Many of you have dreamed of a vacation or photo safari in Africa. Many of you already have done it and as they say in Kenya, “You have be bitten by the African Bedbug and will want to come back.” So true. we visited South Africa and Zambia in 2015 and went back in 2018 to visit Kenya and Tanzania. Click here to view my posts on South Africa, Zambia & Victoria Falls, and Planning the Kenya and Tanzania trip.
Both trips were wonderful, completely different, but wonderful.
On our trip to South Africa and Zambia, we traveled with friends who have been to Africa a dozen times and did a DIY trip. We rented a 10 passenger van, stayed at a timeshare in Hazyview using an RCI Exchange (Sanbonani Resort & Hotel), and went into Kruger every day for a week. We planned ahead and had daily reservations to enter the park as well as our South Africa National Park passes. Later we flew to Zambia and stayed at the Royal Livingston and walked over to Victoria Falls. Awesome!!!
It was a great first trip. We were in full control of our trip, but probably missed out on viewing some wildlife because we did not use a professional guide.
On our trip to Kenya and Tanzania, we booked a complete photo safari which provided guides as well as managing the day to day issues such as park entrance fees, accommodations, meals, etc… We had to take care of our visas for Kenya and Tanzania. We did the visa online for Kenya from home but did the one for Tanzania at the border. We were not willing to send our passports to them in hopes of getting them back before our trip. Of course we saw more wildlife on this trip. The professional guides talk to each other on their radios and when one guide finds a lion kill or something like that, the word gets out and you can see land cruisers heading to the location from all directions. Soon there are 20 to 30 vehicles with eager photographers trying to get that once in a lifetime shot.
We found our trip on Viator since we did not know any guides in Kenya at the time. Now we have a local contact so we know who to contact for our next trip or for a trip for one of our friends.
Since returning from our trip to Kenya I wanted to gain more knowledge regarding planning trips for friends who would want to go to Kenya.
I completed the Kenya Authorized Travel Specialist (KATS) training as well as the other 4 modules in the Kenya Travel Specialist Series.
- Adventure Experiences in Kenya
- Sustainable Kenya
- Beyond Wilderness
- Safaris in Kenya
With that behind me, I am ready to help you plan a trip to Kenya or Tanzania. Most people want to go to Kenya to see the wildlife, but maybe you are a marathon runner and want to train or run with some of the best long distance runners in Kenya. Another option would be to do an eco-tour where you actually work at a local conservancy for a couple of weeks to learn more about African wildlife while you help local efforts to complete studies or conservation projects.
Let me know what you want to do and I will help you make your dreams come true. Keep in mind that you want to start planning about a year out to make sure that you can do what you want to do. Contact me if you would like me to send you an Africa Travel Planning Guide.
Finally, if you are wondering about the best time to travel to Africa for a Safari, I have created an info page just for you.