A short stay allows you to experience one area, typically focusing on either the north for jaguar viewing by boat, or the south for a more general wildlife viewing experience and perhaps some radio-tracked jaguar encounters.

3-4 nights

Most of our guests opt for 5-7 nights, which allows for a combination of two or even three lodges. In the north, this should provide a better range of landscapes and sightings. Higher end trips can combine the north and the south, to get the full Pantanal experience.

5-7 nights

Longer stays allow for an in-depth exploration of multiple areas. The more popular option is to combine multiple lodges in the north, before flying south for a longer stay at one of the remote haciendas. More intrepid travellers can do a long boat exploration of the remote west.

8-12 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 May to June early dry season is a transition from the flooded wet months to drier conditions. Receding waters concentrate wildlife around shrinking pools and lakes, improving sightings. Days are warm, nights cooler, landscapes are colorful, and fewer visitors make this a rewarding time to visit. 

May–Jun

The July to October peak dry season is the classic time to visit the Pantanal. Wildlife is highly concentrated along rivers and permanent water sources, with excellent jaguar viewing. Days are hot, nights warm, and safari conditions are excellent, though visitor numbers increase in core areas. 

Jul–Oct

The November to December early wet season marks the transition toward the rains. Wildlife begins to disperse as water spreads across the landscape, while temperatures remain warm with afternoon showers. Sightings can still be good early on, but access becomes variable and some lodges close. 

Nov–Dec

The January to April flood season is the main rainfall period. Vast areas become submerged, creating dramatic wetland scenery and outstanding birdlife, but mammals are more dispersed and access is limited. High humidity and insects make this a quiet, atmospheric time best suited to bird enthusiasts.

Jan–Apr

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 adventurous travel 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 issues to consider in most safari areas, so we need to proceed with caution.

The main concern are the tropical areas, centred on the Amazon Rainforest, where health issues can be significant. We only tend to recommend these areas for kids of 12 years and older.

The other issue is security, with some parts of the main cities being potentially dangerous, but we can easily get around this by exercising sensible precautions, as you might do back home, or we can always provide a guide.

Family trips 

Travel can be 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 trips 

In adventure travel, 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 wilderness experience. 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 trips 

A journey to the Pantanal ranges from moderate to high-end luxury. You can expect to spend between USD 300 to 1200 per person per night.

The main factor affecting price is your choice of lodges. There are also significant transport costs associated with various lodge choices, some of which can be easily reached by road, others by very long private boat charter and a few combinations that require a charter plane or helicopter.

For higher budgets, we can create the ultimate Pantanal experience combining the finest properties in both north and south. A typical high-end itinerary might combine SouthWild Jaguar Lodge with Caiman Cordilheira Lodge, connected by charter flights to maximize time. These properties offer the most reliable wildlife viewing with expert guides and exclusive experiences.

For medium budgets, we usually suggest focusing on one region in order to minimize transfer costs, perhaps basing yourself at one of the quality wildlife lodges along the Transpantaneira Road. Another strategy is to combine a shorter stay in prime jaguar territory with simpler fazenda accommodations.

For lower budgets, we can explore properties further from the prime wildlife areas or consider visiting during shoulder seasons when some lodges offer lower rates. However, there is a level below which it really isn’t worth travelling all the way out here, only to not see much.

Covering 150,000 square kilometers, this mosaic of rainforest, woodlands and savanna creates South America's largest wetland ecosystem. Despite being mostly under private ownership, the Pantanal remains a genuine wilderness, retaining over 85% of its natural fauna.

Vast wetlands

The northern part of Pantanal offers the world's most reliable wild jaguar viewing, with daily sightings of these magnificent cats hunting along riverbanks. Other highlights include ocelots, pumas, giant anteaters, armadillos, capybaras and a host of lesser known animals and birds. 

Rich wildlife

Annual floods transform these landscapes from December to April, creating an impenetrable wetland. The converse May to November dry season is the time to visit, exploring the waterways by boat and spotting the wildlife that lives in and around the water.

Seasonal flood

There are not many good lodges in Pantanal, but there is a good variety. The best is a floating hotel built on barges, which can be moved with the wildlife. Further south, a handful of hacienda of traditional farmstead hospitality. Out west, there is one very remote and intriguiing lodge. 

Decent camps 

Set in the far southeast of the Amazon Basin in Brazil, Alta Floresta comprises a patchwork of reserves, which provide some interesting wildlife experiences, notably including some unusual primate and bird species.

Alta Floresta

Set in the far south of Brazil and straddling the border with Argentina, the Iguacu Falls is one of the great natural wonders of South America, a really popular hub for visitors to the continent.

Iguacu Falls

Set on the Atlantic Coast in the southeast of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro is one of the most iconic cities in South America, best known for its carnival and the famous beaches of Ipanema or Copacabana.

Rio de Janeiro