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• 01- Safari location
• 02- Quality of safari lodge
• 03- Low vs. high season
• 04- Cost of internal flights
• 05- Other destinations included in itinerary
• 06- Number of days
• 07- National park vs. private reserve
• 08- The extras
• 09- Self-drive vs. guided
• 10- Currency exchange rates
• How we saved over $6,800! 
• Final thoughts

Where you choose your safari location will dictate the cost. For example, Botswana is one of the most expensive safari destinations whereas South Africa and Zimbabwe offer more affordable options.

For more comparisons between all the top 7 safari destinations, check out my article below. 

There are typically 3 price points for safari lodges: moderate, premier, and luxury.

For example, in South Africa, a moderately priced safari lodge in Sabi Sands will cost you around $300-$700 USD per person, a premier lodge will cost around $800-$1200 USD per person, and an ultra-luxury lodge will cost about $2000+ USD per person.

Quite the range. Impeccable service and food and a smaller number of rooms (and thus guests) come at a premium.

We stayed at Lion Sands River Lodge in Sabi Sands, South Africa for one of our safari experiences. It was incredibly luxurious without being pretentious and had some of the best staff we have encountered.

We also had another amazing safari experience at Chobe National Park in Botswana. We used the Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel in Zimbabwe as our base, which was absolutely stunning. The hotel also offered its own safari drives right on its property.

Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel guest lounge area

To give you a sense of the price points, I constructed a chart comparing the cost of the safari lodges we had researched in the Sabi Sands and Timbavati private game reserves in South Africa. 

If this is your first time planning a safari, don’t miss my article on how to choose a safari lodge. 

We stayed at Lion Sands River Lodge in Sabi Sand, South Africa during the month of September. If we had stayed at the end of December, we would have paid $250 USD more per person per night. Staying during the peak season will drive the price up dramatically.

For me, the ideal time is picking the shoulder season that still coincides with the dry season.

Some safari destinations can be quite remote, and others are near well-established airports. The location of the safari lodge will dictate the cost of transfers via plane or car.

We stayed at Lion Sands River Lodge, which is about a 25-minute drive from the local airport, Skukuza Airport. Because of the lodge’s close proximity, transfers were included in our lodge rate.

Plus, Skukuza Airport had direct flights to/from major airport hubs like Cape Town and Johannesburg, which made the internal flights more affordable. The cost per passenger when we went was $480 USD through SA Airlink.

If you are trying to reach more inaccessible lodges, the African safari cost is going to be much higher because you are relying on light charter flights.

If you fly to a destination where the safari experience is the only activity, your cost is going to be higher than if you combine it with more affordable destinations.

The safari will be the most expensive part of your trip. One reason why South Africa is such a desirable safari location is that it can be combined with places such as Cape Town and the Cape Winelands for a fraction of the cost.

Obviously, the more days you spend, the higher the African safari cost.

However, some safari lodges like Singita Kruger National Park will offer a nice package deal such as “Stay 4 Days/Pay for 3.” Always be on the lookout for these special deals to reduce your African safari cost.

National parks tend to be much more affordable than private game reserves. 

For example, if you stay in Kruger National Park in South Africa, which is owned and managed by the government, the cost is going to be substantially cheaper but much more crowded.

In contrast, if you stay in a private reserve in Sabi Sands in South Africa, the cost will be higher but fewer people and jeeps and more close-up wildlife encounters.

If you want to know more differences between Kruger National Park and Sabi Sands, check out my article below. 

What do I mean by “the extras”? Think tipping, airport transfers, laundry, park fees & permits, premium drinks, etc.

It is important to factor in all fees because they can certainly add up quickly. For example, if you are going to Rwanda to see gorillas, the gorilla trekking permit alone costs $1500 USD per person!

Also, it is imperative to know what is included in your all-inclusive safari lodge rate. For example, some lodges charge for premium drinks.

Laundry service is another factor to consider. You cannot carry much weight in your luggage on those little planes. Packing light is important, which will likely require you to do laundry while at the lodge. Some lodges will include it, and some will not.

That is why I’m a big fan of the incredibly lightweight Anatomie travel clothing, specifically the Kate Skinny Cargo pants. They take up very little room in the suitcase.

An Africa safari is one of the most expensive vacations you will probably take. The staff at these safari lodges go above and beyond to take great care of you. The safari guides are spending at least 6+ hours with you daily to deliver an exclusive experience.

I know this is a touchy subject because every country has a different tipping culture, but please consider showing your appreciation for good service by leaving a tip. Budget accordingly. It is customary in Africa to tip the staff (but not mandatory).

If you want more flexibility and are looking to cut costs, you can do a self-drive safari in certain countries such as South Africa. For example, in Kruger National Park, many opt to rent a car and drive independently around the park looking for the animals.

Although you have the freedom of when and how long you want to stay in each location, you do not have the expertise and knowledge of a guide who can greatly add to your experience.

Most African countries will quote and charge you in USD. There are a few countries, however, like South Africa and Namibia, that only quote the cost in their own currency.

Because the currency exchange rate is volatile, your US dollar could stretch further if the rate is favorable. The opposite, of course, would be true as well.

I am NOT a travel agent who gets discounts on properties.

I am NOT an influencer who gets sponsored free trips.

I work full-time, have limited PTO hours, and take 3-4 vacations a year.

So, how am I bringing my African safari cost down?

Airline and credit card points!

An African safari is usually just one component (and the most expensive!) of most travelers’ Africa itinerary. The key to making this epic trip affordable is knowing where to spend and where not to spend and utilizing airline and credit card points to erase some or all of the cost.

A premier safari experience in Sabi Sands, South Africa for 2 people for 3 nights/4 days costs around $5,400 USD. So, how did we save over $6,800 for our entire 2-week Africa trip? 2 ways. Let’s break it down.

Courtesy of Shutterstock: airplane

We used 2 different strategies for the major international legs of our Africa trip:

UNITED POINTS: For this Africa trip, we used 40,000 United points per person (+ nominal $11 USD per person for taxes) to pay for our flight from the United States to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. The cash price per person for the flight would have been $1,121 USD. Our total savings for two people was $2,220. The redemption value was 2.8 cents per mile.

By the way, one strategy for getting a bulk amount of points is to sign up for a travel credit card during a big sign-up bonus promotion, where you have to meet x amount of minimum spend within x amount of months.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC POINTS: For our return flight from Johannesburg, South Africa back to the United States, we used 22,500 Virgin Atlantic points per person (+ $350 USD per person for taxes). The cash price per person for the flight would have been $888 USD. Our total savings for two people was $1,076. The redemption value was 2.4 cents per mile.

How did we get Virgin Atlantic points? From my Amex Membership Reward (MR) Points.

If you want to know more about travel hacking tricks and how to know if you are getting a good redemption value, don’t miss my travel hacking 101 guide. 

What credit cards we used and how we used them:

AMERICAN EXPRESS PLATINUM

We used Amex Membership Reward (MR) points to pay for our international flight home from Johannesburg to the United States. We transferred 22,500 MR points to Virgin Atlantic at a 1:1 transfer rate. Our total cost was 22,500 points + $350 USD for taxes/fees per person for a flight that would have cost $888 per person. Our total savings for two people was $1076.

CHASE SAPPHIRE RESERVE

We used 239,138 Chase Ultimate Reward (UR) points to pay for the majority of our hotels on our Africa trip. That saved us a whopping $3,587.07!

When you redeem your UR points through the Chase travel portal for hotels (or flights if you choose), you redeem at 1.5x the rate.

What does that mean? Pretend you have 200,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points, which is equal to $2,000 USD. If you redeem those same 200,000 points through the travel portal, they are now worth $3,000 USD. Incredible value! THIS IS THE ULTIMATE TRAVEL CREDIT CARD.

An African safari was one of the most memorable travel experiences we’ve had. It can be quite expensive depending on the location and quality of the safari lodge.

You can make it quite budget-friendly by picking cheaper safari locations, going during low season, doing a self-drive safari, and picking a more affordable safari lodge.

Since this was a trip of a lifetime for us and we were celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary, we wanted a little more luxury.

When we started planning our African safari and adding up the costs, it was clear the price for our dream vacation was much higher than our travel budget would allow. Luckily, because we had started to accumulate airline and credit card points years ago, we were able to cash in those points to erase much of the African safari cost. Those airline and credit card points made this epic trip a reality.

Questions about how to reduce your African safari cost?

Let me know in the comments below!