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Tailor-made
Safari Holidays

Our Africa experts design safaris shaped entirely around you, from big five game drives in South Africa to gorilla trekking in Uganda and fly-in camps in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. Every route, camp and guide is chosen by someone who has been there.

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What is a tailor-made safari?

A tailor-made safari is one designed entirely around you, not picked from a brochure or shared with a tour group. It starts with a real and honest conversation with one of our Africa destination experts, someone who has sat in those game-drive vehicles and slept in those camps themselves. Tell us the kind of experience you most dream of, tell us that you’d rather skip long road transfers, or that you’d like a few lazy days on a beach at the end. We’ll shape everything around that: the reserves, the camps, the pace and how you travel between them. Whether it’s a classic big five safari or a little-visited corner most travellers never reach, the trip is yours – and it'll feel that way from your first call, through to every morning in the bush.

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Safari holiday ideas

Below are some ideas of the kind of safari holidays we design most often. Treat each one as a starting point: your destination expert can change the camps, the pace and the length to suit you. That's what we're here for.

Holiday

South Africa Safari Explorer

South Africa

South Africa's wildlife at its best.

14 days
Romantic Safari + 1 more + 2 more
from £5,850 pp

including flights

Holiday

Namibia Fly-In Safari

Namibia

Scenic flights and safaris across Namibia’s iconic landscapes.

11 days
Safari Wildlife & Nature + 2 more + 3 more
from £7,125 pp

including flights

Holiday

Gorillas, Safari & Beach

Uganda

Trek with gorillas in Uganda and unwind on the white-sand beaches of Zanzibar.

15 days
Safari Wildlife & Nature + 1 more + 2 more
from £7,765 pp

including flights

Holiday

City, Safari & Beach

South Africa, Mauritius

South Africa’s culture, safari and beaches rounding off with an indulgent island escape.

15 days
Family Classic + 3 more + 3 more
from £5,010 pp

including flights

Holiday

Classic Botswana Safari

Botswana

Fly between small camps in the Okavango Delta and Chobe, exploring by game drive and mokoro.

10 days
Classic Safari + 2 more + 3 more
from £11,115 pp

including flights

Holiday

Perfect Tanzania Safari & Beach

Tanzania

The Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, then slow days on Zanzibar’s white-sand beaches.

11 days
Safari Wildlife & Nature + 2 more + 3 more
from £8,830 pp

including flights

View more safari holidays

Top safari destinations

Below are a few of our favourite destinations for a serious safari adventure. With everything from iconic reserves to those little-visited parks filled with lesser-seen wildlife, our Africa experts know exactly how to design a safari holiday that's perfect for you.

South Africa

South Africa

A South Africa safari pairs big five game drives in Kruger’s private reserves with time in Cape Town and the Winelands. Malaria-free reserves make it a great choice for families.

Botswana

Botswana

Botswana safaris are about space, quiet and a little luxury: small camps, few vehicles, and the Okavango Delta explored by mokoro, plus Chobe’s huge elephant herds.

Tanzania

Tanzania

Follow the Great Migration across the Serengeti, drive down into the Ngorongoro Crater, then finish your Tanzania safari with a few days on Zanzibar’s beaches.

Namibia

Namibia

Namibia is made for a self-drive safari, from waterhole sightings in Etosha to desert-adapted elephants in Damaraland and the red dunes of Sossusvlei.

Uganda

Uganda

Uganda is Africa’s gorilla trekking heartland. Track mountain gorillas in Bwindi and chimpanzees in Kibale, and look for tree-climbing lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe pairs Victoria Falls with some of Africa’s best walking safaris. Explore Hwange’s big elephant herds, or Mana Pools on foot and by canoe with expert guides.

What kind of safari suits you?

Giraffes spotted on a safari holiday in South Africa
  • Classic game-drive safari: early-morning and late-afternoon drives in private reserves, where fewer vehicles mean quieter sightings. A great first safari in South Africa.
  • Fly-in safari: small aircraft hop you between remote camps, saving long road transfers. Ideal in Botswana and Namibia.
  • Self-drive safari: set your own pace through Etosha or South Africa’s parks. See our self-drive holidays.
  • Walking and water safaris: track wildlife on foot with an expert guide, or glide through the Okavango Delta by mokoro.
  • Family safari: malaria-free reserves and family-friendly camps; our team know how to design family safaris that work. See our family holidays.
  • Safari and beach: finish with a few days on the coast, a favourite for honeymoons.

When is the best time to go on safari?

It depends on where you go and what you want to see. Across much of southern and East Africa, the dry season (roughly June to October) brings the easiest game viewing, as animals gather around water. The green season (around November to April) is quieter and lusher, and often better value. It’s also the time for newborn animals and the best birdlife. Some highlights follow their own calendar. Calving in Tanzania’s southern Serengeti happens in January and February, and the Mara River crossings usually peak between July and October. Uganda’s gorilla treks run all year, though the drier months are easier underfoot.

How long should a safari be?

We suggest at least three nights at each camp, which gives you around six game drives and time to settle into the rhythm of the bush. For a first trip, seven to ten nights across two or three camps works well. Our safari holiday ideas run from 10 to 15 days in total, including time in a city or on the beach. As always, these are just a starting point. If you're travelling with kids, you might want to do less, if you want to give yourself as many game-spotting chances as possible, you may opt for more. We're here to help you figure out the best balance for you.

How much does a safari holiday cost?

Every single holiday we design is built from scratch, so putting an exact price on this is tricky. However, our safari holiday example itineraries currently start from around £5,000 per person including flights. Some destinations are pricier than others (our classic Botswana safari runs to over £11,000 for example).

The main things that affect the price are:

  • the destination
  • the season
  • the style of camp
  • whether you fly or drive between reserves
  • whether you add private guiding or a private vehicle

Your destination expert will show you where it’s worth spending and where you can save. And, as always, we’re here to help you get the most out of your holiday for your budget. So, let’s chat.

Why you can trust us with your safari

Our Africa destination experts don’t just design safari holidays, they keep going back for more themselves.

Our Africa expert, Kirsty, on a South Africa safari with her young family

Safari expert, Kirsty, in South Africa with her family

Our Africa expert, Cat, on safari in South Africa

Our safari expert, Cat, spotting a rhino on safari

Lisa befriending the giraffes on safari

Lisa D, our resident South African

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Cat trekking to see the gorillas in Uganda

Kirsty on a self-drive safari in Namibia

Kirsty on self-drive safari in Namibia

Between them, they’ve bounced along Kruger’s dirt tracks at dawn, watched elephants cross the Chobe River, glided through the Okavango Delta by mokoro and sat quietly with a family of mountain gorillas in Uganda. That first-hand knowledge goes into every safari we design. They know which camps have the best guides, which reserves are quietest in which month, and which room has the view you’ll talk about for years. So when you tell us what you’re hoping for, you’re talking to someone who has been there, often more than once – and who can’t wait to send you.

Real safari holidays with HA

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            [content] => Well our holiday to South Africa with Holiday Architects was nothing less than outstanding! Being a little nervous about going to South Africa, staying in Cape Town and going on Safari with my family for the first time they were superb. The customer care, service and their knowledge is second no none - no wonder they have won so many awards! Holiday Architects are definitely the best holiday company I have ever used and will certainly be rushing back in the future! You made our dreams come true and ensured we had the best time of our lives - THANK YOU!
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Well our holiday to South Africa with Holiday Architects was nothing less than outstanding! Being a little nervous about going to South Africa, staying in Cape Town and going on Safari with my family for the first time they were superb. The customer care, service and their knowledge is second no none - no wonder they have won so many awards! Holiday Architects are definitely the best holiday company I have ever used and will certainly be rushing back in the future! You made our dreams come true and ensured we had the best time of our lives - THANK YOU!
Angela EdwardsTrustpilot
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            [content] => Lisa, the our travel agent at HolidayArchitects, masterminded an epic South African trip that kicked off with an awe-inspiring safari. Her meticulous planning ensured every moment was pure magic.

Lisa's safari expertise advise delivered an incredible "Big Four (we missed out on the Leopard)" encounters and serene sunsets, making each game drive a wild adventure. Throughout, Lisa ensured flawless logistics, even car hire. I wholeheartedly recommend Lisa and HolidayArchitects to anyone seeking to make travel legendary.
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“
Lisa, the our travel agent at HolidayArchitects, masterminded an epic South African trip that kicked off with an awe-inspiring safari. Her meticulous planning ensured every moment was pure magic. Lisa's safari expertise advise delivered an incredible "Big Four (we missed out on the Leopard)" encounters and serene sunsets, making each game drive a wild adventure. Throughout, Lisa ensured flawless logistics, even car hire. I wholeheartedly recommend Lisa and HolidayArchitects to anyone seeking to make travel legendary.
M LTrustpilot
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            [content] => Lisa arranged a simply outstanding holiday to South Africa for us - we are so grateful to her for all her insights and suggestions and hard work behind the scenes. All the arrangements were a perfect fit for our family and everything ran so smoothly. We have some amazing memories that we will cherish forever.
            [name] => Michael Oldham
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“
Lisa arranged a simply outstanding holiday to South Africa for us - we are so grateful to her for all her insights and suggestions and hard work behind the scenes. All the arrangements were a perfect fit for our family and everything ran so smoothly. We have some amazing memories that we will cherish forever.
Michael OldhamTrustpilot
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            [content] => Huge thank you to Holiday Architects and all their partners on the ground in Namibia for our most memorable holiday ever. From our first contact with Kirsty, the service has been 5-star. She has a passion for Namibia which shows in everything she does and is fully demonstrated in the remarkable itinerary she put together for us. 
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Huge thank you to Holiday Architects and all their partners on the ground in Namibia for our most memorable holiday ever. From our first contact with Kirsty, the service has been 5-star. She has a passion for Namibia which shows in everything she does and is fully demonstrated in the remarkable itinerary she put together for us.
Lorelle KeoghTrustpilot
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            [content] => Catherine listened to all our needs and gave her advice on where to go, things we could do and which Safari experience to book. We had the perfect itinerary for us. Everything was seamless and I highly recommend HA they made it super easy. This is my second holiday HA organised for me and already planning the next one.
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Catherine listened to all our needs and gave her advice on where to go, things we could do and which Safari experience to book. We had the perfect itinerary for us. Everything was seamless and I highly recommend HA they made it super easy. This is my second holiday HA organised for me and already planning the next one.
S ChanTrustpilot
”

What you're saying

Happy clients are at the heart of everything we do. From the very first chat to the moment you land back home, we’re here to make sure your holiday is personal, thoughtful and completely stress-free. So these words mean the world.

Trustpilot

How it works

We're firm believers that planning a holiday should feel exciting, not overwhelming. We’re here to make it personal, thoughtful and completely stress-free. We’ll get to know you properly, design a trip that's perfect for you, and support you every step of the way.

How our tailor-made holidays work
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Let's talk

This is where it all begins. We’ll chat about what you love (and what you don’t), your travel style, and all the little details that matter most to you. There are no sales calls here, just genuine conversations and an awful lot of excitement.

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Designing your holiday

Your designated expert will get to work using their years of experience, first-hand knowledge and heaps of ideas to craft a holiday that feels completely yours. From quirky experiences to hand-picked hotels, every detail will reflect you and what you’re looking for from your well-deserved holiday. 

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You're off!

Once you’re happy with the plan, we’ll take care of everything, so you can focus on the good bits. Enjoy the excitement of that holiday countdown and savour every moment of your trip, safe in the knowledge we’re just a call away if you need us.

Is a safari holiday calling?

Our Africa experts have all the know-how to make your safari holiday unforgettable.

Get a Quote 01242 253 073

Open Mon-Fri: 9am-5:30pm

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