African safari

I have been all over the World, but still haven't done an African Safari. From my research the two best sites are either Kenya/Tanzania or South Africa/Zimbabwe (Kruger Park).

My Son and his friends did the South Africa one and loved it. Now they want to do Kenya. We may join them. The worst part of it is the very long travel from the USA.

There are lots of tours. Abercrombe and Kent are rated very high.

I cannot say if the safari I went on was " the best" but it was the experience of a lifetime for me, in Kenya and Tanzania.

Africa is a huge continent with exceptional diversity. There are as many types of safaris as there are countries and regions. To say what is best is very subjective. I'd recommend, for example, going to Northern Ghana and Benin.

It is all very subjective based on your wants, needs, desires.

If wanting to save money, try out Namibia - Etosha NP was quite amazing. On the other hand, Botswana is mainly geared for the high end travel especially the Okavango Delta.

Next month I'm headed to Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya. I'm finding it is possible to do cheap safaris in Uganda compared to Tanzania/Kenya. However, Tanzania does have some of the big, well know parks including Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara, and Tarangire to name a few.

I don't think any person can realistically answer your question. You will need to do some more research and share more info on what you are looking for.

Look at Travel and Leisure or Condenast Travel magazines for some ideas.

Unless I mistaken, and I haven't had coffee yet, Roads Scholars has a number of trips to Africa and some of them are safari type tours. Check out their web site and see what you think.

Check out the Chobe River area of Botswana. We stayed at a place (might have been called "Elephant Camp"?) right around where the borders of Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe all come together. It had its own watering hole, so you could see wildlife just outside the wire (yes, an electric fence surrounded the permanent camp). We also had access to early morning and evening land rover safaris plus a spectacular river cruise on the Chobe. That area is relatively close to Victoria Falls, so you can roll all of that into the same trip. Bonus, I understand that area is also less prone to some of the "tropical diseases" like Yellow Fever that you may need to worry more about in the lower lying Kruger NP or areas farther north like Kenya and Tanzania.

We had tropical disease shots, including one for yellow fever and malaria prevention medication, before going to Kenya.

I've had malaria. Trust me, ain't nobody got time for that.

I've been looking at options for African safaris as well and there are a dizzying array of choices, from location to types of safari vehicles, animals you are likely to encounter, lodging, popularity (crowded with tourists), vaccination requirements, local vs US tour company, etc. We are currently looking very closely at Odesseys Unlimited choices and are leaning toward the Africa's Wildlife tour which includes Botswana, Zambia and Victoria Falls with an optional extension to Cape Town. They also offer other tours/safaris that all sound very Interesting. Their tours appear to include higher end lodging and include airfare from the US (you can arrange your own as well).

Has anyone taken a safari from Cape Town? I am planning on visiting a friend in South Africa next June.

I went to South Africa and Botswana back in 2003 and it was amazing. We didn't go on an organized tour, but rather arranged an itinerary through a company that specializes in Southern Africa. Bert DuPlessis at http://www.fisheaglesafaris.com worked with us on an Itinerary and it was great. We spent 4 days in Cape Town (I wish we had spent more) and then visited 3 safari camps in Botswana (5 nights in the Okavango Delta, 3 nights in Chobe, and 4 nights in Mashatu). He arranged all the transfers between locations so everything was well coordinated. In Cape Town we took one small group tour to the Cape Peninsula, one private tour to Hermanus, and had two days on our own.

We went to Tanzania last year with Odysseys Unlimited. They have a really great tour. You can always go with a less expensive tour but you get what you pay for. Odysseys does small groups like Rick Steves. The number and variety of animals in Tanzania was amazing especially the birds. We were there in August. This tour includes the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater and Zanzibar. We will be back in Africa in a few weeks doing South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia with Odysseys again. You should get antimalarials and use Deet when appropriate. Check the CDC for immunization guidelines for the countries you will be visiting.

We've been to safaris in Tanzania and Kenya, all booked through a wonderful and professional travel agent in Nairobi. An incredible very safe experience with a HUGE number of wild animals seen up close. We were required to have the yellow fever vaccine, although had we reversed our itinerary, not so. Spendy. Malaria risk is present, so took related preventive medicine. Friends and a relative recently visited Cape Town and area...far fewer animals, but fantastic food/wine. Send me a private message for more information.