How to read the safari map
On the safari map, Africa splits into two safari halves that run on opposite seasons. So knowing which half you are looking at is the fastest way to narrow a route.
Eastern versus Southern Africa
In Eastern Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda offer open plains, big herds and the Great Migration. It also pairs naturally with Zanzibar or the Seychelles. In Southern Africa, by contrast, Botswana, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia are waterways, deserts and walking country. Likewise, they pair with Cape Town, Victoria Falls or Mozambique.
Which destinations combine easily
In general, combinations work best within one half of the continent. The Serengeti with the Maasai Mara, the Okavango Delta with Victoria Falls, or Kruger with Cape Town all sit, for example, within a short flight of each other. Crossing between East and Southern Africa in one trip is possible but costs a day in the air each way, so it is usually better as two journeys.
International gateways
On the safari map, most journeys begin at Kilimanjaro (JRO) or Nairobi (NBO) in the east, and Johannesburg (JNB), Cape Town (CPT) or Maun (MUB) in the south. We book your safari around the gateway that suits your routing rather than asking you to fit the gateway.
Internal flights
Camps are connected by light aircraft on fixed schedules, typically 40 to 90 minutes between areas. Flying rather than driving is what turns a six-hour transfer into a morning game drive, which is why fly-in routing is built around airstrips rather than roads. However, these aircraft usually limit baggage to a soft bag of around 15kg. See the packing list.
The parks on our Africa safari map
The safari map above plots these parks and reserves, with the short version of what each one is for. Each name opens its full guide.
Eastern Africa. The Serengeti is the Great Migration’s home range, with river crossings in the north from about July to October and calving in the south from January to March. Ngorongoro Crater holds a dense resident population of wildlife inside a collapsed volcano, and Tarangire is baobab and elephant country, best in the dry months. Lake Manyara sits below the Rift Valley escarpment and often makes a gentle first afternoon. In Kenya, the Maasai Mara is the northern half of the migration, ringed by private conservancies with fewer vehicles; Amboseli puts elephants in front of Kilimanjaro on clear mornings; Samburu brings northern species you will not see in the Mara, such as Grevy’s zebra and the reticulated giraffe; and Lake Nakuru is an easy Rift Valley addition. Mountain gorillas live in Rwanda and Uganda, an easy extension from either country.
Southern Africa. Botswana’s Okavango Delta is a seasonal flood in the Kalahari, explored by mokoro and on foot as well as by vehicle, and Moremi protects its eastern core. Chobe means river safaris among some of Africa’s largest elephant herds, a short transfer from Victoria Falls. South Africa’s Kruger and Sabi Sand private reserves are known for leopard and off-road guiding. Zambia’s South Luangwa is walking safari country, and Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools and Hwange add canoeing on the Zambezi and dry-season elephants at the waterholes. In Namibia, Etosha gathers game around its waterholes and Sossusvlei is red dunes and desert light. On the safari map, the Kalahari is open desert and salt pans, a stark contrast to the Delta next door.
Using the safari map to plan a route
Use this safari map of Africa to see which countries pair naturally with one another.
Start with the half of the continent that matches your travel dates, pick two or three areas within it that offer different habitats, then let the flight schedule set the order. If you tell us your dates and what you most want to see, we will suggest the route rather than ask you to build it. You can start planning, or see when to go.