These six tips for taking kids on an African safari aim to stave off boredom, keep your kids safe, and ensure both young and old have a great time!
Teenagers are generally able to enjoy a safari in the same way as any adult. But if your children are small – especially those below, say, six years old – then I advise you to read through the tips shared below in order to keep them safe, keep them engaged, and ensure everyone has a safari that’s memorable for all the right reasons.
1. Choose destinations offering more than just game drives
Boat safaris are a wonderfully different way to experience Africa’s wild spaces
Game drives, while often thrilling, mean sitting in a vehicle for long periods. You know your kids – will they be okay with this? And would they enjoy a succession of days in the car?
Some destinations and parks offer safari activities that go beyond game drives, but not all. So research the individual reserves you intend to visit to ensure there’s plenty to do in addition to safari drives.
Here are some other safari activities you could look for to add variety to the itinerary and so keep your kiddos engaged:
Boat or canoe safaris
Sunset cruises
Bush walks (walking safaris)
Hot air balloon rides
Horse riding safaris
Mountain biking safaris
Wildlife sanctuary visits*
* Wildlife sanctuaries include smaller reserves that focus on the conservation of a particular species, rescue centres nursing sick or orphaned animals, and more besides. Visiting a sanctuary can mean closer encounters with wildlife, educational tours, and more. All of which adds some nice variety to the holiday.
2. Have a multipronged strategy for safari drives
Consider how long your kids will be happy to stay inside a vehicle so you don’t venture too far into the bush
Game drives are usually the backbone of any safari, so another tip for taking kids on a safari in Africa is to have a strategy for keeping them engaged during those drives.
Depending on your children’s age and preferences, I suggest bringing some or all of the following items for them:
A small pair of binoculars for each child, which will also encourage birdspotting
A small camera or a smartphone so they can take their own pictures
A booklet or printout with birds and animals to look for – you could approach it as a checklist or turn it into a game of bingo if everyone has different animals listed
Toys, car games, novels, colouring-in books, or earphones and some music or an audiobook
Younger kids generally don’t enjoy long commutes. And parents don’t enjoy listening to said kids whining about the journey. So for both of your sakes, consider a safari destination that doesn’t require connecting flights or doesn’t require long commutes from the airport or between different parks.
An excellent option is Kenya, for instance. Nairobi National Park – where you can find lots of iconic wildlife like zebras, giraffes, and rhinos – literally shares a fence with one of East Africa’s busiest international airports. Then, from there, it takes just a little over four hours to reach Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya’s flagship game park. Part of the Serengeti system, the Masai Mara is one of the best game parks in all Africa, and you can explore it for days without seeing it all. What’s more, it hosts the Great Wildebeest Migration between July and October!
4. Choose parks with an abundance and diversity of wildlife
Ngorongoro Crater is one of your best bets for seeing lions in Africa
Some reserves are known for their great density of wildlife, which makes animal-spotting relatively easy and frequent. Others are known for their great diversity of wildlife, which means the chance to spot many different species. A few special destinations excel in both boasts!
For instance, Chobe National Park in northern Botswana has the largest concentration of elephants in Africa, and thanks to its river attracts countless terrestrial and water-loving animals and birds.
I must also mention Ngorongoro Crater and the nearby Serengeti in northern Tanzania. The Serengeti is renowned for its biodiversity as well as its sheer abundance of wildlife. And then Ngorongoro Crater is one of the top spots on the continent for wildlife density, particularly in terms of lions.
Linked to this, consider doing your safari in winter, as wild animals are easier to see at this time thanks to the thinner vegetation. Many of the animals are also forced to congregate around dwindling water sources, so it’s easier to find them, and you’re often treated to spectacular multispecies tableaus.
5. Choose a malaria-free destination if your kids are small
Addo Elephant National Park in southern South Africa is completely malaria-free
The main disease of concern when taking kids on safari in Africa is malaria. The majority of the continent’s top safari destinations carry a (seasonal) risk of malaria. That said, there are many great safari regions with no malaria, as well as those with a very low risk in winter (when the mosquitoes effectively go dormant).
The issue with taking very small kids into a malaria zone is threefold:
It’s harder to protect them from mosquito bites
Malaria is more severe in small children given their weaker immunity
Anti-malaria medication carries more risks for small children
The good news is that Southern Africa in particular has many wonderful malaria-free safari destinations. Almost all of South Africa is malaria-free, in fact; only the northeastern region has it. Southern Botswana and southern and coastal Namibia are also malaria-free.
For a fuller discussion on the topic of malaria, please read The best malaria-free safari destinations in Africa. And while we’re on the topic of diseases, please note that Kenya carries a risk of yellow fever. So you’ll all need to be vaccinated against this disease if you want to go there.
6. Choose kid-friendly accommodations
Etosha Village is a stone’s throw from Etosha National Park, Namibia’s flagship wildlife reserve
There are many safari accommodations that have been designed specifically with children in mind. Such lodges are enclosed, for starters, if inside a park, so it’s safe for children to walk around.
Child-friendly lodges are also full of spaces for energetic release. These might include a jungle gym, mini golf course, kids swimming pool, games room, or table tennis.
Generally speaking, it’s the larger national parks that have accommodations catering specifically for families with children. They’re also more likely to have restaurants serving international cuisine that fussy eaters will recognise and enjoy.
So there you have it. Six tips for taking kids on an African safari that should prime you to plan and enjoy a wonderful adventure as a family!
Note: This blog post was created by Sarah Duff in June 2016. It was completely rewritten by Megan Abigail White in June 2026.
Let’s discuss the main differences between East African and Southern African safaris to help you choose the right destination for you Both East Africa and Southern Africa offer varied and thrilling African safari experiences. You can find a wonderful variety…
Who is suited to an African overland tour and how do you find the right one for you? An African overland tour is a wild and immersive trip that’s often life-changing and life-affirming. But it’s not for absolutely everyone. Then…
An African overlanding safari can be about so much more than just game drives Africa is a fantastic destination for outdoor activities. There’s lots of sun, clear skies, warm waters, mountains, lakes, endemic animals, wild rivers, sand dunes, coral reefs,…
An African safari is, overall, a very safe sort of trip There’s no reason to be unduly worried about your safety when going on a safari in Africa. Most such trips go off without a hitch. That said, travel is…
Here are five things to know before your African safari From showing caution with respect to the wildlife, which includes mosquitoes, to managing your expectations on what you’ll find, here are five things I believe it’s useful to know or…
