When should one book a safari? Is an important question and the quickest answer is preferably a year. Even though to some people, year is dreadfully long time to plan ahead. Who knows what will happen over the course of the year, and to pay for and confirm a safari that far in advance can be so off putting. Please note that planning itself takes a few weeks; you just need to start the whole process well in advance.
When booking your safari, you will need to make decisions about what you would like to see. Do you like trekking mountain gorillas, the big five, whales, cultural festivals, birds, the great migration or the tropical beaches? Do you want to have a classic safari or more active adventure? There are many options and you need much time to weigh each one, without rushing into any decisions. Once you have decided what you would like to experience you can start to figure out the best time of the year to go. This is where your travel consultant can come in to help you. In case you love birding or time at the beach, a tour consultant will help you in organizing this. Planning in advance since this will give you the best chance of catching that fantastic experience.
The airline reservation system start to show the flights 330 days in advance and with the direct flights to Africa being few and far, this is the right time when you want to book your seat for the lowest possible fare. Since there is lack of competition between airlines for flights to Africa, there are very few sales to take advantage of. In case you want to use air miles for your flights, then you want to book as soon as the schedule is put up.
There are more accommodation facilities than the airline seats but you can be surprised to find out that the best safari camps fill up six months to a year in advance. This is particularly the case around Christmas and at the height of the safari season. The luxury safari camps cater to fewer than 20 guests at a time, so this means availability runs out very quickly most especially if you need more than one room. One of the most pleasant aspects of planning a tour is browsing through the great camps on offer, so make sure to book in advance to avoid any disappointment.
Once the planning stage is over and you have finally decided on your itinerary, you can relax and look forward to the trip. Always read as much as possible about the destinations you will be visiting as it truly enriches the whole experience. Get to practice taking pictures with the cameras you plan to carry.
Just a few months before your safari, you should check in with your travel clinic to be able to get the right immunization and malaria prophylactics. You can as well find out if you need a tourist visa and double check to make sure your passport is valid for at least six months after you arrive in Africa. All these need to be planned in time before your safari.