Affordable African Safaris

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.