Where to start?

[Zac495]

We want to do SA next summer. First things first - airfare. How do we even look into that? Seems business class is over 6000 dollars ( I can't do economy anymore that distance after cancer).

Next things next - is renting a timeshare an option ? If so, which one is best for safaris and should I/can I rent from a tugger?

THANKS!
Ellen

 

[rhonda]

Hey, Ellen,

How exciting and good for you! We enjoyed two weeks in SA this past January and loved it. So, were you planning your visit for our summer or their summer? Did you have any specific "must do" places, goals or activities on mind?

FWIW, brief notes from our trip below, re: logistics.

• Booked two weeks timeshare stay via RCI. Our goal was to spend at least one week at Kruger National Park. Once we found a suitable week near the park (Burchell's Lodge) we choose the other week (Falcon's Glen) at random simply based on back-to-back dates and reasonable drive time. We lucked out on both locations!
• We were super stressed going into the trip and didn't have anything booked other than the two timeshare weeks, flights, rental car and first night hotel near the airport. It all worked out! Lots of people, including our family doctor who is from SA, poured bad news into our ears, "You won't see ANYTHING without a safari and guide!" -- but we did just fine on our independent travel.
• We flew in the day before our timeshare started. Knowing we'd be wiped out from the long flights, we booked an airport hotel and slept soundly before picking up our rental car and taking on the long drive to the first timeshare. (SA drives on the left -- we wanted our minds to be fresh!)
• We booked our flights through American Express Travel. This allowed us to defray costs somewhat by cashing in a block of Amex Rewards points.
• We paid mostly cash as we travelled. We exchanged $2000 USD for ~16000 ZAR and spent it slowly through our stay. In the end we had enough left over to pay the rental car in cash and brought home only a few hundred Rand as souvenirs.
• Gas was about $7 gallon (once you converted their liters and Rand into a more familiar measurement). For this reason, we were very glad that we had rented the smallest car that would serve our purposes.
• Big 5 Country is a popular safari operator. You'll see their tours offered all over Mpumalanga (if that is where you are headed). The manager at our first timeshare recommended them highly and told us, "Oh, yes -- they are very good. When you call, ask for Vincent." Vincent was easy to talk to and was very willing to help us but their rates exceeded our (meager, shoestring) budget.
• We liked grocery shopping at Super Spar for vegetables and Woolworth’s for meats (especially the ostrich steaks!). Both timeshare had a private BBQ for each unit and we did lots of grilling.
• FWIW, lots of people confused us for locals. We were surprised by the number of people who took us first for locals, then guessed Australian or German. Nobody cared to believe we were Americans and we figured that wasn't all bad and enjoyed blending in best we could in every situation. (I think using the timeshare and driving the rental car helped us "fit in"?)
• We spent an entire week in Kruger National Park (every day from opening to closing). We think we did exceptionally well with our sightings which included the wild dog, three BATHING elephants (seriously, it was just like the Disney Safari ride!), hyena, cheetah, leopard, lots of lions, courting giraffe, frisky zebra, water buffalo, lilac roller, saddle back stork, fish eagle, etc. We did great!

Sorry for rambling. Can't wait to hear what you are planning!

Edited to add: Typed from my iPad ... Now editing the various mistakes and funny iPad assumptions. ;-)

 

[Zac495]

Wow thank you!!! Sounds wonderful! What we need to figure out is airfare and if we can even afford it. So far airfare looks outrageous. Our other thought is France which should be cheaper - I know, I know - how can I compare the two ideas???

I will keep you informed of our ideas!!! THANK YOU

 

[rhonda]

While we don't have Amex Platinum, I've heard it may provide extremely competitive air fares using companion tickets, etc. You might find the $500 annual fee pays for itself just for the one-time trip plans?

 

[Zac495]

While we don't have Amex Platinum, I've heard it may provide extremely competitive air fares using companion tickets, etc. You might find the $500 annual fee pays for itself just for the one-time trip plans?

Hmmm. Interesting. I'll look into that. THANKS

 

[heathpack]

I would explore whether you can obtain enough airline miles for an award ticket in business. Hopefully you only need two?

First, I would try to figure out what is shoulder season- a good time to travel but not super peak time.

Then, I'd go to something like kayak or Expedia and search for flights for similar season this year (for example it you are thinking next Sept, I'd search this Sept). This will give you an idea of who has the best routes.

Then I'd strategize who would have the best availability using FF miles. I'm no expert on this but I understand Air France is not the best airline to fly but they have good award availability. I hear United is good. American and British Airways are decent. Delta is terrible, not worth considering. There is probably a TUG wealth of knowledge on this subject.

Next step I'd figure out if there is any way to obtain a bunch of miles quickly. Usually this is by signing up for credit cards. For example, if you and husband both sign up for personal and business credit cards, it would not be too unusual to be able to accumulate 200,000 miles within a few months. Not all cards have business versions however. Put every expense on your earning card for the time being, or use a card in which you can transfer points to the airline, like the SPG Amex. Alternatively, if you can find someone with a bunch of miles, they can book for you. Of course, you want to do something super nice for them in exchange.

Then plan on booking your airfare exactly when the schedules opens- this varies with airlines, usually something like 330 days ahead. Sometimes you have to be a little creative with routing ideas. For example, maybe you can get business class seats to Paris only. Oh poor you, stay a few days in Paris until you get your next flight leg out.

Then rent your timeshare weeks.

Making a plan like this come together is very complicated and it helps if you have miles in several systems, hotel points, and a little cash to spend. We just pulled it off to organize a trip to Crete next year. In the end that turns out to be:
1. LA-London on British Airways, business class using American Airlines miles, paying $500 per ticket in taxes
2. Four Hyatt nights in London using free nights from credit card sign up
3. London-Ath coach on British Airways using BA miles
4. Ath to Crete RT cash fare
5. Eight nights timeshare stay on Crete using two exchanges
6. Two nights Athens on SPG hotel points
7. Ath-London-Raleigh-LA business class using American airline miles. We have an overnight layover in London and will stay overnight on SPG points at an airport hotel.

PM me if you need direction and I will try to steer you towards resources.

H

 

[buceo]

I just finished up the preplanned (paid) parts of our first S Africa trip for this fall. I bought plane tickets about 9 months in advance & haven't looked at prices since. Back then we got RT, good flights for $1,250 (economy, & yes 17hrs with 1hr stop, no change to refuel) from Washington DC to Johannesburg. I looked a bit into getting a ts at Sodwana Bay, our main destination (far NE coast), nothing obvious, but found what looks to be a great house at a dive resort (we will dive too) for $100/night. We'll rent a car, looking at $450 for 11 days (Orbitz). We're also doing a 5 day Kruger safari ($1000) and three nights at B&B coming and going. For where we'll be I was put onto this organization for hiring local guides, http://www.zululandbirdingroute.co.za/

 

[buceo]

Thought I'd check back, we went for 2.5 weeks in Oct. Great trip saw tons of stuff minus the cheetah and wild dogs that rhonda saw. Those are exceptional sightings. We spent most of the time at Sodwana Bay, it is primarily a dive resort (has timeshares, but not many), but has access to other wildlife viewing. Hluhluwe Preserve near St Lucia is great for a self drive, many many rhinos there. Also St Lucia is a nice tourist town (resorts, timeshares & B&B's), we were there just one night. Great night tour, I saw chameleons which were very high on my list. The Sodwana scuba diving is great, the reef is full of life. "The launch", getting over the crashing surf in the dive boat is a trip in itself, whoa.
We found everything (except gas) very inexpensive there. Food and drink were great and really inexpensive to what I am used to.
Only thing I wouldn't do again is the drive, the first day there, from Johannesburg to Sodwana bay. Flying into Durban and maybe even hiring a transfer is what I'd do next time to get to Sodwana. I would though want a car at Sodwana.