Group tours in Africa

For safaris in inland Southern Africa (Victoria Falls, Botswana, Namibia, northern South Africa), the best time is the dry season, from May to October, when animals gather near water sources. That doesn't hold for the whole continent, though:

• East Africa: near the equator there are two rainy seasons, with April-May the wettest in Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, and Mombasa, and a second one in October-November. For the Serengeti, June to October is the time of the migration and January-February the time for births. In Kenya, Mara river crossings usually happen between July and October, though dates are never guaranteed.
• South Africa: Cape Town is the exception, with a rainier winter.
• Madagascar: in Antananarivo it rains little from June to September and a lot from January to March.
• North Africa: it is more pleasant in spring and fall, thanks to milder temperatures, while Cairo's summer highs reach the mid-90s °F.

For a safari in a single country like Kenya or Tanzania, 7-10 days are enough, while a broader itinerary combining savanna, coast, and cities takes 2-3 weeks. Distances matter more than they seem: a Thanksgiving break is not enough for Africa, and East and Southern Africa are about 6 to 8 hours ahead of the East Coast, so give yourself a day or two to settle in.

• Serengeti: from Arusha, you reach it in 7-8 hours by road or by flying to the Seronera airstrip.
• Kilimanjaro: the climb to the summit takes 5 to 8 days, depending on the route, with an authorized operator.
• Victoria Falls: they sit on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
• Large protected areas: the Selous in Tanzania and Botswana's Okavango Delta are huge, and the bigger the park, the more days you need to explore it.

Requirements vary widely, since there is no single visa for Africa and each country has its own rules. Before you book, check the country page on travel.state.gov and the embassy's website. Passport validity differs too: South Africa asks for at least 30 days after the end of your stay and a blank page, while Tanzania asks for at least 6 months. A passport card is not valid for international flights. Kenya requires an electronic travel authorization (eTA), which is not an e-visa.

Use official portals only, such as etakenya.go.ke for Kenya or visa.immigration.go.tz for Tanzania, Zanzibar included. For Zambia and Zimbabwe there is also the KAZA UniVisa. If you travel to South Africa with minors, bring the full birth certificate and guardianship documents.

The yellow fever certificate is not required of everyone: individual countries ask for it, usually from travelers arriving from at-risk countries. Rules change, though. Uganda, for example, used to ask for it from all arriving travelers, but its immigration authority announced in October 2026 that the certificate is no longer mandatory for entry. Check the current rules for your itinerary before you go. One dose gives you a certificate that is valid for life.

Also recommended are hepatitis A and typhoid vaccines, and, depending on the area, malaria prophylaxis, which is a prescription medication, not a vaccine. The risk depends on where you go, so a doctor at a travel health clinic will tell you what you need for your itinerary.

Consult a travel health clinic well in advance, check whether your health plan covers care abroad, and consider travel medical insurance that includes medical evacuation.

Africa is full of iconic experiences:

• Safaris in Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa. The Serengeti and Ngorongoro are UNESCO sites, and Kilimanjaro is the highest point in Africa at 19,341 feet.
• Victoria Falls, between Zambia and Zimbabwe, a UNESCO site known as Mosi-oa-Tunya: the Zambezi is over a mile wide there, and the mist can be seen from more than 12 miles away.
• Trekking with gorillas in Rwanda and Uganda. Volcanoes National Park, in Rwanda, protects the Virunga mountains, and in Uganda there is Bwindi, a UNESCO site. Mountain gorillas live in only two populations, in the Virungas and in Bwindi. Permits are booked on the Rwanda Development Board portal and, in Uganda, through authorized operators.

Not every country has its own currency: there are two CFA francs, one for West Africa and one for Central Africa, both pegged to the euro, and the rand also circulates in Namibia and Lesotho. The main ones:

• South Africa: rand
• Kenya: Kenyan shilling
• Tanzania: Tanzanian shilling
• Uganda: Ugandan shilling
• Rwanda: Rwandan franc
• Zambia: Zambian kwacha
• Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe Gold, the official currency, alongside which the US dollar also operates
• Botswana: pula
• Namibia: Namibian dollar, at par with the rand
• Madagascar: Malagasy ariary
• Egypt: Egyptian pound

In Kenya only the shilling is legal tender, and entry to national parks is paid cashless, with M-Pesa or card, including online on eCitizen. Check your card's foreign transaction fees.

Budgets depend a lot on the type of trip: an organized safari in mid-range lodges costs much more than backpacking in North Africa. The flight from the US is a major part of the cost, followed by park entry (in Kenya, paid cashless on eCitizen), gorilla permits in Rwanda and Uganda, and visas such as Tanzania's e-visa and the KAZA UniVisa. On Kilimanjaro, fees depend on the category, route, and number of days. South Africa also offers tourists a VAT refund on goods they buy, when leaving the country.

Getting around depends a lot on the area. Domestic flights connect some reserves, such as the Seronera airstrip in the Serengeti and Skukuza in Kruger, while safaris are usually organized with 4x4 jeeps and a local guide. Rural roads can be in variable condition, so it's best to rely on specialized operators. On Kilimanjaro, you go with an authorized operator.

• Kenya: the Madaraka Express train.
• Tanzania and Zambia: the TAZARA railway links Dar es Salaam and New Kapiri Mposhi in about 46 hours.
• South Africa: the Gautrain links Johannesburg, Pretoria, and OR Tambo airport with Sandton.
• Flights: Air Tanzania connects Tanzania's main cities.

Train and flight schedules vary, so always check the operator's.

The climate ranges from desert in North Africa and the Sahara to tropical and subtropical in Central and West Africa, down to temperate in South Africa. East Africa breaks the pattern: Nairobi stays mild even in July, and Kigali hovers around 79-82°F by day and 59-61°F at night all year. In South Africa, Johannesburg has summer rain, Cape Town winter rain, and Durban is humid.

In the Southern Hemisphere winter, nights get cool in Livingstone, Johannesburg, Windhoek, and Victoria Falls, with lows in the 40s °F in July, so pack layers.

The choice depends on what you want from the trip, since Africa is a continent and there is no ranking of its most beautiful countries. Some ideas by interest:

• Kenya and Tanzania: savanna safaris. Kenya also has Lake Turkana, Mount Kenya, and Lamu Old Town, while Tanzania has the Selous and Stone Town in Zanzibar.
• South Africa: the variety of landscapes, with Robben Island, the Cape Floral Region, iSimangaliso, and the Maloti-Drakensberg, all UNESCO sites.
• Namibia and Botswana: the Namib Sand Sea and the Okavango Delta.
• Rwanda: gorilla trekking and Nyungwe Forest.
• Madagascar: unique biodiversity, with flora and fauna that evolved in isolation for millions of years.
• Zimbabwe: Great Zimbabwe and Mana Pools.
• Egypt: the Pyramids of Giza and Memphis, Abu Simbel, and Philae.