Having recently returned from our third safari in seven years, it occurred to us that many of our readers haven’t had the chance to experience one yet. Over the years, we’ve accumulated a solid pile of practical knowledge. While the basic definition of a safari is straightforward—driving out into open land in search of exotic animals in their native habitat—the underlying logistics are filled with nuances.
Finding Your Feet in the Bush
At its core, the routine involves staying at a lodge and heading out on morning and evening game drives in a modified truck with a driver and maybe a separate tracker. When picking a trip, your first structural choice is deciding between a private or a group experience. A private drive means it is just you and the driver, allowing you to set the pace. A group drive seats up to ten people or more. Group drives are cheaper, though you run the risk of getting stuck in a middle seat where your sightlines are somewhat blocked by your new best friends. Thankfully, even on our group drives, the trucks were never crammed full enough to cause an issue.
A much bigger sticking point for me is the style of truck the lodge uses. Many operators rely on closed vehicles fitted with glass windows and a pop-up roof hatch. I genuinely dislike these. The windows block your view, and when six people try to stand up in a single roof hatch at the same time, nobody has room to move. I am a huge advocate for open-sided trucks. Even then, you have to watch out for design flaws. On one of our open trucks, the front roof overhang dipped down so low that, given my tall frame, I couldn’t see anything out of the front unless I claimed a seat in the absolute front row. It’s unlikely you’ll be able to figure this out in advance.
Concessions, National Parks, and Weather Windows
When evaluating lodges, check whether they sit on a private concession or operate inside a national park. A private concession is an exclusive patch of wilderness reserved for one or two lodges. You won’t face heavy traffic from other vehicles. More importantly, drivers in concessions are permitted to go off-road, driving right up to a sleeping leopard rather than staring at it through binoculars from a dirt track. Inside national parks, strict rules keep trucks on designated roads, and a single cat sighting might draw a dozen idling vehicles. While national parks often feature incredible animal density, the private concession offers a far more exclusive experience. On our recent trip, we stayed at a lodge positioned right next to a park boundary, allowing us to sample both setups.
Timing is equally critical. You have to decide between the dry season and the wet season. Dry seasons force animals to congregate around predictable waterholes, making tracking considerably easier for your guides. If you want to catch the massive wildebeest migrations across the Serengeti, you have to align your calendar precisely. That movement generally occurs from July to September, though nature doesn’t operate on a strict schedule.
Realistic Expectations and Rare Sightings
Many people treat a safari as a once-in-a-lifetime event. We approached our first one with that exact mindset. But after three separate trips—two of which were cut short by broken legs—Diana enjoyed the experience enough that returning to watch animals is still on the table. You don’t need to stress about seeing every single creature on your very first outing. It helps to manage your wildlife priorities realistically. Elephants and various types of antelope are ubiquitous; after three consecutive days of spotting elephants, the novelty wears off. On this trip, we got lucky with frequent lion sightings and exceptional leopard encounters, which are typically quite rare. Rhinos and cheetahs remain notoriously difficult to track down.
Surprisingly, we found ourselves thoroughly captivated by the birdlife this time around. Off-roading through the Okovango Delta, we spotted dozens of exotic waterfowl, and even out in the dry bush, tracking down hornbills (like Zazu from The Lion King) proved far more entertaining than we anticipated.
Camp Fatigue and Lodge Realities
Budget constraints and vacation time naturally dictate your schedule, but experience has taught us that two days at a single camp is usually the sweet spot. After 48 hours in one location, you have seen most of what that specific terrain has to offer, and camp fatigue sets in. On our recent three-week trip, Diana simply grew tired of the daily grind of waking up before dawn to sit on a bumpy truck for hours at a time. Pacing is essential.
Lodging options range from basic tent camping to ultra-luxury resorts serving vintage champagne. We tend to pick upper-middle-of-the-road options—nice, comfortable, but far from opulent. For us, room construction matters most. Our accommodations were standalone canvas tents facing the bush, offering visual privacy but zero audio insulation.
At one camp, the canvas overhang failed to cover the front of the structure. While a mosquito net kept the bugs out, nothing stopped the freezing night air from permeating the room. Getting dressed at 5:00 AM for a game drive in bone-chilling cold was a bit more misery than we cared to endure.
Another practical detail I always check is power availability. I use a CPAP machine at night to sleep. On our first trip, even a relatively high-end lodge had to make special technical accommodations to ensure my room had overnight electricity. Never assume a bush lodge has 24-hour power unless you verify it beforehand.
Agents, Self-Drives, and Managing Risks
For our first safari, we booked a pre-packaged group tour. The downside was zero flexibility; if a lodge failed to meet our needs, we couldn’t change it. For our next two trips, we used a dedicated travel agent. A good agent understands the nuances of individual lodges, listens to your specific requirements, and builds a custom itinerary. It costs more dough, but the flexibility and expert guidance are worth every penny.
On a previous trip to Namibia, our agent set us up with a self-drive itinerary. We picked up a Toyota 4×4 in Windhoek, grabbed a GPS, and drove ourselves across the country from lodge to lodge. I handled the driving—and a flat tire along the way—but as road trip fans, we loved the independence.
No matter how you structure the trip, pay attention to travel advisories and secure proper travel insurance. On our trip to Uganda, we had to monitor a localized Ebola outbreak closely before departing. More importantly, given that our previous two safaris ended abruptly with broken legs, having robust medical evacuation coverage was non-negotiable. Medical care in Africa is significantly cheaper than in the US, but clinics will demand upfront payment before taking you into surgery. Emergency evacuation flights and last-minute travel changes carry massive fees. Because most safari lodges enforce strict non-refundable deposit policies, going without solid insurance is a massive financial risk.
Beyond the Bush and Looking Ahead
Beyond standard game drives, most regions offer optional extras. You can book hot air balloon rides, bush dinners, bush walks, or cultural visits to local villages. One lodge stay included a kayaking add-on, which sounded fun. However, it required a two-hour truck ride each way just to reach the water. We passed, we also passed on the bush walk. Always read the fine print on day trips before committing your time.
Ultimately, cost dictates the scope of your trip. Paying hundreds—or thousands—of dollars per day forces you to make trade-offs regarding trip length, lodging luxury, and extra activities. We don’t safari for gourmet food, so we were perfectly content with simple, average camp meals. If you want top-tier dining and private guides, prepare to pay for it.
Arranging Your Trip
If you are considering arranging a safari trip on your own, here are a few things you must account for. First, the light airplane rides don’t necessarily have posted times for flights that are available when booking. They are somewhat flexible on their timing. So, you’ll need to do extensive research if you are planning to visit multiple places in Africa on one trip. It also seemed that any travel day was just that: all-day travel. If you are lucky enough to arrive at your lodge before 4 pm, you might be able to get on the 4 pm game drive, but you can’t count on it. Finally, when booking a lodge, know that there isn’t anything around, so they are all-inclusive, including activities. However, some include drinks, and some don’t, so you’ll want to know in advance.
Finally, while we were on a private tour, we had agents who transported us from the airport to the lodge and back, as well as getting us to the right place within the airport. One guy was able to rush us through one of the immigration checkpoints. I thought that took a lot of the pressure off. Typically, the guide who picks you up at the airstrip is your guide for your time at that lodge, but do ask. There was a lot of back and forth on our recent five-stop trip, and there is no Uber in the bush.
When it comes to timeline, start planning early. When we finalized our last booking, our top-choice lodge was already fully booked six months out. If you want to use a specialized agent to build a custom route, start your research a full year in advance to secure your spots. Be sure you specifically account for transportation everywhere.
Planning a safari requires real effort, but the payoff of being out in the wild is unmatched. Looking ahead, we’ll share follow-up posts covering how to pack for the bush and what to expect once you’re actually out on the game drive.
Which experiences appeal to you?
