Southern Africa vs East Africa Safaris - how to choose?

Africa is vast and varied and home to magnificent wildlife, but, deciding where to go is your first big decision when planning an African safari. The majority of national parks, game reserves and private concessions are in both Southern Africa and East Africa… so which region should you go to? A question we at African Budget Safaris get asked plenty of times when planning our adventures to Africa…

Well, that depends on what appeals and is most convenient. In both East and Southern Africa, most destinations satisfy all tastes and budgets and are suitable for single travellers, honeymooners, five-star lodge aficionados, families with children, traditional overlanders, intrepid self-drivers, or groups of friends booking a safari together.

But the choice might be swayed by international access points by air, a personal wish list of destinations, or the time of year you want to travel. Both geographic regions are amazing and there is really no wrong choice, but we’ve compiled a simple comparison between Southern Africa and East Africa to help you decide...

Where are these African safari regions?

Southern African Safari Region

Southern africa map by Burmesedays, minor amendments by Joelf [CC BY-SA 3.0]

Parks and reserves in Southern Africa are variably defined as being in Eswatini (Swaziland), Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. A Southern Africa safari is all about diversity and can include some of Africa's most iconic and wildly different travel destinations such as the broad savannahs of Kruger National Park and the semi-arid Kalahari Desert in South Africa, the wetlands and rivers of the Okavango Delta and Chobe National Park in Botswana, the vastness of the Namib Desert and Etosha National Park in Namibia, and the lush lower Zambezi River basin including the roaring thunder of Victoria Falls in both Zimbabwe and Zambia.

African Elephant in Moremi Game Reserve of Okavango Delta, Botswana by Michael Jansen

Using Johannesburg or Cape Town in South Africa as international entry points, the top destinations in Southern Africa are easy to reach; easy to combine thanks to excellent regional air links and good roads for overland transfers; and easy to enjoy in high standards of safari accommodation from 5-star luxury to campsites.

• For starters take a look at some of the budget safaris starting in Johannesburg and tours departing from Cape Town.

East African Safari Region

East africa regions map by Peter Fitzgerald, amendments by Burmesedays

In East Africa, the majority of parks and reserves are in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda. The magnificent landscapes in this region are larger and wilder than those in the south and include iconic destinations like the animal-studded Ngorongoro Crater and the vast Serengeti plains in Tanzania, the montane rainforests and shimmering lakes in Uganda and Rwanda, and the Maasai Mara ecosystem and pretty Great Rift Valley lakes in Kenya.

Giraffe in Kenya

Nairobi in Kenya is often the access point for international arrivals, but Kigali in Rwanda, Entebbe in Uganda and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania are other options too. Again destinations in East Africa can be combined fairly easily thanks to regional flights or overland tours, but because of tough untarred roads and greater distances, they can take longer to reach from the arrival cities. The benefits though are experiencing a more untrammelled safari, and in many places, away from the crowds of other vehicles, asphalt-roads and village-like rest camps that are common in some southern parks.

• To compare various budget safari options in East Africa browse safaris departing from Nairobi, starting in Dar es Salaam, tours from Kigali in Rwanda or Entebbe/Kampala in Uganda.

What are the differences between East & Southern African game parks?

Generally, in Southern Africa, many of the wildlife areas are fenced. This could mean individual standalone parks, and also ‘greater’ regions such as South Africa’s Kruger National Park and its adjoining private reserves and concessions. Additionally ‘transfrontier’ parks straddle countries and similar continuous and unbroken environments – examples of these include the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (South Africa and Botswana), |Ai-|Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park (South Africa and Namibia), and Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe). While there is some contention that fences halt natural migrations of animals, they do afford safari-goers the opportunity of seeing animals in a shorter period of time simply because they are easier to find in relatively contained areas.

1260px-sanparks relief map.svg by Htonl CC BY-SA 3.0

In the larger wildlife areas in East Africa, there are far fewer fences so the animals move freely between adjoining or nearby parks and reserves on migratory routes – usually following the rains and fresh pasture. For permanent lodges and camps, this means that while there is a good scattering of animals at all times of the year, the highest numbers of wildlife may only be present seasonally. This is especially true of the Great Migration of wildebeest, zebra and antelope between Tanzania’s Serengeti and Kenya’s Masaai Mara. In an attempt to see these animals all year round, East Africa has developed a good network of mobile camping safaris that move every couple of months to areas where wildlife is at the most abundant.

East Africa great migration

What about the weather: is East or Southern Africa better?

In Southern Africa, while each country varies, the rains generally fall between November and March with the rest of the year being mostly rain-free. Temperatures are similar between the regions with May to August being the cooler months. Most of the lodges, tented camps and campsites stay open year-round.

In East Africa, October marks the beginning of the ‘short rains’ for a few weeks until mid-December. Meanwhile, April is usually the start of the ‘long rains’ that might last a month or two. Many of the safari camps close during the long rains due to difficult and muddy driving conditions.

Kenya green safari by Kandukuru Nagarjun

In both East and Southern Africa, the dry seasons are better for wildlife-watching as the animals tend to concentrate around permanent water sources and the foliage is thinner. But bear in mind, the density of tourists is fairly high during these high seasons and prices may be steeper. Wetter months or the ‘green’ safari seasons see benefits such as herbivores having their young and lush green landscapes, and there are often out of season discounts too.

What about the safari guides?

There’s not much difference and almost all safari guides in both Southern Africa and East Africa are exceptionally well-trained and experienced professional wildlife guides, spotters and drivers.

African safari guides

In both East and Southern Africa, where fly-in itineraries are common, guides are often resident naturalists based at the lodges and camps. They stick with dedicated guests throughout their stay and take them on game drives and other activities, share their knowledge about the bush and sometimes join them for meals if the clients so wish.

Again in both, where popular safaris are operated by road on short trips or by longer overland tours, an expert driver-guide will come with you from the departure city and stay with you for the entire time of your trip.

Are the safari vehicles different in East & Southern Africa?

Yes, they are; and the answer is simply that the parks’ authorities in each safari region have different rules, regulations and recommendations.

In Southern Africa, the chances are that you will go out on safari in one of the vehicles arranged at your lodge or camp. Specifically, the lodge assigns you to a group, and that is your group for the duration of the stay. In Southern Africa these safari vehicles are usually modified, open-sided, long-based Land Rovers or Land Cruisers with a canvas roof and steeped seating and blankets are provided for cooler weather. Two game drives per day are the norm, early morning and late afternoon, and during the hottest part of the day, time is spent relaxing at the lodge and watching the wildlife go by.

Safari vehicle in Southern Africa

In East Africa, the vast landscapes often mean that you travel longer distances between safari destinations from your point of departure – if not flying on small planes to the regional airstrips. For example, to visit a number of parks in Tanzania’s Northern Circuit (the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara and Tarangire), you’ve got to be on the move every couple days, and travel between them can take a number of hours. As such, the most common safari vehicle in East Africa is the mini-van with a pop-up roof – passengers take turns to stand up to take photographs while peering out of the roof hatch. Game drives may last all day, with the significant commute between parks being your downtime.

Safari van in East Africa

Another option in both African safari regions is to join an overland tour as these use much larger and higher vehicles, usually modified trucks, with big windows that can be opened for the greatest visibility on safari.

Official national parks in both East and Southern Africa require all vehicles to drive along marked roads – gravel or tarred in Southern Africa, gravel in East Africa. But in private game reserves and concession areas on the edge of the major parks, lodge vehicles are permitted to drive off-road and at night too – a huge advantage for photography and when looking for nocturnal animals (anteater, aardvark and leopard to name a few) and your guide will use a powerful spotlight to pick out their glittering eyes.

There can be a fair amount of vehicle congestion at interesting animal action and it’s feasible that over a dozen vehicles during peak seasons may crowd around let’s say a pride of hunting lions or family of cheetahs. But generally, in both safari regions, the guides keep strict control of the number of vehicles at each sighting and often communicate over two-way radio to ensure that these rules are adhered too.

What animals will I see where?

There are over 1,100 different species of mammals and over 2,340 species of birds found in Africa. Both Southern Africa and East Africa offer incredible wildlife sightings, with the Big Five present in both safari regions.

Leopard - Big Five of Africa by Michael Siebert

With the exception of some birds and a few mammal and reptile species, most of the popular wildlife can be seen in both African regions. The major difference is in how many you will see. In Southern Africa, you’ll generally find higher concentrations of animals in smaller areas. For example, Botswana is home to 80% of Southern Africa’s 300,000 elephants and huge herds are a common sight. The Addo Elephant National Park in South Africa’s Eastern Cape boasts the highest number of elephants in a single park, while South Africa’s Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park in KwaZulu-Natal is home to the highest number of black and white rhino you’ll find on the continent.

Hluhluwe rhinos in Africa by Bernard Du Pont

But if it is the Great Migration you want to see, then you only have one choice – East Africa. One of the largest animal gatherings on earth, this phenomenon is specific to Kenya and Tanzania and the Masai Mara and the Serengeti are the only places you can witness herds of thousands of wildebeest, zebra and antelope migrate across the plains with the predators in their wake. It generally moves in a clockwise motion from the Serengeti to the Masai Mara, and then back again forming one big circle. It is notoriously fraught with peril, especially when the herds cross the Mara River. The exact timing and route of the migration changes from year to year and is entirely dependent on the rains. But this spectacle is worth the higher safari price during season.

East Africa Migration

What about safari costs - East vs Southern Africa?

Generally, there is not much in it and both regions of Africa offer safaris across the budgets.

At the luxury top-end, both Southern African and East Africa offer a myriad of intimate 5-star lodges and tented camps either within the boundaries of the main parks or in private reserves and concessions. In this bracket, it is usual for guests to fly into the smaller airstrips and picked up by the lodges’ vehicles. The middle ground in terms of accommodation includes the larger lodges which may be fenced and have swimming pools and buffet meals and these are the most suitable for families.

The cheapest way to go on safari in both of these African regions is by road on short organized tours in minibuses from arrival points and staying in affordable lodges, park chalets or camping. Good examples in Southern Africa are 3—5 day tours to Kruger from Johannesburg and 4—7-day tours covering parks in Zimbabwe and Botswana from Victoria Falls. In East Africa popular trips might be 3—5 day trips to the Masai Mara from Nairobi, or 5—7 day tours to go chimpanzee and mountain gorilla trekking in eastern Uganda from Kampala.

Africa overland tours

Overland tours – camping or accommodated, participatory or fully-staffed – are the best value as the chances are you will be visiting a number of wildlife areas as well as participating in the more adrenalized experiences available such as white-water rafting, quad-biking, boat trips, hiking or scuba-diving to name but a few.

Additional costs to consider are park entry fees. These are generally higher in East Africa than Southern Africa. A quick comparison would be Kenya’s Maasi Mara costs US$70—80 per 24-hours depending on what region you are staying, compared to the equivalent of US$26 at South Africa’s Kruger. Some safaris factor in these fees while others don’t – check final prices carefully when considering your budget.

Just a wildlife safari or an extended holiday too?

The other thing to think about is whether your trip to Africa is purely a wildlife safari experience or only one part of what you want to see and do.

In Southern Africa, you can mix it up a little and go on both safaris in the parks and reserves and do some traditional sightseeing and other activities too. The choices are endless from seeing the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe or Zambia, taking part in adventure activities in the giant sand dunes at Swakopmund in Namibia, exploring Cape Town and the Winelands on a city break in South Africa, or enjoying some tropical beach time on the coast of Mozambique.

Mozambique beach Vilanculos

In East Africa, there are the Rift Valley lakes and a long balmy coastline in Kenya to explore, the gorgeous island of Zanzibar in Tanzania is a popular add-on to a safari to wash off the dust, while there are lofty mountains to climb in this region too – namely Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya and the Rwenzoris.

Kilimanjaro trekking

You may also want to engage in some cultural tourism too. Cultural experiences among indigenous peoples are more limited in Southern Africa, although visits with the San people of the Kalahari or Zulu community in Kwa-Zulu Natal are available and there are township tours from Cape Town or Johannesburg. East Africa by far has the upper hand for cultural experiences as the local people are much more involved in the tourism industry. The Maasai and Samburu are often employed as safari guides, visits to traditional homesteads can be arranged, and many lodges are involved in projects like sponsoring a primary school or supporting a craft-making initiative.

Maasai African culture

Now talk to us at African Budget Safaris…

Whether it’s Southern Africa or East Africa, the destination is not crucial as both offer wonderful wildlife-watching experiences. Our recommendation to travellers is to consult with one of our travel experts who can customize your African trip to include destinations that suit your timeframe and interests, and choose a safari that fits your budget and appeals to you. If you still can’t decide between the two, which is actually a really good problem to have… do them both! Thanks to good connecting flights and our fantastic choice of overland tours between Southern Africa and East Africa, it’s very possible to combine a number of safaris in one unforgettable trip…

Southern Africa safari drive