Safari with children
Ages, lodges, malaria, long drives and how to keep everyone happy.
Children and safari can be a wonderful match, with the right choices. The wrong ones, a long day in a closed vehicle in the heat, make everybody miserable.
Age limits
Many private lodges set a minimum age, often six, eight or twelve, for game drives in open vehicles, and some do not take children at all. Walking safaris usually require 12 or older; gorilla trekking is 15 and up. National parks have no age limits, which is one reason self-driving suits families.
Where to go
- Malaria-free South Africa is the obvious choice for younger children: Madikwe, Pilanesberg, Addo and the Eastern Cape reserves. Several lodges there run children's programmes with tracking, bug hunts and bush cooking.
- Kruger self-drive works well from about six, with the car as a safe, flexible base and rest camps with pools. Take malaria advice.
- Kenya's conservancies and Tanzania suit older children and teenagers who can sit through long drives.
- Botswana and Zambia are best left until the teens, for the age limits, the remoteness and the cost.
Keeping it working
- Short drives, often. Two hours in the morning and two at dusk, with the middle of the day at the pool.
- Choose lodges with a pool, a family room or tent, and a flexible kitchen.
- Give each child binoculars and a checklist. The small things (dung beetles, tortoises, birds) carry a drive when the lions are asleep.
- Many lodges offer private vehicles for families at a supplement; worth it if your children are young or restless.
- Pack snacks, a hat each, and the strongest sun cream you can find.
Paperwork
South Africa and Botswana may ask for an unabridged birth certificate for children under 18, and a consent letter if one parent travels alone with them. Check current rules before you go.
