Nothing quite compares to the thrill of spotting wild animals in their natural habitat amidst some of the world’s most breathtaking landscapes. But, with so many options, it's hard to know where to start and which of the best national parks in Africa to visit.
From the Serengeti plains to the Chobe riverbanks, Africa is packed with epic national parks.
There are a lot of choices!
Fear not, whether you want to witness the Great Migration in Kenya, experience gorilla trekking in Uganda, or spot the Big Five in South Africa, these outstanding national parks are the ultimate safari hotspots across the continent’s favourite wildlife destinations.
The Best National Parks in Africa |
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If you’re dreaming of iconic African safari moments, the Masai Mara is hard to beat!
This legendary reserve in southwest Kenya is the place to witness the world-famous Great Migration - a dazzling spectacle that sees nearly two million wildebeest, zebras, and antelopes travel across the Mara River from neighboring Tanzania each year.
These huge herds of herbivores are closely tracked by many large predators, be it hungry prides of lions or ferocious semi-submerged crocs, and collectively, they transform the Masai Mara into one of the best wildlife destinations on earth.
As such, it’s no surprise that the 1,800 km² Masai Mara is one of Africa’s most popular national parks - home to the Big Five, plus cheetahs, hyenas, hippos, and over 470 bird species.
The Mara, as it is affectionately known, is also a cultural hotspot, still populated by many traditional Masai communities.
Quickly identifiable thanks to their bright red clothing, learning about how the Masai people have coexisted with the animals of this wild landscape for thousands of years adds a dynamic and unique element to any Masai Mara safari.
June to October is the prime safari season in Masai Mara. The climate during these months is warm, dry, and perfect for game viewing.
If you want to catch the Great Migration, plan your trip between July and October.
The easiest way to get to Masai Mara is from Nairobi, Kenya's bustling capital.
Browse our calendar of upcoming Nairobi departures, which includes several fly-in safaris to Masai Mara National Reserve.
Check out our best-selling Masai Mara tours.
Have a look at our Kenya-wide tours that include a visit to the Masai Mara.
Welcome to Africa’s most quintessential African destination!
The spectacular Serengeti National Park, known as the big brother of the Masai Mara, is one of the best national parks in Africa for wildlife… and rightly so!
Spread across some 15,000 km², the Serengeti’s ecosystems are home to an inordinate number of animals, including the Big Five, plus cheetahs, hyenas, gazelles, baboons, topi, kudu, hyrax and over 500 bird species.
The Serengeti is also thought to have Africa's largest population of lions - some 4000 in total - not to mention the Great Migration that sees millions of wildebeest and zebra migrate to its grassy plains from Kenya’s Masai Mara.
With a stunning backdrop of savannah grasslands, acacia trees, and rocky outcrops, Serengeti National Park offers a truly unforgettable wildlife experience.
For the Great Migration, visit the Serengeti from December to July,
January and February are also good times to visit the Southern Serengeti and the neighboring Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area.
Begin your journey to Serengeti from nearby Arusha or the major port city of Dar es Salaam.
It’s also possible to travel overland from Kenya to visit the Serengeti, as this park shares a border with the Masai Mara.
Take a look at our upcoming Arusha departures or Dar es Salaam tour departures for your Serengeti adventure.
View our upcoming Nairobi tour departures for safaris combining Kenya and Tanzania.
If you’re after a bucket list safari experience without blowing your entire budget, Kruger National Park is the place to go!
With a mix of affordable hostels, budget-friendly campsites, and great opportunities to see the Big Five via accessible game drives that don't cost the earth (without compromising on epic wildlife sightings), this spot is definitely one of the best national parks in Africa.
Located in the northeast region of South Africa, Kruger National Park is home to an incredible 147 species of mammals and 500 bird species across some 20,000 km², so there's plenty to see!
And who could forget the breathtaking sunrises and sunsets too?!
Kruger National Park offers a magical safari experience and continually ranks as one of the top game-viewing parks in the world.
Kruger experiences a subtropical climate, so it's best to visit during the dry winter months of May to September when animal sightings are more predictable.
The best way to get to Kruger Park, in terms of time and budget, is to travel overland from Johannesburg.
View our upcoming Johannesburg tour departures for affordable safaris to Kruger (including fly-in safari options).
Explore our South Africa safari packages if you want to explore Kruger and beyond.
Quite simply, Addo is the place to go if you want to get up close and personal with elephants.
Home to over 300 of these grey giants, this top national park in South Africa is one of the best places in the world to see these majestic Big Five creatures up close.
Addo also boasts healthy numbers of leopards, hyenas, antelope, cape buffalo, warthog, and zebra, along with a growing population of black-maned lions, introduced from the Kalahari in 2003.
South Africa’s iconic 124-mile Garden Route is close to Addo and is a must-see during your visit here too. Combining world-class beaches and beautiful towns, this world-renowned road trip is the perfect safari accompaniment!
April to September is an excellent time for game viewing in Addo. Just bear in mind that from June to August, nights are cold, so you'll need to wrap up.
The drive from Cape Town is around 9 hours long, so it’s best to stop en route and admire more of South Africa’s beautiful attractions as part of the adventure.
Uncover our wide range of Addo safari options ranging from 1 to 7 days.
One of the continent’s most-loved national parks, Chobe River National Park is probably the best place to spot elephants across the whole of Africa.
Boasting one of the highest concentrations of these great grey giants in the world (up to an estimated 120,000 individuals), Chobe River National Park also offers an amazing variety of other game and birds due to its diverse, dazzling ecosystem.
From arid plains to dry channels, dense woods to watery swamps, this 12,000 km² reserve is a feast for wildlife spotters, with many visitors embarking on game-viewing boat cruises to enjoy the abundant array of species from the park’s picturesque river setting.
In the southwest of Chobe lies the Savuti Marsh, hosting some of Africa's highest year-round concentrations of wildlife, in particular, vast numbers of large predators and elephant bulls.
April to October is the best time to visit Chobe River National Park, as herds of zebra, antelope, buffalo, giraffe, and wildebeest head to the waterholes.
August, September, and October can be pretty hot here, but there is sensational game viewing if you can cope with the temperatures.
One of Africa's most accessible top national parks, Chobe National Park, is conveniently located just outside of Kasane in northern Botswana and under two hours from Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.
Browse our upcoming Kasane tour departures for your Chobe adventure.
Combine Chobe with a visit to the amazing Okavango Delta with our tours departing from Maun.
If you’re after a safari with a difference, Namibia’s Etosha National Park is where it’s at!
Dominated by a vast salt pan so big you can see it from space, this surreal landscape offers incredible wildlife viewing.
From huge white and black rhinos and herds of zebras to towering giraffes and stealthy lion prides, large groups of animals can be spotted congregating at watering holes on the edge of the pan.
At night, Etosha’s rest areas feature floodlit water holes that attract a variety of game, which can be observed from the comfort of your camp.
During the wet season, bright pink flamingos and other seasonal water birds flock to Etosha as the cracked clay of the pan transforms into an expanse of blue-green algae and lush grasslands.
Boasting 4 of the Big Five and the tallest elephants on the continent, don't miss the chance to drive through the salt pan of Etosha for a surreal, otherworldly landscape unlike anything else!
The top time to visit Etosha is during the winter months from April to October, when the park’s vegetation is at its most sparse, and many animals congregate at select watering holes.
Hop on a tour to Etosha from Windhoek, Namibia's capital city, about 420km south of Etosha.
Check out our upcoming Windhoek departures for an epic Etosha safari
Explore our top Namibia safari tours if you want to discover more of this amazing country
Affordable, off-the-beaten-track, and packed with wildlife, Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe is a real hidden gem.
Deserving far more attention than it usually gets, this huge reserve, the oldest and largest in Zimbabwe, is home to the Big Five - think massive elephant herds, as well as lions, leopards, buffalo, and rhinos.
The park also boasts a fantastic wildlife conservation center focusing on African wild dogs - one of the continent’s most endangered species.
Delightfully crowd-free most months of the year, a Hwange safari is easy to combine with a trip to the jaw-dropping Victoria Falls, just over 1.5 hours away.
Chobe River National Park, in neighboring Botswana, is also fairly close - around 2.5 hour's drive.
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The dry season from May to October is the best time to see animals in Hwange amidst the sparse vegetation and more limited water holes. There are also fewer mosquitoes at this time.
September and October are good times to see the elephant herds in Hwange.
Easy to access from Victoria Falls, Chobe River National Park, and the Okavango Delta, airport connections from Maun or Vic Falls are the most common.
Check out these fantastic Hwange National Park safaris
View our top Zimbabwe safaris to discover more of this Southern African country.
Liwonde might not be as famous as some of Africa’s bigger national parks, but that’s exactly what makes it special!
Scenic and diverse, from elephants, buffalos and antelopes (such as sable, roan, eland, hartebeest, waterbuck, and bushbuck), through to big cats like lions and cheetah, you might even spot a rare black rhino during your time here.
Liwonde National Park is also one of the best places to see many African bird species, which flock to the Shire River, Africa's third-largest freshwater river, which dominates this park’s landscape.
Special highlights include the Pel's fishing owl, rarely seen elsewhere in southern Africa, along with Boehm's bee-eaters, Lilian's lovebirds, and Livingstone's flycatcher.
Filled with fertile floodplains, thick reedbeds, and towering riverine trees, Liwonde is famous for its excellent boat-based game viewing, where visitors get to witness a plethora of wildlife, from hippos to crocs, basking on the banks.
The best place in Malawi for a Big Five wildlife safari, Liwonde is also one of Africa’s top conservation success stories, and today protects the largest elephant population in Malawi, along with healthy groups of rhinos, lions, and cheetahs following effective reintroduction programs.
The best time to visit Liwonde National Park is during the dry season, from May to October, when the bush becomes sparser, and wildlife is easier to spot.
April to August has more pleasant temperatures.
Located in southern Malawi, the best way to get to Liwonde on a budget is to make the 5-hour drive from the country’s capital city, Lilongwe.
There are also domestic and chartered flights from Lilongwe and Blantyre (a city about 160 km to the south) to Liwonde National Park.
Our Southern Malawi budget safari tours include visiting Liwonde National Park and Lake Malawi before ending in Lilongwe.
Relatively small compared to some of the more well-known national parks in Africa, South Luangwa National Park is still one of the best in our eyes!
Known for its exceptional leopard-spotting opportunities, this park has one of the highest concentrations of these elusive cats, with an estimated 3 leopards for every km2 of park.
South Luangwa is also known as the home of the walking safari.
Accompanied by an experienced ranger and tracker, you can experience the thrill of climbing out of a safari vehicle and tracking animals on foot.
Night drives in South Luangwa are also exceptional, offering the chance to spot exciting nocturnal species like civets, genets, honey badgers, and hyenas hunting.
July and August are the best wildlife-viewing months in South Luangwa National Park when the park is dry and warm.
September and October are also great months to spot wildlife, but temperatures can be uncomfortably high.
It's easy to get to South Luangwa Park on short safaris from Lilongwe, the capital of neighboring Malawi.
Alternatively, you can start your South Luangwa safari at the natural wonder of Victoria Falls, on either the Zimbabwean or Zambian side.
From Malawi, view our upcoming Lilongwe departures to South Luangwa
From Zimbabwe, see our Victoria Falls departures
From Zambia, check out our Livingstone departures.
If gorilla trekking is on your bucket list, then Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda is the place to do it.
This UNESCO-listed rainforest is home to almost half the world’s mountain gorillas (estimated to be around 450), and seeing these gentle giants in the wild is a truly unforgettable experience.
With its lush rainforests sprawled across the slopes of volcanic mountains, Bwindi is also a biodiversity hotspot!
Home to over 120 mammal species, including golden monkeys, colobus monkeys, and chimps, plus an insane variety of birdlife (over 350 species) and butterflies (over 200 species), this is also the cheapest place to see gorillas in the wild, thanks to the lower cost permits, which need to be booked well in advance.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is open for gorilla trekking all year round, but the best times to go are June to September and December to February.
At these times, trails are less muddy, making for more enjoyable trekking and better visibility for spotting wildlife.
Bwindi is located at a high altitude, so be prepared for cooler temperatures, especially at night.
It’s best to access Bwindi from Uganda’s capital, Kampala - a city some 540km away, that is regularly serviced by nearby Entebbe International Airport.
Compare our Bwindi safari departures from Kampala and safari departures from Entebbe.
Explore our Uganda safaris alongside Bwindi to see more of this country.
Africa is home to some of the most incredible wildlife experiences on the planet, and these top 10 African national parks are the perfect place to begin.
Whether gorilla trekking or witnessing African elephants in their natural habitat, we offer a fantastic range of budget-friendly safaris in these epic destinations.
Speak to our team of African experts today to find out more!
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