A family safari holiday in Africa is an incredible way to create lifelong memories, offering thrilling wildlife encounters, breathtaking landscapes, and enriching cultural experiences. Whether you’re traveling with young children, teenagers, or multi-generational groups, Africa provides a wide range of family-friendly safari destinations that cater to all ages.

To assist you in beginning to plan your family safari vacation, we suggest particular locations and family adventures we have created around the age of the kids travelling:

Family Safari Holidays with children under five years old

The biggest concern if you are traveling with very small children is to go to places free of malaria. Almost all of Africa sits within the malaria zone, hence the only place we would advise for families with very small children is South Africa. South Africa has several malaria-free vacation reserves that can be easily paired with Cape Town and the Garden Route, or even the beach resort of Mauritius—Africa’s most family-friendly beach destination.

Family Safari vacations for children between five and ten

Families with kids between the ages of 5 and 10 should consider a family safari holiday to either South Africa or Kenya. With some hotels providing outstanding children’s programs that fill the middle of the day during safaris, South Africa’s parks—both non-malaria and malarial areas like the Kruger—are well set up for children. Family safari vacations are also quite wonderful in Kenya. While the Laikipia and Lewa area provides a great variety of activities and contact with local cultures, the Maasai Mara provides excellent big-game watching.

Family Safari vacations for older children and teenagers

Families with older children find all of Africa open, particularly as kids of this age do not require the variety of non-safari activities provided in the countries we suggest for younger families.

Tanzania, particularly the north of the country where the Serengeti and Ngorongoro region strike the ideal mix of large game and excellent lodges, as well as authenticity and adventure, is one of our favorite places for families with older kids. As the Maasai tribe exists all around the area, trips to Tanzania might also have a cultural component. The beaches of the Zanzibar Archipelago are also a great spot to conclude. Though pricey, Botswana is a great family safari spot; if you visit there, you should expect to pay the highest safari rates in Africa.

Family adventure trips

We strongly advise families with children over 10 to think about a more adventurous trip if you believe your kids can manage the sort of untamed experiences Africa may provide.

adventure families will find southern Tanzania especially perfect since it offers numerous tiny camps where the emphasis is on adventure activities including fly camping, kayaking, and walking. For a family wanting to do something unique during their safari-oriented vacation, climbing Kilimanjaro is also an alternative. Our other advice is Zambia. Its home to the most adventurous safari in Africa. Although there are several boat safari possibilities on the Zambezi river, walking is the main draw here.