Paradise Travel
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Safari vehicle at dawn in the Masai Mara, Kenya, on a luxury safari itinerary

Safari and Expedition

Luxury safari travel, planned around the camps worth the flight.

Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, and South Africa, plus the Galápagos and Antarctica on the expedition side. The camp decides the trip, so I start there.

How I plan safaris

The camp is the trip.

Planning Antarctica, the Arctic or the Galápagos? See my expedition cruises page.

On safari, the room and the guide are the whole experience. Two camps can sit twenty minutes apart in the same ecosystem and deliver completely different weeks, one with a private concession where you drive off-road and stay out after dark, and one on a public road where you'll queue six vehicles deep at a leopard sighting. I know which is which, and I match the camp to the month, the travelers, and the budget.

The logistics are the part people underestimate. Bush flights carry soft bags only, usually 15 to 20 kilograms depending on the country, and I'll tell you your exact limit. I handle all of it, so the complicated parts are mine and the morning coffee looking at the Mara is yours.

Trip shapes

Three ways these trips usually go.

The Migration circuit, ten days

One night in Nairobi to land soft, then fly into the Mara for four nights at a camp on a private concession, where you're allowed off-road and out at dawn. Then the Serengeti side, or the Ngorongoro highlands, for the calving. July through October, and the top camps go on sale a year out, so I book them the day the calendar opens.

Botswana and Cape Town, twelve days

Two camps in the Okavango Delta, one in the Linyanti, all reached by light aircraft with strict weight limits I've planned your bags around. A night at Victoria Falls if you want it. Then Cape Town for four days, the Winelands, and dinner reservations that don't depend on a concierge's cousin.

The expedition side

The Galápagos on a small ship with naturalist guides. I can book a fly-cruise that flies you over the Drake Passage, on a small expedition ship of under 80 guests. I book expedition voyages with Silversea, Scenic, Ponant, Lindblad, Quark, Aurora and HX, and I'll match you to the ship that fits how you want to explore. I match the ship, the cabin, and the departure date, and I know which operators actually deliver the expedition they advertise.

Start here

Every safari starts with a consult.

We'll spend 30 minutes on who's going, what you want to see, and how rough you're willing to go before the luxury matters. Then I'll come back with camps, dates, and a number that's real.

Birders should see my birdwatching and wildlife travel page, and photographers my photography travel page.

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Questions I get asked

Before you plan a safari.

It depends on what you want to see. July through October is the Great Migration in the Masai Mara and the Serengeti at its most dramatic, and also the most crowded and expensive. Green season, November through March, brings lower prices, fewer vehicles, and baby animals everywhere. Botswana's floodwaters in the Okavango peak around July. I match the camps to the month, not the other way around.

Most luxury camps I use run $1,000 to $2,500 per person a night, which covers your meals, game drives and park fees. The flagship camps start around $3,000. Flights between camps are usually extra. The spread comes down to camp exclusivity and private concessions. I'll give you a real number after we talk, and I'll tell you where paying more changes the trip and where it doesn't.

Yes, with the operations I use. The camps employ professional guides, the wildlife protocols are strict, and the light aircraft carriers have strong safety records. The parts that catch people out are the transfers and the cities on the way through, which is exactly what I handle for you.

Both. The international routing into Nairobi, Johannesburg, or Cape Town, and the internal light aircraft seats between camps, which have strict weight limits and fixed schedules I plan the whole trip around. Packing for a bush flight is a real skill, I'll send you the list.

Many camps take children from six or eight years old, and a handful run excellent junior ranger programs. Some of the best camps are adults only. If the trip is a family one, I pick camps built for it, with family tents and younger-guide pairings. If it's not, I keep you far away from other people's children.

Twelve months is comfortable for the migration camps in July through October, and the top Botswana concessions book out even earlier. Green season is easier to plan close in. Antarctica and the Galápagos run on ship calendars, so a year out is the norm there too.

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