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How To Avoid Costly Mistakes When You Buy Online Safari Tours Or If You Buy From Travel Agents!

Want to learn how to avoid costly mistakes when you buy online safari tours?
You've come to the right place!

Find peace of mind & answers to your questions how to avoid costly mistakes when buying safaris online or from travel agents. Expert advice – learn what to ask about African safaris.

Our purpose is to help you find the best safari for you.

We’ve lived in South Africa since 1993, and travel extensively through Africa in addition to going on safari. Here we tell you the questions we would ask in considering an African safari or vacation.

Why?

As you may know from researching for your safari trip, most online safari tours websites and websites on African safari vacations generally only tell you about the safari lodges or camps they own. These online safari tours & lodges may or may not be the best for you.

Similarly limited is the information available from most travel agents who sell trips to Africa. Very few have ever been to Africa. Even fewer have been on more than 1 or 2 safaris.

What we tell is you based on first hand experience: We’ve been on over 80 African safari vacations throughout East and Southern Africa: South Africa safaris, Kenya safaris, Tanzania safaris, Botswana safaris, Namibia safaris, Zimbabwe, and Zambia safaris.

African safari elephant
An African Safari Is An Amazing Experience - Get The Essential Information You Need
photo of African hiking safari courtesy of Wilderness Safaris


"I never knew of a morning in Africa
when I woke that I was not happy"

Ernest Hemingway
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Our Questions To Ask About Online Safari Tours

  • 1. Do they have the big five?
    Most people to go on safari so that they can see lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo and leopard. These are called the big five since they were the most dangerous animals for hunters to hunt.

    There are many other intriguing animals and plant life to discover but you need to make sure you know if the park or private reserve has animals you want to see. Click here for our free guides to what major animals are found in what major parks in Southern and East Africa.

  • 2. Is the safari in a private reserve that is fenced in or is in part of a national park, where animals can roam freely?

    Many excellent safaris can be had in a private reserve – privately owned land that may also own the animals that you see. The private reserves can be:• entirely fenced in

    • can be adjacent to other private reserves where animals move freely between reserves

    • adjacent to national parks where the animals can move freely between the national park and the private reserve

    This is a key question. Why? Because with the boom in the number of game lodges in South Africa, you may go to a game poor reserve (ie very few animals). Either they don’t have a lot of certain types of animals – lion for example, or they are in an area that can’t support a large number of animals.

    Even though many private reserves are very large, some people want more of a wilderness experience where animals are roaming freely over a more vast area.

  • 3. Are the game drive vehicles permitted to go off road to follow animals?

    Even in private reserves the animals are wild. And sometimes just as you get close enough to see them they decide to run off. If you really want to get as close to the animals as possible, you may want to consider going to a lodge on a private reserve. Since these reserves permit their rangers to drive off road if necessary to get you really close to the animals.

    Many national parks forbid off road game drives. The reasons are to protect delicate flora and to give the animals a break as well. Private lodges that are within some national parks compensate for this by enabling you to walk off road. This is a stunning opportunity. It is a markedly different experience compared to riding in a game vehicle and you should do it.

Want more advice? Or want help?

Click here to learn more about avoiding costly mistakes when choosing and buying online safari tours in South Africa

Take a look at these tips if you are considering an East Africa safari or East Africa safari tour operators (Kenya or Tanzania) Want us to help you avoid these costly mistakes? Contact us now for free ideas for a customized African safari vacation for your interests and budget.

Get The Best Vacation Ideas For Your African Safari & Holiday
Please note that all fields followed by an asterisk must be filled in.
First Name*
E-mail Address*
Country*
Please enter your e mail address again - we want to make sure we have it right - 3% of our inquiries have errors*
How many days do you want to spend on your African vacation?*
What are the types of things you would like to do or experience on this vacation? Check all that apply.*
Admire natural beauty
Explore culture
View wildlife/safari
Do adventure sports
Go to good restaurants
Visit tourist attractions
Visit wine region
Visit apartheid sites
Visit big cities
Beach
Golf
Shop
Spas or Wellness centers
What type of accommodation do you want to stay in? Please check all that apply.*
5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
large hotels, safari lodges
small hotels,b&bs,guesthouses
small safari lodges, safari camps
permanent tented safari camps
mobile tented safari camps
What is your budget per person per day? (Excluding international airfare)*
Do you need international flights?*
Yes
No
From which city will you fly from and return to?
Total number of persons traveling (please include youself) *
How many of your group are 12 years old or younger?
When do you want to travel?*
Know your travel dates? Please enter month/day/year like this Jan 1, 2007.
What is your preferred traveling style?*
Do you want a self drive trip?*
Yes
No
Where would you like to go on this trip? Please check all that apply.*
Botswana
Kenya
Lesotho
Mozambique
Namibia
Rwanda
Seychelles
South Africa
Swaziland
Uganda
Victoria Falls
Zambia
Zanzibar
Zimbabwe
What else do you want to tell us so we can give you more advice? (honeymoon, anniversary?)
Would you like a free cell phone to use during your trip? (Available if you fly through South Africa)*
Yes
No thank you
We strongly recommend travel insurance. Would you like advice on travel insurance?*
Yes
No
How We Work: The first itinerary is free & it will be based on your interests & budget. After that we offer a service where by we continue to work with you to get you the best trip for the price you want to pay. To do that we require a $150 USD deposit that is applied to your trip (without regard to the number in your traveling party). If you don’t take your trip it is non refundable. You pay that via Paypal.

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