Visits of only 5-9 nights tend to be too short for self-drive trips. It is very possible to combine two or even three remote locations by light aircraft, to make fabulous trips, but these are fundamentally more expensive. Sossusvlei or the nearby Namibrand areas are likely to feature.

5-9 nights 

This is the most popular duration for self-drive trips, allowing plenty of time to get around the main locations. Sossusvlei is likely to feature in such trips, since it fits into the natural routing, usually for 2-3 nights. A few high-end flying safaris may stretch to this length.

10-14 nights

The incredibly good value of self-drive trips means that they can often extend to unusually long durations, with more ambitious routes potentially heading all the way up the Caprivi Strip to end at Victoria Falls. Again, Sossusvlei would usually fit into these trips for 2-3 nights.

15-24 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 period Apr–May is transitional, with warm days, cooler nights and drying landscapes. Residual greenery fades, revealing the stark dune scenery. Conditions are comfortable for exploration, though visitor numbers can rise briefly around Easter.

Apr-May 

The Jun–Oct winter dry season is the most popular time to visit. Days are mild, nights can be cold, and the dunes are at their most dramatic. Access is excellent, but visitor numbers and vehicle traffic are at their highest.

Jun-Oct 

The Nov–Dec late dry season sees rising temperatures and the chance of early rain further east. Conditions usually remain dry, dune scenery stays exposed, and visits are excellent until mid-December, when holiday crowds increase sharply.

Nov-Dec 

The summer green season brings occasional rainfall and higher temperatures. Brief desert blooms or flash floods are possible, and bring brief desert blooms or flash floods. Temperatures are higher, conditions more humid, and visitor numbers are generally lower.

Jan-Mar 

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 

The cost of safari in Namibia depends very much on your mode of travel.

Self-drive trips tend to fall in the range USD 150 to 500 per person per night, depending mainly on the lodges that you choose.

Flying safaris are fundamentally and unavoidably more expensive, at USD 600 to 2500 per person per night, depending on your group size and lodge selection.

Private-guided overland expeditions fall somewhere in the middle, at USD 400 to 1500 per person per night, depending mainly on your group size.

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.

If you have a higher budget, we will help you determine which lodges 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 etc.

If you have a lower budget, then we can help you build superb self-drive safaris, still including great lodges and getting off the beaten track.

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

The iconic orange dunes of the Namib Desert are the tallest in the world and are extremely impressive. They can easily be scaled if you are reasonably fit. The real highlight of this area is the incredibly Dead Vlei, where long dead camelthorn trees stand on a stark white pan.

Ultimate dunes

To the east of the dune fields, lie vast expanses of flat rocky desert, punctuated by ranges of granite mountains. Some parts are very scenic. These deserts host populations of oryx, ostriches, jackals and even cheetahs, as well as a host of smaller desert specialists.

Desert wildlife

Sossusvlei is one of the most popular locations in Africa for hot air ballooning. The desert scenery is particularly dramatic when viewed from the air at sunrise. There are also options for quadbike and ATV trips, as well as horse-back riding and hiking.

Activities

This area has an impressive array of accommodation options. The best are high quality lodges, set on their own private concessions away from the crowds. But there are also some relatively cool lower-cost options closer to the main gate.

Lodge options

Etosha

Etosha National Park is the best known wildlife area in Namibia, renowned for intense animal scenes around its many waterholes. Features in most self-drive trips.

Twyfelfontein

Set in the west of Namibia, Twyfelfontein is the best known and most frequently visited area in the country for desert elephants and rock-art, plus some superb hiking and geology.

Swakopmund

Swakopmund is the main town on the Namibia Coast, a bizarre Germanic outpost, atmospheric and strangely appealing, with a wide range of marine and active experiences.

Damaraland

Set in the northwest of Namibia, Damaraland North is a fabulous area of awesome desert scenery, unusually strong wildlife and superb remote lodges. The best, but pricey.

Skeleton Coast

Set in the extreme northwest of Namibia, Skeleton Coast North is one of the most incredible and remote wilderness areas in Africa. Utterly incredible, but by guided expedition only.

Mudumu

Set in the extreme northeast of Namibia, Mudumu and Mamili are two small wildlife reserves which are able to offer Botswana style safari at a fraction of the price.