wish) to travel, but the facilities in question are open, placing you at risk.

cheltzel

+1

I am sure that the economic situation in South Africa has put a lot of financial pressure on many of the places. Having the flexibility of being able to cancel and get a refund is critical. Alternatively, a decent trip insurance policy would help.

TBD

I also recommend adding a day in wine country if you can. Possibly at the expense of Port Elizabeth, which I didn't care for. The Garden Route is a nice drive.

SanDiego1K

I agree. We only use Port Elizabeth as a place to station for flights. Our purpose in being there is to go to Addo. It's an easy drive from Port Elizabeth. We had a wonderful stay at Gorah Elephant Camp and highly recommend it. There are many other game parks in the area that are likely also good.