windshoppe Loc: Arizona

My wife and I have done safaris in Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa. My best photos by far are those from South Africa. As an example, sightings of leopards were rare occurrences in Kenya and Tanzania, while they were numerous in South Africa and photos of them were wonderful.

Bill P

I went to Tanzania, and it was great. The driver/guide got within a close enough distance to animals that my 70-200 was getting a little too long. Your need for a really long lens depends on the skill of the driver, we we able to get within a few feet of lions, although he wouldn't get too close to a Black Mamba.

The people that booked the safari were ones used frequently by the director of our local Zoo, considered one of the top ten in the nation. He did an annual trip for Zoo members, and he got the folks that really knew the difference between being in camera range and rifle range. Perhaps you could contact a zoo near you for recommendations.

Kingman

Can anyone advise whether a special “photo” only tour offers better photo shoots or are all tours effectively photo tours.

Also for anyone who took specialized “photo” tours, did anyone ever feel there was any drama of one person always hogging the best position in vehicles? I am also planning a trip soon.

ricardo00

A photo tour usually means less people per vehicle (so you can shoot both sides), more time spent with animals versus covering more animals, etc. A good tour leader should prevent anyone person to hog the best position in vehicles, ie. force rotations, etc. That said, a "rude" person can ruin any tour, photo or otherwise.

Bill P

I don't think there would be tours of photographers and hunters, too much fighting among the passengers, but I'm skeptical of the whole tour business. I have images in my mind of lines of photographers marching across Africa behind a woman holding an umbrella in the air. Are these tours anything in the "If it's Tuesday we must be in Belgium" category"? In any situation, the "good place' will be different at different times.

ricardo00

As several people have mentioned, you might look into South Africa as well as the countries you mentioned. There are all kinds of tours there, ranging from staying in tents to luxurious accommodations, national parks to private reserves, even renting a house and driving your rental car there to go look for wildlife. For background, I have been twice to SA (it is a large country with many different reserves), Kenya once (Masai Mara) as well as Botswana (Okavango Delta). A few pics from my trips to SA:

planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs

I just checked some phot tours on the web as someone suggested...between 1 and 2 years of gross income for less time than I could spend in Australia and New Zealand for at 2-4 times as much time - I would have to win the lotto to consider something like that! I suppose theoretically you get what you pay for, but SHEESH!!!! I think I will continue looking for a "standard" safari.

ricardo00

Yep Africa has gotten very pricey! You might look at Eyes on Africa's budget safaris:

http://www.eyesonafrica.net/budget-safaris.htm#camping

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Botswana (Chobe River to be exact), Kenya, and Tanzania. My husband and I did a private safari tour (Kenya & Tanzania) with 2 Aussie friends last year and we all loved it. Two of the four of us are VERY!! serious photographers and our spouses were “along for the ride”. Came home with well into the thousands of images of elephants, giraffes, lions, wildebeest, hippos, etc. Saw white rhinos and Rothschild Giraffes in Masai Mara. Before our 4 person private tour, we did a 21 day “small group” tour. On that tour, we drove through way too much dessert to suit my taste, but it did include some interesting landscapes, as well as a couple of days in Etosha as well as 1 1/2 days on the Chobe River (think hippos, baboons, and elephants) and 3 days in a camp on the Okavango Delta (gorgeous sunsets and giraffes in early AM light- magical!).

Take lots of memory cards as well as a way to back up photos. Don’t forget extra batteries. Most important, IMO, is to take 2 bodies with a lens mounted on each. (I had my Nikon D7200 with my Nikon 80-400 and my Nikon D500 with my Tamron 150-600.) The LAST thing you want to do is to change lenses while on safari. I am at a total loss as to how to describe the amount of dust that can be kicked up other than to say “more than I could have imagined”.

Enjoy your trip!

n46130

It's been a while but we did a safari to the national parks in Kenya. Even though it was 20 years ago, the memory is still alive and well.

prg Loc: Palm Coast Fll

Botswana

betsyhumphrey

I thought Kenya was amazing. Try to time your trip to the great migration. That way there will be many animals along with babies.

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Jerry M

It is a good idea to get opinions from experienced travelers. I can only give my advice from five trips I have made to Botswana. If you are coming from the East Coast of the US, from the Washington DC area there are several flights that are very accommodating to South Africa. Eighteen hours to Joburg, SA with an overnight there and then 2-hour flight to Maun Botswana. The Okovango Delta and the Moremi Game Reserve provide everything you could want in terms of game and bird viewing. It is not the Kenyan "migration" that everyone has heard about (and is viewed from a distance with high power lenses) but a very different and more intimate closeup experience with smaller groups of game and birds. You will see birds, elephants, giraffe, many species of cats, many species of antelope, crocs and tons of other animals at unbelievably close distances. (We watched a mating pair of leopards in a tree for two hours from 20 feet.) In short, it is a photo extravaganza for an aspiring nature photographer. You could go to my Instagram page for a few of the shots that I took last year in the Moremi Reserve. (Look at jerrystravel in Instagram.) For some solid travel advice so to how to fit your budget contact Betsy Younkins at bjadventures@bjadventures.net. this could be the trip of a lifetime if you plan it well. Good luck.

Dossile

Tanzania & Kenya together or Botswana. They are all great though. The proximity to animals in Botswana worries me in the long run, but it’s a great place for photos.

xtoothdr

Forget all the chatter
Botswana, hands down.
14th trip next year