A safari tour is a fantastic way to experience nature, see incredible wildlife, and make unforgettable memories. But, while planning and booking your first safari can be exciting, it can also be very daunting. With so many options available, such as duration, accommodation, which company to pick, and choosing the right vehicle, how do you know you are making the right choices?
This guide is designed for people who have already decided where and when they want to go on safari and will focus on helping you choose the right options that make up your safari tour package.
In this guide, we will look at the five key factors that make up your safari tour:
- Shared vs Private Tours
- Accommodation
- Type of Vehicle
- Choosing A Tour Operator
- Where To Find Safari Tours
Shared or Private Tour
All safari tours come in two different types; shared or private. Let's take a look at each of these to understand what the difference is.
A group safari is when you join other people on a safari tour and travel together in the exact vehicle and on a set itinerary. Everything is predefined beforehand, and although flexibility is eliminated, you can meet new people.
On a private safari, you are the only people in your vehicle with complete control over your experience. You decide where and when to go, how long you want to stay at each location, and even how much time you want to take photos.
Which should you choose?
Choosing between a shared or private tour is generally dictated by the number of people in your group, your personal preference and most importantly, your budget. Most tours take place in vehicles that can fit around 6-8 people, so if you are a group of 6 people, this option is easy, and you would book a private tour.
But what if there is only a couple of you? In this scenario, you will find that a private tour will be more expensive than if you joined a group, but there are some trade-offs. Let’s take a look at two hypothetical days in both scenarios.
Scenario: You Book A Group Tour
You wake up at 6.30 am and grab a quick breakfast before getting to the vehicle to meet the rest of the group for a 7 am start. 7:20 am comes around, and you’re still waiting for some of your group to arrive. You finally head out around 7:30 am for your morning game drive.
You see some Zebra, Wildebeest and other animals while driving along. A call comes over the radio that some Lions have been spotted about 20 mins from your location. Your driver immediately starts heading towards them, and by the time you get there, another eight vehicles are already waiting. You grab a few photos.
After 20 minutes or so, people in your group are getting restless, so your driver decides it's time to move on to try and spot some other animals. You complete the rest of your game drive for the morning, head to a local lunch spot where all the other vehicles gather, and sit down to eat some food before heading back out for the afternoon.
Scenario: You Book A Private Tour
The evening before your game drive, your driver asks you what time you want to start in the morning. Knowing there are some spectacular sunrises over the savanna, you decide to get an early start and head out at 5.30 am. You inform the guest house, and they prepare a takeaway breakfast pack for you in the morning.
Your alarm goes off at 5:20 am; you jump out of bed, throw on some clothes, grab your camera, head to the car and immediately set off. You catch a stunning sunrise as the savanna wakes, blanketed in a warm golden glow to the horizon.
You continue your game drive, stopping and starting whenever you wish. A call comes over the radio that some Lions have been spotted about 20 mins from your location. Your driver immediately starts driving towards them, and by the time you get there, another eight vehicles are already waiting. After around 30 minutes, the other tour groups begin to disperse.
You decide to hang around and watch the pride of Lions in their natural habitat. A while later, you find that you are the only vehicle still there. You start to relax in the moment and absorb what is happening around you. You begin to reflect on everything before you and appreciate life to its fullest.
You eventually decide to move on and leave the animals in peace. You decide with your driver that you don’t want to meet up with the other 30 or so vehicles at the general lunch spot, and he heads to another location where you can sit and have lunch alone while still watching over the African plains.
Conclusion
As you can see, having the flexibility of a private tour means you can dictate what you do and when you want to do it. Not only this but there are other factors to consider. What if there is someone in your group that you don’t get along with? What if there is a smoker in the vehicle? Or what if your group is maxed out, and you can’t move around the vehicle?
Game drives are long, and you’ll generally be in the vehicle for several hours twice daily. So think about whether the extra cost is worth it to you.
Being on a private tour was far more slow-paced and slow-paced, and it is the best choice if you can afford to do so.
Accommodation
All safari tours have three main accommodation types: budget, mid-range and luxury.
Budget accommodation is generally tented camps that offer a basic but more authentic safari experience. The tents are usually furnished with a bed, mosquito nets, and access to basic shared bathroom facilities. They are typically located in remote areas with little access to modern amenities but offer a more affordable option for budget travellers.
Mid-range accommodation offers lodges and campsites that provide comfortable living at a more affordable price. They still offer good amenities, including en-suite bathrooms and good quality restaurant services, and are usually located within the national parks and in less remote areas. This was the range we generally stayed in, and we found everywhere to be highly comfortable and accommodating, considering we were in the middle of national parks and reserves.
Luxury lodges and camps offer the most lavish and comfortable accommodation options. They are typically situated in prime locations with spectacular views of the wildlife and nature around them. They usually have swimming pools, spa services, and gourmet dining amenities. But all of this comes at a price. We have seen tour prices that are fivefold the cost of an equivalent mid-range tour. But if your budget allows it, this is the most comfortable way to experience your safari tour.
Accommodation can have one of the most significant impacts on the overall cost of your safari tour. Which one you pick will come down to your own budget and preferences. Tour packages can mix and match different accommodation types to fit your budget and are not strictly tied to a single category. So if you want to stay in cheaper accommodation for a few days and then stay somewhere a little more luxurious a few days in, this is an option. But unfortunately, this flexibility is only available when booking a private tour. When booking a private tour, you can always speak with the tour company, and they will most likely be able to accommodate anything to your needs.
Type of Vehicle
We didn’t consider the vehicle type when booking our first safari tour, but it is something you should check. There are three types of safari vehicles; Closed 4WD, Open 4WD and Minibus / Van.
Closed 4WD
The most common type by far is the Closed 4WD. These are modified 4-wheel drive Landcruisers with pop-up roofs that can be closed when travelling long distances. They usually have seating in the back for six people but can accommodate up to 8 with an additional seat in the back and one sitting up next to the driver. Extra amenities can include charging plugs and a refrigerator to keep drinks cool. The pop-top roof can be opened in the safari parks and are high enough that at 6ft, you can stand comfortably. We spent five days on safari in Tanzania in one of these and found it highly comfortable.
Open 4WD
Open 4WD vehicles offer unhindered side views during game drives, giving you the most exposed and intimate experience. These can only be found at safari camps or lodges within parks or reserves and are generally only available if you book directly through the campsites inside the parks. They are Toyota Land Cruisers and can carry 6 to 8 guests. Typically, you won’t get one of these vehicles if you book a tour that offers transport from your hotel to the parks, as these types of vehicles are not allowed on public roads.
Minibus / Van
Very popular in Kenya, the Minibuses are generally the best value regarding the budget. They come in four-wheel drive and two-wheel drive, but they will always be capable of handling the terrain for your specific safari. Whilst they are great when travelling long distances and can save you a lot of money, they aren’t as comfortable as the Closed 4WD Landcruisers. We went on a last-minute, one-day safari in Nairobi National Park the day before we flew out (we couldn’t leave without doing one more safari 🙂), and we had one of these. Whilst it was great for that specific park, it didn’t have the comfort we were accustomed to in the Landcruisers.
Choosing A Tour Operator
Who you choose to do your safari tour with will make or break your experience. Whilst you can’t predict where wild animals will be, an experienced safari guide can increase your chances of being in the right place at the right time. We’ve been lucky enough to go on several safaris across Kenya and Tanzania, and having an experienced and educated guide on the animals in the park really made a difference. Fortunately enough, a lot of booking sites have consumer reviews available for each of the companies. We highly recommend reading through these when narrowing your search and ultimately picking who to go with. Our best experience was a five-day safari in Tanzania with [name of company here]. Our driver, [name of driver], was incredible the whole time we were with him and we couldn’t recommend him any more.
Where To Find Safari Tours
Knowing where to find the different tours available can take time and effort. A quick Google search will return an endless stream of websites and tour companies, which can immediately throw you into disarray. Fortunately, this step is also the easiest one, as we have done all the hard work for you and can highly recommend using safaribookings.com. We do not get any kickbacks from this website, and we are purely recommending them based on the fantastic experience we had using them to book multiple safaris.
Safari Bookings makes finding a list of tours that meet your requirements easy. They are an online marketplace for safari tours, with hundreds of different operators and over 7000 safari tours. You can filter all these by selecting your target destination, the tour length, budget, comfort level, accommodation type and whether you want a private or shared tour.
From here, you can filter the options down, contact multiple operators, and ultimately book your perfect safari designed just for you. We found that the tours were of very high quality and were some of the best prices we could find anywhere online whilst maintaining confidence in what we were booking.
We hope you have found this guide helpful and wish you all the best in your future adventures!
What's Next
If you are planning a trip to Kenya, why not read our complete travel guide to Kenya that contains everything you need to know about Kenya before you go?
