How much does an African safari cost?

In ours, always — line-itemed. Ask any operator the same question; some exclude $500+ in fees.

In ours, always - line-itemed. Ask any operator the same question and then ask for the fee schedule itself: Serengeti adult park fees run near US$70 per day, Maasai Mara conservancies near US$100, Kruger roughly US$10-40 depending on citizenship and season. A quote that buries these inside a headline number cannot be compared line to line.

$300–$600/week covers drinks, souvenirs and tips for most travelers.

Plan US$40-80 per person per day outside the safari: drinks at camp (US$5-15 each), curios (US$20-100 bargaining range), visa-on-arrival cash where applicable and tips. Cities take cards; park gates, village stalls and guide tips want cash in small notes.

Most visitors need one: Tanzania offers visas on arrival for many nationalities, Kenya uses an eTA applied for online before travel, Uganda an e-visa. We confirm the current rule for your passport before you fly.

One decision per country, and they differ. Tanzania sells visas on arrival for most passports - US$50, US$100 for United States citizens - or by eVisa in advance. Kenya has issued only the eTA since 2024, at US$32.50 online at least three days before departure. Uganda runs an e-visa printed before you fly, and the US$100 East African Tourist Visa folds Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda into a single stamp. Six months of passport validity covers all three. Send us passport details at proposal stage and we confirm every rule for your nationality before you commit to flights.

All itineraries run solo. Expect a 20 to 50 percent supplement where lodges charge per room; vehicles cost the same whether one or six ride. Ask for the honest supplement math per trip.

Once, yes: a dawn flight over the Serengeti or Mara with a bush breakfast runs 550 to 600 dollars and minimum ages apply. Book at proposal stage - seats sell out months ahead in season.

Peak Migration and gorilla-permit months need 6 to 12 months. Green season often works with 2 to 4 months notice.

With a private vehicle and pools at stops, yes for most routes. Gorilla trekking has a strict minimum age of 15.

As a guideline: 15 to 25 dollars per day for your driver-guide (per group, not per person), 10 to 15 dollars per day into camp communal tip boxes, and 20 to 30 dollars for a gorilla porter. Restaurants 10 percent where service is not included.

Yes - vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and most allergies are routinely catered with advance notice. Remote camps need 30 days notice for specialist supplies; tell us at proposal stage.

Camps cook from scratch, so most requests are a kitchen question rather than a supply one. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free are routine; halal and kosher products have to be imported in the remotest valleys, which is where the 30-day notice applies - Skeleton Coast, northern Uganda, the deeper Okavango camps. Menus are planned per group before the first grocery run, so tell us at proposal stage rather than on arrival. Guides carry your dietary notes on every drive, and camps refill filtered water wherever possible instead of trucking in bottles.