Pan-Africa Safaris
If you have time to spare for a longer safari vacation, our cross-Africa or ‘pan-Africa’ safaris are an exceptional option, really showcasing the highlights of the continent.
Potentially including everything from East Africa’s open plains to Victoria Falls, and from the Okavango Delta to Cape Town and even the southernmost point of Africa, these trips are among the longest and most spectacular safaris we design.
The first question that’ll come to mind for most travelers is, how much time do I need? Well, multi-country pan-Africa safaris require two to three weeks, to ensure you get the best from the experience. Don’t underestimate the sheer size of the continent – it is truly vast. And you’ll always end up with dead nights in transit as you move through ‘Safari Africa’, which is why we strongly advise against trying to do a pan-Africa highlights trip in less than a fortnight. To experience both East and Southern Africa, two to three weeks is the time you need to make the vacation worthwhile.
Additionally, at Yellow Zebra we believe that you should spend longer in a destination than the time it takes to rush around ticking off highlights.
Main Game-Viewing Areas
- Sabi Sands: Starting in South Africa and moving north, sees South Africa’s Sabi Sands as an essential first stop. Home to some of the best leopard viewing in Safari Africa.
- Okavango Delta: The Sabi Sands combines well with Botswana’s Okavango Delta, which features pristine waterways and lagoons that are ideal for boating safaris.
- The Serengeti: The third big game destination is the open plains of East Africa. The Serengeti is truly exceptional – home to the Great Migration and approximately 4,000 lion, it’s a destination not to be missed. Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater is equally impressive.
A staggering 99 per cent of our pan-Africa safaris involve the Okavango Delta and the Serengeti. The question is, would you like to include South Africa’s Sabi Sands as well?
Other Top Destinations To Include
Victoria Falls
This is the world’s largest waterfall. At full flood from roughly March to June every year, the Victoria Falls are superb at any time of year.
You can choose to get as immersed in this famous tourist site as you want, by staying so close you can see the Falls’ spray or by heading out to one of the great little camps hidden upstream, on the sleepy banks of the Zambezi River. Choose the latter option, and you’ll be perfectly placed to explore the river.
Cape Town and the Winelands
Cape Town is Safari Africa’s most interesting city. With first-class restaurants and bars, amazing landscapes, and some seriously good boutique hotels, the ‘Cape’ is very difficult not to include on a pan-Africa safari.
Blessed with a Mediterranean climate, this area is simply great for growing grapes. Vast vineyards stretch for miles between mountains, yielding incredibly high numbers of black, red, and white varieties for wines, ports, brandies, sherries.
Namibia
Quite unlike any other destination we sell, Namibia is a land of unique scenery that plays host to some of the finest photographic opportunities for landscapes in Africa.
For a cross-continent trip, we usually wouldn’t recommend Namibia’s big game safari, simply because your experience in the Sabi Sands or Okavango Delta, for example, will be much better. However, either the sand dunes of Sossusvlei or the Skeleton Coast provides an excellent add-on to a pan-Africa safari.
Best Experiences
Beaches
Whether or not you’re looking to spend any time on the beach, you might like to keep in mind that East Africa is the continent’s best safari-and-beach destination.
Tanzania’s Zanzibar Archipelago is the most popular option, but both Tanzania and Kenya have a breathtakingly beautiful coastline. Mozambique is superb, but also superbly expensive. We don’t include it on pan-Africa safaris unless our clients have a very healthy budget!
Gorillas and Chimps
Eyeballing a great ape on foot is one of the most exhilarating wildlife experiences on Earth, while spending time in a chimpanzee group easily rivals anything we sell.
East Africa is home to the world’s last population of mountain gorillas, and places like Mahale in Tanzania offer exceptional interactions with wild chimpanzees. Trekking through forest on the lookout for either of these magnificent mammals is a thrilling option that combines well with a more traditional Big Five safari.
Cultural Safaris
This type of safari is possible across Safari Africa, as a number of amazing tribes are spread over the vast majority of countries in which we operate trips. Namibia’s Himba and Botswana’s San bushmen are based in Southern Africa, while East Africa is home to the Maasai, the Samburu, and the Hadzabe.
The majority of our cultural safaris take place in East Africa, but we’re happy to arrange this activity in Southern Africa too. Well-balanced authentic cultural safaris can be a challenge to get right, but they’re something we enjoy taking on – and they always form a memorable part of the vacation.
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