Our most recent trip: Southern Africa.
I prioritized the following twelve things for this trip:
- Johannesburg: Soweto Township and Apartheid Tour
- Johannesburg: Rhino and Lion Reserve (pet the lion cubs)
- Johannesburg: Gandhi -Satyagraha House
- Zimbabwe: Victoria Falls: Helicopter
- Botswana: Chobe 1 Day game drive
- Zambia: Sunset Cruise on Zambezi River
- Capetown- Robben's Island
- Capetown- Table Mountain
- Capetown Winelands: Wine tour- Stellenbosch
- Capetown- Boulder's Beach penguins
- Tribal experience- Lesedi Cultural Village, or Boma Dance Show
- Kruger National Park Safari
Obviously, the last one was at the insistence of Arun. It would NEVER have made my top 120.
Some of you can add #13- Swimming with the sharks or surfing lessons.
Our itinerary was leisurely, by our standards.
Almost 3 weeks as follows:
1 day to travel from the US to Africa
2 days in Jo'burg
1 day to get to Kruger (6 hour drive or you can fly it)
2 days in Kruger
1 day to return to Jo'burg to fly to Vic Falls (way cheaper to return to Joburg)
2 days in Zambia/Zimbabwe (Fly and stay in Zimbabwe OR fly and stay in Zambia)
1 day in Botswana/ Chobe
1 day to travel to Capetown (you have to stop in Joburg unfortunately)
6 days in Capetown
1/2 day back to Joburg
2 days in Joburg
1 day to travel back to the USA
So a total of 2 weeks in cities and 1 week to transition from city to city
Kid Tips:
I can not stress this enough- You MUST have your kids birth certificates to travel to South Africa.
I can not stress this enough- You MUST have your kids birth certificates to travel to South Africa.
#1: My kids now (and have always, but now they are vociferous in voicing their opinions) HATE traveling on planes at night. Obviously, we fly economy. They are uncomfortable. And it's awful for everyone all around. So we opted for the straight shot from the US.
You pretty much have two options: United out of New York or Delta out of Atlanta.
You can fly through Europe and it opens up a lot more options, but it really adds a lot of flight time. We love the directs nowadays.
#2: We spent *only* 2 days at Kruger. Many will insist it's not enough. But it really was. Namely because you will hear "But we see these same animals at the zoo!!" And it will kill you. And you will swallow the words, "Do you have ANY idea how LUCKY you are to be here?!"
But be aware- the game drives are always at dusk and dawn. So those early mornings will be incredibly tiring for your kids. Trust me, 2 days is enough. Especially if you do cheetah experiences, or lion parks, or penguins and other animal adventures. We also did Chobe, so keep that in mind if you aren't hitting Botswana.
#3: Front load your trip. If you have the option, try to start your trip with the Johannesburg/ Kruger part of the trip and end with Capetown. That way you are doing the early morning safaris when your kids are still energetic. Capetown is beautiful and relaxing, so save that for the end of the trip.
#4: My kids really loved the helicopter ride over Victoria Falls. Kids can not do the Devil's Edge, or many of the other adventures at the Falls (white water rafting, horse back riding, bungee jumping etc. for obvious reasons) so the copter ride was great. Expensive, but they really had a blast.
#5: The kids will LOVE the penguins. Be prepared to spend most of your Cape of Good Hope loop at Boulder's Beach. It's really worth the time.
#6: Kids can not do the cheetah cub experience, so take advantage of the Lion Cub experience in Johannesburg. You have to purchase the safari because the a la carte model flooded the park with visitors and the cubs were over-simulated. We bought the package but only took the cub experience part because we had more than enough safari at that point.
#7: Your kids will be bored at Robbens Island. Tell them to suck it up.
#8: Your kids will also be bored at the apartheid museum, Mandela House- suck it up.
#9: Uber is your friend. Uber service is amazing in South Africa. Not in Zambia/Zimbabwe or Botswana. But amazing in South Africa.
#10: Food is actually pretty good. Lots of Bar-b-que (Bri, as it's called). Plenty of ethnic foods available (Tapas, Indian, Italian, Chinese etc.) They will be fine.
Ok, so that's the start. Now for more detail.
Comments
Post a Comment