Getting around on safari: roads, flights and realistic travel days

Do safaris travel by road or by air?

Most of ours travel by road. Our Kenya and Tanzania road safaris use a 4×4 Land Cruiser, so the drive between parks is part of the journey; our approved itineraries describe what it passes through, from the Rift Valley to farmland and highland. Two of our journeys fly instead: the 8 Days Ultimate Tanzania Luxury Fly-In Safari and the 3 Days Luxury Fly-In Bwindi Gorilla Safari.

Flying can save time on long transfers. If you are considering a fly-in journey, ask us about luggage limits before you pack.

How far apart are the parks?

Park authorities publish routes and distances, which are a better guide than any promised driving time. A few examples:

What happens on a travel day?

A travel day moves you from one base to the next, with a game drive on arrival when there is time. Our approved itineraries say this plainly: game drives on travel days depend on arrival and departure times, and timings can change with road and park conditions. On our Kenya and Tanzania journeys, the crossing point and transfer arrangements between the two countries are confirmed in each customer’s written quotation rather than assumed.

When does flying make sense?

Flying makes sense when the road is long and the time is short. The Uganda Wildlife Authority describes scheduled and chartered flights from Entebbe to the Kisoro and Kihihi airstrips near Bwindi taking about an hour and ten minutes, followed by a road transfer to the lodge. Tanzania National Parks notes regular flights to Seronera airstrip in the heart of the Serengeti, and Lake Manyara’s airstrip receives scheduled and charter flights.

Weigh what you gain against what you miss: a flight saves hours but skips the landscape between parks, and light aircraft have their own schedules and luggage rules.

How do the rains affect travel?

Wet roads are slower. Kenya Wildlife Service treats April to June as its low season, when some park roads need four-wheel drive. Tanzania National Parks warns of muddy sections in Tarangire from November to May and of muddy sections and rising rivers in Ruaha’s wet season, and the Uganda Wildlife Authority recommends four-wheel drive on the murram roads to Bwindi.

Our road safaris use a 4×4 Land Cruiser, and a rainy-season route should still allow more time between parks.

How to plan a route that is not all driving

• Count the full days in parks, not the number of parks. Two nights in a place gives one unhurried full day.
• Avoid back-to-back long transfers; a short day between two long ones makes a big difference.
• Put the place that matters most to you in the middle of the trip, not on a travel day.
• Allow a buffer before an international flight home.
• For two countries, allow for the border, and check your documents in our entry requirements guide.

Crossing a border on safari

Our Kenya and Tanzania journeys cross the border by road. The approved itineraries leave the crossing point and the transfer arrangements to each customer’s written quotation, so the details are confirmed for your route rather than assumed. Expect a border day to be a travel day, with any game drive depending on the time you arrive.

• Have your passport, visa or eTA and any vaccination certificates to hand, not packed away.
• Keep some time in hand: formalities can take a while.
• Check our entry requirements guide well before you travel.

A short safari close to Nairobi

If time is very short, Nairobi National Park is the exception to long transfers. Kenya Wildlife Service describes it as about ten kilometres from the city centre, close enough that a game drive can fit around a flight or a meeting. Our Nairobi National Park day safari is built around that.