Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Factors To Consider When Planning An African Safari

By Dorothy Stone


Africa is home to many wild animals, beautiful vegetation and scenery. For many centuries, visitors have come to the continent for a number of reasons. Early visitors, in the thirteenth century, came on hunting expeditions and took home trophies of their kills. Today, visitors come to marvel at the beauty of nature and end up taking home videos and photos of their visits. African safari is a truly memorable adventure where one can see all of the big five members in their natural habitats.

This is the main reason why each year, thousands of tourists come to Africa to visit its national parks, game reserves and see spectacular sites like the Victoria Falls and Mount Kilimanjaro. However, there is a lot more to consider while planning this trip. This is because it entails visiting a new country so a visa is required as well as financing. It also requires one to take precautions for health and safety purposes. So during planning, consider getting a good guidebook and visiting travel sites to check for the experiences and reviews of other visitors.

There are different types of safaris each with different costs. This is why it is important to do some research and find which package you can afford. Some factors that affect the cost of your trip include length of stay and luxury accommodations. Most packages are priced according to double occupancy so if one is travelling alone, it is important to pay for a single supplement. Luxury packages are quite expensive and allow for comfort accommodations in the wild. Mobile safaris are the cheapest, participatory packages where a group of tourists travel together and share costs and other experiences. Adventurous people may opt to drive themselves personally throughout the tour.

Every trip must have a destination in mind. This will allow individuals to effectively plan for a specific trip. The southern part of Africa is famous for its large population of elephants. Kenya is famous for flamingoes in Lake Nakuru and wildebeest migration at Maasai Mara. Uganda is popular for its huge number of monkeys, gorillas and other primates.

Make the timing of your trip perfect to enjoy the show. It is advisable to come during the dry season so that one can get to see animals in the open. If one is aiming to see the wildebeest migration, they should time it by checking for the migration patterns of animals.

It is important to be properly vaccinated before coming to the continent. This is because it is prone to many diseases like malaria, typhoid, hepatitis A and B as well as yellow fever. Most of these diseases, exclusive of malaria, have vaccinations. For malaria, one is given a treatment and advised to protect themselves using mosquito nets and repellent sprays.

Be very careful when booking and paying for a safari because there are many fraudsters and scams out there. Always verify the legitimacy of a travel agent before paying them. Check ratings on TripAdvisor and other relevant sites and read their reviews.

Be sure to remain safe during the trip and stay in communication with your family and the embassy. Before and during your trip, check for any updates and travel advisories from the State Department. Get medical cover and travel insurance.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment