Big cat safari vacations guide

Local guides know the terrain, they know where recent sightings have taken place so they can make an educated guess where they will appear next, and they also tend to have remarkable tracking abilities. But the finest guides offer a lot more than that. They possess a wealth of knowledge on everything from why a cat is behaving in a certain way to which plants local communities rely on for their medicinal qualities, and who those tracks in the snow might belong to.

Something to keep in mind is that if you do get lucky (and these trips do have excellent success rates) then don’t automatically reach for the camera. Before you’ve got it raised to your eye and the lens adjusted the cat may have already gone. Only the very rarest of photographs could ever do justice to seeing these incredible creatures in the wild anyway.

The big cat safaris featured on our site visit places as diverse as India, Brazil, Russia, Borneo, Patagonia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and far beyond. But the one thing they all have in common is that they take a responsible approach, something that is sadly sorely lacking in many places. Responsible tourism is a vital tool in conservation, from helping with research to convincing local communities to respect big cats, and get in the way of those that would do them harm.

Due to the rarity and elusiveness of big cats it’s important to not measure the success and satisfaction of your vacation against your sightings. Instead, before traveling think about the many other types of amazing wildlife and landscapes you’re likely to see, and if you do get lucky the moment will be all the sweeter.

Your vacation company will provide you with a comprehensive packing list before you travel and of course you’ll have a few essentials of your own: long lens camera, binoculars, inflatable pillow for long game drives. But the one thing you’ll never regret having plenty of on a big cat safari is patience.