African safari and beach holiday advice

[Nevergoodenoughforthem]

We’re considering a safari holiday now that DC are older. That said, they are will 12 and 14 so would still like recommendations for more family friendly reserves.

Would three days be long enough, and where would you suggest for the beach leg?

Slight sticking point is that we would like to do this next Easter which means places like Mombasa aren’t really ideal.

We went to Kenya at Easter and it was fine, although the rains were late in arriving so we possibly just got lucky. Highly recommend Kenya for safari - I had previously been on safari in S Africa and Kenya was far, far better in terms of what we saw. We did two different reserves, three days in each. One in the north and then the second on the Masai Mara. Both were excellent, very different landscapes but if you’re looking for the archetypal African experience - the plains, big skies, acacia trees etc - I’d probably go for the Masai Mara. You will see loads in three days - you should get at least two, if not three drives per day. The lodges are generally really well set up for families, just check when booking - but we went with a 9, 6 and 3 year old and they all loved it. I would give Mombasa a miss - we went but found we couldn’t go on the beach due to being bothered by sellers, and there was an open sex trade going on in our hotel - I am fairly open minded but it made me a bit uncomfortable especially with kids around. If going again, I’d go to Zanzibar for the beach, or Mauritius/Seychelles/Madagascar if the budget could stretch that far! Have a wonderful time if you go - I found it absolutely amazing and it’s definitely on my list to go back to.

It's a long way to go for 3 days, even if you go somewhere in central Africa.

I haven't been but Zanzibar is on my list of places I really really want to visit so that would get my vote! :)

South Africa is my home country and is amazing, but I would not recommend for such a short trip and I think as a rule, you really do need to properly separate the beach and safari parts. But if you have more time, it's amazing! Or go to Sun City/Bakubang for say a week - few days in a big family resort (no beach, but lots of pools etc) then a few days in Bakubang which is the game reserve next door. I will say though tha tmuch as I love Bakubang, and I do, it's not quite the sort of awe inspiring safari spots that Kruger Park or other parks in Africa are.