African Safari Travel Guide

From Mount Kilimanjaro to the wild trails of the Great Rift Valley and the breathtaking views from atop Table Mountain, Africa is crisscrossed by a series of intrinsic mountains, trails, and hiking expeditions.

Many African countries display a unique range of towering mountains that set the scene for a dramatic landscape or form the backdrop to cities, game parks, or lakes, and all offer an opportunity to hike, admire from afar, or even sleep under the stars.

Whether embarking on one-day excursions with primates or ten-day treks into the clouds, there are a few rocky masterpieces that stand out and discovering any of them will leave adventurers truly reaching for the stars.

Thousands of miles of African coastline offers breathtaking beaches, colorful coves, and magnificent marine life to give you exceptional diving or marine experiences when visiting the continent. The cool Atlantic merges with the warmer Indian Ocean unveiling a dynamic underwater world.

From diving with great white sharks to swimming with dolphins and watching whales breach in a deep blue sea, the ocean and its inhabitants offer adventurers an unforgettable experience above and below the water.

Certain sites and experiences stand out when it comes to diving, snorkeling, and general marine-life wonders, and we want to share some of Africa’s gems with you.

Ask anyone about to embark on an East African adventure what they most hope to experience, and to witness the Great Migration is likely high on the list. These two words spark excitement, and stories of encounters come to mind way before the actual event takes place. A truly magnificent sight, a privilege to witness, it is a highlight on any safari itinerary that falls within the prime migration time. With smart planning, you can ensure a front-row seat.

The continent of Africa hosts the perfect honeymoon destinations for those looking to embrace adventure, safaris, history, and beach experiences with a romantic twist. You are invited to embrace incredible insight into the natural beauty of hidden landscapes, welcome local culture, and witness breathtaking wildlife.

Elusive mythology captivates every visitor along the rolling sand dunes of the Sahara Desert, while historical trade routes reflect the combination of culinary traditions from India, Europe, and the Middle East. The continent has no end to the exciting, surprising, and majestic destinations for a unique honeymoon year-round. The following list offers a few top destinations for a unique and unforgettable honeymoon in Africa.

Ideally located along Africa’s East Coast, Tanzania offers a world of exploration and is a destination to consider for your safari.

Safaris and game adventures are the key focus for any visitor, with various options in location and opportunities to appeal to all safari inclinations. Famous game parks give way to lesser-known reserves, with Swahili tradition found throughout every property.

With fantastic safari options complemented by the white sandy beaches of Zanzibar, you can create a safari vacation that will leave you with memories to last a lifetime.

The uniqueness of Botswana is what makes it one of the most desirable safari destinations in Africa.

Mystic waterways, vast desert pans, and dense forests are alive with wildlife charm, and there is much to explore. This experience can be described as a truly unforgettable, varied, once-in-a-lifetime type of adventure. The diverse landscape lends itself to drama in the bush, and the range of options means the Botswana safari circuit is ideal for mix and match game escapes.

Explore the many reasons to consider Botswana for your safari vacation.

You have booked your dream African Safari and now find yourself staring at your travel bag, wondering what to pack. How much do you need to take with you? What type of clothing and what colors are appropriate for the bush?

Packing your suitcase for a safari adventure can be intimidating, and many online packing guides complicate matters with a seemingly endless list of essential items. This can be challenging when confronted with the luggage weight restrictions of light aircraft flights to remote destinations. Here is a simple guide to show you not only what to pack but how.

Taking your family on an African safari offers all ages the opportunity to embrace nature and wildlife by the most incredible means imaginable.  These seven tips will help you think through the many details to build a foundation for your safari experience.

The idea may seem both exciting and, at first, a little daunting as you start to plan. From picking where to go to how long your journey should be to safety and comfort concerns, planning this vacation perfectly is key.

These tips will prepare you to work with your safari specialist to create an African safari vacation that you will never forget.

The thrill of an African safari is perfectly complemented by the relaxing escape of a beach break, presenting the ideal combination vacation of “beach and bush.” The excitement of game viewing and lodge-hopping can give one a sense of being busy, taking in sights and sounds and experiences somewhat unique and unprecedented. Unwinding on a white sandy beach or remote seaside location after a safari or even before, offers the opportunity to either reflect on the safari delight just experienced or provide the time and space to prepare for the adventure ahead. Two aspects of a destination’s highlights, two incredible and unforgettable journeys.

An African safari is defined by the properties you select. Most travelers have an idea of what they hope to see on a game drive, but few anticipate the quality and variety of safari accommodation available. Across the continent, African safari accommodations tend to exceed expectations. Lodges and camps are not just a place to sleep, but “art galleries in the bush,” boutique spaces that inspire and enchant with African influences and touches that cannot go unnoticed. There are three options for the luxury safari traveler, and good reasons to try them all.

With so many properties and regions to select from on safari, some consider a few days spent a luxury tented camp an essential experience. Classic luxury under canvas, set in secluded and idyllic locations on safari, would best describe a luxury tented camp safari.

A step up from a safari lodge and more luxurious than a mobile camp, this level of accommodation stands out as unique and exquisite. Mostly built on a solid foundation, perhaps solid walls, the high-ceiling, spacious roomed luxury tents offer a different viewpoint to the surrounding bush and are a popular choice with safari-goers.

There are many options to consider when it comes to where to stay on safari, and a game lodge most certainly provides the luxury and comfort to be expected on this type of journey. Most game parks and reserves will offer lodge-style accommodations only, splendid hotel-style establishments that blend with their surroundings, and offer service and facilities you would expect to find at any high-end hotel.

Ranging from small and intimate to large and expansive, lodge options vary in size and facilities to offer guests the perfect blend of style and safari in Africa.

With many properties to choose from while on safari, a mobile tented camp is perhaps the most unique. Adventure-seekers looking for something different while out in the bush may consider spending time in the remote wilderness on a mobile camping safari.

Lodges and luxury tents that stand permanently in place in a safari park or reserve may be more popular choices for where to stay on safari. Still, the freedom of moving from park to reserve or simply being set up in an intimate group in a remote location draws the attention of safari-goers everywhere.

Travelling between safari destinations can be as short as a light aircraft lodge hop or a days-long journey through the savanna, and how you choose to move between destinations can be a true highlight of your trip.

Journeys are a huge part of the African experience, elevated from functionality to memorable parts of a vacation. For some unique locations, getting from point A to B may be by humble boat, though most are by light aircraft or game drive. Africa is always an adventure, embracing the popular mantra that travel is as much about the journey as the destination.

Kenya is a prime safari destination with abundant wildlife, dynamic scenery, and incredible safari experiences.

When one thinks about the word safari, an image of classic khaki and colonial lodgings in the great African country of Kenya often comes to mind. With great predators and epic herds traveling during the Great Migration, it feels as though the entire landscape wakes and heaves with the call of the wild.

Kenya is exciting and captivating year-round, with highlighted sights and sounds present at various times. From savannas to forests, lakes, and a cultural experience like no other, Kenya is the perfect place to safari, and below are some of the reasons why.

The seven reasons to choose South Africa for your safari demonstrate how the country pairs miles and miles of outstanding wilderness and game reserves with sensational natural beauty.

Remarkable national and private wildlife parks and reserves deliver quality safari experiences that include sightings of the Big Five, a plethora of other game, and incredible birdlife.

As one of the best safari destinations in Africa, with breathtaking scenery, idyllic lodgings, and the opportunity to combine city and beach escapes, every kind of traveler can find and pair the ambiances they desire when choosing the country for a safari.

The perfect safari conjures images of remote regions that offer intriguing and breathtaking landscapes, where classic lodges and luxury tented camps sit, isolated from the busy world. Wildlife roams from the plains to the forests, and days start early, ending with captivating sunsets.

An African safari is the ultimate adventure, and as you consider your plans, here are some helpful planning tips to ease the logistics of your experience. Every traveler's needs are different, and working through these tips will help you design the best safari itinerary for you.

Anyone looking to embark on an African Safari has heard the term “The Big Five,” but not everyone has heard of the “Little Five.” The Big Five are often the highlight of an African safari, and earning more about these animals and their place in the savanna is an essential part of any safari experience. Your knowledgeable guides will aim to take you on the adventure of your life as you discover the wonder of these incredible animals and so many more.

An Africa adventure doesn't start and end with a safari, and the six things to do in Africa beyond safari boast colorful, charming, and unique experiences that you can enjoy.

With over 10,000 miles of coastline, resplendent snowy mountains, vivacious cities, indigenous tribal lifestyles, and stunning marine life, each destination revels in its own sense of vibrancy and authenticity. From meeting with local communities to diving deep into the grandeur of untamed nature, venturing to a mountain peak or lounging on a white-sand beach, you can find endless surprises when in Africa.

No matter the kind of experience you prefer, you can create an elegant addition to a safari itinerary to uncover how much more there is to your Africa trip.

The coastline along sub-Saharan Africa boasts pristine sands to inviting shores, and the five finest beaches you can visit during your Africa trip will complement the dramatic interior landscape, wildlife wonders, and most memorable experiences.

The beaches can range from indelibly tropical, fringed by coconut palms and postcard panoramas to epic in scale with forests and mountain backdrops that feel guarded by the natural habitat. From fine sands to warm waters, broad boulders to curling waves, the beaches across the continent are diverse and mesmerizing.

Spending time on an African beach can immerse you in the beauty of the Indian Ocean coastline for the perfect way to accentuate your adventure as you explore or unwind under the African sun.

Africa is truly intriguing, with cities and towns waiting to be discovered and a certain uniformity regarding the vibrancy, unique character, and charm in each of the top 7 cities and towns you should visit during your trip to the continent.

While some African metropolises have grown skywards, many have expanded outwards, creating a collection of villages and suburbs set in urban gems. Main streets buzz with a sense of organized chaos, while local traditions take precedence in rural areas.

From towns seemingly off the beaten path to cities nestled below mountains or on a coastal curve, Africa’s cities delight visitors with bustling market places, monuments, and museums that pay homage to their past, with authenticity a key component of any African itinerary.

The African continent is full of incredible natural wonders, from breathtaking canyons to copper sand dunes, the roar of a thundering waterfall to mighty mountains that you can discover during your trip to Africa.

It is easy to feel like you have been transported to a fantasy land, as Africa compels visitors with dynamic natural creations that beg to be explored, blending picturesque scenery with ultimate experiences such as safaris and city escapes.

These unique destinations are regular parts of an African itinerary, with famous lakes providing serene days, while tumultuous rivers offer unique adventure. Here are six natural African wonders that are not to be missed.

Nothing symbolizes Africa more than the savanna and you can experience the open grasslands during your safari to capture the iconic image of the landscape and wildlife.

In some areas the trees bunch together, blossoming beside a waterway or along an unseen slope that brings mountain rains. In other areas the savanna stands open, just the odd scorched tree silhouetted against the horizon. Savannas provide a haven with a broad mix of vegetation that supports an eclectic variety of species amidst the bountiful mixture of trees and grass,  creating food for mammals and birds alike.

Savannas provide a diverse safari experience, each day an opportunity to explore how distinct pockets of wildlife inhabit the unique landscapes for a variety of active discoveries you can have during your trip.

The inherent idiosyncrasy of safari is fueled initially by the diversity of Africa's landscapes and habitats that you can explore during your African safari.

Wild, untrammeled, redolent, vivid, the African landscape creates canvases of eclectic spectacles that extend in a variety of directions, showcasing a patchwork of colors. Open landscapes allow you to see more of the wildlife quickly on the horizon. Closed habitats offer a more hidden wildlife view. Find a salt pan that blinds nature's antiquity or a tangled forest scarred by rumbling elephant herds, a mammoth baobab tree, or the babble of snaking waterways.

Understanding the habitat is essential for what you will see and the intimacy of your experience when on safari, which will brim with infinite possibilities.

The inventory of safari destination types can be baffling and understanding where to safari requires knowing what each park and reserve has to offer.

National parks, private concessions, conservancies, and private game reserves, the options are all fantastic, yet come with key differences. National parks are a country's flagship protected areas, filled with unrivaled animal abundance, while national conservation areas see wildlife and locals coexisting.

Private concessions lie within a national park, belonging to an area's broader ecosystem, and a private game reserve is smaller and standalone, offering fewer restrictions on activities and proximity to animals, and a more intimate safari.

The inherent idiosyncrasy of safari is fueled initially by the diversity of Africa's landscapes and habitats that you can expect to see and explore during your African safari.

Each habitat dictates what you see on safari and how you experience each new habitat provides its own mystical experience. The individual showcases of wilderness share characteristics that let you delight in their limitlessness while immersing you in a journey that stitches together wildlife encounters.

Africa's landscapes are marvelously painted to provide a patchwork of colors; abundant stretches of scorched savannah merging into open woodland, the snaking path of a waterway, a desert pockmarked with exuberant oases to create your unique safari experience.

Knowing your budget is an essential component of any trip planning process. Whether the sky's the limit or you have specific parameters, Zicasso is here to help you set your priorities in planning to maximize your investment.

Your interests and preferences on a couples trip will differ from a family-friendly vacation, while a highlights tour will result in wildly different experiences than one designed to take you off the beaten path.

There are three steps in considering the costs of your trip, as a customized vacation that has been designed for you allows maximum flexibility with your spending.

Explore the world with Zicasso and work with a top travel specialist to bring your dream vacation to life. The world overflows with wonders to explore and the sheer number of choices is exciting.

Our primary goal is to make the planning, booking, and traveling process easy and enjoyable as you create the vacation experience you want most. No matter where you go and what you do, Zicasso can help you experience the best of travel without the stress.

Working with our destination experts you can plan a trip to anywhere in the world and suit your travel style. Using insider knowledge of your chosen destination, itinerary ideas, and planning strategies, your chosen  Zicasso travel specialist can guide you through the following three steps.