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Should we plan some days in England in conjunction with our trip to East Africa?

Posted by on

We have a safari booked (postponed twice) in Kenya and Tanzania in late July of this year.

Because we haven't traveled much these past two years, we have accumulated many Delta flyer miles. However, when I try to book flights using miles for our trip to Africa, no flights are available.

However, we can book separate flights (JAX to LONDON then LONDON to NAIROBI with return from KILIMANJARO). I would be able to use miles for the flights from/to the USA to London, but pay for the flights from London to Africa.

When we first booked our safari in Africa in 2019, we had booked a week in Cornwall before flying to Africa, then several days in London on the return. We still want to stopover in London. while going to Cornwall in July or August might not be the best idea, we could visit London and some other places in England.

What concerns me is if we came up positive on a COVID19 test (picked up COVID while in England) and couldn't fly to Africa.

I would appreciate any comments.

Posted by
1055 posts

I would be tempted to use points to get into London and book a separate flight from there. As long as you are vaccinated, covid rules for England have been mostly relaxed. Yes, Cornwall in July/August is too busy to be pleasant.
Margaret

Posted by
34010 posts

I'd have thought that a stopover would add a layer of risk, and I know how much the safari has meant to you.

If we weren't in the last two years I'd say come on over and stay a while and then move south to Africa.

Posted by
8913 posts

I would encourage you to price your flight completely using $$ before you make a final decision. It has been several years, but at the time that I went to Rwanda, it cost the exact same amount to fly to Africa as it did to Europe even with the addition of the second 9 hour flight. (I used KLM) In my case, I had a several day layover in Amsterdam on my way home for the same airfare that just flying to Amsterdam RT would have cost.

I would do your time in the UK on the way home. That way you still enjoy the stopover, but you are eliminating that last minute extra exposure prior to your safari.

Posted by
8331 posts

All good comments, thanks.

I did price the complete ticket to Africa and return and price was $2100, which was much higher than what I expected. That price ran was an open jaw, since our safari starts in Nairobi and ends in Kilimanjaro. A RT to Nairobi is less, but that would require a separate one way ticket from JRO to NAI and add complications.

We don't want to go via Nigeria or South Africa. That might require even another COVID19 test.

Perhaps I should consider a short stay in London (1 or 2 days) prior to flying to Africa, then spending a week or more in England on the way home. Still, that would require another COVID19 test. I suppose we could just stay at a hotel in Heathrow for one night on the way over and limit exposure to COVID19.

Are COVID19 tests available at Heathrow?

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