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© 2026 Rare Passages. All rights reserved.

Classic and Concierge trips are operated by African Travel, Inc. and booked through our host agency, Outside Agents. We earn a commission when you book. Affiliate disclosure.

Safari Awaits (RM Ventures LLC) is an independent agent of A.S.A.P. Cruises, Inc. d/b/a OutsideAgents.com, 9125 Phillips Highway, Jacksonville, FL 32256, (866) 208-5604. Independent Agent of FST No. ST15578 and CST No. 2090937-50. Registration as a seller of travel does not constitute approval by the State of California.

Find my safari
A herd of elephants crossing dry grassland beyond a lodge pool deck
African destinations, known concession by concession

Your safari awaits.

The safari that fits how you travel, not the one easiest to sell. Published prices before you talk to anyone.

Find my safariSee what your budget buys

Packaged Classic & Concierge book via a partner operator on our Outside Agents rail. Affiliate disclosure.

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Decide before you enquire

Three questions every first safari asks. Answered without a sales call.

Most safari sites ask you to request a quote before they discuss money, month or country. So we put the answers in front of you first.

01

What does your budget actually buy?

Botswana, nine days in May 2027: from $16,995 per person sharing for a partner operator's Chobe and Okavango sample, flights between camps included. Move the inputs and the range moves with them.

Price a trip →02

Botswana or Tanzania?

Botswana on privacy and guiding; Tanzania on the migration and a beach to finish. Eight countries, eight factors, side by side.

Compare countries →03

Which month, honestly?

April is wrong for Kenya and Tanzania and one of South Africa’s better months. Every country, every month, rated.

See the year →
The premise

We would rather know eight countries in depth than forty by name. Botswana, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Uganda — studied to the concession, the season, and the guide.

That depth is the whole product. Anyone can list lodges; knowing which one is right for you in August, and wrong in March, is the work. It is also why we can put the countries side by side and let you see the trade-offs yourself.

The standard

What we hold to.

A note from the founder →

  1. We will tell you when the answer is no.

    Wrong month, wrong country, wrong year to go at all — a recommendation you can trust requires the willingness to lose the booking.

  2. The cost, itemized, before you decide.

    Charter flights, park fees, concession levies, the single supplement — itemized in your proposal, with exclusions listed. Prices can change under the operator's terms, and government fees can change even after final payment.

  3. We tell you why each camp is in your proposal.

    If a camp is in a proposal, we'll tell you why it's there, which concession it sits on and how you get there from the airstrip. What we look for in operators.

  4. We don't hold your trip payments.

    You contract with and pay the operator or booking partner directly, under their terms. The operator pays us a commission when you book, and rates vary by operator; ask and we'll tell you how we're paid.

  5. Every recommendation names its reason.

    Not a shortlist. A shortlist with the thinking attached — why this region, why this month, and what you give up by choosing it. Our editorial standards.

01

Botswana

Delta, desert, distance

Private concessions where only camp guests may drive, guiding that sets the regional standard, and water you explore by mokoro.

Best monthsMay–October
Lodge rates (pp sharing / night)$658–$4,225 per person sharing, per night
Read the Botswana guide →Price this trip
Wildebeest packed in dry grass, horns sharp in the foreground, the herd softening behind
02

Tanzania

Migration country

The migration on the Serengeti plains, the Ngorongoro caldera, and Zanzibar a short hop from the circuit.

Best monthsJune–October; January–March
Lodge rates (pp sharing / night)$560–$3,525 per person sharing, per night
Read the Tanzania guide →Price this trip
03

Kenya

Classic, with range

Big cats in private conservancies that flex to families, short flights from Nairobi, and the Mara crossings from July.

Best monthsJuly–October; January–February
Lodge rates (pp sharing / night)$500–$3,405 per person sharing, per night
Read the Kenya guide →Price this trip
Two leopards on a fallen log, one stepping toward the other against a pale sky
04

South Africa

Safari, without compromise

Malaria-free reserves, Sabi Sand’s habituated leopards, and Cape Town a short flight away.

Best monthsMay–September for safari
Lodge rates (pp sharing / night)R5,450–R60,470 per person sharing, per night
Read the South Africa guide →Price this trip

Published 2026 lodge rates, per person sharing, per night, low to peak season. Flights and park fees extra; final price depends on dates and availability.

Also on the map

The rest of the map.

  • 05NamibiaDunes, desert, silenceMay–OctoberN$7,265–N$30,195 per person sharing, per nightGuidePrice
  • 06ZambiaWhere the walking safari beganJune–October$810–$1,840 per person sharing, per nightGuidePrice
  • 07ZimbabweGuides licensed the hard wayMay–October$355–$1,935 per person sharing, per nightGuidePrice
  • 08Rwanda & UgandaAn hour with the gorillasJune–September; December–February$765–$3,630 per person sharing, per night, plus gorilla permitsGuidePrice
  • 09MoroccoDesert after the bushMarch–May; September–NovemberPriced on quoteGuidePrice
  • 10EgyptHistory on the riverOctober–AprilPriced on quoteGuidePrice
  • 11MadagascarEndemics, hard travel, private reservesApril–NovemberPriced on quoteGuidePrice

Published 2026 lodge rates, per person sharing, per night, low to peak season. Flights and park fees extra; final price depends on dates and availability.

All destinations, in depth →

The itinerary ends at the fire. What happens around it is yours.

The approach

Not a booking engine.
A matchmaker.

We don't own camps. For packaged Classic and Concierge trips we book through one primary tour operator, and we say so.

Ask us about a camp and we can tell you who holds the concession, who guides there, and what changes in a bad rain year.

Proposals itemize charter flights, park fees, and concession access before you decide, and list what's not included, such as international flights, visas, tips, and required travel protection. Read the operator framework.

Send a brief →or ask for a call
How it works

Three steps. Zero pressure.

01

Tell us the trip

Dates, budget, who is traveling, what matters most. Ten minutes in writing, or thirty on a call. We read it against season, concession and operator — then reply with the thinking attached.

02

We build the options

Two or three proposals from operators matched to your brief, each with an itemized cost. No template trips. Each one starts blank from what you told us.

03

You decide

Compare, push back, take your time. We disclose how we are paid. When a packaged trip from a partner operator fits, that is our default rail — not a secret ranking.

Free. Every brief gets a considered reply with full costs inside four business days. No payment, no obligation — and we will tell you if the answer is no.

Planning

Luxury African safaris

Compare countries, concessions, guiding, transfers and itinerary choices that define an excellent luxury safari.

Read the guide →
Before you book

Read this first.

  1. BudgetingAfrican safari costSee what drives safari cost, how countries compare and what travelers often forget to include in the total budget.
  2. DestinationsBest country for safari in AfricaCompare Botswana, Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa by wildlife, privacy, season, budget, access and traveler type.

The full library — every guide cites its sources →

Common questions

Frequently asked questions

How much does a luxury African safari cost?

On published 2026 rates, luxury-tier safari camps cost from $740 to $2,640 per person sharing per night in the countries that price in US dollars, depending on the country and the month. The top tier reaches $4,225 per person sharing per night in Botswana's Okavango Delta in peak season. Park fees, flights and transfers are often extra, and the final price depends on dates and availability.

The bush is waiting.

Tell us what matters. We will find the safari that delivers it — or tell you honestly if this is not the year.

Send a briefAsk for a call instead

Free, no obligation. Every brief gets a considered reply with full costs inside four business days — or ask for a call and we propose times by email.

Safari Awaits (RM Ventures LLC) is an independent agent of A.S.A.P. Cruises, Inc. d/b/a OutsideAgents.com, 9125 Phillips Highway, Jacksonville, FL 32256, (866) 208-5604. Independent Agent of FST No. ST15578 and CST No. 2090937-50. Registration as a seller of travel does not constitute approval by the State of California.