An African safari is a bucket-list experience, but with dozens of routes, multiple travel styles, and vast distances to cover, choosing the right itinerary can feel overwhelming. Let’s discuss the best African safari tours: where you can expect to go and what you can expect to see.
What Are the Best African Safaris?
Choosing the perfect safari itinerary depends on how much time you have and where you’d like to sleep (in a comfortable bed or under the African night sky). It also depends on your bucket-list and which specific wildlife and landscapes you are eager to see.
Zebras grazing in South Africa
What is the Difference Between Camping, Accommodated, and Small Group Safaris?
The first step is deciding how you want to experience the African bush. The travel style you choose will determine your comfort level, your daily rhythm, and the budget of your adventure.
Why Choose a Camping Overland Safari?
A camping overland safari promises an authentic, raw, and immersive wilderness experience. There is nothing quite like sitting around a crackling campfire in the middle of the Serengeti, listening to the distant roar of lions, and looking up at a pristine night sky. A camping overland safari is hands-on, adventurous, and deeply connected to nature. It is the most budget-friendly way to travel across Africa. You will also stay in high-quality dome tents that are spacious and have durable camping mattresses.
Elephants passing camping tents
What Can You Expect from an Accommodated Safari?
The thrill of an accommodated safari is guaranteed adventure with a good night sleep on a proper bed. It offers the perfect middle ground between the rugged, deep-bush exploration by day, and the comforts of a solid roof and en-suite facilities by night. An accommodated safari is relaxing, comfortable, and hassle-free. Your lodgings could be in the form of rustic chalets, permanent tented camps, and/or safari lodges.
Accommodated lodgings
What Makes Small Group Safaris Special?
If you prefer a smaller group size, between 12 to 16 people only, then the small group safaris are perfect. It offers more physical space in the overland vehicle, a more flexible daily pace, and more one-on-one time with your expert guide. You also get the opportunity to know your fellow travel companions more intimately, turning a group of strangers into a tight-knit time within days.
Small group tour
What Are the Most Popular Camping Safaris?
I have chosen three safari tours that are guaranteed to give you the ultimate, unfiltered taste of the African wilderness.
The 20-Day Cape Town to Victoria Falls Overland
This is the quintessential Southern African safari route. It is a legendary path that takes you from the cosmopolitan streets of Cape Town, through the dramatic desert landscapes of Namibia, across the wildlife-rich waters of Botswana, and finishes at the thundering smoke of Victoria Falls. This tour is best for first-time travellers to Africa who want to see a massive variety of landscapes in just under three weeks.
Top Wildlife Highlights: Tracking rhinos on foot in Etosha National Park and cruising past hundreds of elephants on the Chobe River.
Popular On Sale
Nature & Wildlife, Waterways & Wetlands, Wilderness Walks, Cultural Immersion, Big 5 Safari, Desert Adventurer
Botswana is a premium safari destination, but doing it as an overland camping trip keeps it accessible. This itinerary dives straight into the heart of the country’s unique water wilderness. It is an experience like no other; navigating the labyrinth of channels in the Okavango Delta in a traditional mokoro (dugout canoe) and wild camp under the stars.
The Logistics: It bypasses long transit days to focus intensely on pristine wildlife corridors.\
Okavango Delta
The 55-Day Cape Town to Nairobi Overland Epic Adventure
But wait, what if you want to see it all? This is the ultimate, bucket-list mega-safari. Over nearly two months, you will explore multiple countries, watching the terrain shift from the arid dunes of the Namib Desert to the lush, green savannas of East Africa. It is a life-changing journey designed for those taking a gap year, a career break, or enjoying an extended retirement.
What Are the Best Accommodated Safari Itineraries?
If you prefer a bed over a sleeping mat, then these tours deliver all the adventure with zero compromise on comfort.
Safari Tour Name
Duration
Best For
Cape Town to Victoria Falls
20 Days
Diverse desert & delta landscapes
Cape Town to Nairobi Comfort
42 Days
Full Southern & East Africa overview
Johannesburg to Nairobi (North)
29 Days
High-density wildlife & tropical beaches
The 20-Day Cape Town to Victoria Falls (Accommodated)
This is the exact same route as the camping version, the only difference being you spend every single night in a lodge or chalet. You get the red dunes of Sossusvlei and the wildlife of Etosha by day, and a hot shower and crisp linens by night.
The 42-Day Cape Town to Nairobi Adventure (Comfort)
This package offers six weeks of pure discovery. The tour links the distinct safari styles of East Africa and Southern Africa. Experience the classic, open-vehicle game drives of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, to the self-drive style national parks of the south.
The 29-Day Johannesburg to Nairobi Adventure (North- Comfort)
If you are short on time but really want to experience East Africa, then this is the tour for you. This one month itinerary cuts out the Western Cape and Namibia, taking you directly to South Africa’s safari hub up North through Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Tanzania. You get the perfect mix of coastal relaxation and dense wildlife, including a tropical stopover on the island of Zanzibar.
What Are the Top Small Group Accommodated Safaris?
These small group safaris are ideal if you want the exclusive, intimate feel without the price tag of a completely private luxury tour.
The Botswana Wilderness
With a smaller group, this two-week journey invites you into areas that large tour buses cannot go. You will explore the Moremi Game Reserve, the Khawi River area, and the ancient baobabs of the Makgadikgadi Park. The advantage of the tour is that smaller groups mean quieter vehicles; meaning a better, closer encounter with wildlife!
This isn’t your traditional bush safari; it’s a coastal marine safari. It is perfect if you want to combine tracking wildlife with world-class ocean experiences. Some highlights of the tour include snorkeling with whale sharks in Tofo, exploring the historic architecture of Ilha de Moçambique, and eating fresh peri-peri prawns right on the beach. If you need more reasons to visit Mozambique, take a moment to read this: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/mozambique
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Nature & Wildlife, Beach & Safari, Wilderness Walks, Big 5 Safari, Top Beaches, Dramatic Vistas
Uganda requires a small group footprint due to the sensitive nature of its primary attraction: mountain gorilla trekking. You will hike through the misty canopy of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to sit meters away from a wild gorilla family. This trip also includes chimpanzee tracking in Kibale and viewing unique tree-climbing lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Namibia is a land of vast distances and surreal, stark beauty. A small group setting allows for a more flexible itinerary as you climb the world’s highest sand dunes at Sossusvlei, explore the eerie shipwrecks of the Skeleton Coast, and search for desert-adapted elephants.
Desert Adventurer, Nature & Wildlife, Wilderness Walks, Cultural Immersion
When is the Best Time of Year to Go on an African Safari?
It depends on where in Africa you want to go, and which sights you’re eager to see. Generally, the dry months (May to October) are considered the absolute best time for wildlife viewing in both Southern and East Africa. Animals gather in massive numbers around permanent waterholes (because the water sources dry up), which makes them incredibly easy to spit. The landscape is sparse during this time, which means predators cannot hide as easily.
If the Great Migration is on your bucket-list, I would advise you to book between July and October in Kenya’s Masai Mara and Northern Tanzania.
To maximize your budget, the Cape Town to Victoria Falls overland routes are perfect for you. These regions have highly developed tourism infrastructures and excellent network roads, and so operational costs are lower, which means you save more. To slash your costs even further opt for a camping style safari; you can travel for a full three weeks for a fraction of the cost of the standard lodge stay.
Ready to Plan Your African Expedition?
My final piece of advice is to take the leap of faith. Don’t let the planning logistics hold you back from the trip of a lifetime. Whether you sleep under the African stars or unwind in a beautiful chalet, there is an overland tour with your name on it. So flip a coin, and let your safari adventure begin.
N.B: This blog was first written by Bronwyn Paxton on June 10, 2013. It was rewritten and republished by Faatima Suliman on May 22, 2026.
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