10+ African Safaris: Which was the best?

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So many people have asked us which park we liked best of all of the safaris we have done in Africa. We have been here for well over a year now, and can luckily say we have been on quite a few Safaris..some of them for many days.

We have been to more than 10 parks in Africa. We have been to Mikumi, Manyara, Taringire, and Serengeti/Ngorongoro parks in Tanzania. We have been to the Etosha National Park in Namibia, Hlane Game Reserve in Swaziland, and Kruger, HluHluwe, Imfolozi, I’Simangaliso, and Enseleni parks in South Africa. There are more countries in Africa, and more Safari destinations in the countries we have been to. And there are more countries we haven’t visited yet. It would take a lifetime to see them all, and we wouldn’t mind trying. We really love safaris. We wake up at 4am and get out the door the moment it is allowed at each park, we rest midday, and then we go out late afternoon til they force us back in to the gates and lodges at night. We never seem to tire of the search and reward of viewing wild animals on safaris, either in our own small vehicle or in a safari vehicle with a guide.

First, to compare them all isn’t fair. It’s often about luck, weather, and the time of year you are at a location. Hence we want to be sure you know, this is not a scientific comparison, not the most educated one either. Honest and personal yes. We DID recieve a small discount from one operator in Tanzania, but it was so small, I’m not even sure it wasn’t anything more than a standard negotiating discount 😉

All parks in Tanzania were visited in shoulder seasons…while it was dry, but while there were medium amounts of tourists, so the animals were not completely visible when we were in green pastures or in wooded areas. Etosha we visited during extreme dry season, so animals were easy to spot, and many were dying from lack of green food and water. Kruger was visited during wet and busy season, so there were more hiding places from the tourists and watering holes for animals, so possibly we would have seen more in dry season. Hluehlwe and ISimangaliso were very close to where we stayed for the time we spent in South Africa (10 months and counting in this country alone), so we saw them during different seasons, wet and dry, and always had a nice safari but only sometimes an extraordinary amount of sightings. Hlane was in wet season as well, so we often didn’t see many animals.

So here is our order of preferences…based on what we saw while there, how much effort it took us to find animals, the variation in species found…

Best to Worst

 

#1 and #2 Serengeti And Ngorongoro Crater -Hands down the best. Worth going way way out of your way for…a flight to Tanzania is well worth it for this park alone. We didn’t need to rest at mid day becuase the animals were still out, freely around the park. But far, this park has the most number of animals seen, biggest herds, lions close up consistently, and active, one leopard, etc. Best accommodations. By far the worst prices! Even if you camp it’s expensive here! But there is no real way to stay outside the park, there is only very expensive self drive, meals are expensive, hotels start at $300 per night. Ticket to the park, just under $100 for the day per person! And the park is so big, you really are forced to stay inside the park. Ngorongoro Crater is either part of Serengetti or just outside, and is equally as worthwhile, and as a matter of fact if you can’t see the Serengetti, at least get to Ngorongoro…it is a completely enclosed crater, filled with animals, and it is just stunning…huge herds, abundance and variety of animals, scenery..it has it all, just like the rest of the Serengetti! If you get to not one other park in your life, Serengeti and Ngorongoro National Parks are the ones to do! Put these on your bucket list if you love seeing animals in the extreme wild! Choose a tour operator before you arrive to be sure you go with a reputable well organized operator (http://www.FaceafricaAdventures.com is one we can personally recommend, but there are hundreds!) See our Youtube video here:

 

#3 Kruger National Park -Very very wonderful. Worth going on a special trip To South Africa for. We went during a crowded time of year (School holiday) but still didn’t see that many cars, though the lodges were packed and sold out, for Christmas and New Years holidays. And it was rainy season on top of that, though still nice weather, and still we saw lots of animals. Rainy season is always the worst time to go to any national park becuase the animals don’t need the man made watering holes, and can find food and water anywhere. The trees and bushes are greener and fuller so it’s hard to see beyond the road.  It took a LOT of work to find them this time of year, but we had some very close encounters, and brilliant photographing opportunities anyways!  Huge variation of animals… big cats almost every day, one day mating very close to the car, great leopard sighting one day, unbelievable wild dog experience complete with hyenas moving in on the injured dog, up close and personal hyenas every day. A few rhinos in the distance, and all the typical safari animals, big and small.

Hotels were never more than $100 per night and were clean and decent…self drive was very cheap or free, gas stations were abundant, as were restaurants and snack shops. Entrance was about $25 per day per person, but we had a “wild card” which is like a season pass that had already paid for itself by the time we went to this park. Much more affordable than Serengeti, but lacking two things, in at least the part of the park we were in: 1. Plains that rolls forever, with gorgeous sunsets of amazing colors. 2. the sheer number of animals, the huge herds: If Kruger had 10, then Serengeti had 1000. That said…the animals varied in both parks, and in both there were lots of lions. Still Serengeti tops Kruger if you can afford it. But Kruger can be self drive and save a lot of money. Buy a guidebook if you go to Kruger…you will want to know what the animals are!

 

 

#4 Etosha National Park. This is a park worth flying to Namibia for. We went when it was VERY dry season. Excruciating for the animals, excruciating for our sinuses and skin. Couldn’t imagine being in an open vehicle here…the dust would kill you. There were times when cars passed us that we had to stop and wait for dust to clear. I don’t know how the flora or fauna lives through it. I was very glad to be in our air conditioned self drive car. Hotels in the park were as expensive as Serengetti, but very decent hotels just 1-2 miles outside the park were affordable at under $150 per night with a fantastic breakfast and dinner for 2 included.. Self drive and entrance to the park also very reasonable.

#5 Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. We went during dry season, and saw lots of animals. If you are already in Tanzania, and are looking for a cheaper alternative than the northern parks, and still a good experience…it is worth the bus ride from Dar Es Salam to visit this park. We stayed for 2 nights inside the park, at a somewhat run down but cheap hotel, but it was a great location, with unbelievable sunsets with animals right around the hotel. No crowds at all. Big herds though not as big as Serengeti. But bigger than in other parks. All the common animals, multiple mating lions, jackals, etc. Drove with guide only, though I think you can self drive. Prices here reasonable including entrance, but more than South Africa. A nice first safari, no doubt. I’m not sure if self drive is allowed here..but the  driver we found at the Mikumi Tourist Board found animals we never would have!  (We made a video of our trip here:

 

 

#6 Hluhluwe in South Africa. Imfolozi National Park is now one with Hluhluwe National Park. This is a very good alternative in South Africa if you can’t make it to Kruger. In some ways it’s even nicer due to its small size and lack of crowds.  We went here probably 15 times, mostly overnighters, since it was within a an hour or sos drive from where we were living in the boatyard. Lions only here once, from very far away, so it’s not the Park for big cats. But there are so many Rhinos, and they are active too. We have seen wild dogs, though not often, and all of the common sightings like many elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, Impalas and other antelopes too numerous to mention. During a night safari with a ranger, we saw lots of owls, rabbits, beautiful sleeping birds, and a civet cats, in addition to the day animals. We Baught a “wild card”..a seasons pass, which included Kruger too, so a weekend here with food was always under $125 for 2 days for 2. If we didn’t have passes, it was about $18 per person per day for entrance.

#7 Manyara, Tanzania. We saw no lions in trees, or lions anywhere, which is what the park is famous for, but we only went for one day. We saw some hyrax which we have seen nowhere else, and plenty of the common safari animals including hippos far away, but nothing extraordinary. Many many extraordinarily beautiful birds at this park.. beautiful colors, sizes and shapes, more than any other park we have ever been to. Expensive entrance though I don’t know the exact number, since we were on a tour. We stayed at a cheap adequate hotel/campground just outside the park.

 

 

#8 Tarangire National Park, Tanzania. famous for huge herds of elephants of which we saw many of in a day visit. We stayed in the same hotel as above since these 2 parks are very close to eachother. Besides the huge numbers of elephants, we saw the common safari animals easily, during dry season. Expensive entrance though I don’t recall the exact number because we were on a tour.

#9 Hlane Park, Swaziland. The worst roads of any park for sure. We were still able to drive them in an economy car, but it wasn’t pretty. One of the best watering holes, especially early in the morning, with rhinos and elephants and other every single morning. The one drawback of this park is that if you want to see the lions, you must pay to go on a guided safari. They aren’t that expensive but it does take some freedom away to stay as long as you want, waiting for the lion to wake up and start his hunt. They don’t allow self drive vehicles in to that area of the park and it’s locked and fenced. So you are sure to never see any lions on your own drives…which is a major bummer to us. But at night, you could hear the lions roaring…even my half deaf husband could hear them!  We only saw the most common safari animals, with the addition of rhinos, often, and up close at this park. The accommodations inside this park were nice, and about $100 per night. There is however no electricity at any time, not even a generator. They supply paraffin lanterns to each guest, and in every room. Romantic, but inconvenient at times. There is also a campground. There were many tourists here for their first African Safari, but in our opinion, unless you are visiting Swaziland anyways, it’s not worth a special trip to this country for a Safari in and of itself.

 

 

#10 Enseleni. This is a walking safari, small nature reserve 10 minutes from where we were in the boatyard. It had Wildebeest, zebras, and hippos though we never saw a hippo. One day we got a lot of ticks on us, so we never walked there again. The price was very cheap to enter…about $2 per person. There are no accommodations inside. It’s a nice safe place to walk, and nice to walk so close to zebras and many kinds of antelopes and duikers. It’s only rated last because it’s small, and doesn’t have that many animals. But it’s a pleasant afternoon walk if it’s a cool day. This is a park to visit only if you are around Richards Bay, South Africa. It is not worth a special trip here.

A little time off for a safari, in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

7 Tanzania Safari Tips- Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro National Park, Manyara National Park and Tarangire National Park