Compare Golden Trails of East Africa by AMA Waterways vs 12-Day Best of Southern Africa by Ker & Downey Africa

Day 1: Arrive In Johannesburg

Welcome to Africa! Upon arrival, you will be met by an AmaWaterways Representative and transfered to your hotel.

Day 2: Johannesburg – Zambezi Queen – Embarkation

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

After breakfast, fly to Kasane, Botswana where you’ll board the elegant Zambezi Queen on the Chobe River. Late this afternoon, enjoy the riverside scenery before your Welcome Cocktail and Dinner on board.

Day 3: Zambezi Queen

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

This morning embark on a boat safari to explore the Chobe River’s spectacular game viewing. Then journey back to the Zambezi Queen for lunch and time to relax on board. Later today, enjoy a slightly different version of a river safari aboard a special double decker barge which will allow you to venture into the southern channels. This excursion will offer you an unusual viewpoint to observe hippos and elephants in their natural habitat

Day 4: Zambezi Queen

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Join a full day safari of Chobe National Park in open-top 4x4 vehicles. Chobe National Park is home to one of the most dense populations of wildlife in Africa. Be on the lookout for elephants, giraffe, zebra, sable, warthog and cape buffalo. Prides of lions, hyenas and more rarely cheetahs, are normally visible along the way. Lunch will be a delicious picnic served up under the trees.

Day 5: Zambezi Queen

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

This morning, enjoy an unforgettable visit to a typical African village to experience the local culture first hand. Spend time with the children of the village as well as its elders and learn about their day-to-day life. After lunch on board, you can choose your afternoon activity including an afternoon safari by boat, bird watching or fishing. Tonight your crew hosts an African themed dinner complete with singing and dancing.

Day 6: Zambezi Queen – Disembarkation – Victoria Falls

Meals: Breakfast  and Dinner

Transfer to legendary Victoria Falls, one of the nature’s greatest natural wonders. Settle into your hotel and spend the afternoon exploring the town or experience one of the many activities offered at your hotel. This evening you have a special dinner and an encounter with Africa’s “gentle giants.”

Day 7: Victoria Falls

Meals: Breakfast

Join a local guide for a tour of remarkable Victoria Falls, more commonly referred to as the smoke that thunders. The afternoon is free for independent activities. Relax and enjoy the amenities of your iconic hotel, walk into town or perhaps take an optional outing including a helicopter ride or wildlife trail walk. Tonight, embark on a private and festive Sundowner cruise complete with drinks, tapas and music.

Day 8: Victoria Falls – Johannesburg

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

After breakfast, a flight to Johannesburg brings you to the largest city in South Africa. After arriving at your hotel, settle into your suite and relax in the park-like setting. Before dinner, gather for an informative discussion on the day-to-day life

Day 9: Johannesburg

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

Head out this morning for a fascinating look at Johannesburg and the rich history it has to share, from colonialism to apartheid, and finally democracy. Get an in-depth look at Soweto, the center of the uprising against the apartheid state. Walk the footsteps of Nelson Mandela and explore the colorful neighborhoods, parks and squares of Soweto. A visit to the Apartheid Museum is also on the agenda. Enjoy a delicious “township” lunch along the way.

Day 10: Johannesburg – Arusha

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

Fly to Arusha, via Dar es Salaam, Tanzania where you will be met by an AmaWaterways Representative at Kilimanjaro Airport and transfered to the Arusha Coffee Lodge. The lodge provides a peaceful and calming retreat before you start your Tanzanian safari.

Day 11: Arusha - Tarangire National Park, Tanzania

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Enjoy a scenic drive to Tarangire. Take an afternoon safari drive, followed by a visit to Masai village. Spend two nights in a Tree House that rests on the branches of thousand-year old marula and baobab trees overlooking Treetops’ private reserve.

Day 12: Tarangire National Park, Tanzania

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Enjoy a full day of activities including game-drives, and a sunset drive in the bush. The meals at Treetops are also their own unique experiences to be enjoyed.

Day 13: Tarangire - Ngorongoro, Tanzania

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Drive to Lake Manyara National Park for a game-drive and picnic lunch. Then on to the renowned Ngorongoro Manor.

Day 14: Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

You’ll enjoy a full day of exploration of the Ngorongoro Crater. Once a gigantic volcano, it is the largest intact caldera in the world and shelters one of the most beautiful wildlife havens on earth. A picnic hamper lunch will be served on the crater floor. After lunch, explore more of the crater before heading back to the Manor for evening cocktails, dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 15: Ngorongoro - Serengeti, Tanzania

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

After breakfast you will be transfered to Manyara Airstrip for your Serengeti flight. Upon your arrival you’ll enjoy a game drive en route to the luxurious camp where your lunch will be served. This afternoon, it is time for another drive.

Day 16: Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Today you’ll have two game drives exploring the vast Serengeti, one in the morning and another after lunch. It is not possible to say with any accuracy where the Great Migration of the Wildebeest will be located at any one time. There are a number of determining factors; however, one can be assured that if there is a good chance of seeing it, then this can be accomplished from the Pioneer Camp or Migration Camp.

Day 17: Serengeti - Arusha, Tanzania

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

This morning take your final safari drive. Then transfer to the airstrip for your flight back to Arusha. Lunch will be served in the gardens of the lodge before your final transfer to Kilimanjaro International Airport. Do not schedule onward flights before 6:00 pm.

Day 1: Cape Town

We may be biased but we can think of nowhere better to start your dream trip than Cape Town. Offering the very best in cuisine, culture, entertainment, art and adventure and framed by the iconic Table Mountain, Cape Town is riding high right now as one of the world’s best cities.

After arrival at Cape Town International Airport, where you will be met by your Ker & Downey local representative, you will be transferred to the Clarendon Bantry Bay, situated in the affluent and exclusive Bantry Bay area of Cape Town on the Atlantic Seaboard.

Your second day in Cape Town includes a half day guide at your disposal. You will be chauffeured to the historical and colorful Bo-Kaap area to partake in a homely Cape Malay Cooking experience - a truly unique South African experience.

The rest of your time is to be spent at your own leisurely pace, however, our dedicated staff are on standby to offer advice and help plan out your in between time in our lively city.

CT Aerial

Included:

Park fees

All activities

All accommodation

A professional driver/guide

All transportation

All flights during the tour

All Taxes/VAT

Roundtrip airport transfer

Meals

Drinks

Excluded:

International flights

Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour

Tips

Personal items

Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees

Some meals

Day 2: Cape Town

Table Mountain CablewayTable MountainRobben Island

Day 3: Cape Town

PanoramaGreen Point Stadium

Day 4: Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve

On your fourth day you will be transferred from your hotel in Cape Town to Cape Town International Airport where you will depart on the internal flight to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport.

Hidden among a cluster of indigenous trees on the banks of the Msuthlu River, Sabi Sabi Little Bush Camp offers its guests superior exclusivity in an intimate environment. This enchanting camp is found in the Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve, whose gates open onto the unsurpassed wilderness of the Kruger National Park. It is the smallest of the Sabi Sabi lodges, providing you with a homely ambiance in a fairy-tale setting of seclusion.

Explore the plains on game drives, standing the chance to see the Big 5 among an assortment of other safari animals. A nature walk through the park led by a professional guide will give you a different perspective of the wilderness.

Included in your stay is the chance to observe the unobstructed splendor of the Milky Way and other constellations of stars.

Day 5: Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve

Day 6: Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve

Day 7: Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe)

On the 7th day you will be transferred back to the Sabi Sabi lodge airstrip for you scheduled flight to OR Tambo Intl for your flight to Victoria Falls Intl.

Once landing at Victoria Falls Intl you will be met and transferred to Victoria Falls River Lodge. Built on raised wooden decks, the 13 luxurious tents all boast beautiful views of a river and the African bush and come with their own private plunge pools. The luxuriously furnished rooms are a fusion of European and African decor and make for an excellent location to explore the quaint town of Victoria Falls and the impressive Falls themselves.

Included in your stay is a rain forest canopy tour. This memorable canopy tour consists of 9 different slides that will take you through thick riverine vegetation over the Zambezi River. Zip over gorges and above the trees as you explore this beautiful region in a thrilling and breathtaking way.

Day 8: Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe)

Victoria Falls River Lodge - Luxury Tented SuitesVictoria Falls River Lodge

Day 9: Chobe River Front

Head to Kasane for your 4 days Chobe National Park experience. The lodge is located on the western side of the Chobe National Park and offers panoramic views over the wildlife-rich Chobe River and flood plain.

This luxurious and intimate luxury lodge only has eight suites and with the new jetty at Ihaha in Western Chobe, allows for optional breakfast and lunch cruises (subject to river level). As the lodge is in the Chobe Forest Reserve it can offer night game drives.

Day 10: Chobe River Front

Suite Room with a viewChobe Activities

Day 11: Chobe River Front

Private dinner at lodgeBush DinnerSunset at end of game drive

Day 12: End of Itinerary

On your last day of the tour, you will wake early for your final game drive and African bush sunrise, before returning to camp to begin your transfer to Kasane, along with all your unforgettable memories, for your onward journey.