Advice me please.

Hi Ice,

You can also take another flight from Johannesburg to Nelspruit and rent a car at the airport there. There are a few rental-agencies who have cars at the airport.

Avis f.e. is one of them.

If you want to stay at one of the lodges you mention, you will have to book one of the rooms they offer. As far as I know, you are not allowed to selfdrive in Sabi Sand. Game drives are done by the lodge where you stay.

Why not book a few nights at the lodge and end your trip in Kruger. There you can drive yourself and choose between different types of accomodation.

Thanks Gerda...

Ill check! it out.

Another option is Orca and Whale.. But maybe i can combine that?

what i have is 8 weeks Free starting januari 2010.

Whale watching is only possible between June and November - and for that the best place to go is Hermanus on the South/East coast although they can sometimes be seen as far 'north' as Durban on the east coast

The lodges where the cams are situated are expensive - for example, Elephant Plains lodge charges around Rand 1460 per person/per night which is equivalent to approx US$185 whilst the Djuma rates are from Rand 3330 or US$424 pp/pn with 2 sharing.

My advice to you would be to plan a trip to Kruger or one of the other parks in South Africa - the accommodation is relatively cheap for non-South Africans and you have the choice of Rondavels, bungalows, tented accomodation or luxury houses to stay in. Even the 'luxury' houses are cheap compared to staying in a luxury lodge and you are almost as likely to have as good sightings in Kruger, for example, as you are in S.S.!

The difference is that you have to self-drive mostly in the public parks - you can take organised morning or evening Game Drives - but you are free to do whatever you want, whenever you want, during the day as long as you get back to the camp before the gates close - usually around 6pm CAT.

The downside is that you will be self-catering in the public parks (and will need to swat-up on your field guides in order that you can ID the animals) but this is not a real problem as most of the camps have shops where you can buy supplies and have good restaurants where you can eat out.

I have stayed at luxury lodges and have done self-drive in the national parks in SA, Namibia, Zimbabwe and in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and, to be honest, I prefer self-drive although it was nice to be pampered at Djuma!

Go to the Sanparks website for details of accommodation available - they also have a public forum where you can ask for advice from others about how to plan your trip. The people on that forum can give you some good advice about every aspect on planning a self-drive trip, or staying in a lodge, or on finding good and affordable accomodation outside the parks.

Gerda and Tabs! thanks a lot for the replies. I really appreciate it!

I will post more later, have to go offline now.

Question to the Bomite's who have travelled in South Africa,

I hear different opinions on email and private mail.

Is it safe to travel alone with a rental car  from Johannesburg to the Kruger area?

What i like if i travel is first night on destination have a hotel, day 2 pick up a rental car and then just drive, stay were i want to stay and exploring a lot.

I am used then to find accomodation from day to day.

I have no idea if that will work in the Kruger/Djuma/Sabi-sands area.

I visted tripadvisor.com also but read a lot off different opinions there also.

I am not a kind of person that is scared quickly, and i am willing to take certain risks.. ( I was with a rental car in Harlem NY )

Mostly i like to stay away from the real touristic things, and i am very much interested in the wildlife and Ppl in the area i travel in.

About 3 years ago i wanted to drive tru the Oekraine ( Formal russia) But i didnt because the chance beeing killed there was pretty high. and also some may think i am crazy ( which i maybe am) i do love to live another 50 years more at least.

I understand that driving with a rental car in some area's would not be smart in SA .

Another thing i wonder about is the rate's i saw about staying a night at a lodge, i've seen some that are 700 euro and more.

Can any off you travellers tell me what average cost are to spent a night ? dont need 5 star things.

Thanks for incoming advice.. all is welcome!

Gerda and Tabs have given you very good advice.

Yes, it's safe to drive to KNP/Sabi Sands from Johannesburg and you will see some very rural villages along the way.

KNP is great, self catering and you drive yourself.  There are rules about being in the camp on time - the gates are closed and you would face a fine should you be late.  You would have to make your bookings well before your trip, I don't think it would be wise to plan to book your accommodation when you get there, the park fills up very quickly.  As Gerda said you can choose to have some days in KNP and then break your journey with a couple of nights at one of the lodges - NK is great

Thanks Ingwe.

Ill start planning.

Ill update you on what i will do.

as a told i can have free weeks januari/februari 2010.

and i want to travel again, Its been to long since i did.

The Internet is a great thing !

in my plans SURE a visit at NK will occur

Take care and be safe

Your best bet would be to sit down and talk to your travel agent she/he can put together a trip package for you so you can see all that you are interested in, or you can book directly with the lodge of your choice just google africa vacations you'll find a ton of info....goodluck

Hi , i am still dooing research on my hollidays.

a travel agent and a package is nothing for me Helena:)

What i do if i travel is : first wanting to know what country i would like to be in. ( thats the hardest thing! ) LOL

2nd : Book a flight ( thats the easiest ) LOL again.

then online book a hotel for 2 nights after my arrival, Book a rental car that i can pick up and then i just go!

Ive seen ppl planning there trips from day to day , but thats nothing for me, I love to drive and see a lot on my way and decide day by day what i will do the next day.. If a travel is to much planned you have to follow a shedule and thats what i dont want ( its a holliday!) I like to do what i want to do

I once booked a hotel for 7 days in australia ( Melbourne) and i hated that hotel (: and 200 meters from my reserved room was another Hotel that i loved!, That was a good lesson for me !

anyway i am still dooing research, ill keep you updated.

@ Helena i hope you will have a wonderfull trip! looking forward to see you'r report after you return.

Ice