Most of our clients are well traveled and enjoy a combination of small group and independent travel. When you’re choosing a safari, it can get confusing as to what is a better choice. Should you opt for the more social but also less flexible group tour?  Or go it alone and have the opportunity to pick and choose your camps but forgo the all inclusive, simplicity of a packaged tour?  Here are some pros and cons of group safaris vs independent safaris. We hope these tips will help you make the right safari choices for you and your travel partner(s). We at African Portfolio prefer customizing independent trips for our clients, but also understand that a group option is preferred by some people.  In that case, we can work with you to find a small group safari to suit your interests, travel style and budget.
The Pros and Cons of Group Safaris
Pros

• If you are traveling on a budget, the price for a packaged, group safari can be less than one planned independently (but that’s only if you compare the same itinerary)
• If you are traveling alone, joining a group can make you feel safer and is certainly less lonely (although you’re never truly alone on safari — you are met on arrival and assisted all along the way, there are always guides and drivers with you, and meals at smaller camps are often communal affairs).
• Having a set itinerary saves you a lot of planning time and decision-making which can be quite significant when planning an independent safari (although we of course make this the fun part…)
• If you are one of those travelers that likes the idea of someone else being ‘in charge’ then a group tour with an accompanying tour leader may make sense for you.
• Staying with the same group and guide/driver really bonds you together and can make lasting relationships that carry way beyond the end of the safari. Those that opt for an African safari already have some spirit of adventure and love for nature that sets them apart from many others. So it’s quite likely you’ll find kindred spirits. Age limits also help create a cohesive group.
• Having the same guides/drivers with you throughout your safari as you travel to different camps/parks is helpful given that they will know what animals/scenery your group has already seen and enjoyed and can look for things you have not yet seen.
• If you are traveling with children, especially teens — a family oriented group tour may be a great option. The early morning starts, long game drives and lack of wi fi/cell phone access can lead to irritating tween/teen behavior if not held in check with some social interaction.
• Many people feel safer when they travel in a group, although there is no evidence to suggest that group travel is more secure.
• Some luxury small group safaris rent out entire camps just for their group, so you can experience a really exclusive safari that may be out of your price range if you were traveling independently.

Cons

• Group tours have a set date of departure so there is little room for flexibility if for some reason you aren’t able to make it on that particular date.
  
• Even the most social person may get a little tired of spending hours on game drives and tours with the same group, as well as sharing meals together. One or two negative souls in the group can really ruin the experience for others.
• Group tours are by nature less flexible in terms of duration and accommodation. You will often spend 10-14 days in the same country/area, oftentimes at larger safari camps and hotels, and in our opinion with not enough time on safari or never a long enough stay at any one safari camp.  You may well travel between camps will be by road rather than air, which can make for very long days in a vehicle once you add on the game drives as well.
• While group travel may feel “safe”, it can also isolate you from meeting other travelers. The joy of traveling is often enhanced by the people you meet along the way, particularly from different parts of the world. On a group tour, you are inevitably spending all your time in Africa with your fellow Americans.
• Group tours are not always cheaper as you have to factor in the cost of a guide and/or tour leader accompanying you for the entire trip and with packaged tours you may well be contributing to the overhead costs for a minimum number of travelers.
• If moving at someone else’s pace doesn’t have appeal, then a group tour that accommodates the ‘least common denominator’ may not be your speed.
• If you have specific interests in photography, birding or just happen to love warthogs, you may not be able to spend as much time as you would like focused on these.
• Traveling by light aircraft can save you a lot driving time between camps, and this form of travel is often not an option for larger group safaris, especially in East Africa.
• Not having the ability to pick and choose your camps and destinations (and deciding where to splurge and where to save), can actually end up being a more expensive safari option.