How to go about planning my first African luxury safari?
Oct 20, 2017, 6:36 am
#31
Join Date: Oct 2000
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Oct 20, 2017, 6:52 am
#32
Join Date: Jul 2012
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Oct 22, 2017, 4:27 am
#33
Join Date: Jun 2016
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We booked two trips to Africa with And Beyond. All the logistics were taken care of, whether we were staying in an And Beyond property or not. For one trip to South Africa, we stayed at one of their Phinda properties, followed by a stay at Ngala Tented Camp. Both were very nice, great animals, great people. I liked Ngala Tented Camp so much, I went back a second time. As you research camps and lodges, be sure to ask how many people per car for game drives.
Oct 22, 2017, 11:21 am
#34
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2006
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We did our first safari in the Singita Kruger Park lodges last month and had the most incredible time. I'm not going to rank the properties themselves anywhere near the best I've ever been, but the experience was right up there. It was a lot better than I thought it would be and I would highly recommend it.
- possibly adding on private vehicle
- possibly including Explore if tanzania
similar with some other things, can't 'go back' to regular lux hotels
Oct 22, 2017, 10:38 pm
#35
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Wild dogs have babies, too (click the "vimeo.com/1461114" link below): https://vimeo.com/1461114 (from a trip I took to Botswana (Lebala camp) a while back)
Oct 23, 2017, 11:13 am
#38
Moderator: Luxury Hotels and FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Location: Palo Alto, California,USA
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I am planning a trip that will include someone who has never done a safari before. I am torn between the following for a first trip:
1. Out of Arusha, Tanzania, to include Serengeti and Ngorogoro crater at a minimum. Allows seeing vast wildebeest herds, possibly in migration. Seems to be harder to organize, and might possibly (ugh) end up in a group.
2. Out of the Kruger area, South Africa. Seems to have better choices for accommodation and easier to arrange. I can rent a car from Jo'burg, allowing a day or two doing the driving thing in Kruger as well as a luxury place.
What do you folks think?
1. Out of Arusha, Tanzania, to include Serengeti and Ngorogoro crater at a minimum. Allows seeing vast wildebeest herds, possibly in migration. Seems to be harder to organize, and might possibly (ugh) end up in a group.
2. Out of the Kruger area, South Africa. Seems to have better choices for accommodation and easier to arrange. I can rent a car from Jo'burg, allowing a day or two doing the driving thing in Kruger as well as a luxury place.
What do you folks think?
Oct 23, 2017, 11:21 am
#39
Community Director Emerita
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I'm perplexed at the group statement. We did it independently thru an agency in Arusha. We had an excellent driver for the week that we traveled in Tanzania. And because we had our own driver, there were only the two of us in the vehicle for our game drives.
Oct 23, 2017, 11:22 am
#40
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SanDiego1K, how/where did you stay? just driver, not guide?
depending on what budget allows, if 3 people and 2 night minimum, singita tanzania Explore mobile camp is ~$1500pp in peak, camp is exclusive-use, and singita has a lot of land
south africa - for example sabi sand (not just singita) is near kruger
depending on what budget allows, if 3 people and 2 night minimum, singita tanzania Explore mobile camp is ~$1500pp in peak, camp is exclusive-use, and singita has a lot of land
south africa - for example sabi sand (not just singita) is near kruger
Last edited by Kagehitokiri; Oct 23, 2017 at 11:50 am
Oct 23, 2017, 3:53 pm
#42
Was sydakllon
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: SYD
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If anyone is interested, Nomad Tanzania priced the below itinerary for 1st Nov 2018 onwards at $12,758 per person all in (as far as I can tell, local flights, taxes, etc.). Includes a private driver/guide from Tarangire through to end of Serengeti and then shared in Ruaha and Selous.
1 night Giraffe Manor (this is an absolute must do for me)
2 nights Kuro Tarangire
2 nights Entamanu Ngorongoro (I will likely drop a night here and move to Serengeti)
3 nights Serengeti Safari Camp (add a night from Ngorongoro)
2 nights Kigelia Ruaha
3 nights Sand Rivers Selous
3 nights Zawadi Hotel Zanzibar (I haven't heard of this place before)
They priced itemised which I appreciate. Going in November means take advantage of stay 7/pay 5 northern circuit, stay 5/pay 4 southern circuit. November migration should be heading from northern Serengeti to central (albeit this year the short rains came early so they are already in central now).
Seems like a pretty decent offer with a reasonably well respected safari operator (although maybe not as high-end as some may want on this forum, my focus more on the experience and game viewing).
Surprisingly, have had a few African operators quote me Four Seasons. Maybe it works out better when you already have your own driver/guide as I think the base rate there doesn't include any safari activities. I'd rather avoid though...
1 night Giraffe Manor (this is an absolute must do for me)
2 nights Kuro Tarangire
2 nights Entamanu Ngorongoro (I will likely drop a night here and move to Serengeti)
3 nights Serengeti Safari Camp (add a night from Ngorongoro)
2 nights Kigelia Ruaha
3 nights Sand Rivers Selous
3 nights Zawadi Hotel Zanzibar (I haven't heard of this place before)
They priced itemised which I appreciate. Going in November means take advantage of stay 7/pay 5 northern circuit, stay 5/pay 4 southern circuit. November migration should be heading from northern Serengeti to central (albeit this year the short rains came early so they are already in central now).
Seems like a pretty decent offer with a reasonably well respected safari operator (although maybe not as high-end as some may want on this forum, my focus more on the experience and game viewing).
Surprisingly, have had a few African operators quote me Four Seasons. Maybe it works out better when you already have your own driver/guide as I think the base rate there doesn't include any safari activities. I'd rather avoid though...
Last edited by SojournsOf; Oct 23, 2017 at 4:04 pm
Oct 23, 2017, 3:58 pm
#43
Community Director Emerita
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Anywhere warm
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Northern Tanzanian Game Parks: a 9 day itinerary
There are now luxe accommodations. I keep running notes about possible future trips. These are copied from reports in this forum. My apologies that I am not acknowledging the original posters.
Tanzania - Sabora Tented Camp and Sasakwa Lodge
For people who want to go to Singita, I would advise flying into Nairobi (with swiss for example), From there Singita can organize a small private plane for you to take you directly to the Singita Lodges Airstrip. Just need to do a short stop in the middle of nowhere for customs (total travel time with the plane is around 1.5 hours).
Singita Grumeti, private reserve - June - wildebeest migration
Greystoke Mahale - http://www.nomad-tanzania.com/west/greystoke-mahale chimpanzee safaris
Retreat Selous, http://www.retreat-africa.com/
AMAZING stay at The Retreat Selous. We had our own butler, server, chef, driver, guide, vehicle, etc. and the price was very reasonable ($5K USD for 4 nights including flights from DAR, all food and booze and 2 activities a day which included driving or walking safari, boat safari, fishing, spa, etc).
Oct 23, 2017, 5:36 pm
#44
formerly declinespecificinformatiom
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: USA
Posts: 1,140
It might be wise to consider Serian or Nomad over Singita. Singita, understandably, is more aggressive at marketing through consortiums but that doesn't make it better.
Kichaka Ruaha is perhaps regarded as the finest experience in Tanzania if not Africa. Jabali could be a good option too?
Kichaka Ruaha is perhaps regarded as the finest experience in Tanzania if not Africa. Jabali could be a good option too?
Last edited by DSI; Oct 23, 2017 at 5:45 pm
Oct 24, 2017, 5:32 am
#45
formerly declinespecificinformatiom
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: USA
Posts: 1,140
I am planning a trip that will include someone who has never done a safari before. I am torn between the following for a first trip:
1. Out of Arusha, Tanzania, to include Serengeti and Ngorogoro crater at a minimum. Allows seeing vast wildebeest herds, possibly in migration. Seems to be harder to organize, and might possibly (ugh) end up in a group.
2. Out of the Kruger area, South Africa. Seems to have better choices for accommodation and easier to arrange. I can rent a car from Jo'burg, allowing a day or two doing the driving thing in Kruger as well as a luxury place.
What do you folks think?
1. Out of Arusha, Tanzania, to include Serengeti and Ngorogoro crater at a minimum. Allows seeing vast wildebeest herds, possibly in migration. Seems to be harder to organize, and might possibly (ugh) end up in a group.
2. Out of the Kruger area, South Africa. Seems to have better choices for accommodation and easier to arrange. I can rent a car from Jo'burg, allowing a day or two doing the driving thing in Kruger as well as a luxury place.
What do you folks think?