“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.
East Africa vs Southern Africa: Which African Adventure Is Right for You?
First, What Does “Overland” Actually Mean?
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.
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What Private and Tailored Actually Means
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.
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Day by Day: What the Two Trips Actually Looked Like
Numbers are easier to compare side by side than in paragraphs, so here’s how Colleen’s two tours broke down structurally.
| 20-Day Overland: Victoria Falls to Cape Town | 13-Day Private: Best of East Africa |
| Days on the move vs. settled | Long driving days between stops are built into the route; several 1-night stands | Longer stays per stop (2 nights in Amboseli, 2 in Serengeti), fewer relocations |
| Nights under canvas / in a lodge | 15 nights serviced camping, 3 nights hotel/guesthouse | 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.
Ready to compare your own options?
Explore the 20-Day Victoria Falls to Cape Town Adventure to see the overland style in full, or browse our Private Safari collection and get in touch with our team to start building a tailored itinerary around your own group, budget and pace.
