Safety First, Luxury Always

We've been in business for 18 years.  Since 2006, we've sent over 58,000+ travelers on amazing African safaris and they have all returned safely home. We are an African-based company and our travel advisors have all lived in Africa and experienced many of our safaris first-hand.

We understand that the thrill of adventure is best enjoyed with peace of mind, which is why we are committed to ensuring that every aspect of your safari experience is both spectacular and secure. From partnering with trusted suppliers and using only the highest quality equipment to providing luxury safaris with private guides trained in the latest safety protocols, we make your security our top priority. Whether you choose to soar above the savannah in our modern aircraft or traverse the landscape in our new safari vehicles, you can rest assured that safety leads the way at Safari.com. Experience the majestic beauty of Africa with us, where safety first meets luxury—always.

Itineraries Optimised for Seamless Luxury

We prioritize your comfort and safety by carefully planning every detail of your itinerary. For example, although it's often possible to drive drive to the private game reserves, we'll always rather recommend a short flight instead to ensure a swift and relaxing journey. This approach minimizes travel fatigue and maximizes your enjoyment and security, allowing you to start your safari experience refreshed and stress-free. We tailor each itinerary to provide the utmost in luxury, safety, and personal comfort, ensuring peace of mind for our discerning clients.

Trusted Suppliers

These relationships guarantee well-maintained vehicles, experienced guides, secure accommodations, and rigorous emergency protocols. Safari.com’s commitment to using only reputable suppliers means that every aspect of the safari—from the vehicles that navigate the rugged terrains to the food prepared in remote locations—meets the highest standards of safety and quality. This meticulous attention to detail ensures that guests can enjoy a luxurious and worry-free adventure in the wild.

Travel Insurance

Thanks to our privileged relationship with a leading insurer, we can include comprehensive coverage directly in your booking process. This seamless integration means Safari.com handles all the details to get it in place, ensuring you're prepared for unexpected events like trip cancellations, medical emergencies, or baggage losses. Opting for this insurance through us not only secures your trip but also simplifies your preparations, allowing you to focus on anticipating the luxurious safari experience ahead.

Always Availabe 24/7

Our dedicated travel consultants are available around the clock to assist you with any needs or concerns that may arise during your journey. Whether you require assistance with itinerary adjustments, have questions about local customs and regulations, or need support in unexpected situations, our team is just a call away. They are meticulously trained and deeply knowledgeable about all aspects of safari travel, ensuring that you can immerse yourself in the beauty and excitement of the wilderness with absolute confidence in your safety.

Expert Guides

Our expert guides are highly trained in animal behavior and safety protocols, ensuring that your wildlife experiences are not only thrilling but also secure. We conduct our safaris in small groups to maintain a controlled environment, allowing our guides to focus closely on the safety of each guest while facilitating intimate encounters with nature. This careful management of group sizes and expert guidance ensures that you can safely immerse yourself in the awe-inspiring moments of observing wildlife in their natural habitats, all while under the vigilant supervision of our seasoned professionals.

Ethical Wildlife Tourism Policy

We are dedicated to providing unforgettable wildlife experiences while upholding the highest standards of animal welfare. Recognizing that ethics in wildlife tourism requires much deliberation, we have distilled our principles to the following: We support only travel partners that ensure animals live as happily and healthily as they would in the wild, and we oppose commercial exploitation except for ethical sanctuaries that rescue, rehabilitate, and sometimes release animals. We minimize human contact with wildlife to maintain natural behaviors, with exceptions like controlled gorilla trekking. Our partners adhere to strict guidelines to protect animal well-being, and we regularly assess their practices to ensure compliance with our ethical standards, fostering continuous improvement in wildlife conservation and education.

Best Price Guarantee

We sell at the exact same rates as if you booked directly with the lodges and operators we advertise. The reason we are able to do this is because our suppliers pay us a commission to book when we manage you bookings with them. We have a network of over 500+ operators that we deal with throughout Africa. There is a good reason operators need businesses like ours - travel in Africa presents unique challenges when it comes to infrastructure and terrain. It's not the same as a hotel in a city which can check people in 24h per day. Lodges are located in wild, natural habitats and strict protocols are in place regarding opening and closing times of their game reserves, for example.

Aside from marketing, our value in the ecosystem comes from our knowledgeable consultants, who not only help compile the best itinerary but make sure all required details are collected and communicated between all parties to ensure the smoothest possible safari.

That being said - if you are able to find the price lower somewhere else, we'll match it.

Comprehensive Travel Insurance

We have teamed up with SATIB to offer extremely competitive travel insurance.

The coverage is extensive and includes losses due to things like cancellation, theft, medical situations and rental vehicle excess.

This means your booking becomes 100% refundable, provided you can't travel for reasons outside of your control.

For more details click here.

100% Refundable Booking

As touched on above, if you have our recommended travel insurance in place your booking becomes completely refundable - up to R85k per person in the base package.  This applies to any situation where you cannot travel for reasons outside of your control.

We are delighted to be able to offer this to you, our customers. The last thing we want is for you to be in a situation where you can't travel and are worrying about what will happen with funds paid.

Well-being and overall happy experience are something we strive to deliver, from the moment you place an enquiry, to the moment you return from your trip.

Financial Protection

Trusting your funds with third parties has obvious risks, a fact that became glaringly apparent during COVID. It's important for us to emphasise that your funds are safe with SAFARI.COM. If you want additional peace of mind from a third party, the travel insurance mentioned above is an obvious choice.

Companies often point to numerous associations and/or tourism boards as an indication of your money being safe with them.

The reality is that coverage can be limited and, in the best case, involves a protracted legal process.

Our quest to be THE safari authority means we care deeply about our reputation means it is in our interest to protect customer funds and deliver on promises under all scenarios possible. For transparency, it's useful knowing WHO you are doing business with when you deal with a company.

Our Shareholders

SAFARI.COM was founded by Ric Meulemans and Oliver Bryant in 2006.

In 2015, Caxton CTP (a publicly traded company on the JSE) purchased 50% of the business.  Today, Ric, Oliver and Caxton CTP are the sole shareholders of the business.

At the time of this writing, Caxton has R2.8billion in cash on its balance sheet.

When it comes to evaluating risk, one always needs to consider the shareholders in the counterparty.  We care deeply about our standing and reputation, and the above should show we are well funded and able to survive any scenario that comes our way.

A Story About COVID

Many businesses globally were under tremendous pressure during COVID.  Travel businesses were at the extreme end of this spectrum.  We're very proud of the fact that no customers lost funds with us, and we worked closely with operators and customers to introduce flexible cancellation terms. We were able to do this because we have well-funded shareholders.

Accreditations

SATSA Certified

The Southern Africa Tourism Services Association is a member driven credibility organisation. There are a number of checks a company must pass to be admitted. These include company verification, financial compliance, insurance compliance and legal compliance. We have been a member of SATSA since 2008, and our good standing is publicly available on their website. There is a screengrab of our membership below, but feel free to verify us yourself in the member directory on the SATSA website.

ATTA Certified

The African Travel & Tourism Association (ATTA®) is a member-driven trade association that promotes tourism to Africa from all corners of the world.  The membership requirements include an invite from existing members, being in business a certain amount of time and belonging to your countries recognised trade organisation. You are more than welcome to verify our membership in the member directory on the ATTA website.

Fanatical About Service

24/7 safari assistance. We are an omni-channel company and our consultants align themselves with the hours of our guests.  Our preferred method of communication is WhatsApp - which should indicate the level of service we aspire to. That means while most people in Africa are sleeping, we're awake and ready to help our foreign visitors in different timezones.

From the moment you start planning your trip, to the moment you return from your safari, your happiness is our top priority.

We Handle Everything

Accommodation, activities, flights, transfers, you name it. When you use Safari.com, we're able to sort out every aspect of your trip.  Think of it like having your own personal travel assistant.

Traveller Reviews

With thousands of happy customers it's no surprise we have stellar independent reviews on many platforms including TripAdvisor, TrustPilot and Safaribookings. With our website we've chosen to integrate with TrustPilot so you can see why others decided to use Safari.com!

Let Us Create Your Perfect Safari

Life is all about memories and our goal is to make sure your dream safari is perfect in every way.‍Let us do all the heavy lifting and make sure your trip is perfect from start to finish. We'll tailor packages or recommend accommodation to suit the atmosphere. Then you can relax, sit back and enjoy the moments with those you love most.‍

Customer Testimonials

4.9
out of 5 based on
Sep 16, 2024
First time to Cape Town
We are a group of ten friends traveling together to Cape Town for the first time. Safari.com was our top choice for travel agents. Leché and Tracy were incredibly helpful and prompt with our questions and bookings. The trip to Sanbona Wildlife Reserve was fantastic, and everything went off without a hitch. We highly recommend Safari.com for your safari plans!
Joleen
,
ZA
Sep 15, 2024
Very responsive
Very responsive, I sent an email and got a response almost immediately (I checked it’s like 11pm their time…on a Sunday)
customer
,
US
Sep 15, 2024
Shann was amazingly helpful
Shann was amazingly helpful! After spending several days online on our own trying to find good accommodation or even available rooms and lodges, we reached out to safari and to shann, who set us up in record time with a beautiful destination, flights and transfers. I absolutely recommend this dite and the incredible service
Anna
,
DE
Sep 15, 2024
Safari booking
Fadiel was very prompt in responding to my emails. Despite a double booking for our Safari - not his fault - everything worked out well in the end.
PeterB
,
GB
Sep 14, 2024
Sara Van Coillie
Sara Van Coillie, representing Safari.com, has gone above and beyond in assisting with a custom booking for an African safari experience I wanted arranged for my colleagues visiting Namibia for the first time. I highly recommend reaching out to her—she’s a true champion! It’s been a pleasure working with her.
Christina Hutchinson
,
GB
Sep 14, 2024
Had such an amazing experience working…
Had such an amazing experience working with Leigh-Ann. She was able to get me everything I wanted at the price I wanted. Could not recommend more.
Ben
,
US
Sep 13, 2024
Sara curated a trip of a lifetime
Sara curated a trip of a lifetime. Met all our requirements and exceeded our expectations all within our budget!
Jodi Wernikoff
,
US
Sep 13, 2024
South Africa Here We Come!!!
We had the inclination to take Rovos Rail through part of South Africa and found Safari.com online. Nicole Van der Merwe, the friendly agent who connected with us was amazing! We connected on WhatsApp and were handled with absolute care. Nicole answered our questions in detail and within one day, were were booked on the train in the Royal Suite! We look forward to completing the additional details of our fabulous train/safari trip with her! As we have never been to SA, Nicole and Safari.com took away ALL of the concerns we had about making our trip a reality. to tell you the truth, it has been a long time since we have been treated this way by such a wonderful travel firm. Safari.com makes makes traveling to SA simple! We look forward to having them assist us with the additional details.
Michael J. Russ
,
US
Sep 13, 2024
Jayson is polite and knowledgeable…Highly recommend
Jayson was a polite and knowledgeable person. He was never 'pushy' and gave us a lot of options. He was very understanding when we had to 'delay' our plans due to an aging mother-in-laws health and wellbeing. We have every intention of pursuing our dream of visiting Africa in the 2025/26 season and we will certainly be in-touch with Jayson. Many thanks to Jayson
Jim C
,
AU
VIP service
Your own personal travel assistant
18 years in business
Attention to every detail
Relationships with 500+ operators through Africa
Consultants available 24/7
58,000+ customers and counting
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