Customer Reviews

Fodor's African Safari, 1st Edition: From Budget to Big Spending Where and How to Find the Best Big Game Adventure In Southern and Eastern Africa (Travel Guide)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Slim ,is not the word for this small 190 page "pocket book".
Totaly lacking in any comparative information about companies or there offerings.Did not help this ,first time traveler to Africa, at all, in deciding where or how to go on safari.Got more information in a hour "Googling" Safari.Took about an hour to read.Wish I had just "skimmed"it at a book store.Buyer beware. First grade level.EG "Drink lots of water when it is hot" or "best way to avoid malaria is do not get bitten".Written for a person who has never travled anywhere.Amazon has always imposed some "quality control" and this is the first time I have felt totaly "ripped off" after buying one of their books.

I found this book almost useless. It's publication date was 2004 and so a lot of information is outdated, which is why most travel books are published annually. If a book isn't going to be updated, they should avoid putting information in there that can become quickly outdated. For instance, they say gorilla permits in Uganda are $275, but the cost has risen twice since then and they are now $500, so the traveler that read this book and decided to go see gorillas would be in for a nasty surprise.

Some other incorrect information may be less important, but really embarrassing. For instance, it calls Dar Es Salaam the capital of Tanzania. It is the largest city and referred to as the "commercial capital", but Dodoma is the (political) capital. It can be a bit confusing, but you expect travel books to get this stuff right. Also, the book states that Churchill called Uganda the pearl of Africa, but it was actually Hemingway. Shoddy work, especially for something published by Fodor's.

Finally, the information is generic. I found this information, and much more, for free on the internet. For instance, it talks about the Great Migration in East Africa happening in a clockwise fashion annually. Well, that doesn't help you know where you need to be if you want to see the Migration and are there in May, for instance. However, there are sites on the internet that show the migration circuit and you can choose where to be at what time of year. All the dos and don'ts and packing lists and entry requirements are also easily found on the internet. And the list of National Parks in many of the countries is lacking. For Tanzania and Uganda it misses a bunch of them. As far as I can tell, there is pretty much no reason to use this book at all. Just read the abundant info on the internet and visit Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree to ask questions of travellers who have been there and people who live there.

The book is thin and the information included is even thinner. Hardly worth the purchase price.

I like this book on how to afford a trip to Africa. There is usful information in here, but it is also limited, so do your research and be sure there isn't anything they or you have missed. I didn't realize until I read this book that there were so many ways to go on a safari... many different means of transportation...

My sister and I are planning a trip to Southern Africa in the Spring...although we had both been to South Africa before we did not really know where to start with planning a 'safari' outside of SA...This book was a perfect overview of the different countries, the game you can plan to see, the tourist and weather seasons, and the differences between different types of safaris...we supplemented the information in this book with other sources...but this was a GREAT place to start off...get a good comfort level with the options in Africa...I would definitely reccommend!

Advice from the author: "take pets to the kennel...buy snacks and gum...check the weather". This "book" is full of the obvious with little help for those planning a safari. To be fair the information on photography (they suggest that you bring lots of film) and their information about self drive safaris (they tell you that this is a safari where you drive yourself) is humorous. A section on "Kahki Fever" where the author warns unsuspecting safari tourists about the dangers of AIDS when having an expected sexual encounter with your ranger on safari is simply over the top. Fodor's Hire and Editor...Amazon Hire a Reader!

I must say how surprised I was at the number of useful tips in this book. It was worth the wait of the delayed release. I'm planning my first trip to East Africa, and the authors brought up topics that had not occurred to me in my months of research. For instance, it includes straight forward talk about situations which may induce motion sickness and how to lessen the effect, and how to make the best use of your guide. It also offers an understanding of the guide's view of tourists. It includes broad advice about sub-saharan African culture that may help smooth the journey even further. Short, but to the point, it was about a four hour read.