philo Loc: philo, ca

Thanks to DebAnn I have booked a 15 day safari. Will leave sfo on 3/3 and return on 3/20. The trip i booked is very close to my dream trip. 14 days with 2 game drives per day and only 5 photographer on the trip.
Everything had a down side and mine is a 21 hour flight.

Quixdraw Loc: x

Congrats! You might care to research Preventing Blood Clots on Long Flights.

Hip Coyote

I love the place. And when I get home will post some thoughts that might help you…if you want.

I’d live there if I didn’t have ties here. Cape Town! Wow.

ricardo00

Fantastic! I would love to go back. Can you clarify how it is a 21 hour flight? Didn't think there were any non-stops from SFO to JOB. Do you fly through Atlanta? Counting layovers?
PS. Also is DebAnn a tour company? or?

Raccie

Have a wonderful trip. Which part of S.A. are you going to?

raypep

Some good audio books will lighten the journey.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

Talk with your doctor - at the very least you should wear support stockings and take an aspirin a day for a few days before you fly. If you have any significant risk factors you might consider a prescription medication. I met a pregnant woman on the flight who was using an injectable blood thinner (Lovonox) every 12 hours.

The flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg is 16 1/2 to 17 1/2 hours (coming in to SA over the southern Atlantic we had 200 MPH tailwinds - getting there was an hour faster than the return). I mistakenly assumed that for such a long flight the airline (Delta) would provide a little more than the normal legroom in coach. They don't! It was miserable. Not just because it was cramped - I like the window seat so that I can lean against the wall if I want to sleep. But another major way to reduce the risk of blood clots is to drink a lot of water - my row-mates never seemed to need to get up to use the restroom, so I was constantly waking them up to let me out!

Delta has a Premium Economy class which provides a little more room - the first thing I did when I got to my hotel room to overnight in Johannesburg was to go online to check availability of an Economy Plus seat on the flight back - they had one available, and it was well worth the $200 upcharge. As special as South Africa is, I would never make the trip again unless I could at least get an Economy Plus seat.

scubadoc Loc: Sarasota, FL

Depending on your tour guide and bookings, an African safari can cost up to $20,000/traveller. For $3500 you can usually book a business class ticket from the US to Johannesburg. To me, that cost is worth it, as you can sleep, eat, and relax in comfort. For a trip of a lifetime, I wouldn’t skimp on the travel expenses.

Hip Coyote

As promised, here is my prior post: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-716145-1.html

Let me add to that post: We flew from LA to Atlanta, hung out, went to Coke factory, visited the Olympic park and then went to JoBurg a few days later.

We flew economy plus via Delta...gave us a bit more leg room. But, I can say we flew to Europe a year later on business class and it made the tip much more enjoyable, reduced jet lag, etc. If you can afford it, do it. You wont regret it on a very long flight. Had a friend who flew to Africa on business on Air Emerates and really liked it.

I was wrong in my OP above where I said I never used flash. I did once in a small camp when taking pics of bush babies...I went back and looked at my files and found I was wrong...but for the most part, you can't use flash on animals.

I also failed to mention that our guy who set up the tour (local here in LA) said avoid JoBurg at all costs...get in and get out. They said stay at the airport and get out. Being a contrarian, My wife looked up info about Johannesburg and we decided to stay there for a few days. That was a very very good decision. Yes, JoBurg can be a dangerous place. But it is also where Apartheid really was in full swing. Mandela lived there, there is an excellent Apartheid museum there, Liliesleaf, a farm where the Anti-Apartheid movement operated and people were arrested, etc. We had a private tour of city and it was well worth the trip. It was also instructive to our family who went along (and us to an extent) to see modern institution that only a few decades ago, were segregated. We ate in Soweto and had a good time. We stayed in a lovely B and B (surrounded by razor wire. I can try to find the name) in the very suburb where Mandela was tried and convicted.

As I said in my post linked above, there is a lot more to Africa than shooting a picture of some animal. We probably spent half our time on safari, which was perfect. That is important, but IMO, the Africans, their stories, their cultures are as interesting.

This was all pre-covid...travel circumstances in JoBurg may have changed...don't know. Our friends went to SA about 6 months ago and had a great time. As we suspected, they loved Cape Town. Covid restrictions were lessening at that point...don't know what Omicron has done to the place.

Hope this helps. PM me if you have any need for follow up info.

JFCoupe Loc: Kent, Washington

Yes, be sure to purchase some good compression socks to wear on the plane. I did on a trip to Tanzania in 2019. It seems like everywhere is Africa yields great photo opportunities. You will have a great time.

JFCoupe Loc: Kent, Washington

I would like to add one more suggestion for your travel planning.

On my trip to Tanzania, I booked a couple of days layover in Amsterdam to help adjust to the time change from Seattle-about 9 hours if I recall correctly. Then after the nine hour flight to Arusa, I was ready to go with no sense of time lag.

So if you go it all in one leg, I suggest going at least a day early before your safari begins.

philo Loc: philo, ca

I'll take any suggestions i can get.

philo Loc: philo, ca

I will fly from sfo to jnb with United. one lay over
DebAnn is a member of UHH and she made the suggestion in one of her post

Fkaufman3 Loc: Florida, LA ie lower Alabama

We had an 18 day trip scheduled for end of January to South Africa but the company canceled the tour, bummer.

philo Loc: philo, ca

At my age i can't put on socks. I will upgrade to plus.