If you are keen to stay at one of the safari camps within the confines of Kruger National Park, then you may want to consider staying in a rondawel at Satara Camp. A rondawel is the name for the traditional circular hut with a sloping thatched roof which can be found throughout Africa. At Satara Camp, it’s possible to stay in one of these for a very reasonable price, making a safari holiday an affordable option for many holiday makers on more modest budgets.

The rondawels are arranged around the edge of large circles with a green, open area in the middle. Each rondawel has an open-air kitchen area with a small table and chairs and basic kitchen equipment including a hob, microwave and sink plus cutlery, crockery and other utensils. The fridge-freezer is located in an airy, but lockable, cupboard in order to discourage raids from monkeys and honey badgers! The bedroom and bathroom areas are located inside the rondawel and all have air conditioning.  Everything is simply furnished and the huts are clean and comfortable and have an old-fashioned charm which cannot fail to please.

Traveling abroad with a young family in tow is never the cheapest holiday option but, in order to save money, you could consider a camping holiday. If you are already sighing and imagining the car packed full of pots and pans, bedding and tent plus two boxes of favourite foods and hot, grumpy children squashed amongst the suitcases, then do consider staying on a site where the tents are already erected and the equipment is already supplied.

There are several companies operating from the UK which offer these sorts of holidays in a number of European countries. Some have tents set up on large bustling sites with children’s clubs, games rooms, bars and restaurants, food outlets and even a swimming pool. Other sites are smaller and more intimate and are often located away from large tourist resorts at riverside locations or in mountainous areas. If you are able to travel outside of the school holidays, then you can really pick up a bargain, often with good deals such as paying for two weeks and staying a third week for free.

Independent travellers are often looking for different things from a holiday from other holidaymakers.  Often keen to venture onto public transport, mooch around markets selling exotic food and happy to explore places well off the beaten track, independent travellers tend to avoid staying in the big hotel chains.  If you are travelling in India and you like to do things your way and not as part of a package or an organised trip, then consider staying in a homestay.

Homestays are small guest houses, often with the owner and his family living on the premises as well.  Rooms tend to be clean and simply furnished and they often include a shower room and toilet. Nowadays, you will find that most rooms in a homestay will often have a wall mounted TV too  and, as English is a working language in India, you may find several channels broadcasting in English.  One of the nicest things about a homestay is that there is usually a communal area for guests to congregate in which gives guests the opportunity to meet other travellers from all over the world. Unless you are travelling in a very remote part of India, you should find good mobile phone reception and most homestays also offer free wi-fi to all guests.  As a rough guide, a night in a homestay costs from between about £5 a night per room to about £12.50 in a more luxurious place.