When it comes to African safaris, the options and choices are countless, often making for a difficult selection process. The Internet is full of offers promising a once-in-a lifetime experience, with users bombarded by information about places and attractions. We are charmed by advertisements promising unbelievable sightings of wild animals, then confused by a vast range of prices for the ‘same’ destination, making it all the more difficult to make a clear and calculated decision. So how do you choose?
Seasoned safari-goers understand the types of choices that can be made and have their favourite tried, and tested operators to use. However, first-time goers or infrequent travellers may need to spend days, or even weeks, in front of the computer researching, reading and customising their trip.
I’ve created a simple, gift-level checklist of questions to help guide you:
- Which country?
- What season?
- What level of comfort? (Quality of accommodation and guiding)
- Pre-set itinerary or private? (Exclusivity and cost)
- What’s my budget? (Closely linked with all above)
In this blog, I will explain the difference between private and ready-made safaris. Destinations and seasons are covered in my previous (best time for African safari) and upcoming blogs. It’s worth noting that I will not be discussing choices for safaris on the low budget (self-driving, camping etc), which is in itself deserving of a blog post.
Let’s assume we have our destination and time of the year picked – we want to visit the Okavango Delta in June. We have also decided that we would like to avoid potentially crowded areas of Chobe, Moremi or Khwai Community, and spend time in private concessions. Once we’ve narrowed down our choices to this extent, there are some key points we then need to accept:
- Price point of private concessions will be higher than ‘public parks’
- May/June is the encore of the high season (higher prices)
- It is a sought after period (booking is recommended 10-12 months ahead)
- Best concessions will fill up quickly (as above)
You may have noticed that I am guiding my blog towards higher priced and more exclusive safaris. This is intentional, as I want to focus on private vs ready-made aspect. Therefore, I’m removing variables such as private concessions vs community/national parks with its tens of camps. Now, that we have pre-set our criteria the key question we need to answer is: what level of exclusivity do we want? This is of course tightly connected to the budget.
An off-the-shelf itinerary means that all is set – once you’re in, all is being taken care for you. One of the only decisions you have control over is whether you enjoy the experience or not. Dates, concessions, camps, attractions, internal flights are all arranged, like a set menu dinner. It’s worth knowing that you do have a say over the number of participants (your decision to subscribe or not), for example do you prefer a large ‘table for 8-10’ or a more intimate setting for 4-6 people. The larger number of participants should indicate a lower price for the same itinerary. The advantages of a bigger group works well here – more people share the total cost = less for one individual to pay.
The ready-made safari offers also possibility to meet new people from different countries, backgrounds and forge new friendships that may last for years to come.
Many boutique operators (including Wild Encounter Safaris) offer an economies of scale approach in order to secure the best dates, concessions and camps ahead of competition. It is also a cost-effective approach to a ‘semi-private’ safari. In our case, we operate on the basis of a minimum 4 and maximum of 8 participants on 2 exclusive vehicles.
Private safari means that you select everything – custom dates, camp of your choice, local guide, number of people in your vehicle, etc. Of course, the earlier you decide to plan the safari, the more choice will be available. In our particular example of June in Botswana, a 16-14 month lead time ahead of the trip is advisable to be completely in control of your options.
Private safaris can be booked anytime, but keep in mind that due to the choice of properties, available dates may be limited. Needless to say, this privacy carries an added price tag that is related to the cost of a private vehicle and exclusive guide. That being said, it is definitely a choice for people who want ultimate freedom and control on their safari experience.
What is the biggest advantage of a private safari? The fact that you don’t compromise with anyone else. It’s your decision whether to stay 5 hours or 10 minutes on a sighting, providing it is within acceptable local conditions. In the end it’s up to your local guide and tour leader to ensure your safety and well-being, however, you still have added influence to your itinerary that a safari with a group of people wouldn’t necessarily allow.
