I have been busily researching lots of options for our Feb. 2016 trip, as well as trying to decide how much we are willing to leave to arrange on the ground upon arrival. Also trying to figure out where to safari, considering Feb. is not necessarily the optimum month to do so. It is complicated by the fact that my husband will have some as yet to be arranged professional meetings at various universities.
With previous month-long sabbatical trips (March in Costa Rica, December in China) we have booked hotels for the first 3-7 days as well as the last 2, and then filled in the middle after we arrived, In both cases we got help from local travel agents who we found through friends and/or the local tourist board. And it worked quite well.
So we have decided to proceed as follows, at least for now. We can always decide to change our approach as we learn more, H formalizes the university pieces, and the trip gets closer. But for now:
Feb. 1 - Leave JFK
Feb. 3 - Arrive Jo-burg 4:10PM
Feb. 3-5 - Jo-burg staying at the Radisson Blu Gautrain Sandton
Feb. 5 - JNB >> CPT
Feb. 5-7 - Radisson Blu Le Vendome, Cape Town
Feb. 7-11 - Cape Town, at a guesthouse or using points
Feb. 12-14 - Radisson Blu Le Vendome, Cape Town
Feb. 14-25 - planned on the ground
Feb. 25-27 - Jo-burg staying at the Radisson Blu Gautrain Sandton
Feb. 27 - Leave JNB 8:30PM
I was eager to use up some of my Carlson points, and picked hotels based on their price and location (vs. the best upscale property). I'd planned to book a series of 2 night stays in Cape Town using 2 personal and one business account, but there is a 3 night minimum between Feb. 7-11 at all the CPT properties. (According to the phone reservations people, there is something going on and all the Carlson hotels invoked a 3 night rule.) But staying at a guest house/B&B will have advantages since we often get great recommendations for guides/tours/etc. at more intimate properties.
If we stick to the plan of arranging the safaris on the ground, we will:
1) go equipped with a list of handlers/agents/recommendations (thanks again for those already included up thread and offered via DM)
2) reach out to local guides/agents/handlers both in Jo-burg and Cape Town, and
3) book what we need to during the first week we are there.
I also plan to email/skype with some of the recommended handlers/agents from here, to establish a relationship and learn about their offerings.
SmittyTab suggested a guesthouse in Cape Town which indeed looks lovely, but their non-refundable 25% deposit makes it a no-go for us, at least this far out. If anyone has any recs of guesthouses/B&Bs in Cape Town, I'd love to get the contact info.
Not booking ahead, we may find we can't use Avios/other points to get around, but we also may find that the agent(s) who help us include travel on a charter. I am willing to take that chance.
One complication is we will need winter jackets, etc. since we will be leaving PDX >> JFK in Feb. Given the strict weight limitations for some air travel in Africa, shlepping around coats/hats/gloves/etc. will be problematic. I am hoping we can leave them in a box at the Jo-burg property, since we will be there to both start and finish the trip, allowing H to visit the Apartheid Museum/Soweto and me to visit the Cradle of Humankind site. Layers are another option but given the potential for bad weather in NY and my plan to get to NY a few days before we actually depart from JFK for JNB, we may want real winter clothes.
If you've read this far, thanks. And if you can share recs for local agents, handlers, guesthouses, and the like, I would love to hear them!
Happy Weekend!