So the wife and I are starting to budget for my first Safari... Well I married the IRS and have to have it all laid out like i was going to get audited. I start looking at lights to the major entry points to RSA. I see that most flights are between $2500 and $4000 for round trip. (Seattle will be the jump off point for me)...Is this standard? Am i looking at the wrong place. What did you pay to get over?

Thanks...

Is that for 2 people or 1 ? I live in another part of the world and for cattle class its about 1300 US for a roundtrip

AKman:
I pay about $3000 from AK to Zim. Everything begins in Jo'burg. If you go there via Cape Town it will add 4 hours to a long flight.
The route that serves me best (13 trips there) is Anchorage to Atlanta overnight, stay a few hours in a VIP lounge, and then direct to Jo'Burg with a midway stop for gas in west Africa.
Call me and let me tell you about my trip this June. There may be room for one more and the price is great. If you hunt SA I will connect you with a gent I used three times. His rate is 1/2 of others.
Cal

mine was $1700 round trip.

Boise to Atlanta to JBerg. 26 1/2 hrs one way start to finish.

They don't have to do the stop over for fuel anymore, with the new jet they are using, also it takes less time from Atlanta to JBerg

In the 90s I made the trip non stop going over. In the 2000s something changed and we had to stop for gas. If it back to non stop now, that is good news.
Cal

I believe the change back around 2002-04 was in the calculated amount of fuel reserves. I believe previously they were allowed 10%, and it changed to 20%, Thus the required stopover in Dakar or the Islands.

The new Delta 777 is a nice aircraft and very efficient. Thus the non-stop flight again. The extra charge for Economy Comfort is worth the extra fee, if you're a big guy like me.

You may want to consider a red eye flight to Frankfurt, wander around for the day, and a red eye flight Frankfurt to Joberg. May help you with the jet lag/time zone adjustment. It worked for my wife and I in 2008.

Alaskaman,

WHo will you hunt with and where?

For your first trip you would be well served to contact Gracy Travel, or Travel With Guns, both in San Antonio, or Kathi who postd here on AR frequently. There are a few others but I have not used them. They know the best flights, seats, connections and all the proceedures for getting to and from your first safari.

It really is better to use these, and absolutely on your first trip. The airfares change with the seasons and some days are better than others. You could do it yourself, but is that what you want to be anxious about? You work on the hunt and let the pros do your travel for you.

Les

see this thread below

http://forums.accuratereloadin...8121043/m/6891010481

Thanks guys, we are looking at 2014, so just starting to get the ducks in a row!

The price of airfare depends on what time of the year you plan to go. Peak time, or most expensive, run from mid May to mid September.

Salt Lake to Maun Botswana via Joburg was about $2,300

Same for Salt Lake to Port Elizabeth RSA via Joburg as well.