11 Best Places to See Elephants in Africa (in the wild)
by Landia Davies
Where are the best places to see elephants in Africa, in the wild?
The highest densities of wild African elephants are found in the game reserves of southern and East Africa. The best game parks for seeing African elephants are in Botswana, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Zambia and South Africa. In this post, we tell you where the best places are to see elephants in these top African safari countries.
Northern Botswana is home to the largest continuous population of savannah elephants in Africa, with the population estimated at around 150,000 elephants! The elephants in northern Botswana are free to roam over an area of about 80,000km².
the number of elephant sightings is increasing, as more elephants migrate from Chobe, Savuti and Linyanti into Moremi and other parts of the Okavango Delta.
In the dry season, elephants congregate at the permanent water sources - Chobe and Lynanti/Kwando Rivers, and in the Okavango Delta. In the wet season, the elephants disperse with their range expanding to include food sources at water-filled pans.
There are plenty of southern Africa safaris that visit both Chobe Park and the Okavango Delta as part of longer itineraries with most Botswana Safaris including these top elephant hotspots.
The closest town to the Okavango Delta is Maun with several tours travelling from Maun into the Delta on a regular basis. You can compare upcoming tours departing from Maun here. For Chobe safaris the closest access point is the town of Kasane, making it a convenient place to start your safari. Browse our upcoming Kasane tour departures here.
a huge population of about 44,000 elephants in an area of 14,651 km² (AG 2017)
often sight hundreds of elephants in one day
Ready to see more elephants than you can count? Head to Hwange on one of our Budget Hwange Safaris.
Getting to Hwange Park in Zimbabwe
The best way to get to Hwange Park is to fly to Victoria Falls town and travel overland through Zimbabwe. The drive from Vic Falls to Hwange takes less than three hours.
about 15,000 elephants in an area of 19,480 km² in South Africa
elephants in Kruger Park are relatively habituated
embark on walking safaris in Greater Kruger
One of the best things about viewing elephants in Kruger is that you can take a walking safari in one of the private reserves of Greater Kruger to see these giants on foot!
We can take you on all kinds of Budget Kruger Tours - short to long, camping to lodge, walking to 4x4 and more.
Getting to Kruger Park
The simplest way to get to Kruger Park is to fly to Johannesburg, the biggest city and closest major travel hub in South Africa. Browse our upcoming tours departing from Johannesburg to find a variety of Kruger safaris, including fly-in tour options.
Tsavo East & West, the largest protected area in Kenya, host the highest number of Kenya's estimated 35,000 elephants
the combined Tsavo-Mkomazi ecosystem of 46,000 km² hosts over 12,570 elephants
Go 4x4 game viewing in Tsavo and the famous Masai Mara, as well as Amboseli (also an elephant hotspot) on our Budget Tsavo Safaris.
Getting to Tsavo National Park
Flying to Nairobi and heading south overland is the most affordable way to get to the Tsavo National Parks of Kenya. If you plan on starting your Tsavo safari in Nairobi browse our upcoming tours departing from Nairobi.
roughly 10,000 elephants inhabiting the 9,050km² South Luangwa Park
large elephant herds, up to 70 individuals strong
20 to 35,000 elephants in the Luangwa Valley / lower Zambezi River area in Zambia
encounter elephants on thrilling walking safaris
South Luangwa is a gem for walking safaris and, as with Kruger, is ideal for getting up close to elephants on foot. This 7 Day South Luangwa Tented Camps Walking Safari is a really special find.
Luangwa walking safari elephants
If walking is not your thing then there are plenty of other South Luangwa Safaris to choose from.
Getting to South Luangwa Park
Given its location, South Luangwa can be accessed from several popular travel hubs in the region. These include Lilongwe in Malawi, Lusaka or Livingstone in Zambia and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe or Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. This enables travellers to visit South Luangwa as part of safaris to East Africa or southern Africa, or both.
reputed to be the best place in Africa to get up close to free-ranging elephants
around 1,500 elephants in just 392 km²
herds of up to 100 elephants can be seen
home to many big, old bull elephants and tuskers
excellent photographic opportunities of elephant herds with scenic Mount Kilimanjaro in the background
Amboseli elephants with Kilimanjaro
To get a shot at the classic Amboseli image of African elephants with Kilimanjaro as a backdrop, embark on one of our Amboseli Budget Safaris. This fantastic Tsavo, Amboseli & Mara Kenya Lodge Safari is a luxury camping tour that flies to Masai Mara and back.
Getting to Amboseli Park
Most budget safaris to Amboseli travel from Nairobi, Kenya's capital. You can browse our upcoming tours departing from Nairobi here. Another well-priced option is to travel to Amboseli from Arusha in northern Tanzania. View our upcoming tours departing from Arusha here.
Tarangire - 2,500 individuals in the Tarangire ecosystem of 20,000 km² in Tanzania (big herds of about 300 elephants strong)
Ngorongoro Crater - big, old bull elephants with large tusks are often seen in the Crater
Serengeti Park - over 2,000 elephants on the 14,760 km² plains
You can experience the famous Northern Tanzania Safari Circuit on several of our budget Tanzania tours, like this well-priced Northern Safari Circuit to Zanzibar Overland Camping combining top African beach and bush Meccas.
Serengeti elephant herd, Tanzania
Serengeti's neighbouring Masai Mara National Reserve is also home to large herds of elephants that roam the scenic plains of this 1,510 km² Kenyan game park. Masai Mara forms part of the Serengeti Ecosystem.
Your two best options for getting to the Northern Safari Circuit on a budget, are to fly to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania or Nairobi in Kenya. Check out our affordable tour options by visiting the upcoming Nairobi tour departures and Dar es Salaam tour departures calendars. To keep your overland travel distances to a minimum you can also hop onto the Northern Safari Circuit from Arusha. You can view upcoming Arusha tour departures here.
over 900 elephants resident in or visiting the Samburu Reserve throughout the year.
about 5,400 elephants in the combined Samburu-Laikipia ecosystem of around 28,490 km² (11,000 square miles)
Samburu elephants, Kenya
If you are serious about elephant watching go wild on this Kenyan Game Parks 4x4 Lodge Safari which explores Tsavo National Park, Amboseli National Park and Samburu National Reserve (all three of Kenya's best parks for seeing elephants)!
Getting to Samburu Park
As with most East African safaris, the starting point for most Samburu safaris is typically Nairobi, Kenya's main travel hub. Browse our Nairobi tour departures to find several affordable Samburu safaris.
herds of elephants congregate at the waterholes of Etosha, especially in the dry season
over 2,000 elephants in the 22,270 km² park
flat plains and low vegetation make for easy sightings of family groups and bulls
Etosha elephants and zebras
Etosha is one of southern Africa's leading safari destinations offering exceptional wildlife viewing. There are plenty of budget-friendly Etosha Safaris for families, solo travellers, small groups and more.
Getting to Etosha Park
The most direct way to reach Etosha National Park is to fly to Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. Find an affordable Etosha Safari on our calendar listing of upcoming tours departing from Windhoek here.
home to one of the densest African elephant populations on earth
estimated at around 550 elephants in the 1,640 km² Addo Park
South Africa's third-largest national park
home to some of the largest elephants in Africa
Getting to Addo Elephant Park
The closest city to Addo Park is Port Elizabeth (PE), located under an hour's drive from the national park in the Eastern Cape. Although PE (Gqeberha) is a smaller city there are a few tours departing from Port Elizabeth which visit Addo.
A less direct, but often more affordable option, is to fly to one of the bigger cities in South Africa, namely Durban in KwaZulu-Natal or Cape Town in the Western Cape. You can browse our budget South Africa tours and Garden Route tours which include Addo Elephant Park by upcoming departure date. View our calendars for tours departing from Cape Town or upcoming tours departing from Durban.
Not sure where to start? Many of our South African tours include safaris in Addo Elephant Park as part of itineraries to the Garden Route from Cape Town, Durban or Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha).
Ruaha is in southern Tanzania, so the best way to get there is from Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania. Ruaha Park is an unusual, lesser-known safari destination but we do feature several budget tours that visit the park. To find upcoming Ruaha safaris check out our tours departing from Dar es Salaam.
The elephant is just one of the famous Big Five safari animals. The others are rhino, lion, leopard and buffalo. You can only see these famous animals in some of Africa's game parks, so you need to visit the right places. And, some places are better than others for spotting the Big Five.