Planning a Tanzanian safari with kids? A family holiday to Africa? Many people ask us what an appropriate age is to go on safari. It’s difficult to give a blanket answer to this question, as it is very personal to each parent. Generally speaking, if your child can sit in a car for a few hours at a time, you should have no problem taking them on a family safari. We have a number of ways that we can make a trip to Tanzania extra suitable and attractive for children. Clients also gain access to the Kids Club in our Makasa Community pages. There you can find fun games, a packing list and a countdown calendar specially made for our young safari guests.
Your safari itinerary
Most international flights arrive in the evening, so you arrive in Tanzania after dark and go to bed almost immediately. Adult guests tend to go on safari the very next day, but with children it can be very pleasant to plan a rest day into the itinerary. A day where you can do nothing, acclimatize and relax at the lodge. For the rest of the trip, we advise staying a few nights in each location to make travelling easier on the children and we will make sure that you don’t have to jump around different locations too often.
Child-friendly accommodation on safari
We are well placed to select child-friendly lodges for your trip: we know all the accommodation providers personally, and we have three young children ourselves. For families, we select family rooms at every location. These are always spacious, with a proper bed and mosquito net for every child. Children under 16 are never alone in a room or a tent on safari.
The safari guide as an entertainer
Many of our guides are ideally suited to entertain children on safari. They can sing songs, tell exciting stories, even teach children how to imitate the sounds of the animals around you. Anything is possible, as long as it fits with our philosophy of love for and interest in nature and the environment.
More practically, you and your guide can alter the length of your game drives to suit your children’s needs. Where a group without children may opt for a long day trip, you may choose to break up the day into two shorter trips. After a game drive in the morning, you could spend some time at the lodge and pool over lunchtime. Then, if the children feel like it, you could go on another game drive in the afternoon.
Fun for the whole family
We can also organize special activities for the days that you are not on safari. You can visit a local school, go mountain biking or go on a child-friendly hike. We can also arrange an introduction to the famous Maasai tribe, where you can learn about their way of life and even try riding a donkey. A lot is possible, depending on the age and interests of your children, which we can discuss during our consultation with you. Incidentally, many of these activities are also great fun without kids.
On Safari: fun, exciting and educational
There are very nice children’s safari books (for example: Nat Geo Kids) that children can read and enjoy before, during or after the trip. Generally, we find it works very well when kids have a goal on safari, no matter how small or how big. For example, they could keep a travel diary or create a short paper or presentation for school. You can also start this project with your child before you arrive in Tanzania, as part of preparing them for the trip.
Tanzania safari with kids
Do you have more questions about traveling to Tanzania with children? Or do you still doubt whether a safari is suitable for your family? Please do not hesitate to contact us. We have primary school children, we have done many safaris with them, and we can tell you all about it. You can also download a sample itinerary here for inspiration.
