Saving Money when planning your African Safari
As we all know safaris are not an inexpensive way of enjoying a holiday or vacation. So I thought it might be helpful to discuss some ways to save money when planning your safari to get the best value. An ill-planned itinerary often results in a more expensive safari due to hidden costs that add to the price but don’t add much to your enjoyment. Here are eight tips to help you to save money.
1) Travel out of Peak Season
Make good use of the varying seasons if you are flexible as to when you can travel. You can save a lot of money if you travel in what is perceived to be ‘Low season’ and yet in many cases the area is as attractive as in High Season.
A classic example is a safari in South Africa. The best game-viewing period is May to August/September. This is the dry season. There is less surface water around and the vegetation is sparser so the animals need to come to the rivers to drink and are more visible. This happily co-incides with South Africa’s traditional low season from May to August (as many Europeans come for winter sun holidays) so many of the game lodges find themselves a little emptier and so offer low season special rates or longer stay rates such as ‘stay four nights for the price of three’.
Another example is in the Okavango Delta. The delta floodwaters start coming in from late May/early June and are at the best between July and October. Prices increase dramatically at the beginning of July in consequence. However in a normal year, (as floodwaters vary from year to year), many lodges have good floodwaters (and therefore a convergence of game) from mid June onwards so late June is an excellent time to save money without compromising on your safari enjoyment.
The peak seasons vary by country but our consultants can advise you on the ‘best’ low season months.
Remember to let our consultants know if you are interested in staying at lodges which have good off season specials, as we know which lodges offer the greatest differential between High and Low Season.
2) Get a group together and just stay one place for a week
Another tip is to take one safari lodge exclusively for a week with a group of friends or family. This can be terrific value for money and we could suggest a couple of different options in the Eastern Cape or the Welgevonden, both malaria-free.
3) Keep a watch on your travelling
If you visit many different parts of Southern Africa, this not only results in high flight costs but also extra transfers to and from the airport, often extra stopover nights sometimes at airport hotels or in cities which hold little interest for you. Our travel consultants constantly weigh up the uniqueness of a specific area with the associated costs of getting there. Often we can suggest an equally attractive area that does not require an extra flight or en route stopover.
4) How you choose to travel around
This is a big one! The cost of your holiday or vacation will vary extensively depending on how you travel around the country. On safari we use either road transfers or light aircraft transfers. The latter are obviously more expensive but they are quicker and sometimes unavoidable due to the terrain.
However the real price saving occurs if you are opting for some general touring as well as a safari, as many of our clients do. For general touring in South Africa, for example, there are various ways of traveling around – using a rental car, taking road transfers and day excursions, taking an escorted tour or taking a private driver/guide. Assuming the accommodation you chose was exactly the same, a self-drive holiday will be the least expensive, followed by mixing transfers & scheduled tours, followed by a private tour for a small party of 4 to 6 followed by a private tour for just 2 people.
Self-drive holidays are the most cost-effective, and often you can stretch your money by opting for self-drive so that you can still stay in the best hotels.
Our next post will give the last four tips. Please let us know your money-saving tips as well….