Africa Travel Information Blog

Information on African Safaris, Tourism and Travel

Africa Travel Information Blog - Information on African Safaris, Tourism and Travel

Tag Archives: African safari

What to Look For When Selecting a Travel Agent for Your African Safari

African Lion, One of the Most Popular Safari Attractions

A Male African Lion, One of the Most Popular Safari Attractions

So you are finally ready to take that trip to Africa you’ve been planning for for several years. Of course you are excited about the chance to see lions, elephants, the other African big five and other animals in their real wild habitats. Or probably the prospects of a luxury beach holiday in the Seychelles or Mauritius islands. Or the much anticipated tour to the great pyramids, Abu Simbel, and other monuments of ancient Egypt.  But, wait a minute, where do you start?

If you are like many other travellers, you’ll probably want to use the services of a travel agent to help you put your trip together. Even with the rising popularity of travel booking sites like expedia, kayak, orbitz, and others, you will at some point need to consult a “real” travel agent. Your choice will be between a travel agent based in your home country or one operating in the country/destination you will be visiting.

In a previous post, I mentioned that you should ideally use an agent in the destination country, but that does not mean you can not get a good deal from an agent in your home country. Whatever your choice, today I am highlighting what I think are the important things to consider when choosing a travel agent. The list in not completely exhaustive, is not arranged in any particular order, but I hope you will find it helpful.

1.  Destination and product knowledge
Your ideal travel agent should know more about your destination than the average guy on the street. You may not for example know that the bush lodge that your friends recommended last year is currently closed for renovations, or, say, the government has for some reason closed public access to a certain beach front. A good agent will have all this insider information.

Test the agent’s knowledge by asking questions.

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Quick Tips On What To Do To Enjoy A Great Africa Vacation

Two Black rhinos

Two black rhinos in the Lewa conservancy in Kenya. The rhino is one of the African "big five". Image by Harald Zimmer courtesy of wikimedia commons.

1. Decide on what you are interested in
In a previous post in this blog, I mentioned five of the main Africa holiday activities, among them adventure travel, sightseeing tours, and wildlife safaris. If you are like most people, you may not have the time to do all of them in one visit. Which is why the first thing to do is to decide on want to see in Africa. This will help you narrow down on a few destinations.

For many first time visitors, the choice is easy: wildlife safaris, especially to see the big five in the wild. In this case, some of the most obvious options are East Africa (Kenya and Tanzania), and Southern Africa (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Zambia). However if your interest is to see rare and unique animals and plant species, you’ll definitely want to consider destinations like Madagascar.

If you are interested in cultural and historical sites in Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia are some of the possible destinations. Likewise, for a relaxing beach holiday, you may have to choose from among the Indian Ocean islands like Seychelles, Mauritius, Zanzibar, and Comoros. Sometimes, you may want to have a little bit of everything, in which case you may have to go on a multi-country tour, or pick a destination like Kenya which offers most of these attractions.

2. Research on the possible destinations, then pick one (or a few)
After prioritizing on your main area of interest, you should then compare each possible destination against others. For example, you may want to compare between East Africa or Southern African destinations for a wildlife safari. Botswana is ideal for exclusive safaris, because they deliberately regulate the number of visitors in their game reserves. Continue reading →

The Undiscovered Africa Travel Gems

NB: I originally posted the article below in qondio, a content website where people share lots of “intel” on various topics. I post as africantraveler at qondio.

The True Gems in Africa Travel

Maletsunyane falls near Semonkong in of Lesotho

Maletsunyane falls near Semonkong in of Lesotho

In a previous post on Africa travel, I mentioned some of the most preferred Africa holiday destinations, among them Kenya, South Africa and Egypt. While these countries may be the favorite destinations among many travelers, their attractions are not necessarily superior to those in other less-traveled African countries. In fact, in my opinion, there are some countries that offer a more satisfying African safari experience, often with the added advantage of being less crowded. These include: Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, and Mozambique

Lesotho
This landlocked country is neighbored on all sides by South Africa. One of the things that make Lesotho a unique travel destination is its beautiful mountainous scenery. The entire country lies at over 1000 meters above sea level, and has arguably some of the best hiking trails in Africa. The traditional way of life of the Basotho is, to say the least, very fascinating. The best way to enjoy a holiday in this country is on horse back.
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