Safari recommendations - no idea where to start!

[Hufflemuff]

Looking for a safari holiday in Africa! 4 adults and 3 children (2 families).

No idea where to start really. There's so many parts of Africa and so many different agents. Maybe not even Africa - maybe some other worldly experience holiday would be just as nice. Perhaps Thailand/Borneo etc...

We want to keep it to MAX about £1000-£1800 per person for 7ish days. Theres so many agents and locations to choose from - all tips and recommendations would be appreciated!

For safari, I’d recommend Namibia every time. It’s a safe, beautiful unspoiled country full of amazing things to see. Malaria free and good infrastructure. UK based companies will cost a fortune. Minimal time difference. But these guys are based in Namibia and offer great value packages, or can tailor make a holiday: https://www.yourafricansafari.com/c/the-cardboard-box-travel-shop/
I would avoid flying via Jo’burg but go for the Frankfurt- Windhoek over night flight.

If your budget per person includes flights then you are really going to struggle to go on a traditional African safari. Flights to Johannesburg are £600 alone. You then have to get to the safari area, often by plane, and because you’re in the middle of nowhere you then have to pay full board accommodation. This would be a minimum of £300 per person per night. Plus you have to tip your game driver. You are easily looking at a minimum cost of £3,000 per person for a trip like this.

You might be better looking at places like Costa Rica or Borneo where you can see wildlife. It’s a long way to go for seven nights though. A £1,000 per person budget again won’t be enough though.

If you budget doesn't include flights you can do a self drive in Namibia relatively cheaply. But 7 days wouldn't give you much of the variety Namibia is great for and it's a long drive from Windhoek to Etosha. South Africa might be a better bet. If that budget includes flights you are going to struggle. We flew Ethiopiavia Addis Ababa n to Windhoek, cheaper than Lufthansa via Frankfurt.

We have done Kenya and Sri Lanka and I would do Africa over anything . One thing to bear in mind is the age of the children . A lot of the safari companies now only take over 12’s - plus there is a lot of driving /sitting in a van . Younger children might get bored

We did a camping self drive in Zimbabwe when my DC were 5 and 8. We did self drive so we could go the the right pace for the DC and not annoy other people. We did a road trip from Harare to Vic Falls and they loved it. They are in their 30s now, have seen a lot of the world, and it's still their favourite trip. But Zim can be expensive if you aren't camping and that doesn't suit everyone. Namibia and SA are going to have the best range of non camping budget accommodation.
You can get more budget friendly trips in Kenya but they don't tend to have good guides, are in larger vehicles and are generally not so good an experience. Smaller vehicles and good guides cost. We've actually had drivers ask us what is at a waterhole and they didn't even have binoculars.

Another question. Is the 7 days the whole trip or just the safari part? If it's the whole trip you could look at flying to Vic Falls/Livingstone and (will still be an indirect flight) basing yourself there and booking game drives from.there. Not the same as staying in the bush but could give a bit more variety for the DC. You can get a visa on arrival that covers Zambia and Zim, no visa required for Botswana (assuming you are British)

We did a self drive in nambia recently and it was incredible but a LOT of driving and you'd need 2 cars for your group.

For your budget, I'd look at South Africa. One flight to Cape Town then there is lots to do and lots of animal parks. Or similar around Joburg.

Look on trailfinders to get an idea or places and budgets.

We self drove in Namibia going from lodge to lodge. Booked with Expert Africa. Was excellent. But I wish we'd splashed out on a bigger vehicle. The roads are very bumpy, and bigger tyres would have been helpful!

We did 3 weeks self drive in Namibia this summer, didn't use a company & booked everything myself online. A double cab Hilux with 2 roof tents was about £600pw, camping fees were v cheap (£20 per night) as was food & fuel. We also splashed out on some luxury lodges but if you're only on the road for a week that's not probably not necessary. We had an amazing time for about £10k and £5k of that was Lufthansa flights.
The drive from the camping in Okaukuejo to Namutoni in Etosha is unbelievable. We saw lions, giraffes, elephants etc, no need to pay for a guided tour.

Etosha is wonderful. We stayed on some amazing campsites on Namibia.

It was supposed to be a 'holiday of a lifetime' and I'm already planning our return next year😁

It's addictive😄

I loved Botswana, Namibia is next on my list

BUT i wouldn't take an under 10, a lot of it is waiting, you get very cold and the mornings start early.

The opposite! Been to Namibia and fancy Botswana. Specifically Okonvango

Yes @Mrburnshound the early mornings shattered me! And I remember thinking g I was relieved I hadn't done it with children! (Plus the cost!!)

@faffadoodledo Okonvango was sadly out of my price range (and would have loved to go as would love to see lions swimming), we went to Chobe which was wonderful.

For context, we went to Tanzania for our honeymoon and did a week long safari (Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro) and a week in Zanzibar and it cost us c. £14k.

Obviously that included the week in Zanzibar but also it was only for two of us!

I will say though, Tanzania was incredible and I’d highly highly recommend if your budget can stretch!

I did a Kenya trip that was Nairobi, Masai Mara and Mombassa but it was over 3 weeks. DH did a safari but camping in Tanzania and really loved it before I knew him. I hate camping so we had really nice hotels.

Highlights included a double rainbow over the Masai Mara, seeing all the animals obviously, boat ride, walking over a crocodile pit, eating zebra, snake killed in reception by staff, monkeys raiding the breakfast room. Lowlights included a massive riot where people were machete to death a few days after we left one area, having an insect removed from my ear by a Doctor, stomach upsets for some in my tour group. It was exciting but that was one trip to Africa for me and that was enough.

There are just so many options OP.

I am in SA and just here alone, there are is so much available.

Some things that you are going to need to consider though:

The age of the children.

Is the 7 days the whole trip or you just want 7 days of the trip to be on safari? (7 days is quite a long time for this with children)
It is a fairly long travel for a 7 day trip if this is the total time.
Does your budget include flights?
What time of the year?
Do you want to do self drive or with a ranger each day (this is going to cost a chunk)

You definitely can have an amazing trip within your budget though, but most operators based outside of Africa do charge quite a lot and the rates will be quite high as they will be using tourist aimed accommodation.

You could for eg, book yourself one of the lodges in the Kruger. Hire a bigger vehicle (Toyota Quantum etc) that you can all fit into, otherwise you would need to hire two cars. Combining in a beach stop will involve some travelling here though, about 1800kms to CT. (depending on where you are in the park)

Or head for KwaZuluNatal, its not the Kruger size span for safaris, but there are a few in the area, and it is on the coast anyway.

Namibia has become very popular and there has been some great advise in previous posts.

I am excited for you.

It is possible to do a safari on a budget, I did a trip to South Africa combining 10 days at a wildlife rehabilitation centre and 10 days self drive safari in Kruger - it was brilliant. We stayed in self catering lodges, did a couple of organised drives at sunrise/sunset. We stocked up on food at a supermarket before going in, we could top up from the shops at camp if needed. It did take a lot of planning but it was worth it!