African Honeymoon safari in July - help wanted (1 Viewer)

Hi all,
My fiancee and I have 3 weeks booked off in July for our honeymoon. We are hoping to safari in Africa. As it is a honeymoon we don't want accomodation to be too basic, we'd like to see Victoria Falls and obviously the usual big mammals as well as herps and the odd bird or two (but nowt too intensive on that front). I think ideally we'd like to do a few different venues over the 3 weeks but not constant travel.

The problem is I'm slightly struggling to get a handle on what distinguishes the dozens of different camps in the region using the web as research. I'd welcome suggestions for locations but I'd also love to hear of travel companies offering a multistop itinerary/trip planning type service I can speak to.

Thanks everyone.

Hi there,

My wife & I went on safari for our honeymoon a couple of years back (& had a simply wonderful time!).

We went in September, and settled on doing the safari circuit around northern Tanzania - 11 days safari from Arusha to the northern Serengetti, then a flight to Zanzibar for a couple of days on the beach.

As it was our honeymoon we wanted a private safari, and we organised this through a UK based company called Africa Travel Resource, and they were excellent & recommended - http://www.africatravelresource.com/

Whilst it was the dry & non-breeding season, with the great herds north in Kenya, we saw all the game you'd like - 20+ Lions, 4 Cheaters, 2 Leopards etc etc, and nearly 300 species of bird (which, for a honeymoon, wasn't bad - a birding crew should have netted 350+).

Hope this helps - next time, though, South Luangwa is top of the list for me. It's addictive this safari lark....

This is more of a general overview than specific recommendation, hope it helps:

If you are going to make Vic Falls a must see then you are probably looking at either National Parks in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana/NE Namibia. It is probably still not advisable to travel in Zimbabwe (otherwise Hwange NP is the prime game viewing site adjacent to Vic Falls, assuming it hasnt suffered from the turmoil).

National Parks in Zambia go from two extremes, those that lack any infrastructure but offer the most natural African wildlife experience (eg Kafue, Lochinvar, Sioma) and those that are well catered for tourists, but are on the more expensive side (South Luangwa and Lower Zambezi). The latter type offer a less touristy experience than some of the cheaper parks in Africa, and that is what you are paying for.

Mosi -o-tunya NP (adjacent to Vic Falls) is tiny and some of the game (esp the rarer stuff) has been translocated there as per some S. African game parks. I was fairly underwhelmed with that location. It would be a good first or short stop though.

In Botswana, which can be reached overland via the Caprivi strip (Namibia) if you dont wish to go through Zimbabwe, the nearest National Park - Chobe has all the regular wildlife and probably comes close to the classic African park as any (unfortunately it is also sometimes quite busy). It can be done in your own vehicle with many tracks and various accommodation choices of varying prices. Further south is the Okavango Delta which many combine with a trip to Chobe and Vic Falls.

There is more information in the Zambia/Zimb/rest of world folders on this forum, or if you search the country name or vic falls in vacational trip reports section.

I never made it to namibia, but there are NPs on the NE borders.

Dont know about travel companies, there must be loads offering a Botswana experience with a two to three day stop over in Vic Falls, or South Luangwa with Vic Falls. I would guess they are probably more expensive than an east african safari tour, but that is just a guess.

A couple of thoughts:

- you can have a bit of an after-the-party feeling if you get to the Serengeti just after the wildebeest have been through. So if that's where you are heading in July, its worth planning to be up in the north-west of Tanzania at the Grumeti river or further up at the Mara river (depending on your dates)

- worth choosing one or more camps where you are allowed to stay out and spotlight after dark. For example, no in some parts of Tanzania and a resounding yes in South Luangwa.

VC65_Birder said:

Hi there,

4 Cheaters, (which, for a honeymoon, wasn't bad).

Click to expand...

Sounds like four too many to me, especially for a honeymoon!

Over three weeks I might be tempted to swing through Etosha, the Caprivi, the Okavango and finish up at Vic Falls to recuperate.... don't know how do-able that is but should get zonking mammals and birds!

John