South Africa: Safari in South Africa Meets Thread

[sayhello]

Hello All! We will be on the South Africa trip departing 3/28/15.
I will be traveling with my two daughters (10,12) and my son (9)
Anyone else going?

Hi, couture1. I've added you to the Roll Call in the first post of this thread.

Sayhello

 

[laenie]

We were on the Fantasy in January and booked South Africa for over the Christmas Holiday 2015. Anyone else going? We are so excited!!

 

[sayhello]

We were on the Fantasy in January and booked South Africa for over the Christmas Holiday 2015. Anyone else going? We are so excited!!

Congrats! If you let me know which date you signed up for, and the makeup of your traveling party, I can add you to the Roll Call on the first post of this thread!

Sayhello

 

[laenie]

We are signed up for the Dec. 19, 2015 South Africa trip. There will be three of us, myself, my DH and our DD who will have just turned 21.
Thank you! Elaine

 

[sayhello]

We are signed up for the Dec. 19, 2015 South Africa trip. There will be three of us, myself, my DH and our DD who will have just turned 21.
Thank you! Elaine

I've added you to the Roll Call! Congrats on booking your ABD!

Sayhello

 

[laenie]

Thank you, we are hoping to get some honest reviews and ideas as we are in capetown three nights prior and in Johannesburg four nights after our abd vacation.

 

[couture1]

Thank you, we are hoping to get some honest reviews and ideas as we are in capetown three nights prior and in Johannesburg four nights after our abd vacation.

We are going to try the great white shark cage diving.

 

[laenie]

Wow, that sounds awesome! When are you going!

 

[daisy798]

My husband and I just booked this AbD South Africa trip departing October 2016. Very excited =D

 

[daisy798]

Please let us know if there is a better site to connect with other South Africa Adventurers.
Also, do AbD participants do any gift exchange activities (equivalent to fish extenders)?

 

[LuckyBelle1]

We are signed up for the December 19-28, 2016 adventure - it will be 5 of us, me, my husband, our 2 sons (11 and 9), and our daughter (9). I have been dreaming of the South Africa trip for a long time, but wanted to wait until the kids were at a good age.

Does anyone have a recommendation for pre-night stays other than the Table Bay? Any idea if we do decide on the Table Bay if we will be able to remain in the same rooms for our entire stay? I would also be curious as to the size of the planes for the internal flights - I am a nervous flyer!

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[queenmother]

We are signed up for June 11-20, 2016, family of 4 with a "to be" 16 and 19 year old. I am studying the flights from the Midwest and am considering a stopover in Paris for 2 days to run around and stretch our legs ( and climb the Eiffel Tower). It will break up the 17 hour flight at least going over. Then will probably book the 17 hour Delta Johannesburg to Atlanta for the way back. My 16 year old doesn't like long flights so I feel bad for him, but I hope he will fall asleep and watch movies like everybody else.
We loved the Peru ABD ad SW Splendors. Would also like to to do Scotland and Alps. I have been to Kenya in the 1980s and am excited to go back to the African continent!!
Anyone have tips about adding our own Victoria Falls excursion at the end? Safety concerns?
Michelle

 

[CruisingGoddess]

Please let us know if there is a better site to connect with other South Africa Adventurers.
Also, do AbD participants do any gift exchange activities (equivalent to fish extenders)?

Not on our tour. We couldn't find anyone on our tour online prior to our tour. None of the other tour members even thought about looking for each other online. I think I'm the only one on DIS out of our group.

We are signed up for the December 19-28, 2016 adventure - it will be 5 of us, me, my husband, our 2 sons (11 and 9), and our daughter (9). I have been dreaming of the South Africa trip for a long time, but wanted to wait until the kids were at a good age.

Does anyone have a recommendation for pre-night stays other than the Table Bay? Any idea if we do decide on the Table Bay if we will be able to remain in the same rooms for our entire stay? I would also be curious as to the size of the planes for the internal flights - I am a nervous flyer!

Thanks in advance for any help.

If you decide to stay at Table Bay prior to the tour starting, you can book with ABD and I'm sure they'll make sure the room stays the same. If you don't book through ABD, you'd have to make sure you book the exact same room type that ABD will put you in and then contact the hotel to let them know you'd like the same room the whole time.

The planes are commuter-type planes. They are smaller than most of the planes we usually fly on. If I recall correctly, each row had 2 seats on each side and there were probably 20 rows on the plane so it probably fits 80 people. You take a shuttle out to the tarmac and board the plane using steps! I don't think I've ever done that before this trip.

 

[LuckyBelle1]

Thanks so much for your responses. I am particularly heartened to hear about the size of the planes, I was envisioning something much smaller!

We are going to do our prenights at the Table Bay, but booked them separately. If we have to change rooms it's not the end of the world. Any suggestions for the extra days? I know we will do Robben Island and the Aquarium, but haven't gotten much further than that in my planning.

 

[Magic122]

Just signed up for July 9th South Africa adventure. Anyone else on that trip?

 

[Magic122]

We are signed up for the Dec. 19, 2015 South Africa trip. There will be three of us, myself, my DH and our DD who will have just turned 21.
Thank you! Elaine

How was your trip? We are going in July.

 

[LuckyBelle1]

We were on that trip (I realize now I put 2016 instead of 2015 in my earlier post), and it was wonderful! We had a great group of 24 (16 adults and 8 kids), and our guides were terrific! We have done a fair amount of traveling but this was our first group trip and had lots of questions before we left and I am happy to answer specific questions if you have any. But no worries, you'll have a fabulous time.

 

[jjpenguin]

We are going to do our prenights at the Table Bay, but booked them separately. If we have to change rooms it's not the end of the world. Any suggestions for the extra days? I know we will do Robben Island and the Aquarium, but haven't gotten much further than that in my planning.

There is plenty to do in Cape Town, it's fairly compact and the public transport is very good. The MyCiti bus is clean and runs regularly, not like clockwork but pretty much on time. It also has a stop right very near the Hotel. I'm not sure if Cape Town has Uber yet, but if it has that would also work well. There is also one of the hop-on,hop-off type buses that stops at the aquarium so that can also work.

The MyCiti is very cheap, just hop in and ride to see more of the city. Go out to Camps Bay and stroll the beach and have lunch at one of the restaurants on the boulevard. One of the MyCiti bus routes goes all along the coastal road with spectacular views.
The Watershed near the hotel is great for crafts and shopping, there is also a small reptile exhibit there and just across the bay you can do helicopter flips. The hotel is also connected to a high end mall with very nice shopping. If you are a foodie there are a ton of great restaurants in Cape Town, and if you are not a foodie there are still a ton of great restaurants

I know ABD does the Kirstinbosch gardens if you can't get up to table mountain but the treetop walk there is supposed to be very good. (no MyCiti, take the hop-on, hop-off)

If you are feeling brave take the train out towards Muizenberg and Hout Bay, the tracks literally run next to the sea, it is spectacular. The trains are not clean and shiny, but dirt cheap and if you don't go in rush hour I would say they are safe.

Give a wave when you are in Kapama, I'm moving to a nature reserve that is just around the corner from there

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Anyone have tips about adding our own Victoria Falls excursion at the end? Safety concerns?
Michelle

I am looking at booking a trip to Southern Africa as well. We will be staying on the Zimbabwe side as there seems to be more to do. There are loads of activities -- especially thrill-type adventures if that's your thing (bungee jumping, white water rapids, etc). Since you are going in December you will be able to do Devil's Pool or Angel's Armchair -- our friends did the Devil's Pool and rave about the experience. There is also the elephant back safari for a half day that you can do and visit the local markets. We will definitely do the helicopter flight over the falls as I've read it's spectacular.

I'd give the area at least 3 nights / 2 days. Easy transfer from Johannesburg to Livingstone airport; going to Cape Town I believe you have to transfer again in Johannesburg. If you are still planning this pre-trip you should book the hotels soon as Christmas is peak season in Southern Africa and the hotels fill up very quickly.

We might see you there! Still trying to decide if I can ditch my family and make a trip over the holiday break.

 

[Cousin Orville]

My DS (12) and I are signed up for the July 22, 2017 ABD. We too are looking at the option of a 2 night trip up to Victoria Falls from Johannesburg before heading home. The Zimbabwe side appears to be most popular. We'll likely book with one of the groups that organizes the trip out of Johannesburg to keep it simple.