Before you delve to deeply into researching your adventure, it is worth considering a few important elements in order to make the most of your trip.
Many people ask whether an African safari is really suitable for kids. Those who say no, couldn’t be more wrong. You just have to be knowledgeable about what type of safari to take. Although there are plenty of luxury safari’s that cater to kids, you may want to consider a self drive safari. Check out our post on different types of safari to find one that suits you. And then head over to GoToAfrica to review their different tours.
When is the best time of year for an African Safari?
There’s not really a bad time to go on a African Safari, however there are several factors that determine the best time to go.
- Climate and Weather
- High season vs low season
- Cost
- Ease of access and road conditions
- Wildlife spotting
School holidays determine our travel plans, and luckily July is one of the best times to go. It is dry season so roads are passable, animals congregate around watering holes and it is not the peak season for tourism so it is not overcrowded (even though mass tourism isn’t really an issue). At this time of year, it wasn’t splashing around in swimming pool weather. We were in jackets and long sleeves most of the time.
Should we worry about Malaria?
You should always check with your travel clinic before travelling, this goes for vaccinations too. Check the area you are going to as many areas are low risk or no risk. For example, Southern Namibia is “no risk” whereas the Caprivi Stirp is “moderate risk,” We opted out of taking any form of malaria pills, instead focused on prevention- long sleeves and repellent. Our favorite our repellent wipes, especially for the face.
What to pack for kids?
Warm clothes are important for evenings, but most times of the year day time is spent in shorts, t-shirts, and a light weight jacket. June to September can be quite cold at night. We had jumpers, jackets and even hats of sunset safari and around the campfire at night. Although its not necessary to kit your kid up head to toe in Khaki, its best to avoid bright colors, as well as blues as apparently blue colors attract the Testse fly.
Closed toed shoes are recommended. Don’t go out and buy them a brand new pair of hiking boots. Its likely you will spend more time in the car then on hikes! Something to slip on and off and that gives them some support on the short walks is fine.
Bathroom breaks for kids
A careful balancing act between staying hydrating and not having to stop every couple of hours! (even for adutls) Luckily we have a child like a camel, however, considering some unfenced campsites don’t recommended moving around after sunset and there are plenty of drives that say, don’t get out your car, you may want to think about a “Shepees”. However, on some roads, there are plenty of rest stops. Just make sure to take plenty of toilet paper, and hand sanitizer!
Just remember- animals are well camouflaged and sneaky. don’t take any unnecessary risks!
Fussy Eater?
If you are a little concerned about food, don’t be! The best thing to do with fussy eaters, is to do a self drive safari where you are cooking over campfires. With fridges and freezers in vehicles, there is the ability to stock up on snacks etc before setting off from a main town.
Travel logistics
It is worth noting that coming from Europe, most flights are red eyes. This means that if you child sleep deeply anywhere, they may get a full nights sleep on the flight. If you child doesn’t belong in that 0.05% then bare in mind, travel days are long and it may be worth building a rest day into you itinerary. Our travel days to start our Botswana flights are not going to be easy. And 11 hour overnight flight to Johannesburg followed by a wait of a few hours before boarding a flight to Maun. How do we make this trip bearable?
1- Book a comfortable, easy access hotel at the destination. a good nights sleep to recover from the travel day, can make or break the first few days. Book a hotel with a restaurant so there is no need to go out looking if you are all really tired.
2- Consider Airport Lounge Access. Check your credit cards to see if you can spend your layover in any lounges. This will save money on food as well as be a quieter place for kids to rest and access internet.
3- Consider trying to get all the way to our destination in one day. With some safari destinations requiring flying into a major airport and then taking a connecting flight, whether to Maun, Kasane, Walvis Bay etc, if you are short on time, try and take a flight the same day. This also avoids travel to and from airports, and Cape Town traffic towards the airport can be pretty busy. If you have time, look at spending a few days in Capetown. There are plenty of connecting flights to Namibia dn Botswana from there.
4- Set yourself up comfortably on the flight. Comfortable clothing, blankets, hydration. Whatever makes you more comfortable! We travel with 2 full size pillow- vacuum sealed until we get on the flight. These come in very handy on long car journeys and in tents!
Jet Lag
The beautiful thing about coming from Europe is the similar time zones. No need to beat jet lag quickly in order to make the most of your trip! Since we are coming form Roatan, we are spending a couple of days in the UK to shake off the jet lag.
Leave a plan with someone at home
When travelling in remote areas, we always share our itinerary with our families, usually as a google doc. We also had a Garmin inreach mini, with a briefing to our family members on how often we would check in and what to do if we didn’t.
