African safari or Alaskan cruise in May? Because, weather.
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Anonymous
| Or something else? We find ourselves with last two weeks in May free and have not done a Safari or Alaska. Since it's winter or shoulder season, would you choose one or the other or go in a different direction entirely? And thoughts, ideas welcome. |
Anonymous
| Alaska will still be cold. Most of Africa will be warmer (cooler at night). If you have time and funds I would choose a safari hands down. |
Anonymous
|
Peak season for Alaska is more like June-July-August. In May you might not see bears or salmon runs, if you're looking to go into the interior. Something to consider.
Think about what animals/natural features you're most interested in seeing on a safari and on an Alaskan cruise. Then look up when they're most likely to be seen. I'd choose that way. |
Anonymous
| I don't need a beach and don't expect Alaska to be 80 degrees, but I love nice weather. Which is less likely to be ruined (excursions cancelled or stormy days, for example) by May weather? |
Anonymous
| Africa hands down. The prices aren't really comparable though. I've done Alaska and didn't find it too spectacular, but I hate being cold and ymmv. I was one of the only people on the cruise under 60. Even my parents felt young on our cruise. |
Anonymous
About Africa, do you have suggestions for how to start looking for a safari? As a group we're not very creative or adventurous but always have an awesome time once we're there. |
Anonymous
|
Alaska can be beautiful in May, but you have to be the kind of person who can ignore the weather and enjoy yourself even if it's damp and chilly. I wouldn't do a cruise then, I'd want to have activities planned that could be adjusted last-minute OR could continue regardless of weather. If hikes are planned, for instance, I'd just layer on extra clothes and add full rain gear (including boots and rain pants) and go. I wouldn't relish sitting on a cruise ship in damp 50 degree weather.
You can look at historical weather patterns here (using Juneau as an example): https://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/PAJN/2017/5/1/MonthlyHistory.html?&reqdb.zip=&reqdb.magic=&reqdb.wmo= Last year, Juneau had about 2.5 inches of rain over the month of May. But scroll down to the charts, and see how close the temp and dew point are? When they are close, that generally means it's damp with low clouds. When they meet, it's fog/mist/rain. So it was damp and misty nearly every morning last May, and about half the days that lasted all day. For Africa, I've heard great things about safaris in Tanzania, self-guided trips through Kruger National Park in South Africa, or private game reserves in South Africa. I don't have any specific names, though. |
Anonymous
| May is far and away the most miserable month to be in Alaska. Period. |
Anonymous
Just yesterday I heard the same thing about September. |
Anonymous
| safari ia awesome and and a great time of year except cape town is having major water crisis so i would not go |
Anonymous
| any tips for flights from IAD to South Africa? |
Anonymous
what do you mean tips? |
Anonymous
| You can do safaris from all over Africa, not just South Africa. We did a great one from Tanzania where we really did see all the animals. |
Anonymous
| The Bering Sea lost half of its sea ice in a little over two weeks this year, so you never know. May could be very nice. |
Anonymous
I had a good experience with South African Airways. Watch your layovers, as stopping in certain countries will trigger a requirement for the yellow fever vaccine before South Africa will let you in. Landing doesn't usually count as "stopping" if you stay on the plane, but if you have to deplane for any reason (weather, maintenance delays) then you'll need the vaccine. I got the vaccine just in case. Oh, and not to state the obvious, but avoid Cape Town if you're going this spring! |