South Africa

Re: South Africa

• sunshine4me2

  February 2012

  http://www.groupon.com/ch/getaways/deals/ga-m-africa-answers?c=all?p=23

  I don't know if that link will work or not... BUT, I just saw this safari deal on groupon, so if it doesn't work, check it out there... Hope it helps 
  

  Report0 Reply
• Publius member

  February 2012

  It's completely doable on that budget. We were in South Africa over Christmas and New Years (I've got some into on my blog, link in sig). The whole thing including flights cost us well under $5k. We spent four nights in Kruger doing the drive yourself, self-cater, and stay in bungalows at the public rest camps thing. We also spent four nights in Cape Town. We were there visiting friends from Joburg who booked Kruger and some other things from within the country so we got South African pricing, but I think even with paying foreigners pricing and renting a car to drive yourself you could easily do it on that budget.

  Report0 Reply
• GilliC member

  

  February 2012

  Like Publius, we did a self-drive safari at Kruger. It was a lot of fun, and we got to see plenty of wildlife. The total cost of the three-day safari portion of our trip was $600 for two people. Definitely budget-friendly! I wrote up some of the details on my blog, but due to technical issues, the photos are all missing:
  http://blog.megdesk.com/inexpensive-safari/
  
  The photos from the trip are here:
  http://photos.megdesk.com/gallery/v/2010/africa/

  

  Report0 Reply
• schucha

  February 2012

  Hi there!  I love South Africa - it very well could be my favorite out of the 26 we visited on our RTW trip last year.  Your budget definitely seems doable.  South Africa isn't as cheap as a developing country, but it is not as expensive as something like Western Europe either.  There are a lot of B&Bs and if you want to go very cheap, there are backpackers (aka hostels - some can be pretty nice though).  You can get around without transport.  I think there is a bus that takes you from backpackers to backpackers, or you can ride public transport like the locals (see the blog Hedgehogs without Borders for a description of this).  Most people do rent a car though, which is what we did during our month in the country.  Keep in mind that South Africa is a BIG country - we underestimated the amount of time it would take to drive from Cape Town to Johannesburg (mostly a long the cost).  I third the self drive safari in Kruger National Park - here's a link to my blog post about the costs - http://www.surroundedbythesound.com/?p=595.  It can be as fancy or simple as you like, and it is an awesome experience.  Here's a link to my other posts about South Africa if you want to get more ideas about where to go.  http://www.surroundedbythesound.com/?cat=36 Even with a month, we barely scratched the surface!  Besides Kruger, I loved, loved, loved our time in Franschoek (wine country), Cape Point, whale-watching in Plettanburg Bay, and our stay at an community owned eco lodge on the Wild Coast.  South Africa is fascinating and has a lot of diversity - culture, history (which is still playing out in many ways), wine, wild animals, coastline, scenery.  I can't wait to go back someday.  Have fun planning and have a great time!  If you have any questions, feel free to send me an email through my blog.

  Report0 Reply
• schucha

  February 2012

  And oh, if you want to do Cape Town AND a safari, depending on how much time you will have, you may need to fly between Cape Town and the northern part of the country where Kruger is.  Or, seek out a nature reserve that is closer to Cape Town - I know there is a fair amount of smaller national parks and private nature reserves that would offer a similar experience as Kruger on a smaller scale.

  Report0 Reply
• briggs0017

  February 2012

  Thank you so much for all of your advice. I'm really looking forward to planning this trip!

  Report0 Reply