What to Expect on Your First African Safari

What to Expect on Your First African Safari – Tourist Guide

Well, in every first attempt to do something, it must be intimidating or scary. So is the same as planning your first African Safari. In this article, we will discuss and share the best tips and advice that will guide you in planning the best African Safari Holiday for you.

First, you would want to know several important factors and notes that will help you understand what an African Safari Tour looks like, how it’s planned, the cost of an African Safari Holiday, what is included, and what involves an African Safari.

At Cheetah Safaris, we will be glad to convert your idea of an African Safari into a real African Safari experience, that’s more memorable and full of engaging activities that you will never forget. We have designed amazing Itineraries that will help you plan a draft safari into a real one. Check out some of our best African Safaris here.

What does “First Time on Safari” look like?

Cheetah Safaris is an African Local owned Safari company that believes in making memories and impacting many. With our tagline, we endeavor to make sure your first African safari holiday is the best. We add our expertise, professionalism, and experience to make your holiday a first-of-a-kind safari experience.

You must be asking yourself what a first time on safari looks like. Well, the truth is, your first safari in Africa will be thrilling, amazing, well let’s say with mixed reactions especially if you are coming alone, and not with someone who has ever been to Africa.

Your first holiday safari will be thrilling and you not sleep even on the last few nights before you fly to East Africa. You will be looking forward to landing in your first African country, the reception, the climate, and the people.

There is so much that your first safari in Africa will offer you, and the excitement will make you have the best experience.

What to consider when planning your first safari holiday in Africa

While planning an African Safari, there is a lot you should consider. These factors do affect your entire safari experience and are quite important. We will briefly describe each factor that we hope will prepare and equip you very well.

So what should you consider before visiting Africa for safaris?

• No. of days of your safari:- While planning your first safari, you should consider how many days you would want to spend on your safari. This should include the few days of departing and going back home on the flight. Our Cheetah Safaris experts recommend a minimum of 12 days for your first safari. This will ensure you enjoy enough, get involved, and experience Africa in a better way.
• No. of guests joining you on safari:- You might be planning your safari with your family members or friends, and this will affect your entire safari cost. This will also determine where you will stay and the type of transfers you can get. Hence, you would want to be comfortable knowing how many people suit your safari holiday.
• Type of accommodation you will stay in while on safari:- An African safari includes different levels of safari accommodations and types such as safari camps and lodges, that are categorized in levels. There are luxury, mid-luxury, standard, and budget safari accommodations. We recommend mid-luxury safari accommodations since they are not that expensive and also won’t compromise your stay since they are at the luxury level.
• Best season to visit Africa:- We always recommend our guests planning to visit Africa or East Africa during our low season. This is between January to June when the temperatures are hot and wet. There are not many people or guests in parks and will give you the best time for game drives. It’s also the best time to get good rates for your safari.
• Who to book with:- It’s very crucial to know who you will book with. We at Cheetah Safaris, are a locally owned luxury safari company and we would be the best fit for you to organize your first-ever African Safari Holiday. It’s much cheaper and easy to book with a local agent than a book with an agent. But please ensure anyone who you book with is licensed by the Tourism Ministry and under a tourism association.

What type of Safari Should you book on your first African Visit?

There are different types of safaris one can book for their first experience. At Cheetah Safaris, we offer conservation safaris, wildlife safaris, wildebeest safaris, family safaris, flying safaris, and even all inclusive safaris.

Any type of safari will affect your entire African safari experience. This will depend entirely on your budget, interest, and preferences. Each type of safari depends on different factors, an example is the flying safaris that have to rely on flights and accommodations too that have inhouse land cruiser jeeps for game drives.

You will need to know which type is suitable for you, and our experts will be glad to help you customize any type of safari that will suit your preferences and interest. Browse some of our best African Safaris to explore more options.

When should you plan your First African Safari Tour?

This is a crucial factor that one needs to consider when planning your first African Safari. Most African Safari Destinations have different seasons and recommended times of visits. We will look into the best time to visit East Africa.

So when is the best time to visit Africa for your first African Safari? Let’s see below in general when is a suitable month or season to visit East Africa for the first time ever:-

• January to March:- This is the best season we recommend first timers to plan their safari. This is when the temperatures are hot, and it is dry, but vegetation is green and wildlife sighting is excellent. You can visit Tanzania for the wildebeest calving or visit Kenya and enjoy amazing views of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Amboseli or Big cats sightings in Masai Mara.
• April to June:- It is one of the wettest seasons of the year and most East African countries receive their long rains and heavy too. It’s the best time to visit East Africa if you are not looking too much around due to the heavy rains.
• July to October:- One of the busiest seasons in East Africa, both in Kenya and Tanzania, when guests visit these countries for holidays and most importantly the wildebeest migration and crossings. It’s a hot and dry season and best for wildlife sightings.
• November to December:- Its a wet season, where short rains start in November and ends in early December. December also is a mixture of wet, hot and dry days as the seasons approaches. Its best for local holidays who love travelling with kids and family to spend quality time.

Where you should go on your first African Safari

1. Kenya

2. Tanzania

3. Uganda

4. Zambia

5. Zimbabwe

6. Botswana

 

How much Should your first African Safari cost?

Generally, a good African Safari should cost between USD 400 to USD 800 per person sharing per day. But keep in mind that an African safari cost is determined by other many factors as we have discussed above.

See the below table for a more detailed cost of an African Safari. These will guide you in planning your first safari to East Africa.

Estimated Kenya Or Tanzania Safari Cost Per Day

What you should pack for your first Arican Safari

1. Passport with all the required visas for every country your African safari travels to and through.
2. A bit of cash, bank cards, and/or travelers’ cheques. You can also use e-wallet apps these days to avoid carrying cards and cash.
3. Airtickets and travel vouchers for any pre-booked safari tours.
4. Vaccination certificates (yellow fever etc) where required. Some vaccinations need to be taken well in advance (see Vaccinations needed for your African Safari)
5. Medication: malaria prophylactics if advised (see Malaria Made Simple) and any personal medication (also take your prescription in case of an emergency – your medication gets lost, wet, eaten by a baboon, etc)
6. Travel insurance policy details. Your policy number and the contact details for claims and emergencies. (Comprehensive travel insurance is a must, especially in the Covid-19 pandemic era).
7. Cell phone. Most globetrotters travel with a smartphone in order to stay in touch with family and friends, connect to wifi, and for emergencies.
8. Copies of your important documents: as a precaution take a copy of your air tickets, travel insurance policy, vaccinations, visas, prescriptions, and passport.
9. A hard copy of your most important contact numbers in case you lose your phone.

Where Should you start in order to start planning your first holiday safari in Africa?

When planning your first African Safari, you must be scared of losing your money to con and scammers who pretend to be Tour Operators. It’s easy to be conned. But there are some things you need to check out when planning.

As we have briefly mentioned above, you need a licensed tour operator, who you can see their reviews either on google or TripAdvisor, and as well are under an association. These are some of the things you should for before committing to pay for a safari.

Cheetah Safaris is licensed by the Kenya Tourism Authority as well as a member of the Tour Operator Society of Kenya. Making it more suitable for you, we are a 100% locally owned Tour Operator with Experts and Professionals ready to rock and roll in building your first-ever safari.

Contact our experts below and we will be glad to help you plan one of the best first African Safari for you.

Start Planning your First East African Safari Holiday. Get In Touch With Us Now To Start Planning.

Cheetah Safaris has fantastic, experienced safari experts available and prepared to assist you in creating a once-in-a-lifetime beach holiday experience. Fill in Our Contact Form with the details you want or send us a WhatsApp text to reach us at +254 729 744244.