Safari trip - where do I start!?

[VacationQueen]

We want to book a safari trip for 2027. Where do I start? So far, every website I click on takes me to a form to be completed with our details. This, and not recognising the websites has me worried! Some of the websites don’t even have details of where we would be staying.

We have been told to book Botswana and Mozambique, some have made comment about Zanzibar and it not being the nicest place and another family member mentioned going to the Seychelles and opting for an East African safari. It’s all added to the confusion. We’ve been told to budget £30-50k, does that sound about right? (2 adults)

If you want to see a gazillion elephants then Addo in South Africa is the place to go.

You could start in Cape Town and do the Garden Route to Addo (there’s lots to see on the way) and then head up to the Kruger and Vic Falls.

Vic Falls is a loooong way from Kruger? Why would you do this? It’s on the Zim/Zam border. Who would go all the way from the garden route to Vic falls in 10 days? Addo is ok but it’s not a national park. It’s a very different curated experience.

It’s Addo Elephant National Park and part of the SA National Park system - I guess you haven’t been there? Fantastic for elephants by the way. It’s not curated at all - and improving all the time as they add more land to it.

I added Kruger as it’s well known, but then you could just as easily go to Sun City for Pilanesberg / stay at the Black Rhino and then it’s an easy hop up to Vic Falls from there. If you’re going all the way from the UK why wouldn’t you?

And yes, been there and done it before you ask.

We booked through Saga Holidays.
We looked at other options but a majority didn’t offer the pick up from home and we had to find our own way to the airport which would have been a nightmare for us, and it didn’t work out anymore expensive using Saga x

Hi OP I’m looking into a safari for a family of three but am sadly tied to the school holidays so it’s really bumping the price up for me. I approached Yellow Zebra who are a Safari specialist. Spoke with the consultant who was a guide on a Safari lodge for 10 years. I don’t think they’re going to be able to help with our budget but they were lovely to deal with. ( much better than Trailfinders in my opinion). We have now switched to an African agent called Go2Africa mainly because they arranged our honeymoon to South Africa and extracted a lot more out the money we had then. You generally fill out an online form and book a FaceTime call with these guys.

( the lodge we stayed in was Simbavati which was on the Timbavati private game reserve which sits next to the Kruger. Someone like Yellow Zebra will prioritise the type of sightings you want obviously. I probably would go to them as a first port of call. )

Botswana is AMAZING, we didnt do Okevange which i think is what bumps thr price up so found it quite affordable. Saw loads of lion and elephants as well as hippos on thr Chobe river.

We also went to Zimbabwe (Vic falls) and saw rhino and did a helicopter flight (which I found too scary!). Did an amazing river cruise.

We went to Mauritius after and felt so "meh" because after the wonderful safari experience it just wasnt as enjoyable. I would rather have stayed and gone to another country to experience more wildlife. Driving along a dry river bed watching dawn break was just so much more magical than the (admittedly lovely) beach.

We went with trailfinders and found then knowledgeable and not too £££.

Safari are so varied OP. A usual organised park day starts super early (5 or 6am), with coffee and jump in the truck. Then 3-4 hours of viewing before it gets too hot. Back to camp, breakfast, nap, pool if there is one, then out again at 3-4pm before dinner at later in the evening.
Personally, a week is enough for me! If you think you are the same, consider a beach tag on - Seychelles, Zanzibar, Mombassa. If you would rather break up game viewing days with other activities and cultural / historical sights, perhaps S Africa or Namibia is more your vibe.

Apologies I haven’t got the name of the camps to hand at the moment - all recommended by Hayes and Jarvis. There is a wide range depending on budget … We went after GCSEs / a-levels at the end of June and feel so unbelievably privileged to have been there (with about 6 other jeeps) when the animals started to cross the river Mara. Our driver could not believe our luck (and there is some luck in what you see). As others have said, Amboselli was busy, but teeming with elephants, which as our first ever games drive we found amazing.

A good driver will get to know you and will adapt the drives to suit. The food was also unexpectedly good in the camps. Very lovely hosts.

it’s not the cheapest holiday, but was well worth the money for us.

@Pandersmum Balloon flights have operated over the Mara for decades. You would find them elsewhere. If it’s windy they don’t run though. River? Not sure I’d be going down the Mara River in full flow. It sweeps the animals away. It’s probably possible with lower water levels. There is Zambezi river rafting trips and canoes. Hippos are an issue! Or on the Okavango by mokoro. Never seen boat trips on the Luangwa but have at St Lucia wetlands in SA. All lodges have game drives. The Rift Valley lakes have boats or Lake Kariba. Fothergill island has lake cruises around Lake Kariba. These extra activities eat your budget.

I’m anti male hippo after we saw one kill a baby calf recently. Totally awful and the mum tried to fend him off. Lots of fighting. I’m not normally squeamish but….. not forgetting that.

Glad to see Expert Africa recommended up thread, as we're going to Namibia with the this summer. They've been a dream to deal with so far. It's costing us 25k for 4 people for 2 weeks, incl flights and some really lovely lodges, so your budget for 2 sounds very high!