Zanzibar, Namibia, Sri Lanka? One week in Feb ...

[juneau]

DH has a big birthday coming up in Feb 2020 and we're wondering where to go to celebrate. It will be us and kids 12 & 8. We're thinking of going somewhere warm and a bit more special and memorable than the usual winter sun destinations like the Canaries, Florida and Cyprus (all of which we've been to).

The catch is that we only have a week - Feb half-term - so a maximum of 9 days to play with. We like warm, but not boiling hot, and we like to get out and do things, not lie by the pool for a week. We like culture, walks, wildlife, beaches and/or towns.

It’s the wrong time of year for Namibia and a week is not enough. We love it but suggest you save it for a longer holiday sometime between May and October.

How about Cape Town? Direct flight, good weather and a good mix of scenery, wildlife, city, beaches and wine!

I wouldn’t bother going long haul for a week. You waste too much time on the flights.

A week is probably the right amount of time for Zanzibar - I've been twice, you will probably want to do two days in stonetown, one or two day trips (the spice farm trip is good) then a couple of days on the beach.
Sri Lanka is a fab place to visit but I would give it two weeks to get the most from it and to see everything, you probably could see quite a bit in nine days (well seven days once you take off the flying time) but it would be a very hectic trip, it's nice to have some downtime in between seeing stuff.

We did a week in Namibia a couple of years ago at Easter and it was fantastic.

We went with these guys: www.chameleonsafaris.com/namibia_safaris_chameleon_safaris.asp
And had a night in Windhoek, 2 nights in Etosha National Park (2 different locations though), a night in Swakopmund, 2 nights in Sossusvlei (same camp for both nights) and then back to Windhoek.

Africa is good because although it's long-haul, the time difference is minimal so jet lag is less of an issue for a shortish trip, and you can fly at night.

I'd second the recommendation for Cape Town, you could also do the garden route. Best family holiday we ever had. But I've never been to Zanzibar, Sri Lanka or Namibia although would love to go to all of them!

I think Zanzibar could work, particularly if you can fly direct and ideally over night.

Would do 2 nights in Stonetown - the walking tours are good, you get a better understanding of the layout and history, then do an evening at Forodhani Gardens for the street food market. Good food super cheap, and all the locals out jumping into the sea, dancing etc. Great fun. Can also get to prison island, Jozani Forest, spice farms, dhow boat cruise etc. from there.

Then head to the beach. We stayed in Nungwi which we really liked as you weren’t stuck in the resort to eat - plenty of other choices. Paje or Jambiani are also popular.

We've just got back from Zanzibar and stayed in Jambiani. I didn't fancy stone town to be honest but most people do a few days there. We went to Jozani Forest and Prison Island and then spent a good few days at the beach. It's all very reasonably priced once you're on the island.

This is all fabulous info! Thanks ladies. I hadn't considered South Africa, but you're right about the lack of time difference and I'm guessing we'll probably have more choice of flights for there than we would to Zanzibar, although I've ALWAYS wanted to go there. Right, well that gives me some good food for thought.

Does anyone have recommendations of good (and not too expensive) tour operators? I had a look at Scott Dunn (off the back of an article in the Sunday Times on Zanzibar last weekend), and it was about £3k pp for a week, which for four of us would be £12k, which we can't really afford. We have a Trailfinders in town, so I might pop in there and see what they come up with - is that a good idea? We usually do cheap flights + SC accommodation, but I think we'll need a proper itinerary and some expert help with this one. TIA.

Not sure why it's the wrong time for Namibia?! Try looking into a weeks pre-planned your of Etosha safari park via an agent here.

Or:

Cape Town you don't need a tour operator for a package here. Stay at the waterfront area in a proper hotel and they can arrange for you to do:
Robbin island tour
Stellanbosch wine tour nice countryside too
Go up cable mountain on your own can walk up if brave! And abseil down other side!
Down to boulders beach to see penguins
Taxi on your own down to camps bay for beach and cafes
And general mooching and walking round Cape Town.waterfront has a supermarket too for days you just want a cheap sarnie.

Waterfront is a big shopping mall complex with loads of cafes perfect for tweens.

Will be baking hot and time difference only two hours i think.

Zanzibar would be quite easy to do without booking a package (although I don't have kids, maybe it's easier as a single traveller)
I stayed at this hotel zenji which was lovely and pretty cheap. The hotels will sort out airport taxis, shuttles between stone town and the coast and day trips for you.

There's an amazing music festival in stone town in Feb - sauti za busara. It's well worth going to if dates match up, but Zanzibar is ABSOLUTELY HEAVING with tourists in Feb because of it, and baking hot as it's summer over there then.

I'm leaning towards Cape Town at this point, because boiling hot and heaving with people is not my idea of heaven, music festival or not! It's good to hear that we could arrange Zanzibar independently though - I've only ever been to Morocco, so my knowledge of travelling in Africa is pathetic.

Cape Town sounds like our kind of place with a good selection of different things to do and about 25 degrees in Feb - not too hot. While we like animals I can't imagine spending a week on a safari - but penguins, cable car, dining out, wine tour, etc - that sounds fab!

Namibia will be hotter than Hades in February. And it’s still rainy season, and when the rains come they really come ( amazing to watch, not so much if you need to get anywhere). The distances to drive are vast, a week would feel like a real push ( and there are no direct UK flights). You’d need a good 4x4 and know how to handle it. And I don’t completely trust that Etosha’s not malarial at that time of year. That having been said, if you can do it at Easter, for a fortnight, it will be fabulous. It’s an awesome country, and super easy to travel around. I lived there for a year, and we can’t wait to take the children.

If I were you, I’d go for Cape Town. There are lovely day trips and it’s easy to get about. Perfect for children of that age.

If you do go for Namibia at some point, I wouldn’t use an ecoevsive UK company. The Cardboard Box I. Windhoek will plan you a fabulous, safe and reasonably priced safari via email. Can’t recommend them highly enough.

I'm going to cape town next month, I've booked a gorgeous airbnb for practically nothing.

To get to Namibia most people fly via Johannesburg - so it’s two flights. Zanzibar is often two flights as well and there’s not much there! Certainly not much besides beaches!

You could definitely do Cape Town. Only about 2 hours time difference and you can fly overnight both ways.

Don’t stay at the Watefront. It’s really a shopping area with hotels and restaurants. You could be anywhere. Guest Houses such as 4 Rosmead are gems in South Africa. Great hosts, all the knowledge you need to make the most of your stay and small enough to be personal. I don’t know about air bnb there but a decent guest house is better than a hotel. You could try out at Camps Bay if you want the beach for a few days. Do go around the Cape and into the wine lands. Gansbaai is worth a trip for the marine life too. You should be ok for your budget but you must hire a car. Driving there is easy though. The food in SA is great and pop into the Silo for a real treat!

Cape Town is really easy to do independently.

We stayed in the Vineyard hotel, which is not on the Waterfront but near the Botanic Gardens and had great views of Table Mountain, and was great. We rented a car, easy to get around, great restaurants and all really cheap. You could easily book a tour of the Garden Route if you didn't want to plan it yourself.

And no-one goes to Cape Town for safaris, the jumping off point for that is Johannesburg.

Cape Town just violin flight/hotel yourselves. Hotels can organise day trips etc.

In terms of safety, is Cape Town relatively safe to drive around? When I think of SA I always think of car jackings and Anni Dewani.

CapeTown perfectly safe for us when we were there. Drove around no problems . We went as far as Hermanus for whale watching on the coast so can't speak for other areas in SA. We had fab time. Very envious

I believe the Dewani case happened in one of the large shanty town areas but you'd have no reason to go in there imo.

I wouldn’t say there’s not much in Zanzibar!

It depends what you want

The culture of the island is utterly fascinating - Swahili and Muslim and such a rich trading history

Spice tours are fabulous there
The doors of Stone Town are stunning
Swim with dolphins
Scuba and snorkelling

We definitely wouldn't be going near any shanty towns and would follow local advice on which areas to avoid.

Can anyone tell me how easy it would be to do day trips to the winelands? Our kids will have minimal interest in touring vineyards, but we might manage dragging them out there for a day

I think we could see Cape Town and surrounds in a week, but I'm worried we'll wish we'd spent more time there if we go all that way for only 7 nights ...

Cape Town is pretty safe. It is Jo-burg that is more scary.

You should stick to the safe areas, & don't got to a township unless on an organised tour. There is a lot of security everywhere (our hotel had armed guards patrolling the property at night time).

And if you use a public car park, e.g. in a shopping centre, people will offer to watch your car for you for a small fee. Always say yes!

This was 10 years ago though, so it may have changed.