Safari travel advice
Photography tips
Dereck and Beverly Joubert are internationally renowned filmmakers, conservationists and National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence. Here is their advice for taking better photographs on safari: "When people arrive with short lenses, the problem is that they push to get closer to the animals. But with digital cameras today, you don’t have to be as close as you think. You can always crop later on. The key is really to get natural behaviour by standing back a little bit and letting these things pan out. If you push too hard you will destroy the animals’ natural behaviour and your opportunities as a photographer."
Our Safari Vacations
Swaziland wildlife and culture tour
Explore Eswatini, one of the smallest countries in Africa
From
£2755 to £2895
12 days
ex flights
Tanzania Selous safari vacation & Zanzibar
Off-the-beaten track safari experiences & paradise beaches
From
£3250
10 days
ex flights
Kenya safari & beach tour
The Great Migration, Masai Mara safaris & beach relaxation
From
£2500
8 days
ex flights
Namibia and Botswana camping safari
Camping safari to Namib desert, Caprivi, Etosha & Okavango
From
US $2815 to US $2990
21 days
ex flights
Botswana small group lodge safari
Botswana affordable lodge safari including Okavango
From
US $3330 to US $3395
14 days
ex flights
Namibia safari
Two weeks of desert scenery & game-viewing
From
US $3049 to US $3199
13 days
ex flights
Culture tips while on safari
Will Fox is the founder of our supplier On Track Safaris, and a conservationist specialising in leopard behaviour. Here's his safari travel advice: "So many people come back from Africa and say, "that was nice, but I wish I'd been more involved." They don't want to just be shown animals, it's not Disney World. Safaris shouldn't just be about seeing animals and staying in a nice lodge with a spa. That's wonderful, but it should also be about understanding the real issues in Africa and learning more about whatever it is you're keen on. We teach our guests a few native words. If you thank the lodge staff in their own language, you'll get such a beaming smile. They're just so impressed that someone has learned a few words of their language."Tips on avoiding crowds – and saving money
Richard Madden, author of the Telegraph’s Bush Telegraph column, shares his advice for going on safari off-season: "Consider picking up a bargain and traveling outside the peak (dry/winter) season. If you travel during the wet season, the bush is actually greener, lusher and more beautiful and the summer storms can be an intoxicating experience leaving the bush feeling fresh and revitalised. While the wildlife is more dispersed and not so focused around the waterholes, you will still often see huge herds of antelope and all the large predators."
Advice on watching wildlife – properly
Andrew Appleyard, from our supplier Exodus, shares his safari travel advice for watching the Great Migration: “It is incredible to see the huge migration lines. On one of my last safaris we saw the Big Five within a few hours and so I asked the group what they wanted to do. They asked me “what would you do?” I said I’d park the vehicle up in the middle of the migration, turn the engine off and sit there for two or three hours and just watch it pass. That would be my top tip. I’d also ban photography for an hour – get everyone to put their cameras down. Too many people just shoot Africa through a lens and come back with 7,000 images – but don’t actually just sit there and take it all in. So I make everyone put their cameras down and watch it with their engines off.”Our top Safari Vacation
Tanzania Selous safari vacation & Zanzibar
Off-the-beaten track safari experiences & paradise beaches
From
£3250
10 days
ex flights
Tailor made:
This trip can be tailor made throughout the year to suit your requirements
This trip can be tailor made throughout the year to suit your requirements
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about Safari or need help finding a vacation to suit you we're very happy to help.

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Health & safety on safari
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Check the FCO website for the most up to date travel advice on each destination.
Safari advice from our travelers
At Responsible Travel, we think the best people to advise our travelers are often... other travelers. They always return from our tours with packing tips, weather reports, ideas about what to do - and opinions about what not to.
We have selected some of the most useful safari travel tips that our guests have provided over the years to help you make the very most of your vacation - and the space inside your suitcase.
We have selected some of the most useful safari travel tips that our guests have provided over the years to help you make the very most of your vacation - and the space inside your suitcase.

Take a pair of binoculars - and good ones - we were very glad we were not fighting to see the animals![]()

- Alice Crawley
Safari clothes are that dusty green because whatever you wear you will end up that colour if you do any serious traveling in Africa! - Jane Lloyd Francis in Namibia
If you go during the wintertime, do not forget warm clothes. A woollen cap is not a "gadget", especially in the south. - Denis Robin in Namibia
I learned a new method of washing clothes, stamp on them when you are in the shower - environmentally friendly as well. Remember an alarm clock. - Demelza Potter in Namibia
Packing earplugs might just help you sleep when the lions and jackals are conspiring against it! - Sarah Schmitz in Namibia
If you go during the wintertime, do not forget warm clothes. A woollen cap is not a "gadget", especially in the south. - Denis Robin in Namibia
I learned a new method of washing clothes, stamp on them when you are in the shower - environmentally friendly as well. Remember an alarm clock. - Demelza Potter in Namibia
Packing earplugs might just help you sleep when the lions and jackals are conspiring against it! - Sarah Schmitz in Namibia

Talk with the guides - they are a min of information.![]()

- Stuart Sutcliffe
Pack less than you think, you really don't need it! Don't forget the right kind of travel adaoptors so you can charge your camera battery. - Danila Mansfield in Namibia and Botswana
You don't need a fleece in Selous. It's warm, at least in September! US dollars accepted everywhere. Don't bother exchanging for Tanzanian schillings. Lightweight trainers are fine for this vacation. - Ann Evans in Tanzania
Travel lightly, both in clothing and intent - minimise your own impact by being mindful of the culture and facilities (or lack of) in the country you are visiting. Enjoy every moment, especially encounters with the warm, friendly people as well as the animals. – Angie Polkey in Uganda
Where possible,and within reason, take advantage of going out and exploring the local area and interacting with the localpeople – Heather Evans in Kenya
You don't need a fleece in Selous. It's warm, at least in September! US dollars accepted everywhere. Don't bother exchanging for Tanzanian schillings. Lightweight trainers are fine for this vacation. - Ann Evans in Tanzania
Travel lightly, both in clothing and intent - minimise your own impact by being mindful of the culture and facilities (or lack of) in the country you are visiting. Enjoy every moment, especially encounters with the warm, friendly people as well as the animals. – Angie Polkey in Uganda
Where possible,and within reason, take advantage of going out and exploring the local area and interacting with the localpeople – Heather Evans in Kenya