Washington
Kruger National Park is the best known in South Africa, but it is about 1,200 miles from Cape Town. A closer option would be Addo Elephant Park or Shamwari Game Reserve, which both offer the Big Five -- elephants, lions, rhinos, leopards, buffalos -- but since you'd need to fly to Port Elizabeth to get to these parks, I'd opt for Kruger.
Accommodations in Kruger range from camping to luxury lodges, and prices run the gamut, from $15 a night to more than $400. A good resource for finding well-priced lodging is through South African National Parks (fax 011-27-12-426-5500, www.parks-sa.co.za). Private tour companies in South Africa include Go Safari (fax 011-27-11-792-3037, www.gosafari.co.za) and Adventure Village (fax 011-27-21-424-1590, www.adventure-village.co.za). In the United States, try Go2SouthAfrica (800-443-9216, www.go2southafrica.com). Or contact South Africa Tourism (212-730-2929, www.southafrica.net) for a list of fundis, travel agents that specialize in South Africa.
We'd like to go cross-country on the train and then perhaps connect with a tour to spend a few days around Canada's Banff. Any suggestions?
Lila O. Asher
Chevy Chase
If your goal is to save money, you can assemble your own trip. But the planning will take some time, as you'll have to work with train schedules, connections, transfers, hotel reservations and sightseeing tours.
Buy a 30-day North America Rail Pass, which is good for travel on Amtrak and Via Rail Canada; price is $699 per adult through Oct. 15 and $495 Oct. 16-May 31. Train accommodations cost extra: Expect to pay at least $175 a night for a bedroom. You could take Amtrak's Cardinal or Capitol Limited to Chicago, then the Empire Builder to Seattle. Amtrak will also arrange bus service from Seattle to Vancouver. From Vancouver, take Via Rail Canada's Canadian train to Jasper. Brewster (800-760-6934, www.brewster.ca) offers tours from Jasper to Banff. From Jasper, the Canadian travels to Toronto, where you can connect with Amtrak to New York and then Washington. Info: 800-USA-RAIL, www.amtrak.com;and 888-VIA-RAIL, www.viarail.ca.
If you'd prefer a package that includes meals, a guide, transfers, hotel lodging, train fees, etc., many companies offer cross-country train tours, although most go across Canada. They vary from budget to luxury, and cost anywhere from about $2,100 per person double to more than $5,000 for a week. Choices include America by Rail (888-777-6605, www.americabyrail.net), American Orient Express (800-320-4206, www.americanorientexpress.com), Rail Travel Center (800-458-5394, www.railtvl.com) and John Steel Rail Tours (800-988-5778, www.johnsteel.com).
Send queries by e-mail (travelqa@washpost.com), fax (202-912-3609) or U.S. mail (Travel Q&A, Washington Post Travel Section, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington D.C. 20071).
