Help with Options for Southern Africa Next Spring

MickiSue

Level 2 Member
If it were me, I would definitely just get myself closer to IAD, and then the next day travel will be easier. Last fall, I had a VCE-LGW and LHR-ORD connection between BA and AA. I overnighted at the Radisson Blu near LHR, and, while it made the trip TO the hotel take about an hour and a half, the trip FROM the hotel, in London early morning traffic, took only about 15 minutes, including two pickups at different hotels.

I'd always rather have more time available before my flight, than after!
 

knick1959

Level 2 Member
Tack on question: How are the airports in Zambia (LVI) and Zimbabwe (VFA)?

In searching flights to Africa I found a couple of almost workable options to fly directly to Victoria Falls on the way in. These would have required waiting a few more days to see if the right flights pop up on the schedule, and I didn't want to wait. PLUS, I'd much rather recover from the long flight in a single city for a couple of days (Cape Town is it now).

NOTE that some of these flights routed through JNB, which wouldn't really be a plus. However, I did see one (on Ethiopian) that went directly between VFA (I think) and ADD which is what got me thinking.

But it's an interesting option for the flight home, if the stars align. To save Victoria Falls for last and be able to start the relatively direct journey home from there. A long-shot, but I want to be ready if it offers itself up as an option.

I've read mixed reviews on Zimbabwe. Most say it's fine to cross the border to see the falls from that side. At one time it was an unstable place. Another article suggests it has and is improving. Opinions?

Zambia seems the Victoria Falls base of choice based on the majority or what I read. I'd still like to cross the border, but I'd also be fine with sticking to Zambia.

Opinions? On the countries and the efficiency of the airports near the falls? To see the falls I'd have to visit one of these airports anyway (twice if JNB is my flight home). Is LVI in Zimbabwe a practical option? I know @SanDiego1K mentioned both above.

Side note - Current plans call for visiting Cape Town, JNB and Kruger area, Victoria falls and if at all possible, a peek at Chobe NP in Botswana. All in 16-17 days; the itinerary has become more practical from my original long list.
 

knick1959

Level 2 Member
The swap cost me $90 x 2 + some new fees ($14).
DISCOUNT!!!

Because the fees were charged on Canadian dollars (used my CSP so no FTFs) the $180 + 14.40 turns out to be only $137.33 + $10.99US!

I still think I could have avoided these had a been a little more patient while initially booking. But I'm still a happy camper at this point.
 
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knick1959

Level 2 Member
So, I've all but given up on the VFA and LVI airports as point of departure for coming home. There are routes that would sort of work but too many long legs in economy. I'll stick with leaving from JNB with a secondary (less desirable) option of CPT.

Removing CLE from the search and simply looking to get back to the States via a standard gateway I do find some seemingly workable options for my first pick of dates.

Two of the options that SEEM workable from my searching this morning include layovers in EBB or ACC. These are short stops (1:35) and that worries me, particularly since they are the first stop and a miss screws up the whole thing. They look like smaller airports to maneuvering perhaps not so tough. However, a delayed first flight out of JNB (on SAA in both cases) and I'm screwed.

Does transiting through smaller airports in Africa cause any unique issues that I should be aware of?
 

knick1959

Level 2 Member
I just booked a one-way almost home JNB->JFK via Cairo in J. I was hoping United's domestic schedule would fill in so I could phone in and add JFK->CLE, but it hadn't as of this morning (for 10/1/2017 [fixed]) and I was anxious to get the Hard Part booked. So I did. Will call in next week to see if I can extend to CLE, but I did this one with my wife's Aeroplan account (with a large MR transfer from me), so she'll have to be handy. Aeroplan 150k + $158.40CA.

It doesn't sound like Egyptair is very highly regarded for their J class seats, but we'll see. Whatever we end up with will be better than coach and we should be able to muster up some sleep.

The 2 options mentioned above are still available but even with no input from others, I easily decided 1.5 hours was too tight a layover and was just asking for trouble. Those were 2 stop trips and still only got us to DC anyway. Time-wise, my choice has advantages.

Still have to fill in the fine details. I'm sure I'll have more questions but I'll probably ask in a different forum.

Thanks again for all of the help offered.
 
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knick1959

Level 2 Member
Me again. It's been awhile since there was any activity here, but as this trip nears (leave mid Sept) there is an open issue as far as I'm concerned. It involves, and I discussed it briefly in a thread about, the electronics travel ban. Our J award flight home is on Egypt Air routing through Cairo. This causes some grief with bringing our normal tablets along (solved, in a sense) but our cameras are still an issue. Information on how this airline might accommodate electronics seems scarce. Anyway ...

I've been watching for alternate routes, worried that the ban might expand and defeat any change I might make. However, recent events tell me there may be a dependable light. There is a JNB->DBX->JFK flight that is very similar to what we current hold. Dubai is now clear of the electronics ban ... is this correct? Oh, these are Emirate flights to be precise.

So, there's once question: does this flight remove the headache of dealing with the Electronics ban. I believe this to be a "yes", so playing further ...

I would have to cancel my existing flights. Wanting to get the Aeroplan miles refunded, it will cost me about $134US x 2. No biggy, this is acceptable to me to get back the 150k for some use in the future.

The existing flights left us in JFK on Saturday mid-afternoon. I booked a paid Delta flight home from there at 6-ish. If we keep the original booking and deal with the electronics issue, these Delta flights still work. If we change the flights to Emirates (Alaska miles) we land in JFK at 8-ish, too late for these Delta tickets to be useful. I paid around $200 each (using $100 each of AMEX airline credits, but still $200 each). The cancel/change fees on this would be $200. Basically, I don't see a way to win here. Anyone?

They did change this Delta flight ONCE. It was awhile ago, and the departure time was pushed back a whole 5 minutes. I don't think I can argue for a refund with this fact.

My wife is seeming to prefer changing flights. In fact, I would love to also (if it leaves my camera on my person), but the nearly $700 total price tag is the part I don't like. My bad ... I should never have booked a common positioning flight so early. Lesson learned. Will our Emirates experience be $670 better that with Ethiopian?

There are other alternate flights but all arrive even LATER that the one mentioned (one ends up in Toronto). So, they all incur the cost of cancellation. The Delta tickets are obviously the most costly and mentally painful. Even the best alternate requires an overnight near JFK and a flight to CLE on Sunday, an additional expense that I didn't count until just now.

Am I missing an AMEX transfer partner to check? I did my normal list, but I'm still a newbie here and not used to being too creative. Any ideas welcome, but the big questions are above. Thanks in advance!
 
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knick1959

Level 2 Member
I thought the electronics ban had been lifted from all affected flights to the US?
I understood that only the 3 largest middle east carriers were cleared. I think there are 5 or 6 still on the list, including EgyptAir. I would love to hear differently ... but I believe this to be the case.
 
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Suzie

Level 2 Member
I'm not home at the moment. I'll try to find it then. I believe it was a Reuters report that I read yesterday.
 

Suzie

Level 2 Member
I hope it's true. I can't verify the source, it popped up on a newsfeed. When I read your post, I remembered seeing it.

Fingers crossed for you.
 

knick1959

Level 2 Member
Now I see the list in an OMAAT blog post here:
Code:
http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2017/07/19/us-electronics-ban-over/
Looks like the last week shows much progress about this and I no longer have to worry!

Thanks for the heads up!

[Updated: I had to edit a couple of my posts from today for accuracy. I'll sound like a spaz, but we're flying OVER on Ethiopian Air and back on EgyptAir. NOT Ethiopian back. So, in fact, we were originally directly affected by the electronics ban. Now we are good to go, apparently]
 
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knick1959

Level 2 Member
Back from this trip on Saturday evening. It was wicked (great)!

Cape Town was neat, but it was a city. A great experience, but the real draw for us were the parks and the animals. Kruger for 4 nights and a total of almost 4 days ... wow. Victoria Falls was still spectacular even in dry season (at least from the Zimbabwe side ... saw pictures from the ZAM side and decide to focus completely on the ZIM angle). Our day + overnight trip to Chobe in Botswana was also filled with unforgettable animal experiences. Wow, wow, wow. I'll make a detailed trip report available once I finish (soon).

Thanks again for all of the help offered in this thread and some additional PMs. I believe my trip experience was improved greatly from the input I received from all of you. I appreciate all of the help, ideas and tips.

Some minor notes. I had no problem moving our cameras and tablets around ... never were they examined. Prescriptions also, while we were worried from things that we had read, we weren't even stopped once by customs, anywhere, and security checks never looked. One extra manual bag inspection point in Cairo looked at our US passports, I assumed saw we were a mature couple, and just waived us past.
 
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Matt

Administrator
Staff member
Back from this trip on Saturday evening. It was wicked (great)!

Cape Town was neat, but it was a city. A great experience, but the real draw for us were the parks and the animals. Kruger for 4 nights and a total of almost 4 days ... wow. Victoria Falls was still spectacular even in dry season (at least from the Zimbabwe side ... saw pictures from the ZAM side and decide to focus completely on the ZIM angle). Our day + overnight trip to Chobe in Botswana was also filled with unforgettable animal experiences. Wow, wow, wow. I'll make a detailed trip report available once I finish (soon).

Thanks again for all of the help offered in this thread and some additional PMs. I believe my trip experience was improved greatly from the input I received from all of you. I appreciate all of the help, ideas and tips.

Some minor notes. I had no problem moving our cameras and tablets around ... never were they examined. Prescriptions also, while we were worried from things that we had read, we weren't even stopped once by customs, anywhere, and security checks never looked. One extra manual bag inspection point in Cairo looked at our US passports, I assumed saw we were a mature couple, and just waived us past.
Nice! I look forward to the trip report, I'll be staying a few nights Cape Town. Currently deciding between some Marriott's using a cat 5 cert or the Hilton/Doubletree options.

Sounds like a great trip with the wildlife and glad to hear it all worked out!
 
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