South Africa holiday advice with safari for my 50th and three children

[Massivescreen]

I turn 50 next year and would like to do a big holiday. It will be me and 3 kids (17, 14, 7).

I am thinking South Africa - with a safari. I went to Jo’burg for work a few years ago and got a minibus to Pillanesberg for a few nights and stayed there in a lodge and went on 5 game drives (3 hours or so at a time) which was brilliant. I saw all the big animals. This kind of safari would be ideal for us.

However I thought maybe Cape Town might be a bit nicer.

I have no experience of Africa other than that trip for work. I just want ease really. Not desperate to hire a car (I could if needed). Want it to be a big memorable holiday. I would be happy to book flights and safari separately (as I assume cheaper) if I knew good options. I just don’t really know where to look.

I was thinking maybe £20k budget. Less if possible.

Any advice appreciated. Thanks

We did similar with 13&7yos to that which you have already done.
Flew to J'burg. 2 nights recovery 4 nights Pilansberg, 4 nights Madikwe, 2 nights recovery, then home.
Advantage of no internal flights and malaria free.

Cape Town is a fantastic city but there aren't any game reserves nearby. There are some around Port Elizabeth or the best, in my opinion, are Kruger.
Personally I think your best option is to do a 2 centre holiday. A few days in Cape Town and then fly to either Port Elizabeth or Kruger for a safari.

Thanks .. wonder if I should do similar. Were you a bit safari’d out after 8 nights or was it ok?

We would probably be going in the summer holidays next year. So weather not super hot for spending lots of down time by a pool or something.

Myself and my then husband did five nights of safari.

being honest, it was great but safari drives are dawn (5am) and dusk (4pm or so) and keeping children entertained during the day isn’t always easy.

teens probably fine, 7 year old might be tricky.

We went to Kruger and it was great.

We went in August.
We were surprisingly not safaried out.
Dd2 was/is animal mad which helped.
Making it 2 locations helped as we saw different things. Amazingly the DC didn't choose to miss any of the game drives.
Madikwe us much rougher than Pilansberg, no tarmacked roads.
Our recovery days were at Sun City.

It would be a shame to miss out Cape Town and driving is easy there (don’t miss Chapman’s Peak).

@Massivescreen some game reserves have age limits due to the early starts, sitting still and quiet for several hours so check as 7 might be too young for some.

Ok all very helpful. Regards the 7 year old when I went to Pilanesberg there were a few families with young kids there. I remember thinking I’d love to take the family, but cost would be prohibitive. But I’ve since decided that life is too short and want to do something big to celebrate my 50th.

https://www.sanbona.com

Fly to CPT, spend time on the waterfront, safari at Sanbona then a few nights in hermanus and Franschhoek would be my advice

What’s sun city like these days? Went on a day trip years ago as a child, and it keeps tickling the back of my mind to go back.

safari wise I think Kruger/Sun city would be a great holiday.

however I also like hluhwe/umfolozi and the Durban coast. Hluhwe used to have an area where vehicles weren’t allowed so you went in on horseback. That’s also something I’d love to do.

We flew to Cape town and had 3 nights there before catching an internal flight to Port Elizabeth and from there got a taxi to Pumba safari lodge for - I think 4 nights. Pumba was amazing! It's a private game lodge so may not be what you had in mind but the lodges were so nice and each one had a little pool so you could cool off between the early morning and late afternoon safaris. All the food is included and it was a lovely, friendly place.

Personally I would have found more than about 5 nights on safari too much. It's quite uncomfortable in the jeeps but still, I'm glad I did it and the experience of seeing all the animals in a (semi) wild environment was amazing.

https://www.pumbagamereserve.co.za/pages/big-5-safari/

Fly to Cape Town and spend a few days there. For a safari, look at Gondwana which is quite close. Personally I think 2 or 3 days on safari is enough.

We went to Durban and up to Manyoni private game reserve, we stayed there on 2 separate occasions, once at Rhino Rover Lodge ( more family orientated and fab) and Rhino Sands which was rented and more luxury. They’re both owned by the same group and I couldn’t fault them. The beauty of Durban is you can have some time there and also go to St Lucia enroute to Manyoni for a couple of days, hippos are sometimes seen crossing the road and you can snorkel/ have beach time. I’d highly recommend!

@Yetanotherone12 We went to Sun City back in 2012 - the DDs loved the buffet breakfasts. It was a good rest stop, but could have been anywhere really.

I can recommend Viva Safaris for Kruger, they are super communicative and pick you up from the airport in Jo’burg (or the local, more expensive one). Mind you, there is no luxury - basic, although clean and comfortable accommodation, the home-cooked meals are tasty, but longer transfers for the full park days.

The guides were excellent and we felt the only difference to the more luxurious lodges was just that, the quality of the resorts themselves. We were out for safari, bush walks, Kruger days, much more than other guests from the (expensive) lodges nearby.

Spent a couple of days mostly in the Greater Kruger area near the lodge, which was quieter and rougher than the Kruger Park, and saw plenty of animals there too. 2 full Kruger days plus additional activities, a rehab centre, sunset drives and bush BBQs…

You can do 5-6 nights for less than £1500 pp with them, but it depends on whether you want a beautiful room and lodge, or are there for the animals and nature.

These replies are all very helpful. Thank you. Apart from the poster who said they went with 2 kids - have people been there with kids ? Teens and /or younger kids (realise he’ll be 8 not 7). It’s just me and 3 kids (2 moody teenagers and an 8 year old).

Yes we we went with our then 13 year old who loved it! We did 3 days safari on both occasions which was probably enough for us, it was amazing!

@Massivescreen Yes. Took dc when 9 and 7. We did a specialist family holiday in Kenya with family oriented lodges - Samburu, Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru. They were fine.

At 13, DD1 did a school exchange with a South African school. We went on a holiday there in August and went to Sabi Sands, Phinda and St Lucia wetlands/ Hluhluwe Imfolizi. We found this worked well and we also drove into the Drakensburg mountains. None of this is cheap and paying direct often costs more than a specialist company who get much better rates. Some lodges are ultra expensive and your budget won’t get close.

I would not rough it either. It’s very cold in the mornings in August. You need a bit of comfort!

If dc are not interested, SA has lots of other things to see and do. In SA, lots of reserves are rewilded farms and not national parks. The owners stock them with animals for guests to tick off. I don’t think tarmac roads are for us, we like off road and places like Sabi Sands facilitate that. Think about what animals you really want to see because that might inform where you go. Companies like wildlife worldwide and expert Africa know their stuff and will help you plan. Given you might have internal flights, I’d never do DIY. There can be hitches.

Thank you

Really helpful thank you

We did a two centre hol - Capetown (plenty to do there, but not the safari bit) then flew up to Jo'burg, think it was 2 hours, and we just did Dinokeng for 3 nights with 3 safari experience, loved it. It is only an hour from OR Tambo, pool, restaurant etc. There are plenty who would say "ah yes, but it is not the "proper" safari experience, and how many of the Big 5 did you see, etc. " but it isn't all about that. Flew back out of Jo'burg so no back tracking.

Back in 2012 we went with Go2Africa. We had private transfers from the airport and between the hotels/ parks, and i think it was the same driver each time. Made us feel very safe as we aren't adventurous travellers normally.

Will moody teenagers enjoy it, or just moan about the cold/heat.

We went with Trailfinders who also organised private transfers with the same driver as we moved around South Africa. They were very good too.

This forum is useful for planning OP.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowForum-g293740-i9186-South_Africa.html

I would do Garden Route, and Kruger.

We're taking ours this August for my 50th, though we are doing Namibia not South Africa. Namibia has soussvlei and the sand dunes so it's not just back to back safari days, but on the other hand it does mean a lot of long driving days to get between locations. Our kids will be 14 and 11 (almost 12), so kind of in the middle of your age ranges. I booked a family group tour with Exodus, have done Exodus trips and safaris without the kids, but this is the first time doing it with them. Thought other kids would be a distraction but the trip doesn't seem to be full, so can't tell if it's just us. My oldest is already worrying about being eaten lions, but they will be fine when we get going. I will report back in September.