PRACTICAL & PROVEN
The questions you should ask
When to go. What to pack. What flying between lodges actually involves. Visa rules, malaria realities, packing weights. Useful answers, written without the marketing voice.
Read these before you book anything
HOW WE THINK ABOUT THESE
We answer the question, then the next one
Most safari planning advice online is written to rank on Google. It hedges. It never tells you what is actually true. We write the opposite. If a region is worse in March, we say so. If a lodge is overpriced for what it offers, we say so. If a transfer route is bumpy and four hours long, we put that in the first paragraph.
Some of these are short answers, the kind you read on your phone in a queue. Others are longer because the question deserves it. Cost. Season. Comparison. Logistics. Health. The pieces that turn a vague idea into a confirmed booking.
39 pieces
Browse the guides
Guides
How many nights do you really need on safari?
Four nights in one private reserve is our usual answer for a first safari. Here is why, and why a night in Johannesburg on the way in makes them count.
Guides
Walking safari: why you see Africa differently on foot
You cover less ground on foot, and somehow you see much more.
Guides
Planning your first safari? Start with the people who can hear the hyenas
What we would tell you about your first safari if you sat down at our kitchen table. There is usually gin.
Guides
Botswana has water again. Here is what that means for your safari.
Botswana is having a stronger water year. Here is what that changes, and why the right lodge and the right week still matter more than a brochure month.
Guides
Sandringham Private Game Reserve: should you go early, or wait?
Greater Kruger's newest reserve opens in August 2026. Our honest take on who should book Sandringham early, and who should give it a few seasons.
Guides
South Africa's online traveller declaration: what it means for your safari (and what it doesn't)
A five-minute customs form now stands between you and the arrivals hall. Here's what it is, who needs it, and what nothing to declare actually means for a normal safari guest.
Guides
How safari pricing works: where the money goes
From the people who build the quotes. Where every part of the money lands, what a cheaper quote usually leaves out, and how to spend it well.
Guides
Bazaruto vs Quirimbas: which Mozambique archipelago is right for you?
How to choose between Mozambique's two great archipelagos for a bush-and-beach trip. Geography, lodge feel, when to go.
Guides
Sabi Sand or Kruger
Two reserves, one fence line, very different mornings
Guides
Gorilla trekking, Uganda or Rwanda
Two countries, the same forest, two very different days
Guides
Do you need travel insurance for a safari
What safari travel insurance must cover, and why standard policies fall short
Guides
Sole-use villa safaris in Africa
What sole-use villa safaris mean in practice, who they suit, and what to ask
WHEN YOU HAVE READ ENOUGH
We will plan the rest
A good guide saves an hour. A planner saves a week. Once you have a sense of where and when, send us what you are thinking. We will pressure-test it and come back with the version that works.
Start with a conversation