The best safari in Africa is the one that gets your heart thumping and your hands trembling. A safari should thrill, excite, inspire, reward and educate. A close encounter with a truly wild animal will never be forgotten. An African safari is a sum of all its parts, the wilderness, the smells of the bush, the hunt, and the exhilaration of being so close to a creature that is the epitomy of power and beauty.
I have gathered together a list of destinations that fit the bill of the best safari in Africa. Most of them are home to Africa’s Big Five: lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo and elephant. Some of them shelter the worlds most endangered animals: gorilla, rhino, wild dog, pangolin and cheetah. And in all of them you will get you up close and personal with natures most vicious killers have an unforgettable experience of life in the bush.
The best safari in Africa
Southern Africa tips the hat for the best safaris in the world. The below reserves are all below the equator and each country offers something different and unique. A safari in South Africa can be paired with shopping, fine dining and visits to award winning wine estates. Visit Kenya and escape to the honeymoon beaches of the Kenyan coast, or hit up Namibia for raw desert, colossal sand dunes and the formidable Skeleton Coast. Where ever you choose, the safari experiences in Southern and Central Africa are unbeatable
- Phinda Private Game Reserve – South Africa
- Chobe National Park – Botswana
- Serengeti National Park – Tanzania
- Volcanoes National Park – Rwanda
- Kololo National Park – South Africa
- Maasai Mara National Park – Kenya
- Etosha National Park – Namibia
- South Luangwa National Park – Zambia
- Okavango Delta – Botswana
- Tsavo National Park – Kenya
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Phinda Private Game Reserve – South Africa
Phinda Game Reserve definitely is one of the top places for the best safari in Africa. Located in Kwazulu Natal, at about 3 hours drive from Durban, the main city in the province, it really is a great place to admire animals (and especially the Big Five) in their natural environment. The reserve is huge so you won’t ever have the impression that you are in an enclosed space.
The reserve is managed by And Beyond, who has a strong focus on ethical and responsible travel and that has a mission to protect the animals in the reserve and to treat the local communities and its employees in a fair manner.
What makes Phinda one of the best safaris in Africa is a combination of incredible wildlife (you are pretty much guaranteed you will see the Big Five) and the way safaris are run. You will go on two daily game drives, one starting at 5:30 am and one in the early afternoon, to be able to see animals when they are most active (sunrise and sunset). Rangers do their best to find animals guests are interested in and to give as much insight as possible into the animals themselves. Lucky visitors will even be able to admire hunting scenes.
To top this off, Phinda offers top notch accommodation option with state of the art lodges where you will feel pampered. They are so immersed in nature that you can expect elephants to drink from your plunge pool!!
Contributed by Claudia Tavani, My Adventures Across The World
Chobe National Park – Botswana
If you are looking for an the best safari in Africa then look no further than Chobe National Park in Botswana. Chobe spans an area of 11,700km and is well known for having one of the greatest concentrations of animals in all of Africa – meaning that you are more likely to see one of the ‘Big Five’ (safari speak for lions, leopards, rhinos, cape buffaloes and elephants) here than anywhere else.
If you’re a hippo and crocodile fan, you are also in luck: one of the unique things about a safari experience in Chobe is the river safari: we spent around 3 hours on a boat on the Chobe River and were treated to the close up spectacle of huge crocs and hippos (some actually getting a little too close to our boat!) as well as herds of elephants drinking by the riverside.
The other major selling point of Chobe is that they actively limit the numbers of visitors to the park each day – this is really important because the last thing you ever want on a safari trip is to see more tourist jeeps than animals. This never happened to us at Chobe: we barely saw other tour groups and actually felt like we were all alone, in the middle of nowhere.
The gorgeous landscapes and endless animal encounters in Chobe make it one of the best safaris in Africa.
Contributed by Sasha from Mog and Dog Travels
Serengeti National Park – Tanzania
Serengeti National Park is a fantastic destination and one of the best safaris in Tanzania. No matter if you choose a luxury or a budget safari in Tanzania, Serengeti offers so many opportunities to see the wildlife close by, in its natural habitat. Serengeti National Park is famous for the annual big migration of wildebeest and zebras, when hundreds of thousands of animals make their way North or South, following the water.
Going on a safari in Serengeti National Park, you have all the chances to see the big five: lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and buffalos. Besides these there are plenty of other animals living in Serengeti, from monkeys to hippos, from giraffes to topi, from ostriches to warthogs. There are over 300 different species of wild animals living in Serengeti National Park, out of which 80 are large mammals.
One of the best ways to fully experience Serengeti National Park is by spending the night in camps, surrounded by wildlife. Whilst it is totally safe to sleep in a tent in a camp, you will hear lions’ roars close by, during the night. The camps are often visited by hyenas, who try to get into the bins as soon as the kitchens are locked in the evening, zebras, and antelopes.
Contributed by Joanna Davis from The World In My Pocket
Mountain Gorilla Safari – Rwanda
When you think of Africa, the first thing that comes to mind is its spectacular wildlife. But even within Africa, one of the unique wildlife safari experiences awaits in Rwanda. The country is blessed with beautiful landscapes and teeming wildlife. The Nyungwe National Park and the Akagera National Park are rich in biodiversity, but it is the Volcanoes National Park that holds a special allure to wildlife lovers and is considered one of the best safari in Africa. It is in the Volcanoes National Park that one can experience the famed Gorilla Trekking.
The Volcanoes National Park spread over the volcanic Virunga Mountains is home to the endangered Mountain Gorillas. A Gorilla safari takes visitors deep into the dense forest on foot, escorted by armed forest rangers. One has to walk through hills, swamps, and thick vegetation to reach the assigned family of Gorillas. The group can spend a maximum of 60 minutes watching the Gorilla family which usually includes babies, adolescents, and the magnificent silverback gorilla. It is a once in a lifetime experience to watch the Mountain Gorillas go about their routine within arm’s length of you. The gentle giants leave you thrilled and at the same time sad, sad because they were once on the brink of extinction owing to habitat loss and large scale poaching. The time spent with the Mountain Gorillas crystallizes into memories to relive for a lifetime.
Contributed by Sandy & Vyjay from Voyager
Kololo Game Reserve – South Africa
Just three hours north of Johannesburg, South-Africa, is malaria free and family friendly Kololo Game Reserve. This contender for the best safari in Africa is in the unspoilt Limpopo region. This 3000 hectares big nature reserve is filled with harmless African wildlife and is the perfect place to spot giraffes, kudus, impalas, baboons, zebras, wild boars and eland. It’s completely safe to take self-guided hikes and bike rides around the reserve to spot all these amazing animals. Though, take a guided walk to spot some of the 300 bird species living at Kololo or learn more about the unique vegetation.
Kololo Game Reserve is part of Welgevonden Game Reserve, a bigger nature reserve which is home to The Big Five. Higher situated cottages, as well as the deck of Kololos excellent restaurant, offer wide views over a big part of Welgevonden. Most days we were treated to a view of passing elephants and rhinos while having our morning coffee on the deck of our cottage. Morning and afternoon safaris to Welgevonden are offered daily. You won’t have to share any rare sightings with 20 other vehicles, like other well-known South-African wildlife reserves. It all feels completely private. The landscape of Welgevonden is extremely varied, with wetlands being the home to hippos, rhinos and elephants. Lions, cheetahs and leopard roam the plains. Buffalos stick to the forested areas. Be prepared to spot an amazing amount of wild dogs, zebras, giraffes, wildebeests and hyenas.
Contributed by Esther de Beer from Mooistestedentrips
Maasai Mara – Kenya
Located on the Kenya-Tanzania border, the Maasai Mara is one of the most impressive National Reserves in the whole of Africa. The sweeping savannahs, the acacia trees, the hot air balloons and the sheer variety of species within the park is simply incredible. From the heavy concentration of big cats to the massive herds of antelope, and the large elephant family groups that take your breath away; not to mention the park is part of the Great Migration route where wildebeest and other migratory animals travel upwards of 600km each year; and is home to all of Africa’s ‘Big 5’.
If you can only get to one Big Game park in Africa – make it the Maasai Mara, one of the best safaris in Africa, you won’t regret it.
Contributed by Vicki Garside from Make Time to See the World
Etosha National Park – Namibia
Situated in the North of Namibia, Etosha National Park is so full of wildlife that you’d have to be seriously unlucky not to see anything. Covering over 22,000km², the park is home to hundreds of different species including four of the Big Five. Unfortunately you won’t see any water buffalo in Etosha, but amongst the giraffes, zebras and herd of antelope you’ll find rhino, elephants and with a little luck maybe even a lion or the ever elusive leopard.
Exploring the park is easy thanks to the many tracks around Etosha, either in your own vehicle or by taking a game drive with a professional guide from the campsites. If you plan on doing a self-drive tour make sure your vehicle is suitable as some of the roads can be a little rough.
The campsites are well equipped for visitors with most of them having on-site shops, restaurants, swimming pools and a variety of accommodation options from chalets to camping. However, the best features of campsites such as Namutoni or Halali are their spectator viewing areas overlooking watering holes, allowing you to peacefully watch as the animals come to drink. Etosha is one of the best places for a safari in Africa.
Contributed by Stuart Fahy from Just Travelling Through
Kruger National Park – South Africa
Kruger National Park in South Africa is one of the most famous and exciting safari destinations in the world, not least because it is home to all of Africa’s Big Five as well as many more creatures both big and small! The park is thought to be home to around 147 species of mammal, over 500 species of bird, 100+ species of reptile and 219 types of invertebrates such as butterflies and skipper, definitely one of the best safaris in Africa.
Kruger, in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in north-eastern South Africa, has been a national park since 1926, set up by the government to protect and preserve the area’s natural biodiversity. Since then it has become a much-loved safari location with visitors flocking from around the world to see prides of lions, herds of wildebeest and landscapes scattered with zebra, giraffe, antelope and buffalo. Kruger also supports a number of packs of African wild dogs one of the most endangered animals in southern Africa.
Contributed by Chrysoula Manika from Travel Passionate
BLOG: SAFARI AT OL PEJETA – KENYA
South Luangwa National Park – Zambia
My husband and I have been on safari many times in various African countries, but our safari in South Luangwa National Park in Zambia was perhaps the most memorable of them all. From the moment we arrived at Marula Lodge, where we would base ourselves for our three-night stay, we were greeted by vervet monkeys and antelopes scurrying around the grounds and hippos lounging in the Luangwa river.
Once we went out into the park on a jeep safari, of course the wildlife sightings just kept getting better. We saw elephants, Thornicroft giraffes and Crawshay’s zebra, as well as puku — a species of antelope that we had never seen before. But the best sighting of all was of a female leopard. She was walking through a ravine, quite close to our jeep, and at one point even crouched like she was going to pounce.
On our last day, I wasn’t feeling that well, so we did a “sitting safari” from the deck chairs near the riverbank and still saw lots of wildlife! And as vegan travelers in Africa, we had no worries about food here either. The lodge kept us well fed with bean burgers and vegan lasagne.
Contributed by Wendy Werneth of The Nomadic Vegan
Okavango Delta Safari – Botswana
I have done a couple of safaris in Africa, and I have to say that they are all unique in their own way, either for the opportunity to see a large number and a variety of animals, or because the breathtaking scenery. My top choice of the best safari in Africa Okavango Delta, located in the heart of Botswana’s safari circuit. The unique landscape of Okavango is just a wonder of nature and it truly offers a great wilderness along with untouched wetland. This combination of land and water environments support some of the best wildlife on the continent.
During my 10 days self-driving and wild camping in Botswana, During my 10 days self-driving and wild camping in BotswanaI was very isolated, and only saw a few other tourists. It was an incredible feeling to be deep in the bush, on my own and surrounded by wild animals. Okavango Delta has endless possibilities to explore one of the most diverse wildlife habitats on the planet, including some unusual antelope like red lechewe and puku. Plus it is world-famous for predators as well as many bird species, which makes Okavango Delta my top pick safari in Africa.
Contributed by Paula Martinelli from Paula Pins the Planet
Tsavo National Park – Kenya
Tsavo National Park is the largest protected area in Kenya and is an underrated gem when it comes to choosing an African safari. It is budget friendly and easy to cover in 3-days making it family friendly. It is easily accessed by road from both Nairobi and Mombasa and offers a range of safari accommodation. Tsavo is split into Tsavo East National Park and Tsavo West National Park with each side offering something different.
Tsavo East National Park is flat and dry with expansive plains where you can spot elephants, lions, giraffes, cape buffalo and zebra along with a great variety of birds over 500 species to be precise including ostrich, many birds of prey and blue vulturine guineafowl.
Tsavo West National Park has a more mountainous terrain interspersed with rivers and lakes meaning you will likely encounter leopards, hippopotamus and crocodiles. Tsavo West is also home to the Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary. This 90-sq-km area of the national park has been partitioned with an electric fence and 24-hour security to deter poachers and protect the 80 black rhinos that live here. You can drive through this area around the tracks to the watering holes, but the black rhinos are elusive.
Contributed by Steph and Lewis from Book It Let‘s Go
Queen Elizabeth National Park – Uganda
Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda is one of the best places in Africa for a safari. The park is home to diverse landscapes. You’ll find everything from savannah to bushland and wetlands which make the ideal setting for the 96 species of mammals that call it home.
You can see four out of the Big Five in Queen Elizabeth National Park, as only the rhino is absent. You’ll have no trouble spotting elephants, hippos, and other species of African antelope on any safari trip. However the prides of tree climbing lions in the Ishasha sector of the park is what makes wildlife spotting in this park so special. Lions can often be seen lounging in branches of large trees, a behaviour that’s not very common in other parts in Africa.
Another benefit of visiting Queen Elizabeth National Park is that it will give you the opportunity to combine a traditional safari with a gorilla tracking experience in the nearby Bwindi National Park. Making for two extraordinary safari experiences in one trip!
Contributed by sustainable travel bloggers Oksana & Max from Drink Tea & Travel. Follow their adventures around the world on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
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