Travelling to any African nation usually demands a high level of meticulous planning to ensure the best time is had by all who venture there. The lack of infrastructure in some places suited to independent travellers can cause a fair amount of hassle, but the following list of luxury African tour operators throughout the continent take all the guesswork out of planning that epic adventure to Africa.
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African Tour Operator: Abercrombie & Kent
This African tour operator has to top this list of operators on the continent. Consistently named both Africa and the World’s best luxury tour operator in numerous years dating back to 2003, Abercrombie & Kent is simply one of the best. With a sustainable approach to touring, A&K African safaris are tailor made to the clients wishes and are often built around one of the fantastic projects that A&K help support in the local communities on the continent. These projects centre around ecosystem sustainability, communities, culture and health and education. Some of their top destinations include Botswana, Tanzania and Zambia, as well as South Africa. Their main focus is on Kenya and Tanzania, making them experts on these two African nations. A twelve day tour to Kenya and Africa starts at $5,900.
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African Tour Operator: &Beyond
This luxury tour company is known for their tours and trips that will delight even the most discerning traveller to the continent. With ready-made trips to southern and east Africa, they can also tailor each trip to your own specific needs and wishes. They have an unique spin on touring, offering truly sustainable and eco-friendly trips into the bush, with focuses on learning, conservation and “luxury in the bush” trips that combine holistic approaches such as yoga into safari packages. Other unique experiences include rhino darting to help with conservation and turtle hatching expeditions. They are known for their fantastic fundraising and implementation of projects in six African nations, amid their management of thirty-three of their own properties and their impeccable attention to detail.
Another fantastic tour operated by &Beyond is their ‘Pint Sized Safari’, aimed at children will get the young ones practising beadwork at Kirkman’s Camp, the experience of being a Bushman for the day, and learning about constellations in the southern sky by night. This “Leopards, Winelands and Rock Paintings” package starts at $7,400 for ten days.
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African Tour Operator: Nomad Tanzania
This company owns and operates its own camps and safaris throughout Tanzania. It offers comprehensive trip planning through not just mainland Tanzania, but on the island of Zanzibar as well. Their helpful and honest reputation coupled with their expertise makes them a top rated African tour operator with extensive expertise on Tanzania. Their love of African nature shows in the dedication to their work and their knowledge and excitement in the safaris. With each trip fully customizable, this company also works hard to help their own guides to buy their own safari vehicles, which the company then rents off of them as a supplemental income. They also have introduced steel bottles available for all guests to cut back on the plastic that will be put into the environment through single use plastic bottles. Their favourite package is the Serengeti Safari, which starts around $5,000 for eight nights.
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African Tour Operator: Wilderness Safaris
This company is one of the most well-respected and innovative in the continent. They are known for impeccable service, fantastic destinations, and lovely camps teeming with wildlife. They have a variety of accommodation from seven star luxury resort style lodges to mobile “Exploration” safaris. Each package that this African tour operator offers is fully customizable, ensuring there is something for everyone with this particular company, especially with over seventy camps to their name, all in different styles. Their favourite destinations are Botswana, Congo, Malawi, Namibia, Seychelles, and Zambia. Their well-loved packages include the Great Widlerness Journey Botswana for eleven days and starts at $9,700, while their Desert Dune Safari for ten days starts at $5,000. Another fantastic tour offered by Wilderness includes their ‘Namibia Expedition’, a visit to much of the country’s fantastic sites including Walvis Bay to swim and kayak amongst dolphins and seals, as well as the prehistoric rock at Twyfelfontein. This package starts at $6,995 for fifteen days.
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African Tour Operator: Cox & Kings
This African tour operator takes visitors on a twelve day excursion into the Republic of Congo for a trip into the jungle to see western lowland gorillas in the wild. Visitors stay in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park, a three-million acre park, in solar powered tents nine feet off the ground to allow wildlife to wander through unobstructed. This tour is finished off on the beach in São Tomé and Príncipe , allowing time for scuba diving, relaxing and birdwatching the world’s smallest Ibis. The ‘Primates and Birding’ package starts at $11,200 for twelve days.
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African Tour Operator: Mango Safaris
This particular safari operator focuses on the magnificent island nation of Madagascar, the only place on Earth where you can find Lemurs in the wild. Their eleven day package ‘Contrasts of Madagascar’ takes you out to find the Lemurs and more – a few days on white sand beaches, followed by the bustling markets of Antananarivo make for a truly contrasting picture of this diverse island. Some meals are not included with this package.
African Tour Operator: National Geographic Adventures
Not just a world-famous magazine, National Geographic Adventures presents its Morocco based ‘Morocco Camel Trek and Hiking Adventure’ tour, thirteen days from $4,495. It includes stops in Casablanca, the famously romantic city, to the bustling market city of Marrakech and beyond, including a three day camel trek through the rose-gold coloured dunes of the Sahara desert.
Courtesy of wildplanetadventures.com
African Tour Operator: National Geographic Adventures
The focus of this African tour operator is on Zambia, where it’s easy to see the Big Five safari animals, with fewer others going out to look for them as well. Master safari guides lead you through three wildly diverse ecosystems, taking you on walking safaris through woodlands and along the rivers of South Luangwa National Park and on game drives through the plains and wetlands of Kafue National Park. You will canoe past elephants at the Mana Pools National Park. This eighteen day package starts at $13, 998.
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African Tour Operator: Extraordinary Journeys
Experience the real deal like Robinson Crusoe with Extraordinary Journeys’ ‘Islands and People of Mozambique’ tour where you can kick back on a nameless, remote island, kayak the coastline keeping an eye out for marine life like whales or dugongs and dine on freshly caught fish for dinner. You can also explore unspoilt coral reefs from the Guludo Beach Lodge, which helps support the Nema Foundation – a charity that has helped the people of Mozambique through the building of schools and providing meals. This fantastic package starts at $4,000 for ten days.
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African Tour Operator: Immersion Journeys
Ghana has always been a country that many don’t think of when they think of heading to Africa for a holiday or heading out for a trek. Headquarters of the 18th century British slave trade, this diverse nation remains off the radar for most travellers, so heading there with a leading outfitter to ensure the best time is had is a great idea. From tracking big game in the jungle to eye-opening tours of the slave fortresses, Ghana is sure to surprise and delight. Immersion Journeys Ghana package starts at $2,895 for ten days.
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