A safari is a guided tour, often in Africa, that may deliver you up near elephants, zebras, giraffes, lions, rhinos and extra. Usually, these adventures contain taking open-sided safari automobiles into nature and observing and photographing wild animals of their pure habitats. (Different safaris are for searching; right here, we’ll concentrate on the previous.) If you happen to’re planning your first safari, listed here are some suggestions.
1. Work with a journey company that focuses on planning safaris
An elephant walks by means of the northern Serengeti. (Picture by Josh Garber)
Even for those who’re an avid traveler, safari planning continues to be greatest left to the professionals. Through the use of a good safari planning journey company like Yellow Zebra, Abercrombie & Kent or Timbuktu, you will get a number of advantages:
Steerage on when and the place to go based mostly in your desires and wishes. Your safari planning knowledgeable will seemingly have related info on the place to go based mostly on climate, animal migrations and what you’re seeking to get out of your safari. (As an illustration, if you wish to see hordes of wildebeest in July, your safari adviser may information you to a unique vacation spot than for those who’re in search of rhino encounters.)
On-the-ground expertise about lodging. Some safari planners have visited the properties themselves or have colleagues who’ve, which helps offer you a greater thought of what to anticipate earlier than you e book a property.
Assist arranging transport in the course of the safari. Even after you could have the property you’re staying at sorted out, relying on the place you’re happening safari, chances are you’ll profit from assist arranging transport. As an illustration, for those who’re flying to the northern Serengeti for a safari, you’ll seemingly fly into Kilimanjaro Worldwide Airport, however after that you could be must take a couple of further, smaller flights to get nearer to your lodging (and even when you land on the airstrip nearer to your lodging, you’ll seemingly want a information to select you up and take you to your remaining vacation spot). If you happen to use a journey company, it may possibly arrange all the interior transportation for you — and also you’ll be grateful it did.
Recommendation about facet journeys to enrich your safari. Even for those who’re solely in happening safari, chances are you’ll need to speak to your safari journey adviser about close by non-safari locations to take a look at. As an illustration, you’ll be able to add on some seaside time in Zanzibar after your Serengeti safari or for those who’re happening safari in South Africa, you would take into account a seaside journey to Mozambique afterward.
🤓Nerdy Tip
If in case you have a buddy or member of the family who booked a safari by means of a journey company and loved their expertise, inform the safari company that you just’ve been referred and it’ll generally give you a reduction in your reserving.
2. Purchase and convey the appropriate gear
A male lion protects a sleeping feminine lion. (Picture by Josh Garber)
There may not be many shops close to your safari lodging, so you may need to be sure you purchase and convey the appropriate gear with you. Listed here are some gadgets that you just may need to deliver in your safari:
Binoculars. Bringing a superb pair of binoculars (we advocate both 8x, 10x or 12x magnification) will improve your journey expertise so you’ll be able to see animals which can be farther away, see birds higher and get a better view of your safari expertise. Notice that some safari lodging supply complimentary use of binoculars throughout friends’ keep, so it’s best to examine along with your lodging earlier than buying binoculars.
Digicam. Reasonably than relying in your smartphone, take into account buying or renting a digicam with a telephoto lens so you’ll be able to seize animals from far-off for the most effective safari photos. If you happen to’re new to images, chances are you’ll need to take a couple of images courses or watch educational movies so that you’re ready to get the most effective pictures of the animals and panorama throughout your safari.
Garments which can be applicable to your safari. On the whole, you need to put on pure colours that mix in with the setting. Blue and black can entice tsetse flies, and attempt to steer clear of vibrant colours. Moreover, relying on the place you’re going, temperatures can fluctuate from chilly within the mornings to scorching within the afternoons, so chances are you’ll need to take into account safari pants that may be unzipped on the knee and was shorts.
Sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat. There are days the place you may spend 10-plus hours on the highway and also you need to be certain that your pores and skin is protected. Bringing sunscreen with you and sporting a wide-brimmed hat in your journey will help to guard your pores and skin.
Bug spray. To assist stop mosquito and different insect bites, take into account bringing bug spray resembling DDT. Earlier than deciding which bug spray to pack, examine with native laws to see if any chemical compounds are banned within the nation you’re visiting.
Bringing the appropriate gear can improve your safari expertise.
3. Examine to see whether or not the planes that you just’re flying to your safari have weight or different restrictions for baggage
Relying on the place you’re happening safari, chances are you’ll be in small planes which have baggage necessities that you could be not have needed to observe for different journeys. As an illustration, Coastal Aviation in Tanzania has the next baggage restrictions for gentle plane flights:
Weight allowance of 33 kilos (15 kilograms) per particular person, together with hand baggage.
All baggage have to be in gentle luggage (i.e., duffel luggage).
🤓Nerdy Tip
If you happen to’ll be away for per week or extra, examine along with your safari lodging to see if it provides laundry companies, which will help you pack lighter.
4. Embrace the expertise, and anticipate lodging which may be exterior of what you’re used to
Wildebeest collect within the northern Serengeti. (Picture by Josh Garber)
Whereas there are some extra conventional lodge choices you would e book on safari — resembling 4 Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti and the JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge — chances are you’ll end up reserving a safari the place the lodging are extra akin to tenting (albeit higher-end tenting) than a lodge.
As an illustration, Wayo Serengeti Inexperienced Camp in northern Tanzania is so near the animals that you could find zebras exterior your lodging, and you’ll even take strolling safaris, however the camp differs from typical lodges in some ways, together with:
“Bucket showers” as a substitute of typical showers. (A bucket bathe is principally when the workers warms water up upon request after which fills a bucket exterior of your tent that connects to the bathe in your tent.)
No Wi-Fi or electrical plugs in your room, with Wi-Fi and charging solely within the frequent space.
Set lunch and dinner occasions with no room service, though many camps will give you a bagged breakfast, lunch or dinner upon request.
You might must be escorted to and out of your tent at night time to make sure your security, together with utilizing a flashlight to alert the workers while you’re able to be picked up out of your room.
A gaggle of zebras exterior of lodging at Wayo Serengeti Inexperienced Camp. (Picture by Josh Garber)
If you happen to’re reserving a safari camp as a substitute of a lodge, it’s best to embrace the expertise as a way to absolutely benefit from the tranquility as a substitute of specializing in how the camp differs from the kind of lodge expertise you may usually e book.
5. Look into what pictures, medicines and visas chances are you’ll want to your journey
As quickly as you’ll be able to after reserving your journey, it’s best to look into whether or not you want any particular pictures, medicines or visas to your safari. As an illustration, you could have a yellow fever vaccination and certificates to enter Kenya, Uganda and the Republic of Congo. Moreover, Tanzania requires residents of the USA to get a visa to enter the nation (word you could pay for the visa on arrival).
We advocate reserving an appointment along with your physician or going to a journey clinic to debate pictures and drugs and utilizing the U.S. Division of State’s web site to study in regards to the visas chances are you’ll want.
Learn how to e book a safari on factors
Safaris might be costly, and a good way to economize in your safari is to make use of factors. There are a few methods you could e book a safari on factors:
E-book your flights utilizing factors. A round-trip ticket from Los Angeles to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, from June 2 to June 16, 2025, at present prices $1,704 in money or you would use 139,000 Flying Blue miles and pay $441.10 in charges for a similar flights. American Categorical, Chase, Capital One and Citi all allow you to switch factors to Air France’s Flying Blue program.
E-book your lodging utilizing factors. You should utilize factors to e book your safari lodging both by reserving a lodge just like the JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge, which permits Marriott Bonvoy members to pay for the stick with factors, or by paying to your lodging with a bank card that allows you to use factors to offset the overall steadiness owed, like Chase’s Pay Your self Again program.
Even for those who’re solely in a position to offset a portion of your safari utilizing factors, it may possibly assist scale back the general value of what might in any other case be an costly journey.
A giraffe strolling by means of the Serengeti. (Picture by Josh Garber)
