Safari and beach honeymoon

vicker

You can shave a huge amount off by going DIY. We did a S.Africa safari & beach holiday at Christmas (their summer). 4 of us, including flights, was cheaper than the prices you're quoting.

LilElvis

vicker wrote: »

You can shave a huge amount off by going DIY. We did a S.Africa safari & beach holiday at Christmas (their summer). 4 of us, including flights, was cheaper than the prices you're quoting.

Not booking this close to Christmas you won't - cheapest indirect flight to Johannesburg is £2328 and direct £3729 for two. Availability in the safari camps will also be limited/ non-existent now as it's the peak holiday period in SA.

ibizafan_2

We stayed in the Zanzibari Hotel in Nungwi. Nice small hotel with lovely staff and beachside.

sandsy

South Africa generally offers the best value safaris. What about something like this:

https://www.kosiforestlodge.co.za/package-special/10-night-bush-lakes-beach-kzn-honeymoon/

Works out at about £4.5k for fully inclusive luxury land arrangements then you'd need to add on flights. SAA from London to Richards Bay (nearest airport, you would change in Jo'burg) is just over £1k pp in Feb. And a bit would be needed for transfers.

I've been to Thonga - while it's not the same as an Indian Ocean island stay, it's a pretty special place.

vicker

LilElvis wrote: »

Not booking this close to Christmas you won't - cheapest indirect flight to Johannesburg is £2328 and direct £3729 for two. Availability in the safari camps will also be limited/ non-existent now as it's the peak holiday period in SA.

That's strange. I just looked on momondo and indirect flight Lon -JNB 23/12 - 31/12 £815pp

vicker

OP, does the safari have to be in Kenya? I've found Etihad indirect flights 9/2-20/2 £834pp Lon - Jnb. Safari £35pppn at Ndaka. Their safari tents are very well appointed and the food is excellent. Car hire to get there and back £65 for 5 days. That's just over £2k. That leaves you a lot of money to find low cost flights to get you to a beach and a very nice hotel.

LilElvis

vicker wrote: »

That's strange. I just looked on momondo and indirect flight Lon -JNB 23/12 - 31/12 £815pp

Probably because I looked at different dates - Saturday 21st and returning 2 weeks later because I would go for as long as possible and the OPs plan for 10 days was based on the length of the half term break and Christmas is longer. I also wouldn't put myself through a 20+ hour indirect flight, especially as we drive for another 4 hours + on arrival.

Ballard

adonis10 wrote: »

Who did you book the various aspects with?


I always tend to book holidays separately (flights via skyscanner, hotels with booking.com etc.) but with something so different and unknown there are a couple of aspects I am unsure of, namely the internal flights, safari drives and transfers. I can quite easily book the flights, lodges and beach resort hotel but it is the other aspects I am more concerned about. Any tips appreciated.

Off the top of my head I can’t remember and I don’t have any paperwork going back that far.

We flew into Kilimanjaro international airport via Nairobi and had booked a safari out of nearby Arusha. We covered several national parks and the safari company arranged all drives and accommodation as well as the flight to Zanzibar on a small plane via Dar es Salaam. I think that booking lodge accommodation yourself would prove difficult with little financial benefit.

The one aspect that we were uncomfortable with was paying them by Swift but at that time this seemed common with the various companies we researched. Looking back it was probably a silly risk to take but it worked out well in the end. I dare say that credit card payments are now more widely accepted.

In Arusha we stayed in the Impala Hotel which we found excellent with a restaurant that served the best Indian food I’ve ever had and I’ve been to India half a dozen times.

We based ourselves in Stone Town in Zanzibar. You’ll be inundated with people offering spice tours. It didn’t sound massively interesting but we signed up and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Ballard

One thing worth mentioning about Tanzania is that you would probably need a yellow fever vaccine and will need to show your certificate upon arrival. This is chargeable and cost around £50 from my doctors at the time. Unless things have changed you’d also need a visa. When I went it was significantly quicker and cheaper to get the visa on arrival (£50 against USD 50). The queue to get your visa checked was fairly lengthy but the the queue to get a visa was empty so I was through in minutes.

I’ve done a fair bit of travelling and Tanzania remains one of my favourites. I really should return some day.

vicker

LilElvis wrote: »

Probably because I looked at different dates - Saturday 21st and returning 2 weeks later because I would go for as long as possible and the OPs plan for 10 days was based on the length of the half term break and Christmas is longer. I also wouldn't put myself through a 20+ hour indirect flight, especially as we drive for another 4 hours + on arrival.

But that's you & how you holiday. It's not about you, it's about OP. OP said very clearly 10 days at February.

I originally put about Christmas to show OP that their February package quote for 2 was more expensive than my DIY Christmas, peak season, for 4. Therefore encourage them to DIY their holiday and save money.