ElainePDX
Level 2 Member
I was lucky enough to get in on the super cheap tickets to JNB that were available on 4/11/15, and as a result my husband and I will be spending 24 days on the ground in southern Africa, flying JFK>>JNB>>JFK. The fare popped just as we were trying to plan his sabbatical, and while we had not really considered SA as a possibility, once I snagged the tix and we started looking into it, we both agreed we'd keep the tix (despite that they are in coach ) and go.
He is a sociologist and will find the history, culture and politics of SA of great interest, which will mean we'll want to spend time exploring cities as well rural areas that are home to both animals and people. We definitely want to do some safaris. @KennyBSAT suggested we also consider Namibia, telling me that @Deltahater really enjoyed his time there.
I am comfortable just sketching out an itinerary - as in how many days in each of the places we want to see, and in what order - and then working out the details on the ground after we get there. We did this quite successfully both when we spent a month in Costa Rica and when we spent a month in China.
@Matt commented (on another thread in this sub-forum) that prices are significantly better if you book safaris in Africa rather than setting it all up ahead of time. I am curious if this is true also for air/train travel and car rentals.
I have a bunch of Club Carlson points I'd like to use, esp. with the devaluation about to take effect. I already booked our first 2 nights at the Radisson Blu Gautrain Sandton to allow us some time to get over our jetlag and so H can see the apartheid museum in Soweto (it is his sabbatical, after all .
I've read @Travelisfree 's posts on self-drive safaris and we are seriously considering that. Our thought was to perhaps mix and match self-drive with tours for the safari parts, renting a car for a day or two as we need it and booking a 1-2 day tour for places we'd prefer to have a guide or not drive ourselves
This week I will get some guidebooks which often have sample 21 day itineraries and I know I can find many more online, but if you have an itinerary for South Africa / Namibia that you'd like to share that would meet our needs, please do, even if it doesn't cover the full 24 days. Thanks!!
He is a sociologist and will find the history, culture and politics of SA of great interest, which will mean we'll want to spend time exploring cities as well rural areas that are home to both animals and people. We definitely want to do some safaris. @KennyBSAT suggested we also consider Namibia, telling me that @Deltahater really enjoyed his time there.
I am comfortable just sketching out an itinerary - as in how many days in each of the places we want to see, and in what order - and then working out the details on the ground after we get there. We did this quite successfully both when we spent a month in Costa Rica and when we spent a month in China.
@Matt commented (on another thread in this sub-forum) that prices are significantly better if you book safaris in Africa rather than setting it all up ahead of time. I am curious if this is true also for air/train travel and car rentals.
I have a bunch of Club Carlson points I'd like to use, esp. with the devaluation about to take effect. I already booked our first 2 nights at the Radisson Blu Gautrain Sandton to allow us some time to get over our jetlag and so H can see the apartheid museum in Soweto (it is his sabbatical, after all .
I've read @Travelisfree 's posts on self-drive safaris and we are seriously considering that. Our thought was to perhaps mix and match self-drive with tours for the safari parts, renting a car for a day or two as we need it and booking a 1-2 day tour for places we'd prefer to have a guide or not drive ourselves
This week I will get some guidebooks which often have sample 21 day itineraries and I know I can find many more online, but if you have an itinerary for South Africa / Namibia that you'd like to share that would meet our needs, please do, even if it doesn't cover the full 24 days. Thanks!!
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