Aardvark Safaris Review 2026: Is It Worth It, What It Costs, and Who Runs It

Aardvark Safaris, the Tidworth and Edinburgh-area safari specialist founded in 1999, scores 68/100 on our six-criterion operator review: full marks for destination breadth, 20 of 25 for first-hand African expertise, and 6 of 20 for independent reviews. It sells 13 African countries and islands, backs flight-inclusive trips with ATOL 5356 and other trips with an IPP insolvency policy, and says every salesperson has lived and worked in Africa. What holds the score back is evidence a buyer can check: no independent review newer than 2019, one priced itinerary from 2015, a contact page that returned an error to our checks, and a change of controlling owner in December 2025 that its site does not mention.

Verified 24 September 2026 · Aardvark Safaris' own pages and booking conditions · Companies House records 03800138 and 16664502 · Travelstride and Trustpilot · AITO directory · Endole

Aardvark Safaris at a glance: the company record

Aardvark Safaris is Aardvark Safaris Limited, company 03800138, incorporated on 2 July 1999, with offices in Tidworth, on the Hampshire and Wiltshire border, and Musselburgh, outside Edinburgh. Every row below links to its source and was checked on the date shown.

Is Aardvark Safaris worth it?

Aardvark Safaris scores 68/100: it is a long-established, protected UK specialist with a wide range, whose public record has not kept pace with the business. Co-founder Richard Smith guided rafts and filmed safaris on the Zambezi before 1999, owner Alice Gully has worked in African travel since 1995, and Francis Naumann spent nearly six years guiding overland trips through 22 African countries. Its site says six of the team have been with it for more than ten years. Against that, a buyer checking it online finds 76 reviews that stop in 2019 and one priced trip from 2015.

Where Aardvark Safaris stands on Uncompromised Travel

At 68/100, Aardvark Safaris sits 11th of the 13 safari operators reviewed on these six criteria, four points above Ker & Downey Africa and seven below Scott Dunn, Natural Habitat Adventures and Roar Africa. It also appears on four of our indexes, each on its own criteria: fifteenth on the safari planner index at 54, seventh on the payment terms index at 44, and assessed but not ranked on the UK and US operator comparison and the safari price comparison. Both of those were held back for the same reason as parts of this record: pages on its site returned errors to automated checks. Its booking conditions could be read for this record, and are set out below.

How much does an Aardvark Safaris holiday cost?

Aardvark Safaris says a good safari costs from GBP 5,000 per person including economy flights, that its average client spent just over GBP 7,500 per person last year, and that trips with club-class flights and exclusive camps reach GBP 30,000. Those figures are on its safari pricing page; the only itinerary with a price found is a seven-night Zambezi Queen and Okavango Delta safari at GBP 4,500 per person, posted in October 2015, which included accommodation and activities but not flights. Its pricing pages for other trips returned errors to our checks. Once a trip is confirmed, Aardvark promises not to pass on currency movements. Our safari cost by budget guide shows what these budgets buy.

What do Aardvark Safaris reviews say?

Aardvark Safaris is rated 5/5 on Travelstride from 76 reviews, every one of them excellent, but the newest is from November 2019. "We loved every second of our trip," one reviewer writes, and another was going back for a third time. Its Trustpilot listing, under aardvarksafaris.co.uk, is unclaimed with no reviews, and no Feefo or SafariBookings listing was found. Its own feedback page carries a five-star Google widget and quotes such as "Their deep expertise and the time and effort they invest understanding and meeting customer needs is second to none"; the Google count could not be checked for this record. Our safari operator review index explains how we weigh platforms.

Aardvark Safaris' awards

The one recognition Aardvark Safaris lists is a four-star rating from the Association of Independent Tour Operators for its responsible tourism in the UK and Africa, with no year given. Its responsible tourism page says it gives a share of its profit to the Kivuli Trust in Kenya, which supports children with disabilities, and has funded guide and ranger training at Saruni Rhino in northern Kenya. AITO's member directory, as it loaded for this check, did not list Aardvark, so its membership could not be confirmed there. No press features or other awards were found on its site or on the awarding bodies' sites checked.

Where Aardvark Safaris travels, and its journey styles

Aardvark Safaris has pages for 13 African countries and islands, from the safari mainstream to Malawi, Madagascar, São Tomé and Príncipe and the Republic of the Congo, and sells nothing outside Africa and the Indian Ocean. Its styles include family, honeymoon, primate, riding, beach, migration, mobile and small-group safaris, and it says it has helped over 200 clients reach the top of Kilimanjaro and organised weddings on an island in the Zambezi. Its .co.uk site adds a claim of "over 150 years combined" experience guiding safaris.

Who owns Aardvark Safaris?

Aardvark Safaris' site says Alice Gully is now its sole owner; since 19 December 2025, Companies House has recorded Aardvark Trustee Company Limited as holding more than 75% of the shares and votes, with Alice Gully ceasing to be a person with significant control that day. The trustee company is a company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 21 August 2025 at the same Tidworth address. The filing history records share cancellations and purchases of the company's own shares in January 2026, and new articles of association adopted on 9 January 2026. The register does not say whom the trustee company holds the shares for. Co-founder Richard Smith, who held between 50% and 75% until June 2023, stepped down as a director that month; John Spence left the board in 2016.

Aardvark Safaris' booking terms and financial protection

For bookings made since 1 December 2022, Aardvark Safaris takes a 30% deposit and the balance 13 weeks before departure; cancelling up to 92 days out costs the deposit, 91 to 61 days costs 60%, and inside 60 days costs everything. Its booking conditions give ATOL 5356 for flight-inclusive trips and require insurance before a booking is accepted, and its guarantee page adds IPP insolvency protection for holidays without flights, 24-hour emergency cover and a promise not to pass on currency movements. The terms carry no version date beyond the December 2022 change. Our guide to safari deposits and payment terms compares these with the market.

What the public record does not show

Nine things a buyer might look for could not be found or did not match on 24 September 2026. Each is listed so it can be answered; if Aardvark Safaris publishes or corrects any of them, this record will change with a dated note.

• The change of control: the site still calls Alice Gully sole owner, while the register has recorded a trustee company as controlling since December 2025.
• Whom the trustee company holds the shares for.
• Phone numbers, office hours and a response time: the contact page returned a 401 error to automated checks.
• Pages that load for automated checks: about half of the pages tried, including the contact, destinations index and several country pages, returned 401 errors, which also kept Aardvark off parts of two of our indexes.
• Any independent review newer than November 2019.
• A current priced itinerary; the only one found dates from October 2015.
• One registered address: its terms say Aspire Business Centre, the register says Royal British Legion Training Centre, both on Ordnance Road, Tidworth.
• A listing in AITO's member directory to match the AITO rating it cites.
• A named specialist from enquiry to return.

Aardvark Safaris vs Expert Africa, Yellow Zebra Safaris and Scott Dunn

Against three UK safari specialists we have reviewed, Aardvark matches them on breadth and protection and falls furthest behind on independent reviews.

How to price a comparable safari

The fair test of any quote from Aardvark Safaris is a like-for-like quote for the same camps, nights and season from a second specialist and a comparison platform. Ask each for the same lodges by name, the same room category and the same inclusions, then compare the per-person total with international flights excluded.

Get a second specialist quote from Go2Africa →

Compare safari operators' prices on BookAllSafaris →

Browse priced safaris on Safari.com →

What changed

Five dated changes shape Aardvark Safaris today, most of them in the last three years.

1 December 2022. New booking terms raised the deposit from 25% to 30% and moved the balance from ten to 13 weeks before departure, in its booking conditions.

23 June 2023. Co-founder Richard Smith stepped down as a director.

1 December 2024. Joanna Ainscough and Richard Preston joined the board.

19 December 2025. Aardvark Trustee Company Limited took control of more than 75% of the shares and votes.

24 September 2026. This record opened with a score of 68/100.