Safari with toddler and baby

[Flymeaway4]

Never been on safari and now have a 2yr old and 5 month old. Had resigned myself to waiting 10 years til they were old enough, but a family member has just returned from her first one and it looks incredible! She also said there was a British couple there with their 2yr old and triplet babies!! So it got me thinking, maybe we don't have to wait 10 years?! Thoughts? Anyone done it and can share their experience, good or bad?

So that's a pretty resounding no! With a few exceptions, maybe. Not sure I'm brave enough to be the exception!

I wish I was joking about the toddler and triplets, but I'm not. I don't see why she'd lie to me either?!

So the one she did wasn't Kruger. Not sure where exactly, but only 2hrs from Joberg and malaria free, so no pills or vaccines needed. Also no big cats, but there were rhino and elephants. My first concern when she mentioned it was safety and its clearly a valid concern. I might look into the more wildlife park ones, although probably more daydreaming for the future!

It would be Pilansberg.

Addo Elephant park would probably be ok.

My almost 3yo would be trying to get himself out of the car to play with the cute kitty with a massive meltdown when I tell him it's a lion that could eat him. So it'd be a big fat no from me.

At some point when we went we were being stalked by a lion and all told to remain silent whilst the ranger got his gun out incase it charged. Same with an elephant, not sure I'd be happy if a baby started crying at that point!!

I went on a kenya safari for my honeymoon. Most incredible thing ever but I’m fairly sure children were not allowed, more of a safety thing than anything. A toddler running off Could turn into a very dangerous situation very quickly.

it cost an absolute fortune I would not comtemplate it until kids are old enough to understand and remember.

It would be a no from me.

A proper safari is in the vehicle for long drives around the game reserve. Like hours. We even had one start at 5.30am to catch the sunrise and different animals. There is no way I'd be doing that with small kids. Absolutely not.

Also I'd be worried about my kids (who actually were well behaved toddlers, but toddlers still) impacting other holiday makers. I'd say 8+ would be the best age to consider this type of holiday. Regardless of what someone posts on bloody instagram (which you know is a highly filtered version of their daily life, right?)

Yes similar experience here. One evening once we were safe in our tents we were told to “keep it down” that evenings because there were lions in the area.

Sorry OP, I don’t see how it would be possible unless…

you went to a reserve with no big cats (for safety and peace of mind- even as an adult without kids, getting up close to a lion can make you a bit edgy, while fascinating- I can’t imagine doing it with a tiny baby drawing attention to itself!)

you had a private car- it wouldn’t be fair on other guests to have to share with you & kids

your kids like waking up at 4am and are happy to sit in a car and not use the loo for 2+ hours

they don’t mind being cold (it’s 4am after all)

you don’t mind spending a lot of money on stuff that’s not very fun!

I’ve done a proper African safari and I would not recommend it for kids.

The roads are so bumpy it’s nearly dangerous. A girl I was travelling with, her bra strap snapped due to the aggressive roads.

No. Not a chance

It sounds like a nightmare for you and not something that the DC are going to remember, i.e. an expensive waste of money.

You have the rest of your life to do dream holidays. My DC are 12 and 10 and we started going on 'once in a lifetime' trips with them when the youngest was 5.

My favourite holiday ever was on a reserve in South Africa. I have a 9 month old, we first took her away when she was 4 weeks old, we’ve been camping and done all sorts but I wouldn’t take her on a proper safari in a million years. We will go, we’re so excited about taking her back to where we went, but it’ll be when she’s older and can appreciate it (and follow safety instructions!)

Absolutely NO!
Extreme dust, water shortages in lodges, really early 5am starts to get to watering hole advantage points, heat, flys and so on.

We had a private driver so we were comfortable but from what I saw of the tourist mini buses with pull back roofs to stand up in, they were cramped. I doubt fellow tourists in that situation would appreciate a mewling baby or a grizzling toddler.
Also, there are times when you have to be silent to even hope to see cats or feeding elephants. A mewling baby would spoil it for others.

We were threatened by a huge lone bull Elephant who came out of nowhere! That was not funny I can tell you.
Just NO.

Oh elephants. We had to reverse pretty damn quickly and get out of the area as fast as we could due to a charging elephant.

He wasn’t happy we were close to the females he was courting

A torally bonkers idea and understandably most places wouldn't actually allow young children on the reserve. It's not fair on the child or the others in the safari.

Also I absolutely don't for one second believe a couple with a 2 year old and triplet babies would choose to go on holiday let alone this type of holiday. She's got to be pulling your leg.

My thoughts exactly. Mental note to self that if I ever look into this type of holiday to ensure there is a minimum age for guests.

I've been taking DD on safaris in South Africa since she was 11 months old. Proper safaris - staying in safari lodges, game drives (inc crack of dawn starts ) in safari vehicles etc. There is a wide variety of Game Reserves in SA - and yes, while many will have restrictions on children, not all do and this is why you need to do your research. When she was 11 months old we stayed here: riverbendcollection.co.za/ (children of all ages can join the game drives - which are in a separate vehicle from the other guests) and we've also stayed here: www.sanbona.com/ (allows game drives from the age of 4) and here: www.andbeyond.com/destinations/africa/south-africa/kwazulu-natal/phinda-private-game-reserve/ (allows game drives from the age of 6).

I wouldn't say that she really got much from the trip when she was 11 months - but she was an easy traveller and I really enjoyed it and we had a fantastic time. But she had an amazing time on the later trips and still talks about them now. I never found the early starts for the morning game a particular problem - it's a bit of an adventure getting up while it's still dark for early morning coffee and snacks and then when you get back from your morning game drive after breakfast you can all have a nap/relapse in the lodge.

If your children travel well, I would say 100% go for it! In fact writing this post has made me very nostalgic for our trips. But make sure you do your research first!

I have done a couple of safari holidays and the best time to be animal spotting is early dawn / late afternoon - all times which I think are tough for small children.

If you head to South Africa - the safari does t have to be the whole focus of the holiday and you could have a few days safari and see if the lodge has a creche? Look at Kruger park - huge variety of types accommodation and some self drive safaris.

For me and depends on your children. My young children just wouldn't stay quiet when needed when near the animals. I would find myself getting stressed about how they would behave especially if you were sharing a vehicle.

And all the places that I've linked to are in the malaria-free parts of SA - I totally agree that I wouldn't want to have to faff with the pills. And they're all in reserves which have the big 5 (as well as many different kinds of animals as well). It is expensive, but a unique experience and totally worth it in my opinion. But the maximum that we stay is 2 nights as part of a much bigger trip.

This100%%.Wait until they are old enough to enjoy and understand where they are.

I agree. I always remember (unfortunately) the 4 year old running wild shouting when silence was requested at the watering hole next to our campsite in Etosha, Namibia. His parents just ignored him. Thankfully, there weren't too many animals around at the time.

For me personally I wouldn't want to do it with small children because. If it is a proper travelling safari you stay in a different hotel each night. You have to pack everything up all the time and with a new born and toddler come with a lot of stuff. It's very long days and early starts with jet lag on top I can image it would be awful. It can be very hot in the cars with not much shade. Mostly for me it would be the cost. They cost 1000s of pounds and a young child just wouldn't appreciate it. I'd much rather wait until they at least might be able to remember it. No guarantee of seeing animals either. The last one we went on we met someone who had been going for 12 years to see certain animals and the year we were there was the first time he saw it.

Mine too

Game arrives tend to be 2-3 hours long(with a break for coffee etc) , either starting before dawn or at dusk as this is the best time for animal spotting. Would your children be happy to sit quietly in their car seats for that length of time? At those hours of the day? It can also be bloody cold depending on the time of year you go.

Unless you’re self driving in a car with windows up and you can determine how long you’re out, the children might not be as appreciative as you are. And the other 10 or so passengers might also not appreciate it.

also as others have mentioned with big game there is the absolute need to stay silent and still at times, in the open sided jeeps. A lion might look slothful but can move bloody fast - and cover a much bigger distance than you think in a single bound. They have dragged people out of a car before now.

*game drives

I don't think they will let a baby on a game drive as the squealing wont exactly be safe. Or it will scare off the big game. You wouldn't be popular either way. I'm not sure how you would keep the baby safe even in the Land Rover. It's some very bumpy ground. You'd not want a baby's head banging around that much. Car seats are surprisingly not tested for the bush!