"I see that you have another trip to South Africa coming up," my mom noted as she reviewed my travel schedule. And indeed we do. Some may find it wild (pun intended) that my wife and I plan to go back to South Africa yet again after having already visited four times. But, when it's just so easy and cheap to do a safari on points, why not continue to visit such a magnificent place?

In this article, I'm going to show you how to plan an affordable safari — including how to get cheap flights to South Africa, how to set your travel budget for South Africa and an example safari on points trip.

(Photo by JT Genter)

How to get cheap flights to South Africa

South Africa is practically on the other side of the world. So, U.S.-based travelers need to be prepared for an ultra-long-haul flight to fly directly to South Africa — or two long-haul flights if you're connecting through Europe or Africa.

Because the flights are so long, prices are typically set accordingly. However, you can still find cheap flights to South Africa. For example, at the time of writing, you can book a flight from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Cape Town for $593 round trip.