Most of our guests tend to deploy 8 to 14 nights in Africa, of which anything from 3 to 9 nights are spent actually on safari in Botswana. Combining with other locations like tropical beaches, rural areas, Victoria Falls and Cape Town can add variety into a trip and help to keep a lid on costs.

8 to 14 nights

Longer trips of 15 to 21 nights tend to include 6 to 12 nights on safari, sometimes spread across two or three different areas of Kenya. On top of that, you can further safari in Tanzania, as well as those primate and beach options.

15 to 21 nights

We absolutely love putting together trips of three or more weeks. Sometimes we are lucky enough to work with guests who are taking a sabbatical from work or who are retired and just love to travel. In these trips, the possibilities become almost infinite and can cover several  countries.

22 to 50 nights

Tanzania

Set on the East Coast of Africa, Tanzania is a truly remarkable place, the richest and most diverse safari country, with far more than its fair share of Africa’s crown jewels, including Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar.

This is the place to head if you are looking for a truly diverse African experience, usually an overland journey, with equal parts of epic wildlife, majestic volcanic scenery, authentic tribespeople, farms, villages and towns.

It’s also top of the list if you want to combine safari and tropical beaches.

In all honesty, Tanzania alone is worth several trips.

Trips from USD 4500

Kenya

Also on the East Coast of Africa, Kenya is the second most visited safari country on the continent, a place of great diversity, with popular reserves including the Maasai Mara, Amboseli, Tsavo and Samburu, as well as some much more remote wilderness areas and an extensive tropical coastline.

Unfortunately, the better known reserves in Kenya can get very busy in core areas, so we need to tread carefully to deliver a quality safari.

If you are looking towards the upper end of the budget range, then trips can be remote and fabulous. But if you are looking for value, you may be better off looking at Tanzania or countries further south. 

Trips from USD 5000

Botswana

Moving to the south of the continent, Botswana is widely considered to offer the highest quality safari in Africa.

The experience is not as diverse as Tanzania, but the remoteness and purity of the bush experience is unsurpassed.

If you are looking for either an easy vacation or a deeply immersive wilderness experience, this is the place. We just need to be careful about the very high prices during the Jun-Oct dry season.

Botswana is great in combination with Victoria Falls, the Cape or the tropical beaches of Mozambique.

Trips from USD 6000

Our safari experts have incredible 
first-hand knowledge and an average
of 12 years experience building great 
trips.

Expertise and experience

Since 1999, we have created over a million sample  trips and helped over 120,000 guests fall in love with  safari Africa.

A proud history

Over the years we have polished our operation to be super-reliable. Arranging your trip should be almost as much fun  as going on safari. 

Seamless and fun

Your trip should cost no more than if 
you had booked all the components directly. You effectively get our services for free.

Delivering value

Every single trip that we build is unique. Your trip will be precisely tailored to meet the exact requirements of everyone in your group.

Supremely tailor-made

The first safari company on the internet, we helped to shape the modern safari and we continue to be the prime innovators in our field.

Original innovators

Tell us your whatever you know about your ideal trip. Whether you're drawn to specific wildlife, particular regions, or have preferences about the style of accommodation, the more we understand, the better we can help you to craft the perfect experience.

Share your ideas

South Africa

South Africa is by far the most popular location for safari. It is a vast and incredibly diverse country, with far more highlights than could ever be included in a single trip.

The primary trip shape is a combination of safari in Kruger, with time in Cape Town, the Whale Coast and the Cape Winelands.

There is a huge choice of safari accommodation, right across the price spectrum, including some of the best lower cost options in Africa, so this is often the place to head on a lower budget.

However, South Africa is a much more developed country than those further north and the safari experience can feel significantly less pure and wild.

Trips from USD 3500

Zimbabwe

Also in the southern part of Africa, Zimbabwe is best known for the Victoria Falls, but also offers some of the most earthy, authentic, heart-pumping safari on the continent.

If you are looking for a short safari of 3-5 nights, then Hwange has some great value options.

Otherwise, Zimbabwe is a relatively high-priced location, which appeals most to experienced Africa travellers, who appreciate the extremely high levels of safari guiding.

The walking safari here can be truly extraordinary, with deliberate approaches onto elephants and lions. 

Trips from USD 4500

Zambia

Set in southcentral Africa, Zambia is a delightful backwater, also best known for the Victoria Falls, but with a handful of superb safari reserves.

The camps here have a reputation for intimacy, authenticity and a pleasantly homespun feel, many with a marked leaning towards walking safari, which is always a good sign.

Zambia is a mid-to-high price safari environment, which tends to appeal most to experienced safari travellers in search of new frontiers and first timers who are specifically looking for somewhere unusual for their safari. 

Trips from USD 5000

The classic dry season, when weather is warm and sunny and wildlife concentrates around the central springs and marshes. Elephant sightings are particularly strong, though visitor numbers and prices are high. 

Jul-Oct 

November to December is a short transitional period. Occasional rains arrive, wildlife begins to disperse slightly, and the bush is green and beautiful. Visitor traffic is lower, making this a quieter but still rewarding season.

Nov-Dec 

The green season, with scattered rain showers and abundant new growth. Wildlife is more dispersed, but the bush is lush, wildflowers bloom and many young animals are visible. Visitor numbers remain moderate.

Jan-Mar

April to June is dominated by the long rains, which are generally heavy and reliable. Wildlife spreads widely, roads can be challenging, and visitor numbers are very low, making it ideal for solitude and dramatic landscapes.

Apr-Jun

Your dedicated safari specialist will work with you to build a selection of sample trips. We'll discuss seasonality, wildlife movements, logistics, lodge options, activity levels, whatever is necessary. And we will keep on refining until we are all confident that we have reached the perfect trip.

Crafting your trip

Everything is arranged. All you need to do is turn up. You probably won’t even need to show your paperwork, you will simply glide from one group of friendly and efficient local hosts to the next. And our support team remains on hand throughout, leaving you free to focus entirely on the extraordinary experiences ahead.

Travel with confidence

Many of us here at ATR have travelled extensively with our own kids, so we know for a fact that safari is great for families.

This is the kind of trip that guarantees to generate memories that you will share for the rest of your lives.

However, there are significant health issues to consider in most safari areas, so we need to proceed with caution.

Most dry season safari is ideal for kids of 12 years and older, eminently feasible for kids 8-11 years and potentially viable from 6-7 years old. If your kids are 0-5 years, then it’s probably best to stick to the non-malarial areas of the Cape, then progressing up into Namibia as they get older.

Family safari 

Safari is an inherently romantic experience that can be endlessly tailored to suit you.

We have been helping guests to build awesome honeymoons for many years. We have intimate knowledge of some of the wildest and most romantic places in the world.

Perhaps the most important piece of advice is to be yourselves. Please don’t feel it is necessary to fit into the usual romantic tropes if they’re not for you. Just focus on having a great trip.

We very much understand the importance of these trips, we know that your honeymoon needs to really hit the heights and be a truly life-punctuating experience.

Honeymoon safari 

On safari, luxury means different things to different people.

The most conventional meaning is that the accommodations are extremely comfortable, with elevated levels of hospitality. This is relatively easy to deliver, there are lots of luxury lodges.

However, simply inserting more luxurious lodges into your trip is no guarantee of a better safari. In fact, the opposite can be true.

For us, the hallmarks of a truly high quality safari are a suitably slow pace, wonderful remote locations, superb safari guiding, exclusive and intense wildlife interaction, precisely tailored experiences and considered attention to detail. We can do that.

Luxury safari 

Safari in Kenya ranges from quite pricey to surprisingly expensive. It is around 30% lower than Botswana, on a par with Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and substantially higher than South Africa and Namibia. You can expect to spend USD 700 to 3200 per person per night.

We are more than happy to work across this range of prices. The only important thing is that we help you find the very best safari to suit your budget.

The two dominant price factors are the length of time that you spend on safari and the specific lodges that you choose to include in your trip. Deploying more time in town, rural and beach locations can bring the total cost down dramatically.

If you have a higher budget, we will help you determine which camps do actually deliver elevated levels of service and experience. We will also highlight other subtle ways in which your trip can be raised to another level, including the use of whole camp bookings, private guides and vehicles, helicopter explorations of remote areas etc.

If you have a medium budget, the best ways to keep a lid on costs are to travel out of the Jul-Oct dry season and to carefully choose lower-cost lodges.  You can also reduce the number of core safari nights and deploy time in more cost-effective beach, town and rural locations. We will help you understand where to trim and where to splash in order to achieve the best overall experience.

If you have a lower budget, then we can always look at other fundamentally less pricey safari countries.

"We just returned from a weeks safari organized  organized   organized by ATR and have nothing but positive reviews!"

Maasai Mara 

Set 200km southwest of Nairobi, Maasai Mara is one of Africa’s best known wildlife reserves. A part of the greater Serengeti ecosystem, the Mara is an extremely scenic area, renowned for hosting the enormous migration herds Jun-Oct.

Guest accommodation is in around 150 camps and lodges, the best of which are all very high-end. There are very few good middle and lower priced options.

Virtually all safaris to Kenya include at least a few nights in this area, making this a very busy area at times. 

However, it is still very much possible to put together a very high quality safari experience in the Mara, primarily by staying in the private conservancies to the north of the main reserve.

Lodges USD 600-3500 pppn 

Samburu

Set 230km north of Nairobi, Samburu is an arid and particularly atmospheric safari area, set alongside a magical perennial river that brings life to the desert year round. It is a magical place and home to some very interesting animals, including gerenuks, Grevy’s zebras and reticulated giraffes.

Guest accommodation is in around twenty lodges. Those inside the park tend to be large and commercial, whilst the better quality options are situated in large private conservancies round about, from where you can raid into the main reserve during the quiet hours around lunchtime.

Samburu is easily reached by air from Nairobi and there are usually direct connections to the Maasai Mara, making this a popular triangle. It is also a great starting point for the wilds further north notably in the Mathew’s Range.

Lodges USD 400-2500 pppn 

Matthews Range

Set 280km northeast of Nairobi, the Matthews Range is a remote and atmospheric safari area, dominated by a ribbon of granite mountains rising to 2500 metres. The higher altitudes attracts elephants, reticulated giraffes and imperial zebras, while offering superb walking and mountain hiking opportunities.

Guest accommodation is limited to a handful of high-quality camps, with excellent options in the nearby Sera Conservancy for rhino tracking, and access to the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary for rescued baby elephants. Cultural experiences include visits to local Samburu communities and the famous Singing Wells.

Matthews Range is reached either by light aircraft from Nairobi or by road from Samburu, making it ideal for combining with other locations in the north of Kenya.

Lodges USD 1200–2200 pppn

Amboseli is the main location for those famous scenes of wildlife set against a backdrop of the snows of Mount Kilimanjaro, perhaps the single most iconic vision of safari Africa. Despite appearances, the great volcano is actually over the border in Tanzania.

Kili view

The Amboseli area is renowned for its elephants, particularly older males with enormous tusks, which are relatively rare across Africa due to the intermittent poaching epidemics. They are most reliably seen during the Jun-Nov dry season.

Tuskers

This is the land of the Maasai, a pastoral people renowned for their cattle, many of whom still wear their tribal costumes and live in traditional thatched huts. Meeting these people is a real privilege, but we need to take care to make this interaction natural and relaxed.

Maasai

With the considerable traffic issues inside the main reserve, it is really important to stay at a lodge in one of the private reserves around the periphery. This not only provides a quieter environment, but also means you could include walking safari and night vehicle safari.

Private reserves

The Maasai Mara represents only about 12% of the Serengeti ecosystem, the remainder lies over the border in Tanzania. The border is closed, but it is still possible to combine the two.

Serengeti 

Whilst Kenya has its own tropical beaches, the allure of Zanzibar and its surrounding islands is too much for many people to resist. Flight connections are either via Nairobi, or direct from Serengeti.

Zanzibar

For gorilla and chimp tracking experiences, we usually look towards Uganda, with Rwanda being an alternative for very high-end trips.

Uganda

Maasai Mara 

Set 200km southwest of Nairobi, Maasai Mara is one of Africa’s best known wildlife reserves. A part of the greater Serengeti ecosystem, the Mara is an extremely scenic area, renowned for hosting the enormous migration herds Jun-Oct.

Guest accommodation is in around 150 camps and lodges, the best of which are all very high-end. There are very few good middle and lower priced options.

Virtually all safaris to Kenya include at least a few nights in this area, making this a very busy area at times. 

However, it is still very much possible to put together a very high quality safari experience in the Mara, primarily by staying in the private conservancies to the north of the main reserve.

Lodges USD 600-3500 pppn 

Amboseli 

Set 150km southeast of Nairobi, Amboseli is an iconic national park which is renowned for huge tusker elephants, set against the classic backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Guest accommodation is in around twenty properties, a handful of which are higher quality and located in private concession areas outside the main reserve.

The volumes of vehicle traffic heading into Amboseli make it a relatively difficult place in which to deliver quality safari. Staying outside the reserve helps and visiting outside the main safari seasons is a great advantage. However, for a high quality experience during the high season, you might be better off in the adjacent Chyulu Hills area.

Lodges USD 450-2200 pppn 

Samburu

Set 230km north of Nairobi, Samburu is an arid and particularly atmospheric safari area, set alongside a magical perennial river that brings life to the desert year round. It is a magical place and home to some very interesting animals, including gerenuks, Grevy’s zebras and reticulated giraffes.

Guest accommodation is in around twenty lodges. Those inside the park tend to be large and commercial, whilst the better quality options are situated in large private conservancies round about, from where you can raid into the main reserve during the quiet hours around lunchtime.

Samburu is easily reached by air from Nairobi and there are usually direct connections to the Maasai Mara, making this a popular triangle. It is also a great starting point for the wilds further north notably in the Mathew’s Range.

Lodges USD 400-2500 pppn 

Central Kalahari 

Set in the heart of Botswana, Central Kalahari is a vast and arid national park, a great contrast to the water-world of the Okavango Delta, and renowned for unusual sightings like aardwolves, brown hyenas and huge black-mane lions.

Guest accommodation is in just a handful of lodges, only one of which, Tau Pan Camp, is set deep within the reserve.

This is a specialist safari area. The landscapes are hypnotically repetitive and the wildlife is naturally sparse. Furthermore, the park regulations do not permit walking safari, off-road driving or night vehicle safari, so the options are limited.

Central Kalahari only tends to feature in return visits to Botswana, or in very long combinations of four or more camps.

Lodges USD 500-2500 pppn 

Chobe

Set in the north of Botswana, Chobe is the heart of a vast conservation area, a very important national park, and with a long-established reputation for prodigious wildlife.

However, Chobe is also the location that hosts the majority of the overland traffic in Botswana, which means that it can get very busy and generally offers a much lower quality of wilderness experience compared with the famous private concessions of Okavango and Linyanti.

Guest accommodation is in around a dozen lodges, plus some very large campgrounds. These are supplemented by a swathe of accommodation in the town of Kasane, at the north end of the reserve.

We generally try to avoid the Chobe area, although it does occasionally feature in trips when guests want to return to specific areas that they visited many years ago.

Lodges USD 250-2500 pppn 

Tuli Block 

Set in the southeast of Botswana, Tuli Block is a very large private reserve which offers arguably the best non-malarial safari area in Africa.

The area contains a good range of landscapes, with rocky mountains, open hillsides and open savanna. The wildlife populations are rich, with particularly notable populations of lions, leopards and elephants.

Guest accommodation is in a handful of lodges, most of which offer an unusually wide range of activities, including walking safari, mountain hiking and hides.

The Tuli Block is totally separate from the other safari areas in Botswana, with which it is almost never combined. Far more likely that you travel in via Johannesburg and combine with locations across South Africa.

Lodges USD 400-3000 pppn