Going on an African Safari is an incredible experience and should be on everyone’s bucket list. The thing that may be holding you back maybe that you have no idea where to start and the idea of planning a safari seems incredibly intimidating to you. In this article, I’m going to outline in detail the steps you need to take when planning a Safari. I will break down into 10 easy steps to make it easy for you to envision what needs to be done at what time.
10 Easy Steps in Planning an African Safari
Step 1. Determine if A Safari for you?
The first thing you need to determine is whether an African Safari is worth doing in the first place. There is no need to spend time and money planning a trip that you might end up hating, right?
If you’re not excited about spending the whole day in search of animals in an open safari van surrounded by wide-open spaces, then Tanzania, or any other safari destination for that matter, may not be for you.
Don’t go on Safari if:
- You are not interested in wildlife or nature. It’s all you will be surrounded by and you will be truly miserable if you don’t like it.
- You get bored easily and are constantly looking for variety. The first day will be interesting but you will quickly get bored and want to do something else. The beauty of an African safari comes from the daily drives in search of animals and spending time with each one taking photos and observing its behavior.
- You have the incessant need to be constantly connected to the outside world and must have good internet wherever you are. On rare occasions, you might be able to get a stable internet connection when out on safari. However, this is the exception rather than the rule.
- You are looking for a zoo-like experience where all the animals will be easy to spot and photograph. The truth about going on Safari is that you are unlikely to spot many of the safari animals on the first or second drive. I went on a one-day self-drive to Lake Nakuru National Park and I wasn’t able to spot the rhino which is supposed to be abundant in this park.
- You are afraid of bugs. Africa has a lot of bugs and some of them are big and scary. Few are actually harmful but they do look intimidating enough to deter someone who is petrified of them from visiting Africa.
Step 2. Figure out your needs
Next, you want to figure out what your needs and preferences are for Safari. Think about:
- Animals you want to see: Think about your bucket list of animals you would like to see. This will determine the kind of parks you will visit and the amount of time you will need on the safari.
- Activities you would like to do: Think about whether you need some beach time or if you want to have some cultural interactions with the locals during your visit. This will influence the number of days your entire trip will take and the kind of places you will visit within Tanzania.
- How much you are willing to spend: Although your budget will be influenced by the kind of accommodation and transport you
- The kind of accommodation you would like to stay in: this is usually a personal preference and would depend on the level of comfort that you would like to have during your Safari. It generally goes without saying that the more comfortable your accommodation will be, the more you have to pay per night
- How many people you will be traveling with: figuring out how big your party will be will influence the kind of costs you expect to incur and the kinds of activities you will have during the safari in Tanzania.
- Group or private Safari: going on a group safari will mean that you will be sharing transportation with other tourists. This can either be an exciting opportunity to meet new people or a very annoying experience depending on who you are traveling with.
The reason why you need to think about your needs before starting to plan for your safari is that you will have a lot of options to choose from and you will have an easier time choosing when you know what you want and what your limits are.
You will also know approximately how much you expect to spend on your trip and this will help you manage your expectations if you go for something a bit less expensive.
Step 3. Figure out your Dates
Determining the time of year you should make your trip to Tanzania will be influenced by the type of events you expect to experience in Tanzania. The best time to visit Tanzania for a Safari is between the two dry seasons of Late December – February, And July – September.
The dry season is the best for Safari since you have better chances of spotting animals that generally gather around the few watering holes. The parks usually have shorter grass than during the rainy season and this improves your chances of spotting shorter animals like warthog and the cats.
Step 4. Choose a Safari Company
Choosing a safari company is the most important part of planning a trip to Tanzania. The success of your safari is hinged on this decision and you need to take your time and be careful when making it.
I have written an extensive article on how to choose a safari company and here is the basic outline:
- Determine how much you are willing to spend (You have already done this on the steps above mentioned)
- Identify your preferred travel style and any special needs (you have already listed your needs. Now refine them)
- Decide where you want to go and what you want to see and when you want to go (determine exactly which parks You want to see and which month)
- Find a list of safari companies for the countries you want to see
- Sortlist them to a handful that you can contact
- Find reviews of each of these companies to get an idea of what kind of experience you will get with them.
- Send emails to request for quotations (View Email Template)
- Shortlist based on the responses provided to 3 companies
- Call them and & do extra research on them to help you decide which company to go with
- Make the payment and get confirmations
Step 5. Book your Plane Ticket
Booking your plane tickets ahead of time will ensure that you enjoy the lowest prices compared to anyone who will book close to their travel dates.
Book your air ticket once you have confirmed dates from your safari company.
You could save several hundred dollars by using a service like Skyscanner to search for the best international flight deals
Here Is the Skyscanner list of international flight deals.
Step 6. Start Packing
There are some critical items that you must have on your Safari to Tanzania
- Passport
Read the details on this extensive article I wrote on packing for your African Safari
I have prepared a detailed safari packing list and you can download the PDF for free below.
Step 7. Practice your photography
If you have any intention of taking photos on your safari, you will need to have the right equipment and practice using it.
I have written an entire article on how to spot African wildlife and another on how to take better Safari photos. Please review them to get a better understanding of what to expect when it comes to safari photography.
You may consider renting a camera and other photography equipment for your Safari. In that case, check out the article I wrote on renting camera gear for Safari to know what to expect.
Step 8. Health prep
As you approach the day when the Safari will be happening, you will need to get a few health things checked off.
- The most important one is getting Anti-malaria medication. Most safari destinations are in the malaria belt and your risk of getting ill you don’t take the necessary measures.
- Yellow fever vaccination: some countries require you to have a yellow fever vaccination card for you to be able to enter. Some of these countries are Tanzania and Rwanda if you’re entering from yellow fever risk country.
- Water: although you can’t carry water from your home country to a safari, you need to find out where your water will be coming from since it is one of the things that introduces a lot of health risks. Here’s an article on why tap water is unsafe for foreigners. Although you expect to be provided with drinking water by the safari company you will be using, get a portable filtration system just in case.
Step 9. Get Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is vital when you are going on safari. While the chances of getting into an accident or facing risks that would require emergency evacuation are low, if they do happen, the cost of getting you to safety is extremely expensive.
Step 10. Book Your Visa
Most safari destinations are located in countries that require a visa for you to enter. Luckily countries like Kenya and Tanzania have online portals where you can make your application for your tourist visa.
Most countries will require you to pay for your Visa and she cost for most popular countries are listed below:
- Kenya: $51
- Tanzania: $50 and $100 for US Citizens
- Botswana: $107
- South Africa: $28
Mistakes to avoid when planning a Safari
Planning too few days
You should spend at least 3 days in the National parks when on Safari. This will allow you sufficient opportunities of spotting rare species like the leopard, Rhino and other hard-to-spot species.
If you plan to spend less than this amount of time on safari, you are likely to end up hating your experience since you may not get to see as many animals.
Safari Animals are sometimes hard to spot and the national parks are expansive. Allowing enough time to explore them will reduce your chances of feeling like you missed out because of having to leave too early.
Visiting too many parks
You may assume that the more the parks the better right? Wrong. Most parks are located long distances from each other and this means that you will usually take an entire day on the road traveling from one park to the other. This wastes valuable animal viewing time and you may end up not enjoying your entire experience due to the fatigue of long road trips.
I would recommend that you visit at most 3 parks and spend most of your time in one big park.
For example, if you are going on a 6-day safari in Kenya, visit Lake Nakuru National park for 1 day, then travel to the Masai Mara Game reserve and spend 4 days there. This will reduce your road fatigue ana allow you to maximize your animal viewing time.
Not carrying a DSLR Camera
Most safari animals will be located a bit of a distance from the road and you will need to really zoom in to be able to take a good photo of the animals.
Although great Landscape safari photos can still be captured using a cellphone camera, closeups of animals are difficult to impossible without a camera that has a telephoto lens.
In case you were not planning to buy a camera, you may consider renting a high-quality DSLR camera for your trip. It will cost you about $700 but you will be using equipment that is worth $4,000 and this will ensure that you are able to take amazing safari photos. Here is an example of a great camera package on rent at LensRentals.com that is perfect for an African Safari
Being too keen on price
Being too price-sensitive may land you in the hands of unscrupulous agents and tour operators who will promise you great deals but underdeliver on the safari experience.
Although you don’t want to splurge on your safari, you do get what you pay for when it comes to African Safaris and an extra couple of hundred dollars can make a big difference in the quality of the experience in your Safari.
Not Booking Early enough
During the high season of July to September, most popular lodges and camps are fully booked and you may not get good accommodation. At the same time, the prices will be higher when booking at this time and you are likely to spend way more than what someone who booked early will spend in making your reservation.
In addition to this, you will have to pay exorbitantly for your plane tickets if you don’t book them ahead of time.
I recommend booking your Safari 1 Year Ahead of your travel and booking your air ticket immediately you have gotten your confirmation from the safari company.
Going in the wet season
Although you will still find good animal sightings when you go on safari during the wet season, these will not be the most ideal sightings since the grass is taller and water holes abundant for the animals.
Taller grass makes it more difficult for you to spot animals in the park, especially the smaller ones like the warthogs and antelopes.
In addition to this, the abundance of watering holes means that the animals will not be gathered in concentrated areas as they would during the dry season. This will make it more difficult to find large herds of animals of different species gathered together.
Ignoring the smaller parks
You may be focused on visiting the big and popular national parks due to their notoriety. However, you will find the smaller parks have a lot to offer and you should not ignore them.
Smaller parks like the Lake Nakuru National Park which I got to visit again more recently have unique opportunities to spot more rare animals that you might not otherwise spot in some of the other parks.
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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