Have you ever dreamed of “jetting” off to the far-away/Exotic lands of Africa to experience an Africa Safari and see the “Big Five” (Lions, Leopards, Rhinoceros, Elephants and Buffalo) as well as all the other amazing animals that Africa is known for?
If so, no doubt if you’ve done any research on the MANY Africa Safari options that are out there… you’ve gotten pretty overwhelmed!!
Well, as I’ve personally done an Africa Safari in both “South Africa” & “East Africa” and have booked Africa Safari trips for dozens & dozens & dozens of my clients…
…I’m Very familiar with which Africa Safari options show you the big “highlights” over there and which Africa Safari options get the best reviews, etc. so my goal here today is to show you a few of the best Africa Safari options for you to choose from and ideally to help you figure out the best “Africa Safari” trip for you! 🙂
Alright… let’s get into it! 🙂
As you’ll see here, in 2017 I did an “Africa River Cruise & Safari” trip with “AMA Waterways” in South Africa/Botswana/Namibia/Zimbabwe and recently, as you’ll see here, in June/July, 2024 I did an “East Africa” Safari & Mountain Gorilla Trekking trip with “Tauck” in Tanzania/Kenya/Rwanda…
…and as I talk about in those reviews above… both were TRULY Amazing experiences!! 🙂
So, based on my experience in this part of the World, in order to figure out the best Africa Safari option for you I think we need to look into 3 specific things:
- Do you want to include a River Cruise or not?
- Do you want to go to “South Africa” or “East Africa”?
- Do you want to include a “Trek” to see Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda or not?
Ok, let’s get into each of those topics…
River Cruise or No River Cruise??
I think this is a Great place to start as it’s simple to see the money difference by including the River Cruise or not and if it’s not in your budget to take the River Cruise you can simply look at the other options or, if it is in your budget, I’d for SURE say to consider experiencing this 4 days on the “Chobe” River onboard the small 28-passenger “Zambezi Queen” as it’s a VERY unique and exclusive experience!!
What I personally liked about this experience compared to the other 16 River Cruises I’ve taken is that it’s a truly unique & EXCLUSIVE experience!!
Unlike all the other Rivers I’ve sailed in Europe/Egypt/Vietnam & Cambodia/China/Myanmar, there are no other major River Cruise companies sailing on this River and with only 14 rooms onboard it’s a sailing that if you experience it, you’ll be one of the few people in the World to do so!
And since you’re in the middle of nowhere when onboard with no cities around and very little other River traffic, etc. you have the place to yourself so when you go on your “Water Safaris” from the ship you’re not competing with others to see the animals, you can sleep with the windows open at night if you like to hear nature taking it’s course while in the “Heart of Africa”, etc.
Overall, it felt unlike anything else I’ve done when it comes to all the other trips I’ve taken… as I talk about here it was an incredibly unique/exclusive/VERY special experience!!
BUT, that kind of exclusivity comes at a cost of course!!
Here are some #s to give you an idea of the River Cruise’s cost.
Let’s say you came to me & said you want to do an Africa Safari Land Tour with Tauck in South Africa… this 11-night tour is normally the one I’d recommend to you which, as you’ll see here, starts at around $12,000 USD per person.
On the other hand, if you do this 14-night trip with AMA Waterways (Which is the exact trip I did here) which is virtually the same experience that you’ll get with Tauck PLUS you’ll get the 4 day Cruise on the River, that starts at around $17,000 USD per person for the lowest priced room onboard.
So, it’s pretty much $5,000 USD per person more minimum to do the River Cruise and some dates are closer to $6,000 USD per person more… and, if you like a better room on the River Cruise then the smallest room onboard, that’ll cost another $400-$1,400 USD per person more to upgrade your room… so overall, the 4 night River Cruise will cost you in the vicinity of $10,000-$15,000 USD more per couple.
FYI, when it comes to the many clients of mine I’ve booked in this area, around 2/3 have done the River Cruise option due to wanting to take in that special/exclusive experience on the River…
…whereas for the others who it didn’t work for them budget-wise or they booked too late to get 1 of the 14 rooms onboard, they went with Tauck’s option.
So, hopefully, this breakdown above helps you figure out right away if you should be looking at a River Cruise option with “AMA Waterways” or a Land Tour option with “Tauck” that doesn’t include a River Cruise!
“South Africa” or “East Africa”??
Okay, now that you probably have an idea if you want to take the River Cruise or not during your Africa Safari trip, next it’s time to decide if you want to visit “South Africa” or “East Africa”
In my opinion, the best way to make that decision is to think about what your main goal is for going to Africa and what you want to see & experience?
For example, if you want to simply see animals/AS MANY animals as you possibly can, if you don’t plan to take the River Cruise then this Tauck Tour (Which is the one that I did here) or this similar Tauck Tour without the Gorillas is going to show you LOTS of LOTS of animals while in “East Africa” when in Tanzania & Kenya!!
During my time there on this Tauck Tour we did 13 “Game Drives” so our group saw ALL the animals we had come to Africa to see… and plenty of them… it was a legit Africa Safari experience with “Game Drives” almost daily and lots of time out on “Safari”!!
On the other hand, for my first Africa Safari experience in “South Africa”, it was more of a “Diverse” trip where not only did we experience some awesome “Safari” time on “Game Drives” but, as I talk about here, we also got to spend a few days in “Cape Town” which is a very scenic/exciting/Coastal City in South Africa with lots of highlights there as well as in the surrounding area and we also got to go to “Victoria Falls” in Zimbabwe which is SUPER impressive and then we visited “Johannesburg” which has tons of history/it’s a Great place to learn more about South Africa’s past & present!
As a comparison, this Tauck Tour in South Africa offers 7 “Game Drives” compared to the 13 in “East Africa” so less time to see animals but you also get to visit some major cities, an amazing Waterfalls, etc. so which is best all comes down to do you want to “mix things up” a little on your trip or are the Animals the only reason you want to go to Africa??
FYI, when in South Africa even though I did fewer “Game Drives” in “Kreuger National Park” compared to Tanzania & Kenya I DID still get to see all the animals but fewer of them… and of course, you have to remember that Africa is NOT A ZOO so animals aren’t “on demand” so the more time you’re on “Safari” & “Game Drives” the better chances you’ll see all you came for, but again, I also loved my time in Cape Town/Victoria Falls/Johannesburg so a “diverse” trip is something I enjoy as well.. and you of course know what appeals more to you.
With all that said, if you travel with “AMA Waterways” and also add the River Cruise I talked about earlier then that also includes 6 “Water Safaris/”Game Boat Rides” plus a “Game Drive” in “Chobe National Park” plus a visit to a local native Village plus animal viewing from the “Zambezi Queen” boat itself so by taking the River Cruise you’re adding in a bunch more animal viewing opportunities!!
Ok, I know that was a lot of info & options when talking “South Africa” vs “East Africa” but, no worries, I’ll “sum up” your best options at the end of this post! 😉
To “Trek” to see “Mountain Gorillas” in Rwanda or not??
Like with my “To do the River Cruise or not” section earlier, I think your “To Trek to see the Moutain Gorillas or not” decision may also come down to budget for many people as it’s NOT an inexpensive few days as, like with the River Cruise, it’s VERY exclusive where less then 100 people get to experience that each day in Rwanda so, like with most things in life… because it’s limited & exclusive it comes with a hefty price tag!
With “AMA Waterways” for example, to add their 4-night option to see the Gorillas it’s around $9,000 USD per person additional. (Which is on top of their “core” River Cruise & Africa Safari trip cost which, as mentioned above, starts at around $17,000 USD per person)
And with Tauck, to do their “Gorilla Trek” tour compared to their option without the Gorillas it’s about $12,000 USD per person extra for those 3 extra nights…
…reason they’re even more than AMA for that add-on is they only offer 4-5 dates per year (Which ALWAYS sell out VERY early!!) and when visiting the Gorillas they stay at the Beautiful “One & Only” all-inclusive resort which adds quite a bit to the bottom line of what you’re paying.
Beyond the extra money for the Gorillas, the other thing you need to consider is are you healthy enough or not to do the “Trek”?
As I talk about here, my small group of 5 from my bigger group of 21 with Tauck chose a more “active” trek so we hiked for 2 hours each way through the Jungle…
…but, the other 16 in my group walked for about 30mins each way through some fields to the edge of the Jungle.
So, as long as you can walk (And it wasn’t at a super fast pace at all) for 1-2hrs total with breaks along the way (Seeing the Gorillas alone is about an hour of being stopped so a nice break there) I think you’ll be fine but if you have any serious mobility issues at all and don’t want to be carried as I talk about here then maybe this “Gorilla Trek” option isn’t for you?
With that said, as I talk about here, the roads can be VERY bumby when on Safari so if you have any serious back or neck issues an Africa Safari may not be a great trip for you at all so you overall have to be in reasonably good health to enjoy a trip in this area…
…which is why I ALWAYS tell my clients to get the far-away, Exotic, long flight trips out of the way in your younger years when you’re healthy and do the Alaska Cruise & US National Parks & Hawaii, etc. trips in your later years when maybe your health isn’t as great as in our part of the World most roads are relatively smooth, everything is “ADA compliant”, etc. so much easier to navigate if you’re “slowing down” at all.
Okay, I hope that all helped you figure out what’s the best “Africa Safari” option for you!!
If after going through all the above it’s still not clear which Africa Safari option is best for you let me give you my top few recommendations:
1.If you have a hefty budget & lots of time and want the MOST COMPLETE Africa Safari experience then do what, as I talk about here, myself & many of my clients do which is we go on nice & long trips and do “Back to Back” Cruises and/or Land Tours during one big Vacation which, in my experience, make some of the best ever Vacations!!
So, what that could look like is doing this “AMA Waterways” option like I did here in “South Africa” and then you can fly to Tanzania to join this “Tauck” tour like I did here in “East Africa” which means you’d “get it all” in one trip…
…the “Diversity” of Cape Town/Victoria Falls/Johannesburg, you’d do the River Cruise, you’d go on “Safari”/”Game Drives” in “South Africa” and then you’d go on “Safari”/”Game Drives” in “East Africa” and would end it all with a bang by doing the “Gorilla Trek” in Rwanda.
Does that sound crazy to you and you’re thinking “Who would ever do that?”
Well, while on this tour I met a really, really nice couple from Indianapolis and they had just ended this 12-day Tauck Tour 2 days before joining our 15-day tour…
…and my guess is, if I had met them before & told them about AMA’s River Cruise option (They hadn’t even heard of it) they would have taken that instead of the 12 day Tauck Tour to “see it all”!
And, after finishing in Rwanda, they stayed there 3 extra days & were then flying to Dubai for a 1/2 week before flying home.
Overall, it sounded like an AMAZING 6 week trip that they thoroughly enjoyed which made total sense to me as, as I talk about here, MANY times I’ve personally taken these kinds of “Multi-Trip” Vacations!!
2. If “Doing it all” like above isn’t going to work for you but you still want to take the River Cruise with “AMA Waterways” then my suggestion is if you don’t plan to add on AMA’s “Gorilla Trek” option then do this 14-night “AMA Waterways” trip which is the same one I did here.
Or, if you plan to add on “AMA Waterways” Gorilla Trek extension then best to do this 18-night “AMA Waterways” option (Make sure to have me change your 1 night in Johannesburg at the beginning to 3 nights in Cape Town!!) since you need to fly North to Rwanda anyways so you may as well do your “Safaris”/”Game Drives” in Tanzania since it’s close to Rwanda and you get a couple of extra “Safaris”/”Game Drives” on that trip compared to the “South Africa” one so 2 more chances of seeing more animals! 🙂
3. My final recommendation is if you DON’T plan to do the River Cruise with AMA Waterwys then take this Tauck Tour if you want to see the Gorillas or if the Gorillas don’t interest you/don’t work budget-wise, etc. then, as per my “South Africa” or “East Africa” section above, take this Tauck Tour if all you care about is seeing animals or this Tauck Tour if you want a more “Diverse” itinerary.
Okay, HOPEFULLY, those 3 recommendations help you figure out the BEST Africa Safari option for you… if not, send me your additional questions here.
One final note to clear up any confusion…
…if you follow my blog posts & reviews closely you’ll remember I’ve said in the past I ONLY book “Tauck” when it comes to Land Tours… this post explains why.
So, you may be wondering… why than am I just as confident in this particular post to be saying go with “AMA Waterways” or “Tauck” equally and to simply choose the one whose itinerary fits you best?
Well, as I talk about here, “AMA Waterways” Africa trips are Much more “high-end” than their Europe/other destination River Cruises.
Don’t get me wrong, AMA puts off really nice River Cruises in Europe/Vietnam & Cambodia/Egypt but, as I talk about here, Tauck’s Europe River Cruises are superior to AMA’s for multiple reasons but in Africa, at least in my personal experience, I felt AMA’s quality was on par with Tauck’s which is why I confidently recommend AMA Waterways to my clients and have booked many of my clients going to Africa on AMA Waterways and it’s why I think going with the best itinerary for you between Tauck’s & AMA’s options is the best way to go when choosing your Africa Safari trip to this Amazing continent!!
Alright, as mentioned above, HOPEFULLY this blog post will help you figure out the BEST Africa Safari option for you… again, if not, simply send me your additional questions here or if you’re ready to get your own “Africa Safari” Adventure booked then reach out to me here and I’ll help you make this “Dream” Africa Safari Adventure a “Reality”!! 🙂
And in case you’re new to me & my site and are wondering why you’d want to book your Africa Safari with me compared to with Tauck or AMA Waterways directly, check out this blog post which explains all the advantages of booking all your Ocean Cruises & River Cruises and Tauck Land Tours with a True Expert like me! 😉
I Appreciate You!!
Shawn Power
Your Trusted Cruise & Tauck Tour Expert!