Travel

Everything You Need to Know About Booking a Luxury Safari

From the best camps to travel advisors, our guide to luxury safaris covers it all. 

By 

Todd Plummer

 |  April 13, 2025

An African safari is one of the most exquisite travel experiences money can buy. The monthslong journeys of roughing it Hemingway-style are a thing of the past — these days, it’s all about the Michelin-worthy food and drink, James Bond-style helicopter transfers, and truly stunning accommodations. All that being said, it’s important to remember that the heart of an African safari remains simple: It’s the opportunity to commune with nature. And while there is certainly no shortage of options for a five- or six-figure luxury safari, the best ones will keep natural scenery and authentic experiences at their core. 

The safari industry itself has grown exponentially over the past 20 years, adding new infrastructure across the continent and opening up regions that were previously all but inaccessible except to those Hemingway types. Still, selecting the right tour operator, destination, camps, and time of year for your trip can seem like an unsolvable puzzle. But don’t give up hope — here, we break down all the essentials about booking a luxury safari. 

In This Article

• Tour Operators vs. Booking Directly
• The Best Safari Companies
• The Best Countries for Safari
• The Best Time of Year for Safari
• How Much Does Safari Cost?

A Guide to Booking a Luxury Safari

Tour Operators vs. Booking Directly

One of the most significant aspects of safari travel is the distinction between booking it through a tour operator and booking it directly with a safari company. 

Many safari camps across Africa are owned outright by safari companies. Think of those as being vertically integrated — they own and operate the camps, and they employ guides who specialize in highly specific regions. When you book via a safari company such as Wilderness or Singita (more on that below), you are booking directly with the company you will be visiting. 

On the other hand, there are tour operators who curate and sell itineraries across broader regions and sometimes multiple countries. In the luxury safari realm, this can sometimes mean that you will have a single guide with you for the duration of your safari who will come to know your personal preferences and build a rapport with you throughout your trip. Conversely, this means that your guide may not have the site-specific granular knowledge of guides who work out of a single safari camp — and knowing a particular piece of land down to individual bends in a river might mean the difference between an unforgettable wildlife sighting and not. 

To complicate matters further, some of the larger safari companies (again, like Wilderness) have in-house travel advisors and can handle all of your transfers and logistics for you. They will even, upon request, book nights at the competition if you’re keen on seeing specific camps. 

The Verdict 

There are pros and cons to either approach. If you’re booking your first safari, it makes more sense to use a tour operator that can handle all the logistics (camp-to-camp transfers in the bush can get extremely complicated). Booking through a tour operator also means simplified payments; you’ll pay one entity instead of multiple safari companies, airlines, transfer companies, and so forth. 

There are many excellent tour operators and travel advisors who specialize in Africa. For luxurious, highly curated experiences, we recommend Micato Safaris, Rothschild Safaris, Journeysmiths, Extraordinary Journeys, and Alluring Africa. 

The Best Safari Companies

There are about as many safari companies in Africa as there are lions. Here is a very, very abbreviated introduction to the best luxury safari companies in Africa. Some overlap within the same destinations, and others are among the only camps in their remote locations. Some offer standard-setting luxury experiences, while others have a more low-key vibe. Either way, you can’t go wrong with any of the following. 

Wilderness

With more than 60 camps spread across eight African countries, no company has as wide a footprint as Wilderness — and few can compete with its commitment to sustainable travel, either. Its camps include some of the most beautifully designed ones in all of Africa, including the breathtaking Jao in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. While Wilderness offers a seamless travel experience wherever they operate, they have the highest number of camps — and deepest roots — in Botswana. If you’re looking to experience the magic of the Okavango Delta, there is no better choice than Wilderness. 

Singita

Perhaps, Singita is the most unabashedly luxurious safari company of them all. Just look at Singita Sasakwa lodge in Tanzania: This hilltop Edwardian manor house–style lodge has private heated pools, tennis courts, a cinema room, a gym, and a spa with a steam room. 

AndBeyond

What sets AndBeyond apart isn’t just its luxurious camps and stunning locations — it’s its heart. AndBeyond seeks to create a real difference through its camps by involving communities in its operations and minimizing environmental impact wherever possible. This is a company to keep an eye on: It has already started increasing its operations beyond Africa, including the recent addition of an expedition cruise in the Peruvian Amazon.

Natural Selection

This relative newcomer to the safari scene has made waves for its beautiful lodges and community engagement. Its stunning Tawana camp features a walk-in wine cellar, a spa, a 16-meter lap pool, a wood-fired pizza oven, and a historic location in the famed Moremi Game Reserve, an area known for exceptional game viewing, including leopard and the exceedingly rare African wild dog. While it has a significant footprint in Botswana, as well as Namibia and coastal South Africa, Natural Selection is perhaps best known for two of its properties on the expansive, lunar-feeling Makgadikgadi salt pans in Botswana: the decadent Jack’s Camp, a lavish camp with truly enormous tents, decorated in early-20th-century “campaign style,” and the neighboring San Camp, an all-white oasis where Taylor Swift filmed the music video for “Wildest Dreams.”

The Bushcamp Company

If you’re looking for glitzy luxury and over-the-top accommodations with all the modern comforts of home, look elsewhere. But what the Bushcamp Company does is special and luxurious in a different way. This smaller-scale operator is a pioneer of walking safaris in Zambia’s untamed South Luangwa National Park. Here, it’s possible to set up a circuit of a walking safari so you can travel from camp to camp on foot, or you can travel by game-drive vehicle. The scenery feels more untamed, the sightings more dramatic, and there’s a real sense that you’re experiencing something that no one else has experienced, which, in safari world, is the ultimate luxury. Don’t miss its signature experience, a sunset cocktail hour held in the middle of the ankle-deep Kapamba River.

Royal Portfolio

This one is not an outright safari company, per se. Still, it is the owner-operator of a collection of South Africa’s most distinguished hotels, all of which can be combined into a single trip for a breathtaking overview of this country. 

On Cape Town’s waterfront, Royal Portfolio’s Silo Hotel is an architectural marvel housed over the legendary Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa. Just east of Cape Town in the beach town of Hermanus is the oceanfront Birkenhead House, and just north of Cape Town in Franschhoek is the exquisite winelands retreat La Residence. That brings us to the safari connection: the Royal Malewane, located near Kruger National Park. Decorated by Liz Biden (who cofounded and co-owns Royal Portfolio with her husband, Phil Biden), this heavenly luxury safari camp is a design lover’s dream, outfitted with gorgeous fabrics, comfortable furniture, and African art. Some room categories even feature freestanding outdoor claw-foot tubs. In aone word: dreamy. 

Belmond

Again, this one is not exactly a pure safari company, but it is worth mentioning. LVMH officially got into the safari business in 2019 when it acquired Belmond, an operator of luxury hotels, trains, and restaurants worldwide. As part of that portfolio, it now owns two luxury camps in Botswana: Eagle Island Lodge in the Okavango Delta and Savute Elephant Lodge in nearby Chobe National Park. 

The Best Countries for Safari

South Africa

You’ll find the quintessential safari experience at Kruger National Park in northern South Africa — recommended if it’s your first time in Africa. Here, you’re almost guaranteed to see the “Big Five,” or ideal game sightings: lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and African buffalo. What distinguishes South Africa, however, is that its flight connectivity and diverse offerings mean you can pack a lot into a first African trip: The typical circuit most visitors do is a few days soaking in the art, history, and natural beauty of Cape Town. Then, they experience world-class viticulture in the nearby winelands and, afterward, a few days in the bush on safari. 

South Africa is the perfect blend of wilderness and comfort, and its abundance of malaria-free regions makes it family-friendly, too. While South Africa definitely has the most infrastructure of any safari country (flight accessibility, hospitals in case of emergency, and good roads), it can get a little busy with its higher density of other safari goers in the parks.

Tanzania

The scale and power of Africa’s nature are on full display here in Tanzania, perhaps the best place to witness the Great Migration. It’s the quantities of wildlife that help Tanzania stand apart; you can see thousands and thousands of wildebeests and zebras thunder across the plains in a moving spectacle. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is home to an ancient crater that serves as a sort of self-contained Eden, and the mind-bendingly vast Serengeti National Park is one of the most iconic landscapes in all of Africa.   

Kenya

Kenya’s Masai Mara and Tanzania’s Serengeti are very similar landscapes, separated only by the two countries’ shared border. The safari experiences in these two areas are relatively alike. Venture further into Kenya, however, and you’ll notice a key difference: Whereas most of Tanzania’s safari industry centers around nationally protected lands, much of the safari industry in Kenya occurs on privately owned concessions. What does that mean for guests? Tanzanian safaris typically have stricter rules about where game-drive vehicles can go, and being on private land in Kenya means there is more leeway in terms of driving off-road, driving at night, and so forth. However, both countries offer a typical East African safari experience.

Rwanda

This small country has made waves in the luxury safari world in recent years for its boom in gorilla tourism. If you’re looking for a unique experience of hiking through the Virunga Massif in search of endangered mountain gorillas, then a trip to Volcanoes National Park is essential — and there are camps by Wilderness, One&Only, and Singita nearby.  

Botswana

There is no other country like Botswana. Topographically, it is one of the flatter countries in the world, and each year, its Okavango Delta (a Unesco World Heritage Site) floods with rainwater from the Angola Highlands. This creates a spectacular flooded landscape that is never the same from season to season. Botswana is home to some of the finest luxury safari camps in all of Africa, and it’s also a fantastic place for experiential safaris — like riding along the delta’s waters in a hand-carved mokoro, or taking an ATV ride across the lunar Makgadikgadi Pan. There is generally a lower volume and higher value of tourism here, so you’re less likely to encounter crowds on your game drives. However, the overall cost of your experience will be higher than in other countries.  

Zambia

So, you’ve gone on a safari or two to South Africa or Botswana, and you’re looking to take the next step with something truly wild. Consider Zambia. With direct flights to Lusaka on Emirates and Qatar Airways, this landlocked country is more accessible than ever. South Luangwa National Park is a highlight; there are relatively few visitors here, and you can embark on truly incredible walking safaris that bring you up close and personal with wildlife. 

The Best Time of Year for Safari

There are seasons to everything in travel, but when considering the best time of year to go on a safari, the short answer is: There is no bad time. Of course, different times of year generally offer different perks. 

Dry Season

Dry season is typically from June through October. Many regard this time as peak game-viewing season. Much of the natural vegetation has shriveled up for the season, and a scarcity of water forces animals to gather around watering holes. This is also when prices and occupancy spike in the best camps.  

Green Season

Wet season has been smartly rebranded as “green season,” and fittingly so: This time of year, the vegetation is at its most lush. With a few regional variations, green season is typically from November to April across southern and East Africa. When bush vegetation fills in, it can be slightly more difficult to spot wildlife from a distance. That being said, there are several advantages to traveling during green season. 

Photographers tend to prefer the colors and textures of green season over the arid, dusty conditions of dry season. November to December is the birthing season for many species, presenting the opportunity for mother-young sightings in the bush. Overnight rates are generally much lower than in high season, which is more of a reflection on the amount of demand in the market and not necessarily the quality of the overall experience. As any safari insider would confirm: Green season is still a great time of year to travel within Africa, and there is really no such thing as a “bad time of year” for safari. 

The Great Migration

A quintessential highlight of East African safaris, this is nature’s most epic road trip — a cyclical, never-ending journey of over two million wildebeests, zebras, and gazelle as they move in a roughly clockwise loop between Tanzania’s Serengeti and Kenya’s Masai Mara. Traditionally, the best time of year for the most epic viewings — specifically, of herds crossing the Mara River in Kenya — is mid-July to mid-September. That’s peak season for the permanent camps in that region. 

And now, let’s introduce yet another nuance of safari travel: East Africa is known for its “mobile camps,” which are designed to be completely broken down, relocated, and rebuilt. Mobile camps are especially practical along the Great Migration’s pathways, allowing safari companies to tweak their locations to optimize viewing, as the exact route of the Great Migration varies slightly year to year — over this hillside instead of that one, crossing a river here instead of there, and so forth. 

Mobile camps don’t typically have all the bells and whistles of fixed camps (no tennis courts here), but the safari companies have done an excellent job at upping the comfort factor. Wilderness Usawa, for instance, re-creates the aesthetic of many fixed Wilderness camps and has creature comforts like Wi-Fi, heated showers, and flushing toilets. And because Usawa can relocate season to season, you’re getting as close to the action as possible at any time of year. 

How Much Does Safari Cost?

Entry-level safaris start at under $500 per person, per night, but include very little. Luxury safaris are typically all-inclusive of accommodations, food, and most beverages, guide fees, and some land transfers. Entry-level luxury camps start around $800-$1,000 per person, per night, with most luxury camps’ rates hovering around $2,000 per person, per night. The highest-end luxury camps — with excellent food and drink, the most customized itineraries, in the most exclusive locations — can soar well past $3,000 per person, per night. Remember that seasonality can cause those rates to skyrocket, especially during the peak tourism season, coinciding with the United States’ summer vacation months. At Mombo Camp, a flagship luxury property by Wilderness in Botswana, for instance, the 2025 offseason rates January to March are $2,805 per person, per night — but between June and October, and again during the December festive period, that rate swells to $4,896. 

Other Costs 

Beyond the rack rates for safari camps, you’ll also want to consider the incidental costs, such as plane transfers into the bush, as well as any special permits required. If you’re gorilla trekking in Rwanda, for instance, a daily permit from Volcanoes National Park will set you back $1,500. There is also a significant culture of tipping in the safari world: Expect to tip a few dollars to every transfer driver and luggage handler on the ground, at least $20 per person per day to your guide, an additional $10 per person per day if your guide travels with a tracker (a sort of assistant who helps spot wildlife in the bush), and about $20 per person per day for the camp staff.

The costs are significant, and there is a lot of planning involved. But can you really put a price on the bragging rights you’ll bring home after a luxury African safari? Turns out, you can. 

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