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.
We just returned from a two-week African safari in Rwanda and Tanzania. We worked with Extraordinary Journeys to put our trip together. It was personalized to our interests and fantastic. https://extraordinaryjourneys.com.
Going on Safari is awesome!
I'd recommend also researching Micato. Their commitment to the local populations and to the natural environment impresses me greatly. Waiting for my ship to come in to finance it, though.
Use a travel planner and put together your own trip.
Vic Falls does not combine well with Kenya/Tanzania.
I don't recommend doing it yourself in Africa. You can find great tours for affordable prices.
We love Gate 1 Travel and have done four tours with them and have two more booked.
We did East Africa with Good Earth Tours out of Tanzania and they were excellent
For those who have traveled throughout Africa and especially on safari, which medications and/or vaccinations did you get, if any, for your trip. My husband and I are in our 60's and 70's. We are traveling to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for five days and then to Serengeti National Park for three days with a local tour company. We used Costco's travel pharmacy to assess and recommend needed medications for our trip. They recommended many medications to prevent yellow fever, cholera, malaria, altitude sickness, Hepatitis A & B, meningitis, etc. It's overwhelming to read through the report and all of their recommendations. I'm looking for wisdom from fellow travelers as to which medications you felt were necessary to keep you healthy and safe. Thanks!
which medications and/or vaccinations did you get, if any, for your trip.
Check the "CDC Yellow Book: Health Information for International Travel "
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/yellowbook-home
There's a lot of travel related health advice in the book.
Travel Health Kits
African Safaris
Destination info
Warning, do not take and plastic bags with you to Kenya or Tanzania. We were warned that fines are very heavy.
I have not been to Africa, but got both Hepatitis vaccines before a trip to Guatemala. These shots are now part of the routine vaccinations for children and I think they are good to have even in the US, since there have been outbreaks of Hep A in the US-I think spread by restaurant workers who had it and didn't know it.
