How Young is Too Young for Safari? A Guide for Optimists (and Masochists)

Safari with kids sounds like a brilliant idea.  In theory.  Educational, life-changing, bonding time, no iPads.  Lions.  Meerkats.  Hakuna Matata.  

That’s how I imagined it when I took my kids on their first safari, aged 2 and 3.  Then, after months of confidently hyping it, a few days before we were due to leave for Africa, the doubt crept in.  A full-blown, what have I done moment.  I could see the future with painful clarity.  Crystal clear, full HD visions of the catastrophic mistake I’d made.  Me trying to spot a leopard while someone urgently needed a wee.  Or a snack.  Or a different snack.  Or to get down from the vehicle.  Or to fight.  Or to scream.  Probably all at once.

But you know what?  None of that.  No boredom.  No meltdowns.  No trauma.  No leopards either, annoyingly.  Just pure joy.

Here’s a few tips along the way of how it all worked out.

Age Limits

Most safari lodges have minimum age requirements.  Some allow children from 6+, others insist on 12+.  And some simply hate kids and refuse them entry — even if, like mine, they were clearly gifted and showing early signs of exceptional talent.  One of them mastered the ancient art of “pull my finger” at just two years old.  Generational talent.

But the lodges aren’t usually doing this just to be difficult.  Some properties are built on steep cliffs with severe, unfenced drops.  Others sit wide open to wildlife, where elephants wander through camp and leopards actually bother to show up.  And in my experience, wild animals and toddlers – operating in their usual default, zero-survival-instinct, full-blown-suicide mode – are not a natural pairing.

Even if a camp does accept young kids, that doesn’t mean it’s the best option.

“Family-Friendly” Means Nothing

Every safari camp calls itself family-friendly.  Most aren’t.  Having a few board games in a dusty cupboard does not make you family-friendly.  Nor does offering spaghetti bolognese once a week.  Twice a week?  Ok, now we’re talking.

Here’s what you want the camp to offer:

• Private guides and vehicles (you’ll likely have to pay, but you’re going to pay in emotional tourmoil if you don’t do it)
• And with those private vehicles comes shorter game drives and the ability to turn back after 15 minutes if the toddler has entered Tantrumville.
• Flexible meal times and kid-specific menus
• Childminders or staff who genuinely like children (not tolerate them)
• Activities for the downtime between the game drives
• Activities for when the game drives aren’t keeping their attention
• Ideally, a heated pool – that’s always a winner.

Private Vehicle = Sanity

A private vehicle gives you flexibility.  You can start later.  End earlier.  Go back to camp mid-drive.  Park and eat snacks.  Watch warthogs for 20 minutes if that’s what your child is fixated on today.  But it also removes the embarrassment.  Imagine having to endlessly apologise to a honeymooning couple from Munich while your eight-year-old loudly ranks the animals by how disgusting their poo is.  But then, Germans…..so maybe a match made in heaven?  

Go Exclusive-Use If You Can

The ultimate way to safari with kids is in an exclusive-use villa or camp.  No strangers.  No shared mealtimes.  No sharing – perfect for kids, and selfish people like me.

Properties like Melote House, Arijiju, Ol Jogi, or Wild Hill are built for this.  You get your own space, your own staff, your own safari schedule.  And best of all, you don’t have to worry if one child’s asleep while another is pretending to be a hyena under the dinner table.

If a full villa isn’t feasible, at least get a family suite in a camp that separates you from the rest of the guests.  You’ll sleep better.  So will they.

Charter flights

I’ve written about this before.  It’s just so, so much easier if you charter.

Don’t Over-Schedule It

If you’re like me, you can get a little carried away with wanting endless variety.  When I travel by myself, I can often do just 2-3 nights per safari lodge and move on.  That is….less than ideal.

All the packing, repacking, getting on flights (even charters, it’s still on your mind and taking up a large chunk of your day).  Kids take a while to get settled, the guides take a while to learn how you want things to be done, you need a minute to remember what happened to the the stuffed animal that cannot possibly be left behind.  For a week’s stay, go with a maximum of two lodges.

Stay Lists

Communicate all preferences in advance — and then follow up.  Twice.  Camps mean well, but even top-tier ones can forget, especially when children are rare guests.  I’m on about the unglamorous things, like what size of diapers/nappies you need, or a cot, or child-friendly shampoo.  None of this is complicated.  But none of it happens by accident either.

Other Activities

Yes, the wildlife is extraordinary.  But some of the things that stuck most with my kids was me forcing different experiences down their throats, which they actually loved.  Ok, that and horse riding.

Like hanging out with the dogs with an anti-poaching K-9 unit.  Or being involved in rhino conservation.  I’m not talking about being 200m away, I’m on about on foot and understanding what protection actually involves.  You can almost see their brains recalibrating.

You can visit local schools.  Go into villages.  Experience another culture.  I’m not pretending it turns them into mini philanthropists overnight.  But, at the very least, it makes me feel better that they’re not just growing up and considering the quality of their holidays on the basis of how great the infinity pool was.

Conclusion

Done well, safari with kids can be one of the most rewarding, joyful trips you’ll ever take.  Done poorly, it’s a series of jetlagged days in the bush with no sleep, no sightings, and the sense you’ve aged a decade.

Mine are now 5 and 3 and have somehow already clocked 10 safari lodges across Rwanda, Kenya and South Africa.  That list will continue to grow every year, the lucky little freeloaders.