How do you plan a trip to Africa?

Where do i begin to plan a trip to Africa?

• My six year old son wants to take a safari trip to Africa. I promised him in about 5 yrs. So now I am trying to figure where to begin and how much will this cost to fly, how much will I need for expenses while I'm there and can't i buy an all in one trip ticket get the guide, motel, and all that stuff in one big nice uncomplicated package and if so where. please help

• Answer:

  I have always wanted to go and I have done some reseach. From what I have found it is safest to go on an escorted tour. There are many different ones. They range in the length of the stay and the quality of the accomodations. Here is the site where I have found the most options of tours and information. I believe you have to register with the site (but it is free) and well worth it. Go to: http://www.tourvacationstogo.com/african_safaris.cfm I would try to pick a tour that went to (at a minimum): - Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater, both of whch are in Tanzania (along with Mount Kilimanjaro). The Serengeti National Park covers 14,763 sq km, the Serengeti NP is dominated by vast, open plains with an abundance of wildlife. Here is a great link for Serengeti National Park: http://www.tanzaniaparks.com/serengeti.htm Ngorongoro crater is a historical site that is famed for the discovery of 3.5 million year-old fossil fragments of an early human civilization. The park is located between the Serengeti and Lake Manyara. Ngorongoro is an impressive 20km wide volcanic crater with 600m walls. The views from the crater rim are breathtaking, and there is an ever-present abundance of wildlife, due to the permanent water supply on the crater floor. Great place for year round animals. There are 25,000 larger animals within the crater itself, mostly Zebra and wildebeest. However, this is undoubtedly the best place to see black rhino in Tanzania as well as prides of lion that include the magnificent black-maned males. There are lots of colourful flamingoes and a variety of other water birds around the soda lake on the crater floor. More than a 100 species of bird not found in the Serengeti have been found in the crater. Other game: leopard, cheetah, hyena, elephants, warthog, impala, buffalo, hartebeest, eland and lots of other members of the antelope family and smaller mammals of sorts. Here is a great website for the crater: http://www.tanzania-web.com/parks/ngorongo.htm Other very popular parks/reserves are: - Masai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya - Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe - Kruger National Park, South Africa - Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania... here is a great link for Lake Manyara: http://www.tanzaniaparks.com/manyara.htm Even if you can't or don't want to purchase a total tour package- check out the packages here and then talk to a travel agent and customize your own. The site will give ideas of itineraries you will like. Africa is so big, and there are so many wonderful contries to visit. I hope you have a great time. I know I am jealous!!!