How to go on an African safari

Long story short, set budget, choose destination, choose time of year, choose type of safari and go to a good travel agency, or wing it and fly over, solo even.

Now the long story….

A safari trip is on the travel bucket list of a lot of travelers. Images of mesmerizing sunsets and breathtaking stars at night and super clear skies contribute to the need to see Africa for every discerning traveler.  Those who come once get the bug and make it tradition to visit again, most even making it a family ritual to come to the motherland as often as possible.

As with anything that’s often generalized African safari has come to mean so many things it becomes overwhelming for a first timer to make a well informed decision, let’s solve that problem.

What is African safari?

A journey into wild Africa without any destination in mind with the aim of seeing earth in its natural state, enjoying an endless display of wild animals, scenic landscape and being completely detached from the modern world of technology, traffic and noise. And of course a few of the safari clichés, wearing khaki shorts, a hat, game viewing vehicle and of course the sun burn, I mean.. tan, which is way much better than spray on.

That being said the term African Safari is somewhat of a misnomer, I mean yes you will be in African and on safari but where exactly? There 54 countries in Africa (give or take 5, some states breakup only to make up again).  Of these counties on a few offer safari, and of this few only a handful offer highest quality safari, by that I mean undiluted, exclusive and exceptional natural beauty.  These countries are:

-          Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe at the very top, offering smaller camps and the best experiences, more game, isolation and up close encounters, these countries are basically unrivalled as they provide that “escape” from the modern world that so many safari travelers desire.

-          South Africa and Kenya offering “wholesale” safari, basically crowed safari and a somewhat detached safari experience, good destinations but rushed and not so isolated.

-          Others, well Tanzania, Mozambique and a few more countries offer some safari but I am not sure “safari” is the word for what they do in Morocco and on parts of the Sahara.

With that in mind, choose your African safari destination.

What type of safari do you want?

As a full blown travel industry safari comes in all sorts of shapes and manner, with the very high end properties owned by billionaires like Richard Branson and Paul Allen catering for the elite, medium, scale packages and the entry level. Your budget is the key here, even though I can’t fully categorize them, let me try:

Premium safari: this is the no expense barred safari travel, staying in 5 star camps that cost up to as much as $3500pp a night!! These, as with many expensive things, are pretty much the best. The service levels will be high, the camps will be small (accommodating as little as eight guest maximum in some cases) and they will be in the best of locations. It’s for the kings, (e.g. the King and Queen of Spain just loves Botswana). When you choose this kind of safari, prepare to do nothing at all but to be fed, pampered and treated as if you are royalty. That’s how come Taylor Swift shot that video on safari in Botswana.  Anything from $20 000 will get you a couple of days for two on this level, no optional as basically the prices re so high you get do whatever you want.

First class safari: Basically similar to the premium safari experience but a bit more affordable with slightly larger camps. They have the best locations, are isolated and the game is just as plenty, most often than not . these camps are located in the locality of their more expensive sister camps.  The camps are also high end with anything you can ask for. Made up with 4 star properties, and for around $13 000 you can have a 3 days four nights experience.

Medium class safari: this is the most popular, the packages are well executed and the service standards are good, choose wisely and you won’t tell the difference between this class of safari and the more expensive alternatives. For around $5 000 per person you will have the best week of safari ever.  These are mainly 3 and 4 star properties.

Lower end safari packages: think of these as an attempt to execute the above but at a failed level, zero start properties and they are best avoided. Do not try a bargain safari package, it will be crap, which takes us to the alternatives (and quite possibly the best forms of safari).

Classic safari: this is the explorer’s safari, a safari for overlanders and backpackers. This is how safari started out, expedition travel. You fly to your African destination and then do safari, I am talking full safari, meeting the people and seeing Africa in her pure sense. Budget can be anywhere from $5000 for backpackers to around $10 000 for overlanders (huge value as you bring the family, or friends, or mates).  This however is tiresome, involves camping on tents, driving off road and a few episodes of being helplessly lost, but let’s face it, it’s the most fun and intimate of safari and best value as well.

Now, how to literally go on safari?

For the packaged deals find the best travel agency on your city and have them sort you out. Or just fly into your destination and sort yourself out.

Important factors to consider:

Time of visit, most of the safari industry is seasonal so the time you come has a very significant impact on the cost of the safari and the cost of it all, I will get into this on another post.

The heat and your health;  it never snows in safari so your health should be top priority, also, malaria is kind of a thing and getting shots for a ton more risky diseases is a must.

Expectations, to be safe, lower your expectations a bit, your safari destination is far from home so you will get really tired getting here. Another thing is, the Africa you have in your mind is non existent, the lifestyles here are mainly as general as elsewhere in the world. You also will see a lot of cattle and donkeys before you get to the wildlife and natural beauty you came for. And forget about Netflix.

Meet me on my next post as we go into further detail on safari.