Four answers that sort the shortlist
You’ve probably got three brochures open and three different prices. The gap usually comes down to the four things below, so check them before you check the lodges’ photos.
- Arusha1 nightGran Meliá Arusha, the first night before the drive west.
- Karatu2 nightsKitela Lodge, the base for a picnic and game drive down in the Ngorongoro Crater.
- Serengeti3 nightsLegendary Serengeti Songa Tented Camp, with tracker-led game drives.
- Masai Mara3 nights&Beyond Kichwa Tembo, on a concession in the Mara Triangle.
- NairobiFly homeOn-tour flights are in the from-price of $16,490.
Six guests per open-top vehicle, window seats for everyone, groups averaging 15 (maximum 18). From $16,490 per person including on-tour air; Tauck lists 2027 and 2028 dates. Its own narrative also mentions a mobile camp, so confirm the camp list on your date.
Four kinds of company sell the same plains
You’re not choosing between safaris so much as between business models. Each one decides who’s in your vehicle and what you pay for later.
Tauck, Globus, Cosmos, Trafalgar, Collette
The companies you know from Europe, running Africa on their usual model: a fixed itinerary, a fixed price, a host who handles the transfers. They book other companies’ camps.
- Tauck: groups averaging 15, maximum 18, on its Great Migration safari (its Botswana trip averages 20)
- Globus: a maximum of 24 guests on its Africa tours
- Trafalgar’s Best of South Africa averages 16 people
- Cosmos and Globus include internal air on several Kenya and Tanzania trips
Abercrombie & Kent and Micato
Africa is the core business here, and it shows in the details. A&K began in Kenya in 1962 and runs its own lodges; Micato runs ten small-group Classic Safaris and includes every tip.
- A&K: Kenya and Tanzania Safari Adventure, limit 18
- Micato: groups average 12, departures run even with one guest
- Micato: nine-seat vehicles limited to six guests in East Africa
- A&K Sanctuary: 13 lodges and camps in East and Southern Africa (June 2026)
G Adventures, Intrepid, Contiki, National Geographic Journeys
Smaller budgets, simpler stays and more of the bill left for you to settle on the road. National Geographic Journeys and Signature trips are run by G Adventures and sit at the top of its range.
- G Adventures Classic: maximum 14, average 10 on Kenya & Tanzania
- Intrepid: maximum 16 on its Kenya Safari Adventure, ages 15 and up
- Contiki: ages 18 to 35 only
- G Adventures Signature: a window seat guaranteed with six or fewer per vehicle
Wilderness, &Beyond, Asilia, Singita, Great Plains
These companies run the camps the tours stay in. Book them directly or through an advisor, and you choose the camps and the nights; you also take on the logistics a tour would handle.
- Wilderness: 37 camps across seven countries
- Singita: 18 lodges across five countries
- Asilia: camps in Kenya and Tanzania
- Great Plains: camps and private suites in Kenya, Botswana and Zimbabwe
Sixteen safari sellers, on their own published terms
Scroll sideways on a phone. Every cell comes from that company’s own site, and where a page was silent, we say so instead of guessing.
| Company | How it sells | Group & vehicle | Window seat | Owns lodges? | Park fees & tips | Kids from | Deposit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abercrombie & Kent | Small group, private, private jet | Limit 16–18 on its two small-group safaris | Not on A&K’s pages we read | 13 Sanctuary lodges and camps | Ask for your itinerary | Ask | Not published |
| Micato Safaris | Classic small-group and custom safaris | Average 12; six per nine-seat vehicle (East Africa) | Guaranteed | None, by choice | Park fees and all tips | Not published | 30% at booking |
| Tauck | Even Smaller Group; Bridges family trips | Average 15, max 18; six per vehicle | Window seats for everyone | Books others’ camps | Local guide and porter tips in; Director tip extra | 5 (Bridges) | $600 |
| Roam by Tauck | Small group, for travelers in their 40s and 50s | Average 16 | Not stated | Books others’ camps | All gratuities | Ask | Ask |
| Globus | Small group escorted | Max 24 in Africa | Not stated | Books others’ camps | Not itemized | 5 | $250 ($500 Botswana) |
| Cosmos | Budget escorted, small-group safaris | Not published | Not stated | Books others’ camps | Not itemized | 5 | $250 ($500 Botswana) |
| Trafalgar | Escorted (South Africa) | Average 16 | Not stated | Books hotels | Not itemized | Ask | From $200 |
| Collette | Explorations small group | Six-person vehicles | Not stated | Books others’ camps | Tips extra | 13 | $349 |
| G Adventures Classic | Small-group adventure | Max 14, avg 10; seven-seat Land Cruisers | Not stated | Books others’ camps | Mara entry listed; tips extra | 12 | $350 |
| National Geographic Journeys / Signature | G Adventures’ upper tiers | Journeys Tanzania max 6; Signature max 18, six per vehicle | Signature, with six or fewer | Books others’ camps | Signature: tips in, except the leader | 12 | $350 / $750 |
| Intrepid | Small-group adventure | Max 16; one vehicle for up to six | Not stated | Books others’ camps | Tips extra | 15 | $400 |
| Contiki | Ages 18–35, camping and hotels | Average 24 on Kruger & Eswatini | Not stated | Contiki Safari Camp named on one trip | Tips optional, extra | 18 | Shown at checkout |
| Wilderness | Lodge company with set itineraries | Small camps; some for exclusive use | Not stated | Operates 37 camps | Park fees in; tips extra | 6 (most camps) | Not published |
| &Beyond | Lodge company | Six- and eight-seat semi-open vehicles (Kichwa Tembo) | Not stated | Runs its lodges | Ask per lodge | All ages for drives | Not published |
| Asilia | Lodge company | Not published | Not stated | Runs its camps | Park fees charged as normal | 5 (most camps) | Not published |
| Singita | Lodge company | Up to six per vehicle (Explore) | Not stated | 18 lodges | Park fees extra (Explore) | All ages (Explore) | Not published |
| Great Plains | Lodge company | Not published | Not stated | Kenya, Botswana, Zimbabwe | Not published | Not published | Not published |
“Not stated” means the company’s own pages we read didn’t say. It doesn’t mean no. Kids-from ages are the company’s general minimum or the safari we checked; some activities, like walks, set higher ones.
What a safari day costs, company by company
YouYou’ll see totals from about $1,100 to $40,000 for a week or two on safari.rsquo;ll see totals from about $1,100 to more than $45,000, for trips of one to three weeks. Dividing by days is the fastest way to see what you’re actually comparing.
From-prices per person, sharing, as shown on each company’s own site in October 2026; sale prices where the site showed one. Micato, Wilderness and Asilia don’t state a travel year. Intrepid’s US price for its Kenya Safari Adventure wasn’t shown to us, so ask us for it.
Read the bars as a ladder, not a league table. Micato’s figure folds in park fees and every tip; Wilderness folds in park fees and house drinks; Globus’s and G Adventures’ leave more for you to pay on the ground.
So the real gap is narrower than the bars suggest. It’s still wide.
Price-per-day math
Put your two quotes on one scale
Divide each from-price by its days. We filled in Tauck’s Great Migration; add the safari you’re weighing it against.
Tauck’s figure includes its on-tour flights. Before you compare, add whatever the other price leaves out: internal flights, park fees and tips.
The three matchups we get asked about most
Most people narrow it to two names quickly. Here are the pairs that come up again and again, scored only on what each company publishes.
Abercrombie & Kent or Micato
Pick A&K if you want a pioneer’s logistics at about half Micato’s daily rate, and you’re happy to ask which nights are Sanctuary camps.
Pick Micato if you want the fewest bills at the end and a window seat in writing. You pay for both up front.
G Adventures or Intrepid
Pick G Adventures for two countries in one trip, a smaller group and no solo surcharge. Its from-price is $4,999.
Pick Intrepid if Kenya is enough and you want Samburu and Ol Pejeta, which G’s route skips. Ask us for Intrepid’s current US price.
Globus or Cosmos
These are sister brands with shared terms. Globus buys you two more days and a 24-guest cap in writing; Cosmos buys you the lower price, with internal flights in.
If you’re torn, ask us for both camp lists on the same week. That’s where the week really differs.
Going straight to the camp companies
The camps on a tour’s itinerary belong to someone. Booking that someone directly is a different trip, not a cheaper version of the same one.
You can skip the tour company entirely. The firms that run the camps sell multi-camp trips too, and a safari advisor can stitch several brands together.
What changes is the math. Wilderness says its rates include park and concession fees, house drinks and laundry, but not gratuities or international flights.
Its six-night Floodplains & Predators trip in Botswana, two nights each at Chitabe, Little Vumbura and Savuti, starts from about $11,205.
Asilia’s All Asilia offer covers transfers between its camps, by shared flight or road, when two or more of you stay at least seven nights in a row. Park fees are charged as normal.
At &Beyond Kichwa Tembo, the camp on Tauck’s route, the rate covers three meals, house wines and local spirits, laundry and twice-daily drives, in six- and eight-seat semi-open vehicles.
Singita Explore, an exclusive-use camp, includes premium wines and spirits and puts up to six guests in a vehicle. Park and concession fees are extra.
The trade-off
A lodge company gives you your pick of camps and, often, a private vehicle. You give up the single price, the host who meets every flight and, sometimes, the park fees in the total. Ask which of those you’re buying.
Great Plains runs camps and private suites in Kenya, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Its camp pages we read didn’t publish child or vehicle policies, so ask before you plan around them.
Solo travelers and children: the rules that decide it
Two travelers in one tent is how safari pricing works. Solo travelers and families with young kids are where the rules split furthest.
| Company | Solo | Children |
|---|---|---|
| Tauck | Land supplements cut by up to $600 on seven 2026 Asia, Africa and Latin America departures | Bridges family safaris from age 5; standard trips recommend 8+ |
| Micato | Supplements discussed per departure; no figure published | Not published |
| G Adventures | No single supplement on Classic; My Own Room from $659 on Journeys Tanzania; Signature charges a supplement | 12 on the Kenya & Tanzania trips we checked |
| Intrepid | Twin share by gender, or pay the single supplement | 15 on Kenya Safari Adventure |
| Globus / Cosmos | Single supplement guarantees your own room, not the bed count | 5 |
| Collette | Single rooms on every tour; no roommate matching advertised | 13 on safaris |
| Contiki | Room share by gender | 18 to 35 only |
| Wilderness | Not published | 6 at most camps; walks and gorilla treks 12 or 15+ |
| Asilia | Not published | Over 5 at most camps; Usangu and Kokoko 12+ |
| &Beyond Kichwa Tembo | Not published | Under 6 in a private vehicle or kids’ drives; 16+ for every activity |
| Singita Explore | Exclusive use | All ages; walks 16+ |
If you’re traveling alone
G Adventures’ Classic trips are the only safaris here that publish no single supplement. On everything else, get the supplement in dollars before you compare the base prices.
Deposits, final payment and what cancelling costs
Safaris lock in early because the camps are small. That makes the cancellation table more important than the lodge photos.
| Company | Deposit | Final payment | Cancellation fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micato (Classic) | 30% | 120 days | 20% from 120+ days; 50% at 119–60; 100% inside 59 (rates valid through Dec 15, 2026) |
| Tauck (Great Migration) | $600 | 90 days | $600 at 90+ days; $1,250 at 89–8; $2,000 in the last week; free within 10 days of deposit |
| Globus / Cosmos (Africa) | $250; $500 Botswana; +$800 gorilla permit | 90 days | 50% from final payment to 30 days; 80% at 29–1 |
| Collette | $349 land only | 90 days | 40% at 90–16 days; 75% at 15–1 |
| G Adventures | $350 Classic and Journeys; $750 Signature | 60 days; Signature 90 | Classic: 50% of the balance at 30–59 days; nothing back inside 30 |
| Intrepid | $400 | 56 days | 30% at 31–55 days; 60% at 15–30; 100% inside 14 |
| Contiki (Africa, Canadian terms) | Shown at checkout | 60 days | 50% at 59–31 days; 75% at 30–16; 100% inside 15 |
| Abercrombie & Kent | Not published | Not published | Cancel Anytime upgrade refunds up to 75%; buy within 14 days of deposit |
Before you pay the deposit
A Mara day at Kichwa Tembo, on Tauck’s route
Picture the trip, not the spreadsheet. One real camp, as its operator describes the day.
First game drive
Kichwa Tembo’s rate includes twice-daily drives, with refreshments on board.
Back at camp
Three meals a day are in the rate, with house wines, local beers and spirits.
Second drive
Out again in a six- or eight-seat semi-open vehicle; on Tauck’s trip, six per vehicle with a window each.
Camp life
The camp lists a Maasai performance and a community visit among its activities.
Tauck spends nights seven to nine of its Great Migration here, on a concession the camp leases from Maasai landlords in the Mara Triangle.
The camp recommends Kenya for children aged eight or older and saves walks for guests 16 and up. Under-sixes go out in a private vehicle or on special kids’ drives, so book that early.
Find your two finalists
Answer honestly about budget. It moves the result more than anything else.
Matcher
Which safari companies fit you?
Four taps. We match your budget, group, style and deal-breaker against the published facts on this page.
Who should book which
Book it if
- You want the fewest bills and a window seat in writing: Micato or Tauck
- You want a safari pioneer with its own camps: Abercrombie & Kent
- You want a guided safari under about $700 a day: Cosmos, Globus or G Adventures Classic
- You’re solo and don’t want a surcharge: G Adventures Classic
- You want to pick every camp and drive privately: a lodge company, through an advisor
Look elsewhere if
- You need a guaranteed window and the company hasn’t put it in writing
- Your kids are under 12 and the trip sets 12, 13 or 15 as its minimum
- You can’t commit money 90 to 120 days out
- You’re over 35 and looking at Contiki
- You want city nights more than game drives; a classic coach tour fits better
Our take
Start with the vehicle, not the lodge. Six guests with a window each changes every drive, and only three companies here promise it.
Then price the extras. A cheaper daily rate that leaves out park fees, flights and tips can end up close to the all-in one.
Send us two quotes and we’ll lay them side by side, per day and all in, on the same dates.
Where to go from here: the operators and the countries
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Want two safari quotes on the same scale?
Tell us your month, your budget per day and who’s going. We’ll quote two companies on the same dates and show park fees, flights and tips in each total.
What travelers ask us before they pick a safari company
Which safari companies guarantee a window seat?
Of the pages we read, three put it in writing. Tauck’s Great Migration uses six-passenger vehicles with “window seats for everyone.” Micato limits its nine-passenger East Africa vehicles to six guests, each with a window and roof-hatch access. G Adventures’ Signature Tanzania trip guarantees a window seat when six or fewer share a vehicle. Collette uses six-person vehicles but doesn’t state a guarantee.
Which safari companies own their lodges?
Abercrombie & Kent runs 13 lodges and camps through A&K Sanctuary, and Wilderness says it operates 37 camps in seven countries. &Beyond, Asilia, Singita and Great Plains run their own camps too. Micato says it doesn’t own or operate the lodgings it uses, and the escorted-tour brands book other companies’ camps.
Are park fees and tips included in a safari price?
It depends on the company. Micato’s terms include park entrance fees, and its site says all tips are included. Wilderness includes park and concession fees but not gratuities. Singita Explore excludes park and concession fees. Most escorted and adventure brands leave guide and driver tips to you; G Adventures suggests about $5 a day each for its CEO and driver on its Classic Kenya and Tanzania trip.
What does a guided safari cost per day?
On 2027 from-prices we checked, from about $373 a day on Trafalgar’s Best of South Africa and about $454 on G Adventures’ Classic Kenya and Tanzania trip, to about $1,649 on Tauck’s Great Migration and about $2,083 on Micato’s Heart of Kenya & Tanzania (Micato doesn’t state the year). International flights are extra everywhere.
Is G Adventures or Intrepid better for a Kenya safari?
They’re close. G Adventures’ Classic Kenya & Tanzania trip runs 11 days with a maximum of 14, takes ages 12 and up and charges no single supplement. Intrepid’s Kenya Safari Adventure runs 10 days in Kenya only, with up to 16 travelers, ages 15 and up, and a single supplement if you want your own room.
Can I take children on safari?
Yes, with limits that vary. Tauck’s Bridges family safaris start at age 5, Asilia welcomes children over 5 at most camps, Wilderness at 6 at most camps, G Adventures’ Kenya and Tanzania trips at 12, Collette’s safaris at 13 and Intrepid’s Kenya trip at 15. Walking safaris usually need older children, often 12 or 16.
How far ahead do I pay for a safari?
Earlier than for most tours. Micato wants 30% at booking and the balance 120 days out. Tauck, Globus, Cosmos and Collette all take final payment 90 days out on their Africa trips. G Adventures’ Classic trips and Intrepid run closer, at 60 and 56 days.
Sources · 40 links · checked October 2026
- Tauck: Great Migration, Tanzania & Kenya (prices, vehicles, terms)
- Tauck FAQ (inclusions, minimum ages)
- Tauck: 2026 Savings for Solo Travelers
- Tauck: Roam by Tauck 2027 portfolio
- Travel Agent Central: Tauck’s Even Smaller Group tours
- A&K: Small Group Journeys (US prices, group limits)
- A&K: Guest Protection Program
- Aspire: A&K Sanctuary’s growing footprint (June 2026)
- Micato: Guaranteed departures (Classic Safari prices)
- Micato: Vehicles and transportation
- Micato: Why safari with Micato
- Micato: What’s included
- Micato: Terms and conditions
- G Adventures: Kenya & Tanzania, Serengeti Safari Adventure
- G Adventures: Journeys, Tanzania Safari Experience
- G Adventures: Signature, Tanzania’s Serengeti, Tarangire & Ngorongoro Crater
- G Adventures: US booking terms
- Intrepid: Kenya Safari Adventure trip notes (2027)
- Intrepid: US booking conditions
- Globus: Kenya & Tanzania Safari Expedition (2027)
- Globus: Kenya & Tanzania, The Safari Experience (2027)
- Globus: Terms and conditions (revised Sept 8, 2026)
- Cosmos: On Safari in Kenya & Tanzania (2027)
- Cosmos: Terms and conditions
- Trafalgar: Best of South Africa
- Collette: African Safari, Kenya & Tanzania Explorations tour (Jan 2025)
- Collette: Terms and conditions
- Collette: Multigenerational travel (minimum ages)
- Contiki: Kruger & Eswatini Safari
- Contiki: Southern Africa Safari
- Contiki: Canada booking conditions (Jan 2025)
- Wilderness: All-inclusive safaris
- Wilderness: Floodplains & Predators
- Wilderness: Family safaris
- Asilia: Family safaris
- Asilia: All Asilia offer
- Asilia: How to tip on safari
- &Beyond: Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp brochure
- Singita: Singita Explore information
- Great Plains Conservation: Safari camps