When planning a trip to Africa for your Safari, planning effectively will help you know your budget limits and optimize on your traveling experience for this adventure of a lifetime. So as you plan your safari, you must have asked yourself, How many days do I need for my Safari? I was wondering about this myself so I did some research:
You need at least 5 days to sufficiently enjoy your African Safari. This is from when you arrive on your International flight to your Safari Destination to when you board a flight back home. This time also factors in the time you will need to travel to the national park from the city and some hours of rest. In this article, I will look at the factors that influence how much time you will spend on your African Safari and give a few tips that will help you optimize your travel experience.
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- Kenya on a Shoestring – Travelling Kenya on the Cheap
- Number of Days to Spend at the Mara – A Complete Guide
Factors affecting how long you might stay on safari
How long your safari lasts will depend on many factors. Some of the main factors are:
- Your budget: this may be the biggest factor to consider when going on your African Safari. The cost of a safari varies based on a number of factors
- The number of parks you will be visiting
- The type of accommodation you will be using.
- Whether you will have exclusive transport or sharing with other travelers
- Travel time between Parks: the distance between parks can sometimes be as long as a whole day’s drive. You will need to understand the time it will take you to get from one park to another when trying to determine how much time you need on your safari. Although you can reduce the amount of time you will spend traveling between parks by flying using light aircraft that service these parks, the fares are will add heavily to your costs and may be impractical for many travelers.
- Jetlag: you will need to factor in the time it will take you to adjust to East African time after you arrive. For travelers coming from the USA, daytime here in East Africa is nighttime for them back at home. If you want to enjoy your safari without feeling grumpy and sleepy, leave a day or two of rest once you arrive. You can spend this time in Nairobi or Arusha.
- Time at the beach: many tourists like spending a few days on one of East Africa’s white sandy beaches before going back home.
How Many Days do Most People Take on an African Safari
Most tourists spend between 5-10 days on Safari. This is the time spent from the day they arrive in the country of the Safari to the day they board a flight home. These days are broken down as shown in the table below
| Day 1 | Arrival to Safari Country | Most tourists spend their day either resting or seeing the sights in the city. Some may choose to purchase some gift items for friends back home. |
| Day 2 | Travel to National Park | Depending on how far the national park is from the city, this can take anything from 4 -6 hours by road. Those who choose to fly will spend around 1 hour in transit. |
| Day 3 to Day 5 | Viewing animals in National Parks. | The tourists may travel to a number of national parks during this time but will spend the bulk of their time in one big park then see other parks either on the way there or on the way back. |
| Day 6 | Travel to the Beach or Back to the Airport | Some tourists go back home at this point but some travel to beach destinations like Mombasa, Diani, Zanzibar and Watamu. These journeys may take an entire day of traveling by road. |
| Day 7 to Day 9 | Time at the beach | Depending on the type of hotel the tourist will be in, they will have different activities and sights to explore |
| Day 10 | Return to capital cities of the Safari Countries and fly back home | This will involve traveling by car or flying depending on the budget and preference of the tourist. |
Number of days to spend on safari when seeing specific animals or scenery
The numbers below are the average number of days you will need to spend on safari to see a specific animal. Some animals are very common and you will see them early in your safari but others are more elusive and will require you to spend more time on your safari in order to see them.
| Attraction | Abundant Vs Rare & Number of Days of Safari Needed to see the Attraction | Notes |
| The Big 5 Animals | ||
| Elephants | Abundant 1 Day | Elephants are abundant in most parks in East Africa and you are likely to see one on your first day on Safari. |
| Lions | Common 2 Days | Most parks in East Africa have Lions. You may need a tour guide to direct you to where a pride is located but you are likely to see one on game drive 1 or 2 of your Safari |
| African Leopards | Occasional 4 Days | Leopards are elusive and you will definitely need a guide to help you spot them. This might take a while even for parks that have a number of them. |
| Rhinos | Rare 1 – 5 Days | White rhinos are more abundant than black rhinos but both are located in specific parks. If you are keen on Seeing a rhino, plan to visit Lake Nakuru National Park, Masai Mara National Reserve, Ol Pajeta Conservancy, or the Serengeti National Park. |
| African Buffalo | Abundant 1 Day | Bufallos are abundant in almost all parks in Kenya, and Tanzania. You are likely to see them on your first game drives. |
| Other popular animals | ||
| Wildebeest | Abundant 1-2 Days | Wildebeest are common in most National Parks and you will see one on your first game drive. There are a few parks that dont have them but they are more of the exception than the rule. |
| Gorillas | Rare 1-7 Days | Gorillas are only located in Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo. Since this is off the normal Safari route, you will need to deliberately plan to visit these countries to see them. It will, therefore take you just 1 day on Safari if you are going there directly or more than 7 if you will be going to the other popular national parks in Kenya or Tanzania. Since crossing international borders is a hassle when on Safari, it is more advisable to plan this as a seperate trip |
| Giraffes | Abundant 1 Day | You will see a giraffe on your first Game drive. They are common in almost all the National Parks in East Africa. |
| Cheetahs | Occasional 2-3 Days | Cheetahs are like Leopards but a bit easier to spot since they are found in the plains. You will need a guide to help you spot them but you will find one on early in your Safari if you are in a park that has many of them. |
| Ostrich | Common 1-2 Days | Ostriches are easy to spot and are abundant in many national parks. |
| Zebra | Abundant 1 Day | Zebra are some of the most abundant animals in East Africa. Expect to see a zebra as the first animal on your African Safari. |
| Hippo | Abundant 1-2 Days | Hippos are abunant in many of the national parks that have water bodies like lakes and large rivers. You are likely to spot one earlier on. |
| Gazelle | Abundant 1 Day | Gazelles are very common and will be some of the first animals you will find on your African Safari |
| Baboons | Common 1-3 Days | Baboons are very common and you are likely to see one even before you enter a National Park. Some like hanging out on the road Between Naivasha and Nakuru in Kenya. If you will be travelling by road around here, ask your guide to spot one for you. |
| Crocodiles | Occasional 2-3 Days | Crocodiles are common in places that have rivers like the Masai Mara. However, you will need to be deliberate to find them |
| Flamingo | Rare 1-5 Days | Flamingos are only found in a few National Parks in East Africa. Some of these include Lake Nakuru National Park & Lake Elementaita in Kenya. Flamingos are more common in Tanzania and will be found in Lake Natron, Arusha National Park and other alkaline lakes in Tanzania. |
| Beautiful landscapes | ||
| Volcanos | Rare 1-3 Days | There are no active volcanos in East Africa but you will find a number of inactive ones on your way to your Safari. Some of these include Mount Longonot and Menengai Crater in Kenya and Ngorongoro crater in Tanzania. |
| Tall Mountains | Occasional 1-3 Days | You will find a number of tall mountains when traveling around East Africa. Some of these include The Kilimanjaro, Mt Kenya etc. These will be easy to spot as you travel but many may be covered by clouds so its a hit or miss |
| Rolling Hills | Abundant 1 Day | There are many beautiful rolling hills in East Africa and you will find these as you drive to your safari destination. They are faily easy to spot |
| The Rift Valley | Occasional 1 Day | Many of the National Parks in Kenya will require you to enter the Great Rift Valley. If you will be taking your safari in Kenya, You will definitely get a chance to see this beautiful Scenery |
| Grassland Savanah | Abundant 1 Day | All of the popular Safaris are located in a grassland Savannah. |
| Forests | Rare 1-5 Days | Forests are a bit more rare when on an african Safari. You will need to be deliberate to see a proper forest when on your African Safari. |
| Gorges | Rare 1-5 Days | You will need to be deliberate to find a gorge on your Safari. The one place I can think of that has gorges that you can explore is the Hells Gate National Park in Kenya. |
| Geysers | Rare 1-5 Days | You will also need to be deliberate if you are planning to geysers and hot water springs. If you are planning to go to Lake Nakuru National Park, you can combine this with Lake Mbogoria that has geysers on the same day. |
| Water Bodies | ||
| Lakes | Occasional 1-2 Days | You will pass by a number of lakes on the way to your Safari Destination. However, if you would like to get more up close, you will need to plan a visit to a park that has a lake. One of the popular lake Parks is the Lake Nakuru National park in Kenya and Lake Natron in Tanzania |
| Ocean Beaches | Abundant 1-5 Days | East Africa has some Amazing Beaches. However, you will need to go a long way out of your way to find an ocean in your Safari. What most tourists do is plan a few days on the beach after they are done with their Safari. The most popular Beach Destinations are Diani and Watamu in Kenya and Dar Es Salam and Zanzibar in Tanzania. |
Number of days for African Safari when on a tight budget
If you are on a tight budget, you would want to spend a minimum of 2-3 days in the parks. This excludes the days you will spend driving to the National Park. Any time lower than this may not feel worthwhile
To reduce these non-safari days spent traveling, you should choose parks that are near the International Airports (ie Arusha and Nairobi) Some of these parks include:
- Nairobi National Park Kenya (20 Minutes from Airport)
- Lake Nakuru National Park Kenya (3 hours from Airport)
- Arusha National Park Tanzania (1 Hour from Airport)
By choosing tours in parks that are not far from the International airport, you will cut down your travel time within the country and manage your budget.
How much rest do I need?
I would estimate that one day for resting is sufficient once you arrive in your Safari Country. This will not completely eliminate the jet lag but you will have dealt with the exhaustion that comes with flying on a long haul flight.
You can spend this time in the Capital of the country you are traveling in and check out some of the sights. This would also be a good opportunity to buy some gift items for your friends if you will be leaving the country immediately after your Safari is done.
You will almost always get better prices for the gift items if you buy them in the city than on the tourist circuit. If you will be in Nairobi, you can check out the Maasai Market for good African gift items for tourists.
Number of days to spend on safari without beach time
Many tourists like spending a few days on the beach after their time in the National parks. If you don’t intend to do so yourself, you can reduce the number of days you will need to spend on your African Safari to around 5-6 days.
This will be 2 days of traveling in the country of your safari and at least 3 days within the national Parks.
How many days should I stay in one park
The amount of time you spend in one national park on your African Safari will depend on:
- The size of the national park
- The number of possible tourist activities there
- How diverse it’s wildlife is.
Many of the more popular parks in East Africa are large, have a number of tourist activities to keep their visitors occupied and have a large variety of wildlife and scenery to warrant spending more than 2 days in them.
However, in some parks, there is not enough to see to warrant spending more than one day in them. An example of this is Nakuru National park in Kenya. Though it has some rare species of animals like the black and white rhino and flamingos, the park is not very large and may get monotonous after one day.
Number of days to spend if visiting more than 2 parks
If you will be visiting more than one park on your African safari, you need to factor in the time it will take you to travel between parks. Keep in mind that a number of roads in East Africa and especially those leading to safari destinations are normally in bad shape and this will reduce how fast you can get from one park to another.
With that said, focus on dividing the days you will spend on your safari as follows:
- Main park – at least 3 days: this should be one of the bigger parks in East Africa like the Maasai Mara in Kenya or Serengeti in Tanzania.
- First secondary park- at most two days: this pack is most likely going to have a lot of the same animal that you saw in the main park and so you might not want to spend many days there.
- Second Secondary Park- 1 day: by this time you have likely seen all that can be seen for someone on safari and you may be raring for something new. you would need to visit a park that has some rare species or something interesting that the other packs don’t have. a good example of this would be the lake Nakuru National park that has black and the rare white rhino which most other parks in Kenya don’t.
Number of days to spend if it’s your very first time on an African safari
When coming to Africa for your very first safari, you’ll probably be more curious than most other travelers who have come here on multiple occasions. It will be important to allocate at least three days an actual safari that will be spent in the park.
If you are able to afford to spend more days, I would encourage you to do so in order to satisfy your curiosity and explore as much as you can before you have to go back home. Focus on experiencing as much as you can and has many variations of scenery and views as you can
Afterward, as a veteran traveler, you will be able to spend fewer days but focus on more specific experiences that you did not cover on your first Safari.
How to allocate time when Going on a multi-country African Safari
If you are going to be crossing international borders on your safari, you will need to factor in the delays that may occur at the border and the distances you will need to cover either by road or by air.
One of the more popular border crossings for tourists is between Kenya and Tanzania. if you would like to see both of the Serengeti and Maasai Mara on one trip, you would need to endure a whole day on the road to get from the Maasai Mara to the Serengeti. This is assuming that you will cross the Isebania border without any issues.
I would avoid multi-country safaris if since they increase the amount of time you will need to spend on on the road without actually seeing more animals. In addition to this, it increases the cost of your safari significantly.
Allocating time on an African Safari: Many parks or fewer ones?
so the question you might be asking yourself is should I allocate my time amongst many packs or just a few ones when coming for my safari in East Africa?
Answer: I would allocate a lot of time to one park and single days on the other parks. The park that gets the most time should have a large amount of diversity and should be vast enough to allow me to spend at least four days there without feeling bored. Some of the parks that satisfy this requirement are the Masai Mara and Serengeti.
A Final Word
As you prepare for your trip to Africa, I would like to recommend a few products that would help make your life easier.
- Shoes: I recommend that you check the Keen Hiking shoes. I have written an extensive article on the best shoes for an African safari and this shoe checks all the boxes for things you should look for when choosing a shoe for Africa. (Check out the Keen Hiking Shoes on Amazon)
- Camera: If you are not big on photography, I would not advise you to buy a brand new camera for your African Adventure. Good cameras can be expensive and buying a camera you will not use is not a good use of your limited budget. I advise that you rent a camera instead and Lens Rentals have a great Safari Camera Kit perfect for someone traveling to Africa. If you are thinking of getting into photography, then you can invest in a new camera but before you do, check out my pick for the best Safari Camera for a Beginner like Me
- Information About Africa: I have created a YouTube channel that focuses on things about traveling to Africa that only Africans can tell you about. Check out the channel for insights about African culture and things you can do as a traveler to optimize your trip. You should also visit TripAdvisor forum posts (Here is the Kenya Forum) and ask questions about your particular situation. There are a lot of people who are happy to help you out.
- Choosing a Safari Company: I have written an extensive article on how to choose a safari Company. You can. Check it out before starting the process of searching for a safari company.
- Consulting Session: If you have any questions you would like to ask me about Kenya, I would invite you to contact me for a 30-minute consultation session where I will share my knowledge about East Africa and share experiences that will help you make your trip easier. Reach out to me on email – antonynjoro@gmail.com
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