safaris recommendations: I'm starting to look into going on a african safari. I'm not looking at a "photo" specialized one as my wife will also be going and the seem to be considerably...

dtsobel Loc: West Hills California

I'm starting to look into going on a african safari. I'm not looking at a "photo" specialized one as my wife will also be going and the seem to be considerably more expensive. any one have recommendations. I have been looking at using Game Watchers Safari.

I'm reading that the better ones are in conservatories which are owned by the native tribes.

plessner Loc: North Dakota

I went to Africa with a group in 2017. We used the Pangolin Photo tours and they were amazing. Besides the safari part of the trip they have a houseboat you can stay on and they take you out in their custom made photo boats everyday- morning and evening. All who work for and run this company are photographers. It was wonderful and I learned a lot from them too. great teachers
we were there in July and the weather was perfect

toxdoc42

We are looking as well. It is very confusing. It really feels like buying a pig in a poke. We narrowed it to East Africa so we won't need to fly in small planes, neither my wife nor I do well in them. The variation in pricing is enormous!

dtsobel Loc: West Hills California

the one i have really looked at uses conservatories lands that are privately owned by local tribes innwhich they partner with so the tourism provides jobs which helps communities. they limit how many people per acre and is eco friendly. So far I'm looking primarily at Kenya but am open to other areas.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

I have heard good things about Overseas Adventure Travel. Pangolin, mentioned above, is in Botswana. I am considering going there - their prices are reasonable. All safaris provide jobs for the local people. Jobs in the lodges as well as in wildlife conservation.

David in Dallas Loc: Dallas, Texas, USA

I just got back from a tour of Kenya, East Africa with Holiday Vacations. It was well organized and we got to see a lot of animals. The tour guide and vehicle drivers were very helpful (I'm a little physically challenged) and I enjoyed the tour very much.

Mainiac65 Loc: Maine

My wife and and I went with Road Scholar to South Africa, Zambia, Zimbawe and Botswana on a Birding
safari in 2016. We saw over 250 different species of birds, as well as elephants, buffalo, lions, hippos, wild dogs and many different animals. They sponsor many different conservation project and you interact with the people.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

dtsobel wrote:

I'm starting to look into going on a african safari. I'm not looking at a "photo" specialized one as my wife will also be going and the seem to be considerably more expensive. any one have recommendations. I have been looking at using Game Watchers Safari.

I'm reading that the better ones are in conservatories which are owned by the native tribes.

I only recommend one person, my fiend Peter. In addition to offering a African photo Safari, he also works closely with the Masai helping to build schools, supply fresh drinking water and help with their paradigm shift to a life that includes conserving, rater than killing wildlife.
https://peterswildlifesafaris.com/

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

Look at CNP Safaris. They are having a 10 year special on Chobe River trips in Botswana. Special equipped boats and free use of camera equipment

jccash Loc: Longwood, Florida

dtsobel wrote:

I'm starting to look into going on a african safari. I'm not looking at a "photo" specialized one as my wife will also be going and the seem to be considerably more expensive. any one have recommendations. I have been looking at using Game Watchers Safari.

I'm reading that the better ones are in conservatories which are owned by the native tribes.

If you are going to South Africa Kruger Park. Warren and his dad helped organize 23 of use a fantastic Safari.

https://www.facebook.com/warren.russell.africa

jccash Loc: Longwood, Florida

dtsobel wrote:

I'm starting to look into going on a african safari. I'm not looking at a "photo" specialized one as my wife will also be going and the seem to be considerably more expensive. any one have recommendations. I have been looking at using Game Watchers Safari.

I'm reading that the better ones are in conservatories which are owned by the native tribes.

Warren and his dad organized a fantastic Safari for 23 of us in South Africa Kruger Park.

https://www.facebook.com/warren.russell.africa

Tommy 86 Loc: East TN

My 2 adult daughters and 3 friends went to Kenya and Tanzania in early September for 2 weeks. We used TravelPartners and were very pleased. My brother went last year to both countries and they used Overseas Adventure Travel and were very happy with them. A friend went to Tanzania a couple of years ago and used Gate 1 and were happy with them. My brother's OAT trip did involve flying to the Serengeti in a small plane. I selected TravelPartners from SafariBookings.com, which provides links and reviews for over a thousand companies that offer African tours. Use the filters to narrow down where you want to go, for how long, etc. I highly recommend visiting the Sheldrick Elepant Orphanage and the Giraffe Centre in Nairobi if you go to Kenya. They do great work, particularly Sheldrick. If you can take 2 camera bodies so you don't have to change lenses, that would be ideal. Also, I rented a Tamron 150-600 G2 ftom LensRentals and couldn't have been happier with the results.

Rhinophoto Loc: Davis, CA

Lots of us have had great trips! I second SB's nomination of Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT). 2 years ago we travelled to India with them and had a great experience. This past June a group of us went on their Tanzania trip with the Masai Mara extension in Kenya. They are general-purpose trips with lots of safari time. OAT tours always include activities in local communities. Plenty of photo opportunities - both wildlife and cultural scenes - for the one of us who pretends to be a photographer.

jwm1944 Loc: Maryland

dtsobel wrote:

I'm starting to look into going on a african safari. I'm not looking at a "photo" specialized one as my wife will also be going and the seem to be considerably more expensive. any one have recommendations. I have been looking at using Game Watchers Safari.

I'm reading that the better ones are in conservatories which are owned by the native tribes.

Leo Vantage in South Africa!!!

bikerguy

We went to southern Africa in 2015 and use African Travel resources. They are not a tour company, they are a travel agent. They talked to us about what we wanted to see and asked very good questions. Then we received three different but similar trip options that they developed for us, each at a different price point. We cold then modify them as we wish. They arranged everything including all transportation once we landed in Johannesburg.When we next go to Africa we will use them again.