Where to Have the BEST Safari in Africa (2023)

Selecting the place to have one of the best safari in Africa might be troublesome. There are such a lot of nations to select from, parks to discover, animals to see, safari lodges, and quite a lot of distinctive actions to partake in that make choosing one place virtually unimaginable.

For those who’re simply beginning out in your safari planning, I like to recommend our how you can plan a safari information to present you a primary concept of the planning concerned with this journey.

While you’re prepared to decide on one of the best African safari trip, head again right here for first-hand accounts of safaris in all these unimaginable parks. It’s essential to notice that every one of those solutions for one of the best safaris in Africa are taken from our private experiences, as we’ve been on over 100 African safaris!

The place to have the Finest Safari in Africa?

The place To Have The Finest Safari in Africa for Wildlife Encounters?

The Masai Mara (Kenya): What’s the greatest place to safari in Africa for excellent wildlife viewing? It’s virtually unimaginable to beat the Mara Triangle within the Masai Mara. If it’s your first time in Africa and your principal goal is to see as many safari animals as doable, then you possibly can’t go incorrect with the Masai Mara.

Right here, you stand a great probability of seeing the massive 5. Really, that is the one place we’ve traveled to the place we noticed all the massive 5 animals on one recreation drive.

The benefit of the Masai Mara could also be nice wildlife sightings. Nevertheless, the drawback is the crowds. Together with the Serengeti, the Masai Mara attracts in enormous crowds for the nice migration. Each parks are synonymous with “Africa,” and residing out that Lion King dream makes them extraordinarily well-liked.

All of this demand drives the price of one of the best safari operators up and brings in plenty of “low price” operators that aren’t essentially one of the best worth in comparison with elsewhere in Africa.

We additionally visited the Serengeti, which was nice for wildlife, however this park loses to the Mara in our thoughts as a result of it was jam-packed and busy, and we discovered Mara’s panorama to be extra open and wild! Or perhaps we’re simply in love with Out Of Africa.

Guide a Masai Mara Safari!

The place to Have the Finest Self-Drive Safari in Africa?

Kruger Nationwide Park (South Africa): Asides from one journey to Morocco, South Africa was the primary nation we traveled to in Africa. Two days after we landed in Johannesburg, we drove round Kruger Nationwide Park in a rental automobile. Kruger Nationwide Park is an extremely easy park to do by yourself.

The roads are paved, instructions are properly posted, and loads of different guides and rangers are round that will help you get misplaced or level you to a sighting.

I didn’t notice how straightforward Kruger was to self-drive till we made our approach north and witnessed simply how horrible the roads in African nationwide parks might be. The Kruger additionally has a couple of espresso outlets inside it, memento outlets, public bogs, and even a Debonair’s Pizza store in it…yeah, we’re not in Africa anymore right here.

The perfect bits about Kruger are undoubtedly the paved roads, constant wildlife sightings, and the worth of park charges.  300 Rand for foreigners in an enormous 5 park that you would be able to self-drive is an efficient deal, particularly in comparison with East Africa’s prices. The worst half about Kruger is the crowds and modernity, making the Kruger appear just a little bit extra like a zoo than the wild.

Or you possibly can e-book a luxurious safari in Kruger!

The place to Have the Finest Safari in Africa on a Funds?

Etosha Nationwide Park (Namibia): Individuals often gasp after I inform them the worth it prices to get into Namibia’s Etosha Nationwide Park, and I’m positive you’ll too. Are you prepared? It prices 80 Namibian {Dollars} a day to drive round Etosha Nationwide Park.

That’s equal to $6 USD or lower than two cappuccinos from Starbucks. Sure, for the worth of your favourite Mcdonald’s meal, you may get into Namibia’s hottest park and hang around all day!

That’s why I might counsel you head to Namibia in case you are touring Africa on a funds and nonetheless need to see rhinos, elephants, jackals, and giraffes. Nevertheless, don’t be fooled that simply because the worth is so low, the park is crap since you can be sorely mistaken.

Etosha Nationwide Park boasts unimaginable recreation viewing, particularly within the dry season when all of the animals congregate on the pure and man-made watering holes.

The perfect half about Etosha is, palms down, the worth and high quality of roads; whereas we did discover it to be a barren, arid park, the standard of the sport is top-notch.

Guide an Etosha Safari With Our Most well-liked Supplier Timbuktu!

The place to See Primates in Africa?

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest (Uganda): For those who’re in East Africa, I might extremely suggest sticking round a bit longer to see the final remaining mountain gorillas on this planet. The 800 mountain gorillas can solely be present in Uganda, Rwanda, and the DRC, however I imagine one of the best place to work together with them is in Bwindi Impenetrable Nationwide Park.

That is the place we went and trekked for less than two hours to spend an hour with a household of 17 mountain gorillas, cute infants included!

Uganda holds 60% of the overall mountain gorillas left globally, with about 400 of them residing in Bwindi Impenetrable Nationwide Park. So, if I’m doing my math accurately, about half of the final remaining gorillas are in Bwindi! Add that to the truth that it prices $700 to go gorilla trekking in Uganda and over $1500 to go gorilla trekking in neighboring Rwanda makes me lean extra in the direction of The Pearl of Africa.

After all, one can at all times go to the DRC for $400, however with that comes the risks of an unstable nation.

The perfect a part of gorilla trekking is seeing gorillas up shut and private! The worst half about gorilla trekking anyplace in Africa is the excessive price ticket for only one hour of gorilla time.

Guide a Gorilla Trekking Expertise!

The place to Have the Finest Bush Safari in Africa?

Linyanti Concession (Botswana): In order for you an actual African bush expertise, it’s robust to consider a greater place than Linyanti. African Bush Camp’s personal concession situated within the better area generally known as Linyanti, situated between the Better Chobe Nationwide Park and the Okavango Delta, is a particular place on this planet.

The placement all performs into an ecosystem that’s interlinked because the Linyanti Channel, working as an outflow for the water that doesn’t disappear into the sands of the Kalahari within the well-known Okavango Delta.

Over time, this extraordinarily distant area of Botswana has grown in recognition for the entry to wildlife it supplies. We’d heard through the years that it was a magical area to go on safari, however we lastly acquired to expertise it for ourselves, and it now goes down as one among our favourite safaris in Africa.

In 4 days, we noticed the elusive leopard, a pack of untamed canine on a number of events, neverending herds of elephants, buffalo, and all the opposite superb safari animals.

Guide One of many Finest Safaris in Africa in Linyanti!

The place to Have the Finest Strolling Safari in Africa?

South Luangwa Nationwide Park (Zambia): Strolling in a wildlife space means that you can join with the bush in a extra intimate nature; it’s as near our roots as we will get on safari. A strolling safari is by all means adventurous.

Strolling by way of the bush searching for lethal animals heightens your senses. It permits you to step away from the engine noise and stretch your legs.

On a bushwalk, you might be given an opportunity to witness the small particulars. Little issues usually get missed on a conventional safari, corresponding to indigenous vegetation, strategies of monitoring, and even snakes. We discovered one of the best park for strolling safaris to be South Luangwa Nationwide Park in Zambia.

To not point out it was in South Luangwa that we acquired extremely near elephants, some of the lethal animals. Bush walks are the one exercise the place you will need to put on safari garments and boots.

The perfect half about South Luangwa was the sport density (Leopards galore!) and strolling safaris. We discovered the one drawback of South Luangwa to be the crowds, which nonetheless have been nowhere close to as dangerous as they’re within the extra well-known parks.

Guide a safari in South Luangwa Nationwide Park!

The place is the Finest Safari in Africa For a Large Vary of Actions?

Decrease Zambezi Nationwide Park (Zambia): For the most effective safaris in Africa, you will need to head to this park. Zambia’s Decrease Zambezi Nationwide Park can partake in strolling safaris, canoe safaris, night time recreation drives, common recreation drives, fishing, and river cruises. With this enormous vary of safari actions, it’s onerous to ever get bored!

That’s why the Decrease Zambezi is a superb safari selection if you happen to’re on the lookout for a variety of actions in your African safari or are touring with a household with many pursuits. It’s seemingly in competitors for our favourite park in Africa as its panorama is a surprising place proper in between the mighty Zambezi and a towering escarpment.

The sport within the park is great! Right here, we noticed wild canine, a lion kill, and the elusive leopard. Be looking out too! When our information was on his solution to choose us up from the airstrip, he’d seen the primary Cheetah in almost a decade, so they might seemingly return, or at the least one! We are able to’t suggest this park for its actions, pure magnificence, low crowds, and recreation density sufficient.

Guide a Safari within the Decrease Zambezi!

The place to Have the Finest Safari For Romance?

Selous Sport Reserve (Tanzania) (now renamed Nyerere Nationwide Park): The Selous is one other space for one of the best safari in Africa. The Selous Sport Reserve in Tanzania is the biggest recreation reserve in Africa, that means there may be plenty of area to cowl. Throughout our whole time there, we by no means noticed a single different automobile making the Selous one among Africa’s most intimate wildlife areas.

It’s the proper place to flee from the crowds of the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater and luxuriate in Africa prefer it was – undisturbed.

Most lodges will likely be located on the Rufiji River, which is a lovely enjoyable location. Each night time you possibly can hearken to grunting hippos as you go to sleep. A preferred exercise is to partake in boat cruises alongside the river, however the Selous additionally permits strolling safaris as properly and is well-known for large recreation searching the old-school approach within the South of the park.

The park was teeming with elephants, and within the ’70s, the park had over 100,000 elephants – the biggest inhabitants in Africa. Now lower than 15,000 are within the reserve as a consequence of poaching. Sadly, this turned a actuality for us when our whole 4 days within the Selous solely led us to see one elephant.

I liked the Selous Sport Reserve for its seclusion and sweetness, however sadly, I cannot suggest it in case your aim is to see elephants. Alternatively, Giraffes are as plentiful because the bushes they eat!

Guide a Safari in Nyerere With Timbuktu!

The place to Have the Most Unique Safari in Africa?

The Okavango Delta (Botswana): When it comes to privateness, exclusivity, and virtually downright celeb standing safaris, then Botswana’s Okavango Delta is one of the best place to safari in Africa. You could have most likely seen the exceptional Okavango Delta earlier than on Planet Earth or Nat Geo with Sir David Attenborough’s voiceover to appease you away.

The reality is, the Okavango Delta actually is simply that unimaginable. The Delta is gorgeous, and you might be virtually assured superb sightings. Botswana is an excellent African nation with nice efforts to guard their nation’s property. The nation has enforced a high-cost, low-impact mannequin of tourism. A safari right here will likely be onerous to afford except you might be very rich.

That’s to not say that it may possibly’t be accomplished on a funds, although! It’s doable to self-drive into Moremi and takes within the Delta from the comforts of a conventional mokoro experience whereas tenting on the banks.

Nevertheless, a restricted variety of campsites can be found, they usually’re extraordinarily well-liked, with one of the best websites being booked up a 12 months prematurely by South Africans on vacation.

I liked the Okavango Delta’s magnificence, tranquility, wildlife, and exclusivity. Nevertheless, the excessive price ticket is an comprehensible deterrent.

Guide an Okavango Safari!

The place To Escape Crowds on Safari in Africa?

Mana Swimming pools Nationwide Park (Zimbabwe): Zimbabwe’s Mana Swimming pools is a unbelievable nationwide park you possibly can get pleasure from all to your self! Mana means “4” in Shona, referring to the 4 everlasting swimming pools fed by the Zambezi River discovered within the park. Through the wet season, the entire space will get its justifiable share of water, and when the dry season hits, the animals flock to the swimming pools for a drink.

We visited in the course of the shoulder season when the sport was beginning to come again, and we have been in awe by the variety of elephants, leopards, and buffalo we noticed within the park. Moreover, elephants are frequent camp guests as they congregate alongside the river. It was right here we had our closest encounters with elephants, together with one elephant who visited our breakfast buffet searching for some tasty meals.

Mana Swimming pools is a superb park to mix with Zambia’s Decrease Zambezi. The parks are divided by the mighty Zambezi River, and despite the fact that they’re so shut in distance, they provide utterly totally different safari experiences.

Guide a Mana Swimming pools Safari!

Finest Safari Close to Johannesburg

Madikwe Sport Reserve (South Africa): Madikwe, one among South Africa’s largest recreation reserves, can also be a Massive 5 reserve that boasts a wealthy variety of wildlife, together with virtually 60 species of mammals and animal inhabitants exceeding 10,000.

Madikwe is simply 4 hours from Johannesburg, so it makes for a fantastic safari vacation spot in case you are simply in South Africa for a couple of days and basing your self out of Joburg. It’s far much less crowded than The Kruger, however presents wonderful recreation viewing.

Madikwe Sport Reserve was established in 1991 to offer a protected haven for endangered species, in addition to to help the native economic system by selling ecotourism. Nearly all recreation rangers and guides are from native villages. Madikwe is among the largest and most profitable recreation reserves in South Africa, and there’s quite a lot of locations to remain within the park.

Guide a Safari in Madikwe!

Finest Safari Close to Cape City

Gondwana Sport Reserve (South Africa): Situated simply exterior Mossel Bay alongside the Backyard Route, Gondwana is definitely accessible from Cape City, being a mere 5-hour drive away. Because of this in simply half a day, one can go from a bustling metropolis to the tranquil and malaria-free bush!

Overlaying a formidable 11,000 hectares, Gondwana is a comparatively giant personal recreation reserve that’s house to the Massive 5, in addition to zebra, cheetahs, and an abundance of birdlife set amidst the indigenous and distinctive fynbos. For a novel and refreshing tackle the standard safari expertise, the Gondwana Pioneer Path and their Eco Camp are must-trys.

Guide a Safari at Gondwana Sport Reserve!

Finest Safari in Africa for Horse Lovers

Waterberg Bushveld (Limpopo): I wager you haven’t thought of occurring a horseback safari, have you ever? Chances are you’ll suppose – now why would I need to try this?

When exploring on horseback, animals are typically extra comfy than being approached on foot or by automobile, because the horse is seen as a companion animal. This ends in animal encounters being a lot nearer than what one would sometimes expertise on a safari. Whereas on horseback, we acquired inside meters of giraffe, kudu, rhino, and loads of different antelope.

Many equestrians search any such expertise, although you don’t should be a fantastic horseback rider to get pleasure from this exercise. We spent three days in The Waterberg with Ants Nest Safaris and are very novice horseback riders. It is usually reassuring to know that the reserve’s animals aren’t predators, which implies that even an inexperienced rider can loosen up with out the priority of a probably difficult state of affairs.

Guide This Safari Expertise!

The Finest Safari in Africa for Repeat Safari Goers

Hwange Nationwide Park (Zimbabwe)

Bordering Botswana, Hwange Nationwide Park is Zimbabwe’s largest nationwide park and covers an space of 14,600km². Its huge dimension results in various panorama, recreation, and wild bush. The park strikes from desert scrubs on the sting of the Kalahari within the south, to granite hills and woodlands crammed with mopane and teak within the North.

One attribute that may strike all guests in Hwange is the significance of water. The park’s giant inhabitants of wildlife is sustained by managed water holes, or pans.  Practically 100 mammal species name Hwange Nationwide Park house. That features the entire large 5 animals, even the endangered rhinoceros.

Guide a Safari in Hwange Nationwide Park

Kafue Nationwide Park (Zambia)

At virtually 22,500 sq km, Kafue Nationwide Park is the biggest nationwide park in Zambia and one of many largest on this planet. The park’s panorama ranges from the dense riverine forest alongside the banks of the Kafue River to vast open plains. Safari-goers stand a great probability of sighting lions and leopards, and even cheetahs within the north of the park. Initially based by the legendary Norman Carr within the Fifties, Kafue established Zambia’s first nationwide park.

Regardless of the park’s huge dimension, lengthy historical past, and accessibility, it’s seldom traveled in comparison with many different parks in Southern Africa. It does have its causes for not drawing the vacationers of South Luangwa or The Decrease Zambezi, however the park is making strides in conservation and begs to be explored.

The park is only some hours from Livingstone or Lusaka. Nevertheless, it nonetheless comprises huge tracts of untouched wilderness, with spread-out safari lodges working within the park. Lately curiosity continues to develop, and in our opinion, Kafue Nationwide Park could be very a lot an upcoming park positive to be successful for safari-goers sooner or later.

Guide a Safari in Kafue Nationwide Park

Ruaha Nationwide Park (Tanzania)

Ruaha is situated within the coronary heart of Tanzania, the ‘different park’ on the Southern circuit.  Ruaha’s relative inaccessibility means it will get far fewer vacationers than the Selous and fewer than any comparable park within the Northern circuit. The reward of touring this far into Tanzania? A wild panorama of baobab-studded hills, rocky escarpments, and excellent wildlife. Tanzania’s largest Nationwide Park is bound to wow any safari-goer.

Practically 10% of Africa’s lion inhabitants lives contained in the park! Ruaha safaris have superb predator concentrations, giant herds of elephant and buffalo, and a mix of wildlife from Southern and East Africa.

Guide a Safari in Ruaha Nationwide Park!

Finest Safari in Africa: Honorable Mentions!

A couple of different of our favourite greatest safari in Africa locations not talked about on this checklist:

Ultimately, virtually any safari in Africa is certain to be pleasing, particularly if it’s your first safari! We personally have spent over 100 days on safari, and I can say they nonetheless by no means get previous!

Finest Africa Safaris FAQ

Which African Nation Has the Finest Safari?

After all that is all subjective as every nation and park presents one thing totally different for guests. Nevertheless, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, and Botswana are amongst among the most well-known and well-liked safari locations.

What Safari is Finest for Households?

An excellent household pleasant safari choice can be The Kruger, as a safari right here is extra inexpensive than many different locations on this checklist, however nonetheless supplies a Massive 5 expertise.

What’s the Common Value of an African safari journey?

The price of a safari can range tremendously relying on size of journey, vacation spot, operator, and season of journey. Funds safari operators run safaris that price round $150 to $300 per individual per day. These often contain staying in primary campsites or funds lodges, shared transportation, and group recreation drives.

Mid-range safaris sometimes price between $300 and $700 per individual per day. These usually embrace comfy lodge or tented camp lodging, personal transportation, and guided recreation drives.

Luxurious safaris can vary from $700 to a number of thousand {dollars} per individual per day. These top-tier experiences supply unique lodging in luxurious lodges or camps, personalised providers, gourmand meals, personal transportation, and sometimes extra facilities corresponding to spa remedies or personal guides.

What to Put on on Safari?

There’s a lot to safari apparel, so we broke down precisely what to put on on safari right here.

What’s the hottest safari in Africa?

The preferred safari locations are The Kruger, Ngorongoro Crater, and the Serengeti and Masai Mara – notably across the Nice Wildebeest Migration.

Which African nation is most secure for safari?

Africa is an unlimited continent with quite a few nations providing protected and pleasing safari experiences. Botswana has a popularity for being politically secure and strongly dedicated to wildlife conservation. It presents well-managed nationwide parks and personal reserves, such because the Okavango Delta and Chobe Nationwide Park, identified for his or her distinctive wildlife and high-quality safari experiences.

Which is best Masai Mara or Serengeti?

This varies relying on who you ask. We’ve got safaried in each the Masai Mara and the Serengeti and most well-liked the Masai Mara, as we discovered it much less busy. The Serengeti appeared to have extra overtouristed vibes to it.

How Many Days is Sufficient for Safari?

This relies on how a lot you like being within the bush, away from civilization and WiFi, and having fun with the character and wildlife round you. For us, meaning a very long time and we might simply spend weeks on finish on safari. Nevertheless, for most individuals I might suggest occurring safari anyplace between 5-10 days.

What To Pack For Safari

There are some things that one ought to pack for an African Safari. We show you how to create your safari packing checklist and share a few of our favourite safari merchandise.