Family Safaris

Safari is one of the few trips where a ten-year-old and a seventy-year-old can have the same day and both come home changed by it. It’s also a trip that goes badly if it’s planned like an adult trip with children attached.

Who this is for

Families traveling with kids, teenagers, or three generations at once. People who want the trip to work for everyone in the vehicle — not just the person who’s wanted to do this for twenty years.

The age question, answered honestly

Gorilla trekking has a hard minimum age of 15 in both Uganda and Rwanda. That’s a park rule, not a guideline, and it isn’t negotiable. If you have a fourteen-year-old, they cannot trek. Plan around it — chimpanzee tracking has a lower minimum in most parks, and the golden monkey trek in Rwanda is easier and more forgiving.

Under about six, honest answer: game drives are long and the roads are rough. It can be done, and some lodges are excellent with small children, but you’ll be building a very different itinerary — shorter drives, longer stays, a pool in the middle of the day.

Seven to fourteen is a sweet spot. Old enough to remember it, young enough to be astonished by it.

Teenagers get the full trip, gorillas included. It’s a genuinely good age for this.

What we change for families

Shorter driving days. The single biggest cause of a miserable family safari is a seven-hour transfer. We break journeys up, or fly, and we’d rather cut a park than spend a day getting to it.

Fewer lodges, longer stays. Three nights in one place instead of two nights in two. Kids settle, laundry gets done, and nobody is repacking at 6 a.m.

Midday downtime. Game drives are best early and late. The middle of the day is for the pool, and any lodge we put a family in has somewhere to be during it.

A guide who’s good with kids. This matters more than the vehicle or the lodge. Nicholas’s team knows which of their guides light up around children and which are better with a serious photographer. We ask for the right one by name.

Family rooms and interconnecting tents. Not every camp has them, and the ones that do sell out first. This constrains the itinerary more than people expect, and it’s a reason to book early.

Multi-generational trips

Grandparents, parents, kids — one of the best trips you can take, and the most logistically demanding.

The key is not forcing everyone into the same day. Grandparents skip the 5:30 a.m. drive and take a later one. The teenagers trek gorillas while the younger ones do a village visit or a nature walk. Your own vehicle is what makes that possible — a group tour cannot split.

Tell us about mobility, medication, and altitude concerns up front. We’d rather design around them than discover them in a park with no road out.

Is it safe for children?

Yes, in the parks and countries we operate in, with a guide who knows the ground. The realistic risks on a family safari are the ordinary ones — sunburn, upset stomachs, a bad night’s sleep — not the dramatic ones.

Talk to your doctor about malaria prophylaxis and vaccinations for children well ahead of travel; some require a schedule. Travel insurance with medical evacuation cover is non-negotiable with kids along.

What it costs

Family safaris cost less per person than people assume, because a private vehicle is priced per vehicle rather than per seat — so the fourth and fifth traveler are far cheaper than the first two. Family rooms also cost less than separate rooms.

The exception is gorilla permits, which are per person and are a significant fixed cost. A family of four with two trekkers looks very different from a family of four with four.

Tell us your ages and we’ll give you a real number.

How planning works

Tell us the ages, how long you have, and what your family is actually like — early risers or not, adventurous eaters or not, one kid who’ll want to talk to the guide all day. We’ll build around it.

You’ll hear back within one business day.

Tell us about your family