It’s been frustrating during these past few days, especially in the light of the Novel Coronavirus. Many travelers are the entire industry in general are facing the worst possible times. 

It is however, anticipated that when the curtains fall on this pandemic, the travel, tourism industry is set to boom. In particular, the eco-tourism industry is set to see a huge uptick in customers. 

The idea is that people have mostly stayed indoors and have very little to marvel in the way of natural wonders. The additional instances of nature taking over during the lockdown period is also piquing the interests of most adventure seekers. 

When we talk about eco-tourism, there’s one thing that quickly pops into one’s mind. Safaris!!

Regardless of where we hail from, we have all wanted to go for a thrilling wildlife Safari and among the top contenders – we must talk about the holy grail of all Safari Destinations – Africa. 

The end of coronavirus induced lockdowns are bound to increase the number of visits to Safari destinations like Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa and the main visiting countries are going to be from India, United States, United Kingdom, Australia and so on.

Given our understanding that the safari visits are likely to surge in these destinations, we have decided to share a list of things that one should be aware of before choosing a safari destination. 

• Check for the type of Safari

Safari packages to Africa can never be classified as a standard type, like most of the other products available in the market the prices of a Safari vary wildly. For instance, a budget safari to in Tanzania can cost as little as $900per person for 5-6 days. On the other hand, a luxury safari for the very same destinations can cost upto $2500 per person for the same duration. 

So choosing the right kind of Safari based on your requirements is absolutely paramount. Another great touch would be to mix it up a bit by combining aspects from both the safaris. 

• Check for the timing

Prices of Safaris can vary also depending on the season. Some safari packages have their prices jacked as they expect a huge influx of tourists during these times.  For example: There is a huge demand for Safaris to Kenya during the calving seasons of Wildebeasts

On the other hand, there is also a huge influx of tourists to Tanzania during the Wilderbeast migration seasons. 

So watch out for peak seasons and seasons that see an uptick in demand due to the occurrence of such events. 

• The tour/safari operator/company

Choosing a safari company is the most important aspect of planning the safari, after all the tour guides are going to be the ones who are going to spend most of the time with you and your family/friends and they are going to be responsible for a lot of the aspects of the adventure.

Depending on the destination we recommend the following Safari operators. 

• For Tanzania – We recommend safari packages from theafricanquest
• For Kenya – We recommend safari packages from safari-uganda
• For South Africa – We recommend tour itineraries from hluhluwegamereserve

Simply Googling your desired destination and choosing the top safari operators is probably not going to cut it, you must check user reviews and much more. 

1. Check for destinations covered:

Destinations in Africa are quite versatile and in most cases tourists are awestruck, simply because they did not expect to see something similar during an African Safari. 

Take the Samburu Game Reserve in Kenya for instance – It is quite different from the nearby Lake Nakuru. The experience at Ngorongoro in Tanzania is much different from the experience in Serengeti in Tanzania. 

Which is why, making sure that the destinations your safari covers are varied and encompass the entire essence of the travel in that country becomes extremely essential. 

• Check for the accommodation options.

Most of the safari operators restrict themselves to a given set of hotels – that they have an arrangement with. Before embarking on your safari, one should also do a thorough research of the places that will be covered in the region and the best hotels to stay within that region. If you find any hotel to be more lucrative than the others. You must ask your operator to arrange for that very same hotel – chances are that he will be able to arrange for the same quite easily. 

That’s all folks – I hope that this article does help you to choose your safari destinations with relative ease. Happy & Safe Travels 😊

Clare Louise