Nine ways to do a safari.

Each of these says who it is for and, more usefully, who it is not. Pick the way you want to travel, then use the comparator and the month matrix to choose where.

Privacy is its own decision: private tailor-made safaris and private African safari tours. Time on a sighting: photographic safaris. On foot among elephants: a Zimbabwe safari. At the wheel: a self-drive safari in Namibia and South Africa.

1. 01
   On foot

   Walking safaris

   A vehicle shows you animals. Walking shows you the place: tracks, dung, birds, wind direction, and the particular attention you pay when there is no engine between you and a buffalo.

   Strongest in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana · 3–5 nights walking within a 7–10 night trip
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2. 02
   For the lens

   Photographic safaris

   A photographic safari is not a standard game drive with longer lenses.

   Strongest in South Africa, Kenya, Namibia, Botswana · 7–10 nights; two or three camps at most
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3. 03
   With children

   Family safaris

   Two questions decide a family safari: the camp’s minimum age, and whether you want to avoid malaria prophylaxis. Answer those and the map narrows fast.

   Strongest in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia · 7–9 nights, two camps, a private vehicle throughout
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4. 04
   For two

   Honeymoon safaris

   The honeymoon safari that works is two halves: a few nights somewhere wild and private, then a few somewhere warm with nothing scheduled.

   Strongest in Tanzania, Kenya, Botswana, South Africa · 9–12 nights: 4–5 on safari, 4–6 on the coast
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5. 05
   In the forest

   Gorilla and primate trekking

   Not a game drive. A walk into montane forest to sit near a family of mountain gorillas for one permitted hour. Most people call it the most affecting wildlife encounter of their lives.

   Strongest in Rwanda & Uganda · 4–5 nights alone; 9–13 nights combined with a savanna safari
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6. 06
   Wild, then warm

   Bush and beach

   The most popular way to structure a first African trip, and the easiest to get wrong by choosing a beach that is a whole day’s travel from the bush.

   Strongest in Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa · 9–12 nights split roughly evenly
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7. 07
   Yours alone

   Private and tailor-made

   Tailor-made means the route is built for you. ‘Private’ is a separate choice — a vehicle, a guide, or the whole camp — and most people need one of them, not all three.

   Strongest in Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania · Any length; private guides make most sense on 9+ nights
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8. 08
   At the wheel

   Self-drive and overland

   You hold the keys between lodges. In Namibia the gravel is the point; in South Africa the tar roads to Kruger, the Garden Route, and the Cape are. A private guided luxury safari — your own vehicle and a guide — is a different purchase.

   Strongest in Namibia, South Africa · 10–14 nights; no more than 300 km on gravel per day
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9. 09
   Following the herds

   The Great Migration

   One and a half million wildebeest on a year-long loop. Where you should be depends entirely on when you can go, and no one can promise you a river crossing on a date.

   Strongest in Tanzania, Kenya · 6–9 nights in the right sector; pair with Ngorongoro or the Mara conservancies
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