Family safaris

There are very significant health issues associated with very young travellers in many countries..

The vast majority of safari areas are high health risk (most notably malaria) and really should be avoided with children this young. We are not legally permitted to give medical advice, but we are able to give our own personal opinions on such matters. All of us here have deliberately avoided giving antimalarial drugs to our own infants.

Areas with high temperatures and humidities should usually also be avoided due to the prevalence of other fevers and the fact that infants are less able to self-regulate their body temperatures.

Immediate access to good healthcare also needs to be considered, since even quite modest health problems can become serious quickly in infants.

In Africa, we generally recommend either not travelling with infants or sticking to the more temperate and healthy areas of South Africa around the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and possibly adding wildlife in the non-malarial Madikwe, Waterberg Mountains and Tswalu areas to the north of the country.

In South America we generally recommend that you avoid the Amazon Basin and other tropical areas, which essentially leaves most of Ecuador and Peru, almost all of Chile and the southern part of Argentina.

We would probably recommend avoiding the Indian Subcontinent completely, although you could consider Bhutan.

probably not a great idea

The significant health issues in many areas are tempered slightly by the fact that kids in this age range are now able to take certain preventative drugs, but bodyweight and temperature stability are still a significant concern.

The age at which you are comfortable exposing your children to malaria and therefore open up safari possibilities in many countries is a very personal decision. From around two years old they are more able to take anti-malarial drugs, but parents have very differing views on whether or not this is a good idea.

Some of us have taken our kids to malarial and tropical areas from around 2 years old, but generally we agree this is too young. Most of us have waited until our youngest child is 5 or 6 years old. Some prefer to wait until 7 or 8 years old.

If you decide that you cannot visit malarial areas then refer to the area recommendations for infants above. If you decide that you can visit malarial areas then refer to the area recommendations in the next section.

Another issue is age restrictions. Many safari lodges, especially those in malarial areas, do not permit small children, but there are exceptions in most areas.

On the upside, virtually all lodges which accept children in this age band offer very significant price reductions, usually in excess of 50% off the adult price.

In many safari areas, children of this age range must be accompanied by an adult at all times when on safari, there are significant risks from a range of predators if they are left unattended. The staff at many lodges are keen to help out with child-minding if needed.

Please do give us a call to discuss, we will always be open and honest about such things and, when in doubt, we will always err on the side of caution.

possible, but a little bit too young

This is a great age range for safari travel in almost all countries.

With these ages in particular we find that there tends to be a wide range in the behaviour and needs for different children. Some kids as young as five are well-behaved, trustworthy, able and willing to take part in the usual camp activities. Other children as old as twelve are less suited to mix in with adult guests and need more child-focused attention.

We are more than happy to cater for all types of children, although it is extremely important that you let us know about their characters in advance, so that we can help put together a perfectly tailored trip.

In Africa, we assume that for children in this age range we can now include malarial areas so, depending on your inclination, one might look at a safari in Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia or Zimbabwe. However we do generally prefer to stick to the Jun-Oct dry season where the health risks are at their lowest.

Most safari camps accept children in this age range, although there are many which start at 8 years, a decent number at 12 years and a few more hardcore options which start at 16 years. Most also offer significant price reductions on the adult price, especially for children sharing a room with parents.

The greater issue in this age group tends to be which activities the children are permitted to join. Many safari camps permit children to stay in the lodge, but not to join vehicle safaris unless a private vehicle is taken, at considerable extra cost. More dangerous or arduous activities, such as walking safari or canoe safari, they may not be able to join at all.

Some camps operate special activities designed for children, such as vehicle safaris, walks and tracking lessons, bow and arrow shooting, that kind of thing. The danger of going too far in this direction is that it can all start to become a bit goofy, the presence of a ‘kiddie club’ can be a worrying sign in terms of safari authenticity.

Trips to Egypt are great for this age range.

In South America, the whole continent is now wide open, since you can also consider the Amazon Basin (although it remains marginal from a health perspective, in our opinion).

On the Indian Subcontinent, the healthy areas in the Himalayas (Bhutan, Nepal, Ladakh) are all good. You may also be happy to visit the tropical islands of the Maldives and Sri Lanka. However, we are still rather nervous about travel in the majority of India, even in the preferable Nov-Mar cool dry season.

heading into a really nice age range

Trips with kids this age are golden, rare opportunities to enjoy that full family togetherness before they start to drift away from the family nest.

All areas are now in the mix.

We have found that kids this age are often not exactly keen on the whole idea during the planning stage and whilst out on the trip itself can, on occasion, question why they are having to endure the experience!

But virtually without exception they do eventually get into the swing of things, leading to wonderful shared experiences and memories kids and parents alike. So don’t worry if it feels you are having to coerce them into it at first, they will thank you for it in the end. Albeit without actually thanking you, of course.

These trips are also an important chance for older kids to broaden their perspectives on the world, lessons that they will take with them through life. So do think about pushing the envelope a little, interacting with local people, getting involved in philanthropic projects and pushing your comfort boundaries a little.

Virtually all areas, lodges and experiences are open to teenagers, although many lodges now charge full adult price, which does mean that trips can get really expensive.

really the golden age range

Travelling with adult kids is a luxury that not many families are able to enjoy as they tend to want to do their own thing. But a big safari can sometimes prove to be a large enough carrot to tempt them into joining you!

The paragraph in the previous section about helping to round and develop young adults by exposing them to diverse cultures is still very valid for older offspring, although obviously at this age the dynamics do change.

Sometimes young adults between 18 and 28 travel to these countries on their own to participate in volunteer work, perhaps for several weeks or months, with their families joining them for a shorter trip either in the middle or at the end of their tour of duty. We often handle the family part of these trips, coordinating between kids who are already in-country and parents who are still back home.

There are very few lodges which do not treat an 18 year old as a full adult in terms of price, so other techniques have to be used to keep the budget under control.

a rare and precious opportunity for family time

When we are specifically talking about travel into areas where there is potentially dangerous wildlife around, almost all areas are reasonably safe, so long as they adhere absolutely to the rules laid down by the camp managers and guides.

We are aware of very few serious incidents involving children in recent decades. Nevertheless, an awareness of the key issues is very important.

Almost all of the lodges and camps in wilderness areas are unfenced, so animals are free to wander in and out.

Smaller children are at risk, particularly from animals such as leopards and jaguars, which mostly hunt around dawn and dusk. Although attacks are extremely rare, they do happen and small children need to be closely accompanied at all times.

Many of the lodges are set up on elevated decks, which could therefore be considered slightly safer for small kids, although this could also encourage a false sense of security.

All kids, and adults for that matter, need to understand that running in wild areas is strictly forbidden, either around the camp or out in the bush. This creates a serious risk of triggering hunting behaviour in animals which would otherwise usually have no interest in humans. Kids often get tempted, for a range of reasons, to run between the rooms. This is extremely dangerous and must be avoided.

Similarly, when out on vehicle safari, when you are in close proximity to animals such as elephants or lions, it is essential that children remain seated, still and very quiet.

it is critical that children obey the rules

Some families enjoy more private experiences.

There is a good range of properties which are designed for the private use of a single group of guests.

There are also many camps which are sufficiently small that they can be booked on an exclusive basis.

The larger the group size, the more able we are to create really exclusive experiences, using private camps and chartering planes and vehicles rather than using scheduled transport services.

However, it is perhaps worth pointing out that one of the great joys of a proper safari is meeting and interacting with other guests. This is particularly true for kids, who (despite your prior concerns) are often thrilled to join other adults around a big table. The conversation is so easy when you have exciting animal sightings to talk about.

The best camps for this purpose are those where you can stay in a private annex, whilst also having access to the main lodge and where you can choose to take your meals at either location.

complete privacy can be both a positive and a negative