A family safari: ages, malaria-free options and how to plan it

The families who come back from safari happiest are rarely the ones who saw the most animals. They are the ones whose trip was built around how their children actually behave: when they get tired, how long they can sit still, what makes them laugh.

This guide covers the questions we talk through with every family before we suggest a single camp. If you are new to safari altogether, start with our first safari guide and come back here.

What age is right?

There is no single answer, but there are useful rules of thumb.

Under six

Very young children can have a lovely time on safari, but the choice of place narrows. Many camps, particularly small tented camps in remote areas, set a minimum age for game drives, walking or for staying at all. Others welcome children of any age but ask families with young children to book a private vehicle, so that other guests are not affected if a toddler needs to go back to camp.

For this age group we look first at malaria-free reserves, at lodges with solid walls and fences, and at short transfers. Two or three hours of game driving at a time is plenty.

Six to 12

This is often the sweet spot. Children are old enough to sit through a long sighting, young enough to be thrilled by everything, and keen to learn. Many camps run junior ranger programmes with tracking, bug hunts, star-gazing and lessons in reading spoor.

The world opens up at this age, and so do the options. More camps accept children, and families can consider East Africa and Botswana as well as South Africa.

Teenagers

Teenagers can do almost anything adults can, subject to each camp's age rules for walking and canoeing. Walking safaris, mokoro trips in the Okavango Delta, horse riding, and gorilla trekking in Rwanda, which has its own minimum age, all become possible.

Teenagers also tend to enjoy photography, and a decent camera can turn a reluctant traveller into the most engaged person in the vehicle.

Malaria-free safari options

Malaria is often the first concern for parents of young children, and it is a reasonable one. Many of Africa's best-known safari areas carry a malaria risk, including the Masai Mara, the Serengeti, the Okavango Delta and the Kruger.

The good news is that South Africa has excellent reserves outside malaria areas. According to TravelHealthPro, the malaria risk in South Africa is concentrated in the low-altitude areas of Mpumalanga and Limpopo, including the Kruger National Park, and in parts of northeast KwaZulu-Natal. TravelHealthPro lists no malaria risk for the rest of the country.

That leaves two areas we use most for young families.

The Eastern Cape. A cluster of private game reserves within easy reach of Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) and the Garden Route. The landscapes are gentler and the reserves smaller than the Kruger, but several are home to the Big Five and the game viewing is good. It combines naturally with Cape Town and a beach week, and the drives between places are short.

Madikwe Game Reserve. A large reserve in North West province, on the Botswana border, with a good range of family-friendly lodges. It is a short flight or a longer drive from Johannesburg.

Malaria risk can change, and the advice for children, pregnant women and anyone with health conditions is different. Always check the TravelHealthPro South Africa page (opens in a new tab) and the FCDO health page (opens in a new tab), and speak to your GP or a travel clinic before you book.

What about the Kruger and East Africa?

Many families with older children happily travel to malaria areas, with the right advice from a health professional and good bite avoidance. TravelHealthPro notes, for example, that the Kruger's malaria transmission season typically runs from September to May, and that the risk from June to August is considered very low. That makes the southern winter worth considering for a Kruger trip.

For Kenya, Tanzania and Botswana, check the TravelHealthPro country pages, which set out the risk area by area.

Family tents and family suites

Where you sleep matters more with children than almost anything else.

A family tent or family suite usually means two bedrooms, each with its own bathroom or sharing one, under one roof or linked by a covered walkway. Parents and children are together, but not on top of each other.

Many tented camps, for safety reasons, will not put children under a certain age in a separate tent from their parents. It is worth knowing this before you book, because standard tents in some camps are spaced well apart and connected only by an open path.

A few safari lodges are built around families, with a family-only wing or a private house for a single group. For a larger family or a multi-generation trip, a private house or a whole small camp can work out better than several separate rooms, and it gives everyone space.

Private vehicles make everything easier

If there is one thing we recommend to almost every family, it is a private vehicle with your own guide.

With young children, it means you set the pace. You can go back to camp when someone is tired, stop for a snack whenever you like, and linger at the things that interest your children, which are often not the things the guidebooks list. Dung beetles are a surprising favourite.

With older children, it means you can stay at a sighting for as long as you want, and your guide can tailor what they show you to your family's interests.

At many camps a private vehicle is an extra cost. At some it is included for families, or required for families with children under a certain age.

Safety in camp

Most safari camps are not fenced. Animals walk through them, particularly at night, and that is part of the appeal. It also means rules that every family needs to take seriously.

Children must be accompanied at all times outside the tent. After dark, guests are escorted to and from their rooms by a member of staff, usually with a torch and sometimes a radio. Swimming pools are often unfenced too. The camps are very experienced at hosting families, and the staff are generally wonderful with children, but it helps to talk the rules through at home before you go, so that no one is surprised on the first night.

If this worries you, a fenced lodge in a malaria-free reserve is a gentle first step. Many families move on to unfenced camps on their second safari.

Pacing the days

A safari day runs early and long. For children, a few small changes make a big difference.

• Shorter drives. Two or three hours in the morning is plenty for younger children.
• Fewer moves. Every change of camp costs half a day. Three nights is a minimum in each place; four is better.
• Time in camp. A swimming pool is worth its weight in gold during the heat of the day.
• Short transfers. Driving for hours between reserves is tiring for everyone. Light aircraft transfers are often quicker and more fun for children.
• A beach at the end. A few days on a beach after the safari gives everyone time to rest before the flight home.

Combining safari with something else

For young families, South Africa is hard to beat, pairing a malaria-free reserve with Cape Town and the Garden Route. For families with older children, Tanzania with a beach on Zanzibar, or Kenya with its coast, are natural combinations. Mauritius also pairs well with a South African safari.

A few practical notes

• Pack layers. Early mornings in an open vehicle are cold, even in summer.
• Bring binoculars for each child. Children's binoculars are cheap and make a huge difference.
• Keep sun protection simple: a wide-brimmed hat, long sleeves and high-factor sun cream.
• Pack a small bag of familiar snacks for long drives.
• Let children keep a notebook or a checklist of what they see.

Our family holidays page shows how we plan trips for families more widely. Whatever age your children are, the most important thing is to plan for the family you have, not the one in the brochure.