Safari - what age and who with?

[SurreyisSunny]

I’m considering going on safari with my DS who will be 7 almost 8 at the time to celebrate a big birthday. I’m thinking of a group tour as will be easier with just the 2 of us. Budget to exclude flights and any extras like excursions probably no more than £7-8k but don’t want awful accommodation. Explore for example have a good tour of S Africa which I could afford.

• Is 7 too young?
• any recommendations for companies to travel with.

Thankyou

Not too young at all. When we took ours I didn’t want them to take anti malarial drugs so we went to a malaria free area called Madikwe near Johannesburg (and Cape Town). There are loads of child friendly camps there but we went with more.co.za and stayed in their Cape Town hotel too (they had a deal)

how long are you planning to go and is there anywhere specific you want to visit?

He may be the youngest, but does that matter to you? They give you guidance on the average child age in family info section, but it always seems to say 13. Before you booked you used to be able to ask about group composition, I always used to ask if I was going to be the only solo female, might be worth seeing what they will tell you these days.

It depends very much on the child as to whether 7 is too young. There can be a lot of driving around seeing not very much, or "yeah, more zebras / giraffes / antelopes, seen them already" - the exciting things like big cats can be few and far between. Can he stay quiet when excited? Can he sit in a vehicle for hours on end? However, if he's really keen on wildlife then it could be brilliant. Otherwise a multi-activity holiday would be better.

I've done safaris with Explore and enjoyed them, but only adult ones, not family tours.

Recommend Yellow Zebra Safaris or Expert Africa

When not driving around the time at camp can be dull, not much happening at all. Obviously safety is a big deal in the vehicle, too.

https://www.madikwereserve.org/park-info/faq

not the biggest reserve but lodges take kids over 6. It was our kids first experience and it worked really well and we saw a lot of variety but not so much it felt like a zoo

Can highly recommend marks camp at Lalibela for that age, approx 1.5 hr from port Elizabeth, guide was amazing with the kids and they weren’t bored, dung tracking seemed to keep them interested…4 nights on safari then travelled along the garden route and finished in Cape Town, if time was restricted fly into PE as combine with Cape Town rather than longer route with driving.

We had 2 x 7 yo-one with SEN and EHCP in school so not the easiest, 10 yo, 11yo and 12yo.

We used Stubborn Mule to plan a safari with young children. Younger than 7. The key was mixing up the itinerary so it's not just lots of days of being in the truck for hours on end.

This article on their website is helpful to work out what to do when. https://www.stubbornmuletravel.com/locations/family-safari-holidays/https://www.stubbornmuletravel.com/locations/family-safari-holidays/

I've also done safari booked as a group tour where it ended up being only 2 of us. It was a really good personalised tour but we were 2 confident adults with a bit of Swahili and cultural knowledge. You might want to think about if that was the case then would you be OK with little adult conversation for the whole holiday and being a lone female traveller with a child.

We went here https://www.shamwari.com

Which was fantastic and have guides that are "child friendly"

Think DD was around 8.

They also have a baby animal hospital where she gave a baby animal (can not remember what type) a bottle. She loved it.

I think you need a good travel agent who really knows about family safari holidays.

There are some safari tours and lodges which won’t allow kids. There are some where kids are allowed but probably only tolerated and a bit bored. There are others (relatively few tbh) where kids are positively welcomed and catered to.

Camps in the smaller non malarial reserves in South Africa like Madikwe mentioned above are a good bet - as they are non malarial they attract a lot of families and so are excellent with kids. Also avoiding malaria risk is a very good idea. These are not the “big hitters” in safari terms but you will still see a lot. There are lots other attractions nearby too, Cape Town, whale watching, penguins, seals, Table Mountain, Garden Route etc.

There are also good family safari options in Kenya, Tanzania etc but they are rarer and so a travel agent’s suggestions would be very useful.

Check the tour details company carefully because many do not take children, but if they do it will be an amazing experience. I've seen itineraries including Victoria falls, clobe game drives, okevango delta canoe safari, river cruise etc for your budget but i wasn't checking to see if children were accepted (it was for me!)

@Bruisername 2 weeks although not all on safari. I’d like to see a lion and some zebra, I’d be satisfied with just that 😂

@Wrongsideofpennines yes a mixed itinerary would be a good idea. My DS likes wildlife but I think he’d get bored going everyday

Id be looking at a group family tour over peak August holidays so i’m hopeful there would be others on the tour too

So when we went with 6 and 9 yo we ended up deciding to make it shorter so 4 nights Cape Town and 4 nights safari. That was enough tbh

we’ve been back since (DH grew up in Southern Africa) but this was the ideal introduction

@Whattodowithaminute that sounds like a great ininerary. Who did you book through?

Hassle free Africa. V helpful.

We discovered a road trip in Zimbabwe when ours were 6 and 9 and 25 years later they still say it was the best trip ever. We also did a couple of Explore family trips (Egypt and Morocco) when they were a bit older and DS2 is still in contact with friends he made on them.

7/8 is a great age…
we did amazing safari in SA and they def took children

https://www.welgevonden.org/

tours are small groups.

id recommend Cape Town to we did canyon zip lining, abseiled off table mountain, scuba diving…. Loads of things all super fun for adults and kids

@countrygirl99 i did quite a few explore and intrepid trips before having my DS I loved them. I don’t particularly want to drive solo so thinking a tour is a good option

@SurreyisSunny we found them a brilliant option with the DC.

Aardvark Safaris are fantastic, and they also cover malaria-free areas in South Africa. But your budget is very tight - I doubt it would stretch to 2 weeks.

@Cynic17 yes advantage of the tours is cost. The one with explore is £4K for 2 of us (excluding flights).

We went with a nearly 8 and a young teen.
Animal mad youngest loved it and came on every game drive which was 16 as we did 8 days safari morning and night. 5am starts iirc.
We went to SA flew to J'burg and did 4 days at Pilansberg and 4 at Madikwe, with 2 days either end in a hotel (in Sun City which people sneer at but it was great).

There was a 6yo on some of our drives who was too tired and young and a pain. But there some teens on some too who were also a pain squealing out.

Look at Families Worldwide. You need to make sure you are in lodges that accept dc. Plus you want them to welcome children! So anyone offering family safaris should do this.

We took our DC to Kenya at this age. Went back a few years later. The main thing is to ensure you can see animals fairly easily and you have activities for down time. They must be able to get up early and not be grumpy!!! Plus we found educating them about what they might see pays dividends. They were very worried about a zebra struggling in a river with a croc nearby though. So be prepared for possible concerns. Lions may well have killed too so be prepared for that. Just last summer we saw lions covered in blood after a feeding frenzy.

Check distances travelled and fly in if you can afford it. If you are in a vehicle, check quality. You don't want to be crammed in a tiny van.