Safari Planning

Best Time to Go

Please use our "Best Time To Go to Africa" chart along with the "What Wildlife is Best Seen Where" chart that appear in the next door feature box.

The value of using the Africa Adventure Co. (AAC) to plan your trip

The value we add lies in our insider know-how of the places we specialize in, based on our frequent and recent trips there. Our value is in how we’ve personally tested all the hotels and transportation and activities and guides, so that you know what’s worth paying more for, and what’s not. Our value is in the personal relationships we have with key people in the industry—connections that we use on behalf of our travelers. Our value is in the special access we can provide to places and people and events that are unavailable to travelers who book online. And our real value is in how we come to the rescue 24/7, should anything go wrong. In short, we give our clients what they can’t get from the Web based companies.

Your guides on Safari

Our reputation has been built over the years on the value we provide in ensuring the high quality of guides who take you on your wildlife viewing. We love the cross-pollination of culture that happens when Americans travel to Africa and our company philosophy is to support guides, who take you on safari, be employed from local communities. These local guides appreciate your choice of an Africa safari trip, and their passion and dedication will conserve the wildlife for years to come.

Safari Styles

Another component to safari travel planning is based on matching your style of travel to a quality wildlife itinerary. Safari styles include driving safaris, flying safaris (or a combination of both), group or private safaris. Driving safaris are simply safaris in which guests are driven by their driver/guide from reserve to reserve. You generally have the same guide throughout the safari, who will have a very good knowledge of all the parks and reserves to be visited. You may travel independently or on a small group departure. On flying safaris, guests are flown to or near the wildlife reserves that are to be visited. They are then picked up at the airport or airstrip upon arrival and driven to their camp or lodge — which is usually a game drive in itself. Guides and vehicles are based at the camps and lodges at which guests will be staying. A real advantage is that the resident guides have an intimate knowledge of the area because they are usually based in the same camp for the season. Typically this would be an independent style of travel with some specialist guided group departures. Private departure lodge and tented camp safaris offer a more individualized experience, beginning with your choice of a date to depart on your travels. Depending on the destination, you have either your own driver/guide throughout, or the services of a driver/guide at each stop in the itinerary. You travel by vehicle, scheduled flights or charter flights between smaller private lodges and permanent tented camps in more remote locations. The private safari matches an independent style of travel to combine your preferences for departure dates, game parks and accommodations. For greater intimacy, a couple, family or friends might prefer traveling as a private party and book the services of a specialist guide. Group safaris are pre-scheduled for you to embark on a locally guided, group expedition, traveling between game parks in each country. You stay at selected hotels, lodges, bungalows and permanent tented camps. The optimum size of a group departure is 6-10. On a scheduled, small group departure, you usually travel with mixed English speaking nationalities and people of varying ages.

Safari Activities

An African safari can be experienced in a myriad ways – all exciting!. We like to chat with you about your level of fitness so the variety of activities included in your itinerary match your expectations. Most often, game viewing is best accomplished in the early mornings and late afternoons when wildlife is most active and the lighting is more photo-friendly. Your guide plans these outings to usually last 3 to 5 hours. Depending on the park or reserve, your guide will take you on morning or afternoon game drives in search of wildlife. In some reserves you also may take night game drives to explore the world of nocturnal creatures. Other game viewing options are approaching animals from the water by boat or canoe, taking game walks, riding on elephant or horse back, or in a hot air balloon. You can take a break from pursuing wildlife and still be active. Consider the invigorating options of white-water rafting, kayaking and fishing; climbing and hiking mountain trails; visiting tribal villages and beautiful beach resorts or touring in the larger cities.

Game viewing by vehicle

Open vehicles usually have no side, rear windows or permanent roof, providing unobstructed views in all directions. They’re used in Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Malawi, parts of Tanzania, and private reserves in South Africa and Kenya. Roof hatch or poptop vehicles are used in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Namibia; passengers stand up through the hatch for ease of viewing and photography. Closed vehicles are more restrictive, limiting your experiences to window viewing. These vehicles are used on group road safaris in some national parks in South Africa and Namibia and by people doing self-drive safaris.

Game viewing by boat

Canoe, mokoro (dugout canoe) and motor boats are excellent for game viewing. Elephant, buffalo and many other species that drink at the water's edge may be approached up close by boat. These excursions occur in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia and Namibia.

Game viewing on foot

A walking safari is the ultimate way to experience the African bush. The thrill of walking up to a bull elephant, black rhino or gorillas is exciting beyond words. An expert guide can help you identify birds, flowers, trees and wildlife. You will even learn how to track animals by their spoor (footprints). Walking safaris are available in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, South Africa and parts of Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda.