A tour in Africa is one of the most rewarding ways to travel anywhere on earth. The specialist knowledge that makes what you’re seeing in the bush meaningful, the access to camps and reserves that a well-connected operator can unlock, the logistics handled so you can focus on the experience – here’s how to think about planning your Africa tour.
East Africa is where most travellers start. Kenya’s Masai Mara and Tanzania’s Serengeti share the great migration circuit – roughly two million wildebeest and zebra moving between July and October – and a well-timed tour positions you for the moments that matter: a river crossing, the calving season in the Ndutu basin in February, a morning in the bush with the light still low.
Southern Africa offers more variety. South Africa’s Kruger is the most visited, but the surrounding private reserves – Sabi Sands, Timbavati – give you smaller vehicles, off-road access and night drives. Botswana’s Okavango Delta is a different proposition again – mokoro trips through papyrus channels, game that comes to the water. Zimbabwe’s Hwange and Victoria Falls can anchor either end of a longer itinerary.
Two things are worth checking carefully: the accommodation and the group size.
Camp and lodge quality varies more widely here than in almost any other region. Named properties you can look up yourself tend to give you a clearer picture than star ratings alone.
Group size matters because it determines your vehicle, and your vehicle shapes the game drive experience. Smaller groups tend to mean fewer people and fewer vehicles at the same sighting.
The Mara River crossing tends to happen most reliably between July and October, though the timing is unpredictable – which is part of what makes it worth being there for.
The calving season in the southern Serengeti runs roughly January to March. Southern Africa’s peak wildlife season is generally June to October. Victoria Falls tends to be most dramatic April to June.
