A hot air balloon being inflated at dawn on the Kenyan plains. Photo: Pexels (free licence).
Should I book my safari with Extraordinary Journeys or Micato Safaris?
By Richard Jasinski·Updated 3 November 2026
Extraordinary Journeys and Micato Safaris, set out the same way from each company's own website and review listings, read on 12 October 2026. No score and no rank: each one's best fit, in its own words.
Should I book my safari with Extraordinary Journeys or Micato Safaris?
On their own published facts, Extraordinary Journeys is best for custom luxury trips, with no camps of its own; Micato Safaris is best for private safaris and small-group set departures. Where they differ: only Micato Safaris publishes terms or trips for solo travellers and small-group departures. Both publish a private guide. No score and no winner: choose by what your trip needs.
Extraordinary Journeys Partner
- Best for
- Custom luxury trips, with no camps of its own
Micato Safaris
- Best for
- Private safaris and small-group set departures
- Only it publishes
- Terms or trips for solo travellers and small-group departures.
Extraordinary Journeys and Micato Safaris: side by side
The same facts for each company, from its own website, in the same order. Where a company publishes nothing on a row, the card says so.
Extraordinary Journeys
- Based in
- Washington, D.C., USA.
- Founded
- 2008.
- African countries it plans
- 16: Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Uganda, Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Egypt, Morocco and Republic of the Congo.
- Own offices or staff in Africa
- Staff, no office: 8 Africa-based people (Cape Town 4, Pretoria 1, Johannesburg 1, Durban 1, Nairobi 1), including the concierge heads in Johannesburg and Durban.
- Own camps or vehicles
- No, by its own account.
- Deposit
- Not published on its own website.
- Cancellation charges
- No cancellation scale by days published on its own website.
- Guest reviews, per platform
- Google 5.0 out of 5 from 182 reviews; SafariBookings 4.9 out of 5 from 35 reviews.
Micato Safaris
- Based in
- New York, USA.
- Founded
- 1966.
- African countries it plans
- 8: Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Rwanda.
- Own offices or staff in Africa
- Nairobi and Cape Town: 'fully staffed' HQs there plus New York, with local staff on hand 24-7.
- Own camps or vehicles
- No, by its own account.
- Deposit
- 30% at booking.
- Cancellation charges
- Classic Safaris: 120+ days before departure 20% of tour rate; 119-60 days 50%; 59 days or fewer 100%.
- Guest reviews, per platform
- Tripadvisor 4.8 out of 5 from 149 reviews.
Who does each suit?
Each line is the company's own, on its own website. Where none was found on a company' + chr(39) + 's own website, the card says so. Left out, because it is not readable for every company: families, teenagers, multigenerational trips, honeymoons and walking, horseback and specialist trips.
Extraordinary Journeys
- Solo travellers
- None found on its own website.
- Small-group departures
- None found on its own website.
- Private guide
- Multi-generational Kenya trip: exclusive-use vehicles and private guide.
Micato Safaris
- Solo travellers
- Solo Safaris page calls single travellers a Micato speciality.
- Small-group departures
- Classic Safaris are small-group guaranteed departures (400+ a year; Grand Safari 45 a year; about 44 dates a year per East Africa safari and 27 for Southern Africa), guaranteed even for parties of two.
- Private guide
- A Micato Safari Director accompanies every safari from touchdown to takeoff.
Where each line comes from
Every line above links back to the page of the company's own website or review listing it was read from, read on 12 October 2026.
- Extraordinary Journeys: where it is based, year founded, African countries it plans, own offices or staff in Africa, own camps or vehicles, SafariBookings, private guide and vehicle.
- Micato Safaris: where it is based, year founded, African countries it plans, own offices or staff in Africa, own camps or vehicles, solo travellers.
Extraordinary Journeys vs Micato Safaris: the questions people ask
Which is older, Extraordinary Journeys or Micato Safaris?
Micato Safaris, founded in 1966. Extraordinary Journeys was founded in 2008.
Where is each company based?
Extraordinary Journeys: Washington, D.C., USA. Micato Safaris: New York, USA.
Which plans trips in more African countries?
Extraordinary Journeys names 16; Micato Safaris names 8, on its own website. More countries is not better in itself: check that each plans the ones you want.
What deposit does each ask for?
Extraordinary Journeys: Not published on its own website. Micato Safaris: 30% at booking.
What are their cancellation charges?
Extraordinary Journeys: No cancellation scale by days published on its own website. Micato Safaris: Classic Safaris: 120+ days before departure 20% of tour rate; 119-60 days 50%; 59 days or fewer 100%.
What do guest reviews say about each?
Extraordinary Journeys: Google 5.0 out of 5 from 182 reviews; SafariBookings 4.9 out of 5 from 35 reviews. Micato Safaris: Tripadvisor 4.8 out of 5 from 149 reviews. Each platform is shown on its own, never added together.
Which runs small-group departures?
Micato Safaris, in its own words on the card above. Extraordinary Journeys has none found on its own website.
Which offers a private guide?
Extraordinary Journeys and Micato Safaris, in their own words on the card above.
Can I book either through Uncompromised Travel?
No. Uncompromised Travel is a publication and does not sell safaris. Use each company's own enquiry page.
Is either company paying to be on this page?
Extraordinary Journeys is a partner of Uncompromised Travel and is marked Partner. The facts on this page are from each company's own website, set out the same way for each. No company paid for its lines or for the answer.
How current is this comparison?
Each company's website and review listings were read on 12 October 2026. Prices, terms and trips change, so confirm them with the company before you book.
Read next
Built to answer the question in the main heading from the Uncompromised Travel safari planners table. Extraordinary Journeys is a partner of Uncompromised Travel and is marked Partner; no company paid for its lines or for the answer. Photo: a stock image from Pexels, not any company's trip. How this site earns · How we work.