“East Africa or Southern Africa” is one question. “Group overland truck or private 4×4” is a completely different one, and it’s the one I get asked about most often once someone’s already picked a region.
I recently sat down with travel writer Colleen Sims, who’s done both: a 20-day overland camping tour from Victoria Falls to Cape Town, and a 13-day private safari through Kenya and Tanzania. I have already written how her two trips compare region to region (worth a read if you’re still deciding between East and Southern Africa). This post is narrower on purpose. It’s not about where to go. It’s about how you want to get there, and what that actually costs, looks like day to day, and means for your trip.
An overland tour puts you on a purpose-built truck with a small group, typically 4 to 16 travellers, following a fixed route and a fixed schedule. On Colleen’s 20-day Victoria Falls to Cape Town trip, that meant roughly 6,500km through four countries, with a crew of two or three handling every logistics headache: pitching and striking tents, cooking dinner over a campfire, loading the truck, sourcing food along the way.
It is not a bare-bones backpacking trip. Colleen’s tour included a camp bed, mattress, sleeping bag and folding chair as standard, so nobody’s sleeping on the ground. Meals were a genuine highlight, a continental breakfast each morning, hot campfire dinners most nights, and along the way, supermarket stops she describes as surprisingly well-stocked, right down to a hot-food counter and a dedicated gluten-free section that let her manage her coeliac diet without stress.
The one thing worth knowing going in: you don’t choose your group. Colleen’s tour was a mix of English and Italian speakers, which meant two distinct social clusters rather than one blended group. It didn’t ruin the trip, she’s still in touch with people from it years later, but it’s a genuine trade-off of group travel, not a guarantee of one big happy crew.
A private safari flips almost every one of those variables. You get your own vehicle, Colleen’s was a 4×4 Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof, your own driver-guide, and an itinerary built around your preferences rather than a fixed departure calendar. She travelled with four friends, filling five of the vehicle’s six or seven seats, and stayed in full-board lodges and tented camps rather than a shared campsite.
The clearest example of why the driver matters just as much as the vehicle came from Colleen herself. Around the same time as her first overland trip, some friends self-drove a very similar Southern African route. When they compared notes afterwards, the difference was clear: her friends saw far less wildlife, missed out on the same access and timing, and, by their own account, felt disappointed despite spending plenty on the trip.
Colleen’s take was blunt: it was a false economy. A good guide doesn’t simply add value to the vehicle; they transform the entire game-drive experience. Guides stay in radio contact with each other across the park, know where a pride moved overnight, and use that knowledge to put you in the right place at the right time. A self-drive simply can’t replicate that experience, whether you travel privately or on an overland tour.
That’s the case for booking any guided private safari over going it alone. Whether you then choose group overland or private-guided lodge travel is the next decision, and that’s what the rest of this post is about.
13 nights full-board lodges and tented camps throughout
Meals included
Breakfast daily, most dinners; lunches mostly self-funded at supermarket stops
Full board — breakfast, lunch and dinner every day
Border crossings
Multiple (Zimbabwe–Botswana–Namibia–South Africa), guide-managed, generally smooth
Two (Kenya–Tanzania), a little more informal — expect small cash tips for porters at land crossings
Vehicle changes
None — same truck for the full 20 days
Vehicle and driver change at the Kenya–Tanzania border
Daily rhythm
Set departure times, shared with the group
Flexible — stop for a bathroom break, linger at a sighting, or ask to wait out a lazy cheetah
Optional activities
White-water rafting, scenic flights, park entrance extras — priced and booked along the way
Balloon safari (~US$450–500), cultural village visits (~US$30) — priced and offered per stop
The overland trip focuses on covering ground, taking you through four countries and roughly 6,500 km in 20 days. A private safari takes a slower approach, covering fewer countries and less distance so you can spend more time exploring and settling into a smaller number of richer destinations.
Watch the Full Interview with Colleen
What It Actually Costs: Private Safari vs Overland Tour Cost
Overland Tour Costs
This is the part people ask about but rarely get a straight answer on, so here’s the honest version.
The pricing of overland tours makes it easier and more cost-effective for travelling across long distances. You’re sharing the truck, the crew, and the fuel costs with up to 15-20 other travellers, which is what keeps the per-person price down relative to the ground covered. African Overland Tours usually have 3 main comfort levels. These include basic, classic and premier. Overlanding doesn’t have a fixed price point, but various styles catered to your comfort and needs. It genuinely is not the budget-backpacker experience some people assume. A fully serviced overland tour means a paid crew cooks, cleans, and sets up camp for you every single day.
Things you can budget for are flights, visas, travel insurance, drinks, optional activities, some meals in cities, and gratuities. These are not included in standard overland tours. Always ask your consultant for the specific inclusions/exclusions list on the tour you’re looking at; it varies by comfort tier.
Private Tour Costs
Private safaris cost more per day, and the reason is structural, not just “luxury markup”: you’re not splitting the vehicle, guide, fuel or park fees across 16 people, you’re splitting them across your own group of two to seven. Full-board lodge accommodation also costs more per night than serviced camping by default. What you’re buying with that premium is control over the itinerary, the group you travel with, and the pace of every single day.
The honest comparison isn’t “overland is cheap, private is expensive.” It’s: overland spreads a fixed cost across more people to make covering vast distances affordable; private safaris concentrate the cost on a small group in exchange for total control. Ask your consultant for a live quote on your dates and group size, comfort tier, season and group size move both numbers more than the trip style does.
A Quick Self-Check: Which One Fits You?
Before you book, it’s worth being honest with yourself on a few practical points, the same points Colleen said made the real difference for her, not glossy brochure photos.
Do you want to meet new people, or travel with the people you already know? Overland if new friendships are part of the appeal. Private if you’re bringing your own group or want a couple’s or family-only trip.
Does getting up and down off the ground bother you at night? Camp beds on overland tours solve most of this, but if an en-suite bathroom a few steps from your bed is non-negotiable, say so, private lodges deliver that as standard.
Do you want the flexibility to change your day on a whim? That’s a private-safari strength. On an overland truck, the group itinerary is shared and fixed.
Are you covering a lot of ground and multiple countries, or want to go deep on fewer places? Overland is built for distance. Private is built for depth.
What’s your budget ceiling, and what matters more inside it, seeing the most, or the most control? Be specific with your consultant about this; it’s the single fastest way to get matched to the right tour, not just the right region.
Do you have dietary requirements or mobility needs? Both styles can accommodate coeliac, vegetarian and other needs well, as Colleen’s own experience shows, but flag it before you book so the crew or lodges can prepare properly.
There’s no wrong answer here. Colleen’s own conclusion, after doing both, was that she wouldn’t choose one over the other, they simply serve different trips.
Yes, on both tour styles. Let your consultant know in advance so kitchens and lodges can prepare for it, coeliac and vegetarian travellers have been catered for comfortably on both camping and lodge-based tours.
No. Overland groups typically range from travellers in their 20s through to their 70s, and camp beds mean you're not sleeping on the ground. That said, it's worth discussing your comfort needs honestly with your consultant before booking, since nightly bathroom access is a tented (not en-suite) setup.
Yes. Fully serviced camping tours include a camp bed, mattress, sleeping bag and folding chair, insect-proof tents, and a crew that handles setup, cooking and pack-down. Most campsites have hot showers and flush toilets, though a few remote stops (like Spitzkoppe) use long-drop facilities.
An overland tour is small-group travel (typically 4–16 people) in a shared truck with fully serviced camping, following a fixed group itinerary. A private safari uses your own 4x4 vehicle and guide, follows a tailored itinerary built around your preferences, and stays in lodges rather than tents.
Private tailored safaris generally cost more per day because you're not sharing vehicle and guide costs across a large group, and lodges cost more than serviced camping. Overland tours are built to be a more affordable way to cover long distances and multiple countries.
Very likely. Group sizes of 4–16 travellers, shared meals around a campfire, and long days on the road tend to build genuine friendships — travellers often stay in touch with each other, and their guides, long after the tour ends.
Hi Minette,
We had a fantastic time on the Ivory Trail. Our guides, Faria and Duncan, were fantastic and looked after us really well. There are so many great memories of the trip and we have started to sort out the thousands of photographs that we took.
Other highlights include an encounter with White Rhinos; a dazzle of zebras; an elephant drinking from our swimming pool! sixty plus elephants at a waterhole; and many more....If we have one criticism of the tour, it was the terrible state of the roads in Zimbabwe = something we were not aware of before departure. Our journey from Hwange to Bulawayo took over eight hours (of very uncomfortable bumpy roads), averaging about 30km/h.
(described in Itinerary as 'rolling tarmac roads')
Best Wishes,
Carol and Paul
Hi Reshma
Yes I am home from my amazing adventure!
I'll be honest....the trip wasn't really quite what I expected....but I'm going to say it was actually more and better than I expected! And the gap between my expectations and the reality was mostly down to me reading....but not necessarily quite taking in the details of the itinerary....not your fault or Intrepids!
By 'safari trip' I was expecting wall to wall wild life surrounding me....but I now realise, of a trip titled 'Botswana Highlights', that was an unrealistic expectation! There was a lot of driving...all listed in the itinerary...but I was envisaging driving thru land populated by wild life...this was not the case...it was mostly along quite badly potholed roads with the occasional sighting of elephants or baboons and a couple of giraffes!
So that all sounds a bit negative...but...
Just driving along the roads was a fascinating experience...seeing the villages and markets along the road, the people along the way.
The few sightings of wild life were very exciting.
The accommodation was excellent...the 'tents' at Elephant sands and the Okavango delta...the hotels at Victoria Falls, Maun and Caprivi
Every interaction with the people of Zimbabe, Botswana and Namibia was a pleasure
The border crossings were fascinating!
The Okavango delta...not my idea of safari...but stunning...what a blissful place to have experienced
Chobe...finally teaming with wild life...and 9 days of wild life would I think have been too much....and I experienced so much more than 'just wild life'
On the 'took my breath away', 'will hold onto forever' moments...too many!!!!
Adventuring on my first night on foot into Zambia to get my first peek at Victoria Falls.
Sunrises and sunsets with the silhouette of the African landscape and its wildlife
hippos yawning
Solo walk at Okavango and coming across zebras grazing
Giraffes!!!!!
Mesmeric canoe ride on Okavango delta.
Elephants in a row
I have fallen a little bit in love with the continent of Africa as I have experienced it so far....and now that I understand about National Parks I shall start saving for my next trip! I have AI d a rough price guide for 2/3 nights in each of Masai Mara, Serengeti, Moremi and Etosha...accommodation and food, an early morning drive and late PM/early evening drive in each park, air transport between them and transfers from airports to the parks...coming in at between $10 to $16,000...defo needs to be saved up for...perhaps a treat to myself for my 70th birthday...and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for finding a trip that was affordable...gave me an intro to the safari experience...and so much more!
Kindest regards and thanks
Carol
Hello good to hear from you Tammy. We had a wonderful trip with fullness of lifetime memories. Personally I like this itinerary because it’s a good mix of nature, animal world and cultural highlights. The two guides were professional and enthusiastic all the time. We had returned home safe and happy. Thank you again for your support throughout the process.
Best wishes.
Ke
Hi Tammy
So nice of you to think about us.
We had a fantastic time, saw so much wildlife and we loved the camping. Kwai was our favourite spot although loved Guma lagoon too and Botswana in general. I can’t imagine seeing animals in the wild would ever get old. The guides were great, and travelling was comfortable and easy. Hippos grazing outside our room in Vic falls. Crazy!
We had 5 days in Capetown in seapoint and hired a car for 2 so went down to Hermanus and the cape. Did a wine tour, table mountain, and enjoyed hanging out along the waterfront.
We both came back determined to go back to Africa and I would go with drifters on another tour
Thanks again for helping us out and if we know of anyone looking to head that way, okay if I pass on your details?
All the best
Arlene
Hi Minette
I had an amazing time!!! Our Drifters guides, Francis and Wycliffe, we're absolutely INCREDIBLE. They welcomed us like family!
My highlights were Ngorongoro and visiting the Masai village. Something I never thought I would ever experience!
I would like to return to the Mara in a few years during peak migration, as I didn't feel that I scratched the "mass migration" itch, but still saw incredibly animals, including my first ever leopards, cheetahs, marabou storks, and mongooses (mongeese?!).
I think it would be useful to update the info packet to make it really clear that plastic water bottles are not allowed in Longonot NP. Guests should be advised to bring adequate reusable bottles to last the hike up the mountain. We were woefully ill-prepared, with plastic bottles which weren't allowed, and it could have been quite dangerous as it was very hot.
Also, I have fed back to Drifters to ask Elsamere not to ask guests to sit through a 45 minute documentary after our guided tour. It made for a very long afternoon and left little to no time for afternoon high tea and exploring the grounds (I left very frustrated, as I was really looking forward to seeing Elsamere!).
One more thing - one hotel upgrade in Tanzania didn't accept my year 2013 USD notes. Might want to warn travellers about this as I know it was an earlier year listed in the info guide.
I made friends with a couple of German girls on the tour, and were all planning on visiting Namibia and Botswana in 2028. I'll let you know when the time comes to book! We're hoping we can specially request Francis and Wycliffe again!
Cheers
Bec
