One of the most popular excursions available from Victoria Falls is a day trip to Chobe National Park in Botswana. Plenty of tour companies offer this all-inclusive service of round-trip pickup/dropoff in Victoria Falls, drive to Botswana border where they hand it over to their contracted Botswana tour company that transport you round-trip to Chobe National Park. The game drives occur in 2 parts, one in a vehicle on land and then on boat. Between the 2 we stopped at a resort for lunch. We paid 170$ USD per person for the entire package (which included Park entrance fees). The …
Africa Destination Trip ReportsTrip Report: Day Trip to Chobe National Park, Botswana
Africa Destination Trip ReportsTrip Report: Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
We were staying in the Zimbabwe side of the Victoria falls town and took a cab (all rides $5) from our hotel to the park entrance. We paid for the entry fee with credit card. After entering the park, we looked at the map and realized that the view points were like an arc that extended along the ridge. There are 2-3 to the left of the entrance and the rest to the right. We spent about 4 hours in the park going from end to end. After our visit, I changed my clothes in the restrooms in the park …
Africa Destination Trip ReportsTrip Report: Victoria Falls, Zambia
We were staying on Zimbabwe side of Victoria Falls town. We took a cab from our resort to the border post (all cab rides $5). After passport stamping, we crossed the border to Zambia side. We walked across the Victoria Falls bridge (about 15 minutes walk) to the Victoria Falls Park entrance. Just a fair warning, there are a lot of touts on the way from the border post to the park and they will pester you to buy knick-knacks but not that aggressive so it was not much of a concern for us. After paying the entrance fee we …
Africa Destination Trip ReportsTrip Report: Etosha National Park, Namibia – Day 3 & 4
Day 3: We started our day early by leaving Okaukuejo camp. Our plan was to drive eastbound in Etosha park and reach Namutoni camp by evening while stopping at Halali camp for lunch for a couple of hours. After reaching Halali camp for lunch, we stopped by the Halali waterhole and saw a huge herd of elephants come in. The rest of the drive to Namutoni camp was fairly uneventful besides seeing mostly herbivores. What we were mainly hoping to see was some big cats but this was not to be on this trip. Day 4: This was our last …
Africa Destination Trip ReportsTrip Report: Etosha National Park, Namibia – Day 1 & 2
Day 1: We had arrived in Windhoek the night before and stayed at Hilton Windhoek which is about 40 minutes from the airport. In the morning we started our 415 km drive to Etosha National Park. It took us around 5 hours with breaks. We entered the park through Anderson Gate as we were staying in Okaukuejo Camp for first 2 nights. Right after entering the park we drove towards Okondeka waterhole. After we entered the Okaukuejo Camp where we were staying the first 2 nights, we checked-in at the reception, paid our park fees for the entire stay. We …
Africa Destination Trip ReportsMay’ 22: Seychelles Trip – Introduction
After about a year from our last international trip (2021 Greece Trip), we went on a quick 7 day vacation to Seychelles. I had been planning on visiting this beautiful island on the Indian Ocean for a while and finally was able to make it happen this year. Seychelles does not require any visas for US passport holders. All visitors however are required to obtain a Travel Authorization before departure. We applied for the travel authorization online about 5 days before the trip and were approved within 2 hours. They require to upload all flight tickets, hotel bookings, passport cover …
Africa Destination Trip ReportsSeptember 2018: South Africa Trip Introduction
I have been wanting to visit South Africa (especially for safari at Kruger National Park) for a while after my first safari visit at Kenya Masai Mara National Park. I decided to combine my parents yearly USA visit with it so we fly out from US to South Africa and then do some safari and also visit Cape Town. After the trip, my parents flew back to India and we came back to USA. I will be posting the following trip reports and reviews in the coming days. Airline Review: Cathay Pacific Business Class – Los Angeles to Hong Kong …
Hotel Reviews Independent/Non-Major ChainHotel Review: Sarova Mara Game Camp, Masai Mara Reserve, Kenya
Sarova Mara Game Camp Masai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya We stayed at the Sarova Mara Game Camp through our package tour (2 Night – 3 Day Masai Mara Safari) with Natural World Kenya Safaris. The tour operator’s website listed Sarova Mara Camp along with 4 other lodging options under “Luxury Lodging” option along with other lodges under “Standard Lodging” and “Economy Tented Camp” option. After reading the numerous rave reviews of the Sarova Mara Camp on Tripadvisor, I was sold and went with this one. Unlike some other game camps, Sarova Mara camp is located inside the boundary of the …
Africa Destination Trip ReportsJanuary 2016: Masai Mara Game Reserve – Safari Trip Report
For our 3 day – 2 night Masai Mara safari trip, we chose Natural World Kenya Safaris. There are a large number of safari operators in Masai Mara and we researched around for a while. We chose this operator based on outstanding reviews on Tripadvisor as well as fairly transparent pricing on their website. The safari representative we were corresponding with (Mr. Humphrey) was very responsive via email. Another option we liked about this operator was that you could make safari payments online with credit card. After arriving at the Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, we were met by Mr. …
Africa Asia Destination Trip ReportsDec’15 – Jan’16: India, Egypt and Kenya Trip – Introduction
Its that time of the year !! Time to go to India and see my family again. Last year, on our trip to India, me and my wife along with my parents did a short South-East Asia trip visiting Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Phuket and Bali. This time we wanted to check off two items from our bucket list – Pyramids and African Safari. Yes, we have plans to go to Egypt (Cairo and Luxor) as well as Masai Mara Reserve close to Nairobi. I know that some folks might think its too risky and maybe even reckless to be visiting Egypt (especially …