Budget safari 2027 help

[Muddydogwalks]

Looking at doing a safari next June/July. Wanting to do a package deal but needing to keep it as cheap as possible 😬 Is it possible to do one at a time £2500 per person or is that wishful thinking. Any companies anyone could recommend would be fantastic plus just information about safari’s as well.
thank you 😁😁

I'm planning to go again this year, & I don't think that is enough.
Not sure what you mean by "one at a time" ?
However, all food is normally included so you won't need to budget for that.

We went to Kenya in 2022. It cost £2.5k for flights to Nairobi and £3.8k for a 5-day safari for 5 of us, booked with a company I found on tripadvisor. So I think it should be possible (although I'm sure prices have increased since then). We also went to the beach for 5 days after the safari (not included in the above prices).

auto text 🙄 no idea why that got added in. Will have to look at upping the budget. Thank you

We went on safari in Namibia using Mannor Safaris (https://www.mannorsafaris.com/) and can highly recommend. Namibia is often more affordable than other places. We saw lots of animals and some extraordinary places.
I doubt you'll be able to get very much on that budget. You can easily pay £1k per person just for the flights.
It's often cheaper to book with a company based in the country you're visiting (we've done this a couple of times) although it is riskier in case the company disappears. Some UK tour companies just subcontract to local operators.
I've been on a few tours - it's worth asking about any flexibility eg we've been able to save money by staying in standard rather than luxury hotels.

That is doable for a week in Tanzania. We went with an operator called Safari Republic. I highly recommend them. We did a week safari and flew to Zanzibar for 3 nights at the end. It was the best holiday we have ever had.

If you are happy with a group tour you could look at Exodus or Explore. They don't have either Kenya or Tanzania for that price, but they have Zambia and Botswana that come in around your budget. It's definitely not a luxury way to travel, we've been with them a couple of times before we had kids.

Exodus has a canoe safari in Zambia. Nothing else. I’d not recommend that either. It’s hard work! I’ve been to Zambia several times and it’s not cheap. 3 flights are needed now as BA don’t fly to Lusaka. Not sure about Zambian airways from London. Botswana is expensive. I’ve done camping there and again you need 2 or 3 flights. The prices are above your budget.

Namibia is great. It’s very safe and the wildlife viewing is excellent. You don’t need a tour- you can hire a rooftop tent and make your own itinerary through the gorgeous national parks. I think that’s more fun anyway. Or hire a car and stay in government national Parks accommodation (book early.) That would cost way less than £2500 per person and it’s a very well trodden path with loads of European and Southern African tourists doing the same. The only nuisance is getting there- via Joburg or Frankfurt are your best bets.

If you do want a package, this Namibian company has a good range of budget safaris, easily under £2500. Friends have used them: gondwana-collection.com/en/safari-packages

I think that is wishful thinking OP. You may manage it at £3500 pp? I booked flights for Namibia in Nov for this July and paid £1000 a head ( via Frankfurt). Then the cost of car hire, park fees, food, accommodation (3/4 * camps) and excursions, its come in at just under £5k pp. You could do it a bit cheaper but its a long way to go to not experience things due to budget.

Went to Tanzania in 2024. We did 6 nights private safari for £1400 each going to 4 different national parks and our return flights were £900 each. We found our tour operator through SafariBookings. It wasn't a package with flights or abta/atol protected so used our credit card. We only had 1 additional night before and after safari - we found it too expensive to include Zanzibar!

We went to kwazulu natal in South Africa last August. It was fabulous and a cheaper option.

Go to Kruger in South Africa, or as a pp said, Namibia. You can book accommodation at the rest camps in the national park (book early - bookings open 11 months before, on the SANparks website - google it), then book flights to Skukuza and hire a car. Or hire a car from Jo'burg and fly to and from there. Accommodation is cheap. I think we did the whole thing for 6-7K for 4 of us last year. A lot of the package deals are ripoffs IMO, and I don't know where all the excess money goes - not to the locals that's for sure. A few of the deals listed by other posters sound reasonable, but one I rang up wanted to charge us 7.5K pp!