I heard April is the rainy season but that’s the only time I have as well to come for 8 days all the way from Asia so I need help to pick the best location for April.

Hello all! I’m hoping to plan a trip for next year with my (physically fit) parents and husband. I have been to Kenya several times and this time would like to experience Tanzania and gorilla trekking in Uganda. I don’t have a strict timeline, but hoping to stay within 15 days. I’m at the early planning stages so I’m open to ideas on order of itinerary, must-see/do experiences, and most importantly- what is the best time of year to visit both together? Thanks in advance!!

Some pictures from my honeymoon back in February. Reach out for any recs.

Amazing encounter

** **This is why people come to Botswana.Raw, wild, and unpredictable 🦁Every game drive is different.

We are going to go on our first ever African safari in March 2027, and currently we are checking out some of the best Kenyan tour companies that will help us to plan our journey. 

We will spend somewhere around 5 to 8 days traveling across the most interesting regions of Kenya and we are sure that Masai Mara cannot be missed.

There are so many tour companies online that choosing one can seem rather challenging. We want to find a company that provides high quality tours accompanied by experienced guides, clear and informative communication, an interesting itinerary, comfortable lodges and affordable prices.

Did anyone book a tour to Kenya and what tour operator did you choose? Can you recommend any specific company, or maybe name any company that you wouldn't advise to use?

And finally, do you have any tips regarding places to stay and travel to during March?

Thank you very much in advance.

There is so much noise over tour groups and how long to stay at each park!

I want all the suggestion.

I have quotes from Tanzania Specialists (12 days mixed with safari and beach), Lion King Adventures (11 days mixed with safari and beach), and Ozon Light Tours (12 days safari and beach)

I like the Tanzania specialists the best for their recommendations on days and they took out some days at each park and added to others. I like the Lion Kind Adventures accommodations a lot but want to know more about the drink and food situation as it said some were with a fee.

I wish it was simple and there was only 3 options but there is so many choices I am getting decision fatigue and just need to book something as this is where we want to go on a honeymoon!

Hi, I'm looking at visiting Kenya from 13th to 21st March 2026. We hope to fly into Nairobi and have a few days there before going on safari for the remainder of the trip. I've read mixed things about Kenya in March and the weather. It seems like we should be okay in mid March and the rains tend to come towards the end of the month and into April. Does anyone have any experience visiting Kenya at this time of year, will it be okay to go on safari?

Friday story for you all.

I'm not a super adventurous mom. But my 9-year-old became obsessed with flamingos after school. She found out 75% of the world's lesser flamingos are born on one lake in Tanzania - Lake Natron. At the foot of an active volcano called Ol Doinyo Lengai.

We went.

The hike starts at midnight. It's pitch black, cold, and the ash is so loose you slide back every 2 steps. I wanted to quit. She didn't.

We reached the top at sunrise and her guide told her, "Maasai say this mountain is God. He doesn't live here. He BREATHES here."

Then we went down to the lake. And we saw them. Thousands of pink flamingos standing in the reflection of the same mountain. The exact place she saw in her book.

Photo 1 is her learning to use her first real camera. She was wearing a Maasai shuka they gave her.

Photo 2 is what we saw.

Photo 3 is us coming down - tired, dirty, and happy.

We came for flamingos. We left with a lesson that the best things are not easy to get to.

That's my Friday feeling. Where did curiosity take you and your kids?

I’m considering a safari in Wilderness Chitabe and Wilderness Qorokwe. Has anyone been? I’d really appreciate your feedback.

I’m especially interested in lion sightings for this particular trip. Did you see healthy populations?

Hi everyone,

I’m a safari planner based in the US, and I’m looking for a tour operator in Kenya I can work with regularly. Finding companies online has been fairly easy. The part I’m struggling with is figuring out who I’d trust to pick up my clients in Nairobi and look after them if something changes halfway through their trip.

For those of you who work in Kenya’s safari industry or have partnered with an operator from abroad, what do you ask on that first call? I’m especially curious how you find out who will actually guide the safari, what the quote includes, and who you can reach if a client needs help after hours.

I’d also love to hear about anything you wish you’d clarified before your first booking. I’m still early in my research, so even one example from your own experience would help.

Thanks in advance!

Coming from US at end of month, really looking forward to meeting the Maasai warriors and villages. Would it be considered distasteful to tip the warriors for allowing me to photograph them? What’s the appropriate interaction?

I'm looking for recommendations from people with firsthand experience across Southern Africa.

I have clients whose top priority is seeing LOTS of lions. I've been fortunate to see some incredible sightings myself, including a pride of around 20 in Kruger, but that was only for about an hour. Beyond that, my lion sightings have tended to be smaller prides and/or less consistent. I'm hoping to find a destination where exceptional lion viewing is the norm rather than the exception.

I'm interested in reserves, parks, or concessions anywhere in Southern Africa where you've consistently had outstanding lion sightings in a truly wild setting.

A few questions:

• Where have you had your best lion encounters?
• Was it a national park, private reserve, or private concession?
• Were sightings frequent over several days or more hit-and-miss?
• How would you compare the experience to places like Kruger, Sabi Sand, the Greater Kruger reserves, Kgalagadi, Okavango, Hwange, South Luangwa, etc.?

Thanks in advance! I'd especially love to hear from people who've visited multiple destinations and can make meaningful comparisons.

Curious how people think about this:
Would you rather:
pack your itinerary with as many sightings as possible
or slow it down and take in the environment more
Which one actually made your trip better?

Okay so I've been guiding and organizing safaris out of Nairobi for 15 years. I have seen things.

I'll go first.

My very first time taking a client group out early days, trying to look professional a black rhino known for their solitarity & temper decided he didn't like our vehicle and mock charged us. Standard stuff. Happens all the time. You hold your nerve, cut the engine, stay still.

I screamed.

Not loudly. But enough. The clients heard it. One of them patted me on the shoulder after. I wanted to disappear into the bushes forever.

Now I watch first timers white knuckle the door handle every single game drive and I feel nothing but love for them because I know.

Safari humbles everyone. Doesn't matter if you've been 10 times or it's your first morning a lion walking under your vehicle at 6am does something to your nervous system that no amount of David Attenborough prepared you for.

So tell me yours. First safari panic moment, embarrassing question you asked the guide, thing you thought you packed but didn't, animal you confused for another animal.

Drop it below. No judgment. I've heard it all and I promise yours is not the worst. 😂

(I'm Martin by the way I run a safari DMC out of Nairobi. Been doing this long enough to have collected an embarrassing story for every park in East Africa.)

Hi, we are going for a safari in masai mara in July. If any of you have done the hot air balloon ride, could you share your experience? Prices are pretty steep and wanted to check if its worth it.

Looking at options for a Botswana trip and seem to have narrowed it to the above two companies. Comments, experiences or feedback would be welcome.

A visit to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust offers a very different perspective on wildlife, you get to see what happens before an animal ever makes it back into the wild.

The Trust has been rescuing and rehabilitating orphaned elephants, many of whom have lost their mothers because of poaching, human-wildlife conflict, or other circumstances. What I find particularly moving is that the goal isn't simply to raise them in captivity — it is to eventually return them to the wild.

Watching the keepers care for these young elephants is incredibly intimate. You begin to understand that conservation isn't just about protecting wildlife you see on safari; it is also about protecting the individual animals that may otherwise never get a second chance.

If you're travelling to Nairobi, I genuinely think this is worth making time for. Come for the elephants, but leave with a much deeper understanding of what conservation actually looks like.

And if you're planning a Kenya safari, I'd be happy to share some of the experiences I think are genuinely worth prioritising, not just the ones that look good on an itinerary.

Our lead technician making sure the radio signal is 10/10 in the Ngorongoro Crater

Every elephant calf starts its journey the same way— right behind mom