African Safari

Tilikum

Hi!

Thinking of going on safari with the gf. Would anyone have any info or been on one already? Wondering about where to go and roughly how much it would cost.

Thanks.

mel.b

I did a trip with Intrepid Travel a few yrs ago now - it was their 'Serengeti Safari ' tour, that visited both the Serengti and Ngorogora crater. It was a budget your but a lot of fun...sleeping in tents etc. I think it was about €800 and we saw so many animals.

Tilikum

mel.b wrote: »

I did a trip with Intrepid Travel a few yrs ago now - it was their 'Serengeti Safari ' tour, that visited both the Serengti and Ngorogora crater. It was a budget your but a lot of fun...sleeping in tents etc. I think it was about €800 and we saw so many animals.

The gf would love camping!!

Daisies

Tilikum wrote: »

The gf would love camping!!

Most of the safaris in Tanzania will involve camping. Staying in a lodge in the big game parks is $$$$$$. I've been to the Serengti, South Luangwa in Zambia and to Etosha park in Namibia.

In South Luangwa I stayed in a lodge just outside the park boundaries and got game drives into the park. In Etosha we did a self drive and camped but all the camp sites had little cabins also

Tilikum

Daisies wrote: »

Most of the safaris in Tanzania will involve camping. Staying in a lodge in the big game parks is $$$$$$. I've been to the Serengti, South Luangwa in Zambia and to Etosha park in Namibia.

In South Luangwa I stayed in a lodge just outside the park boundaries and got game drives into the park. In Etosha we did a self drive and camped but all the camp sites had little cabins also

How much did it cost? If you don't mind me asking

Daisies

Tilikum wrote: »

How much did it cost? If you don't mind me asking

Which one? I did them all seperately and organised it myself in each area. I was in Africa for work for 2 years so did the travelling in my holidays.

What country are you looking at? What is your budget?

jonnybravo

We did a 7 day Safari in Tanzania in 2013 on our honeymoon and stayed in Lodges. Cost $2,200 which covered a private driver, jeep lodges and all food. Highly recommend Tanzania.

crisco10

Kruger Park in South Africa is amazing too. About the size of wales (maybe bigger); You can get "all in" packages or self-drive and self-cater. Both have their pros and cons. All in is about €250per person per day. Self drive is quite a bit cheaper, about €100 per person per day inc car rental, food etc.

Been there about 10 times at this stage, and heading back in April! Love the place.

Tilikum

Daisies wrote: »

Which one? I did them all seperately and organised it myself in each area. I was in Africa for work for 2 years so did the travelling in my holidays.

What country are you looking at? What is your budget?

South Africa or Tanzania

Daisies

Tilikum wrote: »

South Africa or Tanzania

South Africa you would really be looking at Kruger Park. I haven't been there as by the time I was in South Africa I had been on so many safaris already.

Tanzania camping safaris, you are looking at $100 a day per person. Lodges in the Serengeti etc will set you back big bucks. I organised my safari once I was in the country. Camping really is not that bad. You spend most of your day in the car anyway.

cooperguy

I was in South Africa last April and can recommend it highly enough. You can get a great mix of city break (in Cape Town), amazing scenery (Cape of Good Hope and Garden Route) and of course some safari!

The exchange rate with the South African Rand is brilliant at the moment as well so everything is surprisingly cheap down there.

A vague outline of what I did was:

- 4 Nights in Cape Town (including Drive down to Cape of Good Hope and Trip to Wine Region)
- 3 Nights driving the length of the Garden Route (Highlights being Plettenburg Bay, Robberg Peninsula, Knysna and Storms River Mouth
- 3 Days Safari in Amakhala Game Reserve at the end of the Garden Route (they have all accommodation options from Tented Camps, which is what we stayed in, right up to 5*+ Lodges. Highly Recommended)

If you want to you could stretch this holiday over a longer period and stay longer in Cape Town and along the Garden Route or fly to Kruger National Park for your Safari. Instead of doing that we flew from Port Elizabeth at the end of the Garden Route up to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. After spending a couple of nights there we traveled over the border into Botswana and spent a couple of days travelling as far as the Okavango Delta (you need to Google this place its unbelievable!). We flew into the centre of the delta from Maun (about 25 minute flight to a private landing strip) and spent our last few nights there and flew back to Ireland from Maun. We did the whole Botswana section of the trip through Nomad Tours.

Let me know if you want any more info.

ThunbergsAreGo

Went with e-Trip Africa last year in Tanzania, was a great experience.

We went mixed Tents and Lodges, to be honest I would save the money and go tents all the way

denmar

Secret Escapes have just put up a South African tour - includes flights too.

sarkozy

Am I the only one who finds safari boring? For me, one or two days max. That said, when I was working down there, we flew to Windhoek, hired a driver and spent three days in the Namib desert and it wasn't nearly enough time. Not so much wildlife, though.

While I didn't make it to Kruger, I did visit Hluhluwe nature reserve in South Africa, not far from Durban. Within four hours, I saw four of the big five. But I'll admit it was a different experience. The advantage of South Africa is that costs can be kept down by doing self-driving safari visits and you can stay in comfortable lodges outside the park, which are generally cheaper.

I loved Namibia, but we didn't venture north to Etosha. Maybe some time. My wife did take off one week to visit nature reserves in Swaziland and did find a hostel/lodge inside it which was very affordable and was so close to the action that she said she could sit out on the verandah and watch the hippos take their morning swim.

I do believe that safari in east Africa (Tanzania, Kenya) and even Uganda would be the more expensive way to do it.

But perhaps it balances out. Flights may be cheaper to there from Dublin than to Namibia or South Africa. It depends on connections and timing, I suppose.

cooperguy

sarkozy wrote: »

Am I the only one who finds safari boring? For me, one or two days max.

Yes, I think 2 nights/3 days is all you need in one Safari Lodge. However in the trip I outlined above I did different types of safaris in different spots. 3 nights for a standard 4x4 Safari in South Africa and in Botswana I did a mixture of walking safari's and canoe Safaris in the Okavango Delta (its a very interesting experience hearing a Lion roaring in the distance as you walk through the bush!).

Tilikum

Thanks to everyone for all the advice.

cooperguy

Tilikum wrote: »

Thanks to everyone for all the advice.

Let us know what you end up doing!

animum

Hi OP

I am in the middle of planning the same thing at the moment. But i am looking to book with a group. Not sure if that would interest you. Its costing me approx 1799 each for 8 nights, Nairobi, 3 nights in hotels and 4 nights camping. Kenya, tanzania. Its my first time to Africa and I am travelling with a 12 year old, so i want the security of a group. Flights from Dublin to Nairobi are approx 800 each..
that price covers most meals, transfers, game parks etc.. from what i have read, its fairly cheap over there, its just expensive to get there.
* I plan to go in July or August, so thats the expensive time from what I can see.