African Safari

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by someguy Nemo2 & H20: those are some scary stories.

I've had subsequent tests, none of which can identify anything.......but last Fall we were on a repositioning cruise from Europe and I overheard four Germans discussing (in English) malaria........spoke with them, one guy had been a surveyor in West Africa for 16 years and had experienced numerous attacks.......it was their thought that doctors in Canada are generally unlikely to have experience with tropical 'diseases'...(and my chances of getting a medical house call here during another attack are on the negative side of 'slim and none').

[H2ODude]

Yeah, getting malaria diagnosed here in NC was interesting. Primary Care doc was kind of excited, did a bunch of web searching, and after an hour sent me to an infectious disease doc. I was sort of surprised, infectious diseases in NC? Then I realized from posters in office that these are the docs that do HIV. Anyway, they must have taken 6-8 tubes of blood. He seemed actually more concerned about the OTHER things I might have picked up with similar symptoms and wanted to eliminate them. Like I said, within 12 hours the headache, backache, fever, and chills were magically gone. No recurrence.

[pixelville]

Quote:

Originally Posted by landover Anybody looking to save some money and have more fun, self-driven safari,

We did a self-drive safari in South Africa a few years back. Rented a car in Jo'burg and drove to Kruger. Drove around, stayed in the local camps, it was awesome. But you have to drive on paved roads, so you don't get as close to the animals, although we did have elephants, giraffes, etc cross the road. Hippos, Rhinos were a little distance away. A fraction of the cost.
I don't believe self-drive is possible in Serengeti, Masai Mara. If it is once in a lifetime trip, better to do the organized camps in East Africa.
May be catch the Wildebeest migration? If you want to see lots of animals, go during the dry season, since animals are seen more easily near the watering holes and more visible with less flora hiding them.

[pixelville]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaronc879 I'm just starting to look into possibly going on a African Safari. I'm thinking maybe summer of 2015. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to go? Do you know of any specific resource to help me gather information?

Check out Intrepid Travel and Gap Adventures for itinerary planning ideas.
Best of East Africa overview | Africa Tours. See the Best of East Africa with Intrepid Travel
https://www.gadventures.com/trips/ke...and/DKTO/2014/

Both companies are known for inexpensive, roughing it, a bit younger crowd types adventure travel. Note, I have not taken a trip with them and dont know anyone personally who has. With your mom, you might want a more traditional trip to a couple of game reserves instead.
From what I have read, a traditional safari is typically (average) $500-$800 per person per day for the safari i.e. lodge, food, game drives.
Hoping we can do one of these safari trips in the next couple of years.

[travelover]

I've used International Expeditions a few times, though not for Africa. Most of these travel companies subcontact travel, so if you do your research, you can hook up with the guys on the ground and save some money.

http://www.ietravel.com/africa-and-middle-east

[Ally]

My daughter and son in law recently took their two oldest children to Swaziland and went on an overnight safari. It was off paved roads and they saw lots of animals right next to their jeep. The area looks gorgeous. It's inside South Africa.

[MBAustin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pixelville Check out Intrepid Travel and Gap Adventures for itinerary planning ideas. Best of East Africa overview | Africa Tours. See the Best of East Africa with Intrepid Travel https://www.gadventures.com/trips/ke...and/DKTO/2014/ Both companies are known for inexpensive, roughing it, a bit younger crowd types adventure travel. Note, I have not taken a trip with them and dont know anyone personally who has. With your mom, you might want a more traditional trip to a couple of game reserves instead. .

DD and I went with Intrepid to China a few years back. I was very pleased with the trip - had friends who went with higher-end tours who said their food was fair-to-middling and we had nothing but excellent meals. Everything was reasonably clean and comfortable but nothing luxurious. I was the oldest on the trip by 20+ years and DD was the youngest, the rest were mid-20s to late 30s.

So since I'm OK with being with a younger crowd and not being pampered, I'd go with Intrepid again.

[brett]

We spent time in South Africa last year. We flew to J'burg. We did 5 days of safari in Kruger. Fantastic company-Wildwings Safari. Our guide was Simon. First rate. After that we flew to Victoria Falls, also went to Botswana to a high end lodge. Our experience with Wildwings was so good that we want to go back. Found out about them on Tripadvisor.

Flew back to Port Elizabeth. Rented a car and toured for 2 weeks ending in Cape Town. We stayed in small B&B's along the way.