Safari next October - where do I start?

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All advice welcomed. We’re looking at two adults for two weeks. Would be great to see the big 5 but esp want to see giraffes in their natural habitat.

Masai Mara has the big 5 and an abundance of giraffes!! Love them!! Nairobi and surrounding area has lots of other parks, sweet waters used to be one of my faves. 2 weeks is quite long for a safari though, unless you are going to travel extensively.

I can recommend a company in Tanzania and a specific park to visit in Malawi.
I saw giraffes in both places. More in Malawi, maybe.

Tanzania trip Took us to Ngorogoro & Serengeti, from just west of JRO to Mwanza, 3 nights.
Most the companies will design an itinerary around what you want to do, as many places, as many days.
Just 2 people is a little pricey, you would save a money if you can find another 2-3 to travel with.

Second the Tanzania recommendation! Serengeti and Ngorongoro are the most popular ones and depending how long you go, you’re quite likely to see all the Big 5. There’s also smaller parks like Tarangire and Lake Manyara that are also not as long a drive to get to if you have less time and you’ll definitely see giraffes, we saw so many! If you’re really keen on the safari adventure there’s plenty of tours companies that can take you to all the parks across the week. For 2 people you can go private which is much more expensive but then you have more a say where you go and how long, or you can do a group joining trip, where you have other people with you in the jeep - we did this and it was plenty fun too.

We looked at areas with good traversing rights and off road permission. We stayed in Madikwe which is malaria free and had the most incredible time, driving through the bush to see cheetah was fantastic. We also looked at how many to a jeep, ours was 6 and open top so we got to see everything. Essentially it doesn’t matter the star rating of the lodge it’s about the area and the animals in it. It’s was the best holiday I’ve ever had, we were on our own walking back to our lodge one day when we were faced with a herd of elephants blocking our path. A bull in musth so it was a bit nerve wracking but only dh and I got to experience it. Amazing experience loved every single moment of it. Have the best time!

Good words so far thank you.
A fortnight could include some beach time maybe? I’ll be back to work straight after so would a shorter trip be better to get over any jet lag?

Tanzania and seeing the migrating wildebeest crossing the river was amazing. A brilliant trip.

We went to Zanzibar afterwards too, it was lovely to chill out.

What's your budget?

Giraffes are fairly easy to see, so that should not be an issue.

With two weeks you could do safari and gorilla or chimpanzee tracking, depending on budget.

Budget isn’t an issue within reason as it’s a big birthday so special holiday.

What’s the company?

Jet lag shouldn't be any worse than for a Europe trip. You're barely crossing any time zones even to east Africa.

You can do gorilla tracking in Rwanda or Uganda. It's a one-day activity. Can also do safari in both countries though safari is more established in Uganda. Could also very easily split your time between say Kenya or Tanzania for giraffe safari and Rwanda or Uganda for gorilla tracking (and tree-climbing lion safari in Uganda).

Gorilla tracking can be physically strenuous but it's only a few hours and worth it to see wild gorillas up close in their natural environment. You can also go golden monkey tracking in Rwanda which is more of a gentle stroll and also brilliant. Chimpanzee tracking is the most physically demanding as they range further in a day than gorillas.

You can buy multi-city or open jaw flights that are priced the same as return flights, so you could buy "return" tickets that fly you to Kenya and fly back from Uganda (for example). You'd just need a separate ticket for the short hop between.

You could do amazing things with a fortnight. Have you looked at any sample itineraries from tailor made tour operators? To then cherry pick your favourite ideas and plan your own perfect trip (for less than they would charge).

Apart from the Ngorongoro crater and the Ockavango (now very expensive), our favourite place for safari was South Luangwa in Zambia. We stayed in Nsefu, which iirc is now run by Robin Pope safaris. Night game drives and walking safaris were stunning. We saw giraffes there (a rarer subspecies), as well as the rest of the big five. The Victoria Falls is a magnificent sight, although not for wildlife particularly - although we went on boat trips to see wildlife on the river.

I found the Bradt and Lonely Planet travel guides useful for identifying local companies to make my own arrangements. Bradt is better for some countries like Rwanda.

If you're not comfortable with that, there are lots of reputable tour companies you could book with who would organise everything for you. E.g. Audley for tailor made, or Exodus and Jules Verne for small group tours.

It's not a particularly difficult part of the world to DIY your perfect trip though.

Botswana is incredible. Massively recommend. 2 weeks is probably too much, even if you stay at some different camps. I’d do 6-8 nights in 2-3 camps and the rest of the time at the beach eg Mozambique. Have done Tanzania and Zanzibar but wasn’t super keen on Zanzibar. Not bad, but wouldn’t go back.

We went to Tanzania a few years ago and it was amazing. Saw all the big 5, personally I found ngorogoro a bit like a safari park as it was so busy but going to the Serengeti was fantastic. We booked through Yellow Zebra who I would highly recommend. They asked all about what we wanted and budget and sorted everything. We finished with 5 days in Zanzibar on the beach which was also great as safari is quite full on and busy!

You won't have jet lag.
I'd recommend Aardvark Safaris, as they will tailor a trip to exactly what you want. They also make sure that you will be no more than 6 people to a vehicle for game drives.
Also, spend the absolute maximum you can afford - it will be worth it.

We did the Tanzania and Zanzibar trip with Compass Tours. About £5k per person which includes most meals. We pretty much only had to pay for drinks. We saw the big five including rhino and it was giraffes a-go-go!

No jet lag eg kenya gmt+3

Unless you get jet lag going to greece

We did it on the cheap, so this may not be completely for you (but posting as others may want to). Flew into Capetown, did "all of that" for a week, Cape Point, Boulder beach, Wine regions, Table Mountain etc...then flew up to Jo'Burg and got a driver out from airport to Dinokeng to Mongena Resort (an hour), and did a range of trips for 3 days. Loved Mongena, nice resort with pool, good restaurant (also good value) and very well organised tours to see the animals. Nice accommodation. Saw elephant, giraffes, crocs, cheetahs, rhino as well as plenty of other animals. Some posters will say (maybe rightly) not "the real thing" but it was very enjoyable and easy.

Kruger Park in South Africa is fabulous (to me) but may not be what you are looking for. We self drive and stay in the rest camps but there are a variety of ways of doing it.

I second Aardvark safaris. We did one in the south luanga valley last year. Tafika camp then Chikoko tree camp then big lagoon camp.
Last two were walking safaris. Spent a week in total on the safari then 4 days on likoma island in lake Malawi and 3 nights in a banana plantation in Lilongwe.
Not cheap but amazing.

If you went to South Africa you could go whale watching too. October is a peak time for whale sightings at Hermanus.

Check out Giraffe Manor which you can combine with safari and safari and beach.

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As others have said if money is no object Aardvark are very special.

Have a look at The Governors Camp in the Masai Mara. I've been twice and would go again. Superb place, wonderful wildlife, giraffes, the big five and more.

If you fly to Livingston or Victoria Falls you can access parks in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. Lots of non safari activities in the falls area as well.