Recommendations for a safari holiday

[Ishouldbeoutside]

Thinking if going on a Safari holiday. I would like a bit of beach time , maybe in S A? Born in Africa but never been back so don’t know where to start. Some safaris seem to be eye wateringly expensive. Budget around £3 k each for ten days at least.

@Ishouldbeoutside
Im really sorry, but I don’t think your budget is enough. Safari holidays are expensive due to the high level of staffing. You could maybe look at hiring a car and diY in a self catering site. I think SA might have some. Expert Africa is a great resource for checking accommodation. There are also accommodation guides in SA that feature guest houses. Without the safari your budget could work but you need car hire and flights aren’t cheap!

Kariega near PE is lovely- we stayed in the river lodge for a few nights, we also spent an over night in a lodge on the boarder of the Addo elephant park and paid for a days tour inc sundowners-(elephants footprint I think was the lodge).

You might also need to decide if you want a resort hotel with a safari experience on site as well as golf and a whole lot more or whether you want an authentic safari camp experience. Many farms have been rewilded in SA and are fenced. The resorts are quite big. Watching animals is just one activity of many. Depends what you actually think a safari is. Many of these lodges will be £hundreds each night too.

We’ve self-driven at Kruger twice. It’s easy if you know what you’re doing.

I highly recommend Tanzania. We did a safari with a wonderful small operator followed by a few days in Zanzibar. It was quite easily one of the best things I've ever done. The safari was beyond amazing and the people so warm and friendly. Our budget was roughly the same as yours.

Could you tell me who you booked with please?

All flights have gone up. You cannot easily get to Zanzibar or back to uk without two flights at least.

We booked with Safari Republic in Tanzania. They were brilliant.

Namibia might do the job. Easy to self drive so cheaper than many

Following along as we are looking at a safari with beach add on for later in the year, possibly Kenya then Zanzibar, but no idea where to start

There are so many places you can do game drives in SA. You absolutely do not have to book one of the high end tourist marketed packages.

There are quite a lot in KwaZulu-Natal and then you can combine the trip with some beach time and still be in the same area. If you like scuba and snorkelling etc you could head towards the Mozambique border but still in KZN (Sodawana area) which is stunningly beautiful. Even head a bit more North towards Kosi Bay where there is a protected turtle breeding area, look at Bhanga Nek. They will 4x4 you in, there is only one place to stay, if you like quiet and remote, if you want hustle and bustle this isn't the spot for you but might be an idea for a day or two.

If course the Kruger is the top pick, but you can self drive and book at one of the less expensive accomodations. Some days if you don't want to self drive, you can book to go out with a ranger. Will have to travel a bit for the beach break after.

I would split the trip though, as there is only so much bush and buck you can see. I have no doubt that you may spot the big 5, but you will see a billion buck (and zebra) while looking. 😊

Although if you are travelling this far, it would be a shame not to go to Cape Town too.

Unless it is mid summer I'm not sure the Cape is the best beach option. The water is freezing 😂, much more pleasant temperature on the KZN coast.

But there are the wine farms, the mountain of course and just so much else to do.

I went on this safari a few years ago and it was brilliant www.gadventures.com/trips/nairobi-zanzibar-tour/DKSZ/

By the time I bought flights, vaccines and other bits it was around your budget. They also do the tour starting in Arusha and you don't miss much (I only had one day in Nairobi and went to the giraffe sanctuary) but it's trickier to get to Arusha.

Oh and some people on the tour added a couple of extra nights at a hotel in Zanzibar before leaving. Our tour guide dropped them off to the hotels before taking the rest of us to the airport.

@Jax9807 Did your quote with Safari Reliblic in Tanzania include flights from uk? For £3000 each?

This amount certainly gets you to SA but the only way to keep costs down is to self drive. Namibia might just be doable. But it’s 2 flights to get there. Hence the expense!

That look great. Thank you.

We've just got back from S.A. We had to visit in laws in Natal so we did a 2 night self drive safari in hluhluwe imfolozi park. We stayed in their "posher" accomadation in the Hilltop part of the park, it has a restaurant and shop. You can also book onto one of their ranger game drives, we did the twilight one. It's a heck of a drive from Durban thoguh, 4 hours and frankly that was too much for me. Great reserve though.

We then flew to Cape Town for a week and had a great time - apart from load shedding (scheduled electricity cuts to save power). That drove me a bit nuts!

@MissyB1 Thats a great reserve (HI) and near enough to other interesting areas. I remember seeing lots of rhino there. Exciting! We like KZN and we didn’t find it too far from Durban and we did it with teens.
@AverageJoan Kenya is great for a starter safari. Look at Wildlife Worldwide for ideas. Expert Africa too. There are different areas for specific wildlife so it depends what you really want to see. There’s beach resorts on the Mombasa coast in Kenya.

If you went Zanzibar, why not do a safari in Tanzania? More of a faff to get to but easier to get to Zanzibar after the safari. However the Serengeti and NgoroNgoro crater are amazing. Just don’t go when all the wildebeeste are in Kenya in the Mara! So our winter and early summer makes sense up to June. However the animals move so you need expert advice for Tanzania. Avoid rainy seasons. Kenya is more expensive in our summer in the Mara due to the migration.

Hiya
we loved our Safari in KZN. We flew to durban and had a few nights in St Lucia where we snorkelled at Cape Vidal, and went on an estuary boat tour and saw loads of hippos. Pool time then we drove to Manyoni private game reserve and stayed at Rhino Rover Lodge. It was amazing! Quite a small camp, amazing staff and the game drives were incredible!
we loved it so much that we’re going again at half term, this time staying at Rhino Sands for 3 nights and Ballito for beach time. The Safari part is the expensive bit but it’s honestly one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done. Having morning coffee listening to lions roar will stay with me forever! I’ve looked at Tanzania lots of times but too expensive for us!

Forgot to say that both times we’ve used Southern Routes who have checked what’s available and also got us great deals.