Poster looking for lower priced family chalets/bungalows : look up the "rest camps," like Lower Sabie, popular family accommodations, fenced and gated off, with pools, firepits and cafes.

Outside of Pilanesberg NP is Kingdom Resort which has its nice own fenced and gated chalet/bungalow community with pool, a little water park, cafe.

Did it last March. $10,000 for two people, 13 day safari, East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania + Zanzibar)

This was mid-range, all lodges. Food was in general pretty terrible, lodges were okay (they photographed really nice but the reality wasn't that nice). Still had a good time.

I would think the over-the-top luxury would be a waste of money; as someone who has been there recently, the people on the high-end safaris do the same game drives in the same places as everyone else.

Anonymous wrote:Very helpful when the posters list the particular company they used. Interesting no one so far has used any of the big name operators like Tauck, Nat Geo, Disney, etc.

I used ta Go2Africa, and they booked me into Asilia properties which are some of the best if not the best (they even had little private Asilia lounge areas at some of the airports).

Anonymous wrote:Some tourist just got charged by an elephant and killed on safari. Don’t the guides carry guns?

I know someone else who was killed by a hippopotamus that capsized the canoe she was in with her husband.

Rare events but…

I’m a bit surprised by the elephant tragedy, but not surprised by the hippo at all. You do not get near a hippo. One of the reasons the guides escorted us from dinner to our tent with guns was the danger of wild animals— and the big concern was not lions, it was hippos. (They do sometimes come out of the water at night, and our lodge was very near the Mara.)

Anonymous wrote:Very helpful when the posters list the particular company they used. Interesting no one so far has used any of the big name operators like Tauck, Nat Geo, Disney, etc.

Because those are US-based companies who then contract with an in-country company to actually do the safari. You pay a premium for them to act as a middleman. Not worth it.

Anonymous wrote:Some tourist just got charged by an elephant and killed on safari. Don’t the guides carry guns?

I know someone else who was killed by a hippopotamus that capsized the canoe she was in with her husband.

Rare events but…

How else to answer this but…


It’s a safari?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We went to MalaMala in South Africa as part of a bigger trip to SA. Current prices are around $1000/night per person, which includes suite, game drives, all food, etc. I think we paid separately for drinks but can't remember. We went for 4 nights/3 days, which was plenty. We did 6-7 game drives (morning and evening). Totally worth it.

Sounds great. Which tour operator?

Mala Mala is a private game reserve in Sabi Sands, adjacent to Kruger. We booked directly with Mala Mala.

Anonymous wrote:Did you see the American tourist just killed on one of these? An elephant stormed their vehicle, flipping it over. It was the Kafue National Park in Zambia.

I know. I fell and scraped my knee six years ago in Rome and haven’t left the US since. It’s not safe out there.

Some tourist just got charged by an elephant and killed on safari. Don’t the guides carry guns?

I know someone else who was killed by a hippopotamus that capsized the canoe she was in with her husband.

Rare events but…

Family members did A&K tour several years ago and still talk about the fabulous time they had. Beautiful private luxury tent set up plus wonderful animal sitings. Same trip included cruising through the Seychelles (not A&K but with SilverSea).

Anonymous wrote:Very helpful when the posters list the particular company they used. Interesting no one so far has used any of the big name operators like Tauck, Nat Geo, Disney, etc.

I did. I am the 18,000 poster. Used Abercrombie and Kent. It is way outside the norm for me, even for safari like things. Thought I would see how the 1% live.

Anonymous wrote:We went to MalaMala in South Africa as part of a bigger trip to SA. Current prices are around $1000/night per person, which includes suite, game drives, all food, etc. I think we paid separately for drinks but can't remember. We went for 4 nights/3 days, which was plenty. We did 6-7 game drives (morning and evening). Totally worth it.

Sounds great. Which tour operator?

Very helpful when the posters list the particular company they used. Interesting no one so far has used any of the big name operators like Tauck, Nat Geo, Disney, etc.

Anonymous wrote:The amount of money people spend on safaris is astounding. They see the exact same animals as families who stay in the parks themselves. You can easily make in park reservations on the Sanparks website. It is not expensive. The highest costs for us were the flights.

I lived in South Africa for awhile and have done every possible iteration of a safari there and also in East Africa. For one or two people, you can easily plan it yourself. For a larger group (esp if it includes older people or kids), it was absolutely better to get a company to plan it for us and have a private guide.

We went to MalaMala in South Africa as part of a bigger trip to SA. Current prices are around $1000/night per person, which includes suite, game drives, all food, etc. I think we paid separately for drinks but can't remember. We went for 4 nights/3 days, which was plenty. We did 6-7 game drives (morning and evening). Totally worth it.