Chat Plus

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

Can you recommend a midrange private game reserve in Kruger National Park?

On the high end, South African game reserve lodges go for $1,000 to $1,500 a night per person -- but that includes safari drives, lodging, food, drinks and other activities. For lodges costing about half that price, you might have to forgo some of the pampering.

For the cheapest accommodations, go public. Kruger National Park has self-catering properties that can cost $70 to $100 a night. You then pay separately for the safari, which could be nominal or even free, if you're willing to ride in a truck with 20 other people.

To move up a notch, look at properties on private game reserves in or near Kruger. In Sabi Sands Game Reserve and other southern areas, you'll find numerous choices, such as Exeter Private Game Reserve (from $415), Londolozi Game Lodge (from $553) and Jock Safari Lodge (from $415), one of the first private camps in Kruger. If you prefer to stay in the less populated (humans, not animals) north, consider Tanda Tula Game Lodge, where guests sleep in upscale tents for about $385 each per night. For more safari info: South African Tourism, 800-593-1318, http://www1.southafrica.net/.

-- Andrea Sachs