Anyone done a safari in Africa...is it worth it?

[usergoogle1]

Thinking of going next year...money well spent? if so would a week be too long? I've heard mixed reviews!

Yes, twice and both were fantastic! We've been to Great Zimbabwe, Hwange, Victoria Falls, Chobe and finally the Okavango (Camp Moremi, iirc) on one holiday. The other we went to South Luangwa (Nsefu and a bush camp for a walking safari), Kafue, Great Rift Valley, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti, and Olduvai Gorge.

We were not afraid of mugging once in the safari camps, but we were the night we stayed in Nairobi, on our way from Zambia to Tanzania. Everybody in our party but us got mugged - we didn't probably, because we just stayed in the hotel!

We loved Africa so much we wanted to go and live there, watching elephants for the rest of our lives, but for the fact we had a two year old!

We went 2 - 3 weeks both times.

I did 3 nights in Kruger with a colleague tagged onto a business trip a few years ago. It was amazing and we saw the big 5. We did early morning and evening drives and also went on a couple of trips to villages. Best bit was the giraffes in their natural habitat. I had anti malaria tablets before, during and after. There were a lot of mosquitos around. We stayed somewhere very basic but it was fine.

Didn’t get mugged but luggage was rifled by the baggage handlers on the internal flight from Kruger to Johannesburg.

Yes, I’ve been on several, but never as a stand-alone trip (was already in South Africa for work). I would combine it with other travel and make sure to see more than just animals.

In Kruger you will need anti malarials but there are other places you can go (look at Hlueluwe imfolozi in KZN, you don’t need anything there). Kruger can get very busy at peek season so I’d go off season or book with one of the bordering private reserves. There are also lots of smaller ones (I did a horseback safari once which was really lovely, only small game but wonderful and very personal, obviously probably only if you know how to ride).

Also I’d only go with children if they are 10+, otherwise could be very boring with very early starts for small children (5am for the morning drives).

I cried a lot on safari, it was just amazing. You'll never go to a zoo again.

My DD2 was 7 nearly 8 when we went. We thought she might want to miss some morning starts, but she didn't and she stayed engaged throughout. However as I said she is v. interested in animals.

For a couple of days we were in a vehicle with another family who had a 6yo. He was bored witless and not very well behaved as a result.

We spent around 2 weeks in Africa a few years ago. 1 week in Kenya on safari followed by just under a week in Zanzibar. We took malaria tablets for the full two weeks as we took the final flight from Kenya. They made me have strange dreams for last few days and we both had slight stomach upset but not enough to dampen the holiday at all! safari is exhausting but so worth it! Saw the big 5 and we even visited Hells' Gate where lion king was based. Most incredible holiday and worth every single penny! Take binoculars and a good camera

also if you can do a few beach/relaxing days at the end. Nothing like swimming off the coast of Zanzibar after seeing lions, leopards and elephants

We took our DD when she was 12 ish. We got her a decent camera with the best zoom we could afford. Kept her occupied for hours. We were all watching a lion close up when she decided to point out a kudu barely visible on a rock that she’d spotted with the camera. She had a great time.

Have fun!! I went to SA a few years back on my own backpacking. We went around the vineyards near cape town and on a safari (not kruger) it was amazing!

I still remember looking out across a lake to some hippos when a guide came up and said in broken English "we go over, it make good profile pic" before I said no way, I know how dangerous they are.He burst out laughing then chatted in perfect English about hippos and the park. Apparently tourists get killed by hippos more often than you realise :/

There are big 5 game parks in South Africa which are malaria free, if you don’t want to take anti- malerials. But don’t gamble and go to a malaria area without the proper precautions.

In the relationships forum? Are you toying with marrying a hyena?

I've done Jacis place and Madikwe too. Loved both, so did the children , def worth it and would go back in a flash. Once in the park felt very safe but the drive from joberg was a different story . We were told not to stop and just keep driving

I'm a Kruger expert. Ask me anything!

We’ve done road trips (ie. hire an off roader Toyota type thing) around Namibia and Botswana/Zimbabwe.

We planned our route and booked into lodges as you drive a loop.

The safari is amazing but equally amazing is just experiencing the cultures here. Doing it this way without guides etc. isn’t necessarily for the faint hearted, we had a couple of hairy moments. Never to do with muggings or bad people, in fact the people of Namibia and Botswana were unfailingly and overwhelmingly kind and helpful (both these countries had peaceful independence) but we did...nearly run out of petrol in the middle of a desert, lose most of our camping gear as it fell out the back of the trailer(you can’t just pop to a shop), get stuck in a sand dune in the middle of a day, get charged by an elephant, and generally get lost regularly (no sat nav and maps, shall we say ‘vary’ to the roads that actually exist)

I’d recommend this ‘tour’ rather Than straight up safari...that is if you’d like an adventure and true African experience

Yes, I have spent months travelling from Kenya down to South Africa and been to SA many times.

Adults can take Doxy rather than Larium, people we travelled with had hallucinations and all sorts from Larium, but Mosquitos were everywhere, there is no way you can try to avoid being bitten, even with Deet, garlic tablets, long legged pants and shirts and mosquito nets to sleep in.

In SA - Hluhluwe–Imfolozi is a great alternative to Kruger, less well known and not as busy. We self drove round it in a hire car.

Nowhere near as good in my opinion as the Serengeti or Masai Mara in Kenya/Tanzania, but if you're only going to SA those are good choices. We stayed near St Lucia in the coast too - beautiful beach.

Cape Town is lovely, has great beaches, you can go to Robbin Island, lots of wineries nearby and up Table Mountain.

I only felt unsafe in Jo'Burg, didn't feel unsafe down the coast at anytime, although I did get mugged and pickpocketed in Cape Town.

Brilliant thread!

I'm also wanting to book a safari hopefully next year. I will be going alone - Can anyone recommend any travel companies or help where to start?

We used GoToAfrica who were very helpful.

Have a think about your desires:

• safari v other cultural activities
• are you OK with malaria tablets or do you need malaria free
• are you worried about stability of political situations
• what level of heat are you OK with
• how organised do you want to be v doing your own thing

We did our safari with kids in the most risk-free way we could. (malaria free, stable country, lower heat, no self-drive)

Agree with all of MontstMichel’s recommendations. I travelled 4 months in sub Saharan Africa about 20 years ago. Krueger was the only place I saw a Leopard, but the game drives were on Tarmac roads and didn’t feel as authentic as Tanzania.

LTB

There are miles of dirt tracks in the Kruger and the beauty is you can go at your own pace.