Welcome to Rick and Jess Adventures! This channel is dedicated to sharing our travel experiences around the globe.
If you’re here, then you’ve got a passion for travelling like we do. The way the idea for this channel came about is we would go on vacations and post about our trips on social media. As friends and family would see our posts, we’d get questions about our adventures and often we’d give our perspective about the experience. From sharing our advice, every now and then we’d get a nudge about starting a travel channel with the goal of being able to help others with their travel plans. Finally, thanks to all of those nudges, we are moving forward with sharing our experiences with the world.
From an international perspective, brace yourself for future videos on Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central America, Europe, the Middle East, the South Pacific, and South America.
@@lyb8714 I can't think of a greater compliment than your kind words. It means a lot to know that a local found our information valuable for other tourists eager to explore your wonderful country.
When it comes to national parks, the link below features an image of Victoria Falls along with its key viewpoints. Notably, the national park on the Zimbabwe side offers more vantage points (1-16) for viewing the falls compared to the Zambian side, which includes the iconic Knife Edge viewpoint (17). www.discover-victoriafalls.com/victoria-falls-images/victoria-falls-tour.jpg
@@stowgood Thank you for leaving a comment. Hotel prices can vary widely based on the season; peak times usually mean higher rates. For a rough estimate, nice hotels range from $30 a night to luxurious options over $1,000. To get a rough estimate on current prices, you can check websites like Trip advisor or Expedia with your desired travel dates. For the Devil's Pool experience, checking the website today, it is being offered at $120 per person. The website we used for booking is: devilspool.net/. The Batoka Sky Helicopter starts at $189 per person. The Ra-ikane Sunset Cruise with snacks and open bar is $92 per person. For more information, their website is: www.raikane.com. Finally, these were the prices that were listed on their websites as of today's date. It’s possible that local tour operators or hotels may have access to discounts, especially if you’re planning on booking everything as a packaged deal.
@@travistuong3132 Thank you for your question. Before traveling, we recommend checking the CDC website for up-to-date information on health precautions: wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel. When we visited, it was advised to take a daily prescription medication to prevent malaria. However, since we’re not medical professionals, we strongly suggest consulting a doctor for personalized medical advice. During our visit, which was during the dry season, we did not encounter any issues with mosquitoes.
@@gilbertnicholas1582 Thank you for your comment. If your goal is to see Victoria Falls at full strength (high water levels), then it’s usually recommended to visit from March to June. If your goal is to experience Devil’s Pool, like us, then you will need to visit during low water levels. That is typically between mid August to January. If your goal is to experience the best game viewing, then it’s recommended to visit during the dry season when animals tend to congregate near water sources and the brush is lower. For us, we visited in early October, which was perfect for experiencing Devil’s Pool and for game viewing. One day, I’d like to go back and experience the area during a different season.
@@mash417 Hi, thank you for reaching out. For our trip, I believe we tipped at least $20 per day for the tour guide and $10 for drivers. However, if something extraordinary happens, my wife would significantly increase that amount. 😂 Typically, before I travel, I do the same thing you’re doing and I double check what’s customary. Then if we consider the service to be above standard we tip more accordingly.
Hey, cool video! It was entertaining and informative. I'm from Swakopmund and i think this is a good video representing some of best places you can visit in Namibia. If anyone has some questions about travelling here, i can try to answer them in the perspective of a local/someone living here😅
@@toasti_wt Thank you for your thoughtful message. Our primary goal is to share our experiences in a way that is (hopefully) helpful to others. If we can do so while also being a bit entertaining, that's an added bonus. With that being said, it's especially rewarding to read a compliment from a local from the area we visited. Finally, thank you for offering to help other travelers who may have questions.
@@tarapdr638 Thank you for your thoughtful comment. We appreciate your kind words. When we made our bookings, we benefited from a Trip Advisor Plus membership, which offered discounted room rates across various hotels for an annual fee of $99. Unfortunately, they discontinued that program. Despite that, I still recommend comparing prices on Trip Advisor, Expedia, and the hotels' official websites to find the best deals. I hope you have an amazing vacation!
@@dennisschnell we didn’t get to sand surf here (might be a little too steep 🤷🏼♀️ or the sand is too soft, not sure), but we did sand board when we went a little further north to Swakopmund. The sand there was a lot more compact, so that may be the difference.
We absolutely loved our stay at Xugana! For me, I wasn't anticipating booking the helicopter safari. It was a spur of a moment decision. Looking back, that was an incredible memory and I would have regretted not reserving it. With that being said, if you're on the fence about it... book it, you won't regret it. In terms of activities, we had the opportunity to experience the mokoro excursion, motorized boat safari, and the guided bush walk. All of the activities are special in their own way. The mokoro excursion was unique to Botswana (and us) and therefore it left the biggest impression. The only activity we really made use of a binoculars was the guided bush walk. For safety reasons, we keep our distance from the animals. Lastly, one thing that stuck out to me was the bugs. Before the trip, there were some concerns about mosquitos, as such we came prepared by spraying our clothing with permethrin and we bought mosquito repellant bracelets. In any case, it turned out that either our preparation worked or it was far less of a concern because we really didn't experience any mosquitos. It's hard to say if it was due to the time of the year because when we visited it was early October.
@@RicknJessAdventures Thank you for your detailed answer. Not sure about the helicopter flight at first but as the days come closer its sounds better and better. We have anti- mosquito spray. We also have malaria pills. Dont know if that is really something we need. Cant wait to be there. Sounds amazing. Almost time to go on adventure.
Very useful video. Thanks. 😊 we are organising our trip to Namibia for next year. We would like to stay at the kulala desert lounge. How did you book it? Thank you.
Thank you so much for the comment. We truly appreciate it. When it comes to booking lodges/hotels, I tend to check a number of different websites. I like to check: Trip advisor, Expedia, Booking.com, and I always double check the lodge or hotel’s main website. Surprisingly, the main websites may have the lowest price. If not, if you’re booking directly, they may match the prices found on another website. For this specific booking, the best deal that I could find was at Booking.com. It should be noted that there was another couple that showed up at the lodge and got a fantastic deal. Rather than paying for an all inclusive rate, they just paid a low night rate and chose to pay for the activities they wanted to do. I didn’t even know that was an option.
Thank you so much for your comment! If you’re pressed for time, you could easily enjoy both sides of the falls in two days. For example, day one: morning Devil’s Pool, Zambia side of the falls, sunset cruise. Day two: Flight of Angels and Zimbabwe side of the falls. If you have more time, there are plenty of activities (like white water rafting) and sites that you could add onto the trip depending on your interests. For example, you could use Victoria Falls as a home base for day trips into Chobe National Park or Hwange National Park.
Thank you for your comment. Our next international destination will be Japan later this year. In terms of episodes, we anticipate publishing a new episode for Cape Town this week. Following that episode, our upcoming guides will be on Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and Greece.
Thank you for your comment. We appreciate you taking the time to write a question. Our time during our vacation was limited to just Vic Falls. We plan on returning in the future to see more of these beautiful countries. If we're just talking about Vic Falls, then my opinion is that the Zimbabwe side had more tourists. In comparing Victoria Falls Town to Livingstone, it felt like Victoria Falls Town was more geared toward tourists. In any case, we had an excellent time in both towns and I believe you'd be happy with staying in either country.
It's a small world! You're very welcome. I'm glad to hear that the information was useful. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time at Vic Falls! Enjoy your vacation.
Thanks for a fun and interesting guide, well done. Question, No Etosha ParK? Would you share a general idea of cost for car and hotels per day. My research indicates car 100-150 and hotels 150-350, all in USD. How far in advanced did you book hotels? Once again, really well done!!!!
We really appreciate your kind words. For the car, we paid about $140 per day. However, that includes a $165 one way fee because we picked up the car in Windhoek and dropped it off at Walvis Bay. If you are returning to the same location, the daily rate would be lower. The hotels were around 130-140 per night at the time of our visit. The exception is the Kulala Desert Lodge, which is a more high end property. We booked our reservations about four months out. However, I don't believe it's necessary to book that far in advance. The time of our visit was early October. As for Etosha Park, it's on our list of places to see (along with other areas of Namibia), it was just difficult to fit it within the schedule for this past trip.
Thank you for an entertaining and formative video. Throughly enjoyed it. One quick question please, with your Wild Horizon transfer, I assume they transferred you across boarders. Did the driver cross with you, or did you change vehicles and drivers? Planning our visit this September, so your trip will be very similar…. Regards….. now to watch your Botswana trip, as we are staying Camp X also…..
Thank you so much for your kind words; we're truly grateful for the compliments. As for the transfers with Wild Horizons, we used their services to cross from Botswana to Zambia and from Zambia to Zimbabwe. Under both circumstances, the driver crossed over with us and assisted us with the border crossing. We did not need to switch drivers/vehicles for these border crossings. It sounds like you're planning an amazing vacation! For both locations, it's easy to see why people visit once and find themselves wanting to come back. You're sure to create unforgettable travel memories.
Grand old DAME…Livingstone stumbled upon Mosi au Tunya during the Queen Victoria era….. Victoria Falls hotel was built during King George’s era…hence its Georgian architecture rather than Victorian…yep a destination in itself.
You haven't set up your RU-vid video #Tag(Keyword)properly due to which your correct audience is not watching your videos and your views are not increasing.
