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 would much rather go out quickly at 79 on an amazing adventure than linger. I am dealing with my mother who has dementia and it seems so, so much worse to go out that way.

You can do it very cheaply if you want to. I rented a car in Durban, South Africa, and drove up to Hluhluwe-iMfolozi National Park. It's great for rhinos. The park entrance fee was maybe $25. I stayed at a very cool guesthouse/hotel on a lake full of hippos. A couple of days there was approximately $200. Then I drove onward to Swaziland. Very interesting. And then stopped at Krueger for a few days. I found a perfectly good hotel - lots of monkeys though - that cost less than $100 a night. At dawn, when the park opened, I paid the nominal entrance fee and spent the days viewing the wildlife. I saw all the big five. All in all, my self-drive safari was cheaper than a trip to Florida.

We booked a nice resort in Kenya, and once there, there are so many vendors for safaris, and the hotel can help you as well. So many options! Whatever you choose, it will cost so much less, if you are booking directly. Safari was amazing!

In South Africa, you could drive up to any of the National Park lodges (irrespective of whether you are staying at the same one) and simply book a game drive right there, they are going out several times a day directly. You could check ahead whether they have space, it wasn’t an issue at the time.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

And to add to this (I'm the PP who just went in Mar 2023), there are HUNDREDS upon HUNDREDS of safari companies out there. Essentially, they're all going to provide you with a similar product. Many of the guides who work for these safari outfitters are freelancers and get contracts with many tour operators. So for example, "Ben" gives a 5-day safari with "Best Safari Kenya", then in a week, he does a one week safari with "Africa's Best Safaris".

I used SafariBookings.com to help me pick a tour operator. It worked out just fine.

Oops, left out that the "rest camps" are for Kruger.

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).