Most safari planners are travel agents with a preferred-supplier list. Most lodges are their own planner. Neither will tell you that your month is wrong or that the country next door does the same thing for a third less. This page says plainly what we do, what it costs, and how you can check us.
Three things a brochure cannot give you.
Decision tools
A cost estimator, a country comparator and a month matrix. Ranges, verdicts and seasons — no email required to use them.
Costed options with reasoning
Proposals from operators we have examined, each with the full itemized cost and why this region, why this month, and what you give up by choosing it.
An honest no
Wrong month, wrong country, wrong year — we say so, and what we would do instead. A recommendation that cannot lose the booking is not a recommendation.
Nothing to you, and here is exactly how.
We are paid by the operator when a trip books, at a rate that does not change which operator we recommend. You contract with and pay the operator directly, under their terms and protections. Your deposit never sits with us. The number you see in a proposal is the number you pay. Full disclosure.
Knowing which camp is right in August, and wrong in March, is the work.
We publish the method.
- Editorial standards — bylines, sourcing, last-reviewed dates, corrections.
- Operator framework — what we examine before a camp enters a proposal.
- Who does the assessing — the person behind it.
Frequently asked questions
What does a safari planner cost?
Nothing to you. Like most specialist safari planners, we are paid by the operator when a trip books, at a rate that does not change which operator we recommend. You pay the operator directly; your deposit never sits with us. If we ever introduce a planning fee it will be stated on this page first.
Why use a planner instead of booking a lodge directly?
Because the lodge will not tell you it is the wrong lodge for your month, or that the country next door does the same thing for a third less. A good planner knows the concessions, the seasons and the operators across a whole region and has no inventory to move. Ours covers eight countries and publishes how it decides.
How is Safari Awaits different from a travel agent?
Three ways you can check. We publish decision tools — a cost estimator, a country comparator and a month matrix — so you can decide before you talk to us. We publish our editorial standards and operator framework. And we will tell you when the answer is no: wrong month, wrong country, wrong year to go at all.
Which countries do you plan?
Botswana, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Rwanda and Uganda for gorillas. Eight, known completely, rather than forty by name.
How long does planning take?
A brief takes ten minutes to write. We reply with two or three fully-costed options inside four business days. Peak-season camps in Botswana and the migration corridors book nine to twelve months out; the earlier you start, the more choice you have.
Tell us the trip.
Dates, budget, who is traveling, what matters most. Ten minutes in writing, or ask for a call and we propose times by email.