Whether you want to travel from the Cape to Cairo, or enjoy a classic luxury safari holiday in east Africa, safari holidays give you an unparalleled opportunity to see African wildlife in its natural habitat. Here are a selection of safari holiday ideas for the best wildlife experience in Africa:

Do-it-yourself Namibia safari holiday

It takes at least three days to explore the main sights of the vast Etosha national park in Namibia. Over 22,000 square kilometres of game reserve is home to 114 mammal species, 340 bird species, 110 reptile species and 16 amphibian species.

There are three well-equipped campsites scattered through the park, each offering safe night game viewing at floodlit waterholes.

A matter of minutes from your tent you can watch black rhino, lions, hyenas and the striking Oryx (gemsbok) coming down to drink at night. If you stay awake long enough you may even spot a leopard.

Driving around the park on the network of roads, it is possible to see lions incredibly close up, as well as hordes of animals drinking at the many waterholes, all set in magnificent African scenery.

The Namutoni, Halali and Okaukuejo rest camps all have tourist facilities including a restaurant, a basic shop, a car garage and a swimming pool.

Walking safari holiday

If you’ve had enough of being driven about in 4X4s, get closer to nature in Africa on a walking safari holiday.

In the Namib Naukluft national park there are a number of rewarding hiking trails through the ochre-walled canyons, which are guarded by cautious troops of baboons and studded with the ubiquitous Namibian Quiver tree.

This is one of the biggest national parks in Africa and includes the enormous Namib Desert and the Naukluft Mountains. It is home to many rare plant and animal species.

Another walking safari option is in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. Join a group of dugout canoes being poled through the waterways to a remote campsite and walk with your local guide to see stunning birdlife and more…

Also consider a walking safari in Zambia. In South Luangwa National Park, where walking safaris were pioneered, you can walk from camp to camp, arriving to find your bags in your tent and a cold gin-and-tonic waiting.

Affordable South Africa safari holiday

Kruger National Park is one of the most famous wildlife experiences in the world but a safari there is a pricey affair.

Pilanesberg National Park is set amid a beautiful group of ancient volcanic ripples in the earth forming 4 concentric circles of hills. For an affordable family safari holiday within a few hours drive of Johannesburg, Pilanesberg is difficult to beat.

This is a great place to see white rhino, as well as the “big five”. Huge solitary bull elephants stride across the landscape, many of them resettled here from Kruger.

Guided game drives are available at dawn and dusk, as well as night drives. It is also quite easy to drive your own vehicle – exploring at your own pace, enjoy the scenery and observing the animals.

The comfortable campsite is also full of wildlife – troops of baboons mounts scavenging raids on the rubbish bins and hornbills check their appearance in car wing mirrors.

Nearby Sun City with its water parks is another opportunity to keep the kids amused on your family safari holiday.

Catch the Great Migration

The Great Migration is one of Africa’s greatest wildlife spectacles. An estimated two million wildebeest travel from the southern Serengeti to the northern edge of the Masai Mara national reserve every year.

They are following the rain and greener pastures and in August the grasslands of the Masai Mara in Kenya are covered by a mass of moving wildebeest as far as the eye can see.

For a safari holiday experience that will put you in a perfect position to view the migration, stay at Olonana, right on the border of the Masai Mara game reserve, where camps offers professional driver guides for exciting observation drives.

You can also experience Kenya’s rich cultural heritage by visiting the Masai village which is adjacent to the camp and which Olonana supports.

Zambezi safari holidays

The Zambezi River, as it flows through Zambia offers fantastic African game viewing opportunities in a relatively undiscovered African safari holiday destination.

Once you have visited the mighty Victora Falls, try Kulefu, within the Lower Zambezi national park, where tents on platforms have been built overlooking the widest stretch of the Zambezi River.

Guests at Kulefu regularly see lion, leopard and elephant. There are guided game drives in 4X4 vehicles and canoeing trips on the Zambezi, as well as fishing and walking safaris through the valley.

The camp also has a swimming pool on the riverbank and a viewing deck overlooking the river.

What are your best safari holiday ideas and experiences?

By Natasha von Geldern on January 21, 2021.