Sunday, December 24, 2006

During our weekly online chat (most Mondays at 2 p.m), you ask and we answer your travel questions -- mostly. Here are two we couldn't get to last week.

Traveling to Charleston, S.C., (with teenagers) on the way to Florida. Any must-sees or must-eats?

When you say "must eat" and Charleston in the same sentence, the answer is oysters. A key ingredient of South Carolina's low-country cuisine are those fat, slimy, hard-to-open and fun-to-eat shellfish. If you're there on Jan. 28, indulge at the Lowcountry Oyster Festival, across the river in Mount Pleasant. But anytime, you can pick an oyster house from among the many lining Shem Creek and start shucking.

Spend your days walking the Colonial streets of the historic quarter and visiting Fort Sumter and the South Carolina Aquarium, with its adjacent Imax to please your teenagers.

I want to take a safari but need some guidance.

The best places to go on safari are in East Africa and southern Africa, but the game viewing differs per region. Kenya and Tanzania have mass migrations, while Botswana attracts a high concentration and variety of wildlife, but not big herds. For a starter safari, Phillip Gain, a consultant with Adventure Travel Desk (800-552-0300, http://www.african-safari.com/), a Massachusetts-based safari outfitter, recommends a circuit tour of Victoria Falls, Botswana's Okavango Delta and Cape Town.

Also consider access and comfort level, which vary wildly. In South Africa, national parks such as Kruger restrict viewing. Visitors have more freedom in private reserves, such as Sabi Sand and Timbavati, where open vehicles, night safaris and off-road drives are allowed. Plan to spend about $500 to $600 a day all-inclusive (airfare is additional).

For tour operators, check with the Association for the Promotion of Tourism to Africa ( http://www.apta.biz/) and South Africa Tourism ( http://www1.southafrica.net/). For general info: WildWatch African Wildlife & Conservation, 888-882-3742, http://www.wildwatch.com/, and the African Wildlife Foundation, http://www.awf.org/.

-- Andrea Sachs and Steve Hendrix