How do I plan my safari?
Making the Adventure Happen
Planning your safari holiday to East Africa is hugely exciting. There are so many bucket-list experiences to choose from; natural wonders to see; thrilling wild camping trails to take you close to animals and deep in the wilderness, the gorgeous tented camps and lodges to stay at; and alluring landscapes to soak in – from thick bush to savannah, rapids of the Nile to the top of mountain ranges.
We thrive on matching the right locations, lodges and activities to our clients’ wish-lists, making their African safari dreams come true and their vacation unforgettable for all the right reasons.
Because of our excellent service, we strive to understand our clients most intimate travel needs and go an extra mile to meet each one of them.
If you want to start planning a safari in Africa, here are our expert tips on making it a seamless process:
1. HOW TO CHOOSE THE TRAVEL DATES
Planning your safari holiday to East Africa is hugely exciting. There are so many bucket-list experiences to choose from; natural wonders to see; thrilling wild camping trails to take you close to animals and deep in the wilderness, the gorgeous tented camps and lodges to stay at; and alluring landscapes to soak in – from thick bush to savannah, rapids of the Nile to the top of mountain ranges.
We thrive on matching the right locations, lodges and activities to our clients’ wish-lists, making their African safari dreams come true and their vacation unforgettable for all the right reasons.
Because of our excellent service, we strive to understand our clients most intimate travel needs and go an extra mile to meet each one of them.
If you want to start planning a safari in Africa, here are our expert tips on making it a seamless process:
2. HOW TO CHOOSE WHERE TO GO
Start with having a specific goal for your safari. Maybe you’ve dreamt of spending time with the San People (Kalahari Desert bushmen) since you were a child, or witnessing Victoria Falls in full flood, or seeing a specific animal in the wild.
What animals or experiences are at the heart of your dream safari? The answer will more than likely help determine your ideal destination.
Once you know which destination is your main focus and you decided on rough travel dates, you can explore which attractions and experiences combine well with your goal.
Browse our sample itineraries to find out which locations and attractions go well together in terms of logistics and gain a general idea of the costs per person. You’ll most likely enrich your safari goal with additional places and experiences, creating a wish list for our Africa Safari Experts to turn into a dream vacation itinerary.
Our travel consultants tailor make your safari itinerary around your personal needs, expectations, wishes and budget.
3. HAVE A BUDGET ESTIMATE
An African safari is not an inexpensive holiday. Even though there is a wide range of available itineraries and travel styles, there are a lot of logistics involved in going on safari in Africa. It’s also worth keeping in mind that the staff of wildcamping safaris and safari lodges must deliver excellent service, food and accommodation in very remote destinations – and that costs much more than delivering the same standard of comfort in a big city.
Knowing what you are willing to spend on your journey, eases the planning process! Plus, you find the ideal itinerary faster.
There is an overwhelming amount of itineraries and travel styles available and to pick the one that works best for you, can seem like a task difficult to manage.
Disclose to your travel consultant the budget that you set for this holiday. With this information your travel consultant can eliminate the travel styles and itineraries that exceed your budget by far and he/she can put together itinerary suggestions that maximise on your safari experience without exceeding your budget.
4. HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR SAFARI TRAVEL STYLE
Your travel style is a matter of personal preference and influenced by the people you intend to travel with, your budget, the time you have available for your vacation and the standard of comfort that you are looking forward to.
If your budget is limited, you’ll want the most affordable options. If you have limited time, you’ll want the most efficient travel logistics.
Every country in East Africa is unique and has its own travel style options to cater for the different needs and expectations.
Since the countries in East Africa are so different, they face different challenges so that a travel style that is very efficient and affordable in one country (e.g. camping inside the parks and selfdriving in a country with good road conditions and short distances such as Rwanda) is leading to logistic challenges in another country (e.g. Uganda, where most parks are remote and with deep sandy tracks only, insufficient signage and neither permanent structures nor supply options inside the parks).
The same travel style can in one country be advisable for tours with limited time and budget while in another country it is better to do the same travel style as guided tour and when you have a few more days and extra cash to spend.
Our Travel Consultants are there for you to help you find the travel style that best suits you and the destinations that you want to visit.
Helpful questions that you can discuss with your travel mates are:
- Do I want a private or a group joining tour?
- Do I want a guided tour or a selfdrive?
- What is my budget? And do I want to spend it on activities or on accomodation?
- Is my time enough to travel by road and/or through the bush between the destinations that I want to visit? Or should I consider flying or driving on tarred roads?
- How comfortable vs how affordable do I want to sleep? e.g. camping, lodges (budget, midrange, all-inclusive)
- How comfortable vs how remote/deep in the bush do I want to overnight?
In most remote parks only the high-end fly-in lodges offer accomodation inside the park in a proper room. If those are out of my price range, do I prefer to sleep in lodges outside of the parks (affordable) and do daytrips or do I want to do wildcamping inside the park (mid-price range)?
- How comfortable do I want to travel between destinations? e.g. flights, road transfer on tarred roads or off-road transfer through the bush?
