Help - Safari holiday

[BlackDressingGown]

Hi, looking to book a once in a lifetime safari holiday for me and DS aged 7. Have had a little look about and can't see these provided by the usual travel companies I book with and scared of giving my money to a company I've never heard of . Just wondering if anybody has any personal recommendations?
Research says that Kenya is the place to go for safari but open to suggestions

3 days? We did 8 days which was just right for us!

https://www.exodus.co.uk/activities/family-holidays/wildlife-safaris

Exodus do family specific safari holidays and their trips get incredible reviews.

@TeenDivided - we went for 8 days as well but with older kids.
It all depends on the children, depends on the OP 7 year old DC.

I agree. My youngest was only 7 when we went, but was/is animal crazy. I wouldn't go with a 7yo who wasn't that interested in wildlife/nature.

Hi - I went with a 4 year old as a single parent, and booked through Aardvark (who have been recommended above). They provided great advice on suitability of lodges and experiences. Trailfinders may also be a good source of advice

We went with Nomad Tours. https://nomadtours.co.za Unsure if it's suitable for children though. They were great. I recommend heading to the Okavango Delta - Epic! We then went to Zimbabwe, Namibia and then South Africa.

We did a 14 day safari in Tanzania. Best holiday of my life, but exhausting. I'm lucky in that one of my very best friends lives there and runs a small safari company with her husband. They only take a single family group or one couple, so no sharing your lorry with anyone else, which I was grateful for. I can't imagine doing it with a child as young as 7 though.

We went to Madikwe, the traversing was fantastic we could shoot off all over when there was a sighting, check traversing rights of the camps you're interested in, how many people to a game drive and how many vehicles allowed at each sighting. It all matters, nothing worse than been stuck on a game drive with people who can't shut up when you're looking at some of THE most amazing sights you'll ever see. Or getting to an sighting and finding there's lots of cars also looking which means lots more noise.

Trailfinders is always my go to. I once arranged a holiday which included a Safari with Audley Travel. It was more expensive and once I’d paid, I found the service better from Trailfinders.

We did a private tour and booked directly with a Kenyan operator, driving from Nairobi to Masai Mara. I can't remember who we booked with but can probably find it somewhere. If your budget is healthy then I'd probably go private. Scour TripAdvisor for current recommendations - it's a bit daunting transferring thousands to a random bank account, but there's plenty of reputable local providers. I'd love to go again for longer. If you do choose Kenya, make sure you do a balloon ride.

There tends to be a fair amount of downtime on safari, so do bear that in mind - usually two drives a day. Sometimes the option of a night drive, depending where you go. They aren't permitted everywhere.

Safaris can be brutal, particularly if you go during the migration. Think on this if your child is sensitive to the brutality of nature. I am still haunted by a poor wildebeest who I witnessed fall and break a leg. It then had to lie there waiting to be eaten alive or die first

In South Africa I've been to Kruger, which is a really different vibe to Masai Mara (in my opinion). I also spent time in a place called St Lucia, which has great wetland reserves, safari drives (including night drives), turtles laying/hatching... I really liked it there. South Africa allows for other activities if you think a "true" safari will be too slow paced.

Namibia is also a great option if you want a bit of a mix to your trip. You can self drive it easily too and get to see some fantastic sand dunes.

Tanzania and Botswana are on my bucket list but $$$$.

We went to Kenya last year with DC aged 12 to 16. It was amazing! We did a 5-day safari followed by 5 days at the beach. Booked the safari using East Africa Adventure Tours (found them on TripAdvisor).

I've been to Botswana, Kenya and Namibia. Namibia was definitely my favourite. We went with Exodus.

I would wait until he's older. There's a lot of driving on bumpy dusty roads and some operators don't take under 12s for that reason.

We had an amazing trip in 2019. 9 days on safari and 5 in Mombasa. The best holiday I've ever had and can't wait to go again when finances allow.

We booked it all independently. Safari was booked directly with an operator in Kenya. They were brilliant. Did a tailor made itinerary and worked out much cheaper than through kuoni etc.

Took the train from Nairobi to Mombasa and stopped off at Tsavo on the way.

Also recommend rainbow tours, if they are still going.

they don’t do the actual tours though, that is (a range of) independent operators.
ours was an adults only safari but there are def kid friendly options. The one we did I’m not sure would be kid friendly as it involved being up very early and on the truck all day. Also had a slightly hairy moment with some lions!

If you search, nothing comes up for Kenya or any other safari destinations.

You could have a look at Swaziland or Eswatini as it's now known for light touch easy safari, with the option of kruger and St Lucia nearby in South Africa. Eswatini is amazingly beautiful and super easy to get around. The parks are small but perfect, you can even hire bikes and go cycling with zebra at the one closest to the capital Mbabane. There are several SA parks within easy distance too if you want heards of elephants and lions.

Eswatini is good for kids as you can do mostly everything self-drive so total flexibility, and accommodation in the park tends not to be expensive (not total luxury either but pretty and clean). I worked there for a while, never went out early for drives but managed to see most of what was on offer.

I can't recommend a company but I do recommend the country!

Your ds is quite young for a full on safari experience. A lot of the time is spent looking and not always seeing animals.

I'm in SA so have been on a lot, but when my DC were younger we would just do self drive, sometimes out with a ranger (this is always the best way to see more), but would always swap out with days of doing other things. Like pp said re Sun City, or even some beach days if you head for the coast (KZN is good). Every day out in the vehicle can get a bit boring for younger DC if they are not really bush or animal focused.

Maybe you could find a package which has a little bit of variation. This is honestly what I would recommend.

Namibia would be great place to do a safari with kids. I think ke adventure do a family trip that might work.

I recommend South Africa - summer holidays next year would be perfect timing. We went with Aardvark - they were fabulous. They use a lot of &Beyond properties too.
Just phone them up and they will tailor something to your requirements.

Highly recommend AfricaTravelResource - https://africatravelresource.com

A colleague who regularly does safari has used them 5/6 times. We used them for a fantastic trip to Botswana and would have confidence in recommending them.

Not at the cheaper end, but if you want something special they can definitely deliver.

Even if you don't use them, their website has loads of really useful information for planning a safari holiday.

too young. And the authentic safaris with animals potentially roaming through camp (a staff member would walk you to your room) will not allow children. So you'd have to do a very different experience. The vehicles and open. You cannot have a young child in them if you can't guarantee they'll stay still and quiet. You could do one in a covered jeep, basically like a more open bigger zoo. But for a once in a lifetime pricey holiday why not wait until they're old enough to properly remember it? Where I went did not allow children and once I was there I could see why! Sorry.

I went to Botswana several years ago, which was amazing- the parks there allow less vehicles than some other countries, so you can really get close to the animals, and we saw so many animals including lions, wild dogs, elephants, hyena etc up very close.

However, as others have said, it might be a bit much for a 7yo? We were up early every morning, and out late at night- and there's not necessarily that much to do in the middle of the day. Some camps are quite basic, and animals do get in at night- which can be quite scary!

I wonder if it's worth doing a holiday where you can do a day or two of safari and then a bit of time on the beach or similar? That might be a bit less hard going?

It's true that the safaris in Botswana and Namibia allow fewer tourists- they are a lot more expensive than Kenya though.

We've recently done nambia with 12yr old. It was incredible but hard work (lots and lots of dusty driving) and I don't think I'd recommend it for younger kids. We also had time in South Africa on the same trip which was great. Much more chilled out and plenty to see.

I would wait until your child is older, especially as this is 'the holiday of a lifetime'

The first holiday I have proper detailed memories of, is from when I was 10.

Also echo some of the comments about safari - there's a lot of driving about on bumpy dusty roads, driving around trying to see something, anything, which is often miles away. I have a nice photo of a grey dot which was definitely a rhino, honest.

All the safaris are done at dawn and dusk so very early mornings and late nights, the middle of the day is incredibly hot, we used to come back and get straight in the pool fully dressed.

And everyone else in the jeep wants to see a kill of some description which may all be too much for an animal loving child.