African Safari

[babos02]

this is a question to those who have done African safaris and those who have researched them. About how much does the whole trip cost? including air fare, guide ,food ,and other stuff. how long do you usually go for? a week? two?

just curious about it they look like a great oppurtunity.

thanks

[M5Man]

We went for 3 weeks - 1 week Kenya -I week Tanazania - I week beech in Zanzibar at the end and it was £15K.

Obviously that was staying at top end places and can be done for less but of all the travelling Ive done and safaris Ive done East Africa is the best.

Lake Manyara National Park my favourite followed by Ngorgora Crater then the Serengetti.

Happy to answer any questions you have :)

[tommykjensen]

You can find a wealth of information about planning and cost of safaris.

here (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=192361), here (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=382055) and here (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=572847&highlight=GAPS)

[Explorer1]

If you are looking to go on a budget, try checking with hunting outfits.
Many of them offer accomodations that are less than 5 star, but still get the job done.

[vkalia]

Price varies depending upon where you go.

An upscale private safari in Kenya can run $300-$350 per person per day, while the same safari but with much more luxurious/private accommodation can go up to $1000 per day. Budget safaris can be as little as $100 per person per day (camping, more people in vehicle, etc)

Tanzania is a little more. Botswana is the most expensive in terms of organized safaris ($600-700+ pppn, typically). S Africa can be done by self-drive and can be the least expensive, although Kruger isnt as much of a real "wild" experience as some of the other NP.

Try emailing a few companies and see what they offer. I prefer to book directly with a local agency and eliminate several layers of middlemen, and my preference is also to use smaller firms - they generally are a lot more flexible and offer very good service.

Vandit

[ctranter]

Go here, seriously amazing:

http://www.kicheche.com/activities.shtm

[babos02]

Go here, seriously amazing:

http://www.kicheche.com/activities.shtm

i looked at that website that looks awesome. i couldnt find pricing though? have you done one of these safaris? which camp?

[ctranter]

i looked at that website that looks awesome. i couldnt find pricing though? have you done one of these safaris? which camp?

I've stayed at the Bush Camp, and thats the one I would definitely reccomend. It's location (isolation) and privacy really set it apart. The accoomodation is nothing short of luxury, and the game drives are fantastic. The spotter/guides are top notch and are all local masi. Even better though is that they are very photographer oriented. They have pros from around the world coming to stay and are used to (even encourage) waiting, being patient, know where to park for the best light etc. Theres lots of flexibiliy too. As I was with family we did a morning and afternoon drive, but if you are inclined some people get up at 5am and are out all day - especially in migration season where they like to park up at a river crossing section.

Anyway.... very nice :p (and i dont work for them)

Of course... it's not cheap :( We were there for 3 days, but about 5 would have been amazing.

http://www.kicheche.com/camps-bush-rates.shtm

[cutaway]

My wife and I are considering using Kensington Tours (http://kensingtontours.com/destinations.cfm?regionid=2) Great feedback from people we've contacted. Tours are customized to your requirements. You get personalized service and can design the schedule to your specifications.

[asavani]

just some extra info... I have lived in Kenya my whole life, I've been to numerous national parks including lake manyara national park and ngorongoro crater in tanzania. Tanzania, is much more expensive than kenyan parks, and my favourite would have to be masai mara and lake nakuru national parks in Kenya. Masai mara is great for all wildlife in general, however I have been there atleast 7-8times (with 2 game drives a day, for atleast 2 days) with professional guides and only saw a leopard, twice and rhinos are difficult to spot as well, but I can guarantee you would see many lions, elephants, buffalo, giraffe, birds, and a large variety of land herbivores. Lake nakuru national park is great for seeing leopards, the huge flamingo population (which has actually decreased dramatically now - but still a beautiful site when I went in summer of 2006) and white rhinos.

Hope that helped, and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask!

[Sid52]

Just returned from a 2 week trip to Botswana. This was a fully organised trip including 3 nights stay on a houseboat on the Okavango river, Victoria falls and a full week camping on safari in Chobe, Savuti and Moremi. The cost next year will be around £2500 including flights from London (land only price is available), all transport and accommodation, guides, and most meals so there is little spending money required.

As far as photography is concerned you get really close to the wildlife, and we saw lots of it. A couple on the trip had been to East Africa 10 times previously and it was useful to hear their comparisons. The main difference was the lack of crowds, usually we were watching for example a cheetah and we were the only vehicle there. The quality and variety of the viewing was also noted. The other difference was that there were'nt the huge herds as in East Africa, herds were smaller but more numerous.
I've attached a link below

Problem is that going once will never be enough, you'll be bitten by more than one sort of bug!

http://www.explore.co.uk/RegionSearchResults?Region=4&Country=3653

[ctranter]

Just returned from a 2 week trip to Botswana. This was a fully organised trip including 3 nights stay on a houseboat on the Okavango river, Victoria falls and a full week camping on safari in Chobe, Savuti and Moremi. The cost next year will be around £2500 including flights from London (land only price is available), all transport and accommodation, guides, and most meals so there is little spending money required.

As far as photography is concerned you get really close to the wildlife, and we saw lots of it. A couple on the trip had been to East Africa 10 times previously and it was useful to hear their comparisons. The main difference was the lack of crowds, usually we were watching for example a cheetah and we were the only vehicle there. The quality and variety of the viewing was also noted. The other difference was that there were'nt the huge herds as in East Africa, herds were smaller but more numerous.
I've attached a link below

Problem is that going once will never be enough, you'll be bitten by more than one sort of bug!

http://www.explore.co.uk/RegionSearchResults?Region=4&Country=3653

what sort of vehicles were you in for the game drives?

[Sid52]

what sort of vehicles were you in for the game drives?

We used open topped Toyota land cruisers with roll down sides (never used) and a canvas top used or long journeys. Seating was for 12 in 4 rows of 3 with good views. The seating was'nt too high enabling an excellent view of the animals, being at their level or way below it in the case of a group of elephants 30yds away!

We did all our travelling in this vehicle and it was surprisingly comfortable even during long journeys entirely off road

Sid

[fishfoto]

Have you looked into the safaris and workshops Andy Biggs runs? You can check them out at www.andybiggs.com. The workshops range from US$8790 to US$14,990, not including airfare.

His work is fantastic and having spoken with him on totally unrelated topics, I know he knows his stuff inside and out.

[hollis_f]

We used open topped Toyota land cruisers with roll down sides (never used) and a canvas top used or long journeys. Seating was for 12 in 4 rows of 3 with good views. The seating was'nt too high enabling an excellent view of the animals, being at their level or way below it in the case of a group of elephants 30yds away!

Wow! I hope they've had it fixed since I went to Botswana with the same company three years ago! We had it break down in the middle of Chobe. But I'm going back there with them again. Was your guide KB?

When I went to Botswana I only had a 70-300 DO lens. And that was long enough 90% of the time. When I've been to East Africa since then I've used a 100-400 which was a bit short most of the time. For my return trip to Botswana I think I'll take to 300 f2.8 and a couple of extenders.

[Sid52]

Wow! I hope they've had it fixed since I went to Botswana with the same company three years ago! We had it break down in the middle of Chobe. But I'm going back there with them again. Was your guide KB?

When I went to Botswana I only had a 70-300 DO lens. And that was long enough 90% of the time. When I've been to East Africa since then I've used a 100-400 which was a bit short most of the time. For my return trip to Botswana I think I'll take to 300 f2.8 and a couple of extenders.

No breakdowns although we got stuck in deep sand on the way to Savuti, but that was part of the experience.
Our guide was Bibi, although stressed at times, he worked like a Trojan and went the extra mile in getting us superb viewings of the wildlife. I took a 55-250 although this was a little short for some of the birdlife it was mostly fine for the mammals.

If you did'nt do it first time take a sunset boat trip on the Chobe, highly recommended and brilliant for getting really close to the birdlife and all the animals drinking and bathing on the river banks.

From what you say do you think a longer lens would be recommended for East Africa (where I may go next) because you would'nt be as close to the game as in Botswana?

Sid

[hollis_f]

If you did'nt do it first time take a sunset boat trip on the Chobe, highly recommended and brilliant for getting really close to the birdlife and all the animals drinking and bathing on the river banks.

From what you say do you think a longer lens would be recommended for East Africa (where I may go next) because you would'nt be as close to the game as in Botswana?

Sid

Yup, we did the Chobe trip last time. Was the only place where the 70-300 was long enough for the birds.

If you can do it then I really would recommend something longer than 250mm for East Africa. While you do sometimes get close to the animals they can be quite distant. I was so glad I had the 400mm when I took this shot in particular.

http://photos.imageevent.com/frankhollis/africa/tanzania/websize/Tanzania%20070723%201053.jpg

[sfgp]

In july of 2007 I was able to spend 3 days in the Amboseli National Park in Kenya.

On one of the game drives I ran into this guy - he didn't have much to say - just wanted to take a nap.

[sfgp]

what sort of vehicles were you in for the game drives?

At Amboseli most of the vendors used a van with a swing up roof.

Seemed to work pretty well.

They kinda looked like this.

[condyk]

this is a question to those who have done African safaris and those who have researched them. About how much does the whole trip cost? including air fare, guide ,food ,and other stuff. how long do you usually go for? a week? two?

just curious about it they look like a great oppurtunity.

thanks

Impossible to say without more details about what you want. I've took two groups and taking another next Aug/Sept for 3 weeks using hired 4x4's and staying in national park accommodation, hotels, guest house as appropriate. I think we stay in nice places and eat pretty well. Average has been £1800 plus flights per person, plus personal spending money. Have been to Namibia, South Africa and Botswana.

Solid research and self-drive/guiding will get you the best prices and freedom ... going on a luxury organised trip costs most and keeps you largely insulated from Africa and guys find the animals for you ... a bit like sitting on yer fat ass watching a wildlife show on TV ;-) Then you have options in between.

[AdamJL]

I've not been on Condyk's trips (yet!), but he does an incredible amount of research and planning work, so if you are looking to do a solid safari, without spending an arm and leg and being pampered instead of seeing the real Africa, then listen to what that man says.

The only safari I've been on has been on a low budget private tour - my father, my sister, myself and one other French lady with a single guide.
Keeping numbers to a minimum is essential.