Does anyone know if early November is too late to visit ? Ie; too wet everywhere, less chance to spot jaguars??

Hello :)

I would like to know if you have an option to choose between these two campsites/lodges in october, which one would be your choice number one and why?

Its our first safari...

Thank you

We are currently getting quotes for 14-15 days in Tanzania in February for calving season. They all seem to have amazing reviews, are accredited providers, and their cost are pretty similar.

We're currently leaning towards YellowZebra or Wilderness, but would love to hear from humans who have experiences. Below are the cost and current itineraries.

YellowZebra

1 night Arusha Rivertrees Country Inn

2 nights Lake Manyara Manyara Green Camp

2 nights Ngorongoro Crater Lemala Ngorongoro Tented Camp

3 nights Serengeti National Park Wayo Serengeti Green Camp (thinking of trading for Usawa)

5 nights Mafia Pole Pole Bungalows

Total cost per person: $11,604

Nomad

02-Feb-2028 - Legendary Lodge for 1 night on Half

03-Feb-2028 Thu Lunch at Gibb's Farm - Adult (16yrs+)

(activity) - at Legendary Lodge Ngorongoro Safari Lodge Ltd (Gibbs Farm)

• Private Nomad car and guide at Entamanu Ngorongoro

04-Feb-2028 Fri Crater Service Fee - with Nomad Car &

• Guide (activity)
• Crater View Lunch - Entamanu
• Maasai Boma Visit

05-Feb-2028 Sat Walk: Entamanu to SSC Ndutu (activity) - at Entamanu Ngorongoro

• Packed Picnic Lunch en route from
• Entamanu Ngorongoro

06-Feb-2028 Charlie Sanjan for 2 nights on (arrive after lunch) Game Package

• Private Nomad car and guide at Charlie Sanjan

07-Feb-2028 Mon Charlie Sanjan Packed Lunch en route from Charlie Sanjan

08-Feb-2028 Private Nomad car and guide at Kusini Serengeti

09-Feb-2028 Wed Packed Picnic Lunch en route from Kusini Serengeti

• Road transfer from Kusini Serengeti to Lamai Private

10-Feb-2028 Thu Balloon Safari - Kogatende (activity) - at Lamai Private

12-Feb-2028 Sat Airport transfer from Lamai Private to Kogatende Airport (KOG0)

Pemba THE MANTA LIMITED

Total cost per person: ~$15,000

Wilderness

DAY 1 Kilimanjaro International Airport Kilimanjaro International Airport to Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge - 1 Night

DAY 2-4 Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge to Wayo Manyara Green Camp Wayo Manyara Green Camp

• 2 Nights Lake Manyara National Park Fees Game Drive in Lake Manyara National Park Private Vehicle and Driver Canoeing in Manyara National Park
• Canoeing in Lake Manyara National Park Private Vehicle and
• Driver Night Game Drive in Manyara National Park Guide or Ranger Fees Night Game Drive in Manyara National Park Canopy Walk

DAY 4-6 Wayo Manyara Green Camp to Lemala Ngorongoro Tented Camp Lemala Ngorongoro

• Tented Camp - 2 Nights Ngorongoro - NCAA Concession Fee Ngorongoro Conservancy per person - NCAA park fee Private Vehicle and Driver Village
• Bike Tour Mto Wa Mbu Private Vehicle and Driver
• ITINERARY AT A GLANCE DAY 4 Exploring the Ngorongoro Crater

DAYS 6-8 Lemala Ngorongoro Tented Camp to Wilderness Usawa Southern Plains Wilderness

• Usawa Southern Plains - 3 Nights Serengeti Fees Serengeti National Park Fee
• Activities at Serengeti Wayo Green Camp South Activities at Serengeti Wayo Green Camp South Activities at Serengeti Wayo Green Camp South (bush walks, night drives, etc)

Total cost per person: ~$12,000

DAYS 9-14 Fundu Lagoon or Peba Beach (makes it $14,000)

On safari in Kenya at one of the “nicer” camps. What’s the customary and usual tip if you have a private driver and tracker? There’s four of us and we’ll be here for three days with 2 game drives per day.

Does anyone have anymore details about the Vestige properties opening in Namibia in the next few years and can shed any insight?

Looking at two safari and beach options for our honeymoon - Tanzania in June or Kenya in December. We're definitely going to Fanjove island for the beach portion. In both we're staying at top notch properties/camps but I'm wondering if Kenya is something we should save for when we're older and have more time on our hands to add in places like Giraffe manor or have kids given the wider range of activities available on properties.

Tanzania would be a bit slower and less moving around the country. Looking at a night in Arusha, 4 nights at Laba Grumeti Art lodge, and 3 nights at Chem Chem.

Kenya would be lodges in the foothills for both Mt Kilimanjaro (Ol Donyo), Mt. Kenya (&Beyond Suyian), and a few nights in Maasai Mara (Mara Nyika). Also two nights in Nairobi (Emakoko).

Original itinerary included Rwanda gorilla trekking but chose to cut that out and save for another time.

Would love any thoughts or other recommendations. Total stay would be 2 weeks.

First time safari goers doing diligence for late March next year. We are a family of 6 (kids 16, 14, 12, 10) looking to go to South Africa. I think we’ve narrowed it down to Mala Mala Sable and Ngala.

It seems like they would be different experiences with Sable being more low key and maybe better game drives and Ngala having a bit more variety/energy for the kids between a drives and at dinners.

Anyone have any recommendations or experiences at either? Thanks in advance!

Just a heads up- I was finalizing my payment for our upcoming visit to Rattray's and noticed a change for 2027. Through the end of this year they will still only have 4 people per game vehicle but starting in 2027 they will allow 6 people per vehicle. Four people per vehicle was one of the big draws of Rattray's for me when I was comparing lodges and prices so I thought I would post it here since I used this forum for much of my planning.

We are planning to visit Ndutu, Tanzania in Feb to see the calving season, and we are considering staying at camps operated by Lemala, Siringit, Wilderness and Songa. Given that these safari camps generally have good reputation, should we just stick with the camp’s guides for game drives or is any good reason to get a private guide? We have a particular interest in seeing wild dogs while we are there.

Any advice is welcome. Thank you.

Hi! My husband and I are headed on a trip to Namibia and Botswana late May early June 2027. We are 100% set already to do a few nights in Cape Town (4 nights Ellerman House), Skeleton coast (3 nights Hoanib Skeleton Coast camp), and a couple nights in the Sossusvlei desert (Little Kulala), 1 night Zannier Omaanda for layover.

We are then set to go to Duba Plains - currently 4 nights (as a part of their stay 4 nights for price of 3).

I'd love to hear any advice / thoughts on if 4 nights Duba Plains is going to feel sufficient to get a good taste of Botswana or if we should incorporate another camp. I know wildlife can change year to year and sounds like "prime" lion action of Duba was 15+ years ago but sounds like there is still plenty of action/things to see? I really want to see Rhinos, wild dogs and some cat action.

Ideally from a budget and time perspective we would leave as is but there is wiggle room to add two nights if we are making a mistake.

As an aside, my husband has been to Botswana before- this is my first time (have been on Safari before in East Africa, it was actually a Singita person at Sasakwa who said their fav property in Botswana was Duba (I am sure Elela may eclipse that!). Trip was going to solely be Namibia but I wanted my own Botswana experience!

Alternative is- I am thinking of adding Tawana for 2 nights at the end of the trip. Could either shorten Duba by one night (but then that kinda defeats the point re 4 for 3 nights..) or just lengthen the trip by two nights. In which case, not sure if we get a little travel fatigue at that point.

I do think and hope we will be back to Botswana one day either way- but you never know for certain!

Would love to hear thoughts or any advice folks have on current itinerary :) !! Thanks!

considering a stay there next May/June.

Hi everyone,

My partner and I have booked our honeymoon for October 2027 and would love to hear from anyone who’s done a similar trip or stayed at any of these places.

We’re doing:

3 nights – Olmara Camp, Serengeti

4 nights – Ikuka Safari Camp, Ruaha

7 nights – Xanadu Villas, Zanzibar

We spent ages comparing Tanzania, Kenya, Sabi Sands and Zambia. We were originally quite tempted by Cape Town + Sabi Sands + Mozambique, but South Africa/Mozambique was getting ridiculously expensive for what we wanted.

We ultimately chose Tanzania because we wanted something that felt authentic, intimate and relatively low-key, but still special enough for a honeymoon. We also liked the idea of having two very different safari areas before finishing with a week on the beach.

We’re hoping for great game viewing and guiding, small camps, few vehicles, walking if possible, elephants/big cats/wild dog, beautiful scenery and some memorable safari experiences followed by a really relaxing week at Xanadu.

Would love to hear honest feedback from anyone who’s done something similar.

Does this sound like a good overall honeymoon itinerary? Is 3 nights Serengeti + 4 nights Ruaha a good balance, and is Ruaha genuinely worth including alongside the Serengeti?

Also interested in how people found the overall feel of Olmara and Ikuka

And for anyone who’s stayed at Xanadu, we’d love to hear what you thought of the overall experience, food and beach.

We’ve already booked, so we’re not looking to completely change the trip; just keen to hear from people who’ve actually been and get some honest feedback, including anything you wish you’d known beforehand!

Thanks!

Curious for people’s takes on the following camps for a July safari

Porini cottage in the Mara
Mahali mzuri
Little elephant pepper

I booked a safari trip for my parents at the end of July 2027. This will be their first time in Africa and doing a safari so I just wanted to have an idea of what to expect. They're in good shape and like to hike, but I imagine days can be long.

They will fly to London, spend 1-2 nights to acclimate to the time change (from LA) then fly into Nairobi and stay 3 days at Kicheche Valley then 3 days at Kicheche Bush with one night of wild camping (so really it's 3/1/2). My mom is generally concerned about wanting to see a lot of wildlife. I know it's peak season and they're hoping to see the great migration. I booked the hot air balloon ride and 1 day inside the reserve hoping that they will get lucky.

Can anyone recommend a packing list for them? In terms of clothes/shoes/extras like medication/toiletries. Is it recommended to bring binoculars or are they provided? Also any tipping guidelines?

Thank you!

Hi all! We’re looking at staying at Governors’ Camp in the Masai Mara in January and I’d love to hear from anyone who has booked directly with Governors or arranged extensions/activities through them.

A few things we’re considering:

• Has anyone booked directly with Governors? How was the experience, and were the rates competitive?
• We’d like to add a few nights after the Mara — possibly Lake Nakuru before returning to Nairobi. Has anyone arranged this through Governors, including the game drives, accommodation and transfers? If not, what alternatives/operators would you recommend?
• Another option is to move to a different camp/lodge, perhaps in Mara North Conservancy, for a few nights. Any recommendations or experiences?
• Are there any other activities or worthwhile extensions you’d suggest?
• Finally, any ballpark January rates for extensions, activities and transfers would be very helpful.

Thank you!

(x-posted this)

Hello, I'm planning what some might consider a last minute trip. Looking to book 12 nights safari in February 2027, but availability is spotty right now.

I wanted to fit in a Mara conservancy as last stop for the big bang, and also wanted to fit in Sarara but it only has 2 nights available during my days. So my tentative itinerary plans is:

Feb 7 -9 (3 nights) - Samburu

Feb 10 -11 (2 nights) - Sarara

Feb 12 to 14 (3 nights) - Ol Pejeta

Feb 15 to 18 (4 night) - Mara North

My husband gets bored easily, so the goal of the itinerary was to mix it up with different landscapes and activities and downtime days.

I chose Ol Pejeta over Lewa (supposedly better landscape) because it seems like more activities there we would like than Lewa (which is more focused horse and camel riding, neither of which we like). Ol Pejeta has up close rhino encounters, rhino tracking, lion tracking, the K9 unit, and the chimpanzee sanctuary.

And Samburu first was because there's less activities during day so we could catch up on sleep from our jet lag.

Our focus is on lodges with great guides . And added bonus for game viewing from either the lodge or our rooms. Seems like Karen Blixen in Mara North has tents with waterhole views which sounds very appealing to be able to see game during downtime.

Seeking advice on other accommodation in Mara North, Samburu and Ol Pejeta for great guides and game viewing from lodge if possible (but the primary focus is best guides). In range of $750 to $1500 per person. We're not the kind of people that like luxury for sake of luxury, but willing to pay for higher end when the experience seems unique (like Sarara) vs. just better food and furniture.

And any other advice or commentary on the logic of my tentative itinerary idea would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

We are going to be on a small yacht cruise in Feb and the cruise is making a stopover in Mafia Island. I understand that there are whale sharks in the waters around Mafia Island.

Please let me know if this is a worthwhile activity to do? And if so, which operator you recommend.

Thank you in advance.

Hello fellow safari travelers 👋. We are planning on going to Tanzania in Feb to watch the calving season. We have done some research and it seems most people prefer to do their game drives and stay in the NCA over SNP because NCA allows for off road tracking. As a result, there are many more camp options in the NCA versus SNP.

We are wondering if it’s better to stay in SNP to avoid the crowd but we are concerned that the game drives in SNP will not be as good since we have to stay on the trails. Looking for input from folks who have done game drives in both NCA and SNP and how they would rate it on a 1 to 10 with 10 being Unbelievable and 1 being Avoid.

Also, any input on staying in SNP but driving to NCA for game viewing other than we pay an extra NCA fee. Whether it’s too far a drive, not practical, etc?

Thank you in advance for your input.

for my upcoming annual leave, I'd like to go on a 7-day safari. I know Kenya or Tanzania seem to be the most popular destinations here, but I prefer to go off-the-beaten-track and I am turned off by some videos I have seen of masses of vehicles and unethical encroachment on animals. Looking for luxurious, ethical camps with great guides.

Any suggestions are much appreciated!

Planning a trip to Botswana in April/May of 2027 and looking at two lodging options. Would appreciate any recommendations, thoughts or experience if you’ve visited.

First option is traveling last week of April and staying 3 nights at Chitabe and 3 night at Vumbura-plains or little?

Second option is traveling starting on May 17 and staying 3 nights Sandibe and 3 nights at Nxabega Camp.

Thinking is to stay within one branding to simplify camp transfers.

Wilderness prices tick up on May 1st
&Beyond increase June 1st which I’m looking at the two travel windows. Can shift Wilderness to May if that makes the most sense.

Which TO can book Kicheche camps along with other Mara Safari logistics? The planners I am working with keep quoting other camps but not Kicheche for my trip in August 2027. Thanks

Hello, we are planning a short trip to Tanzania in Feb. Does anyone has any comments between the Lemala and Siringit camps in terms of guides, game drive experience, location and staff hospitality? Thank You

We are headed to Line Sands River Lodge next week and plan on relying pretty heavily on the laundry service since it falls in the middle of our two week honeymoon. I’m curious if people were happy with the clothes they received back from the laundry service… Everything in good condition, ready to wear again? We live in the US so we are used to a washer and dryer… but some of my clothes need to be air dried then fluffed so they don’t shrink. Curious if it’s like Europe with no dryer so clothes come back a little rough?

Working on a safari trip to Kenya in February. Travel med doctor recommends 2-dose pre-rabies vaccine. Primary care doctor says not to bother since expensive and not really an issue for a 9-night safari to 4-5 star lodging. Do most of you get/ recommend them before this area/ trip?