One Week in Africa

What You Should Know Before Going On A Africa Tour

Popular Africa Travel Packages 

• Safari & Wildlife
• Cultural
• Food & Wine

There are about as many Africa guided tour options as the continent is large. How does one narrow down where and how to travel?

Your choice of ways to explore Africa are endless. Whether you’re looking for a multigenerational safari in East Africa, a honeymoon highlighting the winelands of South Africa or the exotic sights and cuisine of Morocco and Egypt, there are guided tours of Africa for all tastes and interests.

Whether you’re looking for ultra-luxurious private lodges or camping, mountain biking and hiking or jeep safari, the perfect trip to Africa awaits.

Think about what you most want out of your tour of Africa - is it culture? nature and wildlife? food and wine? The choices are many, so the more you can pinpoint your interests, the easier it will be to find the perfect Africa vacation for you. 

Here’s a look at the most popular types Africa tours: 

1. Safari & Wildlife 

Topping the charts for reasons to visit Africa on a guided tour, going on a wildlife safari is perennially popular. Head off at dawn or dusk - or even after dark - with an expert bush guide to track the Big Five: elephant, rhino, lion, leopard and buffalo.

Witness the annual Great Migration through Serengeti National Park. Go gorilla trekking in Rwanda and Uganda. Search for elephants in Hwange National Park and marvel at the wildlife of the Okavango Delta. Explore world-famous national parks and game reserves, including Chobe, Maasai Mara and Ngorongoro Crater. The romance of an African safari is real - your guided African safari will have you enchanted beyond your wildest dreams.

2. Cultural Tours of Africa 

Africa tours that include cultural experiences run the gamut from strolling through busy markets with local residents to meeting with tribes who live far from civilization.

Travel to KwaZulu-Natal, home to the Zulu tribe for nearly 200 years, where you can immerse yourself in Zulu culture and history. Learn about the ceremonies and traditions of West Africa, its fascinating voodoo ceremonies and mask dances.

Sing your heart out in Ghana at Afrochella, an incredible cultural experience in Accra showcasing Africa fashion, art and music. Visit with Botswana’s San Bushmen for an up-close peek at their village life. Get to know Maasai men and women. And visit the flourishing capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, with its incredible historical museums and authentic dining experiences. 

3. Food & Wine

All those long days on the savannah may leave you with a hearty appetite. Add on to your African safari, or focus entirely on a food and wine guided tour. South Africa shines with culinary experiences, including haute cuisine restaurants and expert-led trips to the Cape Winelands, Franschhoek and the Garden Route.

If you’re a craft beer fan, you’ll love exploring South Africa’s burgeoning craft brewery scene, particularly strong in Cape Town. The sights, smells and sounds of Morocco entice, from the country’s excellent wine to its flavorful cuisine and specialty teas. Coffee enthusiasts visiting Kenya can take a guided tour of a local fair-trade coffee plantation and explore, and taste, the coffee varietals. 

Best Time to See the Great Migration

• The dry season, between July and early October

The perennial question for wildlife enthusiasts visiting Africa: When is the best time to witness the Great Migration in East Africa? This surreal movement of nearly two million animals across the savannah is an incredible spectacle of our animal planet and a top attraction for those visiting East Africa.

Wildebeest, gazelle and zebra by the hundreds of thousands move from the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, into Kenya, the Maasai Mara National Reserve and then back to the southern Serengeti. Known mainly for its millions of wildebeest, the Great Migration is a living cycle through which the wildebeest find food, water and a suitable environment for their young throughout the seasons. 

Africa tours that coincide with the Great Migration operate in the dry season, between July and early October. The weather is more stable at this time of year and due to the dried-up landscape, the animals start their movement to find sustenance. If you can’t visit until November or December, you’ll likely still see wildebeest and zebra, though with less movement.

Do not visit East Africa during April and May if you want to see the Great Migration - it’s still the wet season in the Serengeti and the animals won’t have left yet. 

For the best views of the Great Migration, look for guided Africa safaris that visit Serengeti National Park in Tanzania or Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. In particular, the Serengeti’s Grumeti River is an impressive place to view wildebeest crashing through the water.

If you’re traveling on a guided tour in East Africa during the Great Migration, your guides will undoubtedly have planned to take advantage of the best viewpoints. Relying on their past experience and an understanding of the climate, landscape and animal behavior, your tour operator will help you witness one of the greatest spectacles of nature on Earth.

Safety in Africa 

Among the many perks of guided Africa safaris and overland tours is the safety and security you will feel as part of a group. While the mere thought of traveling so far and to a destination quite different than you’re used to can be disconcerting, it’s also undeniably exciting and rich with adventure and learning. Plus, the vast majority of travelers on Africa guided tours do not encounter any problems during their trip.

That being said, whenever you travel to an unfamiliar destination, like Africa, whether in a guided group or private tour, consider the following safety tips: 

• Consider leaving the flashy jewelry and watches at home, so as not to call attention to yourself.
• Carry a light load - pickpocketing is quite common. Keep your cash and passport close to your body with a money belt. 
• Read up on your destination and any current safety concerns, whether political or physical. Request information from your Africa overland tour operator and/or look online at your destination’s government website for up to date travel advisories. 
• Use taxi service after dark. 
• Exude confidence, even if you are lost. Act like you know right where you’re going. 
• Consider extra safety precautions and awareness in the following cities: Nairobi, Kenya; Lago, Nigeria; Johannesburg, South Africa; Dakar, Senegal
• Watch out for scams. And don’t give out your home phone number or address, which could then be used for a ransom call, collect call or other scam. 
• If you have a medical emergency in Africa and you are away from your tour group, ask how to get to the nearest embassy or upscale hotel. 
• Get or update the vaccines necessary for traveling to Africa - these typically include typhoid, yellow fever, rabies and Hepatitis A and B. Start taking anti-malarial medication before leaving for your Africa overland tour to ensure that you are protected. 
• Throughout your guided tour of Africa, choose foods that have been thoroughly cooked, drink only bottled water (South Africa being the exception) and don’t take ice in your drinks (typically the ice cubes are made from local water, not distilled or bottled water). 
• On an African safari, be absolutely certain to follow the safety rules as outlined by your safari guide, whether it’s staying away from large animals, being aware of snakes, wearing tick-repellent clothing or avoiding parasitic lakes and rivers. 
• When visiting Muslim countries like Somalia and Egypt, women should wear long sleeves and long pants, as well as cover their head if visiting a mosque or religious site.