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)

The main thing about a safari is knowing where and when and what animals are there. It’s easy to book a rewilded farm but migration routes and other wild events need planning. Some safari destinations are really huge zoos.

are really huge zoos amen to that.

I have never seen a zoo where the exhibits eat each other, but to be honest that’s how I feel about a lot of ‘safari’ destinations.

@HidefromthecowNot sure you are the best person to comment on a safari holiday. What should lions and tigers do then? Die out?

Not sure what stick you’ve grabbed to get the wrong end of here, but no idea what you’re going on about.

@Hidefromthecow You commented on zoos and animals not eating each other! You took my zoo comment very very literally and it’s clearly very silly. I’m sure you know all about safari destinations though. I’ll leave you to it.

Oh no dear, you are the one that knows everything, and don’t you always care to show it.

I'm a bit late to the thread OP.

I am in SA and whoever quoted you 50K is having a laugh.

It might be an idea to get some quotes / itineraries from local countries.

First you need to decide where you want to go. Country wise and then regions in that country. For Google, don't use the term Safari in your search. That will bring up international sites straight away. Google game drives / game farms / game parks as we don't actually call it a safari here.

Do you have any dates in mind? Our high season is December and January, and again at Easter. The prices will be a lot higher then, and also busier. If you are able to book out of season, it's what I would recommend.

We usually just do overnights or weekends or even just day trips, and to me three days is always sufficient on a game drive. There is just so much else to do, so I really recommend breaking the holiday up rather than spending it all in one spot.
If you are looking at June / July time, which is our winter you could look to go to KwaZuluNatal as it's so mild in winter you could even have beach days. It is usually around mid 20s on a winters day.

I am sure you will have seen the footage of the terrible floods that hit Kruger earlier this year. Hundreds of millions Rand damage.

Most of the southern areas have reopened and operating normally now, but some parts of the northern area are still closed.

Just awful.

I recommend https://atrsafari.com/ - they put us together an excellent safari to Botswana and Zambia (for the Victoria Falls) before Covid. That cost us about £18k for the two of us - but prices have gone up since.

The camps we stayed at were mainly from Kwando Safaris - quite focussed on the wildlife and less focussed on food / massages etc. That suited us as we were there for the wildlife experience…

Even if you don’t book with them, their website contains a lot of good information. e.g. see their pages on Botswana starting with https://atrsafari.com/safari-locations/botswana/

@Hidefromthecow I answer honestly and I’ve been on safari holidays many times. What’s the point in answering anyone if you don’t know anything?

@isthismylifenow My DD was there in April and where they were seemed back to normal. However it was her first visit to Kruger.

Thanks all - your input has been amazing! I don’t have enough A/L left to book in January or February and then I am going to Japan for 3 weeks in April so I’m wondering whether to book for January 2028 (which feels so far away) 😂

I am leaning towards SA because there seems much more to do. I have had a few itineraries sent over and the SA ones have just stood out.

Enjoy Japan.

Just wanted to mention that if the Kruger NP is on your list, it's very hot in January. If you don't handle heat well this might be a factor. Most of the arranged game drives will be very early morning (before the heat of the day), or at night.

I always think half of the fun is researching and booking a holiday.

@VacationQueen I would echo the concerns about Kruger in the winter months. Baking! We have been in July and found it perfectly ok. DD went in April. If you are interested in whales, go to Hermanus in Sept. That’s perfectly good weather for a safari too. Sleeping when it’s very hot isn’t always pleasant.

The whales is a great shout - I completely forgot we did that! It was brilliant! We also went to see the penguins at Simon's Bay too. @VacationQueen SA has so much to do if you're splitting your time and doing that as well. We did Franschoek for a few days as well and went in September and had lovely weather.

We were just as confused when we started planning. Every website seemed to want our details before giving any useful information!
We eventually travelled to Kenya with Beyond the Plains Safaris and found that speaking to a safari specialist helped us narrow down the options. My suggestion is to first decide whether you want safari only or safari plus a beach stay.
For two adults, £30–50k is a healthy budget and would cover a fantastic luxury safari. Once you know your travel dates and preferred style of trip, the destination choice becomes much easier.

@madisonramirez We are great believers in actually speaking to people! For that reason we use the experts at Wildlife Workdwide and Audley Travel. They will happily talk to you about what, where and when. Wildlife Worldwide are very upfront about seasons, what animals you might see and of course luxury is available. However I’m not sure it’s worth it. The animals are the same! For us, luxury is avoiding long road trips. So flying in is the luxury! There are a number of small operators here who will have good knowledge and my advice is to avoid on line people and only talk to specialists who will curate what you actually want.