Jun 18, 2008
Though it's not for a classic African safari of the sort you enjoy in Kenya, there's a $2K deal for a near-safari in South Africa
The one-week African safari for less than $2,000, including round-trip air between New York and Kenya, which used to be offered by Canada's Lion World Tours (www.lionworldtravel.com), is now likely gone forever. The Lion World website lists minimum prices of $2,499, $2,599, and $2,699 per person, depending on date, September through mid-December, including airfare, for an adventure of that sort (see "Best of Kenya").
But in the last two weeks of September, and the first two weeks of December, something similar -- a hybrid city stay and safari experience, all in South Africa -- is available for a remarkable $1,999 per person from Lion World. "South Africa in Style," as the package is called, is an atypically cheap African experience to a country where the normal round-trip airfare, without anything more, is at least $1,566 plus about $600 more for taxes and fees.
"South Africa in Style" flies you first from New York or Washington, D.C., to Cape Town, South Africa, via Johannesburg, and places you for four nights at a five-star hotel in that glittering seaside city, one of the most beautiful on earth. And there you enjoy an introductory sightseeing tour to the famed Winelands area (with its vineyards and tasting rooms) outside the city, but are otherwise left alone to explore the delights of a resort capital famed for its beaches and attractions.
Then you're flown to a games preserve right outside the famous Kruger National Park, where you're taken on successive drives in an open-air van into "the bush" to spot the wildlife associated with Africa. You spend three days and two nights in the luxurious Jackalberry Safari Lodge, receiving three meals a day throughout your stay. And after a last drive through this private game preserve, you are flown to Johannesburg airport for a connecting inter-continental flight back to New York or Washington, D.C. from Johannesburg. Your $1,999 price has included round-trip air on South African Airways, all domestic flights within South Africa, lodgings as described, 6 breakfasts, 2 lunches and 2 dinners.
For more information, see the Lion World website phone 888/722-4872 or visit South African Airways Vacations' page at www.flysaavacations.com/itin/1.30/1.30.htm.
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But in the last two weeks of September, and the first two weeks of December, something similar -- a hybrid city stay and safari experience, all in South Africa -- is available for a remarkable $1,999 per person from Lion World. "South Africa in Style," as the package is called, is an atypically cheap African experience to a country where the normal round-trip airfare, without anything more, is at least $1,566 plus about $600 more for taxes and fees.
"South Africa in Style" flies you first from New York or Washington, D.C., to Cape Town, South Africa, via Johannesburg, and places you for four nights at a five-star hotel in that glittering seaside city, one of the most beautiful on earth. And there you enjoy an introductory sightseeing tour to the famed Winelands area (with its vineyards and tasting rooms) outside the city, but are otherwise left alone to explore the delights of a resort capital famed for its beaches and attractions.
Then you're flown to a games preserve right outside the famous Kruger National Park, where you're taken on successive drives in an open-air van into "the bush" to spot the wildlife associated with Africa. You spend three days and two nights in the luxurious Jackalberry Safari Lodge, receiving three meals a day throughout your stay. And after a last drive through this private game preserve, you are flown to Johannesburg airport for a connecting inter-continental flight back to New York or Washington, D.C. from Johannesburg. Your $1,999 price has included round-trip air on South African Airways, all domestic flights within South Africa, lodgings as described, 6 breakfasts, 2 lunches and 2 dinners.
For more information, see the Lion World website phone 888/722-4872 or visit South African Airways Vacations' page at www.flysaavacations.com/itin/1.30/1.30.htm.
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Labels: safari, south africa
May 14, 2008
Tanzania is a grand place for an African safari, but at a cost substantially over the price of a safari in Kenya
A number of readers have questioned my seeming preference for Kenya over Tanzania as a place for wildlife safaris, and I should respond. I am well aware that the wildlife-viewing opportunities in Tanzania are the full equal of those in Kenya. But it is only the safari industry of Kenya that has attempted to price their vacations at an economical level, permitting mid-income people to enjoy this superb travel adventure. As best I know, you cannot hope to enjoy even a one-week safari in Tanzania, including airfare from the U.S., for the $2,500 price that many tour operators now offer for a weeklong safari in Kenya (and some recently went down to $1,999).
That being said, Tanzania is a peaceful place with excellent safari opportunities, and many Americans may prefer to substitute it for Kenya in light of the touchy political situation in Kenya. But these are Americans able to afford the higher cost of a Tanzanian safari.
Two readers from Calumet, Michigan, Bob and Deloris Langseth, have written me about their very positive reactions to Tanzania, and I feel obligated to share their arguments with you:
That being said, Tanzania is a peaceful place with excellent safari opportunities, and many Americans may prefer to substitute it for Kenya in light of the touchy political situation in Kenya. But these are Americans able to afford the higher cost of a Tanzanian safari.
Two readers from Calumet, Michigan, Bob and Deloris Langseth, have written me about their very positive reactions to Tanzania, and I feel obligated to share their arguments with you:
We have been to Tanzania on 9 occasions since 1992. It is one of the few countries in Africa that has never had a civil war ... You do not need to land at Nairobi. Go instead to the Mt. Kilimanjaro International Airport in Arusha, via KLM. Kilimanjaro is in Tanzania and my wife climbed it at age 72 in 2004. The Ngorogoro Crater -- one of the wonders of the world -- has all of the big 5 animals, is a 4-hour drive from Arusha, and a gateway to the Serengeti. On the way you have Tarangire National Park which has the largest herd of elephants in any of the parks, and Lake Manyara with its vast flocks of flamingos... We have been beautifully served by the Menno Travel Agency in Minneapolis (800/635-2032) and/or by Safari Makers Ltd. out of Arusha, Tanzania... We went to the Serengeti in 2007 for our 50th wedding anniversary. The park rangers stated that more than 2 million wildebeest and zebras make the migration. We estimate we saw over a half million animals, along with 23 lions (5 were in one tree) as well as a cheetah and leopard... We love Tanzania and want to share this good news of a peaceful country and fabulous game parks.Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: kenya, safari, tanzania
Apr 29, 2008
As predicted, African safaris in Kenya will now be priced at rock-bottom levels to persons willing to depart right away
Here's your chance -- the last chance you probably ever will have -- to enjoy an African safari for under $2,000, including round-trip trans-Atlantic airfare. Relying on the apparent peace that has settled over the political situation there, Lion World Tours of Toronto will be attempting to re-start the flow of tourism to Kenya by charging that little for an African safari, departing New York on both May 22 and May 24. Though the dates are fairly soon, persons traveling to Kenya do not need visas, and the trip can be booked with very little trouble or advance preparation by simply phoning Lion World at tel. 800/387-2706 or 416/920-5466.
These are two special departures of Lion World's "Best of Kenya" package, and therefore the specially-reduced price does not appear in the description of the tour in Lion World's website (www.lionworldtravel.com). But the ingredients of the trip are exactly those described: a journey nine days in duration, of which one night is your trans-Atlantic crossing, one night is spent in Nairobi at the Stanley Hotel, and five nights are in the actual games parks, staying at the Sarova Shaba Lodge, the Lion Hill Lodge, and the Sarova Mara Tented Lodge (where you'll receive daily games drives in a seven-seater van, and all three meals each day). On your day of return, you'll have dayroom use at the Stanley Hotel, and will then board an overnight flight to London, and then a daytime flight from London back to New York.
As I've stated many times, exposure every day to thousands of animals and every conceivable species of wildlife in Kenya's Masai Mara is an overwhelming experience, and five days of it are fully sufficient, in my opinion. This is a real African safari, of constant wonder, that would lose its impact if it were extended over a lengthier period of time.
A word about the price: It is $1,999 per person, and I do not believe we will ever again see such a price for a trans-Atlantic-airfare-included safari to Kenya. The rate has been greatly reduced because of the recent turmoil there, and in the hope that a bargain-shock will re-start the travel flow.
Write and read comments about this post.
These are two special departures of Lion World's "Best of Kenya" package, and therefore the specially-reduced price does not appear in the description of the tour in Lion World's website (www.lionworldtravel.com). But the ingredients of the trip are exactly those described: a journey nine days in duration, of which one night is your trans-Atlantic crossing, one night is spent in Nairobi at the Stanley Hotel, and five nights are in the actual games parks, staying at the Sarova Shaba Lodge, the Lion Hill Lodge, and the Sarova Mara Tented Lodge (where you'll receive daily games drives in a seven-seater van, and all three meals each day). On your day of return, you'll have dayroom use at the Stanley Hotel, and will then board an overnight flight to London, and then a daytime flight from London back to New York.
As I've stated many times, exposure every day to thousands of animals and every conceivable species of wildlife in Kenya's Masai Mara is an overwhelming experience, and five days of it are fully sufficient, in my opinion. This is a real African safari, of constant wonder, that would lose its impact if it were extended over a lengthier period of time.
A word about the price: It is $1,999 per person, and I do not believe we will ever again see such a price for a trans-Atlantic-airfare-included safari to Kenya. The rate has been greatly reduced because of the recent turmoil there, and in the hope that a bargain-shock will re-start the travel flow.
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Apr 22, 2008
In the travel trade press this week, three interesting items having a bearing on your own vacation plans
There's a considerable industry of magazines and newspapers published solely for travel professionals, which often contain news that isn't passed on to just-plain-travelers. Here are three items of which you may not have heard:
First, interviewed in the trade press, the president of Club Med, worldwide, has announced that the Club Med resorts are on their way to becoming "upscale" resorts with a heavy emphasis on families, family facilities, and couples (and less, apparently, for singles). He (Club Med's new leader) is Henri Giscard d'Estaing, son of a former president of France, and obviously brought up in a setting of great wealth (which is perhaps why the word "upscale" drips from his lips). While some of the Club Meds may still for a time be operated for swinging youngsters, their days are apparently numbered, if I read Giscard d'Estaing's remarks correctly. The Club Meds, which used to be promoted as "antidotes to civilization," are rapidly being made over into sophisticated, worldly resorts. As someone who used to value the insouciant atmosphere of Club Meds, the lack of a dress code, the pure democracy, the unpretentious high-jinx and games, I regard these new policies as a disaster. And I predict that in a few years, when the new "upscale" policies have failed miserably, Club Med will return to its former state of being, probably under a new Club Med president
The competing political parties of Kenya have entered into a "Grand Coalition," according to the country's Ministry of Tourism, and all tourists can now safely return. At a ceremony attended by Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the U.N., everyone announced their determination to achieve peace and stability, and their agreement to assign specific cabinet posts in equal measure to the two parties ("the Grand Coalition"). The few elements that have continued to riot and parade have been asked to cease their protests. As I have pointed out before, if the truce does hold, Kenya's games parks will be offering spectacular low rates in order to re-start the flow of safaris. You are again advised to check with Adventure Center, Lion World Travel, or 2Afrika for their announcements of cut-rate trips to Kenya
A bit of good news: the Department of Transportation has just doubled the penalty that airlines must pay to overbooked passengers who have been denied boarding. Henceforth, such unlucky souls will receive twice the airfare they earlier paid, up to a maximum of $800, in addition to being later transported for free to their destinations. However, if the passengers can be flown to that destination within two hours of the earlier-anticipated arrival time, the maximum penalty is reduced to $400.
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First, interviewed in the trade press, the president of Club Med, worldwide, has announced that the Club Med resorts are on their way to becoming "upscale" resorts with a heavy emphasis on families, family facilities, and couples (and less, apparently, for singles). He (Club Med's new leader) is Henri Giscard d'Estaing, son of a former president of France, and obviously brought up in a setting of great wealth (which is perhaps why the word "upscale" drips from his lips). While some of the Club Meds may still for a time be operated for swinging youngsters, their days are apparently numbered, if I read Giscard d'Estaing's remarks correctly. The Club Meds, which used to be promoted as "antidotes to civilization," are rapidly being made over into sophisticated, worldly resorts. As someone who used to value the insouciant atmosphere of Club Meds, the lack of a dress code, the pure democracy, the unpretentious high-jinx and games, I regard these new policies as a disaster. And I predict that in a few years, when the new "upscale" policies have failed miserably, Club Med will return to its former state of being, probably under a new Club Med president
The competing political parties of Kenya have entered into a "Grand Coalition," according to the country's Ministry of Tourism, and all tourists can now safely return. At a ceremony attended by Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the U.N., everyone announced their determination to achieve peace and stability, and their agreement to assign specific cabinet posts in equal measure to the two parties ("the Grand Coalition"). The few elements that have continued to riot and parade have been asked to cease their protests. As I have pointed out before, if the truce does hold, Kenya's games parks will be offering spectacular low rates in order to re-start the flow of safaris. You are again advised to check with Adventure Center, Lion World Travel, or 2Afrika for their announcements of cut-rate trips to Kenya
A bit of good news: the Department of Transportation has just doubled the penalty that airlines must pay to overbooked passengers who have been denied boarding. Henceforth, such unlucky souls will receive twice the airfare they earlier paid, up to a maximum of $800, in addition to being later transported for free to their destinations. However, if the passengers can be flown to that destination within two hours of the earlier-anticipated arrival time, the maximum penalty is reduced to $400.
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Labels: accommodations, airlines, kenya, safari
Mar 7, 2008
If calm continues in Kenya, a great many adventurous sorts will be flying to Nairobi and picking up, on the spot, a last-minute safari bargain
If there are empty seats on the imminent departure of a van traveling by land, or a DC3 going by air, from Nairobi to the famous games parks of Kenya, those empty places are usually sold at sacrificial prices to adventurous tourists seeking a bargain; and the seats on the van or plane are always matched by rooms in the safari lodges.
Even during normal conditions in Nairobi (like two months ago, before the disputed elections), a great many safari-seeking tourists would fly into Nairobi with a hotel reservation for the first night, but with no continuing reservations beyond their arrival day. The moment they passed through airport customs, they would find numerous representatives of safari operators thronging the airport and offering last-minute places on the next day's safari departures (of which several depart daily) at 50% to 75% discounts off the price normally charged. On a safari leaving the next morning, it behooves the safari-operator to get any price they can for an empty seat.
The March 4 edition of the Times of London reports that the safari hotels in Kenya, and the safari van and air operators, are desperately cutting prices to fill their facilities. May I suggest a promising tactic to persons dreaming of an African safari?
Go to an aggregator like Momondo (www.momondo.com), buy a cheap flight to Nairobi, make a reservation for your first night (the hotels there are currently empty), and then bargain for a last-minute seat on a safari leaving the next day. Do that bargaining either at the airport on arrival (you'll see many representatives of safari operators searching for customers) or simply go into Nairobi and visit any retail travel agency. For the next several weeks until confidence is restored, the safaris will sell for virtually any price the traveler is willing to pay.
Such advice is based, of course, on the assumption that last week's political truce in Kenya is holding. So far, it seems successful, and calm has returned to the city of Nairobi. It has always been calm within the actual games parks, and most observers would say it is now safe to return to this remarkable African nation.
According to a Kenya official speaking to a reporter of the Times: "The safari parks are quite quiet. There is a huge abundance of animals not only in the Mara, but also the northern National Parks such as Samburu, Meru and Laikipia. [The month of] May can be wet but rain is usually in short sharp bursts, surrounded by sunshine either side, therefore it never normally disrupts holidays."
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Even during normal conditions in Nairobi (like two months ago, before the disputed elections), a great many safari-seeking tourists would fly into Nairobi with a hotel reservation for the first night, but with no continuing reservations beyond their arrival day. The moment they passed through airport customs, they would find numerous representatives of safari operators thronging the airport and offering last-minute places on the next day's safari departures (of which several depart daily) at 50% to 75% discounts off the price normally charged. On a safari leaving the next morning, it behooves the safari-operator to get any price they can for an empty seat.
The March 4 edition of the Times of London reports that the safari hotels in Kenya, and the safari van and air operators, are desperately cutting prices to fill their facilities. May I suggest a promising tactic to persons dreaming of an African safari?
Go to an aggregator like Momondo (www.momondo.com), buy a cheap flight to Nairobi, make a reservation for your first night (the hotels there are currently empty), and then bargain for a last-minute seat on a safari leaving the next day. Do that bargaining either at the airport on arrival (you'll see many representatives of safari operators searching for customers) or simply go into Nairobi and visit any retail travel agency. For the next several weeks until confidence is restored, the safaris will sell for virtually any price the traveler is willing to pay.
Such advice is based, of course, on the assumption that last week's political truce in Kenya is holding. So far, it seems successful, and calm has returned to the city of Nairobi. It has always been calm within the actual games parks, and most observers would say it is now safe to return to this remarkable African nation.
According to a Kenya official speaking to a reporter of the Times: "The safari parks are quite quiet. There is a huge abundance of animals not only in the Mara, but also the northern National Parks such as Samburu, Meru and Laikipia. [The month of] May can be wet but rain is usually in short sharp bursts, surrounded by sunshine either side, therefore it never normally disrupts holidays."
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Mar 4, 2008
The possibility of peace in Kenya can permit millions of Kenyans to resume earning income from tourism
The only country in Africa to offer moderately-priced vacations in their games parks, has been Kenya. Because lodgings prices were low, as were permits to enter the areas of wildlife migration (the Masai Mara), tour operators were able to offer exciting Kenyan safaris for as little as $2,000-to-$2,250 (www.lionworldtravel.com) or $2,500 (www.2afrika.com) per person, including round-trip air from the U.S. to Nairobi. Similar trips to Tanzania, Botswana, the Union of South Africa, cost considerably more, and were regarded as unaffordable to middle-income tourists.
Those low-cost, safari movements gave employment, both directly and indirectly, to more than a million Kenyans. The New York Times recently ran a moving article on the hotel, restaurant and games park employees who have lost their employment because of the violence that began spreading over Kenya, due to a contested presidential election, two months ago. Many Kenyans in the tourism industry have no other source of income, and Kenya is not the kind of wealthy nation that can replace the loss with unemployment benefits.
This past weekend, both candidates for the Kenyan presidency signed a form of truce, awarding the presidency to one, the prime minister's position to the other, and thus setting up a power-sharing arrangement. If the truce holds, and violence ends in Kenya, we should soon see a return to touristic marketing -- at prices lower than ever before. Kenya will need a shove to regain its tourism. If things do quiet down, we should all consider booking a trip to this indispensable destination. An African safari -- especially in the wildlife-rich regions of Kenya, marked by giant herds of wildebeest, giraffes, elephants, monkeys, rhinoceri, cheetahs, all massing before your very eyes -- is an almost mystical experience, a chance to see the world as it was before human beings trod upon it.
And having that experience can enable a multitude of Kenyans to be able, once again, to feed their families.
Keep watching three websites, in particular: those of Lion World Travel and 2Afrika, for standard low-cost safaris, and those of G.A.P. Adventures (www.gapadventures.com) and Adventure Center (www.adventurecenter.com) for safaris conducted from over-landing trucks (camping at night, preparing meals over a campfire). Here's an opportunity to enjoy a travel adventure while helping a people in need.
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Those low-cost, safari movements gave employment, both directly and indirectly, to more than a million Kenyans. The New York Times recently ran a moving article on the hotel, restaurant and games park employees who have lost their employment because of the violence that began spreading over Kenya, due to a contested presidential election, two months ago. Many Kenyans in the tourism industry have no other source of income, and Kenya is not the kind of wealthy nation that can replace the loss with unemployment benefits.
This past weekend, both candidates for the Kenyan presidency signed a form of truce, awarding the presidency to one, the prime minister's position to the other, and thus setting up a power-sharing arrangement. If the truce holds, and violence ends in Kenya, we should soon see a return to touristic marketing -- at prices lower than ever before. Kenya will need a shove to regain its tourism. If things do quiet down, we should all consider booking a trip to this indispensable destination. An African safari -- especially in the wildlife-rich regions of Kenya, marked by giant herds of wildebeest, giraffes, elephants, monkeys, rhinoceri, cheetahs, all massing before your very eyes -- is an almost mystical experience, a chance to see the world as it was before human beings trod upon it.
And having that experience can enable a multitude of Kenyans to be able, once again, to feed their families.
Keep watching three websites, in particular: those of Lion World Travel and 2Afrika, for standard low-cost safaris, and those of G.A.P. Adventures (www.gapadventures.com) and Adventure Center (www.adventurecenter.com) for safaris conducted from over-landing trucks (camping at night, preparing meals over a campfire). Here's an opportunity to enjoy a travel adventure while helping a people in need.
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Jul 5, 2007
Some African safaris continue to cost less than $2,000 including air
I've often referred to the African safaris costing less than $2,000 that a Canadian firm called Lion World Travel sold to the American market earlier this year. Amazingly, they've maintained that price for early-September departures of their South African programs -- including round-trip air from New York or Washington, D.C. And they will charge only slightly more than $2,000 on their best-selling program to Kenya departing in November and early December: $2,199 per person, including trans-Atlantic air, on the company's Best of Kenya program taking you on safari in the wildlife-packed (wildebeest, elephants, lions, giraffes, monkeys, cheetahs) Maasai Mara. You can book these programs either at its website www.lionworldtravel.com or by phoning tel. 800/387-2706. I very much doubt that an airfare-included price of under-$2,000 can be maintained in 2008, and these several departures may provide your last chance to enjoy a unique adventure at a moderate cost.Write and read comments about this post.
Jun 7, 2007
A word about those one-week safaris
In an earlier post, I wrote about the curtailed (in length) African safaris operated by Lion World Travel of Toronto, for under $2,000 per person, including round-trip air to Nairobi from New York City (via London). The ability of that remarkable Canadian company to operate such a trip for so little money is based on the short, one-week nature of the activity. If you've ever been on an African safari, you'll agree with me, I think, that five days of lengthy games drives in Kenya are perfectly sufficient for the first-time safari-goer. Surrounded as you are by constant migrating herds of wildebeest, giraffes, elephants, cheetahs, monkeys, rhino (in the rivers) and -- most important -- prides of lions, you will have more than your fill of this eternal natural life in five days of safari drives. It is by reducing the normal two-week pattern of safaris to five days that tour operators like Lion World have been able to lower the air-included, meals-included, games-drives-included price to $1,999. We should all be grateful.
Unlike safaris in South Africa, Botswana and elsewhere, safaris in Kenya and neighboring Tanzania never fail to present the passenger with a full-scale immersion into the world of wildlife. In the other countries, whole days can go by with only the hoofprints of a single animal to keep your anticipation alive. In Kenya and Tanzania, Africa comes as close to guaranteeing a massive array of wildlife on nearly every day of the trip.
And the experience of viewing wildlife in such quantities, seeing the eternal battle between predator and prey, experiencing what the world was like before human beings inhabited it, driving for hours on end through open countryside unmarred by roads or power lines, becomes something mystical, an important part of your life experience. Along with trips to Alaska or to such closer-in wildlife areas as a Yellowstone National Park, it comes close to being an indispensable trip that every human being should enjoy at some point in their lives.
You contact Lion World Travel at www.lionworldtravel.com or 800/387-2706. Though a Canadian tour operator, the majority of their clients are from the United States, and the price benefits from the cost-conscious nature of the Canadian travel industry.
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Labels: safari
Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
