So you've booked your safari, you're very excited, you’re looking forward to the adventure of a lifetime… however, you have some questions! We've compiled a list of our most frequently asked questions plus answers!
It is important to ensure you have the right vaccinations for travel to Africa before you set off on your trip. It is important that you speak to your doctor about the most up to date vaccination advice. The vaccinations normally recommended for every country are: hepatitis A + B, typhoid and diphtheria.
If you are spending time in Kenya, whether for your whole holiday or for just one night, it is very important that you are also vaccinated against Yellow Fever – as this will be required for entering any other African countries.
Additionally, malaria is endemic throughout all the areas we operate safaris, so we strongly advise you to take malaria prophylactics. The only exception to this rule is parts of South Africa. These include Madikwe and the game lodges around Port Elizabeth. Travel clinics can sometimes have long waiting lists, so make sure you get your vaccinations booked up in advance!
Informal and casual dress is appropriate for the majority of lodges. However, smart casual clothes are recommended for evenings in Africa's top lodges. On safari, neutral colours are ideal. A fleece is useful for the early morning and evening, when there can be quite a chill in the open vehicles.
The mains electricity supply in virtually all lodges is 240 volts, 50 cycles, with UK-style plugs (except South Africa where sockets are 2-prong or 3-prong with round pins). All camps will be able to recharge your camera batteries.
Rest and recover! The early mornings, afternoon drives, and large amounts of food in between can be tiring, so the period between drives works well as siesta time, for relaxing by the pool, for reading a book, or for going through photos. Time between game drives disappears very quickly!
A typical day on safari starts with a morning wake-up call followed by a morning activity. Lodge and camp schedules vary depending on the time of year and the area in which they’re located. After the morning activity, you’ll return to your lodge/camp for either breakfast or lunch depending on how long you’ve been out in the bush. You’ll then have the hottest part of the day in which to relax and rest – you can enjoy lunch and take a nap, for example. This is followed by high tea just before you head off on your next safari activity. Finally, you’ll return to your lodge/camp in time for dinner and drinks around the fire.
Absolutely! We typically arrange airside meet-and-greets for clients at most of the airports across the destinations in which we operate. For the most part you’ll also be met by your driver or guide when travelling from one lodge or camp to the next, and from your lodge/camp to an airstrip or vice versa. The exception is if you opt to hire a vehicle to self-drive any part of your trip.
We work with lodges and camps that tend to enforce a maximum person per vehicle policy of 6. This means that, although you’ll be sharing with other guests, everyone will get a side-view seat with unobstructed views. Some itineraries are configured in such a way that a private vehicle and guide are included for a portion of the trip, but the use of a private vehicle throughout your safari comes at an additional cost (and is subject to your lodge/camp having sufficient vehicles).
The majority of safari lodges are all inclusive. However, some operate on a full board basis, where all food is included but guests pay for drinks. City and beach lodges tend to operate on a half board or bed and breakfast basis, but do speak to your safari specialist before you embark on your trip to find out more.
Whilst in some areas people do drink the local water, we would always advise our guests to drink bottled water throughout their stay in Africa. If you have any queries about this on your trip, just speak to your camp/lodge managers.
No. If there were any issues in any of the countries where we operate our trips, we would not propose them as potential destinations. Furthermore, we receive regular updates from the Foreign Office on countries where we operate, so if any issues were to arise, we would make you aware of them before your date of travel.