Types of safari in Africa – which is right for you?

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To say ‘I’m going on safari!’ is a glorious feeling, deserving of its exclamation mark. But before you get to this point, you’re going to have to decide what type of safari you’re looking to go on. The most famous safari image is of a small group crossing the plains in an open-sided four-wheel drive. However, when you delve into the main types of safari in Africa, the choices open up before you. Without any knowledge or expertise, how do you decide? This guide might just help.

Scheduled group tours

The most popular form of safari is the scheduled group tour. It’s the sort you book as a package from a travel agent or tour operator, whether online or instore.

They’re the most popular types of safari in Africa because they’re the easiest to organise. You can pretty much sit back and let someone else do all the planning.

If it’s your first time on safari, or to a specific destination, they are a brilliant – great value – way of getting out on safari. These types of safari can last from just a couple of days to several weeks. Generally, the only things you’ll have to book separately are your return flights.

Group tours are a good option for solo travellers as you’ll have a group of other wildlife fans to travel with, although minimum numbers and solo supplements sometimes apply.

Numbers are usually capped at eight (the size of a safari vehicle) to around 16. Most safari goers on this type of safari in Africa tend to be middle-aged Europeans.

One big pro is that scheduled group tours are usually the cheapest way to go on safari in Africa.

The downside is that you’re reliant on all other group members playing ball – being ready for game drives on time for example. That said, this is rarely a problem.

Another con is the lack of flexibility. Scheduled group tours will depart on specific dates throughout the year. If you can’t make that date, tough. And they follow set itineraries, so there’s no chance of taking in that festival you’ve heard talk of locally.

Self-drive safaris

Self-drive safaris are the type of safari in Africa to pick if you’re independent minded but still want someone else to deal with logistics such as accommodation.

They’re also great if you have a particular passion. There’s no point spending time watching a herd of elephants cropping the grasses of Kruger National Park if your heart lies with the continent’s big cats.

Generally speaking, self-drive safaris begin with a short meet-and-greet with an on the ground representative. They’ll talk you through your vehicle, the rough itinerary (if exploring more than one national park), and give you your accommodation vouchers to present on arrival at your camp or lodge.

You will be responsible for fuel (and you won’t want to run out in the bush), national park fees, and unplanned extras.

There’s usually 24 hour support to deal with major problems like breakdowns. You’ll be given a mobile or satellite phone to stay in contact, and a rep may well phone to check everything is going according to plan.

The major downside of self-drive safaris has to be that you don’t have a guide alongside you using their expert eye to spot the local wildlife. Even megafauna such as hippo and rhino can be amazingly difficult to locate from a distance.

Guided self-drive safaris

Guided self-drive safari tours are a halfway house between scheduled group tours and self-drive safaris.

While you’ll still be driving the vehicle yourself, you’ll be in a small convoy of 2-3 vehicles led by a guide.

What’s the point? Mainly in having the expertise of a guide on hand to locate wildlife in huge expanses of land. (And solve any problems.)

But they also give you the chance to tackle some off-road driving and have the feel of a private tour. Vehicles are usually linked by shortwave radio.

Independent safaris

Independent safaris sit at the opposite end of the spectrum to scheduled group tours. Boiling them down to their most basic, it’s you driving around Africa’s landscapes on your own.

Looking at them another way, this type of safari in Africa is a self-drive safari without the logistical support.

With an independent safari you’ll be responsible for everything. Using a rental vehicle (make sure rental policies allow off-road driving in national parks) you’re free to create your own itinerary.

You can go where you want, and do exactly what you want to do, for however long you want.

The downsides to independent safaris are two-fold. Firstly, it can get really complicated and stressful ensuring everything – flights, rental vehicles, lodges – link up correctly.

Secondly, not all national parks allow independent safaris – South Africa is probably your safest bet. You’ll need to be aware of the best time to visit as not all parks are accessibly year-round.

Going on safari independently will also likely cost more than opting for a scheduled guided tour. This is because you won’t have access to the discounts tour operators receive.

Fly-in safaris

Fly-in safaris are growing in popularity. They tend to be reserved for the higher-end of the market and for reaching destinations not easy to get to overland.

If you’re in Kenya or Tanzania, there’s a good network of scheduled small planes that can be used to keep costs lower. In South Africa, you’re probably looking at using charter flights.

Should the climate-aware part of your brain give them the go ahead, a short flight in a small plane is undoubtedly more comfortable than multiple hours on the road.

Beside the cost of such trips, and their carbon emissions, you’re limited on baggage. Most small planes will have a baggage limit of 15 kilos – that’s a small backpack.

The main advantage is getting you to places most safari goers just don’t go. The wildlife can therefore be much more relaxed, and safaris extra exclusive too.

Overlanding

Although not specific safari trips, overlanding tours incorporate major national parks into their sometimes months-long itineraries.

Aimed at the backpacking market, they’re certainly not for everyone. You’d have to be happy travelling in a group of up to 25 for weeks on end. Close-knit friendships can form, but so can cliques. Major arguments aren’t unheard of.

Many overlanding trucks also have a bit of a reputation as party buses, where drinking is the order of the day.

A great way to see and experience first-hand great swaths of Africa in one fell swoop, their guides don’t tend to be experts on wildlife.

When it comes to the safari side of these journeys, in my view you’re likely to only get an inkling of the true safari experience.

Choosing the best types of safari for you

The range of ways of going on safari can make booking your dream trip overly-complicated. The various types of safari each have their own pros and cons. The best option is therefore to match the type of safari which is closest to the way you like to travel. And then get booking!