African Trip Itinerary Feedback

g5spark wrote: ↑ thats alot of travelling but i see that you've posted in other african/safari threads so you've done some homework. south-africa-overland-safari-tours-2277147/2/
my south africa trip (2016) was the best trip ive ever taken.. we flew YYZ > LHR > CPT. we did 4-5 days in cape town then flew (1way) out to port elizabeth to go to a private reserve for 2-3 days (Lalibela) and 2-3 days at Addo for a self drive. We flew home PLZ > JNB > LHR > YYZ. So i'll just focus on Cape town area since you wont be on a tour. Because we were going with a little one (5 yr old) we didnt go to kruger since she was too young to take malaria pills so we went to safaris in the eastern cape.

My advice for cape town.
1 - rent a car.
- When you rent the car at the airport, inspect EVERYTHING and have them mark down EVERYTHING. No matter how little or insignificant. When we returned our rental they blamed us for a dent under the front bumper even though it was there when we picked up the car. when we tried to get them to mark it initially they said it was nothing and refused to mark it. In the end, it cost us an extra $150 and stress. When we were in PLZ, the rental guy showed us the "official dent card" they were suppose to use which showed only dents bigger than the circle mattered. our dent was smaller than the circle punch out.

- Get used to driving on the other side of the road when you go outside the city. there were a few occasions when i would make a left turn and turn into the wrong lane when no one else was on the road.
- "parking attendants and unofficial parking attendants". There will be those who look official (they might wear a vest) and unofficial (homeless looking guys) who'll help you park your car on the street for tips. tip them. i think i usually gave them 10 rand but in the woodstock area (very hipster area) the guy specifically asked for 20 rand. you dont want to come back to your rental to see its got a flat tire. here's a link of what im talking about: https://thechampagnetoasttravelers.com/ ... ttendants/
- if you use some sort of GPS or google maps, make sure the routes dont go through the townships. the fastest way may not be the safest. Stay on the N2 or M3. If you rent a car from CPT and head towards cape town, you'll know what im talking about right away.

2. Get a sim card.
I think you can pick one up at the airport but we picked our up at vodaphone at the Victoria & Albert waterfront mall.

we did a day trip to the cape of good hope with stops in simonstown, and hout bay in a day via chapmans peak. we went out to wine country to babylonstoren for a day trip. Table mountain is a must. sunset at lion head will be packed. go to the beach in camps bay.

Food was amazing and cheap.

speedyforme wrote: ↑ Thank you!

So far for Cape Town; even though our days a split up surrounding the actual tour portion we are looking at hitting these places since they are of interest to us:
- Free Walking Historical tour
- City Centre
- V&A Waterfront
- Bo-Kaap
- De Waterkant
- Woodstock
- Table Mountain
- Robben Island
- Kirstenbosch Botantical Gardens
- Cape Point and Boulder Beach tour (full day)

I assumed we would get around by walking or Uber or hop-on-off city bus. Not entirely interested in renting a car as the costs seem pretty reasonable overall for Cape Town

We spoke with someone who came from there re: crime. Seems ok as we don't usually go outside at night anyways.

g5spark wrote: ↑ i didnt do alot of what you've listed. i wished i had more time in cape town.
here are my comments on the places you listed.

- Woodstock
we went 2x. once during the week for dinner at the pot luck club.. the area was pretty dead at night but the restaurant was packed. we also went on the wkend morning when the neighbourgood market is open. thats when its packed and all the vendors are out.

VA Waterfront - its just a mall and some other stores and touristy things in the surrounding area. Our hotel had a shuttle so we went quite a few times. i found the restaurants were touristy. nice atmosphere, ok food, a little overpriced when compared to other areas..

bo-kaap - we just drove past it (the colourful houses) trying to find nandos (yes, nando's chicken is not portugese but a s. african chain).

- Kirstenbosch Botantical Gardens - we spent a morning there. the beauty of this garden will really depend on what season you go. we went in our summer which is their winter so it was not very colouful.

- Cape Point and Boulder Beach tour (full day) - my kid loved boulder beach.. so many penguins, and you can even try and swim with them in some beach areas but my guess is if you are taking a tour they will only take you to the viewing platform.

depending on when you are going you may want to bring some fall/light winter wear for your safaris. toque, glove, light down jkt or fall jkt. it can be pretty chilly on the morning safari drives before the sun comes out since you are in a open air seating. While we were there the temp ranged from 15C - 41C and we were there for 2 wks.

As for crime, i think the reputation is much worse than the actual. most of the areas that you listed are pretty touristy and will have crowds so you should be fine. Just dont be too flashy or naieve and be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

speedyforme wrote: ↑ Last question is; are credits widely accepted almost anywhere? We did ask the tour company and they basically said for S.A. you can use local currency and credit cards and in Zimbabwe/Botswana to use USD.

speedyforme wrote: ↑ Lastly question (hehe); where did you get good binoculars? I think that is the one thing I do not have for this trip. We will need 2.

g5spark wrote: ↑ i brought rands. i was working in ottawa at the time so i could easily get them from the world exchange building.
i had no issues using cc at hotels, malls, tourist/park entry areas, nicer restaurants. smaller restos, gas stations i used cash. i would suggest you carry a bunch of small notes (10r) for tips, small items.
again you may hear rumours of scams at ATM machines and cc skimming. i didnt use any ATMs there so i cant comment. my cc never got skimmed.

I will say however the money exchange in PLZ airport was a total scam. PLZ is a small airport and there is only 1 money exchange. 1CDN=10rand; but they offered 1 cdn= 5rand.
didnt go to Zim/Bots so i cant comment.



no clue. my wife and i each brought our own DSLR fit ups (camera, mem cards, spare batteries, multi lenses)

g5spark wrote: ↑ you didnt say if you are traveling with kids, but if are there used to be very strict requirements to travel with kids. we had to order a long form birth cert in ontario with the names of both parents. Not sure if this rule still exists.

hierophant wrote: ↑ Sounds awesome. I've done game tours in Kenya Tanzania and Botswana (I don't think I ended up going Chobe) so I can't really comment on that leg but I have done Vic falls (Zambia side though I did go to Zimbabwe too) with no tour, so much fun - though would only recommend going whitewater rafting on the Zambezi if you like experiences where you might die lol. Hippos on the okavango become pretty scary on a mokoro too lol.

As for money, I would definitely bring plenty of US cash though bigger establishments do take credit card.

I had a pair of binoculars but I don't think I ever used them. The animals often were close or the driver would get close. With my camera lenses I was able to zoom pretty close as well - got some amazing pics. Plus the guide will have a pair or 2 if needed.

Me personally, I wouldn't recommend doing any other cultural walks where you go into a village to see how/where they live. That didn't seem right to me. At least that was the case in Kenya.

You'll love it!

speedyforme wrote: ↑ Thanks for the input!

Was USD the main currency in Botswana or Zimbabwe?

We do plan to go whitewater rafting in Vic Falls

Is there a reason you don't recommend cultural tours into villages?

hierophant wrote: ↑ I used USD in both Botswana or Zimbabwe

I would recommend reading up whitewater rafting first - there are 2 rapids classified as grade 5, which are absolutely terrifying especially if you're with a group that is unable to listen to instructions, and a guide that doesn't have a good command over the group. These rapids can be skipped - the rest is quite pleasant.

As for cultural tours - let me pose it as a question to you - how would you like it if you had tourists stop by your house to gawk at where and how you lived, in which you may or may not have say, and you got a pittance for it? To each their own - I find it incredibly disrespectful.

speedyforme wrote: ↑ Thanks. I'll probably do my exchange here prior to leaving as I normally do. I have never used ATMs abroad; just didn't feel right lol.

Thanks for the camera. My assumption is if the animals are very far away; my DSLR will capture stuff but depends on the area and the images may not be amazing. I figured binoculars will provide a good view without having to take pictures all the time. But you raise a good point; perhaps DSLR cameras are a good replacement for binoculars. But we only have access to one. Hmmmm