Fodor's The Complete African Safari Planner: With Tanzania, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Kenya, And The Seychelles (Full-color Travel Guide) Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
FODOR’S THE COMPLETE AFRICAN SAFARI PLANNEREverything You Need to Plan the Adventure of a Lifetime. Fodor’s full-color travel guide can help make your trip to Africa unforgettable with 8 pages of detailed maps, magazine-style illustrated features, 125 stunning photos, and all the practical information you need.Customize your trip with simple planning tools. Options that fit your travel preferences: field-tested itineraries, ideas for making the most of your time, and easy-to-read color regional maps Explore South Africa, Kenya, Namibia, and beyondDiscerning Fodor’s Choice picks for hotels, restaurants, sights, and more“Word of Mouth” tips from fellow Fodor’s travelersIllustrated features on The Cradle of Mankind, Safari Tipping, and Kenya's TribesRecommendations for everything from helicopter rides over Victorias Falls to the Big 5 on Safari and Zulu essentials to bridge the language barrierExpert opinions, gorgeous photos and graphicsFodor’s African-based writers reveal their favorite local hauntsQuick and easy to browse with sidebars and key points in full colorFrequently updated to provide the most up-to-date information
Series: Full-color Travel Guide
Paperback: 616 pages
Publisher: Fodor's; 2 edition (June 7, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0679009248
ISBN-13: 978-0679009245
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1.1 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #827,925 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #12 in Books > Travel > Africa > Seychelles #20 in Books > Travel > Africa > Namibia #36 in Books > Travel > Africa > Botswana
"The Complete African Safari Planner" isn't -- complete, that is. Neither does it cover "all the best parks, lodges, and tour operators." This Fodor's cover promises so ambitious an undertaking as to virtually invite failure, and fail it does. One should be skeptical as to a 5"x8" book's chance of accomplishing this task in 609 pages even should it stick to the planning of an African safari, which it doesn't. Anyone seriously considering an African wildlife safari should eliminate The Seychelles, thus saving 42 pages that could have been devoted to parks omitted. Another 49 pages are taken up with "Beach Escapes" as if a true wildlife safari were not the ultimate escape. An additional 38 pages are carved out for Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and Zambia, leaving just 480 pages for the complete planning of wildlife safaris in Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia.I agree with the placement of Kenya first as a destination for wildlife among the five principal countries. With careful planning a first-time visitor to Kenya should see more species of mammals at the lowest cost while traveling the shortest distance on safari. While I question the so-called "big five" African mammals deserving 11 pages of coverage, "The Complete African Safari Planner" could at least be more accurate in specifying the parks where each is most likely to be found. For rhinoceros, both black and white in Kenya, the premier sanctuary is Lake Nakuru National Park which is not even mentioned in the book. Relegated to the "If You Have Time" category, Nairobi National Park is also good for black rhino, but you will not see it in the "Must See" Amboseli National Park despite the "yes" assurance appearing in the extremely inaccurate "Finding The Big Five" chart on page 46.
I got this book to get information on how much it costs in terms of money, time and effort to go on an African safari. I found this planner to be very useful. It is a full color complete guide with color pictures and lots of information. The book starts with some information on legends and terms used in the book and has a map showing the major African countries where you can go on a Safari, a table showing best seasons for each country and then a very useful if you like section. This section has different choices for example to see the great migration go to these these places, to bring the kids go to these these places etc. useful categories mentioned here.Then comes the 'what's your budget' section. Two categories here talking about luxury ones and shoe-string ones (I would have liked a bit more range). Anyhow, there are 8 different suggestions (including drive yourself) given for cutting the cost with description of pros and cons of each. in addition, there is a section on what questions to ask the tour operator when booking the safari. Then there is a nice list of safari operators with descriptions and contact information and a section on what to expect while on a safari. This section includes the types of lodging (with pictures), transportation, special considerations if any (kids, physically challenged, elderly) and the different types of safaris (fly-in, walking, self-drive etc.). After that comes the section on animals and plants (fauna and flora) that one can find during the safari. All these intro sections take ~60 pages.Most of the book then is devoted to individual sections for each country: Kenya, Tanzania, S Africa, Botswana, & Namibia (plus couple of sections on Seychelles and Victoria falls - in the region, obviously no safaris there).
I used the Fodor's Wildlife Safari Guide for a recent safari trip to Kenya. Before buying it, I probably should have looked past the average rating and read detail of some of the reviews. On the one hand, I love the full glossy colored print and that it would *ideally* cover me through several future safari destinations besides Kenya. I'll give Fodor's credit for being useful from a planning perspective. It helped answer questions like: What type of vehicle? What type of lodging? What practical considerations (health, camera use, etc.). The ratings for each park on different bases (game quality, scenic beauty, etc.) were also really useful and the reviews section of lodges was pretty thorough. I also appreciated the cultural tidbits (Tribal customs, history, and so on) spread throughout the book.WHAT I DID NOT LIKE:1) I would've really liked much more detail on the various wildlife, flora & fauna I would encounter. Not just a brief overview of the big five and some other animals. This could have been a much more comprehensive section than some of those that were unnecessary. I truly felt at a loss that I could not reference this book for reviewing most of my game-viewing.2) The Seychelles is not a safari destination. Nor is Victoria Falls. Nor are beach areas like Mombasa and Zanzibar. Sure, I think the small introductions to the gateway city in each country are important, because you are bound to be there for a day or two, but when Seychelles-Victoria Falls takes up 80 valuable pages in the guide, I get confused about whether this is a safari guide or a Sub-Saharan Africa travel guide. On the flip-side important parks like Masai Mara and Serengeti get about ten pages each.
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