FIELD JOURNAL · 6 min read
How to plan a first safari
A first safari is easy to overspend on and easy to underplan. Four decisions carry most of the outcome.
Parks or conservancies
National reserves are cheaper to enter and busier at sightings. A good sighting in high season can attract a dozen vehicles.
Private conservancies cost more per night but cap vehicle numbers, and they allow night drives and walking safaris that reserves do not.
If your budget only stretches to one splurge, make it a conservancy night rather than a room upgrade.
How many nights, and where
Three nights in one camp beats one night in three. Each move costs you half a day in transfers and resets your guide's knowledge of where the animals are.
Two areas in a week is comfortable. Three is a logistics exercise rather than a holiday.
Shared or private vehicle
On a short trip, a good shared guide with five other travellers usually delivers more than a private vehicle with an average one.
Go private when you have specific photography needs, small children, mobility considerations, or a group of four or more where the cost per person evens out anyway.
Getting there
A bush flight instead of a seven-hour road transfer often costs less than the day it saves, and the road to the Mara is genuinely hard going.
Watch the luggage limit on light aircraft: usually 15kg in a soft bag. Your hotel in Nairobi will store the rest.
The mistakes we see most
Booking the cheapest camp in the busiest area, then wondering why every photograph has a vehicle in it.
Packing for a photo shoot rather than for cold mornings and dusty afternoons.
Planning a departure flight on the same day as the last game drive. Give yourself the Nairobi night.
Send us your dates and we will draft the version we would book for our own family.