The Harts Honeymoon in South Africa: The Budget

Disclosure: This post contains referral links. I may receive a referral bonus if you sign up for the product.

In case you’ve somehow missed this point, our honeymoon was amazing! But all that amazingness does not come cheap. You’ve seen how we spent our time in South Africa, so it’s only fair that you also see how we spent our money.

International Airfare: $681.12
Seat Selection for BA flights: $258
Travel Insurance: $136
Safari: $2668.03
JNB to CPT flight: $211
Pre-booked Airport Transfers: $62
1 night at the African Pride Melrose Arch: $234.48
Cell service: $100
Transportation (e.g. Uber): $170.81
Souvenirs: $181.42
Sunrise Lion’s Head Hike: $140
Peninsula Tour: $229
Wine Flies Tour: $133.68
Spa: $191.34
Food and Drinks: $1016.20
Cash: $415
Airport Parking: $130

Total: 6958.08

So that’s that. There’s the budget…

Just kidding. Since when do I stop writing after such a brief view words?

I wanted to share some more information and lessons learned in case you are considering your own South African adventure.

Airfare: We used both American Airlines and United points for the flights. I used 72,000 AA points for the flights to Jo’burg. Unfortunately, those flights were on British Airways, which charges exorbitant fuel surcharges when you fly through London, which we did. In fact, the fuel surcharges for these flights were over $550 of the total cost of airfare. Add to that the cost of seat selection (which I may have foregone if it weren’t our honeymoon) and the “free” flights became quite expensive. Even so, the cost of airfare was substantially less than it would have been had we paid for flights. Our return flights were booked with a total of 80,000 United points, which has been earned through a credit card sign up and related spend on the credit card (if you’re interested in this credit card, click here for my referral link; the current sign up bonus is 40,000 miles after spending $2000 in the first 3 months after account opening). These flights were primarily on Turkish Airways. We simply paid for the inexpensive intracountry flight between Jo’burg and Cape Town. One more note - if you use points to book flights on partner airlines, you can call the booking airline to get the confirmation numbers for the partner flights. That way you can verify the reservation (maybe I’m just a worrier) and choose your seats in advance. Hopefully for free. You’re welcome.

Hotels: Outside of the safari, we only had to pay for one night of a hotel due to my dad’s generosity. We splurged a bit for our night at the African Pride Melrose Arch, but it was just what we needed for our one night in Jo’burg. A bit of luxury helped us transition from long days of travel to the safari adventure ahead of us. One of the biggest cost savings of our honeymoon was the gift of 6 hotel nights, which my dad booked using Marriott points. Turns out, Africa is a great place to use Marriott points. There are many options that are affordable when booking with points. The total points cost for 4 nights in Cape Town at the Protea Hotel Victoria Junction and 2 nights at the Protea Hotel Stellenbosch was 80,000 points. Eighty. Thousand. Points. That’s a steal, y’all. If you’re not lucky enough to have a business traveling and generous dad, the Marriott credit card can get you a long way toward some free nights. Using my referral link, the current sign up bonus is 3 award nights. A points bonus is available elsewhere (but also with a higher minimum spend), so depending on where you want to use the points one offer could be more valuable than the other. Using points was a great way to save money on our honeymoon without sacrificing any luxury.

Safari: It is no surprise that our greatest expense was our safari. I already spoke at length about the time and effort that went into finding the perfect option. What we spent was an incredible deal for what we experienced, especially compared to the cost of most other safaris I researched. Check out African Budget Safaris if you’re considering a safari adventure anywhere in Africa. This is also a good time to mention that, although the total cost of our honeymoon may be a bit eye-popping (although quite reasonable for a two week honeymoon including a safari), the cost was spread out over almost a year. I booked the tickets the October before and the safari in February. I pre-booked and prepaid what I could as far as tours, so the out of pocket cost when it came to the actual trip was relatively minimal.

Transportation: I had pre-booked transportation from the airport. It was a relief to know we would have someone waiting for us upon arrival and not have to immediately navigate transportation in what can be potentially unsafe cities. The remainder of the trip we used Uber, which was readily available and inexpensive. The major contributors to the cost were two longer rides between Cape Town and Stellenbosch and unexpectedly having to hire a private driver to get us from Babylonstoren back to our hotel. If we return to Cape Town, and I hope we do, we would probably rent a car for a few days to explore Cape Town and its surrounding areas.

Food and Drinks: This was an area where we tend to splurge and we made no effort to hold back on our honeymoon. Most of our meals while on safari were already included, although drinks were not. If you’re looking to save even more money, this would be an area where you could easily do so without feeling deprived.

Cash: We took out cash about three times during our trip. We used cash on miscellaneous stuff - a couple souvenirs, one or two meals, tips for the free walking tours, that sort of thing. The biggest use of cash, and why we made sure we had cash before we left on safari, was tips for the safari guides and staff. We also had to use cash to purchase beverages at the safari lodge, which were tallied at the end. There is really nowhere to get cash out in the bush, so make sure you do this in advance. If you’re curious about tipping etiquette, the usual tip at a restaurant is 10 - 15% of the bill. As far as on safari, we used cash to tip our guide (usually about $20 per day) and tracker (if present, $10). Safari lodges usually have a tip bucket for the entire staff and a recommended amount is about $20 per day. We made sure we had at R2500 on hand for 4 days of safari specific tips.

That’s a wrap folks, a mere 6 or 7 months later. If you have other questions you would like answered or want more information about planning your own trip to South Africa, just ask! We truly had the trip of a lifetime that was worth every penny.