Need assistance with trip planning

We are trying to plan a trip to Africa and need a lot of help. Here are just a few of our questions but any other information you can provide will be much appreciated.
What is the best time of year to go?
Where should we go for optimal animal viewing but that is not terribly overwhelmed with tourists? Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Botswana, other?
How should we do it -- go through an organized group (small, large?) or do it on our own and if we do it on our own, do you have any suggestions?

Any help is much appreciated. Thank you.

On my trip to South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya in April-June this year I watched wild animals at
1) Pilasenberg National Park, South Africa
2) Livingstone, Zambia
3) Chobe National Park, Botswana
4) Nairobi National Park, Kenya
(In addition to this there were baboons and ostriches at the Cape of Good Hope and a lot of baboons in the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, which is the Zambian side of the Victoria Falls.)

Pilasenberg was the only of those places where I saw lions, but there are lions in Chobe too. There is pretty much wildlife in Pilasenberg, but the area is so small you nearly have the feeling of being in a Zoo. In Livingstone I came surprisingly close to elephants and giraffes by taking a boat tour on the Zambezi. Chobe was definitely the park where I saw a lot of animals all the time, especially elephants and hippos. Nairobi is a rather small park close to the city, and I was there at the wrong time of the year (mid June). I got very close to giraffes and marabou storks, but the lions I never saw and the zebras and rhinos at such a long distance that it was meaningless to try to take pictures. Then I actually saw rather many animals from the TAZARA train Kapiri Mposhi - Dar-es-Salaam, the part nearest to Dar.

First of all, don't go to South Africa, it's way too dangerous for a first trip. I've done a few places and can recomend Kenya, it's not as touristy as you might expect and of course they speak excellent English. If you head north you should see almost everything (animal wise) and miss the crowds. If you want it's also then not far to drop down to Tanzania. I booked everything in advance but I know people who just got on a plane and did the rest there.it can be cheaper as there wil always be cancellations and of course no international booking fee.

but are you, Dave, suggesting that Kenya should be less dangerous than South Africa? You cannot be serious! Yes, is Johannesburg regarded as one of the most dangerous cities in the world, but so is also Nairobi, or "Nairobbery", as the city is just as often called. Personally I was on my first trip to both countries, and I shal admit I never left Johannesburg railway station, but I have never, ever been in a more ugly, air-polluted, noisy, crowded or unfriendly city than Nairoby.

We were in Northern Tanzanian circuit (serengeti,Ngorongoro,Tarangire,Manyara) and we had a very nice experience, plenty of wildlife.
PS:we suggest a camping safari

We have just returned from a two-week safari in the Tanzania Northern Safari Circuit. The game-viewing was the best we have experienced (after previous trips to Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia) and you get a real feel of tribal Africa which is generally absent in many other countries. We found no security concerns. However the roads are DREADFUL, so either go with an organised tour or arrange a 4x4 vehicle and driver from one of the many tour operators in Arusha. Do not attempt self-drive. We booked through Safari Makers Ltd and were extremely satisfied with their organisation and Leemo, our driver/guide.

Hi
I would be willing to work together with you to put a itinerary to gether that would suit your time frame and budget, i have a web-site that has a lot of information pages please feel free to ask me as many questions as you like, i am always willing to help.

Just thought I would give you my personal view on both South Africa and Kenya Tanzania. I am a woman and three of my friends, also women went to South Africa two years ago. We rented a car and drove all over South Africa without any problems whatsoever. None of us had ever driven on the (wrong side of the road before and that was an experience) We drove ourselves into Kruger National Park and had an experience of a lifetime. We also booked a camping safari which was also great. We enjoyed South Africa so much we recently went to Kenya and Tanzania. We stayed in Mombasa for four days and went on a two day safari into Tsavo East and West. It was great! We booked a 6 day safari into Tanzania with Wonderful Tours. They arranged transportation from Mombasa to Arusha and to Nairobi for our return. We spent 5 glorious nights and six days having the time of our life in Manyara National Park, Ngoronoro Crater and the Serengeti. Anicet Philip was our guide and he made Wonderful Tours exceptionally wonderful. I would not advise a self drive in this area because the road conditions are not that great. With the tours being as cheap as they are I wouldn't want to rent a car. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me by email. Africa is a beautiful place. There is a lot of poverty in Nairobi and Tanzania but these people are just trying to get by the way we all are. I hope you have a great experience just as we did.

Teresa Fonseca