SAFARIS
African safari itineraries: compare 149 trips by country, length and price
Go2Africa's 149 itineraries compared by country, length and starting price, with the month, insurance and advisory facts that decide which trip to open.
Go2Africa's feed lists 149 safari itineraries. The cheapest trip costs $3,700 per person and runs 10 days through Cape Town, Kruger and Victoria Falls. Across all 149, the median starting price is $10,300 and 72 start under $10,000. Trips run from 4 to 23 days, with a median of 10.
Twelve trips start above $20,000. The most expensive is a $68,000 Mozambique island stay, $29,000 above the next at $39,000. Go2Africa's own page for that stay showed only $8,710 to $9,430 per person sharing on November 7, 2026.
Kenya starts cheapest, Botswana costs most per day
Kenya's median start is $7,800, and 17 of its 23 trips start under $10,000. South Africa's median is $14,500, and only 12 of its 33 trips start under $10,000, but South Africa's trips are also the longest, at a median of 12 days and up to 23.
Kenya is still lowest per day of the trip, at a median of $890, while South Africa's is $1,115 and Tanzania's is $1,134. The 44 trips that start in other countries sit at $988 a day. Botswana is highest at $1,212, on trips that run a median of 7 days. The Botswana page sets two 4-day Delta trips side by side: Adventurer Family Botswana's Delta at $3,800 and Romantic Botswana's Delta, Chief's Island at $13,000.
| Group | Trips | From, per person |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa7 to 23 days | 33 | $3,700 to $39,000 |
| Tanzania7 to 15 days | 28 | $4,400 to $23,100 |
| Kenya6 to 13 days | 23 | $3,900 to $22,600 |
| Botswana4 to 10 days | 21 | $3,800 to $19,500 |
| Zambia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Uganda and more4 to 17 days | 44 | $4,056 to $68,000 |
What the starting price covers
Go2Africa quotes per person sharing. Its pages for the cheapest South Africa, Kenya and Botswana trips list the same inclusions: permits and park fees, plus the activities in the itinerary. They list the same exclusions too: international flights and related taxes, visas, tips and personal items such as travel insurance.
The feed's start price and Go2Africa's own pages don't always agree. On the pages for the cheapest South Africa trip and the cheapest Kenya trip, the range shown sits above the feed's start price. The pages for Luxury Benguerra Island Holiday and Kalahari Botswana's San Camp show ranges below it.
Flights, insurance and bags sit outside it
Flights come first. In our travel partner's fare data on November 2, 2026, the typical lowest round trip from US cities was $1,038 to Nairobi, $1,080 to Johannesburg and $1,270 to Kigali. The full table is on our cheap flights to Africa page, and there are separate pages for Kenya and South Africa.
Two countries now require a policy of their own. Kenya's government insurance portal, insurance.ecitizen.go.ke, says inbound health insurance has been required since October 5, 2026, at up to $44 per person, and calls it separate from any travel insurance you already hold. A September 30, 2026 notice from the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Dar es Salaam says mainland Tanzania began requiring inbound insurance on October 1, 2026, at $44. For a policy of your own, see our travel insurance guide.
Bush planes between camps set tight bag limits. Safarilink in Kenya allows 15 kg per person including hand baggage on most routes, in soft bags. Mack Air in Botswana allows 20 kg including hand luggage and also requires soft-shell bags. For phone data on the trip, see our eSIM guide.
Timing by park
The Great Migration runs all year across the Maasai Mara and the Serengeti, Magical Kenya says, and its most dramatic part, the Mara River crossings, falls in July to October. In the Serengeti, the rainy season runs from November to April and the dry season from May to October, according to Tanzania National Parks.
The Okavango Delta follows the dry winter. UNESCO says the river's yearly flood arrives in the dry winter, which it dates to a peak in June and July. The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority names February to May as the best time for Victoria Falls, directly after the summer rains.
South African Tourism says many Kruger visitors come from April to September, when animals are easier to spot, and calls November to February very hot. For gorillas, Go2Africa's trekking guide says treks run all year, with the driest stretches from mid-December to February and June to September.
According to Visit Rwanda, mountain gorillas live in a volcanic range that spans Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The feed's mountain gorilla trips go to Rwanda and Uganda. A permit for a foreign visitor costs $1,500 in Rwanda, Visit Rwanda says, and $800 in Uganda, according to the Uganda Wildlife Authority's tariff. Our gorillas, Zambia, Zimbabwe and beyond page has the permit rules.
Advisories and malaria
The State Department rates countries from Level 1 to Level 4, and its titles for Level 3 and Level 4 are "Reconsider Travel" and "Do Not Travel". On November 7, 2026, its advisory feed listed Zambia at Level 1 and Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe at Level 2. Kenya and Rwanda were at Level 3, and Uganda was at Level 4.
Uganda's Level 4, issued June 4, 2026, cites crime, health, terrorism and unrest. It also says the US government has limited ability to give emergency consular help there because of an Ebola outbreak. The State Department moved Kenya to Level 3 on October 19, 2026. The same day, the CDC posted a notice for Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease in Kenya. It says Kenya's Ministry of Health confirmed an imported case and linked cases in Nairobi. The CDC's notice for Uganda is Level 2, "practice enhanced precautions", updated August 28, 2026. The CDC's Rwanda page lists no Ebola notice.
On malaria, the CDC lists all of Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique, every part of Kenya below 2,500 meters and of Tanzania below 1,800 meters, but in South Africa only Kruger and the districts listed around it. Cape Town isn't on that list.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an African safari cost?
In Go2Africa's feed, downloaded November 5, 2026, starting prices run from $3,700 to $68,000 per person. The median is $10,300, and 72 of the 149 trips start under $10,000. International flights, visas, tips and personal items such as travel insurance are extra.
Which country is cheapest for a safari?
In this feed, Kenya. Its median starting price is $7,800 against $14,500 for South Africa, and its median works out to $890 a day.
How many days do I need?
The median trip in the feed is 10 days, and the range is 4 to 23. Five trips run 4 days: four in Botswana and one gorilla trek in Rwanda.
When is the best time to go?
Magical Kenya puts the Mara River crossings at July to October, South African Tourism says many Kruger visitors come from April to September, and UNESCO ties the Okavango flood to the dry season's peak in June and July.
Are these prices final?
No. They are the feed's per-person starting prices. For the cheapest South Africa and Kenya trips, the range on Go2Africa's own page sits above the feed price, and for two other trips it sits below.
FinalAirfare may earn a commission if you book through the Go2Africa links on this page, at no extra cost to you. Prices are Go2Africa's per-person starting prices from its affiliate feed, which we downloaded on November 5, 2026 and which Go2Africa last updated in May 2026. They change, so open a trip for today's price and dates.
