Your First Safari – How to Get Started

One of the most frequent questions we get asked at Yellow Zebra is, ‘How much does a safari cost?’ Have a look at our safari price guide where we explain exactly what factors determine the cost of a safari, and how we can help your budget go further.

Deciding where to go on a first safari depends on your priorities and preferences. Most of our first-time clients prefer to ease into Africa and choose to visit the more popular national parks and reserves in Tanzania, Kenya, Botswana, or South Africa. A really good piece of advice we can give you at this stage is to try not to pack everything into one trip. Rushing through areas or even countries in a week-long holiday won’t give you the full impact and appreciation of being on safari. We always want to make your itinerary as efficient as possible to reduce travel times when in-country, so you spend the maximum amount of time in the key safari areas.

We recommend starting by simply deciding whether you’d like to travel to East Africa or Southern Africa. Both regions offer distinctly different landscapes, activities, and wildlife – so this is a good first decision to make.

The next question to consider is if there’s anything specific that you’d like to see. From an early age, we can be enthralled by a certain animal or wildlife event. Are you particularly keen to see the Big Five? Maybe you want to witness the Great Migration during the famous river-crossing season? Or is it the smaller wildlife that you’d like to take centre stage during your safari – meerkats, anyone?

For example, if it’s all the members of the Big Five that you’re after, or an individual member such as elephant or lion, this will greatly influence what type of safari you should be planning. For travellers hoping to spot all the Big Five in one place, we recommend focusing on the national parks and reserves of Tanzania, Kenya, and South Africa which are renowned for their big game sightings. Opting for a traditional safari in the likes of the Serengeti, Maasai Mara, or Kruger will definitely boost your chances of encountering them for your Big Five checklist.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that a traditional safari combines well with other activities. It’s very rare for people to ‘just go on safari’. The cultural aspects of a destination are a chance for you to enhance your trip and add an extra layer to your safari experience. If you’d like to experience the cascading waters of Victoria Falls, the scenic white-sand shores of Zanzibar, or the colourful streets of Cape Town, we can book these as add-ons that will influence the structure and sequence of your holiday.

After reading the above, you probably already have a few ideas about where you want to go, what you want to see on safari, and how much it would cost. The next stages of actually planning a safari can be long and complicated, but this is where Yellow Zebra can come in! It starts with an initial chat, during which our safari specialists will get to know more about you and the kind of holiday you’re after. Then, you can expect an informal exchange of ideas and emails as you work with one of our consultants to design the ultimate trip.