We are planning an African Safari and looking at all of the companies is overwhelming. Any recommendations on companies to use. I have heard good things about Road Scholar and my friend heard that Gate 1 was good. But I heard the opposite. Any one have a great tour and have suggestions. I was looking at Kenya and Tanzania but would like a hot air balloon and Victoria Falls.
Thanks Anne
Hi, Anne, I'm sure you will get some responses but in the meantime, you should look through some of these recent posts about safari vacations. They have some good info in them.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/expect-the-unexpected-our-african-safari
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/beyond-europe/kenya-v-tanzania-for-great-migration-safari
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/packing/packing-list-for-african-safari-oat-ultimate-africa-tour
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/beyond-europe/africa-tours-on-sale
I just heard from a friend yesterday that they went with OAT (Overseas Adventure Travel) and couldn't have been more pleased. I'm not sure where, though.
We just got back from an Ultimate Africa tour through Overseas Adventure Travel. It was excellent. Flew in/out of Johannesburg, traveled to Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana. Info and itinerary can be found here. 17 days covered Kafue, Hwange, Chobe and Okavango Delta, as well as Victoria Falls. Three nights in each camp, so LOTS of safari drives, tons of animals. Victoria Falls included some optional (and extra $) tours, like a helicopter tour of the falls, rhino preserve, elephant encounter, etc. I think they also have a Serengeti tour.
Happy to answer questions!
We did a wonderful safari in Kenya and Tanzania in early August of 2022. It was during the great migration. It was amazing. Definitely do it in early August, the great migration (of wildebeests) was fantastic.
My son went with us on this safari and had done South Africa and Kruger Park. He said that our safari was better than what he saw in South Africa.
We used Good Earth Tours and it was excellent.
We have done four Gate 1 Travel tours and they are great for reasonable cost. When we did our safari, they didn't offer a good one, but they do now.
We didn't do the Falls, but that could be added.
Hi Anne,
I found it very surprising that we could put together a bespoke safari for about the same price as a group safari that enabled us to go and stay exactly where we wanted. We also had our own safari guide/vehicle instead of sharing with 5 or 6 other people. We have twice used Expert Africa and couldn’t be more pleased. They have vast knowledge to provide you with options and arrange all pickups, internal flights etc. I highly recommend Jessica Plumb at Expert Africa as a Tanzanian expert. If you’d like further information, please PM me. We just returned from our third Tanzanian safari on October 19th.
Our Good Earth Safari had only 4 persons in the vehicle with our own driver/guide.
We went with Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) in April 2022, to southern Africa. Our itinerary was a bit different from their current Ultimate Africa safari, but similar. Camps were comfortable, verging on luxurious in a couple of places, and safe. The price and value were hard to beat.
A major factor with OAT is small group sizes - max of 16. They also offer pre- and post-trip add-ons. We signed up for the Botswana Okavango Delta pre-trip (Botswana was THE best for wildlife viewing), and as no one else did, we got a private tour for 5 days. While OAT offered a post-trip to Cape Town, South Africa, we did that on own (it’s a city, after all) with a private guide. It was cheaper than the OAT post-trip extension, we were back on our own after weeks with a (admittedly small) group, and we also toured the Garden Route with a rental car, which the OAT portion didn’t offer.
If you go to Cape Town without a group, stay at the Parker House B&B, and hire Chris Hannival (Hannival Tours) as a private guide.
We’re leaving in a week for a Vietnam tour with OAT, not going on their pre-trip (no one in our announced group is, apparently), and doing our own, longer post-trip to Cambodia, rather than OAT’s. The main trips are real deals, though, and always include educational sessions and opportunities to meet and have meals with locals.
