Top Tips for African Vacations for Families with Teens & Older Kids

Family memories in the wild — without the drama.

When it comes to planning a Family Safari aa lot of advice focuses on younger children (some of it written by us!). But what about families with tweens, teens, or even young adults in tow?

Good news: African vacations for families with older kids can be incredibly rewarding — if you know a few tricks to keep everyone happy (and off their phones… for a while).

At Cedarberg Africa, we’ve spent decades – 30 years to be precise – planning tailored South Africa family vacations and African safaris for families of all ages. Here’s what you need to know when planning your dream family trip.

Lodges try to put families together on a game drive, providing some flexibility in game drive lengths. But there is no guarantee of this. Nor can you guarantee that the other family has the same expectations as yours – they might have been coming to the bush for years!

So if you choose a safari lodge on the basis of its game-viewing rather than its kids’ safari programme, your children need to be comfortable spending 3+ hours on a game drive. However in our experience most children can do this as it’s such a novel experience. Some lodges are particularly family-friendly with kids’ activities available. But often these are geared towards younger kids of under 8-10 years old. Other lodges are happy to accept children but they don’t provide any special facilities. So your kids need to be happy to amuse themselves without the aid of television…

When’s the best age for a Family Safari in Africa?

Family Safaris in Africa are generally best with kids of seven or so. By this age, kids can enjoy adult game drives, spot wildlife with genuine excitement, and handle the early mornings and long drives.

If a lodge takes children under 12 then they’re generally allowed to go on the ‘adult’ game drives once they are six years old (eight years at some lodges). Lodges try to put families together on a game drive, but there is no guarantee of this. So if you choose a safari lodge on the basis of its game-viewing rather than its kids’ safari programme, your children need to be comfortable spending 3+ hours on a game drive.

However, when planning a family safari in Africa for teens and older kids, there are a few extra factors to think about to ensure smiles (and not sighs) all around.

5 Tips for Planning the Best African Safari Family Vacation

Tip 1: Consider Booking a Private Landrover

If you’re unsure how your kids will cope with 3+ hour game drives — or you simply want a bit more flexibility — booking a private guide and vehicle is a smart move.

Benefits include:

• Game drives can be shorter, longer, or more playful — whatever suits your family.
• Your guide gets to know your kids, what they’ve seen, what they like, making the whole experience feel personal.
• No awkward “sharing” with honeymooners who expected peace and quiet.

Important Note for African vacations for families:

Some lodges – often in Botswana – insist that families take a private vehicle.

At other lodges, often in South Africa – private vehicles are subject to availability as each lodge has vehicle limit set by the Reserve.  The other option is to take a two-bedroom safari villa as these often come with their own private guide and vehicle.

And most of the smarter game lodges now guarantee a private vehicle if you are six people.

Tip 2: Safari Structure

A safari is – for a few days – a fairly structured way of life. Some kids will easily adapt into the routine of early morning and late afternoon game drives interspersed with time at leisure. However more boisterous or active kids find this more difficult especially in the winter months when swimming in the pool may not be an option, as they will not be able to run around freely.

If this describes your family you may want to choose lodges which offer a structured kids’ programme to keep them busy.

At the other end of the scale, a sleep-junkie teenager may find the early morning starts a particular hardship…

Tip 3: Prepare Your Tech-Savvy Teenagers

Let’s face it: WiFi withdrawal is real.

Most safari lodges have minimal tech distractions (and we love them for it!). That means:

• No TVs in rooms
• Relatively slow or Patchy WiFi, sometimes only available in your room or in the main area
• Real board games, not just the online kind
• Blissful digital detox… after the initial panic

So forewarn your kids that there will NOT be a television in the room and high-speed wifi.

Top Tip: Download music, podcasts, audiobooks, or offline games before your trip to ease the transition.

Tip 4: Variety is Key for African Vacations for Families

One game lodge after another can feel repetitive — even when you’re seeing lions on the hunt.

Try to include lots of variety on your African family vacations – either in the activities available at different safari camps or in destinations.

• Most South African game lodges focus on game drives. But many lodges in Botswana, Zimbabwe or Namibia offer other safari activities such as horse-riding, canoeing, mokoro trips, boating and tiger fishing.  
• If staying at two different game lodges, try to break them up with something different in between. (Those teenagers can get a lie-in)
• Cape Town, Whale Coast and the Garden Route offer loads of activities for parents and kids alike
• KZN game lodges can easily be combined with Snorkelling or turtle tracking on the coast

Note on walking safaris:

Walking safaris have set age limits which vary by Game Reserve but often 14 or 16+ years

Tip 5: Choose the Right Family-Friendly Lodges

Not all safari lodges are right for African vacations for families, especially when it comes to older kids. Some are focused on couples and honeymooners. Other are heavily geared toward little ones. Whilst others offer more sophisticated activities and environments that tweens and teens will genuinely enjoy.

Some of our Favourite Family Safari tours for Older Children:

Kids in Style (South Africa)

Cape & Kruger Family Explorer (South Africa)

Young Explorers (Botswana)

Mvuu & Mombo Island (Malawi)

Zambia Family Safari

Romantic Zambia & Malawi (No sample family price, contact us for a quote)

Have a look at our blog post on Best Destinations for South Africa Family Holidays for ideas on places to visit in addition to your safari…

So, How Does It Work?

Easy and stress-free — just the way it should be:

1. Chat with us – Tell us about your kids, your travel style & your ideal mix of downtime and adventure.
2. Get your tailored itinerary – Designed to match your family’s needs (and energy levels).
3. Travel with Confidence – We’ll handle the logistics. You enjoy the family magic.

Why Families Choose Cedarberg Africa

• Conservation-focused, culturally rich experiences
• Seamless family-tested logistics
• Lodges and tours matched to your kids’ ages and personalities
• E-Guides for South Africa Family vacations with Kids activities in Cape Town & the Garden Route
• Personal experience — we travel with our own kids

---

African Vacations for Families with Teens & Older Kids – was written by Cedarberg Africa

Cedarberg Africa – Specialists in tailor-made African and South Africa Family vacations for busy and discerning families.

Contact us if you’d like a tailormade safari quote for your family