A family safari trip to Africa will be one of the most amazing family trips you will ever take. Going on game drives with your kids is a very exciting family travel activity, and one they are sure to never forget.
Not only will a family trip to Africa be one of the best trips of your life, but it will likely be one of the most expensive too. Despite significant pre-planning, we learned a lot of valuable lessons on our recent three week family safari trip to Africa.
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15 Tips For A Successful Safari With Kids
Based on our real-life experiences with family safaris, here are our 15 best tips for going on safari with kids:
1. Bring Good Quality Binoculars
Safari trucks are typically not allowed to go off the official roads in the game parks, so quite often the African animals you stop to look at will be far away from the vehicle. Giving each child a pair of good binoculars will help them maximize their enjoyment of the game drive experience.
Learn from our previous mistakes… do not buy toy binoculars for kids, they always work terribly and will invariably frustrate your child. If you are spending all that money on a family safari trip to Africa, it’s worth it to invest in quality binoculars.
Our safari truck driver in Tanzania had a pair of high quality 10×50 binoculars in his Toyota Landrover. They were excellent quality, and our kids used them constantly when we’d stop to look at animals.
2. Bring e-Readers
As exciting as going on a safari is, the reality is that there will be some long stretches of time where you don’t see any African animals. This can be a lot to ask from a child who will succumb to boredom behaviors.
Do everyone a favor and bring along e-readers for the kids. Our kids own Kobo e-readers as they can access books from our library at home in Canada. This functionality is available on Amazon Kindle e-readers in the United States.
If you give your kids a Nintendo Switch or a smartphone to play with in the safari truck, good luck getting them interested in animals again. An e-reader is the perfect solution – it gives them something to do, without the addiction issues that come with phones and video games.
3. Bring Snacks
Family game drives can often exceed 3 – 4 hours at a time. Kids are always better behaved when they have full tummies.
During our family safari trip to Kenya & Tanzania, we would ask our driver to make occasional stops at supermarkets to stock up on snacks such as cashews, granola bars, digestive cookies, etc.
The last thing you want on a family game drive in Africa is a hangry kid – use snacks to keep everyone in good spirits! Be sure to stock up at large supermarkets in the big cities as it’s harder to find good snacks in smaller stores outside the city.
4. Do an African Animal Scavenger Hunt
This safari tip is along the same lines as bringing an e-reader. Game drives are several hours long and it’s a lot to ask for kids to stay happy and engaged the whole time.
To help keep your kids excited about going on game drives, we have created a series of African animal scavenger hunts. Kids earn points based on how many different animals they spot, along with how rare each animal is. Having a fun game to play on safari will go a long way to keep your kids happy and eager to spot new animals throughout the day.
As each African game park has a different set of animals which live there, we have created a scavenger hunt for each individual park.
For more information, check out our selection of African safari scavenger hunts!
5. Bring an African Animal Field Guide
A family trip to Africa for safari is incredibly exciting, but it can also be a great educational experience for children too. Invest in a quality guide book for children about African animals before your family trip to Africa. They can become animal experts and will be super excited to be able to identify animals on game drives and share some knowledge about them with their family!
Our safari house in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy had a copy of the The Kingdon Pocket Guide to African Mammals we could read near the fireplace. It was so good, I wished we had a copy of our own.
6. Break Up Game Drives With Scheduled Activities
As mentioned above, family game drives can often exceed 4 hours at a time. Whenever possible, we had a lot of success by intermixing some animal experiences in-between game drives or even in the middle of a family game drive.
For example, in Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya we went to visit Baraka the blind rhino and the the endangered northern white rhinos in the middle of a game drive. This turned a full day game drive into two shorter game drives with a fun activity in the middle. This did wonders to keep our kids excited and well behaved during the game drive portions the the day.
7. Spread Out Your Game Drives
On a similar note, when preparing your family safari itinerary, try to space out your game drives when possible. For example, if you are in a certain location for three days, go on safari on the first and third day, with a non-safari activity in the middle.
Sometimes this isn’t feasible or even possible, but we have found that the days where our itinerary had back-to-back game drives, like we did in Serengeti National Park, our kids started to lose interest faster on the second day.
If you read any of our individual destination blog posts from our family safari trip to Africa, you can get ideas for non-safari activities near each game park.
8. Teach Your Kids The Importance of Being Quiet
I know that can be a big ask of excited little kids, but it never hurts to try and teach them the importance of being silent while watching animals. You’ve invested significant time and money into a family safari trip to Africa and you’ll want to maximize your animal viewing opportunities.
Many African animals are skittish and will run away at the first sign of danger, including sudden loud noises. For example, we were incredibly lucky to spot an extremely rare striped hyena off the deck of our safari house in Ol Pejeta Conservancy. When we quietly tried to get our kids attention, they made a lot of excited noises trying to come outside and it scared the rare hyena away.
Kids will be kids and it’s not fair for expect silence when they are super excited, but we found that our kids remembered the importance of being quiet on many animal encounters.
9. Don’t Just Focus on the African Big 5
When you are researching your family safari trip, you’ll notice there’s a lot of focus on seeing the Big 5 African animals. The “Big 5” is actually an old game hunting term for the most dangerous and challenging African animals hunt while on foot. The Big 5 African animals are: lions, elephants, rhinos, leopards and water buffalo.
The truth about going on safari in Africa is that you will almost never, ever see an elusive leopard. And water buffalo are so plentiful and boring, that the excitement wears off really quickly.
Instead, we recommend you focus on finding game parks which include all your kids favourite African animals. You’ll know your own child’s favorites, but as a starting point, look for national parks or conservation parks with lions, elephants, rhinos, hippos, giraffes, warthogs, cheetahs etc.
10. Find Exciting Accommodations
Even the places you stay in Africa can add excitement to your family trip. For example, we rented a safari house in Ol Pejeta which had a large back deck overlooking a lake within the conservation area. We were able to sit and watch animals come to drink and bathe in the water.
During our stay we saw several herds of elephants at the lake, including one which came to swim and play during a big thunderstorm. We also saw a herd of impala as well as a very rare striped hyena.
Throughout Africa, you’ll find many safari tent camps, which are often right in the game park. These safari tent camps are a very exciting place to stay with kids.
Even the safari lodges (which are traditional buildings instead of tents), can have exciting elements to them. For example, our safari lodge in Lake Naivasha had herds of zebras and waterbuck who lived on the large lawn of the property. They were ever-present as we walked through the lodge.
Sometimes, the accommodations are the attraction! For example, we spent two nights at the Maji Moto Cultural camp in Kenya. This was an authentic cultural experience near a real Maasai village. We explored the village, went on a sunset walk, sang traditional songs with the Maasai warriors by campfire and even slept under the stars.
Read More
Our two night stay was one of the highlights of our family trip to Kenya. Learn more about this authentic cultural experience in our post on staying at the Maji Moto Cultural Camp with kids.
11. Bring a Power Bank
Between long days of going on safari with kids and driving in-between your destinations, traveling within Africa is very battery intensive. Between taking pictures and videos on our phones and cameras, our kids consume power on iPads, e-readers, Bluetooth headphones, etc. You’ll be glad to have a high capacity power bank and the appropriate charging cords with you in your safari truck. We used ours a ton!
12. Get A 4×4 Toyota Landcruiser
When we were planning our family safari trip to Africa, we were offered the option to get a safari van, instead of a safari truck. The cost of the overall trip to Africa was getting pretty expensive, so the van was offered as a way to save a little money.
We opted to stick with the traditional 4×4 Toyota Landcruiser, and we are very glad we did. Landcruisers dominate the landscape in African game parks – they are the perfect vehicle for going on safari. They seem indestructible and can go virtually anywhere.
Safari vans on the other hand, look like normal mini-vans with the roof cut off. We didn’t see many of them in the game parks, but they looked like they’d really struggle to get around the game parks.
Do yourself a favor and don’t take a risk on the quality of your family safari experience – get a proper safari truck for your family.
13. Go on a Variety of Safaris
Chances are that the majority of your family safari outings will be traditional land-based game drives in a Landcruiser. However, there a few other types of safari which can offer your family some variety and excitement. For example, we enjoyed the following alternate safari types during our family trip to Africa:
Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Safari: Definitely not a cheap outing, but if your budget has room we highly recommend going on a hot air balloon safari. We went on a sunrise hot air balloon safari during the Great Migration on our visit to Maasai Mara National Reserve with kids. It was truly incredible to see the African wildlife from above and it was one of the top moments of our entire African safari trip.
Walking Safari: This may sound scary, but in the right circumstances, a walking safari can be a very safe and exhilarating way to see African wildlife. For a good example of this, check out the details of our walking safari on Crescent Island during our visit to Lake Naivasha with kids.
Night Safari: While in Tanzania, we had the good fortune to visit Lake Manyara National Park with kids. One of the unique activities here is the ability to go on a night safari. Going on safari under the cover of darkness is the only way you can see the many nocturnal African animals.
14. Bring the Best Camera Equipment You Can
On many of our family trips, we decide to travel as light as possible, so we leave our big camera gear at home. Due to the stunning landscapes and incredible animal encounters, Africa is not the place to leave your camera at home.
If you don’t already have serious camera equipment, your family trip to Africa is a great time to invest in some. If you are looking for some safari-grade camera equipment, look for a DSLR camera with a super telephoto lens (at least 300mm, ideally 600mm+), fast autofocus and good low-light performance, image stabilization with burst mode for capturing animals in action.
We traveled with a Sony Alpha A7IV full-frame DLSR camera along with a Sony FE 200-600 F5.6-6.3G lens. We were extremely happy with the quality of photos we got on safari with this powerful camera combination!
In addition, we gave our daughter our old DSLR camera to use on our family game drives. She turned out to be quite a talented photographer!
15. Savor Every Moment
This may sound a little sappy, but I genuinely mean it. We spent 3 amazing weeks on a family safari vacation in Africa and it went by in a flash. During that time, our family created some incredible memories, both on safari and away from the game parks. Before you know it, you’ll be getting on your plane to go home.
My best tip for going on safari with kids is to slow everything down and really soak it in. Your family safari vacation will likely be one of the best family vacations you ever go on. Enjoy every single moment!
We hope that our tips for going on safari with kids will help you make the most out of your family trip to Africa. If you’d like further inspiration for your upcoming family safari trip, check out our posts on visiting Kenya with kids and visiting Tanzania with kids.
How to Book Your Own Family Safari Trip
If you explore our family travel blog, you’ll see we have traveled to all corners of the world with our kids. We typically book our own travel, but Africa can be an intimidating place to book a family trip. As it was such a big investment, we decided to have a professional plan our trip for us, and we are so glad that we did!
Want peace of mind while exploring the wild? Safari.com is known for prioritizing safety, supporting ethical safaris, and delivering unforgettable experiences, as recognized by the World Travel Awards.
Our Africa Travel Journal for Kids
Based on our family safari trip to Africa, our kids helped us design this Africa Travel Journal for Active Kids! This engaging travel journal encourages kids to document their adventures, record animal observations, and stay entertained on long game drives – grab yours now on Amazon!
Dan Brewer is an intrepid family travel blogger with a passion for exploring the world's most captivating destinations. With 58 countries under his belt and a sense of wanderlust that knows no bounds, he has made it his life's mission to share his travel experiences and insights with fellow families who love to travel.
When Dan isn't traveling with his wife and kids, he's either out enjoying the Canadian Rockies he calls home or working on one of his three travel sites (Family Can Travel, Travel Banff Canada and Ultimate Sports Road Trip).