Affordable African Safaris

A safari is nearly always more than you want to spend. Faced with this reality, sometimes you may decide to increase your budget but that may not be possible. Here are some of our more affordable safaris and less expensive safari lodges and camps…

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Overview

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What on earth do we mean by “Affordable African Safaris”? Elsewhere we’ve talked about how a safari is often more than you want to spend. And that's true. So on this page, we focus on lodges and areas which are on the affordable side of this spectrum.

PRO TIP: Make sure you budget considerably more for your nights on safari within a trip. You may want to economize in other ways - See our page on Africa Safari Pricing for some rough per night prices - in order to know what to budget for good private game reserves.

Below are some of our more affordable African safaris and less expensive game lodges and camps.

These tend to be - though not exclusively - in South Africa or Namibia, Here the Rand is relatively weak versus the world currencies giving you better value for your money. Also our sample South Africa safari tours usually include non-safari areas such as Cape Town or the Garden Route. This naturally brings down the overall cost.

(Plus you can easily opt to self-drive in the Cape which brings down the cost still more.)

What do you get at OUR affordable game lodges?

In this world of online travel sites, it’s easy to get confused as to why a game lodge is comparatively inexpensive. All game reserves are NOT created equal. So if a game lodge seems very reasonable, you need to ask why? When choosing an affordable African safari, we steer clear of the lesser game reserves. (They may say they are Big Five reserves but how many of each species do they really have? And are they free-roaming?)

You are looking for a proper safari and not a zoo experience.

Instead we focus on the affordable game lodges which are in good game-viewing areas. The accommodation will be simpler, the food not so elegant. Yes, the guiding may be a little less refined. But you will be on safari in the same terrain as much more expensive lodges, tracking the same wildlife.

Similarly some of the lesser known game reserves in remote areas offer a fantastic safari experience. That's why you need to talk to the safari experts! (End of small rant.)

As long as you have the correct expectations, these affordable lodges can be every bit as good as their pricier cousins.

Note: Below we highlight affordable game lodges for their area.

Download our Insiders Guide to Namibia Safaris

Major Game Reserves, Sample Tours & Camps, plus the low-down on Best Time to Visit! Get our Free Guide here
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Excellent attention to detail
"This is the second holiday that Ginny and her team have arranged for us, and once again the service and attention to detail were excellent. Ginny put together a wonderful tailor made itinerary for our trip, and her recommendations were absolutely perfect in enhancing the trip. In today’s world of being able to arrange most things yourself, I have no doubt that there is no way we could have pu ..." - Mrs Janet Mudge, UK
Cedarberg & company have been amazing!
"Cedarberg & Co have been amazing! Professional, knowledgeable and very helpful. We had put everything together in about a week. Communications are of high standards. All plans worked. " - Mr Roland, UK
The whole travel experience was excellent!
"We were very happy with the kind and professional way our travel request was dealt with. We received an outlined itinerary swiftly with an elaborate description that sounded very attractive. A couple of changes were made to adapt it somehow a little more to our wishes. The whole procedure was easy going and agreeable. A last minute change concerning our rental car was dealt with swiftly and smo ..." - Mrs Fenagun, UK
We honestly had the trip of a life time and it was a magical time for our whole family.
"We honestly had the trip of a life time and it was a magical time for our whole family. From the animals in the Serengeti to the palm fringed perfect beaches of Zanzibar it was two weeks we will never forget. We had a superb guide and saw the big 5 on safari which was really special. Thank you so much Milandi. " - Jos Palmer
Outstanding & First class
"We are back from our trip to SA and having had just the best time ever. Everything slotted into place perfectly and all the accommodation and activities you booked for us were outstanding. Couldn’t have been bettered, you chose very well! Stands out as one of the best trips we’ve ever had. Virtually everything went like clockwork and we had a fantastic time. You did a brilliant job ..." - Mr& Mrs Cott, UK
 
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Tasha Eygelaar

AFRICAN TRAVEL SPECIALIST

Hi I'm Tash, I'm here to help you plan your ideal holiday experience GET IN TOUCH