Safari
Seven countries, twelve months, park fees checked against their sources, and a plain answer to each question a first safari raises.
By Richard Jasinski·Updated 17 October 2026
Photo: Sanjeed Quazi, Pexels
Review
Micato Safaris scored 88/100 on published criteria. Published 2026 classic safaris USD 20,700–45,100 per person, 751 Google reviews at 5.0, awards dated where they can be.
Photo: Reto Wiezel, PexelsCostsThirty safari operators scored out of 100 on published rates, rate coverage, payment terms and client money protection. Thirteen publish real rates; four publish nothing.
Photo: Bharath Kumar Venkatesh / PexelsGuideKenya, Tanzania, Botswana, South Africa or Namibia? Our 2026 decision guide matches each safari country to your priorities, first trip, budget, family, honeymoon.
Photo: Twilight Kenya, PexelsGuideThe Great Migration moves clockwise through the Serengeti and Maasai Mara all year: Mara River crossings run July to October, and calving peaks in February.
Safari at a glance
A safari is a trip to watch wild animals where they live. Most safaris take place in seven African countries: Tanzania, Kenya, Botswana, South Africa, Zambia, Namibia and Rwanda. Game viewing is best in the dry season, from June to October, and a luxury safari costs USD 10,000 to 25,000 per person for seven nights before international flights.
This page gives the short answer to each question that comes up before a first safari, with the park fees checked against their official sources and a link to the full guide behind every answer. Operators are scored on separate index pages, listed under Booking.
Verified 2 October 2026 · SANParks · Visit Rwanda · Singita’s 2026 rates · Daily Nation on the Maasai Mara fee · TANAPA tariff
ChatGPT and Copilot use these safari pages as a source. On 5 October 2026 we put 367 safari questions to ChatGPT, and it cited this site in 126 of the answers. How we measure that →
Start here · Safari basics
Start with what a safari is, then where it happens, what you will see, what it costs and how the booking chain works. These eight pages cover it, in order.
01
What the word covers, what is included and a typical day in the bush.
Read02
The nine choices behind the word, drawn: whose land you are on, how you move, who shares your vehicle.
Read03
East Africa against Southern Africa, the parks that matter and what each is for.
Read04
The Big Five and everything else, by region and season, without the promises.
Read05
Park fees, concessions, light aircraft and guides: where the money goes.
Read06
Who owns the land, the camps and the companies, and who earns what.
Read07
What can be booked online, why small camps cannot be, and how many operators to ask.
Read08
Bonding, licences, review traps and the questions to ask before a deposit.
ReadWhere safaris happen
Most safaris take place in seven African countries. Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda, in East Africa, have the open plains, the Great Migration and the mountain gorillas. Botswana, South Africa, Zambia and Namibia, in Southern Africa, have private concessions, walking safaris and self-drive. Select a country to see what it is known for and what its park fee is.
The seven safari countries
Select a country on the map, or with the buttons beneath it, to see what it is known for and what its park fee is.
Park fees checked on 2 October 2026.
Where do safaris happen? → Open in Google MapsOn Google Maps: Serengeti · Maasai Mara · Okavango Delta · Kruger · South Luangwa · Etosha · Volcanoes National Park
The Great Migration never stops moving.
The herds follow the rain in a year-round circuit between the Serengeti and the Maasai Mara, which is why the month matters as much as the country.
Photo: Pexels
Choose your country
Choose Tanzania or Kenya for the Great Migration and open plains, South Africa for a first safari with a malaria-free option and Cape Town at the end, Botswana for private concessions in the Okavango Delta, Zambia for walking, Namibia for self-drive and Rwanda for gorillas.
Each country below has a cost page and a best-time page. Which safari country is right for you? narrows it down in about two minutes, and the Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa comparison weighs the classic three.
East Africa
The Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and the Great Migration’s calving and river crossings. Serengeti entry is USD 82.60 a day with VAT.
Guide, cost and timingEast Africa
The Maasai Mara crossings and Amboseli’s elephants. The Mara reserve fee is USD 200 a day from July to December and USD 100 from January to June.
Cost and timingSouthern Africa
The Okavango Delta and Chobe. Few camps on large private concessions, with water and land safaris in one trip.
Guide, cost and timingSouthern Africa
Sabi Sand leopards, malaria-free reserves and the Cape Town pairing. Kruger entry is R602 a day for international adults.
Cost and timingSouthern Africa
Walking safaris in South Luangwa, canoeing on the Lower Zambezi, and Victoria Falls.
Cost and timingSouthern Africa
Desert-adapted wildlife, Etosha’s waterholes and the dunes at Sossusvlei, usually seen on a self-drive.
The guideEast Africa
Mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park. The permit is USD 1,500 per person, with a minimum age of 15.
Cost and timingUndecided
First trip, budget, family, honeymoon or the Migration, matched to a country in about two minutes.
Decide
The same lodge costs the same whether a specialist books it or you book direct. What changes is who arranges the flights between camps, who answers when a connection is missed and what protects your money.
Elephants on a riverbank in Botswana. Photograph: Clive Kim / Pexels
When to go
The best time for a safari is the dry season, from June to October, when animals gather at water and the Great Migration crosses the Mara River between July and October. November to March is the green season: lower prices, newborn animals and wildebeest calving in the southern Serengeti in January and February.
The fees follow the season too. The Maasai Mara reserve charges USD 100 a day from January to June, half its July to December rate. Pick a month to see what is happening.
Peak dry season. The herds reach the Mara River and the Okavango flood is high.
Safari in July, in fullAll twelve month guides: January · February · March · April · May · June · July · August · September · October · November · December
The calendar
Where the herds are through the year, from the Ndutu calving to the Mara River crossings.
Follow the herdsThe overview
Dry season against green season, region by region, with what each does to the price.
When to goGorillas
The dry months on the trail in Rwanda, and how the USD 1,500 permit works.
When to trekChoose a topic below: each one opens its own guide on this site.
Best time, by country
What it costs
A luxury safari costs USD 10,000 to 25,000 per person for seven nights before international flights, and budgets run from about USD 5,000 to USD 50,000 per person. The price depends on the class of camp, a shared or private vehicle, the light-aircraft flights between camps, the guide and the park fees.
At the top of the market, Singita Sabora Tented Camp in Tanzania publishes USD 2,210 to USD 3,220 per adult per night for 2026, depending on the season.
Five budgets
$5k to $50kper person
Lodge, fees, flights and permits: five budgets built line by line.
See every budgetPublished rates
Per nightwhat operators publish
Who publishes real rates, who publishes a from-price and who publishes nothing.
Compare pricesThe decoder
Inclusionsline by line
Fully inclusive, all-inclusive or bed and breakfast: why two quotes at the same figure are not the same trip.
Decode a quoteThe calculator
7 to 10nights, worked
Every cost layer, with a calculator by country, tier and nights.
CalculatePark fees and permits in 2026, checked on 2 October 2026
USD 200 or USD 100
Non-resident adults pay USD 200 for a 12-hour ticket from July to December and USD 100 from January to June.
Source: Daily Nation, July 2026 · Map · Kenya safari cost
USD 82.60 a day
USD 70 per adult per 24 hours plus 18% VAT. From 15 March to 15 May the fee is USD 60 plus VAT, USD 70.80. Camps inside the park add a concession fee of USD 50 to USD 60 a night plus VAT.
Source: TANAPA tariff · Map · Tanzania safari cost
R602 a day
International adults pay R602 a day and children aged 2 to 11 pay R300, from 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026.
Source: SANParks · Map · South Africa safari cost
USD 1,500 a permit
A gorilla permit costs USD 1,500 per person per day. The minimum age is 15.
Source: Visit Rwanda · Map · Rwanda safari cost
Choose a topic below: each one opens its own guide on this site.
More on cost
What you will see
Most safaris aim for the Big Five: lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino, alongside giraffe, zebra, hippo and the plains game. No sighting is guaranteed. The odds depend on the region, the season and the guide. Select an animal to see where the odds are best.
Lion. Most active at dawn and dusk. The best odds are in the Serengeti, the Maasai Mara and South Africa’s Sabi Sand.
Cheetah, wild dog, hippo, giraffe and the wildebeest herds fill the rest of a game drive. What to expect in each region and season is set out animal by animal.
A male lion in the Serengeti, Tanzania. Photograph: Tomáš Malík / Pexels
Choosing and booking
Decide the route first: a safari specialist, a booking platform or the lodge direct. The lodge rate is the same whether a specialist books it or you book direct. A specialist adds the logistics between camps, someone to call when a flight is missed and, where the company is bonded, protection for your money. Then check the company before you pay a deposit.
The process
What can be booked online, why small camps cannot be, and how many operators to ask.
ReadThe route
The lodge rate is the same either way. What differs is logistics, recovery and protection.
Read the comparisonThe platforms
Ten companies, and the traveller each one suits.
Compare platformsThe money
What you pay, when you pay it, and what happens if you cancel.
Read the termsThe protection
How protection for your money differs between British and American planners.
CompareTravelling alone
Who suits a solo safari, and which camps charge no single supplement.
ReadChoose a topic below: each one opens its own guide on this site.
Operators are scored on these index pages
Plan my safari
A specialist planner turns dates and a rough budget into a priced itinerary. The enquiry below goes to this site’s safari partner.
Extraordinary Journeys
Extraordinary Journeys designs tailor-made trips across Africa, Asia, South America, Oceania, and the Middle East, and is best known for thoughtful planning and highly personalized trips, earning consistently exceptional reviews from its clients. Founded by a mother and daughter, the company has kept a family-first approach: many of its planners are parents who travel with their own children, making it a particular favorite for family and multigenerational trips.
“Brigid was truly extraordinary from our very first conversation. She really listened to us and planned the perfect trip according to our likes and dislikes.”
Paid placement. Scores and rankings cannot be bought: Extraordinary Journeys is assessed on the same published criteria as every safari planner.
Prefer to compare first? See how booking a safari works and who to book a safari through.
Planning
For safari companies
Positions on the questions your buyers ask, limited per category. Partners are labelled Partner wherever they appear. Rankings are never for sale.
A safari is a trip to watch wild animals in their own habitat, most often in the national parks, reserves and private concessions of East and Southern Africa. A typical day has a game drive at dawn and another in the late afternoon, from a camp or lodge whose nightly rate usually covers meals, drinks and the drives. Variations include walking safaris, self-drive in parks such as Kruger, and gorilla treks in Rwanda.
Most safaris take place in seven African countries. In East Africa, Tanzania has the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, Kenya has the Maasai Mara and Amboseli, and Rwanda has the mountain gorillas of Volcanoes National Park. In Southern Africa, Botswana has the Okavango Delta and Chobe, South Africa has Kruger and the Sabi Sand, Zambia has South Luangwa and the Lower Zambezi, and Namibia has Etosha.
Tanzania and Kenya are the usual first choices for open plains and the Great Migration. South Africa suits travellers who want the Big Five, a malaria-free reserve and Cape Town on the same trip. Botswana is the low-volume choice, built on private concessions with few camps, and Rwanda is for gorillas. The right country depends on the month, the budget and what you most want to see.
The dry season, from June to October, gives the best all-round game viewing, because animals gather at water and the grass is short. The Great Migration crosses the Mara River between the Serengeti and the Maasai Mara from July to October. The green season, from November to March, has lower prices, birdlife and newborn animals, with wildebeest calving in the southern Serengeti in January and February. April and May bring East Africa’s long rains and the lowest prices of the year.
A luxury safari costs USD 10,000 to 25,000 per person for seven nights before international flights, and budgets run from about USD 5,000 to USD 50,000 per person. The price depends on the class of camp, a shared or private vehicle, the light-aircraft flights between camps, the guide and the park fees. At the top of the market, Singita Sabora Tented Camp in Tanzania publishes USD 2,210 to USD 3,220 per adult per night for 2026.
The Maasai Mara National Reserve charges non-resident adults USD 200 for a 12-hour ticket from July to December and USD 100 from January to June. Serengeti National Park charges USD 70 per adult per 24 hours plus 18% VAT, USD 82.60 in all, or USD 70.80 from 15 March to 15 May. Kruger National Park charges international adults R602 a day until 31 October 2026. A gorilla permit in Rwanda costs USD 1,500 per person, with a minimum age of 15.
Most travellers hope for the Big Five: lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino, alongside giraffe, zebra, hippo and the plains game. No sighting is guaranteed; the odds depend on the region, the season and the guide. Leopard sightings are most reliable in South Africa’s Sabi Sand, large elephant herds gather in Chobe in Botswana and Amboseli in Kenya, and rhino are most often seen in South Africa and in Kenya’s private conservancies.
For most trips, a specialist. The lodge rate is the same whether a specialist books it or you book direct, because lodges pay the planner’s commission out of their published rate. What a specialist adds is the logistics between camps, someone to call when a flight is missed and, where the company is bonded, protection for your money. Booking direct suits a return visit to one lodge, or a lodge company that runs its own circuit.
Ask who holds your money and what protects it. In the UK that means an ATOL licence for trips sold with flights, or a bond such as ABTOT’s; in the United States, look for membership of USTOA, whose members take part in its USD 1 million Travelers Assistance Program. Then read the cancellation terms, check that the reviews are recent and sit on an independent platform, and ask for the full price in writing, with park fees and internal flights included.
Uncompromised Travel is edited and published by Richard Jasinski in Valencia, Spain. Rankings are scored against published criteria and are never for sale. Extraordinary Journeys is a commercial partner of this site and is marked Partner where it appears. How we work · Disclosure.