Safari - Holiday company recommendations please??
Discussion
Next year is a bit of a significant birthday for me so we've decided to take the kids on a safari holiday.
The budget is really quite small (£10k) for a holiday of this kind as after a bit of browsing I could easily double or treble it. Knowing the PH ability for budget creep willing to look at up to £3k pp.
Having looked at this thread I'm inspired by fezant plucker's photos, swayed by jimothy's comments about Zambia and also have thought about South Africa. Not bothered about Kenya as we've been (albeit 14 years ago) and due to kid's holidays we are restricted to dates.
With google producing the usual massive list and the PH search function not working the only company I've found in threads so far is http://www.timefortravel.co.uk.
So, my question is - which company would work with a limited budget like this and still give us a memorable trip?
The budget is really quite small (£10k) for a holiday of this kind as after a bit of browsing I could easily double or treble it. Knowing the PH ability for budget creep willing to look at up to £3k pp.
Having looked at this thread I'm inspired by fezant plucker's photos, swayed by jimothy's comments about Zambia and also have thought about South Africa. Not bothered about Kenya as we've been (albeit 14 years ago) and due to kid's holidays we are restricted to dates.
With google producing the usual massive list and the PH search function not working the only company I've found in threads so far is http://www.timefortravel.co.uk.
So, my question is - which company would work with a limited budget like this and still give us a memorable trip?
TBH you'd be wasting your time with Time For Travel on that budget... Maybe get in touch with http://www.travelbag.co.uk/ - when I worked in Africa travel a couple of my colleagues came from TB and the company seemed to be good at organising tailor made trips.
Also you might want to ask them about malaria-free reserves to save your kids from having to have jabs. Somewhere like the Madikwe in SA might be suitable.
Sticking to SA will allow you to do the safari bit then get over to Cape Town and cover the Garden Route depending on how much time you've got. If you go to eg. Zambia you can only safari there really, there's little else to do.
If I were you I'd call an operator and see what they suggest rather than thinking for ages, they'll be able to give you some good ideas.
Also you might want to ask them about malaria-free reserves to save your kids from having to have jabs. Somewhere like the Madikwe in SA might be suitable.
Sticking to SA will allow you to do the safari bit then get over to Cape Town and cover the Garden Route depending on how much time you've got. If you go to eg. Zambia you can only safari there really, there's little else to do.
If I were you I'd call an operator and see what they suggest rather than thinking for ages, they'll be able to give you some good ideas.
Ranger 6 said:
Interesting - they seem to have plenty of sample itineraries for the £2k-£2.5k pp bracket which is what interested me.
Might be a bit more during school holidays though! TBH they must have reduced their starting prices, they were further up the scale back when I dealt with them all the time.This itinerary is maybe a bit short at 10 nights but is the sort of thing I'd recommend, although it's best to do the safari part at the beginning if the flights allow it as the early morning starts are quite tiring and it's not ideal to finish the holiday with 3-4 of those followed by an overnight flight of 11 hours or so...
http://www.timefortravel.co.uk/Nottens_Bush_Camp_K...
Thanks again 
- your link went straight to a lodge, but from their site I found a safari & beach trip which uses that lodge for the first few nights and then a week on the beach - £2700 so within budget!!
I meant to ask - you appear to be experienced, who would you avoid.....?? PM if better to avoid naming and shaming
- your link went straight to a lodge, but from their site I found a safari & beach trip which uses that lodge for the first few nights and then a week on the beach - £2700 so within budget!!I meant to ask - you appear to be experienced, who would you avoid.....?? PM if better to avoid naming and shaming
Edited by Ranger 6 on Thursday 10th May 16:54
Ah. This was the link I meant to post http://www.timefortravel.co.uk/2012SouthAfrica-Not...
The tour op I worked for covered the luxury end of the market ie. generally people spending vast amounts, plus it was a fair few years ago now, so I can only give an opinion on general itineraries rather than specific properties.
The tour op I worked for covered the luxury end of the market ie. generally people spending vast amounts, plus it was a fair few years ago now, so I can only give an opinion on general itineraries rather than specific properties.
We went to Zambia a couple of years ago and I booked it all directly. I booked the internal flights with Proflight, and just did everything else via email. We did four flights within Zambia and checking in for every single one was utter chaos, but we got where we wanted to go eventually
As for the safari, I'm not sure how kid friendly it is (depends how old / wise I guess) but we stayed at Flatdogs in South Luangwa and I'd highly recommend them.
http://www.flatdogscamp.com/
Having hippo and elephant walking around your tent makes for a very memorable experience! The food there was stunning too and they put a lot back into the local area if that helps.
They do two safaris a day - morning and night - and there's loads of wildlife in Luangwa. Just have a look through the Flatdogs Twitter feed for examples of what you'll see.
There are a few other places to stay in the area - I'd also recommend Mfuwe lodge which is actually inside the NP, and overlooks a small lake which usually has hippos bathing.
As for the safari, I'm not sure how kid friendly it is (depends how old / wise I guess) but we stayed at Flatdogs in South Luangwa and I'd highly recommend them.
http://www.flatdogscamp.com/
Having hippo and elephant walking around your tent makes for a very memorable experience! The food there was stunning too and they put a lot back into the local area if that helps.
They do two safaris a day - morning and night - and there's loads of wildlife in Luangwa. Just have a look through the Flatdogs Twitter feed for examples of what you'll see.
There are a few other places to stay in the area - I'd also recommend Mfuwe lodge which is actually inside the NP, and overlooks a small lake which usually has hippos bathing.
We have been to Sable Lodge twice as we liked the first visit so much. ( www.sablelodge.co.za ).Its a private lodge on the Mabula game reserve about 1.5hrs drive from J/burg airport.The main house has everything and the "huts" are luxury bedrooms,you will have the whole place to yourself.You will also have your own game drive guide who really knows his stuff and will not be stuck in a "bus" with loads of others.It is situated a few minutes drive down a bush road from the main Mabula HQ where you can have full use of the facilities,restaurant,bar,swimming pool,entertainment,etc.Another suggestion,after the flight why not stay at MontyCasino near J/burg airport for a couple of nights.Its the biggest entertainment/leisure complex (65 acres)I have seen,the kids will love it.
We got a lot more for our money by booking direct with a local operator rather than going through a UK agent. Downside is you lose ABTA protection, but if you research well on e.g. TA and Fodors forums, that shouldn't matter.
3x people, 2 rooms, 7 day private TZ safari + 4 days Zanzibar for under 3k each, inc.flights.
Also depends on time of year - TZ and Kenya have Great Migration, but we saved by going opposite that and still had fantastic time!
3x people, 2 rooms, 7 day private TZ safari + 4 days Zanzibar for under 3k each, inc.flights.
Also depends on time of year - TZ and Kenya have Great Migration, but we saved by going opposite that and still had fantastic time!
Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff